Geotechnical Engineering

DETAILS : 

• Author: Debashis Moitra
  
• Publisher: ‎ The Orient Blackswan
  
• Publication date: ‎ 1 January 2016
  
• Edition: ‎ First Edition
  
• Language: ‎ English
  
• Print length: ‎ 912 pages
  
• ISBN-10: ‎ 817371990X
  
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-8173719905
  
• Item Weight: ‎ 1300 g

ABOUT THE BOOK

Geotechnical Engineering, authored by the distinguished academician and structural expert Dr. Debashis Moitra, is a highly focused, analytically rigorous textbook tailored for civil engineering students and practicing professionals. Published by prominent technical houses like Universities Press (and distributed by Orient BlackSwan), this volume serves as a comprehensive bridge between the theoretical physics of soil mechanics and real-world foundation engineering design. The core philosophy of this text centers on structural safety, site investigation precision, and mathematical modeling. Dr. Moitra avoids purely descriptive treatments of earth materials, presenting soil instead as a complex, multiphase mechanical system whose stress-strain behavior must be accurately quantified to prevent catastrophic structural failures.

The volume is structurally organized into progressive, self-contained chapters designed to match the core undergraduate and postgraduate civil engineering curricula. It begins with the fundamental physical and index properties of soils, clarifying weight-volume relationships, plasticity characteristics, and the unified soil classification systems. The text then transitions into engineering properties, providing deep analytical breakdowns of:

• Permeability and Seepage: Analyzing flow through porous media, Laplace equations, and the construction of flow nets for dams and retaining structures.
• Stresses in Soil: Evaluating effective stress concepts and vertical stress distribution using Boussinesq and Westergaard theories.
• Consolidation and Compaction: Mapping out the time-rate settlement of clay layers using Terzaghi’s one-dimensional consolidation theory.
• Shear Strength: Deconstructing the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion through direct shear, triaxial, and unconfined compression testing frameworks.

The final third of the textbook applies these principles to structural design, covering lateral earth pressure theories (Rankine and Coulomb), slope stability analysis, and the bearing capacity calculation for both shallow footprints and deep pile foundations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Debashis Moitra is an elite Indian civil engineering professor, structural consultant, and researcher with decades of experience in higher education. Known for his methodical approach to structural engineering and soil mechanics, his work focuses on adapting complex geotechnical parameters into reliable, code-compliant design workflows for urban infrastructure.

Dr. Moitra’s pedagogical and instructional style is exceptionally systematic, mathematically rigorous, and engineering-focused. Writing with the supportive directness of a veteran professor, he strips away confusing ambiguities to present clear, step-by-step mathematical derivations alongside standard laboratory testing procedures. Every chapter is packed with highly structured numerical problems that transition from basic formula applications to complex, multi-layered design scenarios. By balancing deep theoretical mechanics with practical engineering tables and field insights, his manual remains an invaluable national benchmark for university students, structural designers, and competitive examination aspirants (such as GATE and UPSC Engineering Services) across South Asia.