Modeling in Geomechanics

Modeling in Geomechanics Edited by Musharraf Zaman The University of Oklahoma, USA Giancarlo Gioda Politecnico di Milano, Italy John Booker University of Sydney, Australia Geomechanics is an interdisciplinary field involving the study of natural and man--made systems with emphasis on the mechanics of various interacting phenomena. It comprises numerous aspects of engineering and scientific disciplines, which share common bases in mathematics, mechanics and physics. In recent years, with the extraordinary growth of computing power and resources, progress in the generation of new theories and techniques for the analysis of geomechanics problems has far surpassed their actual use by practitioners. This has led to a gap between our ability to deal with complex, inter--disciplinary problems in geomechanics and the actual impact of these advances on engineering practice. This book contains contributions from an international group of accomplished researchers and practitioners from various branches of soil and rock engineering, and presents the latest theoretical developments and practical applications of modeling in geomechanics. Chapters are grouped into four main sections: aeo Computational procedures aeo Constitutive modeling and testing aeo Modeling and simulation aeo Applications Efforts have been made to include recent developments and provide suggestions and examples as to how these can be applied in modeling actual engineering problems. Researchers, practitioners and students in geomechanics, mechanics of solids, soil and rock engineering will find this book an invaluable reference.