• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.41-52
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• 2012

Suction drain method can directly apply vacuum pressure to the soft ground through vertical drains so it can make hardening zones around them. These hardening zones make steeply lower the discharge efficiency of the pore water with decreasing permeability. This paper considered a stepped vacuum pressure to minimize a hardening zone which is one of the important parameters that can decrease discharge efficiency. A series of laboratory tests were conducted in order to examine the effect of the hardening zones and to evaluate their effects to the ground improvements with varying durations which applied stepped vacuum pressures(-20kPa, -40kPa, -60kPa and -80kPa) with Busan marine clay. According to strength(CPT), water content test and theoretical investigation indicate a size of the hardening zone within 7cm and the decreasing ratio of permeability about 2.0~4.0. Also, the total settlements are larger for the stepped vacuum pressure than the instant vacuum loading. The application time with vacuum pressure is determined considering the geotechnical properties of the interested clays. Results of numerical analysis show that consolidation behavior is appropriate to measurement for considering hardening zones.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.113-121
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• 2012

The mechanical characteristics of a fault gouge from near Mt. Kumjung in Kumjung-Gu, Busan, were estimated from laboratory tests on different joint models. Fault gouge samples and joint samples in biotite granite were obtained from boreholes in the study area that had penetrated small faults associated with the Dongnae and Yangsan faults. XRD and SEM analyses revealed that for the fault gouge consists of several clay minerals with tabular structure (kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite, sericite), which could cause the considerable reduction of shear strength when wet. The shear strength of the fault gouge was obtained from direct shear tests of the fault gouge itself and from direct shear tests of several natural/artificial joint surfaces coated with fault gouge. The results indicate that the reduction of shear strength is more abrupt for the joint surfaces coated with fault gouge compared with uncoated joint surfaces, and that the friction angle of the fault gouge between joint surfaces is much lower than the internal friction angle of the fault gouge itself. Fault gouges in contact with rock, therefore, could have a stronger negative effect on the stability of structures in rock masses than the fault gouge itself.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.5-17
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• 2005

Spatial uncertainty of Busan marine clay ground, which commonly occurs during site investigation testing, data analysis and transformation modeling, has been described. In this paper geotechnical uncertainty of shear strength indicator $N_k$ has been quantified in both horizontal direction and vertical direction using geostatistical Kriging method. Most of soil data used are from 25 boring tests, 75 laboratory tests, 124 field vane tests and 25 cone penetration tests (CPT). CPT-$N_k$ data for undrained shear strength determination, which are the most important properties in geotechnical design stages, have been analysed. Comparison between cone factor from conventional CPT-based method and that of geostatistical method shows that geostatistical Kriging method is an ideal tool to quantify the spatial variability of uncertainty from self-correlation of soil property of interest, and can be recommended to identify the spatial distribution of consolidation .md shear strength of soils at any sites concerned.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09b
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• pp.61-67
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• 2010

Thick soft clay deposits which are generally located at the west and south coast of the Korean peninsula have complicated characteristics according to their orientation and formation history. Thus, several geotechnical problems could possibly occur when those soft clay deposits are used as foundations for marine structures. Deep cement mixing (DCM) method is one of the most widely used soft soil improvement method for various marine structures, nowadays. DCM method injects binders such as cement into the soft ground directly and mixes with the in-situ soil to improve the strength and other geotechnical properties sufficiently. However, the natural impacts induced by dynamic motions such as ocean waves, wind, typhoon, and tusnami give significant influences on the stability of marine structures and their underlaying foundations. Thus, the dynamic properties become important design criteria to insure the seismic stability of marine structures. In this study, the dynamic behavior of cemented Busan clay is evaluated. Laboratory unconfined compression test and resonant column test are performed on natural in-situ soil and cement mixed specimens to confirm the strength and strain-dependent dynamic behavior variation induced by cement mixing treatment. Results show that the unconfined compressive strength and shear modulus increase with curing time and cement content increment. Finally, the optimized cement mixing ratio for sufficient dynamic stability is obtained through this study. The results of this study are expected to be widely used to improve the reliability of seismic design for marine structures.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.80-85
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• 2005

This study, Using Pusan clay, examined a relationship between Dynamic and Static Liquid Tests. The Static Liquid Tests were carried out based on BS and JIS. The results of the study are summarized as follows. (1) The result of the Dynamic Liquid Limit Test showed that the liquid limit values of Natural condition soil were greater than those of oven-dried soil by $4\%\~15\%$. (2) The liquid limit value of the Static Liquid Limit Test was greater than that of the Dynamic Liquid Limit Test by $2\%\~9\%$. The following equations show the relationship between tile two values. WL, Fall(JIS)=0.961$\cdot$WL, Cas+4.209, WL, Fall(BS)=0.969$\cdot$WL, Cas+5.024, (3) The liquid limit value of BS was greater than that of JIS by $1\%\~6\%$. The following equation shows the relationship between the two values. WL, Fall(BS)=0.976WL, Fall(JIS)+2.638.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.103-110
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• 2020

