Book Description

This book provides a systematic, modern introduction to solid mechanics that is carefully motivated by realistic Engineering applications. Based on 25 years of teaching experience, Raymond Parnes uses a wealth of examples and a rich set of problems to build the reader's understanding of the scientific principles, without requiring 'higher mathematics'.
Highlights of the book include
* The use of modern SI units throughout
* A thorough presentation of the subject stressing basic unifying concepts
* Comprehensive coverage, including topics such as the behaviour of materials on a phenomenological level.
* Over 600 problems, many of which are designed for solving with MATLAB, MAPLE or MATHEMATICA.
Solid Mechanics in Engineering is designed for 2-semester courses in Solid Mechanics or Strength of Materials taken by students in Mechanical, Civil or Aeronautical Engineering and Materials Science and may also be used for a first-year graduate program. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Comparing this with Lord of the Rings
About the same thickness as Lord of the Rings but comes with less content. I would NOT recommend this to my worst enemy. I have seen shorter explanations with more clarity. This is not a book that a student can trust because there are so many errors. I am not happy having spent quite a bit of money for this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Soils can rarely be described as ideally elastic or perfectly plastic and yet simple elastic and plastic models form the basis for the most traditional geotechnical engineering calculations. With the advent of cheap powerful computers the possibility of performing analyses based on more realistic models has become widely available. One of the aims of this book is to describe the basic ingredients of a family of simple elastic-plastic models of soil behavior and to demonstrate how such models can be used in numerical analyses. Such numerical analyses are often regarded as mysterious black boxes but a proper appreciation of their worth requires an understanding of the numerical models on which they are based. Though the models on which this book concentrates are simple, understanding of these will indicate the ways in which more sophisticated models will perform. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Best Book for Critical State Soil Mechanics
Let me recommend this book to you, if you are interested in soil mechanics, numerical modelling, and if you try to understand soils well.
Critical states soil mechanics is a popular framework for the recent developement of many soil constitutive models. This book is a step by step exploration of this framework, especially Modified Cam Clay model, both conceptually and numerically. The stress-strain-strength behaviors of cohesive and cohesionless soils under drained or undrained condition can be quantitively determined using this simple model. More sophisticated models in the current research front, for example, MIT S2 model, bounding surface models, are all shadowed within critical state concepts.
Overall, it is a book about a very useful elasto-plastic soil mechanics model. It uses some fundamentals of elasticity and plasticity. You may meet a little bit mathematics there, but that is almost trivial compared with that used in solid mechanics and theory of plasticity.

Helpful for your work
I don't know how to explain about that but this book's really the best. ... Read more

Book Description

Written from an agronomic rather than an engineering perspective, this introduction to soil and water conservation explores a full range of topics and environmental issues, including some ignored or overlooked in other books on the subject. Comprehensive, up-to-date, and accessible, it considers the hazards posed by erosion, sedimentation, and pollution, and describes the techniques needed to conserve soil and maintain environmental quality. Situations and examples are drawn from many places to represent a cross-section of the soils, climates and cultures of the world, as well as the full scope of agricultural, engineering, mining, and other uses of the land.The volume covers conserving soil and water, soil erosion and civilization, geologic erosion and sedimentation, water erosion and sedimentation, wind erosion and deposition, predicting soil loss, soil surveys as a basis for land use planning, cropping systems, tillage practices for conservation, conservation structures, vegetating drastically disturbed areas, pastureland, rangeland, and forestland management, water conservation, soil drainage, irrigation and reclamation, soil pollution, water quality and pollution, economics of soil and water conservation, soil and water conservation agencies in the United States, and soil and water conservation around the world.For professionals that deal with soil and water conservation. ... Read more

Book Description

This second volume in the Long-Term Ecological Research Network Series provides a standardized set of protocols for measuring soil properties. Its goal is to facilitate cross-site synthesis and evaluation of ecosystem processes. It is the first broadly based compendium of methods and will be an invaluable resource for ecologists, agronomists, and soil scientists. ... Read more

Book Description

Explains the factors which determine and control the engineering properties of soils--particularly volume change, deformation, strength and permeability. New to this edition: expanded coverage of residual and tropical soils, environmental aspects of soil behavior, material on partly saturated soils, revised treatment of direct or coupled hydraulic, chemical, thermal and electrical flows through soil. ... Read more

Book Description

Covers the basic knowledge of the regulation of biosynthesis of various amino acids in plants and the application of this knowledge to the discovery of novel inhibitors of amino acid biosynthesis and for enhancing the nutritional value of plant products.Provides an exhaustive list of pathway inhibitors. ... Read more

Book Description

Essential technical information for building on expansive soils —complete with practical, proven design methods.

