• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.5-12
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• 2023

This study investigates the existing models for estimating the shear strength of rock joints, presents related problems, and introduces a newly proposed model to overcome the problems. The results of many experimental tests show that the shear strength of a rock joint depends on many complex factors, including asperity angle, compressive strength, applied normal stress, friction angle, asperity cohesive strength, and progressive damage of asperities. However, the existing models do not account for these factors enough. To overcome these problems, Son (2020) developed a new model to estimate the shear strength of rock joints and confirmed its reliability by comparing with experimental results and existing models. In this paper, the developed model was used to investigate the various factors that affect the joint shear strength, and the results were compared and analyzed. Through this study, the factors that affect the shear strength of the rock joint could be identified in more detail.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.38-51
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• 2019

Barcelona Basic Model (BBM) can describe not only swelling owing to decrease in effective stress, but also wetting-induced swelling due to decrease in suction. And the BBM can also consider increase in cohesion and apparent preconsolidation stress with suction, and decrease in the apparent preconsolidation stress with temperature. Therefore, the BBM is widely used all over the world to predict and to analyze coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of bentonite which is considered as buffer materials at the engineered barrier system in the high-level radioactive waste disposal system. However, the BBM is not well known in Korea, so this paper introduce the BBM to Korean rock engineers and geotechnical engineers. In this study, Modified Cam Clay (MCC) model is introduced before all, because the BBM was first developed as an extension of the MCC model to unsaturated soil conditions. Then, the thermo-elasto-plastic version of the BBM is described in detail.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.17 no.1 s.50
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• pp.125-133
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• 2007

The environmental and geotechnical properties are investigated to the 8th landfill area made of only sewage sludge in Nanji-Do. To do this, the soils are sampled in this area, and leaching tests, heavy metal content tests, and so on are performed to research the environmental properties. As the result of heavy metal content tests, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd and Cr were leached from the sewage sludge. Because the leaching concentration of Cu is more than the standard value of California state, Cu content have to bring down during the recycling of the sewage sludge. Meanwhile, a series of tests concerning specific gravity, liquid and plastic limits, compaction, permeability and shear strength is performed to research the geotechnical properties. The sewage sludge is consisted of sand, silt and clay, and is classified into non-organic silt or organic clay with 42.3% of plastic index. As the result of compaction test, it is expected that the compaction effect according to variation of water contents is low relatively because the dry unit weight is low and the curve of compaction forms flatness. Also, as the result of direct shear tests, the cohesion is $0.058kg/cm^2$, and the internal friction angle is $14^{\circ}$. Taking everything into consideration, the various problems are happening in case of recycling the sludge like the cover layer of landfill and so on because the compaction is bad, and the shear strength is low. Also, it is expected that the ground water pollution caused by leaching the heavy metal into the sludge. To do recycling the sewage sludge in this site, supplementary and treatment programs should be prepared.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.25-38
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• 1996

To investigate the stability problem of irrigation-drainage channel excavation slope on soft ground, analyzed the behavior of the soft ground with excavation slope by the limit equilibrium method and the finite element method, and compared with field tests. The results of this study were summarized as follows; 1. When rapid drawdown the water level, the crack was occurred by the effect of the excess pore water pressure, and the pore water pressure was decreased slowly. 2. As the width of excavation was larger, the crack width was larger. And, excavated depth was deeper, the progressive failure was appeared. 3. When the soft ground excavation was small-scale, the minimum safety factor was more effected by cohesion(1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0) than excavated slope inclination(1:l, 1:1.5, 1:2). 4. As excavation was progressed, the settlement occurred on the top-slope due to plastic domain, and heaving was occurred at the bottom of excavation. 5. The maximum shear stress was appeared greatly as the base part of slope went down. Because of the increase of the maximum shear stress, tension area occurred and local failure possibility was increased. 6. As the excavation depth was increased, the maximum shear strain was appeared greatly at the base of slope and distribution pattern was concentrated beneath the middle of slope.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.71-79
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• 2011

In this study, the variation of wetting front and ground water level at the embankment constructed in the Saemangeum area were predicted considering rainfall duration times and the slope stability analysis of the embankment was carried out according to prediction results of wetting front and ground water level. The embankment was formed by dredging soils. A suction stress, a cohesion and a frictional angle of dreding soils measured by soil tests were applied to estimate the unsaturated soil properties. According to the analysis results of the wetting front and the ground water level for various rainfall duration time, the wetting front began to descend from the upper part of embankment at the beginning time of rainfall and after 1 hour of rainfall duration time. After that, the ground water level continued to ascend as the rainfall duration time was getting longer. After rainfall, the ground water level was distributed at a certain depth, and the ground water level was gradually descending as time goes by. According to the slope stability analysis of the embankment considering the variation of the wetting front and the ground water level, the safety factor of slope was rapidly reduced as the rainfall began to infiltrate into the ground, and the minimum safety factor of slope was estimated after 24 hours of rainfall duration time. Meanwhile, the safety factor of slope was increased with regaining the matric suction in the ground after rainfall.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.31-41
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• 2019

