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About the Book


The first thing you will need to do to appreciate the sheer scale of the information contained in this book, is to look at the Table of Contents below. Then ask yourself where else could you find all of this information in a single, modern book, with fully worked examples, and with a practical guide to actual remedial equipment and materials used. Yet, despite the complexity of the topics covered, we have concentrated on using the simplest analyses, and always use worked examples, so that the design engineer can be confident he/she has the proper units and has completed his/her calculations correctly.


The wide ranging nature of this book means that if you could have only one book on the subject, then this would have to be it. It will be your go-to reference book and mentor.


If you want to be able to say that you know rock face and rock slope instability, then all you have to do is read this book from beginning to end and then put it on your bookshelf where you can find it easily. That's all.




CONTENTS


1.     Introduction


2.     Formation of the Solar System and the Earth


3.     Composition of the planet Earth and its rocks


4.     Fundamental Rock Types


          4.1     Igneous Intrusive Rocks


          4.2     Igneous Extrusive Rocks


          4.3     Sedimentary Rocks


          4.4     Metamorphic Rocks


5.     Instability in Igneous Intrusive and Igneous Extrusive Rocks


          5.1     Plutonic Intrusive Rocks


          5.2     Concordant Minor Intrusive Rocks


          5.3     Discordant Minor Intrusive Rocks


          5.4     Extrusive Volcanic Lava Flows and Ash Rocks


6.     Instability in Sedimentary Rocks


7.     Instability in Metamorphic Rocks


8.     Dip and Outcrop Recognition


9.     The Mathematics of Rock Face Instability


          9.1     The principles of acquisition, interpretation, and utilisation of

                    field and laboratory test data, as guided by Eurocode 7.


          9.2     Problems associated with the practical applicability of Eurocode 7 to rockfall and                      rockface engineering and data anlysis and design.


          9.3     The representation of field data on stereo-net plots


          9.4     Different types of rock movement


          9.5     The mathematics of planar sliding


          9.6      The Modular Mathematics of wedge sliding


                  9.6.1     Determination of the dimension of the wedge by

                                      field measurement and calculation


                         9.6.2     Specification of the various physical restraining properties of the wedge on its

                                        potential sliding plane's interfaces

  

                         9.6.3     Simple global analysis


                         9.6.4     Wedge 'Partition Method' with rigid response


                         9.6.5     Wedge 'Partition Method' with deformable response


          9.7       Concepts of shared stress and cumulative strain on rock discontinuities


          9.8     Mathematics of toppling rocks


                         9.8.1     Rocks standing alone


                         9.8.2     Rocks subject to external forces


                         9.8.3     The toppling of multiple rock groups


          9.9       Mathematics of rolling rocks


          9.10     Mathematics of falling rocks


          9.11     Mathematics of bouncing rocks


          9.12     Mathematics and principles of impact absorption


          9.13   Seismic activity and its effects


10.     Rock Control System Types A, B, C, & D


11.     Type A. No Action Necessary


          11.1     Stable outcome


          11.2     Unstable outcome


12.     Type B. Active Intervention Systems


          12.1     Rock pins


          12.2     Rock anchors


          12.3     Hawsers


          12.4     Meshes/nets


          12.5     Sprayed concrete


          12.6     Relocating rocks


13.     Type C. Passive Intervention Systems


          13.1     Wire fence barriers


          13.2     Concrete and block wall barriers


          13.3     Free-standing granular barriers


          13.4     Reinforced soils barriers


          13.5     Gabion barriers


          13.6     Lateral diversion structures


          13.7     Vertical diversion structures (shed tunnels)


          13.8     Rock guidance nets


          13.9     Catchment ditches


14.     Type D. Remote Intervention Systems


          14.1     Reducing water pressure


          14.2     Reducing water ingress


          14.3     Relocating affected structures


15.        References       


16.        Bibliography          


17.        Geology Glossary       


18.        Physics Glossary


19.        Appendix 1 Essential Equations


20.        Appendix 2 An Open Source Rock Slope Hazard Classification System


21.        Appendix 3 Rock Classifications


22.        Appendix 4 The Use of the Camera and Mobile Telephone for Site Surveying

The front cover image of the geotechnical book entitled 'Rock Slope Engineering

Published by Encyclopedia Geotechnica 2026.  

