• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.457-469
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• 2016

Steep rock slope with water-filled tension crack will happen to overturn around the toe of the slope under seismic loading. This failure type is completely different from the common toppling failure occurring in anti-dipping layered rock mass slopes with steeply dipping discontinuities. This paper presents an analytical approach to determine the seismic factor of safety against overturning for an intact rock mass slope with water-filled tension crack considering horizontal and vertical seismic coefficients. This solution is a generalized explicit expression and is derived using the moment equilibrium approach. A numerical program based on discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is adopted to validate the analytical results. The parametric study is carried out to adequately investigate the effect of horizontal and vertical seismic coefficients on the overall stability against overturning for a saturated rock slope under two water pressure modes. The analytical results show that vertically upward seismic inertia force or/and second water pressure distribution mode will remarkably decrease the slope stability against overturning. Finally, several representative design charts of slopes also are presented for the practical application.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.111-121
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• 2007

The paper presents a reliability-based method that can capture the impact of uncertainty of seismic loadings. The proposed method incorporates probabilistic concepts into the classical limit equilibrium and the Newmark-type deformation techniques. The risk of damage is then computed by Monte Carlo simulation. Random process and RMS hazard method are introduced to produce seismic motions and also to use them in the seismic slope analyses. The geotechnical variability and sampling errors are also considered. The results of reliability analyses indicate that in a highly seismically active region, characterization of earthquake hazard is the more critical factor, and characterization of soil properties has a relatively small effect on the computed risk of slope failure and excessive slope deformations. The results can be applicable to both circular and non-circular slip surface failure modes.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.143-164
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• 2013

Calculation of seismic displacements in reinforced slopes plays a crucial role in appropriate design of these structures however current analytical methods result indifferent values for permanent displacements of the slope. In this paper, based on limit equilibrium and using the horizontal slices method, a new formulation has been proposed for estimating the seismic displacements of a reinforced slope under earthquake records. In this method, failure wedge is divided into a number of horizontal slices. Assuming linear variations for tensile forces of reinforcements along the height of the slope, the coefficient of yield acceleration has been estimated. The simplicity of calculations and taking into account the frequency content of input triggers are among the advantages of the present formulation. Comparison of the results shows that the yield acceleration calculated by the suggested method is very close to the values resulted from other techniques. On the other hand, while there is a significant difference between permanent displacements, the values obtained from the suggested method place somehow between those calculated by the other techniques.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09c
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• pp.61-65
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• 2010

The performance of slopes during earthquake is often accessed in terms of permanent deformation. In the assessment of permanent deformation, Newmark-type rigid block analysis is widely used. Original Newmark-type block approach, however, assumes the potential sliding mass to be rigid, and has been criticized to be potentially unconservative. The paper reviews analytically the impact of this noncompliance assumption on computed permanent deformations. The results indicate that there is a simple criterion that can be used to determine the level of conservativeness of the rigid block approach in cases of gently-sloping slip surfaces and retaining walls.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.193-204
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• 2001

A geophysical survey was undertaken at Wiri area, Andong, to delineate subsurface structure and reveal the fault zone nearby which heaving of road and subsidence of slope occurred in 1997, especially in the heavy rainy season. Electrical resistivity methods of dipole-dipole array profiling and Schlumberger array sounding and seismic methods of refraction and reflection were performed for the mapping of clay layer, which was interpreted to be the major factor among the reasons of slope deformation. The clay layer was characterized by lower electrical resistivities (< $100{\Omega}{\cdot}m$) and lower seismic velocities (<400 m/s), respectively. The results of electrical and seismic surveys showed that subsidence of slope was probably associated with sliding of wet clay on 18SW/NNW trending fault plane, while heaving of road was probably caused by upward movement of the wet clay through subvertical NNE trending fault.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.946-956
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• 2008

Acoustic emission(AE) is low-energy seismic event associated with a sudden inelastic deformation such as the sudden movement of existing fractures, the generation of new fractures or the propagation of fractures. These events rapidly increase before major failure and happen within a given rock volume and radiate detectable seismic waves. Rock slopes are usually large in scale and there are many discontinuities in rock mass. AE waves are strongly attenuated when they propagate through joints. Thus we should resolve the attenuation problem to monitor large volume. In this study, we developed waveguide which is composed of two different materials, cement mortar and stainless steel rod. And several laboratory tests on developed waveguide are performed to obtain generalized AE parameters to predict the failure stage in rock slope. Comparing field data with experimental data in laboratory tests, failure stage of rock slope can be evaluated. To verify and optimize the developed monitoring method, we are now carrying out the field application at a rock slope.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.793-802
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• 2019

