Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology

doi: 10.1144/qjegh2012-026 2012, v.45; p505-508.Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology

  Natural Stone Resources for Historical Monuments

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Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, 45, 505 –508 1470-9236/12 $15.00 © 2012 Geological Society of London

Manual of Soil Laboratory Testing—Volume 1: Soil Classifi­cation and Compaction Tests, 3rd edition, by K. H. Head. Whittles Publishing, Caithness, UK, 2006 (reprinted 2009), £90.00, hardback, c. 416pp., ISBN: 1-904445-36-5

This well-known three-volume series of books has formed an indispensable part of the equipment in any engineering or geological soils testing laboratory since its launch in 1982. The third edition of the series is launched with Volume 1, which deals with basic classification and index tests along with compaction.

The basic premise is to take British Standard test methods (primarily those contained in BS1377—Methods of Test for Soils for Civil Engineering) as a starting point and to provide further explanation of the principles and operation of the tests, to high-light points of potential difficulty, and, most importantly, to pro-vide a step-by-step guide to executing the test methods correctly. Where appropriate, guidance is given on other test methods, such as some ASTM standards. The calibration of test equipment is covered thoroughly. It does therefore go considerably beyond the material presented in the British Standard and is truly a working manual. (The copy of the second edition of Volume 1 that I bor-rowed from the company library for the purposes of this review is liberally marked with soil detritus.)

In general this volume covers Parts 1–4 of BS1377 (there are nine parts in total), as follows.

Part 1: General requirements and sample preparation (Chapter 1).Part 2: Classification tests (Chapters 2, 3 and 4).Part 3: Chemical and electrochemical tests (Chapter 5). It

should be noted that the electrochemical tests described in BS1377 (redox potential and resistivity) appear not to be covered by Head.

Part 4: Compaction-related tests (Chapters 3 and 6). It should be noted that the CBR tests, found in Part 4 of BS1377, have in previ-ous editions been covered in Volume 2 of Head’s series.

Clearly, the mapping of the book contents onto the parts of the BS1377 is not quite direct. It does, however, follow a logical course and it should be remembered that when the first editions of the books by Head were published BS1377 was contained in a single volume.

Chapter 7 covers the description of soils and is based primarily upon BS5930 (1999). Although mention is made of BS EN 14688-1 (2002), which appears to be undergoing implementation as I write this review, it is not entirely clear just how the text will fit into this scheme of description and classification and thus how durable this chapter will be.

Such relatively minor points aside, this remains the definitive text on the subject and a vital addition to BS1377 Parts 1–4. It is worth noting that a full set of BS1377 currently costs £585 for Members (£1170 for non-Members). This series of three books, if Whittles can manage to maintain the prices of Volumes 2 and 3 at something close to that of the present volume, start to look like a veritable bargain at less than £300 for the set.

I will look forward to the publication of the remaining two volumes covering BS1377 Parts 5–9.

M. G. Winter

doI: 10.1144/qjegh2011-059.

Rudolph Glossop and the Rise of Geotechnology—Selected Journals, Diaries and Letters edited by Ronald E. Williams. Whittles Publishing, Caithness, UK, 2011, £50.00, hardback, 284pp., ISBN 978-1-84995-021-3

This book is described as ‘A personal account of the role played by Rudolph Glossop, one of the founders of geotechnical engi-neering in the UK’. In this it most certainly lives up to expecta-tions, as most of the words are by either Glossop himself or his contemporaries; the editor has played a commendably restrained and judicious role in providing sufficient background to give context whilst not overwhelming the reader with superfluous information.

The book is divided into Early Journals, Later Journals, Selected diaries and Letters, Selected Writings, and Early Technical Papers. The Early Journals provide a very clear view of the young Glossop, and I found the sections on his time in Africa and his activities dur-ing the Second World War particularly fascinating. The former read almost like Boy’s Own adventure stories and are a thoroughly good read in their own right. From the Second World War on the Journals become more serious; if they and their writer had not then there would have been no call for this book. None the less they remain a thoroughly engaging read and room is left for a few enter-taining social digressions.

The Selected diaries and Letters maintain the theme and the entries on the derwent dam are particularly poignant, and those relating to Terzaghi, Bjerrum and others give further insight not only into the development of the emergent subject but also into the nature of the characters involved.

