• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.45-55
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• 2015

The stability of the adjcent structures or slopes under blasting is typically evaluated using an empirical vibration attenuation curve or dynamic numerical analysis. To perform a dynamic analysis, it is necessary to determine the blast load and the damping ratio of rock mass. Various empirical methods have been proposed for the blast load. However, a study on representative values of damping ratio of a rock mass has not yet been performed. Therefore, the damping ratio was either ignored or selected without a clear basis in performing a blast analysis. Selection of the dampring ratio for the rock mass is very difficult because the vibration propagation is influenced by the layout and properties of the rock joints. Besides, the vibration induced by blasting is propagated spherically, whereas plane waves are generated by an earthquake. Since the geometrical spreading causes additional attenuation, the damping ratio should be adjusted in the case of a 2D plane strain analysis. In this study, we proposed equivalent damping ratios for use in continuum 2D plane strain analyses. To this end, we performed 2D dynamic analyses for a wide range of rock stiffness and investigated the characteristics of blast vibration propagation. Based on numerical simulations, a correlation between the attenuation equation, shear wave velocity, and equivalent damping ratio of rock mass is presented. This novel approach is the first attempt to select the damping ratio from an attenuation relationship. The proposed chart is easy to be used and can be applied in practice.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.553-581
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• 2022

Shortly after tunnel boring machine (TBM) was introduced in the tunneling industry, the use of TBM has surprisingly increased worldwide due to its performance together with the benefit of being safely and environmentally friendly. One of the main cost items in the TBM tunneling in rock and soil is changing damaged or worn cutters. It is because that the cutter change is a time-consuming and costly activity that can significantly reduce the TBM utilization and advance rate and has a major effect on the total time and cost of TBM tunneling projects. Therefore, the importance of accurately evaluating the cutter life can never be overemphasized. However, the prediction of cutter wear in soil, rock including mixed face is very complex and not yet fully clarified, subsequently keeping engineers busy around the world. Various prediction models for cutter wear have been developed and introduced, but these models almost usually produce highly variable results due to inherent uncertainties in the models. In this study, a case study of design and construction of disc cutter change is introduced and analyzed, rather than proposing a prediction model of cutter wear. As the disc cutter is strongly affected by the geological condition, TBM machine characteristic and operation, authors believe it is very hard to suggest a generalized prediction model given the uncertainties and limitations therefore it would be more practical to analyze a real case and provide a detailed discussion of the difference between prediction and result for the cutter change. By doing so, up-to-date idea about planning and execution of cutter change in practice can be promoted.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.281-302
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• 2021

Railway projects have been consistently increasing in Korea. In relation to this trend, the mechanized tunneling using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is preferably applied for mining urban areas and passing under rivers. The TBM tunneling under difficult grounds like mixed faces with high water pressure could require ground improvements for stable TBM advance or safe cutter head intervention (CHI). In this study, pre-grouting works for CHI in Daegok-Sosa railway project are presented in terms of the grouting zone design, the executions and the results, the lessons learned from the experience. It should be mentioned that the grouting from inside TBM was carried out several times and turned out to be inefficient in the project. Therefore, grouting experiences from the surface are highlighted in this study. Jet grouting was implemented on CHI points on land, while permeation grouting off shore in the Han River, which mostly allow to access the cutter head of TBM in free air with stable faces. The results of CHI works have been analyzed and the lesson learned are suggested.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.5-15
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• 2021

One of the construction methods applied as a pier foundation type is a single type cast-in-place pile. In applying a pile bent system as a foundation type, the main concern in designing can be said to secure the lateral bearing capacity of pile structure in system. In addition, to increase the rigidity of the pile structure, a method of increasing the lateral bearing capacity by reinforcing the pile structure with a casing has been used. However, although the reinforcing effect and appropriate reinforcing length of casing may vary depending on the soil conditions, there is insufficient studies on this, and for this reason, the entire pile structure in a pile bent system is reinforced with a casing, in the field. In addition, if the length of the entire pile is reinforced with a casing, it may lead to delays in construction and increase in construction costs. That is, in order to more effectively reinforce the pile structure with a casing, it is necessary to study the lateral bearing characteristics of the reinforced pile structure in system. And it should be determined the appropriate reinforcing length of the casing from the evaluated bearing characteristics. Therefore, in this study, the lateral bearing characteristics of piles applied with the reinforcing length of casing for each condition were evaluated through a numerical analysis. And, based on the analysis results, the appropriate reinforcing length of casing was proposed. As a result of the study, it was found that in order to effectively increase the lateral bearing capacity of pile structure, the reinforcing length of casing should be applied twice the influence range of the bending behavior of the pile, 1/β.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.101-109
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• 2022

