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Book review |
139.05 Hardback, 382 pp. ISBN: 3-540-20752-2TRL Limited, Edinburgh, UK
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In April 2004 a Florida freeway bridge pier founded in limestone collapsed during construction into the roof of a cave. This event illustrates the need for engineers and geologists to have a clear understanding of the issues addressed in this book. This is reinforced by the fact that extending the proving boreholes by a few metres at the base of each caisson toe, at a cost of a few thousand dollars, would have avoided the estimated $11M remediation costs. That this event occurred too late to be included in this book other than as a particularly poignant postscript is a pity. That said, perhaps the greatest strength of this book is the manner in which the information offered is so richly illustrated by examples and photographs from the authors' extensive experience. This experience is enhanced further by the addition of 16 case studies authored by practitioners from around the globe: these are presented in the final chapter.
Prior to that the authors take us through 12 chapters, as follows: 1 Rocks, dissolution and karst; 2 Sinkhole classification and nomenclature; 3 Rock failure in collapse and caprock sinkholes; 4 Soil failure in subsidence sinkholes; 5 Buried sinkholes and rockhead features; 6 Sinkholes in insoluble rocks; 7 Rock failure under imposed load over caves; 8 Sinkholes induced by engineering works; 9 Ground investigation in sinkhole terrains; 10 Hazard and risk assessment of sinkholes; 11 Prevention of remediation of sinkholes; and 12 Construction in sinkhole terrain.
Had the publishers made additional pages available