The selected writings almost maintain the interest level of that which precedes them but it would have been useful if they had all been presented in their complete form. The John Mowlem Annual Report for 1939, much more interesting than the title might sug-gest, is a case in point. This is of course a very minor point. Although I also would have liked to read more of the Journals, this thought is tempered by the strong suspicion that the editor has already gleaned the most interesting, readable and important parts.

Glossop was involved in the founding not only of Géotechnique but also of the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology (now and Hydrogeology); his influence on Engineering Geology was at least as great as his influence on Geotechnical Engineering.

In case it is not already apparent, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the often highly personal insights that it affords the reader. This book comes highly recommended to all who have an interest in our profession that stretches beyond the month-end pay packet.

M. G. Winter

doI: 10.1144/qjegh2011-060

Geotechnical Slope Analysis by Robin Chowdhury, Phil Flentje and Gautam Bhattacharya. CRC Press, London, 2010, £109.00, hardbound, 737pp., ISBN: 978-0-415-46974-6

This book is a second edition of Slope Analysis, which was pub-lished by the first author in the late 1970s. As is noted in the

Book Reviews

11­059research­articleBook Review45X10.1144/1470-9236/11-059M. G. WinterBook Reviews2012

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Preface to the new edition, significant advances have been made in the knowledge and practices of slope analysis over the ensu-ing three decades. The title of the book is appropriate, being a very succinct and precise description of the content. It focuses primarily on the geotechnical analysis of slopes at particular sites rather than the more geographically diverse regional studies that typically rest within some form of geographic information system. That is not to say that it ignores the latter (it does not; Chapter 11 introduces this subject), but merely to acknowledge that this is not the focus of this extensive text.

The aims of the book and an overview in the context of slopes, geology and materials are presented in Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 pre-sents basic geotechnical concepts. Unsurprisingly, probabilistic con-cepts figure large and these are introduced in Chapter 3, and, along with reliability, are treated much more extensively in Chapter 10. Chapter 11 presents a series of useful case studies of urban slope stability with a strong emphasis upon Australia examples. Between Chapters 3 and 10 we are treated to a series of chapters that covers limit equilibrium methods (Chapters 4 and 5), stress deformation analyses (Chapter 6), natural slope analysis (Chapter 7), plasticity and shear band analyses (Chapter 8), and seismic slope analysis (Chapter 9). These chapters are usefully peppered with examples that illustrate the practical application of the approaches discussed.

The text is inevitably mathematical in its treatment of much of the subject matter but more wordy critical discussion is included and this adds considerable value to the overall presentation of the material. one such example is the treatment of the Vaiont dam landslide, which is used as an example in several places in the book, but is treated more extensively at the end of Chapter 7. This takes the form of a discussion of the various analyses undertaken of the failure, and although the points made are by no means conclu-sive the discussion is itself interesting.

The authors have undertaken a truly gargantuan task in assem-bling this work and the presence of some typographical errors seems inevitable. For example, the Vaiont slide is incorrectly referred to as having occurred in 1964 on page 390, but the book correctly reports the date of occurrence as 1963 elsewhere. These minor issues do not detract from the use of the book and a helpful errata sheet is availa-ble from the publisher’s website as of october 2011.

This book is also available in electronic format, but at around US$180 this seems relatively costly compared with the hardback version reviewed here, albeit the electronic version is somewhat more portable. It does seem rather a pity, to me at least, that the publishers have not made both versions available in a reasonably priced package, perhaps with the electronic version being included in Cd-RoM format with the hardcopy. The book is produced throughout in black and white, with the exception of 18 figures that are reproduced in colour at the end of the volume. Unusually, their black and white counterparts remain in the text and the colour fig-ures effectively repeat the information but in a richer format. This is a useful means of keeping production costs down while giving readers the added value of colour images.

For my own part this is not a book that I would normally read from cover to cover, but it is one that I will dip into as and when the need arises, and I do not anticipate that the need will be infrequent.

M. G. Winter

doI: 10.1144/qjegh2011-061.

Introduction to Soft Soil Geotechnique: Content, Context and Application by F. Barends. IoS Press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2011, €45.00/US$72.00, softbound, 354pp., ISBN: 978-1-60750-788-8

The pressure on habitable space has, in recent years, led to a greater level of development in areas such as deltas and river basins. These also tend to be areas of fertile soil and, being very low-lying, are under pressure from the effects of climate change and particularly the increased risk of flooding. It is upon the engineering soils in these areas, primarily sand, silt, clay and peat, that the author focuses his attention.

