• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.33-42
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• 2007

The assessment of shear wave velocity($V_s$) in soft soils is extremely difficult due to the soil disturbances during sampling and field access. After a ring type field $V_s$ probe(FVP) has been developed, it has been applied at the southern coastal area of the Korean peninsular. This study presents the upgraded FVP "blade type FVP", which minimizes soil disturbance during penetration. Design concerns of the blade type FVP include the tip shape, soil disturbance, transducers, protection of the cables, and the electromagnetic coupling between transducers and cables. The cross-talking between cables is removed by grouping and extra grounding of the cables. The shear wave velocity of the FVP is simply calculated by using the travel distance and the first arrival time. The large calibration chamber tests are carried out to investigate the disturbance effect due to the penetration of FVP blade and the validity of the shear waves measured by the FVP. The blade type FVP is tested in soils up to 30m in depth. The shear wave velocity is measured every 10cm. This study suggests that the upgraded blade type FVP may be an effective device for measuring the shear wave velocity with minimized soil disturbance in the field.