• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.23-36
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• 2021

In this paper, the effect of shear rate on internal friction angle and unconfined compressive strength of non-cemented and cemented sand was investigated. A dry Jumunjin sand was prepared at loose, medium, and dense conditions with a relative density of 40, 60 and 80%. Then, series of direct shear tests were conducted at shear rates of 0.32, 0.64, and 2.54 mm/min. In addition, a cemented sand with cement ratio of 8% and 12% was compacted into a cylindrical specimen with 50 mm in diameter and 100 mm in height. Unconfined compression tests on the cemented sand were performed with various shear rates such as 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5 and 10%/min. Regardless of a degree of cementation, the unconfined compressive strength of the cemented sand and the angle of internal friction of the non-cemented sand tended to increase as the shear rate increased. For the non-cemented sand, the angle of internal friction increased by 4° at maximum as the shear rate increased. The unconfined compressive strength of the cemented sand also increased as the shear rate increased. However, its increasing pattern declined after the standard shear rate (1 mm/min). A discrete element method was also used to analyze the crack initiation and its development for the cemented sand with shear rate. Numerical results of unconfined compressive strength and failure pattern were similar to the experimental results.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.33-45
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• 2019

In this study, in order to recycle a large amount of rocks and weathered mudstones produced by civil engineering projects such as railways and highways, as materials for roadbeds or embankment materials, circumferential specimens with a diameter of 5 cm and a height of 10 cm were made. A mudstone that weathered rapidly during rainfall was collected from Pohang construction sites. The weathered mudstone passed through a 2 mm sieve. It was prepared with the cement ratio, the sand ratio, curing condition and curing days. Three specimens were prepared according to each condition and then the unconfined compressive test, durability test and SEM analysis were performed to evaluate the engineering properties of the cemented soil. In the case of 28 days cured specimen, the strength of under-water cured specimens was 32-55% and the durability index was about 15% higher than air cured specimens. In addition, when the CR increased from 8% to 16%, the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of pure mudstone cemented soil under water increased by about 1.6 times and the durability index increased by about 1.9 times. When the SR increased from 0% to 50%, the UCS of the specimen with SR = 10% was slightly less than or equal to specimen with SR = 0%. Then, as the SR became 30-50%, the UCS increased up to 51%. Unlike the UCS, the durability index increased continuously as the SR increased. As a result of SEM analysis, when SR was 50% rather than SR = 0%, the contact between sand particles increased and they were connected to each other. Such contact between these particles resulted in the increase of strength.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.229-236
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• 2002

In this study, the characteristics of chemical grouting, such as solidification, penetrability, were analyzed experimentally by grain size of grout materials and permeability, relative density of the ground. For evaluating applicability of grout material, solidification tests and permeability tests were peformed. From the results of the tests, effective solidification ratio and penetrability ratio of Micro Cement were 75% and 86% respectively when ground permeability was in the range of 10$^{-4}$ to 10$^{-2}$cm/sec. On the other hand, effective solidification ratio and penetrability ratio of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) were both lower than 50%. When penetrability of grout material is needed for improvement of dam foundation and soft ground, application of Micro Cement is much superior to that of the other materials. The results of the grouting tests in the hydrodynamic ground show that the solidification effect of long gel-time grout material is excellent as injection pressure increases when groundwater velocity is relatively low. But when groundwater velocity is relatively high, the solidifcation effect of long gel-time grout material is very poor because most grout materials are outflowed.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.75-82
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• 2007

The effects of sitting pressure(${\sigma_{sit}}'$) during cementation, relative density and particle characteristics on the cohesion intercept due to cementation bonds and the confining stress inducing the breakage of cementation bonds ${p_i}'_{(BP)}$ are investigated from drained shear tests on the cemented sands confined under the isotropic stress up to 400 kPa. It was observed from the experimental results that the cemented sands, with the same density and gypsum content, show similar values of cohesion intercept and ${p_i}'_{(BP)}$, regardless of ${\sigma_{sit}}'$. Although the cohesion intercept and ${p_i}'_{(BP)}$ of cemented sands are observed to increase with increasing relative density and cementation level, the relative density appears to have more significant effect on ${p_i}'_{(BP)}$ than the cohesion intercept does. From analysing the test results of three different sands, it is shown that the smaller the particle size the larger the cohesion intercept and ${p_i}'_{(BP)}$, due to the increased number of contact points between the particles.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.65-74
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• 2014

Cemented soils have been widely used in road and dam construction, and recently ground improvement of soft soils. The strength of such cemented soils can be tested by using cored sample or laboratory-prepared specimen through unconfined compression or triaxial tests. It takes time to core a sample or prepare a testing specimen in the laboratory. In a certain situation, it is necessary to determine the in-situ strength of cemented soils very quickly and on time. In this study, the relation between unconfined compressive strength and shear wave velocity was investigated for predicting the in-situ strength of cemented soils. A small cemented specimen with 5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height was prepared by Nakdong river sand and ordinary Portland cement. Its cement ratios were 4, 8, 12, and 16% and air cured for 7, 14, and 28 days. For recycling of resources, a blast furnace slag was also used with sodium hydroxide as an alkaline activator. The shear wave velocity for cemented soils was measured and then unconfined compressive strength test was carried out. As a cement ratio increased, the shear wave velocity and unconfined compressive strength increased due to increased density and denser structure. The relation between unconfined compressive strength and shear wave velocity increased nonlinearly for cemented soils with less than 16% of cement ratio.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.67-75
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• 2012

