Analysis of large deformation, rigid body movement and strain or stress for discontinuous materials is often required for project designs and plans in the fields of engineering and disaster prevention. Many numerical simulation and analysis methods have been developed for the requirement from science and technology people since 1970s. Among them, Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (DDA), Numerical Manifold Method (NMM), Key Block Theory (KB), Distinct/Discrete Element Methods (DEM), Moving Particles Semi-implicit Method (MPS) and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Method (SPH) are typical effective methods and have drawn more and more attention of the researchers in many different fields. The discrete analysis is more natural than continuum analysis to handle geologic materials which we use as engineering materials. Advancement of computers and introduction of unique ideas helped us to develop many useful new numerical methods as listed above. Frontiers of Discontinuous Numerical Methods and Practical Simulations in Engineering and Disaster Prevention contains 14 keynote papers, 54 full papers and 4 extended abstracts presented at the 11th International Conference on Analysis of Discontinuous Deformation (ICADD-11, Fukuoka, Japan, 27-29 August 2013). The contributions cover the latest advances in all aspects of discontinuous numerical methods, from theory to practice, including new ideas and the latest developments. The main schemes are on DDA, NMM and KB following the tradition of the conference series. Meanwhile, DEM, MPS, SPH, Meshless Methods and some other numerical methods are also included. The book is a must-have for those academics and professionals interested in the state-of-the-art in technology and numerical methods related to the above mentioned methods.

Rocks and soils can behave as discontinuous materials, both physically and mechanically, and for such discontinuous nature and behaviour there remain challenges in numerical modelling methods and techniques. Some of the main discontinuum based numerical methods, for example the distinct element method (DEM) and the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA), are associated with geomechanics and geoengineering. Discontinuous numerical methods have been widely applied in geoengineering related to civil, mining, hydropower and petroleum engineering. There are many good examples of the use of UDEC/3DEC and DDA in design and forensic of geoengineering projects, in dams, slopes, tunnels, caverns and mines. The discontinuous numerical methods provide good tools to capture the true physical and mechanical behaviours of the geomaterials, and provide the scientific insights enabling for better engineering. Discontinuous numerical methods are indeed very much research and engineering tools of the present, and certainly more in the future. Advances in Discontinuous Numerical Methods and Applications in Geomechanics and Geoengineering is a collection of 55 technical papers presented at the 10th International Conference on Analysis of Discontinuous Deformation (ICADD-10), held 6-8 December 2011, Honolulu, USA. The papers cover a wide scope of discontinuous numerical methods from algorithms and mechanics, to modelling techniques and applications, including the key block theory, the discontinuous deformation analysis, the numerical manifold method, the distinct element method, coupled discontinuum and continuum methods, multi-scale and multi-physics in modelling, applications and case studies of engineering projects.