• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.133-147
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• 2007

Downhole seismic method is very economic and easy of operation because it uses only one borehole and simple surface source to obtain the shear wave velocity ($V_s$) profile of a site. Even though it is widely used by the site investigation companies, universities and institutes, however, the $V_s$ profile determined by downhole seismic method has often low reliability due to employment of wrong combinations of field losing equipment and interpretation method and deficiency of experience. Round robin test was performed and testing equipment and procedure were compared. Adequate downhole seismic testing equipment was constructed based on the comparison and verification study of the round robin test. The data acquisition and software interpretation were also developed for automation and quick test in field. Finally, the effectiveness and applicability were verified through the field test by using the constructed testing system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.7-13
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• 2008

To obtain a shear-wave velocity profile in geotechnical practice, various seismic investigation methods which have their own strength and weakness are being frequently used. Generally, geotechnical site have lateral variation of the properties, so it is needed to determine 2-dimensional shear wave velocity imaging of the site. In this study, harmonic wavelet analysis of wave (HWAW) method is applied to determination of 2-D $V_s$ imaging. HWAW method which is based on time-frequency analysis using harmonic wavelet transform have been developed to determine phase and group velocities of waves. HWAW method uses the signal portion of the maximum local signal/noise ratio to evaluate the phase velocity to minimize the effects of noise. HWAW method determine detailed local $V_s$ profile because one experimental setup which consists of one pair of receivers with spacing of 1~3m is used to determine the dispersion curve of the whole depth. So, 2-D Vs imaging with relatively high resolution can be determined through a series of HWAW test. In order to estimate the applicability of HWAW method, field tests were performed in 4 sites. Through field applications and comparison with other test results, the good accuracy and applicability of the proposed method were verified.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.137-147
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• 2008

Fault rupture directivity of the Odaesan earthquake, which was inferred to be the main cause of the high PGAvalue (> 0.1 g) unusually observed at the near-source region, was analyzed by using the data from the nearby (R < 100 km) dense seismic stations. The Boatwright's method (2007) was adopted for this purpose in which the azimuth and takeoff angle of the unilateral rupture directivity function could be estimated based on the relative peak ground-motions of seismic stations resulting from the nature of the rupture directivity. In this study, the approximate values of the relative peak ground-motions was derived from the difference between the log residuals of the point-source spectral model (Boore, 2003) for the main and secondary events based on the Random Vibration Theory. In this derivation, the spectral difference for a frequency range between the source corner frequencies of main and secondary events was considered to reflect only the effect of the fault directivity. The inversion result of the model parameters for the fault directivity function showed that the fault-plane of NWW-SEE direction dipping steeply to the North with high rupture velocity near upward in SE direction is responsible for the observed high level of ground-motion at the near-source region.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.357-367
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• 2018

Recent earthquakes in Gyeongju and Pohang have raised interest in liquefaction in South Korea. Liquefaction, which is a phenomenon that excessive pore pressure is generated and the shear strength of soil is decreased by repeated loads such as earthquakes, causes severe problems such as ground subsidence and overturning of structures. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and prepare for the possibility of liquefaction in advance. In general, the possibility of liquefaction is quantitatively assessed using the Liquefaction Potential Index (LPI), but it takes a lot of time and effort for performing site response analysis which is essential for the liquefaction evaluation. In this study, a simple method to evaluate the liquefaction potential without executing the site response analysis in a downtown area with a lot of borehole data was proposed. In this simple method, the correlation between the average shear wave velocity of the target location ground and the LPI divided by thickness of liquefiable layer was established. And the applicable correlation equation for various rock outcrop accelerations were derived. Using the 104 boreholes information in Seoul, the correlation equation between LPI and the shear wave velocity (ground water level: 0m, 1m, 2m, 3m) is obtained and the possibility of liquefaction occurrence in Seoul and Gyeongju is evaluated. The applicability of the proposed simple method was verified by comparing the LPI values calculated from the correlation equation and the LPI values derived using the existing site response analysis. Finally, the distribution map of LPI calculated from the correlation was drawn using Kriging, a geostatistical technique.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.87-105
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• 2009

Nonlinear dynamic deformation characteristics, expressed in terms of normalized shear modulus reduction curve (G/$G_{max}-\log\gamma$, G/$G_{max}$ curve) and damping curve (D-$\log\gamma$), are important input parameters with shear wave velocity profile ($V_s$-profile) in the seismic analysis of (new or existing) fill dam. In this paper, the reasonable and economical methods to evaluate the nonlinear dynamic deformation characteristics for core zone and rockfill zone respectively are presented. For the core zone, 111 G/$G_{max}$ curves and 98 damping curves which meet the requirements of core material were compiled and representative curves and ranges were proposed for the three ranges of confining pressure (0~100 kPa, 100 kPa~200 kPa, more than 200 kPa). The reliability of the proposed curves for the core zone were verified by comparing with the resonant column test results of two kinds of core materials. For the rockfill zone, 135 G/$G_{max}$ curves and 65 damping curves were compiled from the test results of gravelly materials using large scale testing equipments. The representative curves and ranges for G/$G_{max}$ were proposed for the three ranges of confining pressure (0~50 kPa, 50 kPa~100 kPa, more than 100 kPa) and those for damping were proposed independently of confining pressure. The reliability of the proposed curves for the rockfill zone were verified by comparing with the large scale triaxial test results of rockfill materials in the B-dam which is being constructed.