For a long period Soil Mechanics has remained at the semi-empirica stage, and only a few decades ago it has shown a tendency to become a fundamental science. However, this evolution is taking place slowly; in spite of the efforts of numerous research scientists, the very complex rheological laws of soils are still not well known. Even if these laws were elucidated, it would take a long time still to deduce simple rules from them for reliable and convenient use in current practical engineer ing. In the pursuit of these distant aims - and of others more imme diate - fundamental research and applied research are very active, both in Rheology and Soil Mechanics. The complexity of the problems to be solved should incite the laboratory researchers and the engineers to a continuous collaboration. Everyone acknowledges the advantage of these connections although aware of the difficulty of realizing this wish. However, contacts are being made little by little between the repre sentatives of the different branches of Rheology and Soil Mechanics, to the great benefit of science. The bureau of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM), aware of the importance of these two associat ed fields of mechanics, considered it possible to accelerate the natural and necessary processus of their interpenetration by organizing in Grenoble, from 1st to 8th April 1964 an International Symposium on Rheology and Soil Mechanics.

Inhalt
Sommaire.- Section I (Theoretical Section).- Sub-Section 1.- 1.1 The Mechanics of Materials with Structure.- 1.2 Définitions et Principes en Rhéologie Tensorielle.- 1.3 Concepts of Path Independence and Material Stability for Soils.- 1.4 On Elastic/Visco-Plastic Soils.- 1.5 Conditions de Stabilité et Postulat de Drucker.- 1.6 Lower Bound Collapse Theorem and Lack of Normality of Strainrate to Yield Surface for Soils.- 1.7 Plasticity and Creep of Cohesive Medium.- 1.8 An Application of the Random Walk Argument to the Mechanics of Granular Media.- 1.9 Rheological and Mechanical Models of Saturated Clay Particle Systems.- 1.10 Flow and Stress Relaxation of Clays.- 1.11 The Theoretical Research on the Stress Relaxation of Clay by Thermo-Dynamics and Statistical Mechanics.- 1.12 Flux Spécifique et Vitesse Effective de la Loi de DarcyAnalyse Critique.- 1.13 A Theoretical Consideration on a Behaviour of Sand.- 1.14 The Role of Friction in Granular Media.- 1.15 Contributions to the Investigations of Granular Systems.- Sub-Section 2.- 2.1 Problèmes de l'Équilibre Limite des Sols Non-Homogènes.- 2.2 On the Consolidating Viscoelastic Layer under Quasi-Static Loading.- 2.3 Calcul des Solutions Approchées dans les Problèmes d'Équilibre Limite Plan et de Révolution des Milieux Pesants Obéissant à la Loi de Coulomb.- 2.4 Rhéologie des Problèmes de Déformation Plane des Milieux Continus.- 2.5 Soil Consolidation under the Influence of an External Load Normal to the Boundary of Half-Space.- 2.6 Consideration of Heterogenity and Non-Linear Character in Analysis of Bed Creep.- 2.7 Sur Certains Problèmes Rhéologiques de la Mécanique des Sols.- Rapport Général Relatif à la 1e et à la 2e Sous-Section.- Section II (Experimental Section).- Sub-Section 3.- 3.1Determination of the Rheological Parameters and the Hardening Coefficients of Clays.- 3.2 The Secondary Consolidation of Clay.- 3.3 Étude sur la Consolidation Sphérique des Sols Partiellement Saturés Soumis à la Filtration Linéaire.- 3.4 Pore-Water Pressure and Creep in One-Dimensional Compression of Silt.- 3.5 Correlation of Creep and Dynamic Response of a Cohesive Soil.- 3.6 Quelques Aspects de la Loi Rhéologique des Sols.- 3.7 Yield Stress and Modulus of Elasticity of Soil.- 3.8 On the Uniqueness of Yield Surfaces for Wet Clays.- 3.9 L'Application de l'Essai Brésilien dans la Mécanique des Roches.- 3.10 Phénomènes de Rupture Fragile des Roches Isotropes et Anisotropes.- 3.11 On the Tensile Strength Test of Disturbed Soils.- Rapport Général Relatif à la 3e Sous-Section.- Sub-Section 4.- 4.1 Vérification Expérimentale des Méthodes de Calcul des Rideaux d'Ancrage de Palplanches Simplement Ancrées.- 4.2 Équilibre Limite de «Fondations» en Milieu Pulvérulent à deux Dimensions.- 4.3 Compressibility of a Certain Volcanic Clay.- 4.4 Secondary Settlements of Structures Subjected to Large Variations in Live Load.- 4.5 Les Barrages en Terre et la Mécanique des Sols.- 4.6 Mesures in Situ de la Masse Volumique et de l'Humidité des Sols par Radioactivité.- Rapport Général Relatif à la 4e Sous-Section.