• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.35-48
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• 1991

Based on centrifuge model tests, the failure mechanism of reinforced earth retaining wall under strip load was investigated in this paper. Tests were performed by changing the materials of reinforcing strips, strip lengths, and strip arrangements. The strips were strain-gauged to measure the tensions in strips. The results were analyzed and compared with various design methosds in use to verify their feasibility. Consequently, a centrifuge model test was an effective method of investigating the behavior of reinforced earth retaining wall. The 2 : 1 stress diffusion method showed comparable results with tests in estimating the capacity of the reinforced earth wall under strip load. The superposition of tensions due to selfweight of the backfill and strip load was valid to estimate total tensions mobilized in strips. Using the elasticity theory to estimate the maximum tension mobilized in strips due to surcharge, while solutions of Boussinesq and Westergaard underestimated less tensions than the measured valises, Frohlich solution showed the comparable results with tests.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.13-23
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• 2022

The ground-structure interaction of the bridge foundation has been pointed out as a major factor influencing the behavior of the bridge during earthquakes. In this study, the effect of characteristics of ground and bridge foundation on the earthquake vulnerability is investigated. From the pseudo-static analysis, it is confirmed that non-linearity becomes lesser and horizontal load becomes greater when surcharge is considered. It is also found that as the ground worsens and the size of foundation decreases, horizontal load reduces. To derive reasonable structural model for bridge foundation, fragility curve is obtained considering four conditions (fixed condition, equivalent linear condition, non-linear without surchage condition, non-linear with surcharge condition) and compared. Seismic analysis is performed on single pier with Opensees. From the earthquake vulnerability analysis, it is found that shallow foundation can be assumed as fixed condition. In conservative approach, stiffness of spring can be obtained based on Korean highway bridge design code for pile foundation which can consider the ground condition.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.35-44
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• 2020

This study described the result of laboratory model tests, in order to compare the improvement effect of the DCM column installed on the soft ground according to DCM column type. In the laboratory model test, the non-reinforced type and the 3 types of DCM column were applied, and the behavior (settlement, lateral flow) of soft ground was evaluated under the surcharge load condition for each type. The settlement evaluation result showed that the settlement of soft ground without DCM column occurred rapidly under the low load condition, but the settlement of the soft ground with the DCM column had relatively small settlement. The evaluation result of lateral flow in the soft ground showed that the soft ground with DCM column had lower lateral displacement than the soft ground without DCM column. Especially, the lateral displacement under the same load condition decreased in the order of pile type, wall type, and grid type. Therefore, it confirmed that the improvement effect of soft ground was excellent when the DCM of grid type was applied for settlement and lateral flow.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.13-24
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• 2003

This paper presents the results of investigation on the effects of foundation stiffness and surface loading on the performance of soil-reinforced segmental retaining walls using the finite element method of analysis. A parametric study was performed by varying the foundation stiffness and the location of surface loading. The results of the analyses indicate that the wall deformation and reinforcement tensile load tend to increase with decreasing foundation stiffness with little variation in the horizontal and vertical stress distributions at the back and the base of the reinforced soil zone. Also revealed is that the increment of reinforcement tensile load due to the presence of surface load may be significantly over-estimated when using the conventional approach. Furthermore, the external stability should be carefully examined when a surface loading is present just behind the reinforced soil zone. The implications of the findings from this study to current design approaches are discussed in detail.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09a
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• pp.467-472
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• 2010

Individual vacuum pressure method is soft ground improvement technique, in which a vacuum pressure can be directly applied to the vertical drain board to promote consolidation and strengthening the soft ground. This method does not require a surcharge load, different to embankment or pre-loading method. In this study, given the inner displacement of the ground where the individual vacuum pressure is applied, this dissertation aimed to reproduce the state of stress in the ground that is subject to the constraints created by the depth of improvement area. Modified Cam Clay theory which made it possible to take into account the isotropic displacement of the ground was applied to the NAP-IVP used simulation; the conception of equivalent permeability proposed by Hird was also applied so that the 3-dimensional real construction effect of drain materials could be reflected in the analysis.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.110-115
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• 2011

