Foundation Engineering: Design and Construction in Tropical Soils

Residual soils are found in many parts of the world. Like other soils, they are used extensively in construction, being built upon and used as construction materials. Residual soils are formed when the processes of rock weathering proceed at a faster rate than the transport processes by water, gravity and wind, whereby much of the resulting soils will remain in place. The soil typically retains many of the characteristics of the parent rock. In a tropical region, residual soil layers can be very thick, sometimes extending for hundred of meters before reaching unweathered rock. This book has gathered state-of-the-art knowledge from a number of experienced experts working in foundation engineering in tropical residual soils. Subjects covered are: geology and formation of residual soils, site investigations, characterization and selection of parameters for foundation design, design of shallow and deep foundations which include driven piles, drilled shafts and caissons, and special topics which include design of piles in marginally-stable river banks, micro piles, Augeo pile, pile load and NDT, foundation failures and remedial works, and pile supported embankment. The book also includes a country case study on engineering geology in relation to foundation engineering in Malaysia.