Soft Clay Engineering and Ground Improvement

Soft Clay Engineering and Ground Improvement covers the design and implementation of ground improvement techniques as applicable to soft clays. This particular subject poses major geotechnical challenges in civil engineering. Not only civil engineers, but planners, architects, consultants and contractors are now aware what soft soils are and the risks associated with development of such areas.

The book is designed as a reference and useful tool for those in the industry, both to consultants and contractors. It also benefits researchers and academics working on ground improvement of soft soils, and serves as an excellent overview for postgraduates. University lecturers are beginning to incorporate more ground improvement topics into their curricula, and this text would be ideal for short courses for practicing engineers. It includes several examples to assist a newcomer to carry out preliminary designs.

The three authors, each with dozens of years of experience, have witnessed and participated in the rapid evolvement of ground improvement in soft soils. In addition, top-tier professionals who deal with soft clays and ground improvement on a daily basis have contributed, providing their expertise in dealing with real-world problems and practical solutions.

Jay Ameratunga has over thirty-five years’ experience in geotechnical engineering. He graduated from the University of Ceylon, Sri Lanka, and obtained his master’s at AIT, Bangkok, and Ph.D. from Monash University, Australia. Starting in 1989, he worked at Coffey Geotechnics for twenty-five years before moving to Golder Associates in 2015. Currently he is an independent consultant. While based in Australia, he has worked on projects in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, PNG, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

Nagaratnam Sivakugan is an associate professor at James Cook University, Australia. He graduated from University of Peradeniya with First-Class Honours and obtained an MSCE and PhD from Purdue University. He is a chartered professional engineer and a fellow of the American Society Civil Engineers and Engineers Australia. His publications include nine books, 150 journal articles and 100 papers in refereed conference proceedings. He serves in the editorial boards of a few journals, including Canadian Geotechnical Journal.

Braja Das is Dean Emeritus at California State University, Sacramento. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a Fellow and Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a Life Member of the American Society for Engineering Education. He is the author and co-author of several geotechnical engineering text and reference books, and has more than 300 research papers published in journals and conference proceedings.