Customer Reviews

Geomembranes and the Control of Expansive Soils

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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

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.