This study describes the results of model experiment to analyze the effect of backfill material types on the behavior of underground facility. In the model experiment, backfill materials around the existing underground facility were applied with soil (Jumunjin standard sand) and CLSM. The displacement of underground facility was analyzed for each excavation stage considering the separation distance between the excavation surface and the backfill area based on the experimental results. When soil was applied as a backfill material, the soil on the back of the excavation surface collapsed by excavation and formed an angle of repose, and the process of slope stability was repeated at each excavation stage. In addition, the displacement of underground facility began to occur in the excavation stage that the failure line of soil passes the installation location of the underground facility. When CLSM was applied as a backfill material, there was almost no horizontal and vertical displacement of the ground regardless of the separation distance from the excavation surface even when excavation proceeded to the backfill depth. Therefore, this result showed that it can have a resistance effect against the lateral earth pressure generated and the collapse of the original ground by adjacent excavation, if a backfill material with high stiffness such as CLSM is applied.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.5-15
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• 2022

Conventionally, because evaluation methods of the bearing capacity for double steel pipe-concrete composite pile design have not been established, the conventional vertical bearing capacity equations for steel hollow pile are used. However, there are severe differences between the predictions from these equations, and the most conservative one among vertical bearing capacity predictions are conventionally adopted as a design value. Consequently, the current prediction method for vertical bearing capacity of composite pile prediction composite pile causes design reliability and economical feasibility to be low. This paper investigated mechanical behaviors of a new composite pile, with a cross-section composed of double steel pipes filled with concrete (DSCT), vertical bearing capacities were analyzed for several DSCT pile conditions. Axisymmetric finite element models for DSCT pile and surrounding ground were created and they were used to analyze effects on behaviors of DSCT pile pile by embedding depth, stiffness of plugging material at pile tip, height of plugging material at pile tip, and rockbed material. Additionally, results from conventional design prediction equations for vertical bearing capacity at steel hollow pile tip were compared with that from numerical results, and the use of the conventional equations for steel hollow pile was examined to apply to that for DSCT pile.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2024

In this study, physical property tests and standard consolidation tests were conducted on the marine clay of Busan New Port and North Port, the middle and lower reaches of the Nakdong River including Gimhae and Yangsan, and Ulsan regions. The moisture content, a property unrelated to sample disturbance with small individual test errors, was used for regression analysis with the compression index, virgin compression index, consolidation coefficient, expansion index, and secondary compression index, among others. Subsequently, the correlation and accuracy were evaluated. Upon analyzing the correlation between the moisture content, void ratio, and liquid limit commonly used physical properties for calculating compression indexes, it was confirmed that the liquid limit had the lowest correlation. Through a linear regression analysis of the consolidation constants using the current moisture content in the natural state, a high correlation was demonstrated. Relationship equations were then presented to determine settlement and settlement time. This study suggests that moisture content can be utilized as an alternative for evaluating and calculating consolidation constants when examining ground settlement in sedimentary clays distributed in the Busan and Gyeongnam regions.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.203-218
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• 2010

