• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 2004

Application of the soil nailing method is continuously extending in maintaining stable excavations and slopes. However, ground anchor support system occasionally may not be used because of space limitations in urban excavation sites nearby the existing structures. In this case, soil nailing system with relatively short length of nails could be efficiently adopted as an alternative method. The general soil nailing support system, however, may result in excessive deformations particularly in an excavation zone of the existing weak subsoils. Pretensioning the soil nails then could play important roles to reduce deformations mainly in an upper part of the nailed-soil excavation system as well as to improve local stability. In this study, a newly modified soil nailing technology named as the PSN (Pretension Soil Nailing) is developed to reduce both facing displacements and ground surface settlements in top-down excavation process as well as to increase the global stability. Up to now, the PSN system has been investigated mainly focusing on an establishment of the design procedure. In the present study, laboratory model tests are carried out to investigate the failure mechanism and behavior characteristics of the PSN system. Various results of model tests are also analyzed to provide a fundamental basis for the efficient design.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.77-85
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• 2014

The helical pile has become popular with some constructional advantages because relatively compact equipment is needed for installing helical piles. However, field loading tests for estimating the bearing capacity of helical piles have drawbacks that the required dead load should be as much as the operation load, and reaction piles or anchors are required. In this paper, the bi-directional load test without necessity of reaction piles and loading frames was applied to the helical pile, and the load-settlement curves of the helical piles were measured. The bi-directional load test was performed in two separate stages with the aid of a special hydraulic cylinder whose diameter is equal to that of the pile shaft. In the first stage, the hydraulic cylinder is assembled immediately above the bottom helix plate, and the end bearing capacity of the helical pile is measured. In the second stage, the hydraulic cylinder is assembled above the top helix plate, and the skin friction of the helical pile is measured. The pile loading-test program was carried out for the two different helical piles with the shaft diameter of 89 mm and 114 mm, respectively. However, the configuration of helix plates is identical with three helix plates of 450-, 350-, 200- mm diameter. Results of the bi-directional load test were verified by the conventional static pile loading test. As a result, the bearing capacity estimated by the bi-directional load test is in good agreement with the result of the conventional pile loading test.