A relatively economical and expedient numerical procedure and computer code based on the finite difference method were developed for predicting heave with time for heterogeneous expansive soils beneath structures idealized as two-dimensional. The computer code will also compute the potential heave assuming saturation of the foundation soils based on McDowell's swell data. The heave with time estimates should be useful for structures near which penetration of rainwater from the ground surface is permitted, provided that ponding of surface water and external water from leaking water and sewer lines does not occur. The potential heave should be useful if the foundation soils become saturated from excessive watering, poor surface drainage, and leaking water and sewer lines. The required input data include the structural load, specific gravity, liquid and plastic limits, initial dry density and water content, coefficient of vertical permeability, ratio of the horizontal to the vertical coefficient of permeability, and swell and suction relationships of the foundation soils.

Vertisols, one of the eleven established soil orders, are clay soils with unusual and interesting properties. They cover more than 350 million hectares of land in the world and in tropical Africa alone there are over 100 million hectares. Because of their very small particle size and high surface area, these soils have higher physical and chemical reactivity than other soils. Their interaction with agrochemicals/industrial wastes, has been, increasingly, the subject of research especially in the last two decades. Vertisols create special problems when used for engineering purposes. This book is intended to provide comprehensive and state-of-the-art information about Vertisols worldwide. Special attention is given to the use and management of soils such as fertilizer use, crop selection, soil tillage, water restriction on land including irrigation, and soil erosion. A special chapter has been added to deal with geotechnical engineering of Vertisols. Vertisols have great potential for agricultural production but many, especially in the developing world, are underutilized due to a lack of understanding regarding their behaviour and management. This book is written by leading scientists worldwide. It is expected that this monograph will be of great use to soil scientists and agronomists, graduate and senior graduate students. Improvement of their management may solve the current food deficiency in the world.

This publication is an assemblage of selected papers that have been authored or co-authored by D.G. Fredlund. The substance of these papers documents the milestones of both the science of unsaturated soil mechanincs and the career of the author during his tenure as a faculty member in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.