etn ene: ENGINEERING GEOLOGY second edition Tony WalthamFoundations of Engineering Geology TONY WALTHAM BSc, DIC, PhD Civil Engineering Department Nottingham Trent University Second Edition London and New York.Preface Civil engineering is an exciting combination of science, art, professional skill and engineering achievement which always has to rely on the ground on which its structures stand, Geology is therefore vital to success in civil engineering, and this book brings to the reader those many aspects of the ‘geological sciences specifically relevant tothe profession This book is structured primarly for the student of civil engineering who starts with no knowledge of geology but is Fequired to understand the ground conditions and geological processes which, both literally and metaphonecally. are the foundations of his future professional activites. It'also Provides an accessible source of information forthe practising ‘civil engineer. Al the material is presentod in indwvidual doubie-page ‘spreads. Each subject is covered by notes, diagrams, tables and case histories, all in bite-sized sections instead of being lost in a long continuous text. This style makes the infor: mation very accessible; the reader can dip in and find what hhe needs, andis also visually quded into relevant associated topics. There is even some intended repetition of small sections of material which are pertinent to more than one aspect within the interrelated framework of a geological understanding The contents of the book follow a basic university course in engineering geology. The free-standing sections and sub- ‘sections permit infinite flexibility, so that any lecturer can use the book as his course text while tailoring his programme to his own personal styl. The single section summarizing soi strength has been included for the benef of geology students wo do not take a comprehensive course in soll mechanics within a normal civil engineering syllabus. Preface to the Second Edition The second edition of this book has been carefully updated and improved with additional paragraphs while keeping to the format and structure that has proved s0 accessible and so popular. ‘The one new section is #37, Understanding Ground Conditions, which has been included in an attempt at Persuading the engineer to stand back and take a broader View ofthe overall g2ology at a site. Though this may seem to lack relevance in assessing the smaller details of a single urban building site, it does have real benefits in ‘assessing ground conditions and evaluating potential \geohazards on larger construction projects, The concept of the big picture is always useful, and this is very much the ‘modern approach to engineering geology. Keeping to the ‘same theme of contemporary geology, a Dax on browntield sites has been included in the new section. This book was never intended to be a handbook with all the answers and all the procedures. It is aimed to introduce the critical aspects of geology to the student of ‘engineering, though it does appear to act as a convenient ‘The sectionalized layout makes the information very ac- Cessible, so that the practicing engineer wil find the book to be a useful source when he requires a rapid insight or re~ minder as he encounters geological problems with dificult ‘ground. Reterence material has therefore been added to ‘many sections, mainly in tabulated form, to provide a more ‘complete data bank. The book has been produced only in the inexpensive sof-bound format inthe hope that it will each as large a market as possible, ‘The mass of data condensed into these pages has been drawn from an enormous variety of sources, The Book is unashamedly a derived text. relying heavily on the world: wide records of engineering geology. Material has been accumulated over many years in a lecturing role. A few ‘concepts and case histories do derive from the author's personal research; but forthe dominant pan, there is a debt of gratitude acknowledged 10 the innumerable geologists and Civil engineers who have described and communicated their ‘own experiences and research, All the figures have been newly drawn, and many are derived from a combination of ‘disparate sources. All he photographs are by the author, except for the Meridian air photograph on page 39, Due thanks are atforded to the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the Nottingham Trent University where the engineering and teaching experience was gained, to Neil Dixon for his assistance with the gentle art of soi mechanics, to the staff of Blackia in Glasgow who made the innovative style of the book possible, and to the many colleagues and friends without whom nothing is possible. ™. reminder to the practising engineer. To enhance its role as source book, a long list of further reading nas been ‘added to this edition. It cites the useful key texts in each ‘subject area, and also the primary papers on case studies used within the text, in both cases without any need to include conventional references that can disrupt a text ‘As in the first edition, there are no cross references to ‘other pages in order to oxpiain terms being used. The index is intentionally comprehensive, so that itcan be used as a glossary. Each technical term in the text does appear im the index, so that the reader can check for a definition, usually atthe first citation of aterm, Sincere thanks are recorded to Peter Fookes, lan Jefferson, Mike Rosenbaum, Jerry Giles and various ‘others who have contributed to the revisions within this ‘second edition, and aiso to the students of Nottingham Trent University who have road-tested the book and made the author appreciate the minor omissions and irtations that could be smoothed out. Tw.