The book follows a broadly conventional layout considering fundamentals and concepts such as soil characteristics, site inves-tigation, soil and groundwater, uniaxial stress and strain, creep and consolidation, and triaxial stress and strain; through methods and tools (uncertainty and reliability, and observation and prediction); to design and construction, which includes stability of slopes, sta-bility of earth-retaining structures, footings and pile foundations, methods of ground improvement, environmental engineering, underground engineering, coastal engineering and, finally, dyke engineering. It is notable that around half of the book is devoted to the section on design and construction. Exercises are given at the end of each chapter with a compendium of answers at the end of the book.

Throughout the book, as one might reasonably expect, the emphasis is very much upon soft soils. So far so good, and this lat-ter aspect makes the book stand out from the crowd of other books that tend not to focus upon soils of a given description or type. However, what potentially makes the real difference for this vol-ume is the claim on the cover that ‘the book deals with the issue of context—the society within which the geotechnical engineer must operate—and explores the aspects of public perception and trans-parency which must be addressed if the engineer is to enjoy ade-quate social support for his indispensable contribution.’ This is the bit that piqued my interest and made me want to read (and review) this book; in context, it seems reasonable to extend the profes-sional coverage to engineering geologists.

Essential to this aspect of the book is the historical account of geotechnical achievements that the author gives in Chapter 1. As the author acknowledges, this has a rather strong bias toward dutch history, but this does of course mean that the issues dis-cussed relate rather nicely to the soft soils that form his main focus. This provides a fascinating introduction to the subject and, perhaps, to a non-dutch eye, one that is rather different from the norm. From around 1800 the text becomes somewhat compressed, with the extensive use of bullet-points, and it seems likely that there is a more extensive historical text in the offing for some time in the future. The author is unafraid to incorporate per-sonal experience; for example, at the end of Chapter 3 on Site Investigations, he diverges into a detailed discussion on the out-comes of a workshop on the value of various experimental tech-niques used in geotechnical engineering to understand the behaviour and performance of various types of infrastructure.

The author also presents an interesting viewpoint on the devel-opment of geotechnical engineering as a subject area, drawing upon the hype curve. This illustrates how the profile of the profes-sion and subject has been raised through the periods of ‘technical breakthrough’ and ‘great expectations’ before arriving at its cur-rent, somewhat reduced, state of ‘disappointment’. All being equal the profile of the profession may next be expected to rise, albeit not to its previous heights, through the stages of ‘how does it really work?’ and ‘mature technology’; one can only hope.

However, where the author really cuts loose with his opinions is in the Annex ‘About the Author’, where he discusses uncertainties in the geotechnical knowledge and the tension that this can create between our profession and society at large. An interesting inter-pretation of the technology cycle is also presented and related back to the context of how we interact and operate within society and the need to make ourselves and our work understood.

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If you seek a standard soil mechanics–geotechnical engineering textbook then this is most certainly not it. If, however, your need is for a textbook that focuses upon soft soils then this most certainly is a very good option and, in all truth, I am not aware of any other options. The excursions into the author’s opinions on wider social and economic issues, for this reader at least, add value by being thought provoking. Certainly the need for technical experts to inter-act with the bureaucratic and political decision-makers who deter-mine social agenda and investment priorities is highlighted, as is the need for that interaction to include a clear articulation of our value to society.

The book is also available in electronic format at the same price as the hardcopy version.

M. G. WinterdoI: 10.1144/qjegh2011-062.

Geological Engineering. Luis I. Gonzalez de Vallejo and Mer-cedes Ferrer with foreword by Michael H. de Freitas. CRC Press, 2011, £76.99, hardback, 678 pp, ISBN: 978-0-415-41352-7

This volume seeks to cover a huge amount of ground, and the authors should be congratulated for attempting to synthesize the subject of geological engineering into a single text. The book itself is a handsome hardback object, made from good quality paper, with colour diagrams and images on almost every page. The layout is clear and well indexed, although some subjects, for instance slope stability analyses, are split across more than one chapter. It reads very much like a condensed undergraduate course text, providing the foundation for more detailed study from other sources.

