• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.1181-1192
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• 2008

A laboratory investigation was carried out into effects of strain rate on undrained shear behavior of Holocene clay underneath Kobe Airport with an objective to evaluate the factor of safety of the retaining structure built on it. It was examined in a series of triaxial compression and extension tests performed using different rate of axial straining. A comparative compression test in which the strain rate was changed in steps was also carried out. Similar tests were performed in constant-volume direct shear box (DSB) test. And, the deformation characteristics of the clay were also examined in order to evaluate the variation of stiffness during undrained shearing. It was found that the undrained strength increased with not only the shear rate but also the consolidation period. ISOTACH properties seemed a key to govern the undrained shear behavior.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.287-298
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• 2003

The feasibility of using neural networks to model the complex relationship between piezocone measurements and the undrained shear strength of clays has been investigated. A three layered back propagation neural network model was developed based on actual undrained shear strengths, which were obtained from the isotrpoically and anisotrpoically consolidated triaxial compression test(CIUC and CAUC), and piezocone measurements compiled from various locations around the world. It was validated by comparing model predictions with measured values about new piezocone data, which were not previously employed during development of model. Performance of the neural network model was compared with conventional empirical method, direct correlation method, and theoretical method. It was found that the neural network model is not only capable of inferring a complex relationship between piezocone measurements and the undrained shear strength of clays but also gives a more precise and reliable undrained shear strength than theoretical and empirical approaches. Furthermore, neural network model has a possibility to be a generalized relationship between piezocone measurements and undrained shear strength over the various places and countries, while the present empirical correlations present the site specific relationship.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09c
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• pp.18-23
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• 2010

The estimation of the undrained shear strength $s_u$ for clays using CPT results has been mainly based on the cone factor $N_k$. In this study, a new CPT-based method for the estimation of the undrained shear strength $s_u$ is presented. This aims at reducing uncertainties for the estimation of $s_u$ and enhancing the application of CPT results in more effective manner. For this purpose, a site located at a marine clay deposit is selected and test results from extensive experimental testing program are adopted. The new method defines a direct correlation between the undrained shear strength $s_u$ and the cone resistance $q_t$, excluding the procedure of the overburden pressure correction and therefore undisturbed soil sampling process. In order to verify the new CPT-based method, additional test sites and example sites from literature, which consist of a variety of soil conditions, are selected and examined. It is observed that values of su obtained from the proposed method are in good agreements with measured values of $s_u$ for all the selected verification cases.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.13-21
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• 2010

The unsaturated slope usually is stable for a long time, but fails during heavy rainfall. And the factors of the rainfall intensity exhibit significant roles because the water content and the shear stress developed along the potential failure surface will be changed by the rainfall intensity. The objective of the study presented in this paper is to analyze the relationship between rainfall intensity and shear stress of the soil slopes by applying the laboratory slope model apparatus and undrained direct shear test with rainfall intensity controlled. The soil sample was taken from the field slope of Youngdong, and particle size analysis was done. To look over the relationship between rainfall intensity and shear strength of slope, the three-dimensional relationships among shear strength, normal stress and water content of the slope soil samples are examined; those are based on the data from the TDR sensor and undrained direct shear test.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.31-45
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• 2019

In this study the spatial variability of soils is substantiated physically and numerically by using random field theory. Heterogeneous samples are fabricated by combining nine homogeneous soil clusters that are assumed to be elements of an adopted random field. Homogeneous soils are prepared by mixing different percentages of kaolin and bentonite at water contents equivalent to their respective liquid limits. Comprehensive characteristic laboratory tests were carried out before embarking on direct shear experiments to deduce the basic correlations and properties of nine homogeneous soil clusters that serve to reconstitute the heterogeneous samples. The tests consist of Atterberg limits, and Oedometric and unconfined compression tests. The undrained shear strength of nine soil clusters were measured by the unconfined compression test data, and then correlations were made between the water content and the strength and stiffness of soil samples with different consistency limits. The direct shear strength of heterogeneous samples of different stochastic properties was then evaluated by physical and numerical modelling using FISH code programming in finite difference software of $FLAC^{3D}$. The results of the experimental and stochastic numerical analyses were then compared. The deviation of numerical simulations from direct shear load-displacement profiles taken from different sources were discussed, potential sources of error was introduced and elaborated. This study was primarily to explain the mathematical and physical procedures of sample preparation in stochastic soil mechanics. It can be extended to different problems and applications in geotechnical engineering discipline to take in to account the variability of strength and deformation parameters.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.637-648
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• 2023

