• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.43-56
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• 2018

Vertical cutoff walls such as steel pipe sheet piles (SPSPs) have been commonly applied for the construction of the offshore waste landfill site. Because the SPSPs are sequentially installed by connecting their joints to those of adjacent piles, their mechanical stability should be ensured against the inherent external forces on the sea. The objective of this study is to evaluate the structural performances of the newly developed types of SPSP joint compared with those of other joint types. The problems of the traditional SPSP joints are investigated, and an advanced joint shape of SPSP, which is named double H with L-T (DHLT) joint, are designed for improving the constructability and maintenance. Full-scale models of the DHLT joint are manufactured, and then its joint areas are filled with grout material. After 28 days of curing time, compressive and tensile strength tests were performed on the joint models and the test results were compared with those of the traditional joints. Experimental results show that the structural capacities of the DHLT joint models are lower than those of traditional joints due to the influence of grout and steel members. In the cases of the compressive strength test, especially, bending occurs on steel H-beam with no distinct cracks in grout due to the asymmetrical structure of joint which has no reaction force. This study shows that the performance of the SPSP joint can be improved by considering the influence factors on the structural capacities estimated by the experimental tests.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.113-125
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• 2007

Improved numerical method to obtain the exact stiffness matrices is newly proposed to perform the spatially coupled elastic and stability analyses of non-symmetric and open/closed thin-walled beam on elastic foundation. This method overcomes drawbacks of the previous method to evaluate the exact stiffness matrix for the spatially coupled stability analysis of thin-walled beam-column This numerical technique is accomplished via a generalized eigenproblem associated with 14 displacement parameters by transforming equilibrium equations to a set of first order simultaneous ordinary differential equations. Next polynomial expressions as trial solutions are assumed for displacement parameters corresponding to zero eigenvalues and the eigenmodes containing undetermined parameters equal to the number of zero eigenvalues are determined by invoking the identity condition. And then the exact displacement functions are constructed by combining eigensolutions and polynomial solutions corresponding to non-zero and zero eigenvalues, respectively. Consequently an exact stiffness matrix is evaluated by applying the member force-deformation relationships to these displacement functions. In order to illustrate the accuracy and the practical usefulness of this study, the numerical solutions are compared with results obtained from the thin-walled beam and shell elements.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.21-26
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• 2016

Soil particle shape analysis was conducted with sands from Jumujun, Korea and Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia. Two hundred times enlarged digital images of the particles of those two sands were obtained with an optical microscope. The resolution of the digital images was $640{\times}320$. By conducting digital image processing, the coordinates of the soil particle boundary were extracted. After mapping those coordinates to the complex space, Fourier transformation was performed and the coefficients of each trigonometry term were computed. The coefficients reflect the shape characteristics of the sand grains and are invariant to translation. To evaluate the shape itself excluding the size of the soil particle, the coefficient was normalized by the equivalent radius of soil particle; this is called Fourier descriptor. After analyzing the Fourier descriptors, it was found that the major characteristics of Jumunjin and Ras Al Khair sands were elongation and asymmetry. Furthermore, it was found that the particle shapes reflect the self-similar, fractal nature of the textural features. The effects of resolution on soil particle shape analysis was also studied. Regarding this, it was found that the significant Fourier descriptors were not significantly affected by the image resolution investigated in this study, but the descriptors associated with textural features were affected.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.75-91
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• 2023

In this study, we explore the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) for the nondestructive survey of subsurface conduits, focusing on the challenges posed by multichannel environments. A key concern is the shadow regions created by conduits, which significantly impact survey results. The shadow regions, which are influenced by conduit position and diameter, hinder signal propagation, thereby making detection within these regions challenging. Using finite-difference time-domain numerical analysis, we examined the characteristics of conduit signals, which typically manifest in hyperbolic patterns. Particularly, we investigated three conduit arrangements: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Automatic gain control was applied to amplify the signals, enabling the analysis of variations in shadow regions and signal characteristics for each arrangement. In the horizontal arrangement, the proximity of the two conduits resulted in the emergence of a new hyperbolic pattern between the existing conduits. In the vertical arrangement, the lower conduit could be detected using hyperbolic signals on either side, but the detection was challenging when the upper conduit diameter exceeded that of the lower conduit. In the diagonal arrangement, signal characteristics varied based on the position of shadow regions relative to the detection range of the equipment. Asymmetrical signal patterns were observed when the shadow regions fell within the detection range, whereas the signals of the two conduits were minimally impacted when the shadow regions were outside the detection range. This study provides vital insights into accurately detecting and characterizing subsurface multichannel conduits using GPR-a significant contribution to the field of subsurface exploration and management.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.243-254
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• 2009

Tunnel problems relate to pore water pressure generally occur due to the restriction of groundwater flow into the tunnel which is generally caused by the deterioration of drainage systems. Previous studies have identified the problem as combined mechanical and hydraulic interaction occasions. In this study, detrimental effects of pore water pressure on the lining were investigated using the finite element method considering deterioration of the drainage system. Particularly, double-lined linings with drain-holes are considered. Deterioration of drainage system is represented as blockages of drain-holes. It is identified that the secondary lining ran be influenced by the deterioration of drainage system. It is shown that a tunnel with all drain-holes blocked moved upward, and unbalanced drain-hole blocking may result in torsional behavior of the tunnel which causes significant damages to the secondary linings.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2005

An understanding of soil-structure interaction is the key to rational and economical design for laterally loaded drilled shafts. It is very difficult to formulate the ultimate lateral capacity into a general equation because of the inherent soil nonlincarity, nonhomogeneity, and complexity enhanced by the three dimensional and asymmetric nature of the problem though extensive research works on the behavior of deep foundations subjected to lateral loads have been conducted for several decades. This study reviews the four most well known methods (i.e., Reese, Broms, Hansen, and Davidson) among many design methods according to the specific site conditions, the drilled shaft geometric characteristics (D/B ratios), and the loading conditions. And the hyperbolic lateral capacities (H$_h$) interpreted by the hyperbolic transformation of the load-displacement curves obtained from model tests carried out as a part of this research have been compared with the ultimate lateral capacities (Hu) predicted by the four methods. The H$_u$ / H$_h$ ratios from Reese's and Hansen's methods are 0.966 and 1.015, respectively, which shows both the two methods yield results very close to the test results. Whereas the H$_u$ predicted by Davidson's method is larger than H$_h$ by about $30\%$, the C.0.V. of the predicted lateral capacities by Davidson is the smallest among the four. Broms' method, the simplest among the few methods, gives H$_u$ / H$_h$ : 0.896, which estimates the ultimate lateral capacity smaller than the others because some other resisting sources against lateral loading are neglected in this method. But it results in one of the most reliable methods with the smallest S.D. in predicting the ultimate lateral capacity. Conclusively, none of the four can be superior to the others in a sense of the accuracy of predicting the ultimate lateral capacity. Also, regardless of how sophisticated or complicated the calculating procedures are, the reliability in the lateral capacity predictions seems to be a different issue.