This paper presents an environment-friendly sand cementation method by precipitating calcium carbonate using plant extracts. The plant extracts contain urease like $Sporosarcina$ $pasteurii$, which can decompose urea into carbonate ion and ammonium ion. It can cause cementation within sand particles where carbonate ions decomposed from urea combine with calcium ions dissolved from calcium chloride or calcium hydroxide to form calcium carbonate. Plant extracts, urea and calcium chloride or calcium hydroxide were blended and then mixed with Nakdong River sand. The mixed sand was compacted into a cylindrical specimen and cured for 3 days at room temperature ($18^{\circ}C$). Unconfined compression test, SEM and XRD analyses were carried out to evaluate three levels of urea concentration and two different calcium sources. As urea concentration increased, the unconfined compressive strength increased up to 10 times those without plant extracts because calcium carbonate precipitated more, regardless of calcium source. It was also found that the strength of specimen using calcium chloride was higher than that of specimen using calcium hydroxide.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.2C
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• pp.89-98
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• 2006

In this study, the iron and aluminium electrode was put in marine clay which was taken from south coast in Korea to increase the undrained shear strength by inducing the densification and cementation between clay particles and precipitation which was developed by electrode decomposition. For raising the cementation rate and reducing treatment time, high electric current( 2.5A) was applied in each electrode at semi-pilot scale soil box with marine clay. After the tests, the undrained shear strength was measured at designated points using cone penetration test device and sampling was conducted simultaneously in order to measure water content, pH and electric conductivity which would be the key for configuring the cementation effects indirectly. The iron electrode decomposition test results show that the water content adjacent to anode section decreased in 35% and increased in 13% at cathode section. The measured shear strength however, was increased considerably comparing to initial shear strength because of cementation effect between iron ions and soil particles. In case of aluminium electrode decomposition test, the distribution of measured shear strength and degree of improvement were more homogeneous than iron electrode decomposition test.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.79-86
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• 2012

Cemented soils have been used for subbase or base materials of roads, backfill materials of retaining walls and cofferdam. Such cemented soils can be degraded due to repeated wetting and drying or various weathering actions. Unlike rocks, a standard method was not defined for evaluating the durability of cemented soils. In this study, a slaking durability test and an ultrasound cleaner were used for developing a new durability test method for cemented soils. For durability tests, cemented sands with different cement ratios (4, 6, 8, and 12%) with cylindrical specimens were prepared and then air cured or under-water cured for three days. Three-day-cured specimens were dried for one day and then submerged for one day before testing. The weight loss after the slake durability test or ultrasonic cleaner operation for 10 or 20 min was measured and used for assessing durability. When a cement ratio was 4%, the weight loss from ultrasonic cleaner test was 7-25% but that from slake durability test was as much as 30-60%. For specimens with cement ratio of more than 8%, the weight loss was less than 10% from both tests. A durability index increased with increasing a cement ratio. The durability index of under-water cured specimen was higher than that of air cured specimen. The ultrasonic cleaner test was found to be an effective tool for durability assessment of cemented sands rather than the slake durability test.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.27-33
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• 2016

In this study, Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber was used to increase strength (unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength) of bio-cemented sand using microorganism. Ottawa sand was mixed with PVA fibers having three fiber contents (0, 0.4, and 0.8%). The fiber mixed sand was treated 14 times by using Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) which included culture (2 times per day) during 7 days to improve its engineering properties. The Bacillus Sporosarcina pasteurrii (Bacillus sp.) was used for urease activity. The specimen was prepared as a cylindrical specimen of 5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height. Unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength were measured after cementation. Moreover, calcium carbonate content and SEM analyses were performed with a piece of sample. An average value of unconfined compressive strength increased and then slightly decreased but an average value of tensile strength ratio increased with increasing carbonate content the in same condition. Unconfined compressive strength and tensile strength increased about 30% and 160%, respectively. A strength ratio of unconfined compressive strength to tensile strength representing the brittleness decreased from 8 to 4 when fiber content increased from 0.0 to 0.8%. Such bio-cemented sand can be applied into slope area to prevent its shear failure or increase its tensile strength.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 1982

Variation of soil properties is studied by permeating injection of chemical grouts, such as cement type, water-glass type and acrylamide type, to the same soil samples with different densities. Moreover, injection tests using specially prepared equipments of 1.0 shot system and 1. 5 shot system are attempted to investigate permeating injection effects in highly compacted soil and in the presence of ground water. The main factor which causes the improvement of cut-off effect and shearing strength is the cohesion of soil. The strength in the loose state is fundamentally governed by the membrane cohesion, meanwhile, in the loose state is governed by the structural cohesion. Injection effects under the ground water flow is considerably decreased, and effective gelling ratio of approximate 45~80% is observed by variation of velocity and gel time, besides grading of injection materials has high relation with permeation and traveling length but has little relation with effective gelling ratio. Permeating injection effects, such as gelling scope, gelling strength in highly compaoted soil conditions can be confirmed by penetration resistance diagram and iso-strength curve.