When an earth pressure balance (EPB) shield machine bores a tunnel in gravelly sand stratum, the excavated natural soil is normally transformed using foam and water to reduce cutter wear and the risk of direct muck squeezing out of the screw conveyor (i.e., muck spewing). Understanding the undrained shear behavior of conditioned soils under pressure is a potential perspective for optimizing the earth pressure balance shield tunnelling strategies. Owing to the unconventional properties of conditioned soil, a pressurized vane shear apparatus was utilized to investigate the undrained shear behavior of foam-conditioned gravelly sands under normal pressure. The results showed that the shear stress-displacement curves exhibited strain-softening behavior only when the initial void ratio (e₀) of the foam-conditioned sand was less than the maximum void ratio (e_max) of the unconditioned sand. The peak and residual strength increased with an increase in normal pressure and a decrease in foam injection ratio. A unique relation between the void ratio and the shear strength in the residual stage was observed in the e-ln(τ) space. When e₀ was greater than e_max, the fluid-like specimens had quite low strengths. Besides, the stick-slip behavior, characterized by the variation coefficient of measured shear stress in the residual stage, was more evident under lower pressure but it appeared to be independent of the foam injection. A comparison between the results of pressurized vane shear tests and those of slump tests indicated that the slump test has its limitations to characterize the chamber muck fluidity and build the optimal conditioning parameters.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.15-24
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• 2001

In order to evaluate undrained shear strength of clayey soils using Piezocone Penetration Test (CPTu), piezoncone factor is utilized. Commonly, piezoncone factors determined by empirical basis were preferred, which were established by correlation between measurements of piezocone test and undrained strengths obtained from other shearing tests. However, previous studies on the empirical piezocone factors were site-specific and there have been no systematic investigations on the effect of both engineering characteristics of clayey soils and soil non-homogeneity on the piezocone factor. Accordingly, the direct application of the previous results to Korean clayey soils without verification may be inappropriate. In this study, empirical piezocone factors are evaluated by comparing 46 CPTu results of 10 test sites with undrained shear strength obtained from Field Vane Test (FVT) and laboratory triaxial tests. Their reliabilities are investigated by the comparison with the previous piezocone factors and the deviation of data distribution from the mean values. And the effects of referencing test methods and typical engineering characteristics of clayey soils such as overconsolidation ratio (OCR) and plastic Index (I$_{p}$) are examined. Because piezocone factors obtained for various soil conditions are widely distributed, it is not appropriate to use the mean value as a representative. Instead, it is recommended to apply the piezocone factors with OCR, which is found to be a major factor in deriving piezocone factor. The necessitated piezocone factors are presented.d.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.463-470
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• 2016

A vane shear test (VST) is a simple testing method for determining an undrained shear strength of cohesive soils by minimizing soil disturbance. In this study, the VST was used to determine a shear strength of sand. Dry Nakdong River sand was prepared for loose and dense conditions in a cell and then pressurized with 25, 50, 75 or 100 kPa from the surface of sand. A vane (5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height) was rotated and a torque was measured within sand. When a torque moment by vane and friction resistance moment by sand is assumed to be equalized, a friction angle can be obtained. When a vane rotates within clay, a uniform undrained shear strength is assumed to be acting on cylindrical failure surface. On the other hand, when it is applied for sand, the failure shape can be assumed to be an octagonal or square column. The relationship between measured torque and resistant force along assumed failure shapes due to friction of sand was derived and the internal friction angle of sand was determined for loose and dense conditions. For the same soil condition, a series of direct shear test was carried out and compared with VST result. The friction angle from VST was between 24-42 degrees for loose sand and 33-53 degrees for dense sand. This is similar to those of direct shear tests.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.27-39
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• 2012

This research is to propose the reinforcing method and design code for the lateral behaviors of the abutment displacement induced from the rainfall infiltration on high landfill slope. First, to make the proper numerical analysis, in-situ soil (weathered granite soil) was taken, and the variance of strength parameters according to water content variance was examined by undrained direct shear test, furthermore, other soil parameters were calculated from the standard penetration test such as elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio etc,. Those parameters were used to calculate the lateral behavior of abutment by finite element method and the member force of pile in high landfill slope according to rainfall infiltration . From the results, the shoe displacement on abutment was calculated as 8.98cm, which is 3 times bigger than the allowable displacement, 3cm. To reinforce it, several reinforcing methods were selected and analyzed such as reinforced retaining wall, soil surcharge, pile reinforcing (5m enlargement, 3-line arrangement, 5m enlargement and 3-line arrangement). In case of 5m enlarged and 3-line arrangement piles, the lateral behavior of shoe showed lower value(2.26 cm) than allowable displacement.