• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.55-66
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• 2006

Laboratory tests have revealed that the liquefaction resistance of sands depends strongly upon the degree of saturation, which is expressed in terms of the pore pressure coefficient, B. The velocity of compression waves(i.e. P-waves), which have been known to be influenced largely by the degree of saturation and can be measured conveniently in the field, appears as an indicator of saturation. In this paper, the Stokoe type torsional shear(TS) testing equipment is modified to saturate the specimen and measure the velocities of P-wave and S-wave and pore pressure buildup. The velocities of P-wave and S-wave for Toyoura sand from Japan is measured and compared at the various B-value (degree of saturation) which are partially saturated to fully saturated conditions. Additionally, the variation of the pore water pressure induced during undrained TS tests at the various B-value is measured and analyzed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.3C
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• pp.103-108
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• 2011

In this study, the limitations of large strain resonant column and torsional shear tests apparatus are described and solutions to the limitations are also described. The limitations are rotational distance, limited torque, and measurable deformation system, respectively. To resolve the rotational distance, the bottom platen was modified. And the four-armed drive plate was modified into eight-armed drive plate and the drive coil connection was changed to obtain powerful torque.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.387-395
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• 2011

According to the seismic design criteria for structural buildings in Korea, the ground is classified into 5 types based on the average shear wave velocity measured from elastic wave tests on site and seismic load applied to the structure is estimated. However, elastic wave tests in site, however, on the engineering fill, cannot be performed during the construction period. Therefore, to evaluate shear wave velocity considering field conditions, resonant column (RC) and torsional shear (TS) tests are performed and compared with various elastic wave test results. As a result, if confining pressure for the tests using engineering fill are considered properly, we can obtain similar results comparing with those of elastic wave tests. In addition, by considering the effect of maximum shear modulus and confining pressure by RC/TS tests, n values shows typical values ranging from 0.434 to 0.561 so that utilization of RC/TS tests can be useful to infer shear modulus in field.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.17-25
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• 2005

The bender element method is an experimental technique to determine very small strain ($<10^{-3}\%$), elastic shear modulus of a soil, $G_{max}$ by measuring the velocity of shear wave propagation through a sample. Bender elements have been applied as versatile transducers to measure small strain modulus of wet or dry soils in various laboratory apparatus. In this paper, bender element (BE), resonant column (RC) and torsional shear (TS) tests were performed on Toyoura sand at various testing conditions using the modified Stokoe type RC/TS testing equipment capable of performing BE test. Based on the results, applicabilities of the testing method using bender element were evaluated by comparing the values of $G_{max}$ obtained from RC/TS and BE testing methods. For more dependable evaluation, the loading frequency of each testing method was considered for the results obtained for samples in saturated condition by adapting Biot's theory.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 2008

Conventional RC/TS(resonant column and torsional shear) device usesa specimen with an aspect ratio(height-to-diameter) of 2:1 and this generates a maximum shear strain in the sample of about 1.5% at the maximum rotation of the drives system. The objective of this study is to modify RC/TS device to generate higher strain amplitude. The modifications include a new base pedestal to overcome the limitations in the travel of the drive system and modification of coil wiring to increase torque. The effects of the new coil wire on torque in the electro magnetic drive system were evaluated and the application of modified device was illustrated using sand soil.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.109-122
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• 2002

The water content of soil near the ground subgrade varies seasonally, and dynamic deformational characteristics of soil are affected by the variation of water content. Contrary to previous studies which used various specimens of different compaction moisture contents, the influences of water content and capillary Pressure on dynamic deformational characteristics of soil were investigated using the given specimen controlling the matric suction. RC/TS(resonant column and torsional shear) testing equipment was modified so that it can control water content with changing capillary pressure(matric suction). RC/TS tests were performed on subgrade soil collected in the KHC(Korea Highway Corporation) test road. In the field, the cross-hole tests were performed and the water contents were measured at the same site to verify the feasibility and applicability of RC/TS test results. As water content decreased, the tendency of increasing shear moduli in field was well matched with laboratory test results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1995.03a
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• pp.175-180
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• 1995

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.21-28
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• 2011

Several theoretical soil nonlinear models to predict damping ratio, which is one of the typical dynamic properties of soils, it is impractical to predict damping ratio. The resonant column and torsional shear test(RC-TS) is used to represent the dynamic behavior of soils from intermediate to medium shear strains. A limitation of RC-TS is measure precise shear strain in large strains and the modified equivalent radius($R_{eq}$) was obtained using both modified hyperbolic model and Ramberg-Osgood model. Bonneville clays were tested using RC-TS test to obtain rotation and torque. The measured rotation and torque were then compared with calculated rotation and torque using curve-fitting method. Then, the nonlinear soil model parameters were obtained and the equivalent radius was calculated using the model parameters.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.439-444
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• 1998

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.71-83
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• 2007

Liquefaction resistance depends strongly upon the degree of saturation, which is expressed in terms of the pore pressure coefficient, B. The B-value has been widely used to quantify the state of saturation of laboratory samples. However, it is practically impossible to determine in situ state of saturation by using the B-value. So, P-wave velocity can be alternatively used as a convenient index for evaluating the in situ state of saturation. In this paper, the Stokoe type torsional shear (TS) testing system was modified to saturate the specimen, with which it is also possible to measure P ($V_p$), S-wave velocity ($V_s$) and the excess pore water pressure buildup In order to examine the effect of B-value for nearly saturated sands. A series of the tests were carried out at 3 relative densities (40%, 50% and 75%) and various B-values using Toyoura sand. Based on the test results, the variations of $V_p\;and\;V_s$ with B-value were analyzed and compared with a existing theoretically derived formula. The normalized pore water pressure, $du/{\sigma}{_0}'$ and cyclic threshold shear strain, ${\gamma}^c_{th}$ with B-value were also analyzed. Additionally the test results related to pore water pressure were analyzed by $V_p$ to apply to the field seismic analysis.