The first half of the book covers basic theory such as rock and soil mechanics, hydrogeology and site investigation in the broad-est sense. Although no substitute for a specialist text in those fields, this provides an excellent overview that some might find useful. The rock mechanics sections dealing with fundamentals and rock mass characterization are particularly well presented and thought through. Certainly, for a student looking to develop a broader understanding of their subject, there are plenty of thought-ful comments that provide extra background and ideas for research. ‘Applied’ chapters form the second half of the book, and, certainly, this part is more impressive. Subjects such as dam and tunnel design or slope stability analyses are covered with clarity and brevity. Although not widely referenced, the reader could easily work out where to obtain more detailed information. With some exceptions the many worked examples, presented in easy-to-read and generally well-developed single-page ‘boxes’, will be of great use to students trying to master a certain piece of analysis or design. These are excellent and have just enough detail to give students greater confidence where needed to tackle more complex texts.

The book does have areas that could be strengthened in future editions. First, many diagrams and images are poorly annotated, with descriptions and labels so brief as to render their subject almost redundant. Although this may be a publishing decision to ensure correct translation between language edi-tions, it does weaken the book. Second, we were surprised that a text in 2011 devoted so little space to the fields of contaminated land, urban geology, geographic information systems and 3d modelling technologies; others may find a lack of risk-based analyses an omission. The fundamental fields of geological mapping and modelling are only briefly described in Chapter 7, and we would hope that this important subject could be added to in future editions.

This book is not cheap and has some areas that could usefully be improved. It is not a textual panacea but an accessible, wide-rang-ing volume that we would recommend to undergraduates and that should be a useful addition to the bookshelves of any practising engineering geologists with the occasional need for a refresher on many practical elements of their trade.

Andy Gibson & Nick Koor

doI: 10.1144/qjegh2012-015.

Geomaterials under the Microscope. Jeremy P. Ingham. Manson Publishing, London, 2011, hardback, 192 pp, isbn 978-1-840761-320, £50.

This 192 page book with its 370 full colour photographs, almost every one of a thin section or a highly polished section of some type of geomaterial, will definitely be a boon to all geologists involved in the use of rock in the construction industry. Although this is a relatively small and specialized group of geologists, every one of us should have a copy of this excellent book, as should any geologist or petrologist with some involvement in construction materials. It should also be an essential part of the training of undergraduate engineering geologists.

From Chapter 1, which includes a general overview of geoma-terials, petrography and optical mineralogy, to the useful appendi-ces and comprehensive list of references, this book was a delight to read and kept opening my eyes to new knowledge and techniques as well as numerous useful tips and information regarding the petrography of construction materials under the microscope. Chapter 1 also includes a very useful table summarizing the current British, European and US standards available for the petrographic examination of geomaterials.

The main text consist of nine chapters covering the latest think-ing on the petrographic problems associated with the following: building stone; roofing slate; aggregates; concrete; concrete prod-ucts; floor finishes; mortar, plaster and render; bricks, terracotta and other ceramics; bituminous mixtures. Although the contents of the book relate primarily to British and European materials and standards, examples from all over the world are included, and the overall text and content is applicable to essentially any geomaterial, irrespective of its country of origin.

The text describes the actual mineralogy, problems and pro-cesses, and the caption accompanying each of the excellent photo-graphs highlights the mineralogical content and texture illustrated in the photographs. I know of no other book that deals with geoma-terials in this manner. There are also 30 clear and well-laid out tables comparing materials or summarizing important features.

The book has a comprehensive index highlighting not only the page numbers of the various contents but also identifying whether tables or figures are included. In addition there are nine pages of references, covering almost every aspect relevant to the title. These alone make the book extremely useful for post-graduate studies.

My only criticism is that the colours in some of the photographs are not as distinct as the text indicates, occasionally making it dif-ficult to identify some of the features, especially if the reader is not experienced in this type of petrography. It is suggested that arrows or pointers to specific minerals or features in the photographs, or annotations, would make a few of the photographs easier to inter-pret and highlight small but important characteristics.

As an engineering geologist regularly involved in geomaterials problems, I found the book extremely interesting and useful. The author does indicate that it is aimed at other scientists in the fields of architecture, surveying, engineering, construction, archaeology,

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conservation, materials science and forensic science. I think that geologists involved in construction materials will definitely benefit from this book, but I feel that, although non-geologists will find the text of considerable interest, the ‘hidden’ detail in the thin-section photographs that is studied by undergraduate geologists may be lost to them and appreciation of this will be restricted to geo logists with a good grounding in thin-section micrography.

In the preface the author indicates that it is hoped that the book will be updated at regular intervals and any contributions and case study examples would be welcomed for possible inclusion. one area that could certainly be considered for future inclusion is that of waste or by-product materials, which are expected to become sig-nificant ‘geomaterials’ of the future.

