Fundamentals of Continuum Mechanics of Soils

Fundamentals of continuum mechanics of soils provides a long-needed general scheme for the study of the important yet problematic material of soil. It closes the gap between two disciplines, soil mechanics and con- tinuum mechanics, showing that the familiar concepts of soil mechanics evolve directly from continuum mechanics. It confirms concepts such as pore pressures, cohesion and dependence of the shear stress on consolidation, and rejects the view that continuum mechanics cannot be applied to a material such as soil. The general concepts of continuum mechanics, field equations and constitutive equations are discussed. It is shown how the theory of mixtures evolves from these equations and how, along with energetics and irrevers- ible thermodynamics, it can be applied to soils. The discussion also sheds light on some aspects of mechanics of materials, especially compressible materials. Examples are the introduction of the hencky measure of strain, the requirement of dual constitutive equations, and the dependence of the spent internal energy on the stored internal energy. Researchers in engineering mechanics and material sciences may find that the results of experiments on soils can be generalized and extended to other materials. The book is a reference text for students familiar with the fundamentals of mechanics, for scholars of soil engineering, and for soil scientists. It is also suitable as an advanced undergraduate course in soil mechanics.