Numerouslong-term consolidation and secondary compression settlements may occur in Busan clay, which is astructured soft clay and consists of a thick clay deposit. As a surcharge load is applied to soils, soils experience different stress paths with depth. Therefore, it is necessary to study the long-term consolidation behavior of Busan clay considering stress conditions such as OC or NC states. In this study, a series of long-term consolidation tests were performed to investigate the consolidation characteristics of Busan clay for 20 days. The undisturbed clay samples were taken from 3 sites located in the Nakdong River estuary. The results showed that the creep rate of the Busan clay gradually decreased with time, which indicated that the secondary compression settlement decreased with time. In addition, the experimental results for 3 samples showed that the ratios were about 0.0363 and 0.051, respectively.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.255-267
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• 2017

Soft clay strata can suffer significant settlement or stability problems under building loads. Among the methods proposed to strengthen weak soils is the application of a stone masonry trench (SMT) beneath RC strip foundations (as a masonry pad-stone). Although, SMTs are frequently employed in engineering practice; however, the effectiveness of SMTs on the ultimate bearing capacity improvement of a strip footing rested on a weak clay stratum has not been investigated quantitatively, yet. Therefore, the expected increase of bearing capacity of strip footings reinforced with SMTs is of interest and needs to be evaluated. This study presents a two-dimensional numerical model using the discrete element method (DEM) to capture the ultimate load-bearing capacity of a strip footing on a soft clay reinforced with a SMT. The developed DEM model was then used to perform a parametric study to investigate the effects of SMT geometry and properties on the footing bearing capacity with and without the presence of surcharge. The dimensions of the SMTs were varied to determine the optimum trench relative depth. The study showed that inclusion of a SMT of optimum dimension in a soft clay can improve the bearing capacity of a strip footing up to a factor of 3.5.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.8
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• pp.73-82
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• 2010

The GFRP(Glass-Fiber Reinforced Plastic) pipe is designed to behave safely against the external forces and to secure stability of deformation and settlements of pipe, since it is laid under the ground. In this study, the evaluation for the pressure stability was carried out by performing the laboratory experiments to figure out the mechanical properties of Glass-Fiber Reinforced Plastic pipe, take a theoretical approach, and suggest the mechanical properties necessary for the analysis and design of GFRP. Numerical analysis is also conducted to evaluate on the field application through the comparison concerning relations between deformation and differential settlement in the GFRP and hume pipes when all and half sections are under the surcharge load.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.65-72
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• 2016

There are numerous factors that affect stress distribution in a buried pipe, such as the shape, size, and stiffness of the pipe, its burial depth, and the stiffness of the surrounding soil. In addition, the pipe can benefit from the soil arching effect to some extent, through which the overburden and surcharge pressure at the crown can be carried by the adjacent soil. As a result, the buried pipe needs to support only a portion of the load that is not transferred to the adjacent soil. This paper presents numerical efforts to investigate the stress distribution in the buried concrete pipe under various environmental conditions. To that end, a nonlinear elasto-plastic model for backfill materials was implemented into finite element software by a user-defined subroutine (user material, or UMAT) to more precisely analyze the soil behavior surrounding a buried concrete pipe subjected to surface loading. In addition, three different backfill materials with a native soil were selected to examine the material-specific stress distribution in pipe. The environmental conditions considering in this study the loading effect and void effects were investigated using finite element method. The simulation results provide information on how the pressures are redistributed, and how the buried concrete pipe behaves under various environmental conditions.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.1695-1704
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• 2008

The problems associated with constructing high-speed concrete track embankments over soft compressible soil has lead to the development and/or extensive use of many of the ground improvement techniques used today. Drains, surcharge loading, and geosynthetic reinforcement, have all been used to solve the settlement and embankment stability issues associated with construction on soft soils. However, when time constraints are critical to the success of the project, owners have resorted to another innovative approach. Especially, the design criteria of residual settlement is limited as 30mm for concrete track embankment, it is very difficult to satisfy this standard using the former construction method. Pile net method consist of vertical columns that are designed to transfer the load of the embankment through the soft compressible soil layer to a firm foundation and one or more layers of geosynthetic reinforcement placed between the top of the columns and the bottom of the embankment. This paper will present the guidelines for the design of pile net method to supported embankments. These guidelines were developed based on a review of current design methodologies and a parametric study of design variables using numerical modeling.