Thisbookisacollectionof31paperspresentedattheInternationalWorkshop on Modern Trends in Geomechanics, held on 27¿29 June 2005 in Vienna. This workshop was run under the motto to bring together di?erent schools of thought in geomechanics research. The workshop was attended by about 50 participants from 15 countries. Besides the presentations, the workshop also o?ered welcoming occasions for stimulating discussions. The contributions in this book cover a wide range of topics from applied mathematics to geoengineering applications, re?ecting the breadth and depth of geomechanics research. The articles are peer reviewed and arranged in six parts: general aspects, constitutive modelling, micromechanics, analytical and numerical methods, granular materials and engineering applications. Wewouldliketothankallcontributorsfortheirdiligencetoprovidetimely their contributions. The generous support received from the following orga- zations is gratefully acknowledged: ¿ Alpine Mayreder Construction Ltd ¿ Bank Austria ¿ Credit Institute ¿ Austrian Geomechanics Society Our thanks also go to the managing editors at Springer, in particular Ms. Heather King and Dr. Thomas Ditzinger, who have enabled the qu- ity publication of this book at reasonable price. Last but not least, we would like to express our thanks to our co-workers in Vienna and Nottingham for theirhelpduringtheworkshop.Inparticular,oursecretaries,AnkePriewasser (Vienna) and Caroline Dolby (Nottingham), deserve our heartfelt thanks for their e?ort in organising the workshop and compiling this book.

Advisory Committee

J.P. Carter. W-F. Chen, F. Darve, M. Bolton, A. Gens, G. Gudehus, D. Kolymbas, P.V. Lade, R. Nova, F. Oka, R.K. Rowe , A.P.S. Selvadurai, Z-J. Shen, A.J.M. Spencer, I. Vardoulakis