538 US-letter-sized pages. Both books are sold in hardback version only.


The overall purpose of this book is to provide the engineer with the real, practical, information, technique,

and maths to assess, design, and supervise rock stabilisation works on a day-to-day basis.


HE LIKED IT—SEE IF YOU LIKE IT BEFORE YOU BUY

WHEN YOU BUY AN EXPENSIVE BOOK, YOU NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS IN IT AND WHAT YOU ARE BUYING.

SCROLL DOWN AND READ ON:

Prestige Edition - Hardback

with coloured photographs.

£68.32

Working Edition - Hardback

with monochrome photographs.

£48.32

A table showing the geological periods , mountain buildiing, evolution, and climate for the last 543 million years.
A diagram showing the presentation of granite joints in a highway cutting.
A diagram showing instability modes for a sloping intrusive sill.
A diagram showing bedding outcrops on a contour plan.
A diagram showing bedding outcrops in relation to topography.
Comparative logic diagram for civil compared with geotechnical structures.
Diagram of a block failure on a steep rock face.
Diagram of forces on a rock block acting along a dipping rock surface.
Diagram of shear force acting on a rock pin.
Forces in a rock bolt securing a rock block on a dipping rock surface.
A diagram of a block of rock leaning on another.
A diagram of the forces involved in a rock block leaning on another.
A diagram of multiple block movement.
A diagram of the moments of rotation of different shaped rolling rocks.
A diagram showing the elements of a rock restraint net.
A table of energy level calssification for rock retaining structures.
A table of energy absorption capabilities of different net geometries.
A cross-section diagram of a reinforced soil barrier for restraining falling rocks.
A graph of impact forces resisted by varying reinforced soil cross section barriers.
A graph showing the determination of the apparent density (γg) of a filled gabion, given the density (γs) of the fill material, and the porosity (n).
Photograph of a passive gabion rock barrier on a European Alpine mountain road.

Would you like to have all the knowledge that is in these diagrams, as well as in the rest of the 290 diagrams and illustrations in our book?

If so, just buy it!

A diagrammatic cross section of multiple rock anchors.
A diagram showing a stereonet plot of a discontinuity outcrop on a slope.
A diagram of forces acting on a dipping rock wedge within a sloping rock face.
A diagram showing a stereonet plot of a steep wedge.
A diagram showing a stereonet plot of a slab failure on a steep slope.
A detailed diagram of the forces acting on a sloping rock wedge in a steeply dipping rock face.
A diagram of restraining forces needed to secure a rock wedge in a steep rock face.
Seismic forces on a rock wedge on a sloping rock surface.
Diagram of rocks sliding down into restraining netting over a highway.

Review by a senior staff member of one of the UK’s leading geotechnical consulting firms.


The book is very comprehensive and logically set out. From the theory of the formation of the solar system and the earth, through the different rock types and their weathering characteristics to the anatomy of different rock slopes and their instability, the book leaves the reader very aware of the complexities of the issues around rock slope engineering.


What is particularly impressive is that the book provides the reader with the practical means to survey and understand rock slope failure mechanisms and provides the tools for their effective remediation. Clear examples are provided at each step.


All in all, engineers with experience of this type of work will appreciate having this book at their finger tips and it is essential reading for anyone wanting to fully understand the elements of rock slope engineering. I wish I had access to this book at the beginning of my career and urge anyone serious in rock slope engineering to have a copy in their library.


I have already used it to aid in a couple of recent schemes and I have urged my team to make sure that they purchase a copy for themselves.

BELOW ARE SOME OF THE 290 FIGURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE BOOK

In the working edition, the images are in monochrome. We show them here in colour to make them more interesting and exciting for you. They  are available in colour in our Prestige edition, which is more expensive to cover the cost of colour printing.

Rock Slope and Rock Face Engineering

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