• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.359-364
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• 2003

For safety evaluation of a rock-fill dim, it is often necessary to investigate spatial distribution of weak zones such as fracture. Both DC-resistivity survey and seismic(SASW) method are usually used for the purpose. Recently, Multichannel analysis of surface waves(MASW) method which makes up for the weak point of SASW method is developed and the site examination which is simple came to be possible comparatively. In order to obtain 2-D shear-wave velocity(Vs) profile along the dam axis that can be associated with dynamic properties of filled materials, MASW method was adapted. Then, DC-resistivity survey and drilling survey were performed to compare with each results. We confirmed that the MASW method and DC-resistivity survey show complementary result that corresspond with drilling result. Therefore, MASW method is an efficient method for dynamic characterization of dam-filling materials and also the combination of related methods such as DC-resistivity can lead to an effective safety evaluation of rock-fill dam.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.687-698
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• 2010

Borehole drilled depend on the point is bound to be limited to obtain the 2-D or 3-D layer information for entire targer area. On the other hand, SASW and MASW provide the sectional form of layer information through the shear wave velocity($V_s$). Therefore the useful information of the target area can be derived from SASW, MASW and borehole data. In this research, the correlation reflected locality and nationwide between sectional geo-layer and $V_s$ was investigated and analyzed. The target areas are westside of Pyeongtaek and Incheon. The shear wave velocity($V_s$) obtained from SASW, MASW and borehole data conducted within the scope of crossline for survey was utilized in each region. In the 2D distribution of $V_s$ from SASW, MASW, $V_s$ tend to continually increase deeper and deeper. By the target area, the depth of each representative geo-layer was nested on the sectional distribution map of $V_s$ to suggest the range of $V_s$ in accordance of strata by using borehole data. The 2D sectional geo-layer distribution map is presented based on the range of $V_s$. In addition the correlation between measured and calculated $V_s$ according to the empirical equation was analyzed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.1C
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• pp.37-44
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• 2010

Recently, urban retrofit and extension, development of new buildings and facilities, and construction of underground structures like subway tunnels in urban areas give rise to significance of site investigation at urban areas. However, ambient electric noises, traffic vibrations, embedded objects work as obstacles to high-quality and accuracy in site investigation at urban areas. In this paper, a new technique called the pseudo-DC resistivity survey (in brief, PDC-R) was proposed to minimize the adverse effect of ambient electrical noises in resistivity survey. PDC-R technique utilizes an AC current with frequency range of 0.1 to 1.0 Hz rather than DC current, which is used for conventional resistivity survey. The motivation of using low-frequency AC current is to avoid 60-Hz components or its multiples in the resistivity survey which ambient noises are mostly composed of. The implementation of PDC-R technique also included the parametric study on skin effect, frequency effect and current-level effect, which led to the determination of optimal values of frequency and current level for PDC-R survey. The reliability and feasibility of PDC-R technique was verified through field tests, accompanied by the comparison with DC resistivity survey and CapSASW tests.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.1C
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• pp.45-51
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• 2010

In urban area, design and construction of civil engineering structures such as subway tunnel, underground space and deep excavation is impeded by unreliable site investigation. Variety of embedded objects, electric noises and traffic vibrations degrades the quality of site investigation, whatever the site-investigation technique would be. In this research, a preliminary research was performed to develop a dedicated site investigation technique for urban geotechnical sites, which can overcome the limitations of urban sites. HiRAS (Hybrid Integration of Surface Waves and Resistivity) technique which is the first outcome of the preliminary research was proposed in this paper. The technique combines surface wave as well as electrical resistivity. CapSASW method for surface-wave technique and PDC-R technique for electrical resistivity survey were incorporated to develop HiRAS technique. CapSASW method is a good method for evaluating material stiffness and PDC-R technique is a reliable method for determination of underground stratification even in a site with electrical noise. For the inversion analysis of HiRAS techniuqe, a site-specific relationship between stress-wave velocity and resistivity was employed. As for outgrowth of this research, the 2-D distribution of Poisson's ratio could be also determined.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.727-739
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• 2015

Reclamation of closed dumping grounds is a potential solution to solve land scarce problems. Traditional geotechnical investigations of closed dumping grounds face some problems, such as the emission of hazardous liquids and gases, and the lack of ground information due to the discontinuity between two boreholes. Thus, noninvasive and continuous investigation methods are needed to supplement traditional geotechnical investigations. In this paper, two types of geophysical investigation methods, Seismic Analysis of Surface Waves (SASW) and 2D Resistivity, were carried out to study noninvasive and continuous site investigations for dumping grounds. The two geophysical methods are able to profile the distribution of physical properties of the fill and original materials, by which the extent of the dumping ground can be found and some anomalies in the subsurface can be located. Boreholes were used to assist in locating the dumping material-ground interfaces. The results show that dumping material-ground interfaces obtained from the two geophysical methods are roughly consistent. Moreover, attempt is made in the paper to use the geophysical methods to classify the types of dumping materials. The results show that the classification of dumping materials using the geophysical methods follows the results of the manual sorting of the dumping materials from a borehole.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.210-224
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• 2019

