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David Price had written the greater part of this book by the time he died; it has been completed by his colleagues as a tribute to the many contributions he made to the subject of engineering geology through his professional and academic life. David graduated from the University of Wales in 1954 with the degree of Geology with Mathematics and Physics, joined the Overseas Division of the Geological Survey and was despatched to what was then British Guiana, to map economic mineral reserves and construction materials. He returned to the UK in 1958 to join the construction company George Wimpey. The post-war boom was beginning and David was engaged as an engineering geologist. In those days industry appreciated the need for research, as little was known for the tasks that had to be completed, and David joined a remarkable group of scientists and engineers at Wimpey's Central Laboratory at Hayes; the young reader can best visualise this as an "industrial university". At that time formal education and training in engineering geology did not exist and as David recalled "... no one really knew what they were doing; we followed the principles of our subject, used common sense, learnt from what happened on site and talked to those who seemed to know more than we on the subject in hand. " It was David's generation that established "Engineering Geology", as we now know it, in the UK and he played a full part in its foundation.
List of contents
The Basis of Engineering Geology.- The Basis of Engineering Geology.- Investigating the Ground.- Geological Materials.- Geological Masses.- Maps.- Recovery of Samples.- Field Tests and Measurements.- Organisation, Design and Reporting of Site Investigations.- Ground Behaviour.- Ground Response to Engineering and Natural Processes.- Withdrawal of Support by Surface Excavations.- Withdrawl of Support by Underground Excavations.- Static Loading of the Ground.- Dynamic Loading of the Ground.- Ground Reaction to Changes of Fluid and Gas Pressures.
About the author
Summary
This book explains the influence ground conditions can have upon engineering with rocks and soils, and upon designing, analysing and executing an engineered response to the geological and geomorphological processes acting on them; these subjects form the essence of Engineering Geology. The text is written for students of the subject, either geologists or engineers, who encounter the challenge of idealising the ground and its processes for the purposes of design and of quantifying them for the purpose of analysis. With this in mind the book describes how geology can dictate the design of ground investigations, influence the interpretation of its findings, and be incorporated into design and analysis. The reader is constantly reminded of basic geology; the simple things that constitute the big picture", a neglect of which may cause design and analyses to be at fault, and construction not to function as it should.
Report
From the reviews:
"The book is weighted very strongly toward the practical application of engineering geology principles and the methods generally used in gathering essential data ... and composing useful engineering reports. ... It covers geological materials, geological masses, maps, sampling techniques, field tests, organization and reporting of site investigations, and ground behavior under various conditions, including both natural and man-made disturbances. ... Summing up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, faculty, and practitioners." (C. W. Dimmick, Choice, Vol. 46 (9), May, 2009)
