• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.181-194
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• 2013

Landslides are known as gravitational mass movements that can carry the flow materials ranging in size from clay to boulders. The various types of landslides are differentiated by rate and depositional features. Indeed, flow characteristics are observed from very slow-moving landslides (e.g., mud slide and mud flow) to very fast-moving landslides (e.g., debris avalanches and debris flows). From a geomechanical point of view, shear-rate-dependent shear strength should be examined in landslides. This paper presents the design of advanced ring-shear apparatus to measure the undrained shear strength of debris flow materials in Korea. As updated from conventional ring-shear apparatus, this apparatus can evaluate the shear strength under different conditions of saturation, drainage and consolidation. We also briefly discussed on the ring shear apparatus for enforcing sealing and rotation control. For the materials with sands and gravels, an undrained ring-shear test was carried out simulating the undrained loading process that takes place in the pre-existing slip surface. We have observed typical evolution of shear strength that found in the literature. This paper presents the research background and expected results from the ring-shear apparatus. At high shear speed, a temporary liquefaction and grain-crushing occurred in the sliding zone may take an important role in the long-runout landslide motion. Strength in rheology can be also determined in post-failure dynamics using ring-shear apparatus and be utilized in debris flow mobility.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.2C
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• pp.89-98
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• 2006

In this study, the iron and aluminium electrode was put in marine clay which was taken from south coast in Korea to increase the undrained shear strength by inducing the densification and cementation between clay particles and precipitation which was developed by electrode decomposition. For raising the cementation rate and reducing treatment time, high electric current( 2.5A) was applied in each electrode at semi-pilot scale soil box with marine clay. After the tests, the undrained shear strength was measured at designated points using cone penetration test device and sampling was conducted simultaneously in order to measure water content, pH and electric conductivity which would be the key for configuring the cementation effects indirectly. The iron electrode decomposition test results show that the water content adjacent to anode section decreased in 35% and increased in 13% at cathode section. The measured shear strength however, was increased considerably comparing to initial shear strength because of cementation effect between iron ions and soil particles. In case of aluminium electrode decomposition test, the distribution of measured shear strength and degree of improvement were more homogeneous than iron electrode decomposition test.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1998.06d
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• pp.125-130
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• 1998

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.243-252
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• 1993

Undrained cyclic simple shear tests and undrained cyclic triaxial tests were performed on silt containing sand in order to investigate the effects of silt contents on the liquefaction strength and shear characteristics of the sand. From the view that the difference of liquefaction strength for different content of silt stems from dilatancy characteristics of the sand, stress-dilatancy relation of the sand was obtained from drained triaxial test in which the mean stress was kept constant. Considerations on liquefaction behaviors were made by comparing the drained and undrained behaviors of sands during static shear test. It is concluded that ${\lambda}$-value of the stress-dilatancy relation will be closely related to the liquefaction strength.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.33-43
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• 2010

The physical characteristics of the marine clay in the Korean Peninsula, specifically Pusan areas of the south coast of Korea, were previously studied and reliable data from harbor construction projects were used for the relationship analysis of geotechnical strength parameters. The sample of marine clay classified to ML, MH, CL, CH and ML-CL from USCS were included for the analysis while the samples classified to SC were excluded in order to raise the degree of data analysis. Geotechnical strength properties, such as undrained shear strength, sensitivity ratio, and effective friction angle were analyzed and evaluated using the data obtained from unconfined compression test, triaxial compression test and field vane test. Abnormal values were extracted through statistical analysis. Moreover, the reliability of the results was improved by performing the evaluation of disturbance. Linear regression analysis was used for the relationship analysis, between undrained shear strength and depth. The relationship equation between undrained shear strength and depth was derived from the analysis of unconfined and triaxial compression test data of samples obtained at same location. Consequently, The relationship between depth and undrained shear strength is $S_u=0.015148D+0.04624$ and the undrained shear strength derived from the triaxial compression test was estimated to be about 1.26 of derived from the unconfined compression test.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.1047-1054
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is the understanding to changes in the characteristic of soil structure and classification, atterberg limits, undrained shear strength and consolidation of clayey soil dependent on pH of soil pore water. A series of tests including consistency tests, uniaxial compressive tests, vane tests and oedometer tests are performed on. The test results indicated that pH changes in the soil pH resulted in changes in the soil structure and classification, stress-strain behavior. Specially, when pH is conditioned to 7, liquid limit, undrained shear strength and preconsolidation pressure are the largest.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2010

