• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 1984

A study was carried out to develop a modified Gardner's method, which enabled us to obtain simultaneously both the unsaturated hydraulic conductivities and the moisture retention curves by the use of a soil moisture pressure-plate extractor. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was calculated from soil moisture changes under different tension ranges in the pressure- plate extractor by means of Gardner's pressure-plate outflow equation. From 30mbar-tension to 10bar-tension, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivities obtained on three soils (Bonryang sandy loam, Yesan silt loam, and Pogog clay loam) varied $3.09{\times}10^{-2}cm/day{\sim}4.06{\times}10^{-6}cm/day$, $1.34{\times}10^{-2}cm/day{\sim}7.30{\times}10^{-6}cm/day$, and $1.83{\times}10^{-2}cm/day{\sim}8.50{\times}10^{-6}cm/day$, respectively. In comparison with the outflow method, it is inconvenient to perform the periodic determinations of the soil moisture content that require release of the applied Pressure before readjusting the pressure desired for each measurement. Nevertheless, the main advantage of the modified method is that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivities of different soils can be calculated simultaneously with a small amount of each soil sample. It is concluded that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity can be calculated from soil moisture changes in the soil moisture pressure-plate extractor.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.168-185
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• 2015

The thermal-hydrological-mechanical (T-H-M) behavior of rock mass surrounding a large-scale high-temperature cavern thermal energy storage (CTES) at a shallow depth has been investigated, and the effects of hydrological conditions such as water table and rock permeability on the behavior have been examined. The liquid saturation of ground water around a storage cavern may have a small impact on the overall heat transfer and mechanical behavior of surrounding rock mass for a relatively low rock permeability of $10^{-17}m^2$. In terms of the distributions of temperature, stress and displacement of the surrounding rock mass, the results expected from the simulation with the cavern below the water table were almost identical to that obtained from the simulation with the cavern in the unsaturated zone. The heat transfer in the rock mass with reasonable permeability ${\leq}10^{-15}m^2$ was dominated by the conduction. In the simulation with rock permeability of $10^{-12}m^2$, however, the convective heat transfer by ground-water was dominant, accompanying the upward heat flow to near-ground surface. The temperature and pressure around a storage cavern showed different distributions according to the rock permeability, as a result of the complex coupled processes such as the heat transfer by multi-phase flow and the evaporation of ground-water.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.304-315
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• 2006

We have examined the applicability of f-k analysis to the GPR direct wave measurement for water content to characterize vadose zone condition. When the vadose zone consists of a dry surface layer over wet substratum, we obtained f-k spectra where most of the energy is bounded by the air and dry soil velocities. In this case, dry soil velocity was successfully estimated by using high frequency data. On the other hands, when wet soil overlies dry substratum, the f-k spectra show a contrasting response where most of the energy travels with the velocity bounded by dry and wet soil velocities. In this case, the radar waves are trapped and guided within wet soil layer, exhibiting velocity dispersion. By adopting modal propagation theory, we could formulae a simple inversion code to find two layer's dielectric constants as well as layer thickness. By inverting the velocity dispersion curve obtained from f-k spectra of synthetic modeling data, we could obtain good estimates of dielectric constants of each layer as well as first layer thickness. Moreover, we could obtain more accurate results by including the higher mode data. We expect this method will be useful to get the quantitative property of real subsurface when the field condition is similar.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 1999

An artificial recharge test was performed to analyze the source of seepage observed inside the Songsanri tombs Kongju during the rainy season. In order to simulate simulate the test, a two-dimensional unsaturated groundwater flow model was developed. By the measured water level variation in the observation wells and in the artificail water tank, the model was cailbrated to estimate the model parameters such as fitting parameters in the constitutive relations(n and $\alpha$), the saturated volumetric water content, the residual volumetric water content, and the saturated hydraulic conductivity. Using the calibrated parameters, the recharge test was simulated. The results of the test and simulation show that the major source of the seepage is the downward groundwater flow through cracks in the protection layer the tombs. It was also analyzed by the steady state simulation that, with a perfect protection layer, a long-term precipitation that, with a perfect protection layer, a long-term precitation could cause only 10% increase of the effective saturation around the north side of the Muryong royal tomb by infiltration of the unsaturated groundwater from the North. Therefore, it is concluded that the most urgent protection plan for the tombs with respect to seepage is to reconstruct an effective waterproof-layer rather than a trenched drainage system.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.177-187
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• 1998