The site categorization and corresponding site amplification factors in the current Korean seismic design guideline are based on provisions for the western United States (US), although the site effects resulting in the amplification of earthquake ground motions are directly dependent on the regional and local site characteristic conditions. In these seismic codes, two amplification factors called site coefficients, $F_a$ and $F_v$, for the short-period band and midperiod band, respectively, are listed according to a criterion, mean shear wave velocity ($V_S$) to a depth of 30 m, into five classes composed of A to E. To suggest a site classification system reflecting Korean site conditions, in this study, systematic site characterization was carried out at four regional areas, Gyeongju, Hongsung, Haemi and Sacheon, to obtain the $V_S$ profiles from surface to bedrock in field and the non-linear soil properties in laboratory. The soil deposits in Korea, which were shallower and stiffer than those in the western US, were examined, and thus the site period in Korea was distributed in the low and narrow band comparing with those in western US. Based on the geotechnical characteristic properties obtained in the field and laboratory, various site-specific seismic response analyses were conducted for total 75 sites by adopting both equivalent-linear and non-linear methods. The analysis results showed that the site coefficients specified in the current Korean provision underestimate the ground motion in the short-period range and overestimate in the mid-period range. These differences can be explained by the differences in the local site characteristics including the depth to bedrock between Korea and western US. Based on the analysis results in this study and the prior research results for the Korean peninsula, new site classification system was developed by introducing the site period as representative criterion and the mean $V_S$ to a depth of shallower than 30 m as additional criterion, to reliably determine the ground motions and the corresponding design spectra taking into account the regional site characteristics in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.543-560
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• 2018

With the increased development in downtown underground space facilities that vertically cross under a railway at a shallow depth, the demand for non-open cut method is increasing. However, most construction sites still adopt the pipe roof method, where medium and large diameter steel pipes are pressed in to form a roof, enabling excavation of the inside space. Among the many factors that influence the loosening region and loads that occur while pressing in steel pipes, the size of the pipe has the largest impact, and this factor may correspond to the magnitude of load applied to the underground structure inside the steel pipe roof. The super equilibrium method (SEM) has been developed to minimize ground disturbance and loosening load, and uses small diameter pipes of approximately 114 mm instead of conventional medium and large diameter pipes. This small diameter steel pipe is called an SEM pile. After SEM piles are pressed in and the grouting reinforcement is constructed, a crossing structure is pressed in by using a hydraulic jack without ground subsidence or heaving. The SEM pile, which plays the role of timbering, is a fore-poling pile of approximately 5 m length that prevents ground collapse and supports surface load during excavation of toe part. The loosening region should be adequately calculated to estimate the spacing and construction length of the piles and stiffness of members. In this paper, we conducted a comparative analysis of calculations of loosening load that occurs during the press-in of SEM pile to obtain an optimal design of SEM. We analyzed the influence of factors in main theoretical and empirical formulas applied for calculating loosening regions, and carried out FEM analysis to see an appropriate loosening load to the SEM pile. In order to estimate the soil loosening caused by actual SEM-pile indentation and excavation, a steel pipe indentation reduction model test was conducted. Soil subsidence and soil loosening were investigated quantitatively according to soil/steel pipe (H/D).

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.101-114
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• 2008

Pressurized grouting is a common technique in geotechnical engineering applications to increase the stiffness and strength of the ground mass and to fill boreholes or void space in a tunnel lining and so on. Recently, the pressurized grouting has been applied to a soil-nailing system which is widely used to improve slope stability. Because interaction between pressurized grouting paste and adjacent ground mass is complicated and difficult to analyze, the soil-nailing design has been empirically performed in most geotechnical applications. The purpose of this study is to analyze the ground behavior induced by pressurized grouting paste with the aid of laboratory model tests. The laboratory tests are carried out for four kinds of granitic residual soils. When injecting pressure is applied to grout, the pressure measured in the adjacent ground initially increases for a while, which behaves in the way of the membrane model. With the lapse of time, the pressure in the adjacent ground decreases down to a value of residual stress because a portion of water in the grouting paste seeps into the adjacent ground. The seepage can be indicated by the fact that the ratio of water/cement in the grouting paste has decreased from a initial value of 50% to around 30% during the test. The reduction of the W/C ratio should cause to harden the grouting paste and increase the stiffness of it, which restricts the rebound of out-moved ground into the original position, and thus increase the in-situ stress by approximately 20% of the injecting pressures. The measured radial deformation of the ground under pressure is in good agreement with the expansion of a cylindrical cavity estimated by the cavity expansion theory. In-situ test revealed that the pullout resistance of a soil nailing with pressurized grouting is about 36% larger than that with regular grouting, caused by grout radius increase, residual stress effect, and/or roughness increase.