Unsaturated Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice

This book provides a sound basis in the challenging area of the mechanics of unsaturated geomaterials. The objective is to supply the reader with an exhaustive overview starting from the basics and covering the most recent theories and applications (i.e. natural disasters, nuclear waste disposal, oil and agriculture productions). The presentation of the fundamental concepts is based on an interdisciplinary approach, in the areas of soil, rock and cement-based material mechanics.

Knowledge of the behavior of soil mechanics is essential for forecasting the internal displacements and actions of any construction. This book, although theoretical at first glance, also offers a more practical scope, giving readers adequate tools to plan geotechnical projects correctly.

An understanding of the mechanical properties of unsaturated soils is crucial for geotechnical engineers worldwide, as well as to those concerned with the interaction of structures with the ground. This book deals principally with fine-grained clays and silts, or soils containing coarser sand and gravel particles but with a significant percentage of fines. The study of unsaturated soil is a practical subject, linking fundamental science to nature. Soils in general are inherently variable and their behaviour is not easy to analyse or predict, and unsaturated soils raise the complexity to a higher level. Even amongst practicing engineers, there is often lack of awareness of the intricacies of the subject. This book offers a perspective of unsaturated soils based on recent research and demonstrates how this dovetails with the general discipline of soil mechanics. Following an introduction to the basic soil variables, the phases, the phase interactions and the relevance of soil structure, an up-to-date review of laboratory testing techniques is presented. This includes suction measurement and control techniques in triaxial cell testing. This is followed by an introduction to stress state variables, critical state and theoretical models in unsaturated soils. A detailed description of the thermodynamic principles as applied to multi-phase materials under equilibrium conditions follows. These principles are then used to explore and develop a fundamental theoretical basis for analysing unsaturated soils. Soil structure is broken down into its component parts to develop equations describing the dual stress regime. The critical state strength and compression characteristics of unsaturated soils are examined and it is shown how the behaviour may be viewed as a three-dimensional model in dimensionless stress-volume space. The analysis is then extended to the work input into unsaturated soils and the development of conjugate stress, volumetric and strain-increment variables. These are used to examine the micromechanical behaviour of kaolin specimens subjected to triaxial shear strength tests and lead to observations not detectable by other means. Unsaturated Soils: A fundamental interpretation of soil behaviour covers a rapidly advancing area of study, research and engineering practice and offers a deeper appreciation of the key characteristics of unsaturated soil. It provides students and researchers with a framework for understanding soil behaviour and demonstrates how to interpret experimental strength and compression data. provides engineers with a deeper appreciation of key characteristics of unsaturated soils covers a rapidly advancing area of study, research and engineering practice provides students and researchers a framework for understanding soil behaviour shows how to interpret experimental data on strength and compression the limited number of books on the subject are all out of date

Microchemical Engineering in Practice provides the information chemists and engineers need to evaluate the use of microreactors, covering the technical, operational, and economic considerations for various applications. It explains the systems needed to use microreactors in production and presents examples of microreactor use in different chemistries, including larger scale production processes. There are guidelines on calculating the costs and the risks of production using continuous flow microreactors. Complete with case studies, this is an essential guide for chemists and engineers interested in investigating the advantages of chemical microreactors.

There has been growing interest in the model of semiconductor lasers with non-Markovian relaxation. Introducing senior and graduate students and research scientists to quantum mechanics concepts, which are becoming an essential tool in modern engineering, Engineering Quantum Mechanics develops a non-Markovian model for the optical gain of semiconductor, taking into account the rigorous electronic band-structure and the non-Markovian relaxation using the quantum statistical reduced-density operator formalism. Example programs based on Fortran 77 are provided for band-structures of zinc-blende and wurtzite quantum wells.