For a book of this type, unexpectedly few typos and errors were noticed, and the book is beautifully printed on glossy paper with a solid hard cover that showed no wear and tear even after compre-hensively studying its contents and it being in and out of travel bags.

I have no hesitation in recommending that this book should be on every geomaterials specialist’s desk (not bookshelf) next to a petrographic microscope. It should also be used as a textbook for all undergraduate material studies in engineering geology. In com-parison with the average cost of academic books, this book is also good value for money. Well done, Jeremy.

Phil Paige­GreendoI: 10.1144/qjegh2012-029.

Natural Stone Resources for Historical Monuments. R Přikryl and Á Török. Geological Society Special Publication 333, London, 2010, £80.00 (list)/£40.00 (Fellows), hardbound, 256 pp., ISBN: 978-1-86239-291-5

The Geological Society’s Special Publication 333 follows three Special Publications on stone and its behaviour in a historical envi-ronment (Siegesmund et al. 2002; Přikryl & Smith 2007; Smith et al. 2010). Also worth mentioning because of its affinity to the field is the Special Publiction edited by Maggetti & Messiga (2006).

The editors have brought together 20 papers presented during the special session on ‘Natural stone resources for historical monu-ments’ within the General Assemblies of the European Geosciences Union (2006–2008). This collection of research papers, together with an introductory paper by the editors, outlines the current state of research into stone materials used in historical monuments, their decay, performance, compatibility, properties and provenance.

Papers cover research into the characterization and weathering behaviour of building stones such as serpentinites from Galicia, Spain; Italian, dutch and Japanese tuffs; limestones and ‘marbles’ from southern Italy, Portugal and Slovakia; and breccias and tufa from west-ern Austria. General petrological and petrophysical characterization, including pore and hygric properties, are amply dealt with, the latter being fundamental properties that determine the resistance, or other-wise, of these materials to weathering. other research papers add to current knowledge on salt decay mechanisms and black crust growth. The widely used sodium sulphate crystallization test is reported on in

more than one paper, where the effectiveness of the procedure using different stone types and under different conditions is evaluated. other causes of deterioration and their effects on specific stone types are also discussed; these include wetting–drying and freeze–thaw cycles, as well as fire damage. The approach to these studies varies from simu-lated weathering conditions under laboratory conditions to the sam-pling and study of materials taken from particular buildings.

An interesting case study on a sandstone building is drawn on to discuss the idea of ‘inheritance’ and ‘sensitivity to change’ to explain the cumulative impact of stresses on stone response. Another interesting discussion paper focuses on the colleges of oxford University, where the historical evolution of the use of dif-ferent stone types is examined.

The usefulness of collections and databases in provenancing and selecting stone is explained in three apparently disparate, but related papers. one paper describes a 19th century collection of decorative stones and its usefulness even today for identifying ornamental stone; the other two papers discuss modern electronic databases developed or being developed in different countries. A word of warning is offered by one of the authors, who cautions on the need for different databases on dimension stone to be co-ordinated to ‘guarantee the possibility of co-operation over all different levels of the dimension stone industry’.

This book ends with a comprehensive index, which allows easy navigation through the contents. Each paper ends with numerous references, which will allow the reader to move above and beyond what is reported here to related areas of research. The well-written papers, in crisp easy-flowing language, are amply supported by numerous figures. It is a pity that some of the photographs are either too small or not sufficiently clear to suitably support the written text.

As a snapshot in time of research on natural stone used in his-torical monuments, this book is well worth reading by geologists and other scientists who study materials used in historical buildings and the mechanisms of their deterioration. Professionals seeking new sources of building stone, and stone for replacement purposes, should also find this volume useful.

JoAnn Cassar

doI: 10.1144/qjegh2012-026.

ReferencesMaggetti, M. & Messiga, B. (eds) 2006. Geomaterials in Cultural Heritage.

Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 257, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.257.01.26.

Přikryl, R. & sMith, B.J. (eds) 2007. Building Stone Decay from Diagnosis to Conservation. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 271, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2007.271.01.30.

siegesMund, S., Weiss, T. & Vollbrecht, A. (eds) 2002. Natural Stone Weathering Phenomena, Conservation Strategies and Case Studies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 205, doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2002.205.01.32.

sMith, B.J., goMez-heras, M., Viles, H.A. & cassar, J. (eds) 2010. Limestone in the Built Environment: Present-day Challenges for Preservation of the Past. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 331, doi:10.1144/SP331.0.

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