5R25. Mechanics of Non-Homogeneous and Anisotropic Foundations. Foundations of Engineering Mechanics Series. - GB Muravskii (Geotech Dept, Technion, Haifa, 32000, Israel). Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 2001. 364 pp. ISBN 3-540-41631-5. $139.00.
Reviewed by JA Cheney (Dept of Civil and Env Eng, UC, Davis CA 95616).
This book contains the results of investigations in the area of statics and dynamics of heterogeneous and anisotropic foundations carried out by the author in the last five years while working in the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology. It is a reference book directed toward engineers and scientists in the areas of soil mechanics, soil-structure interaction, seismology, and geophysics. As an introduction to the subject, a list of 134 references is given which is used to discuss previous work in the literature. The purpose of the book is to present a series of solutions (most previously unpublished) for the case of transverse isotropy, and where the characteristics of the half-space vary only with respect to depth.
Special emphasis is made on the studies of steady-state harmonic vibrations of half-spaces under loads at the surface of the half-space or at depth. In addition, a study of harmonic vibrations of a circular stiff disk in contact with the surface of the half-space is presented. Given solutions of problems of harmonic vibration, it is possible to construct solutions for arbitrary time dependent loads.
The book is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 deals with the problem of vibrations in the transversely isotropic half-space subjected to specific loads. Attention is given to the case of concentrated vertical and horizontal forces, and thus the solutions are available for any arbitrary distribution of loads.
In the following three chapters, problems dealing with the homogeneous transversely isotropic half-space (Ch 2), isotropic linearly heterogeneous half-space (Ch 3), and a transversely isotropic half-space with shear modulus varying exponentially with depth (Ch 4) are considered. In the latter case, two options are considered: first with an infinite increase in shear modulus with depth and, second, one with a finite limit for the shear modulus.
In Chapter 5, numerical-analytical methods of constructing solutions for static and dynamic problems in a heterogeneous half-space are presented. The well-known technique of replacement of a half-space with a set of homogeneous layers is referred to as a numerical method. This technique is coupled with exact solutions of the corresponding differential equations for the layers. Two approaches are employed to construct solutions for the layers: a piecewise constant approximation of the coefficients of the equations and, second, the Runge-Kutta method.
The book presents, graphically, a large number of results of computations which give a clear picture of the behavior of the mechanical systems considered. These results can serve in estimating the accuracy of other simplified methods, such as combining the division of the half-space into thin layers with setting a form of displacement distribution within the layers.
In addition to the extensive reference list, an ample subject index is included. This reviewer believes this book, Mechanics of Non-Homogeneous and Anisotropic Foundations, to be a valuable addition to the scientific literature on the subject, and at least should be placed in libraries.
