xii Preface and Acknowledgments to the First Edition
methods, both from the contractor’s view (Klaus) and from the perspective
of the consulting engineer (Fabian), whose dissertation on experimental
and numerical investigations of the load-carrying mechanism of vibro stone
column groups provided an interesting aspect in this context. We are grateful to our publisher, Taylor & Francis Group, for its support in bringing out
this book, which highlights its continued interest in ground improvement
methods.
We hope that this book provides the practicing engineer and the design
engineer with a comprehensive insight into deep vibratory soil improvement methods. The historical development of these ground improvement
methods is presented in Chapter 2, which is based on an earlier publication,
Kirsch (1993) “Die Baugrundverbesserung mit Tiefenrüttlern,” in Englert
and Stocker (eds) 40 Jahre Spezialtiefbau 1953–1993: Technische und rechtliche Entwicklungen (Werner Verlag, Düsseldorf, Germany). We thank
Werner Verlag for its kind permission to use it in this book.
We also hope that we will succeed in demonstrating the astounding versatility of these methods as reflected in a number of international case histories from recent years. The reader will hopefully also realize that vibro
compaction and vibro replacement stone columns are presently meeting—
and will continue to do so—all the requirements of sustainable construction. We will demonstrate in a separate chapter that these methods require
only natural materials for their execution, leaving behind only a minimal
carbon footprint.
Finally, we do hope that this book will help stimulate further work and
research on the subject and on those problems that are not yet satisfactorily
resolved or are still the subject of controversy to enable further plant development and to improve ground engineering.
We thank Keller Group plc for their noble assistance in preparing this
book, for funding the preparation of graphs and diagrams but especially
for allowing access to the technical archives, and for allowing use of data
in preparing most of the case histories. In this context, our foremost thanks
go to Justin Atkinson, the chief executive of Keller. With the publication
of this book in 2010, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our
best wishes for continued development and success to Keller Group plc,
which pioneered deep vibratory soil improvement and which celebrates its
150th anniversary this year.
Invaluable support has also been given by our former and present colleagues on technical matters. Our thanks go especially to Dr. Alan Bell who
has critically reviewed the manuscript based on his long experience of working in ground engineering. Thanks are also due to George Burke, Jonathan
Daramalinggam, Guido Freitag, Johannes Haas, Dieter Heere, Gert
Odenbreit, Dr. Vesna Raju, Dr. Thomas Richter, Raja Shahid Saleem,
Raja Samiullah, Dr. Stavros Savidis, Dr. Lisheng Shao, Barry Slocombe,
Dr. Wolfgang Sondermann, Reiner Wegner, and Dr. Jimmy Wehr. Special
methods, both from the contractor’s view (Klaus) and from the perspective
of the consulting engineer (Fabian), whose dissertation on experimental
and numerical investigations of the load-carrying mechanism of vibro stone
column groups provided an interesting aspect in this context. We are grateful to our publisher, Taylor & Francis Group, for its support in bringing out
this book, which highlights its continued interest in ground improvement
methods.
We hope that this book provides the practicing engineer and the design
engineer with a comprehensive insight into deep vibratory soil improvement methods. The historical development of these ground improvement
methods is presented in Chapter 2, which is based on an earlier publication,
Kirsch (1993) “Die Baugrundverbesserung mit Tiefenrüttlern,” in Englert
and Stocker (eds) 40 Jahre Spezialtiefbau 1953–1993: Technische und rechtliche Entwicklungen (Werner Verlag, Düsseldorf, Germany). We thank
Werner Verlag for its kind permission to use it in this book.
We also hope that we will succeed in demonstrating the astounding versatility of these methods as reflected in a number of international case histories from recent years. The reader will hopefully also realize that vibro
compaction and vibro replacement stone columns are presently meeting—
and will continue to do so—all the requirements of sustainable construction. We will demonstrate in a separate chapter that these methods require
only natural materials for their execution, leaving behind only a minimal
carbon footprint.
Finally, we do hope that this book will help stimulate further work and
research on the subject and on those problems that are not yet satisfactorily
resolved or are still the subject of controversy to enable further plant development and to improve ground engineering.
We thank Keller Group plc for their noble assistance in preparing this
book, for funding the preparation of graphs and diagrams but especially
for allowing access to the technical archives, and for allowing use of data
in preparing most of the case histories. In this context, our foremost thanks
go to Justin Atkinson, the chief executive of Keller. With the publication
of this book in 2010, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our
best wishes for continued development and success to Keller Group plc,
which pioneered deep vibratory soil improvement and which celebrates its
150th anniversary this year.
Invaluable support has also been given by our former and present colleagues on technical matters. Our thanks go especially to Dr. Alan Bell who
has critically reviewed the manuscript based on his long experience of working in ground engineering. Thanks are also due to George Burke, Jonathan
Daramalinggam, Guido Freitag, Johannes Haas, Dieter Heere, Gert
Odenbreit, Dr. Vesna Raju, Dr. Thomas Richter, Raja Shahid Saleem,
Raja Samiullah, Dr. Stavros Savidis, Dr. Lisheng Shao, Barry Slocombe,
Dr. Wolfgang Sondermann, Reiner Wegner, and Dr. Jimmy Wehr. Special