In this study, centrifuge model tests with 50 g gravitational condition were performed to evaluate the bearing capacity of very soft ground, improved by spreading geotextile and sand on the surface of ground, for the heavy machinery to be able to access. For undrained shear strength of ground model, prepared with the clay sampled from the field, being in the range of 3.1~11.7 kPa, bearing capacity tests were performed with the model footing and the loading system built to simulate the heavy machinery on the ground model treated with geotextile and sand. Test results were compared with theoretically and numerically evaluated ones. Test results about load-settlement curves showed that the bearing capacity increases with the increase of the undrained shear strength of ground. Punching shear or local shear failure was also observed. For a relatively low undrained shear strength of ground, settlement behavior is found to be crucial to evaluating the trafficability of machinery whereas bearing capacity becomes a dominant factor with the increase of undrained shear strength of ground. The method for assessing the bearing capacity of the ground related to trafficability of machinery is presented by acquiring the regression relationship between the contact pressure of machinery and settlements using load-settlement curves with the change of the undrained shear strength. Furthermore, results of numerical analyses about load-settlement relation are in relatively good agreement with those of centrifuge model test.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.49-58
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• 2004

The cone pressuremeter test (CPM) is a new in-situ test which combines a standard cone penetration test with a pressuremeter. The cone pressuremeter tests in clay are presented and analyzed. An analytical solution of CPM incorporated non-linear soil behavior with no volume change is presented, and curve fitting technique is proposed to make use of both the loading and unloading portions of the pressuremeter test. The proposed method is accomplished by putting greater emphasis on the unloading portion. Twenty CPM tests are analyzed using the proposed method, and the derived undrained shear strength of soil is compared with other tests such as field vane tests and laboratory tests. The interpreted soil parameters had resonable values when compared to other in-situ and laboratory test results. The cone pressuremeter has provided reliable measures of undrained shear strength using curve fitting method.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.43-51
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• 2010

In the downstream areas of the Nakdong river, Pusan clays are commonly found and thickness may reach to maximum of 100m. From geological point of view, Pusan clay are characterized as holocene clays, deposited for approximately 20,000 years ago. Recently, there have been many construction projects based on these soft ground areas. It is needed to know clearly soil properties of the areas for design and safety analysis, especially undrained shear strength of soft clays. However, Pusan clay have not been studied systematically because the clay layers are usually very deep, having high sensitivity characteristic. In this study, undisturbed UD samples obtained from the downstream areas of the Nakdong river were researched using laboratory tests (CthUE, CKcUC, CIUC, UU and UC) and in-situ tests (Field Vane, CPTu). The undrained shear strength characteristics of the samples were depicted using stress-strain relationship.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2003

Unconfined compression test (UC) has been widely used to determine the undrained shear strength ($c_u$) of clay, because it is convenient and economical. However, UC can not represent the behaviour of in-situ stress condition and the strength obtained by the test is generally underestimated compared to that of triaxial compression, due to no confining pressure. Therefore, a simple and practical method to correct the ($c_u$) for sample disturbance and to be used in geotechnical practice is needed. This study is aimed at proposing the method to estimate in-situ undrained shear strength from UC with suction measurement. The proposed method is based on theoretical shear strength equation of perfect sample (Noorany & Seed, 1965), and effective overburden stress and analysis results ($A_f,\phi'$) of effective stress behaviour by UC are needed for the equation. The shear resistance angle ($\phi'$) can be simply estimated through the result that $K_f$-line slope of the UC is 1.6 times higher than that of triaxial compression test. The result of this study shows that the measured strength by this method is very similar to that of the undrained shear strength by triaxial compression test (CK$_0$UC).