Customer Reviews

Spreadsheet Applications in Geotechnical Engineering

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I have read this book and attempted to use it in practice. Unfortunately, I have found this book to be too general and too oversimplified. If a person knows how to use a spreadsheet program, the book is not worth purchasing. I found it easier to make my own spreadsheets than to use those from this book.

I was especially disappointed with the earth pressures section, the piling section, and the settlement section. The author does an "okay" job of presenting the Boussinesq stress distribution method, but, if you have any idea how to apply this method, it is an easy spreadsheet solution. Additionally, the piling section is incomplete as piles are typically driven through more than one soil unit and the trick to performing a pile analysis is that the main unknown variable is the pile length. If this is known, the problem is easy. This spreadsheet does not simplify anything.

In general, the book does not present solutions to tough problems. For example, in practice, unusual slopes are seen behind walls, rigid walls may be used instead of flexible walls, piling penetrate multiple soil units, etc.

... You are better off purchasing Terzaghi, Peck, and Mesri or Bowles if you need to design something and then taking some time to learn how to use a spreadsheet. You will get more out of your money.