Engineering World

The courses “Theory of Reinforced Concrete Structures” [1-1] and “Strength and Constitutive Relation of Concrete” [1-2] were started in the early 1980s for the post-graduate students in structural engineering and related fields in Tsinghua University. The lectures, and the syllabus, and the contents of both courses are varied during the teaching practice. Two courses are composed and named “Principles of Reinforced Concrete” in the 1990s. The author gave a lecture on this course for several years and wrote the textbook of the same name [1-3], based on the teaching draft. After the book was published in 1999, it is also adopted as the textbook or main reference for similar courses of both post- and under-graduates of many universities in China. And, it is helpful as well for the university lecturers. In addition, some- times the book is used by structural engineers during their scientific or technical work.

Projects and multi-project programs are vital to all business, industrial, and governmental organizations. They are the vehicles for achieving the strategic goals of every complex organization. How to best manage these projects and programs has been the subject of hundreds of books, articles, conferences, and seminars over the past several decades. This book presents a unique view of project management from the total company viewpoint based on successful experience within a large Italian corporation with global operations.

Project Management has often been called the “accidental profession.” That designation has come about due to the preponderance of PM practitioners who have found their way to this field, not through a structured education or career strategy, but rather as a side trip from their planned careers. My side trip has lasted some 40 years and, thanks to many whom I have met along the way, the side trip has become a journey of discovery and fulfillment. This book records much of what I have learned and disseminated during that trip. Therefore, it is only fair that I express my gratitude not only to the direct contributors to this material, but also to those who helped to pave the way.

This book provides practical and buildable solutions for the design of foundations for housing and other low-rise buildings, especially those on abnormal or poor ground. A wealth of expert information and advice is brought together dealing with the key aspects a designer must consider in order to achieve effective and economic foundation designs. This second edition of the Structural Foundations Manual for Low-Rise Buildings has been completely updated in line with the new government guidelines on contaminated land and brown-field sites.

Geotechnical engineering is a branch of civil engineering that concerns the study of the interrelationship between the geologic environment and the work done by humankind. Soil mechanics and rock mechanics are fields in which the mathematical aspects of analysis for the design of engineering works are defined and described as they relate to the geologic environment. Projects involving excavations in rock bear a close relationship to mining engineering. The basis on which the knowledge structure of geotechnical engineering is built is a thorough comprehension of the elements of the geologic environment. In reality, therefore, geotechnical engineering consists of two major, but separate, disciplines: geology and civil engineering.