Surface wave (SW) surveys, which have been applied to numerous application fields ranging from micro-scale ultrasonic analysis to geological scale analysis, are widely used to monitor near-surface stability. The survey method is basically made through analysis on dispersion of SW propagating along the earth surface, in order to delineate shear velocity structure of subsurface. SW survey data are inverted with assuming one-dimensional (1D) layered-earth in order to recover shear wave velocities of each layer, after being analyzed to make the dispersion curve that shows phase velocity of SW with respect to frequency. This study reviews surface wave surveys with explaining the basic theory including the characteristics of dispersion and the procedure of general data processing. Even though surface wave surveys can be categorized into active and passive methods, this paper focuses only on active surface wave methods which includes continuous SW (CSW), spectral analysis of SW (SASW) and multichannel analysis of SW (MASW). Passive method will be reviewed in the subsequent paper.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.6D
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• pp.905-913
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• 2008

Recently, concrete tracks are introduced into high-speed railroads as an alternative to ballast tracks. Concrete tracks are superior to ballast tracks in the aspect of durability, maintenance and safety. However, deteriorated stiffness of railroad bed and settlement of soft ground induced by trapped or seepage water lead to problems in safety of train operation. In this research, flexural rigidity of concrete tracks was employed as an index of track displacement and a new seismic technique called FRACTAL (Flexural-Rigidity Assessment of Concrete Tracks by Antisymmetric Lamb Waves) method was proposed to delineate flexural rigidity of concrete tracks in a 2-D image. In this paper, to establish theoretical background, parametric research was performed using numerical simulations of stress-wave tests at concrete tracks. Feasibility of the FRACTAL technique was proved at a real concrete track for Korean high-speed trains. Validity of the FRACTAL technique was also verified by comparing the results of impulse-response tests performed at the same measurement array and the results of DC resistivity survey performed at a shoulder nearby the track.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2009.05b
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• pp.641-646
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• 2009

Concrete tracks are superior to ballast tracks in the aspect of durability, maintenance and safety. However, deteriorated stiffness of railroad bed and settlement of soft ground induced by trapped or seepage water lead to problems in safety of train operation. In this research, characteristic stiffness of concrete tracks, which is determined from FRACTAL (Flexural-Rigidity Assessment of Concrete Tracks by Antisymmetric Lamb Waves) technique, was employed as an index of track displacement. The characteristic stiffness is defined using Poisson's ratio, moment of inertia and stiffness ratio of subgrade to slab. To verify validity and reliability of the proposed characteristic stiffness, experimental and theoretical researches were performed. Feasibility of the characteristic stiffness based on FRACTAL technique was proved at a real concrete track for Korean high-speed trains. Validity of the FRACTAL technique was also verified by comparing the results of impulse-response tests performed at the same measurement array and the results of SASW tests and DC resistivity survey performed at a shoulder nearby the track.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1995.10a
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• pp.15.2-22
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• 1995

Evaluating stiffness of near-surface materials has been one of the critically important tasks in many civil engineering works. It is the main goal of geotechnical characterization. The so-called deflection-response method evaluates the stiffness by measuring stress-strain behavior of the materials caused by static or dynamic load. This method, however, evaluates the overall stiffness and the stiffness variation with depth cannot be obtained. Furthermore, evaluation of a large-area geotechnical site by this method can be time-consuming, expensive, and damaging to many surface points of the site. Wave-propagation method, on the other hand, measures seismic velocities at different depths and stiffness profile (stiffness change with depth) can be obtained from the measured velocity data. The stiffness profile is often expressed by shear-wave (S-wave) velocity change with depth because S-wave velocity is proportional to the shear modulus. that is a direct indicator of stiffiiess. The crosshole and downhole method measures the seismic velocity by placing sources and receivers (geophones) at different depths in a borehole. Requirement of borehole installation makes this method also time-consuming, expensive, and damaging to the sites. Spectral-Analysis-of-Surface-Waves (SASW) method places both source and receivers at the surface, and records horizontally-propagating surface waves. Based upon the theory of surfacewave dispersion, the seismic velocities at different depths are calculated by analyzing the recorded surface-wave data. This method can be nondestructive to the sites. However, because only two receivers are used, the method requires multiple measurements with different field setups and, therefore, the method often becomes time-consuming and labor-intensive. Furthermore. the inclusion of noise wavefields cannot be handled properly, and this may cause the results by this method inaccurate. When multi-channel recording method is employed during the measurement of surface-waves, there are several benefits. First, usually single measurement is enough because multiple number (twelve or more) of receivers are used. Second, noise inclusion can be detected by coherency checking on the multi-channel data and handled properly so that it does not decrease the accuracy of the result. Third, various kinds of multi-channel processing techniques can be applied to f1lter unwanted noise wavefields and also to analyze the surface-wavefields more accurately and efficiently. In this way, the accuracy of the result by the method can be significantly improved. Fourth, the entire system of source, receivers, and recording-processing device can be tied into one unit, and the unit can be pulled by a small vehicle, making the survey speed very fast. In all these senses, multi-channel recording of surface waves is best suited for a routine method for geotechnical characterization in most of civil engineering works.