The DMM (Deep mixing method) is a construction method in which an improved pile is installed in the soft ground by excavation ground using an auger and then mixing ground stabilizer with soil. Improved pile installed in the soft ground by the DMM may have different compressive strength depending on the properties and characteristics of the soil. In the previous study, laboratory tests were performed on the ground stabilizer for the DMM developed by using the ash of the circulating fluidized bed boiler as a stimulator for alkali activation of the blast furnace slag. And the test results were analyzed to derive the correlation between the unit weight of binder (γ_B) and the uniaxial compressive strength (q_u). In this study, comparative reviews were conducted on the correlations derived from the same laboratory tests on soil material collected from the Saemangeum area and the stability of the site was evaluated by analyzing the test results performed at the site. As a result, the clay collected from the Saemangeum area satisfies the correlation between the unit weight of binder (γ_B) and the uniaxial compressive strength (q_u) derived from the previous study. And the result of the test at the field showed a higher uniaxial compressive strength than the standard strength at the field, indicating excellent stability.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.47-58
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• 2014

To investigate the unsaturated characteristics of the tailings obtained from the waste dump at Imgi mine, matric suction and volumetric water content were measured in both drying and wetting processes using Automated Soil-Water Characteristics Curve Apparatus. Based on the measured result, Soil Water Characteristic Curves (SWCC) were estimated by van Genuchten model. According to the unsaturated soil classification method, the tailings of the waste dump correspond to clayey sand. As a result of Suction Stress Characteristic Curve (SSCC) by Lu and Likos model, SSCC has a shape of S which is similar to SWCC. The hysteresis phenomenon occurred in SSCCs, which means the suction stress of drying path is larger than that of wetting path in the same effective degree of saturation. The effective stress of unsaturated soil is equal to that of saturated soil when matric suction is less than Air Entry Value (AEV). However, the effective stress of unsaturated soil is larger than that of saturated soil when matic suction is more than AEV. Meanwhile, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity by van Genuchten model decreased with increasing matric suction, and the hydraulic conductivity of drying path is larger than that of wetting path.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.37-44
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• 2019

The compressive strength of the soil stabilizer in the deep mixing method (DMM) depends on kinds of soil, particle size distribution, and water content. Because of this, Laboratory test has to perform to estimate the unit weight of binder to confirm the satisfaction of the design strength. In this study, uniaxial compression strength was measured by mixing the soil stabilizers developed in the previous study with clay in Busan, Yeosu, and Incheon area. And the strength enhancement effect was evaluated comparing with blast furnace slag cement (BFSC). Also, the relationship between the unit content of binder and uniaxial compressive strength was investigated in order to easily calculate the unit weight of binder required to ensure the stability of the ground at the field. As the results of the analysis, the relationship between the unit content of binder and the uniaxial compressive strength are ${\gamma}_B=(108.93+0.0284q_u){\pm}35$ when W/B is 70%, and ${\gamma}_B=(122.93+0.0270q_u){\pm}40$ when W/B is 80%.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.47-54
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• 2011

Consolidation behavior of soft clay is generally to be affected by its compressibility and deformation characteristics. Especially, soil permeability depends on soil characteristics including its type of anisotropy. Coefficient of permeability of soft clay is mostly estimated by using laboratory(Oedometer test) and in-stiu piezocone test. The permeability characteristics of soft clay is estimated by excess pore pressure dissipation test results. In this study, the tests were performed to find out the validity of the existing theoretical formula in clay by pore pressure dissipation test and laboratory test results. After grasping of variation the coefficient of permeability ratio(${k_{h}/k_{v}}$) in different clay soils, it was found out adequate solution of in-stiu permeability ratio(${k_{h}/k_{v}}$). Piezocone tests and laboratory tests were performed at the site of pilot project of ground improvement at Yangsan-Mulgeum, Gyeongsangnam-do. Comparisons of the estimated values of ${k_{h}/k_{v}}$ using piezocone tests results and those from laboratory consolidation tests were carried out. Test results show that values of ${k_{h}/k_{v}}$ by piezocone test result(5.85) is similar of it's laboratory test(5.28).

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.87-96
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• 2023

There are a lot of difference between the surface settlement and the differential settlement measured at the Busan New Port, where the dredged and reclaimed clay layer exists and below the clay is originally thickly distributed. To find the cause and solution of this, the actual conditions of each differential settlement used for the soft ground improvement, characteristics, installation method, measurement frequency, measurement data management, and data analysis of each type were considered. In the deep soft ground improvement work where large deformation occurs, the bending deformation of the screw-type differential settlement gauge is less than that of other types of measuring instruments, so there is less risk of loss, and the reliability of data is relatively high as the instruments are installed by drilling for each stratum. Since the greater the amount of high-precision settlement measurement data, the higher the settlement analysis precision. It is necessary to manage with higher criteria than the measurement frequency suggested in the standard specification. For the data management of the differential settlement gauge, it is desirable to create graphs of the settlement and embankment height of the relevant section over time, such as surface, differential, and settlement of pore water pressure gauge for each point. In the case of multi-layered ground with different compression characteristics, it is more appropriate to perform settlement analysis by calculating the consolidation characteristics of each stratum using a differential settlement data.