• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.5-10
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• 2009

The ground anchor is not usually used in soft clay and loose sand, because the pullout resistance of anchors can not be guaranteed. However, there is a method to increase the capacity of anchors using electric discharge geotechnical technologies, which are also known as pulse discharge and electric-spark technologies. The pulse-discharge anchor has a bulbed (or underreamed) bond length that is expanded by high voltage electrokinetic pulse energy. 24 anchors were installed in the weathered soil and sandy clay at the Geotechnical Experimentation Site at Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon, Korea. In this study, in order to define a relation between expansion rate of the anchor diameter and ultimate load, anchor load tests were carried out in accordance with testing procedures by AASHTO (AASHTO 1990) and FHWA (Weatheb 1998). And then several anchors were exhumed to measure the diameter of the pulse discharge anchors.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.165-181
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• 2014

In the past decade, different types of underreamed ground anchors have been developed for substructures requiring uplift resistance. This article introduces a new type of umbrella-shaped anchor. The uplift behavior of this ground anchor in clay is studied through a series of laboratory and field uplift tests. The test results show that the umbrella-shaped anchor has higher uplift capacity than conventional anchors. The failure mode of the umbrella-shaped anchor in a large embedment depth can be characterized by an arc failure surface and the dimension of the plastic zone depends on the anchor diameter. The anchor diameter and embedment depth have significant influence on the uplift behavior. A finite element model is established to simulate the pullout of the ground anchor. A parametric study using this model is conducted to study the effects of the elastic modulus, cohesion, and friction angle of soils on the load-displacement relationship of the ground anchor. It is found that the larger the elastic modulus and the shear strength parameters, the higher the uplift capacity of the ground anchor. It is suggested that in engineering design, the soil with stiffer modulus and higher shear strength should be selected as the bearing stratum of this type of anchor.