Expansive Soils examines factors that influence the design of foundations and pavements built on expansive soils, and explores key design procedures and remedial measures that address these factors effectively. Backed by the authors' extensive research and experience —including interviews with practicing engineers working with expansive soils —this authoritative volume is an important reference text for geotechnical and foundation engineers, geologists, construction professionals, and students.

Easy to understand and apply, Expansive Soils contains:

• Site investigation techniques for identification and classification of expansive soils
• Heave prediction methods using different types of data —with rigorous treatment of soil suction theory and measurement, oedometer tests, and more
• Alternative design procedures for drilled pier and slab-on-grade foundations, highway and airfield pavements
• Treatment and chemical stabilization techniques —including salt treatment; moisture barriers; lime and cement stabilization; and other procedures
• Remedial measures such as drainage control, and removal with replacement and compaction control
• Sample problems illustrating practical applications.

Book Description

Young readers get down in the dirt with a friendly star-nosed mole as he shows off the different parts of his garden and some amazing creatures who live in the dirt. During this exciting tour, children discover what soil is, how it is formed, and why this substance is vital to plants, animals, and humans. Colorful art and simple text show how the soil that plants grow in differs from the soil that building foundations sit in, and help youngsters understand hwy this precious resource must be conserved.

Reviews (2)

Great nonfiction
This is a great piece of nonfiction for children. It is well illustrated and the text is easily understood. Children will have a great understanding of soil and its importance. I read this to my class and we are doing one of the experiments presented in the back of the book. I love books that provide extension activities for children. Highly recommended. Young children need more exposure to good nonfiction and this book fits the bill.

get to the nitty gritty.....
I bought this book Dirt and also Sand by the same publisher. I now wish I would have gotten both copies in hardback. I nearly never feel that way because of the price difference. We buy alot of books! This is one I can use now with my middle schoolers, use later and use with Grandchildren some day. The pictures are vibranant and well laid out. The information is pertenient, and well placed and it is FUN to read! Pre-school through early High School could appreciate this book, understand it, and find it useful. Anyone who needs to understand our soil would do well with both these books. They cover different material so neither would be a repeat. National Geographic, as always did a great job.

Excited Teacher in Nevada! ... Read more

Book Description

Soil degradation, a decline in soil quality due to anthropogenic perturbations, is a serious threat with negative impacts on agriculture and the environment. The assessment and monitoring of all forms of degradation is essential to the evaluation of negative trends and implementation of mitigating technologies. Soil Degradation in the United States: Extent, Severity, and Trends is an assessment of current trends and geographic hot spots. It not only describes the types of soil degradation, but also evaluates the processes and triggers that cause the damage.Written by world-renowned leaders in the field of soil science, the book is thematically divided into three sections: Section I addresses basic processes and discusses concepts and definitions, land use change, and global trends. Section II provides the data on soil degradation by various processes such as water and wind erosion, salt build-up, and soil contamination. Section III summarizes the magnitude and severity of degradation and addresses policy issues in relation to economic and environmental impact. Several appendices provide much needed information on past trends and future projections.This book is a state-of-the-art compendium that provides a ready reference and data source for soil scientists, agronomists, environmentalists, land managers, and policy makers. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not a Dispassionate Exposition
Daniel Hillel's , Out of the Earth: Civilization and the Life of the Soil, stands as a definite "must read" for all of us. Although science-based throughout, this book reads like a mystery novel as Hillel traces man's relationship to the soil over the centuries. Ultimately , he shows us the destruction wrought on civilizations through neglect and ignorance of the soil, proving in the end, as we have somewhat suspected all along, every civilization is built from the soil--more literally than is often recognized. Hillel's understanding, and empathy, comes through distinctively in this compelling narrative, which he introduces as "not a strictly dispassionate exposition." Drawing on his background in education, he begins with a clear and concise introduction to soil science. From there, he takes us along on a journey across our planet and through time to look at the soil with a new appreciation. Hillel is the best kind of writer - seductively informative and a passionate observer. He brings to his pages an affinity for his subject that could make even a debutante enamored of the very ground upon which we all walk. Hillel details soil management in Israel where he served in different positions with the government. He is intimately familiar with desert soil management, but he ranges far and wide beyond the deserts - into the rain forest as well as the plains of the American Midwest. His experience and his vision encompass the entire earth, and his examples are born from every continent. His clear and instructive text is easily digested; his examples are well thought and concise. This book will repay your investment of time and money with a better understanding of the soil you walk daily - that "dirt" you dig out from under your nails after a day in the garden. I appreciate even more the soil which serves as the foundation of my home and upon which the culture and all that we as a society have built - the thin crust that sustains all the inhabitants of Earth; that delicate layer of the Earth in which we grow our plants and bury all our dead. We live and die as beings, societies and civilizations, in conjunction with the care we bestow upon the soil or withhold from it. We may fare no better than our ancestors in our care of the soil, but it will not be from ignorance with books like Hillel's around. This book sits handily on my bookshelf; I take it down and allow it to open to a page to "spot-peruse." It has become pivotal in my thinking about soil, water and civilization.

