FOUND 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, a professional skill and enginoering achievement which always fas to rely on the ground on which its structures stand Geology is therefore vital to success in civil engineering, and this book brings fo the reader those many aspects of the ‘geological sciences specitcaly relevant to the profession This book is structured primarily for tne student of cil engineering whe starts with no knowledge of geology but is required to understand the ground conditions and geological processes which, both literally and metaphorically, are the foundations of his future professional activities. It'also ‘tovides an accessible source of information forthe practising {iil engineer. ‘All the material is presented in indwiduat double-page spreads. Each subject is covered by notes, diagrams. tables and case histories, alli bite-sized sections instead of being lost in a long continuous text, Ths slyie makes the infor: mation very accessible; the reader can dip in and find what ‘neneeds, ands also visually guided into relevant associated topics. There is even some intended repetition of small sections of material which are pertinent to more than. ane aspect within the interrelated framework of @ geological Understanding “The contents ofthe book follow a basic university course In engineering geology. The fr¢e-standing sections and sub: seetions permit infinite flexibility, so that any lecturer can use the book as his course text while tailoring his programme to his own personal style. The single section summarizing soi strength has been included forthe benett of geology students who do not take a comprehensive course it soil mechanics Within @ normal civil engineering syllabus. Preface to the Second Edition The second edtion of this book has been carefully updated and improved with addtional paragraphs while keeping fo the formal and structure that has proved $0 accessible and so popular. ‘The one new section is #37, Understancing Ground Conditions, whieh Was been included in an attempt at persuading the engineer to stand back and take a broader ‘iow ofthe overall geology ata site. Though this may seem to lack relevance in assessing the smalor details of a single urban buiting site, it does have real benef in assessing. ground conditions and evaluating potential ‘geohazards on larger construction projects. The concept of the big picture is aways useful, and this is very much the ‘adem approach 10 engineering geology. Keepin & the Same theme of contemporary geology, a box on Browns Sis has been included in the new section. “This Book wes never intended i be a handbook wih all the answers and all the procedures. It's aimed to ‘ntinduce the crtcal aspects of geology tothe student of engineering, trough t does appear to act as a convient “The sectionalized layout makes the information very ac- ccessible, 0 thal the practicing engines wil find the book to be a useful source when he requires a rapid insight or ro- minder 8s he encounters geological problems with dificult ‘ground. Reference material has therefore been added to any sections, mainly in tabulated form, to provide a more ‘complete data bank. The book has been produced only in the inexpensive saf-bound format inthe hope that it will reach as large a market as possible. ‘The mass of data condensed into these pages has beert drawn from an enormous variety of sources, The Book i unashamedly a derived text, relying heavily on the wortd- wide records of engineering geology. Material has been accumulated over many years in a lecturing role. A tow concepts and. case histories do derive from the author's personal research; but for the dominart part here is @ debt Of gratitude acknowledged to the innumerable geologists and Civil engineers who Rave described and communicated their ‘own experiences and research, all tne figures have been newly drawn, and many are dered from a combination of isparate sources, All the photographs are by the author, ‘9xc9p1 fr the Meridian air photograph on page 39, ue thanks are afforded to tne Department of Civil anc ‘Structural Engineering at the Nottingham Trent University where the engineering and teaching experience was gained to Neil Dixon for his assistance with the gentie ar of soi ‘mechanics, tothe staff of Blackie in Glasgow who made the innovative style of the book possible, and to the many colleagues and (cands without whom nothing is possible. Tw. reminder to the practising engineer, To enhance its role as '@ source book, a long list of turner reagiag has 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 inthe first edition, tere are no cross references to other ‘in fda 10 explain terms being used. The index is intentionally comprehensive, so rat itcan be used 8 a glossary. Each technical term in the tex! does appear in the index. so that the reader can check for a definition, usually atthe fist citation of a term. ‘Sincere thanks are recorded to Peter Fookes, lan Jefferson, Mike Rosenbaum, Jerry Giles and various ‘others wno rave contributed to the revisions within this second edition, and also to the students of Nottingham Trent University who have road-tested te book and made the author appreciate the minor omissions and ientations that could be smoothed out Tw.