Shear Behavior of Composite Soils

by Yanrong Li (Editor)

Landslides are the most common type of geohazard in mountainous areas. They have tremendous socio-economic impact, especially in developing countries. The reactivation of ancient/old landslides is a hot topic in engineering geology and geotechnical engineering. It is well known that the residual shear strength of slip zones determine the stability of ancient landslides. However, the measurement and interpretation of residual shear strength, especially for composite soils, is still a pending scientific and technical issue. This leads to uncertainties in estimating the strength parameters and therefore unreliable engineering designs.

In the proposed book, basic theory of shear behavior of soil is given together with a deep review of its development since the 1920s. The modern test methods for residual shear strength are introduced in detail along with their scopes and limitations. This would lay down a solid knowledge base for scientists and engineers in this field. The key content of this book discusses the advances in measurement of residual shear strength of composite soils and provides readers with a deep interpretation of factors influencing the residual shear behavior of such soils. This will certainly help engineers to judge and properly use the strength parameters obtained from laboratory or in-situ tests for their engineering design.

Some space is given to ancient landslides in the Three Gorges Reservoir. General and site-specific geological conditions as well as properties of slip zone soils, both physical and mechanical, are detailed. This would be of interest to readers, especially those outside China.

Review
..".an indispensible reference in graduate teaching and research and particularly in the practice of stabilizing dormant landslides.
The author, Professor Li, has continued to work on the topic in past years and published most components of his research in a variety of journals. This book successfully combines these research outputs making it a one-stop reference on residual shear strength of granular and composite soils. "

Prof. Adnan Aydin, Professor of Geology and Geological Engineering, University of Mississippi, USA.

About the Author
Li Yanrong was born in Shanxi Province, China, in 1978. In 2000, he received a BEng in Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology from Taiyuan University of Technology, in 2003 an MSc in Geological Engineering from Chengdu University of Technology, and in 2009 a PhD degree in Engineering Geology from The University of Hong Kong. He is now a full professor of Engineering Geology at the Taiyuan University of Technology. His research interests include engineering properties of soils and rocks, tunneling engineering, and geohazard investigation and mitigation. He served as an Associate Editor of KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering from 2012 to 2014 and now serves as an Editorial Board Member of Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment. He is a Chartered Geologist (CGeol) of the Geological Society of London, and a Professional Member (MIMMM) of The Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining.