• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.181-194
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• 2013

Landslides are known as gravitational mass movements that can carry the flow materials ranging in size from clay to boulders. The various types of landslides are differentiated by rate and depositional features. Indeed, flow characteristics are observed from very slow-moving landslides (e.g., mud slide and mud flow) to very fast-moving landslides (e.g., debris avalanches and debris flows). From a geomechanical point of view, shear-rate-dependent shear strength should be examined in landslides. This paper presents the design of advanced ring-shear apparatus to measure the undrained shear strength of debris flow materials in Korea. As updated from conventional ring-shear apparatus, this apparatus can evaluate the shear strength under different conditions of saturation, drainage and consolidation. We also briefly discussed on the ring shear apparatus for enforcing sealing and rotation control. For the materials with sands and gravels, an undrained ring-shear test was carried out simulating the undrained loading process that takes place in the pre-existing slip surface. We have observed typical evolution of shear strength that found in the literature. This paper presents the research background and expected results from the ring-shear apparatus. At high shear speed, a temporary liquefaction and grain-crushing occurred in the sliding zone may take an important role in the long-runout landslide motion. Strength in rheology can be also determined in post-failure dynamics using ring-shear apparatus and be utilized in debris flow mobility.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.307-314
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• 2016

Shear characteristics of soils can be investigated using various types of shear stress measuring apparatus. Ring shear tests are often applied for examining the residual shear strength under the unlimited deformation. This paper presents drainage-consolidation-shear velocity dependent undrained shear strengths measured in terms of water leakage. A series of ring shear tests were performed under the constant normal stress (50 kPa) and controled shear velocity ranging from 0.01~1 mm/sec under the undrained condition. As a result, undrained shear strengths are dependent on shear velocity. It exhibits that straining hardening behavior is observed for the shear velocity lower than 0.1 mm/sec; however, the strain softening behavior is observed for the shear velocity higher than 0.1 mm/sec. Water leakage can cause the increase in shear stress irrespective of shear velocity. Shear stress increases with increasing amount of water leakage. It is due to the fact that the small grains and water flow out through the rubble edge in the ring shear box. Repetitive saturation and consolidation processes may minimize the error.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.717-724
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• 2023

Residual shear strength is an important parameter in landslide dynamics and may be considered the critical factor in landslide triggering. Tests were undertaken using Jumunjin sands to examine the effects of smooth and rough surfaces on ring-shear characteristics. Under dense and drained conditions, shear velocities were recorded as 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 50, 100 mm s^-1, with shear strength increasing with velocity and producing increasingly fine content. Particle fragmentation may thus increase landslide mobilization when the landslide body is mixed with ambient water in channelized flows.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.12
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• pp.67-76
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• 2006

The reasonable assessment of the shear stiffness of a dredged soft ground and soft clay is difficult due to the soil disturbance. This study addresses the development and application of a new in-situ shear wave measuring apparatus (field velocity probe: FVP), which overcomes several of the limitations of conventional methods. Design concerns of this new apparatus include the disturbance of soils, cross-talking between transducers, electromagnetic coupling between cables, self acoustic insulation, the constant travel distance of S-wave, the rotation of the transducer, directly transmitted wave through a frame from transducer to transducer, and protection of the transducer and the cable. These concerns are effectively eliminated by continuous improvements through performing field and laboratory tests. The shear wave velocity of the FVP is simply calculated, without any inversion process, by using the travel distance and the first arrival time. The developed FVP Is tested in soil up to 30m in depth. The experimental results show that the FVP can produce every detailed shear wave velocity profiles in sand and clay layers. In addition, the shear wave velocity at the tested site correlates well with the cone tip resistance. This study suggests that the FVP may be an effective technique for measuring the shear wave velocity in the field to assess dynamic soil properties in soft ground.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.47-57
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• 2006

The shear wave velocity is related with the stiffness of granular skeleton and mass density. The shear stiffness of the granular skeleton remains unaffected by the presence of the fluid. Bender elements are convenient shear wave transducers for instrumenting soil cells due to optimal soil-transducer coupling. This study addresses the principles of the shear wave, the design and implementation of bender elements including electromagnetic coupling prevention, directivity, resonant frequency, detection of first arrival, and near field effects. It is shown that electromagnetic coupling effects can be minimized using parallel-type bender elements. Thus, the in-plane S-wave directivity is quasi-circular. The resonant frequency of bender element installations depends on the geometry of the bender element, the anchor efficiency and the soil stiffness. One of the most cumbersome parts in the bender element test is near field effects, which affect the selection of arrival time. The selection of the first arrival within the near field Is effectively solved by the multiple reflection technique and signal matching technique. Bender elements, which requires several considerations, may be effective tools for the subsurface characterization by using S-wave.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.164-174
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• 2021

The study examines the shearing and crushing characteristics of land-derived subaqueous granular materials in a gravel-bed river. A series of large-sized ring shear tests were performed to examine the effect of shear time and shear velocity on the shear stress characteristics of aquarium gravels with a 6-mm mean grain size. Three different shear velocities (i.e., 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mm/sec) were applied to measure the shear stress under the drained (long-term shearing) and undrained (short-term shearing) conditions. Different initial shear velocities, i.e., 0.01→0.1→1 mm/sec and 0.1→0.01→1 mm/sec, were considered in this study. The test results show that the grain crushing effect is significant regardless of drainage conditions. The shear stress of coarse-grained materials is influenced by initial shear velocities, regardless of the drainage conditions. In particular, particle breakage increases as grain size increases. The shearing time and initial shear velocity are the primary influencing factors determining the shear stress of gravels. The granular materials may be broken easily into particles through frictional resistance, such as abrasion, interlocking and fracture due to the particle-particle interaction, resulting in the high mobility of granular materials in a subaqueous environment.

• Composites Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.82-90
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• 1999

The mechanical properties of generally orthotropic materials are conventionally measured by performing off-axis tensile and flexure tests. However, the inevitable coupling between tension and shear in case of tensile test or bending and twisting in flexure test case induces nonuniform displacement and stress fields. Consequential stress concentration along the boundary of specimens would result in inaccurate modulus and underestimated strength. This paper proposes the variation of specimen geometry in terms of appropriate obliquity of loaded boundary. For the purpose, classical lamination theory is transformed into skewed coordinate, and characteristic equations for both of unidirectional and laminated composite specimens are formulated. Finite element analysis is employed to show the validity of the skewedness in tensile and bending test specimens.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.39-52
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• 2013

The shear stress characteristics of landslide materials can be affected by various factors. We examined the shear stress characteristics of two different soils using ring-shear apparatus, in which saturation-consolidation-shearing speed can be easily controlled. This paper presents (i) shear stress-time characteristics, (ii) shear stress depending on normal stress and shear speed and (iii) shear stress as a function of shearing speed. Materials used in this paper were the Nakdong River sand and muds taken from Jinhae coastal area in Korea. Samples were prepared in three types: Sand (upper)-Sand (lower), Clay (upper)-Clay (lower) and Sand (upper)-Clay (lower). The upper and lower indicate the samples placed in upper and lower ring shear boxes, respectively. For given normal stresses (50 and 100 kPa) and shearing speed (0.1 mm/sec), we performed ring shear tests. Then the failure lines were determined in the second test. Last, we determined the shear stress characteristics depending on different shearing speeds, such as 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 mm/sec. As a result, we found that shear stress characteristics are strongly dependent on above three factors. The shear stress of Sand (upper)-Clay (lower) is smaller than that of Sand (upper)-Sand (lower), but slightly larger than that of Clay (upper)-Clay (lower). The shear stress is also characterized by grain crushing and wetting process at slip surface.