The science of classification is called “taxonomy”; it deals with the theoretical aspects of classification, including its basis, principles, procedures, and rules. Knowledge tested in projects is called the “practical knowledge.” Surprisingly the rating and ranking systems have become popular in every part of life in the twenty-first century.

Rock mass classifications form the backbone of the empirical design approach and are widely employed in rock engineering. Engineering rock mass classifications have recently been quite popular and are used in feasibility designs. When used correctly, a rock mass classification can be a powerful tool in these designs. On many projects the classification approach is the only practical basis for the design of complex underground structures. The Gjovik Underground Ice Hockey Stadium in Norway was designed by the classification approach.

This book concisely examines the use of elasticity in solving geotechnical engineering problems. In a highly illustrated and user-friendly format, it provides a thorough grounding in the linear theory of elasticity and an understanding of the applications. The first two chapters present a basic framework of the theory of elasticity and describe test procedures for the determination of elastic parameters for soils. Chapters 3 and 4 present the fundamental solutions of Boussinesque, Kelvin, and Mindlin, and use these to formulate solutions to problems of practical interest in geotechnical engineering. The book concludes with a sequence of appendices designed to provide the interested student with details of elasticity theory that are peripheral to the main text. Each chapter concludes with a set of questions for the student to answer. The book is appropriate for upper level students in civil engineering and engineering geology.

Geomechanics deals with the deformation and failure process in geomaterials, which is literally defined as materials found on the surface of the Earth. Soil, rock, snow, and ice are typical geomaterials. Although in a broader sense in engineering mechanics geomaterials also include concrete, it will not be included explicitly in the discussion in this book. Ice and snow will not be covered either. <...>

Rock dynamics has become one of the most important topics in the field of rock mechanics and rock engineering (e.g. Aydan et al., 2011; Aydan, 2016; Zhou and Jiao, 2011). The spectrum of rock dynamics is very wide and it includes, the failure of rocks, rock masses and rock engineering structures such as rockbursting, spalling, popping, collapse, toppling, sliding, blasting, non-destructive testing, geophysical explorations, and, impacts (see Figure 1.1). <...>

Geotechnical engineering is concerned with the application of civil engineering technology to some aspect of the earth, usually the natural materials found on or near the earth's surface. Civil engineers call these materials soil and rock. Soil, in an engineering sense, is the relatively loose agglomerate of mineral and organic materials and sediments found above the bedrock. Soils can be relatively easily broken down into their constituent mineral or organic particles. Rock, on the other hand, has very strong internal cohesive and molecular forces which hold its constituent mineral grains together. This is true for massive bedrock as well as for a piece of gravel found in a clay soil. The dividing line between soil and rock is arbitrary, and many natural materials encountered in engineering practice cannot be easily classified. They may be either a "very soft rock" or a "very hard soil." <...>

Although engineering activities involving rock have been underway for millennia, we can mark the beginning of the modern era from the year 1962 when the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) was formally established in Salzburg, Austria. Since that time, both rock engineering itself and the associated rock mechanics research have increased in activity by leaps and bounds, so much so that it is difficult for an ngineer or researcher to be aware of all the emerging developments, especially since  the information is widely spread in reports, magazines, journals,  books and the internet. It is appropriate, if not essential, therefore that periodically an easily accessible structured survey should be made of the currently available knowledge. Thus, we are most grateful to Professor Xia-Ting Feng and his team, and to the Taylor & Francis Group, for preparing this extensive 2017 “Rock Mechanics and Engineering” compendium outlining the state of the art—and which is a publication fitting well within the Taylor & Francis portfolio of ground engineering related titles.<...>

In a broad sense, what one attempts to do in rock engineering is to anticipate the motion of a proposed structure under a set of given conditions. The main design objective is to calculate displacements, and as a practical matter, to see whether the displacements are acceptable. Very often restrictions on displacements are implied rather than stated outright. This situation is almost always the case in elastic design where the displacements of the structure of interest are restricted only to the extent that they remain within the range of elastic behavior. <...>

It is hardly possible to find a single rheological law for all the soils. However they have mechanical properties (elasticity, plasticity, creep, damage etc.) that are met in some special sciences, and basic equations of these disciplines can be applied to earth structures. This way is taken in this book. It represents the results that can be used as a base for computations in many fields of the Geomechanics in its wide sense. Deformation and fracture of many objects include a row of important effects that must be taken into account. Some of them can be considered in the rheological law that, however, must be simple enough to solve the problems for real objects.<...>

Although engineering activities involving rock have been underway for millennia, we can mark the beginning of the modern era from the year 1962 when the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) was formally established in Salzburg, Austria. Since that time, both rock engineering itself and the associated rock mechanics research have increased in activity by leaps and bounds, so much so that it is difficult for an engineer or researcher to be aware of all the emerging developments, especially since the information is widely spread in reports, magazines, journals, books and the internet. It is appropriate, if not essential, therefore that periodically an easily accessible structured survey should be made of the currently available knowledge. Thus, we are most grateful to Professor Xia-Ting Feng and his team, and to the Taylor & Francis Group, for preparing this extensive 2017 “Rock Mechanics and Engineering” compendium outlining the state of the art—and which is a publication fitting well within the Taylor & Francis portfolio of ground engineering related titles. <...>