BOOK REVIEWS

Fundamentals of continuum
mechanics of soils
Yehuda Klausner
Springer-Verlag London, 1991
607pp, 98.00, ISBN 354
019-5467
With this book, Klausner takes up the formidable challenge of closing the gap
between soil mechanics and continuum
mechanics. Although this book will not be
likely to end the debate among researchers
on whether or not continuum mechanics,
with its drastically simplified assumptions,
can be applied to a complex, discontinuous
material such as soil, Klausner succeeds in
making a strong and credible case for this
approach. His efforts and courage in pursuing this approach are commendable.
And if the future of soil mechanics does
succeed in following the rigorous physical
principles as outlined by Klausner, we may
have a classic with this book.
Klausner's motive for writing this book
stems from the premise, as he outlines in
the opening paragraphs of his preface, that
nothing really significant has been
achieved in soil mecchanics research since
1960. Except for minor refinements,
Klausner states with certainty that 'the
body of knowledge in soil mechanics has
not changed much since then'. The
reviewers would tend to agree with his
assertion in principle, but Klausner is just
too harsh on his colleagues. It is appropriate to mention here the works of Roscoe
and his students (1958-1963) on the
development of critical state soil mechanics at Cambridge University, UK, that
mark the beginning of the modern development of a consistent theory for soil
mechanics, and also that of subsequent
developments and applications. The proceedings of the 1980 workshop at McGill
University on
'Limit
equilibrium,
plasticity and generalized stress-strain in
geotechnical engineering' is a good summary of all the significant achievements
made during the 1960s and 1970s. A
number of recent books, such as those by
Desai and Siriwardane (1984), Chen and
Mizuno (1990), and Chen and Liu (1990),
document the many accomplishments
made in constitutive modelling, nonlinear
analysis, and limit analysis since 1960.
Constitutive modelling of soils is one area
that is today considered a mature field,with
diminishing research interest.
But the fact remains, as Klausner correctly points out, that several fundamental
problems of soil mechanics are still
unresolved. He points to the shortcomings
of existing theories. For example, the
theory of plasticity assumes incompressibility and the lack of influence of
hydrostatic pressure which contradict
experimental evidence. Existing failure
theories do not fully appreciate the adverse

effects of the stored free energy (the

spherical pan of the internal energy) and
the disbursed free energy (deviatoric pan).
These problems need to be reformulated,
or at least revised according to more basic
principles. The main purpose of
Klausner's book is towards this end.
Following the footsteps of Professor
W.E. Schmid, his graduate study advisor
at Princeton University, Klausner approaches the problems of soil mechanics
starting from the fundamental laws of
physics, in his first seven chapters. After
the introductory first chapter, the next six
chapters are not directly associated with
soils, but provide a thorough review of
continuum mechanics and basic physics. In
addition to the typical topics of strain,
stress, kinematics and constitutive equations, Klausner goes into such topics as the
field equations, energetics, rheology,
irreversible thermodynamics and multiphase mixtures. The reader is well
prepared in the general physical laws
before he is led to tackle the problematic
properties of soil in the final six chapters of
the book. The basic principles of soil
mechanics are built up by Klausner on the
rigorous, theoretical
foundation of
physics.
A sound and rigorous scientific foundation is indeed wanting for many scholars of
soild engineering for whom Klausner has
written this book. The book makes an
excellent first reference source. The basic
phenomena of soils: flow and seepage,
failure criteria, and volumetric and shear
stress-strain relationships, are covered in
much detail in separate chapters with
critical discussions of standard laboratory
tests. Klausner also recommends his book
for graduate students and he is thoughtful
enough to include in the appendix, a fairly
complete explanation of tensor mathematics, cylindrical coordinates, and rheological modelling. There is also a 25-page
table of symbols which will be most
helpful to a student since almost every
letter in the Roman and Greek alphabet,
lower and upper case, and even a few
Hebrew letters, are used in the book.
Students reading this book will be encouraged by a more intellectual challenge
to soil engineering. Klausner laments the
trend toward handbook engineering,
numerical methods, computer techniques,
and data accumulation.
Klausner's style of writing is fairly easy
to read, as good as a book in mechanics
can be Illustrations and figmes are clear
and used only when they are necessary,
some of the photo reproductions are grainy
and could be improved.
On the whole, Klausner's Fundamentals
of continuum mechanics of soils is highly
recommended for all those serious students
of soil engineering who desire not a superficial, empirical understanding of this

2.78 Eng. Struct. 1992, Vol. 14, No 4

extricate subject, but wo seek a more fundamental answer to one of nature's most
abundant, yet mysterious of all materials.

W. F. Chen
A . D . Pan

Shells of revolution
Z. E. Mazurkiewicz and R. R.
NagOrski
Elsevier Science Publishers,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1990, pp 640, $225.75
ISBN 0-444-98779-7
This monograph is perhaps the most
detailed
ever published which
is
exclusively devoted to the classical
analysis of shells of revolution. A comprehensive development of the linear
theory of elastic shells of revolution, based
upon analytibal methods, is presented. The
basic principles of differential geometry
and the theory of elasticity are presented in
an introductory section. Fundamental
equations are presented for shells of
arbitrary shape. The remainder of the book
is broadly divided into three parts: thin
continuous shells, shells of moderate
thickness, and perforated shells. Generalization of the Meissner-type equations,
applications of the method of undetermined coefficients, and the fundamentals
of the theory of perforated shells are topics
which may be of special interest. Within
each part, proceeding from the general to
the specific, detailed calculation methods
and some examples are presented. Such
solutions would be of particular value to
those wo are investigating shell structures
by modern numerical techniques and who
wish to calibrate and verify their solutions.
The classical analytical approach perhaps
remains of practical interest to those who
do not have access to the powerful finite
elements programs available in many
industralized lands.
The book is written at the level of an
advanced design engineer or researcher,
rather than as a text since no exercises are
included. While the English is usually
clear, the notation is sometimes awkward
and all terms are not defined. For a book
of this length, the illustrations are sparse.
The mathematical level is that of vector
mechanics which is appropriate for this
subject. References are largely classical
with few citations to recent work. However, the list includes a nice balance of
eastern and western literature which is a
valuable feature.
This contribution by Mazurkiewicz and
Nag6rski to chronicling the distinguished
development of the analysis of shells of
revolution is a valuable reference for
specialists in the field.

P. L. Gould