This broad-based book covers the three major areas of Chemical Engineering. Most of the books in the market involve one of the individual areas, namely, Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer or Mass Transfer, rather than all the three. This book presents this material in a single source. This avoids the user having to refer to a number of books to obtain information. Most published books covering all the three areas in a single source emphasize theory rather than practical issues. This book is written with emphasis on practice with brief theoretical concepts in the form of questions and answers, not adopting stereo-typed question-answer approach practiced in certain books in the market, bridging the two areas of theory and practice with respect to the core areas of chemical engineering. Most parts of the book are easily understandable by those who are not experts in the field. Fluid Mechanics chapters include basics on non-Newtonian systems which, for instance find importance in polymer and food processing, flow through piping, flow measurement, pumps, mixing technology and fluidization and two phase flow. For example it covers types of pumps and valves, membranes and areas of their use, different equipment commonly used in chemical industry and their merits and drawbacks. Heat Transfer chapters cover the basics involved in conduction, convection and radiation, with emphasis on insulation, heat exchangers, evaporators, condensers, reboilers and fired heaters. Design methods, performance, operational issues and maintenance problems are highlighted. Topics such as heat pipes, heat pumps, heat tracing, steam traps, refrigeration, cooling of electronic devices, NOx control find place in the book. Mass transfer chapters cover basics such as diffusion, theories, analogies, mass transfer coefficients and mass transfer with chemical reaction, equipment such as tray and packed columns, column internals including structural packings, design, operational and installation issues, drums and separators are discussed in good detail. Absorption, distillation, extraction and leaching with applications and design methods, including emerging practices involving Divided Wall and Petluk column arrangements, multicomponent separations, supercritical solvent extraction find place in the book.

A much-needed guide on how to use numerical methods to solve practical engineering problems Bridging the gap between mathematics and engineering, Numerical Analysis with Applications in Mechanics and Engineering arms readers with powerful tools for solving real-world problems in mechanics, physics, and civil and mechanical engineering. Unlike most books on numerical analysis, this outstanding work links theory and application, explains the mathematics in simple engineering terms, and clearly demonstrates how to use numerical methods to obtain solutions and interpret results. Each chapter is devoted to a unique analytical methodology, including a detailed theoretical presentation and emphasis on practical computation. Ample numerical examples and applications round out the discussion, illustrating how to work out specific problems of mechanics, physics, or engineering. Readers will learn the core purpose of each technique, develop hands-on problem-solving skills, and get a complete picture of the studied phenomenon. Coverage includes: How to deal with errors in numerical analysis Approaches for solving problems in linear and nonlinear systems Methods of interpolation and approximation of functions Formulas and calculations for numerical differentiation and integration Integration of ordinary and partial differential equations Optimization methods and solutions for programming problems Numerical Analysis with Applications in Mechanics and Engineering is a one-of-a-kind guide for engineers using mathematical models and methods, as well as for physicists and mathematicians interested in engineering problems.

An immense treasure trove containing hundreds of equipment symptoms, arranged so as to allow swift identification and elimination of the causes. These rules of thumb are the result of preserving and structuring the immense knowledge of experienced engineers collected and compiled by the author – an experienced engineer himself – into an invaluable book that helps younger engineers find their way from symptoms to causes. This sourcebook is unrivalled in its depth and breadth of coverage, listing five important aspects for each piece of equipment: * area of application * sizing guidelines * capital cost including difficult-to-find installation factors * principles of good practice, and * good approaches to troubleshooting. Extensive cross-referencing takes into account that some items of equipment are used for many different purposes, and covers not only the most familiar types, but special care has been taken to also include less common ones. Consistent terminology and SI units are used throughout the book, while a detailed index quickly and reliably directs readers, thus aiding engineers in their everyday work at chemical plants: from keywords to solutions in a matter of minutes.

Principles and Practice of Soil Science, Fourth Editionprovides a current and comprehensive introduction to soil science for students in the fields of environmental and agricultural science, ecology, soil and land management, natural resource management and environmental engineering. Covers all aspects of soil science including soil habitat, processes in the soil environment and soil management. Emphasizes the applications of soil science to the solution of practical problems in soil and land management. Highlights real world examples drawn from the author’s international experience in the field. Includes an expanded colour section of soil profiles and other features, and greater coverage of international soil classification Features new problem sets and questions at the end of each chapter, designed to reinforce important principles. An answer key is provided at the end of the text. Artwork from the book is available to instructors online at www.blackwellpublishing.com/white

The book aims at providing to master and PhD students the basic knowledge in fluid mechanics for chemical engineers. Applications to mixing and reaction and to mechanical separation processes are addressed. The first part of the book presents the principles of fluid mechanics used by chemical engineers, with a focus on global theorems for describing the behavior of hydraulic systems. The second part deals with turbulence and its application for stirring, mixing and chemical reaction. The third part addresses mechanical separation processes by considering the dynamics of particles in a flow and the processes of filtration, fluidization and centrifugation. The mechanics of granular media is finally discussed.