Out of the Earth
This is a very well written study of the intersection of soil and civilization: Mankind's effect on the life-supporting soil around them, and the usually terminal effect of the degraded soil upon mankind. Hillel has a wonderful voice and solid credentials. As Santana said, remember your history or pay the price. ... Read more

Book Description

Reflects the latest developments in the field. The emphasis is on the transport and reactions of water, heat, gases and chemicals in the unsaturated soil matrix. Incorporates the majority of modern developments in soil physics including spatial variability, characterization and field applications. Timely topics such as chemical pollution of the environment and solute transport through soil are treated thoroughly. There is increased emphasis on problem solving and the application of mathematics and computers. Includes more than 70 complete, worked examples that aid student comprehension, most of which are transport equations that are simplified to produce easy-to-use solutions. ... Read more

Book Description

Soil degradation has serious global impacts on agronomic, economic, and sociopolitical conditions, however, statistics regarding the degree of these impacts has been largely unreliable. This book aims to standardize the methodology for obtaining reliable and objective data on soil degradation. It will also identify and develop criteria for assessing the severity of soil degradation, providing a realistic scenario of the problem. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the second edition of the highly successful Foundations on Rock, and is an up-to-date practical reference book describing current engineering practice in the investigation, design and construction of foundations on rock.This title will appeal to both the practicing engineer and the student of geological engineering. ... Read more

Book Description

This book describes the bond valence model, a description of acid-base bonding which is becoming increasingly popular particularly in fields such as materials science and mineralogy where solid state inorganic chemistry is important. Recent improvements in crystal structure determination have allowed the model to become more quantitative. Unlike other models of inorganic chemical bonding, the bond valence model is simple, intuitive, and predictive, and can be used for analysing crystal structures and the conceptual modelling of local as well as extended structures. This is the first book to explore the theoretical basis of the model and to show how it can be applied to synthetic and solution chemistry. It emphasizes the separate roles of the constraints of chemistry and of three-dimensional space by analysing the chemistry of solids. Many applications of the model in physics, materials science, chemistry, mineralogy, soil science, surface science, and molecular biology are reviewed. The final chapter describes how the bond valence model relates to and represents a simplification of other models of inorganic chemical bonding. ... Read more

Book Description

The interface of land and water has always played an important role in human activities; settlements are often located at coasts, riverbanks and deltas. When the interface consists of rock, erosion is usually negligible, but finer material can make protection necessary. In a natural situation, the interface moves freely with erosion and sedimentation.

A lot of cases remain where protection is useful. Along canals, rivers, estuaries, bank protection is often needed to withstand the loads caused by flow, waves or ships. Shore protection structures include seawalls, revetments, dikes and groynes. Bed protection is necessary where bottom erosion could endanger structures, like bridge piers, abutments, in-or outlets sluices or any other structures that let water pass through. An excellent reference for graduate students and professionals, Introduction to Bed, Bank and Shore Protection applies sound scientific principles and observations to the solution of engineering problems.
... Read more

Book Description

It is 10 years since publication of the first edition of soils of the past. In that time the subject of paleopedology has grown rapidly, and established itself within the mainstream of geological research.

Ancient soils contain vital mineralogical, geochemical, textural, and paleontological information about the continental environments in which they formed. Advances in isotope geochemistry and sequence-stratigraphic models allow ever more detailed reconstructions of environmental change from paleosols, and new insights into such diverse topics as atmospheric chemistry, global change, palaeoecology, geobiology and mass extinction.

This fully updated second edition of Soils of the Past describes the main types of ancient soil, procedures for their recognition and study, their classification and, most significantly, a wide array of examples of how paleosols have been used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction.

Soils of the past is written for advanced undergraduates studying paleopedology as part of a degree in geology, environmental science, or physical geography, and for interested professional earth scientists. ... Read more