The centrifuge model test is usually used for two-dimensional deformation and instability study of the soil slopes. As a typical loose slope, the municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill is easy to slide with large deformation, under high water levels or large earthquakes. A series of centrifuge model tests of landfill slide induced by rising water level and earthquake were carried out. The particle image velocimetry (PIV), laser displacement transducer (LDT) and marker tracer (MT) methods were used to measure the deformation of the landfill under different centrifugal accelerations, water levels and earthquake magnitudes. The PIV method realized the observation of continuous deformation of the landfill model, and its results were consistent with those by LDT, which had higher precision than the MT method. The deformation of the landfill was mainly vertically downward and increased linearly with the rising centrifugal acceleration. When the water level rose, the horizontal deformation of the landfill developed gradually due to the seepage, and a global slide surface formed when the critical water level was reached. The seismic deformation of the landfill was mainly vertical at a low water level, but significant horizontal deformation occurred under a high water level. The results of the tests and analyses verified the applicability of PIV in the two-dimensional deformation measurement in the centrifuge model tests of the MSW landfill, and provide an important basis for revealing the instability mechanism of landfills under extreme hydraulic and seismic conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2003

A practical statistical approach that can be used to model various sources of uncertainty systematically is presented in the context of reliability analysis of slope stability. New expressions for probabilistic characterization of soil properties incorporate sampling and measurement errors, as well as spatial variability and its reduced variance due to spatial averaging. The stochastic nature of seismic loading is studied by generating a large series of hazard-compatible artificial motions, and by using them in subsequent response analyses. The analyses indicate that in a seismically less active region such as the Korean Peninsular, a moderate variability in soil properties has an effect as large as the characterization of earthquake hazard on the computed risk of slope failure and excessive slope deformations.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.185-201
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• 2018

Nuclear power plants(NPP) are constructed and operated to ensure safety against natural disasters and man-made disasters in all processes including site selection, site survey, design, construction, and operation. This paper will introduce a series of efforts conducted in Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., to assure the safety of nuclear power plant against earthquakes and other natural hazards. In particular, the present status of the earthquake, fault, and slope safety monitoring system for nuclear power plants is introduced. A earthquake observatory network for the NPP sites has been built up for nuclear safety and providing adequate seismic design standards for NPP sites by monitoring seismicity in and around NPPs since 1999. The Eupcheon Fault Monitoring System, composed of a strainmeter, seismometer, creepmeter, Global Positioning System, and groundwater meter, was installed to assess the safety of the Wolsung Nuclear Power Plant against earthquakes by monitoring the short- and long-term behavioral characteristics of the Eupcheon fault. Through the analysis of measured data, it was verified that the Eupcheon fault is a relatively stable fault that is not affected by earthquakes occurring around the southeastern part of the Korean peninsula. In addition, it was confirmed that the fault monitoring system could be very useful for seismic safety analysis and earthquake prediction study on the fault. K-SLOPE System for systematic slope monitoring was successfully developed for monitoring of the slope at nuclear power plants. Several kinds of monitoring devices including an inclinometer, tiltmeter, tension-wire, and precipitation gauge were installed on the NPP slope. A macro deformation analysis using terrestrial LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) was performed for overall slope deformation evaluation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.117-124
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• 2007

This study investigates the effect of spatial averaging and compliance taken account of in the analysis of earthquake-induced permanent deformation of slopes. At present, the rigid block analysis originally proposed by Newmark is widely used in the deformation analysis, mainly because of its computational efficiency. This type of approach, however, adopts the so-called decoupled approach, in which seismic response and deformation analyses are carried out separately. Original Newmark block analysis assumes the potential sliding mass to be noncompliant, and has been criticized to be potentially unconservative. This paper reviews the impact of the noncompliance assumption of the potential sliding mass in the Newmark-type analysis. The gross effects of earthquake shaking on the potential sliding mass are estimated by spatial averaging method and analyzed in frequency domain. The results indicate that there is a simple criterion that can be used to determine the level of compliance of the potential sliding mass.