Geomembranes and the Control of Expansive Soils [Hardcover]

Malcolm Steinberg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0070611785 | ISBN-13: 978-0070611788 | Publication Date: July 1, 1998 | Edition: 1

A wealth of practical information on designing geomembranes to control expansive soils in a broad range of construction and environmental applications

Written by a leading international expert in the field, this book fully explains when and where geomembranes can be used effectively--and discusses expansive soil conditions and problems as well as control solutions. You will find descriptions of geotechnical membrane placement methods, plus information on costs and durability; and worldwide case studies of buildings, highways, roads, airports, canals, pipelines, railroads, and landfills -- all with solutions to expansive soil problems.this book is the first place engineers, architects, and construction professionals should turn for authoritative geomembrane answers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Malcolm Steinberg , P.E., is an internationally recognized lecturer and expert on expansive soils. The director of an El Paso consulting firm that specializes in soils and foundation engineering, he also directs the American Society of Chemical Engineers' District 15. For nearly 40 years, he was an engineer with the Texas Highway Department. This is his first book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070611785
• ISBN-13: 978-0070611788
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,207,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed with Content and Depth, July 28, 2007

By 

Mitchell W. Greer (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Geomembranes and the Control of Expansive Soils (Hardcover)

This book is informative for one wanting a very general introduction to the subject of moisture barriers. The information primarily focuses on highway applications with only a cursory look at use for building foundations.

I was disappointed that an internationally known expert (stated on the rear cover) imparts relatively little information that can be used by practicing engineers. The depth of the information is shallow for a professional book if intended to be used by geotechnical engineers (who else would design geomembrane moisture barriers?). If you already have any working knowledge of the subject of expansive soils, you can read through the book in one setting. Little of the information presented is from the author's own work, and there's not much discussion to help one learn from the work presented by others. Mr. Steinberg does provide lengthy lists of references, which is the book's greatest strength, but you may have a hard time finding many of them.

As a practicing geotechnical engineer and one well versed on expansive soil issues, I can only recommend this book if you know nothing else about moisture barriers and don't want to design them. You would be better served by acquiring some of the references or others available from ASCE and various highway research organizations. Unfortunately, there are few geotechnical textbooks that even address moisture barriers.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I liked this book since it provides practical solutions., October 26, 1999

By 

Gajanin Sabnis ([e-mail]) (Silver Springs, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geomembranes and the Control of Expansive Soils (Hardcover)

Geomembranes and the Control of Expansive Soils in Construction By Malcolm Steinberg, P.E., F. ASCE. Hard cover; 1998; 222 pages; ISBN 0-07-061178-5; Published by McGraw Hill, Construction Series, new York, N.Y. 10011

This is a very appropriate book for the construction series of McGraw Hill, in that it not only reads well but also explains many items related to geomembranes and the expansive soils in a simple language without any equations.

As a Civil Engineer, but not in the field of geotechnical engineering, it was refreshing for this reviewer to read a book on the subject after a long experience in concrete and structural engineering that may be impacted on all the world's continents by these expansive soils. I enjoyed it very much from the practical perspective rather than theoretical one and was very much impressed with the contents.

As an academician teaching for over 25 years, I enjoyed the simple style of writing by Mr. Steinberg and would recommend it as a supplemental reading for a Senior, who wants to get overall information on expansive soil as well as the geomembranes and their applications. Particular joy was to see a chapter on Do's and Don'ts, which will be useful for younger engineers. I wish we had such a book during our undergraduate studies. As a consulting engineer, I liked this book since it provides practical solutions using geomembranes to control expansive soils.

In India, this type of soil has been known as Black Cotton soil, characteristic for its excellent assistance to growing one of the best cottons in the world, but not good for constructing roads due to its properties in wet conditions. It was refreshing to know that it can be used in constructing roadways and other structures as well with proper techniques.

In short, I am happy to see Mr. Steinberg's persistence and a thorough follow up on this venture and producing such a quality book.

Reviewed by: Gajanan M. Sabnis, Ph.D., P.E. Professor of Civil Engineering, Howard University; also, Consultant, Silver Spring, Maryland

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good reference book for a student, professor/consultant, October 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Geomembranes and the Control of Expansive Soils (Hardcover)

This is a very appropriate book for the construction series of McGraw Hill, in that it not only reads well but also explains many items related to geomembranes and the expansive soils in a simple language without any equations.

As a Civil Engineer, but not in the field of geotechnical engineering, it was refreshing for this reviewer to read a book on the subject after a long experience in concrete and structural engineering that may be impacted on all the world's continents by these expansive soils. I enjoyed it very much from the practical perspective rather than theoretical one and was very much impressed with the contents.

As an academician teaching for over 25 years, I enjoyed the simple style of writing by Mr. Steinberg and would recommend it as a supplemental reading for a Senior, who wants to get overall information on expansive soil as well as the geomembranes and their applications. Particular joy was to see a chapter on Do's and Don'ts, which will be useful for younger engineers. I wish we had such a book during our undergraduate studies. As a consulting engineer, I liked this book since it provides practical solutions using geomembranes to control expansive soils.

In India, this type of soil has been known as Black Cotton soil, characteristic for its excellent assistance to growing one of the best cottons in the world, but not good for constructing roads due to its properties in wet conditions. It was refreshing to know that it can be used in constructing roadways and other structures as well with proper techniques.

In short, I am happy to see Mr. Steinberg's persistence and a thorough follow up on this venture and producing such a quality book.