This volume discusses issues related to unsaturated soil mechanics and rock engineering based on technical papers focusing on two important topics in geotechnical engineering: (1) the characterization of unsaturated soils, and (2) the investigation of rock properties. The research studies on unsaturated soils include the characterization techniques of the unsaturated soils. The studies on rock properties include thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of gypsum rock, soft rocks capacity, role of rock strength in blastability, indirect methods to estimate rock strength, and variations in isotope distributions in Permian rocks. The two broad themes in this collection, as summarized above, are representative of local challenges facing geotechnical engineers in the Middle East, but their contributions can also be extended to other regions of the world. The volume is based on the best contributions to the 2nd GeoMEast International Congress and Exhibition on Sustainable Civil Infrastructures, Egypt 2018 - The official international congress of the Soil-Structure Interaction Group in Egypt (SSIGE).

This volume includes a collection of technical papers on an important topic in geotechnical engineering; the behavior and treatment of expansive soils. The research studies include investigations into novel stabilization techniques for expansive soils using different admixtures or mechanical consolidation techniques, as well as new experimental approaches to evaluate the behavior of expansive soils. They also include an evaluation of wetting boundary conditions on the volume change of expansive soils, as well as the role of hydrologic boundary conditions in arid climates. The volume is based on the best contributions to the 2nd GeoMEast International Congress and Exhibition on Sustainable Civil Infrastructures, Egypt 2018 - The official international congress of the Soil-Structure Interaction Group in Egypt (SSIGE).