This paper demonstrates safety factor for effective planning at initial stage by utilizing results on changes of safety factor according to various conditions of slop and examines impacts of factors that affect slope safety factors as well. Firstly, it describes shear strength which satisfies minimum allowable safety factor: 1.20 depending on height and slope. As the height increases by 5.0 m, the safety factors decrease by 0.04 while it tends to consistently reduce by approximately 20%, 30% and 40% after height goes to 10.0 m. As slope reduces by about 0.3, the safety factors increases by 0.4, which shows the rate of safety factors on slope grows by about 10%, 20% and 30% on lowering slope. When cohesion goes up by 10.0 kPa the safety factors increases by around 40% respectably while the angle of internal friction grows by $5^{\circ}$, it increases by about 8%. The rate of safety factors is identified as $Fs=3.86H^{-0.59}$, Fs = 0.43 s, Fs = 0.04 c, $Fs=0.02{\phi}$ depending on height, slope and shear strength. The safety factor with rainfall infiltration tends to increase by 18% compared to the condition of saturated surface on earth.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.381-393
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• 2021

Physical, mechanical, hydraulic, and geophysical tests were applied to validate methods of inspecting the effectiveness of grouting on an agricultural reservoir dam. Data obtained from series of in situ and laboratory tests considered four stages: before grouting; during grouting; immediately after grouting; and after aging the grouting for 28 days. The results of SPT and triaxial tests, including the unit weight, compressive strength, friction angle, cohesion, and N-value, indicated the extent of ground improvement with respect to grout injection. However, they sometimes contained errors caused by ground heterogeneity. Hydraulic conductivity obtained from in situ variable head permeability testing is most suitable for identifying the effectiveness of grouting because the impermeability of the ground increased immediately after grouting. Electric resistivity surveying is useful for finding a saturated zone and a seepage pathway, and multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) is suitable for analyzing the effectiveness of grouting, as elastic velocity increases distinctly after grouting injection. MASW also allows calculation from the P- and S- wave velocities of dynamic properties (e.g., dynamic elastic modulus and dynamic Poisson's ratio), which can be used in the seismic design of dam structures.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.185-196
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• 2010

Clay veins that occurred in a slope by hydrothermal alteration, can significantly affect its slope stability. The effect of clay veins on the slope stability was investigated by numerical modeling study. Various parameters such as cohesion, internal friction angle, orientation, groundwater level, rainfall intensity and duration, have been modelled. As shear strength increased, factor of safety increased. As groundwater level developed, factor of safety decreased. For the case of slip surface developed on interface, factor of safety was lower than that for case of slip surface developed on either weathered soil or clay vein. The effect of various soil types of the slope stability was also investigated by simulating seepage through the slopes with various soils. The groundwater level significantly increased on the slopes with silty and generic soils. For the slope with sandy soil, almost no change in groundwater level was observed due to rapid drainage.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.43-50
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• 2016

A reinforcement is required to ensure the structural safety in case of railway embankment excavation under railway load. A large diameter soil nailing with concrete wall is applied as the reinforcement method instead of the conventional soil nailing system. In this study, a series of 3 dimensional numerical analyses are performed to investigate the optimum reinforcement considering 15 different conditions based on the length, lateral spacing, diameter, and inclination of the reinforcement. The interface between soil nail and perimetric grout is considered by means of cohesion, stiffness and perimeter of the grout. 0.3 m of reinforcement diameter is assessed as the most appropriate based on the economical viewpoint though ground displacement decreases with the increase of diameter, however the difference of displacement is negligible between 0.4 m and 0.3 m of diameter. Surface settlement, lateral displacement of wall, and stress of reinforcement are calculated and economic viewpoint to reinforce embankment considered. Consequently, the optimum reinforcement conditions considering those factors are evaluated as 3 m in length, 0.3 m in diameter, 1.5 m in lateral spacing, and 10 degree of inclination angle in the case of 3 m of excavation depth. Additionally, inclined potential failure surface occurs with approximately 60 degrees from the end of nails and the surface settlement and wall lateral displacement are restrained successfully by the large diameter soil nailing, based on the result of shear strain rate.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.247-260
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• 2014

Rock masses at the site for the $2^{nd}$ step construction of the KAERI Underground Research Tunnel (KURT) are divided into six units to establish a rock mechanics model that is dependent on the geological characteristics and degree of joint development. The site primarily consists of three granitic units (G1, G2, and G3), two dykes (D1 and D3), and a fault zone of poor rock mass quality (F3). The F3 unit crosses the tunnel at the beginning of the site of $2^{nd}$ step construction. The rock masses of each unit are classified by RMR (Rock Mass Rating), Q-system, and RMi (Rock Mass Index), all based on borehole logging data. The deformation modulus, rock mass strength, cohesion, and friction angle for each unit are calculated using established empirical relationships. The representative rock mass classification and geotechnical parameters for the rock mass units are established, and a rock mechanics model for the site is proposed, which will be useful in the design and stability analysis of the $2^{nd}$ step construction of KURT.