The spatially integrated model (SIM) which can evaluate temporal variation of groundwater quality is proposed in the stream-aquifer setting entered by nonpoint source contaminants. And the developed SIM included unsaturated soil zone and was tested against the spatially distributed model (SDM) of the coupled advection-dispersion and Richards equations for the various hydrologic and aquifer simulating conditions. The result of the comparison showed that the average concentration responses of saturated aquifer and groundwater outflow between the SIM and the SDM was in good agreement, except for the case of the large dispersivity ratio and thick aquifer system. And it is shown that for the cases of the large dispersivity ratio and thick aquifer system the performance of the nonlinear SIM is better than that of the linear SIM for evaluating the average concentration of groundwater outflow response.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.5C
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• pp.191-198
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• 2009

It has been reported in Korea that surface slope failures in weathered soil are mainly caused by downward infiltration due to rainfall. These failures are triggered by the deepening of the wetting band in soils accompanied by a decrease in matric suction induced by the water infiltration. So, a need exists that these trends of wetting path in gneiss weathered soils, which is commonly found in Korea, are assessed by phenomenological approach. In this paper, numerical analyses of unsaturated soil slope under rainfall conditions are presented based on the wetting path soil-water characteristic curve in the laboratory. As the field SWCC matches well with the wetting path of the laboratory SWCC from the literatures, it seems reasonable to adopt the laboratory wetting SWCC as an upper boundary condition in the assessment of unsaturated slope instability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.191-198
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• 1997

The Seokdae municipal waste landfill was filled from 1987 to 1993. A disk tension infiltrometer was used to estimate the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the upper part of landfill cover. The estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity ranges from 2.2$\times$$10^{-4}$~8.1$\times$$10^{-3}$ cm/sec. Net infiltration through the Seokdae municipal waste landfill is estimated from precipitation data, hydraulic conductivity and reported landfill profiles by using an unsaturated flow model, HYDRUS. Total infiltration rate is estimated to be 939 ㎥/day. Leachate level rise and leachate seepage are computed by adopting a simple model.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.10-16
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• 2007

The slug test by adding water to well and measuring falling head was conducted to investigate the hydrogeological property of unsaturated or partially saturated mine tailings in the Imgi abandoned mine in Busan. In case that wells were installed with a full screen through two layers with different hydraulic properties, Bouwer and Rice method was useful to estimate the hydraulic conductivity and the depth of mine tailings. In particular, when groundwater dried out in the dry season, the slug test performed by adding water into well to form artificial water table and then conducting falling head test produced the reasonable hydraulic conductivity values. The slug test using falling head test can be an alternative to investigate the hydrogeological property of abandoned mine tailings.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.spc
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• pp.75-91
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• 2022

Differences in subsurface migration of LNAPL/DNAPL contaminants caused by a selection of 3-phase (aqueous, NAPL, and gas) relative permeability function (RPF) models in numerical modeling were investigated. Several types of RPF models developed from both experimental and theoretical backgrounds were introduced prior to conducting numerical modeling. Among the RPF models, two representative models (Stone I and Parker model) were employed to simulate subsurface LNAPLs/DNAPLs migration through numerical calculation. For each model, the spatiotemporal distribution of individual phases and the mole fractions of 6 NAPL components (4 LNAPL and 2 DNAPL components) were calculated through a multi-phase and multi-component numerical simulator. The simulation results indicated that both spilled LNAPLs and DNAPLs in the unsaturated zone migrated faster and reached the groundwater table sooner for Stone I model than Parker model while LNAPLs migrated faster on the groundwater table under Parker model. This results signified the crucial effect of 3-phase relative permeability on the prediction of NAPL contamination and suggested that RPF models should be carefully selected based on adequate verification processes for proper implementation of numerical models.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.10
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• pp.15-23
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• 2023

In this study, the infiltration behavior of slopes composed of mixed soils with clay contents of 0%, 5%, and 10% in weathered Gneiss soil, which is a representative weathered soil in Korea, was investigated, and the stability of unsaturated slopes due to rainfall infiltration was examined. For this, in this study, the soil water characteristic curve was obtained through the water retention test, and the strength constant was obtained through the triaxial compression test. Based on the obtained results, the influence of clay content and antecedent rainfall effect (i.e., initial suction) on the formation of saturated zone (i.e., wetting band) and slope stability due to rainfall infiltration was examined through infiltration and stability analyses. As a result, it was found that the hig her the initial suction, the slower the formation of the saturated zone on the slope. In addition, it was found that as the clay content increases, the shear strength of the ground increases and the resistance to rainfall infiltration increases, and eventually the slope stability is greatly improved.