• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.88-91
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• 2004

In this study, a number of natural fiber henequen reinforced polymer matrix composites were successfully fabricated by means of a compression molding technique using chopped henequen fibers surface-treated with different electron beam irradiation (EBI) dosages, thermoplastic poly(butylene succinate), thermosetting unsaturated polyester and phenolic resins. Their interfacial and thermal characteristics were studied in terms of interfacial shear strength, fracture surface, dynamic mechanical properties, dimensional stability, and thermal stability using single fiber microbonding test, SEM, DMA, TMA, and TGA. The results show that their interfacial and thermal properties significantly depend on the intensity of EBl treatment on the natural fiber surface.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.86-100
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• 1985

In order to investigate the strength characteristics of weathered granite soils in unsaturated state, the five physically different weathered granite soils and the common soil (sandy loam) were examined. The disturbed and the undisturbed material were prepared for triaxial compression test. The following conclusions were drawn from the study; 1. Dry density of the undisturbed soil samples was lower than maximum dry density determined from the compaction test and it showed the higher value at the well graded soil. 2. The failure strength of the samples decreased with the increase of moisture content of the soil and these results were highly pronounced at the common soil sample having a good cohesive property. 3. On weathered granite soils, the cohesion was lower measured and the internal friction angle highly, the decrease rate at internal friction angle with increase of moisture content of the soil was more significant than that of cohesion 4. The modulus of deformation of the samples decreased with increase of moisture content of the soil and these phenomena were highly pronounced at the weathered granite soils than common soil. 5. The failure strength of the samples increased with in crease of confining pressure and effect of confining pressure on failure strength was highly significant at the lower moisture content of the soil.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.299-314
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• 2007

In the present study, natural fibers (jute, kenaf and henequen) reinforced thermoplastic (poly(lactic acid) and polypropylene) and thermosetting (unsaturated polyester) matrix composites were well fabricated by a compression molding technique using all chopped natural fibers of about 10 mm long, respectively. Prior to green composite fabrication, natural fiber bundles were surface-treated with tap water by static soaking and dynamic ultrasonication methods, respectively. The interfacial shear strength, flexural properties, and dynamic mechanical properties of each green composite system were investigated by means of single fiber microbonding test, 3-point flexural test, and dynamic mechanical analysis, respectively. The result indicated that the properties of the polymeric resins were significantly improved by incorporating the natural fibers into the resin matrix and also the properties of untreated green composites were further improved by the water treatment done to the natural fibers used. Also, the property improvement of natural fiber-reinforced green composites strongly depended on the treatment method. The interfacial and mechanical results agreed with each other.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 1996

The current practice in construction of reinforced earth retaining walls is to use a granular soil for the backfill material. When the material is available in site, the construetion cost can be remarkably reduced. As the weathered granite soils are abundant and widely distributed throughout the Korean peninsula: whether they are suitable or not as the backfill material is considered to be the most important key in economic construction of the wall. This paper investigates the grain size distribution of the weathered soils which locate at many places throughout the nation and then examines limitation of their use based on the specifications of different countries. The variaton of shear strength with both different fine contents and saturation is also investigated. It is known that the grain size distribution of most weathered soils are not satisfied with the general requirement. However their use is possible in wide range when the backfill keeps in unsaturated condition using good drainage facilities and 1 or pervious reinforcements.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.53-64
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• 2009

Many slope failures are induced by rainfall infiltration. A lot of recent researches are therefore focused on rainfall-induced slope instability and the rainfall infiltration is recognized as the important triggering factor. The rainfall infiltrates into the soil slope and makes the matric suction lost in the slope and even the positive pore water pressure develops near the surface of the slope. They decrease the resisting shear strength. In Korea, a few public institutions suggested conservative slope design guidelines that assume a fully saturated soil condition. However, this assumption is irrelevant and sometimes soil properties are misused in the slope design method to fulfill the requirement. In this study, a more relevant slope stability evaluation method is suggested to take into account the real rainfall infiltration phenomenon. Unsaturated soil properties such as shear strength, soil-water characteristic curve and permeability for Korean weathered soils were obtained by laboratory tests and also estimated by artificial neural network models. For real-time assessment of slope instability, failure warning criteria of slope based on deterministic and probabilistic analyses were introduced to complement uncertainties of field measurement data. The slope stability evaluation technique can be combined with field measurement data of important factors, such as matric suction and water content, to develop an early warning system for probably unstable slopes due to the rainfall.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.91-100
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• 1988

Assuming that tidal level is constantly changed with an amplitude of 10 meters and a cycle of 12 hours, the slope stability for a typical dyke is analysed. The variation of pore water pressure within the dyke during the tidal change is obtained using a computer program, FLUMP, which is incorporated with saturated-unsaturated and transient flow. The results show that the variation of free water surface and distribution of pore water pressure within the dyke during the tidal fluctuations can be clearly predicted with the computer program. When a tide is lowered to the minimum level, the predicted pressure head is higher than the level of the free water surface in some parts of the dyke; that is, excess pore water pressure is generated in a zone affected by the tidal change. Also an unsaturated zone which shows negative pore water pressure is temporally created when a tide is lowered. The shear strength of the zone can be predicted based on the proposal suggested by Fredlund et al. It is emphasized that the excess pore water pressure generated during tidal fluctuations and strength parameters for the unsaturated zone should be considered in analyzing the slope stability of dykes. When those are considered, the critical slip surface seems to be located below the free water surface obtained when a tide is at the lowest.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2015

This study has obtained Soil Water Retention Curve (SWRC) of the unsaturated soil from the volumetric pressure plate extractor test and the triaxial compression tests was also conducted. By using the rainfall data measured in the site the seepage analysis of unsteady flow was performed with the program of SEEP/W in Geostudio 2007 and stability of the slope was analyzed with SLOPE/W program. Results of analyses show that shear strength of the unsaturated soil increases with the increase of matric suction. And it was also found that the net volumetric stress and the apparent cohesion increased with the matric suction. The seepage analysis of rainfall represents that the increasing rate of negative pore pressure at the zone of large negative pore pressure is appeared to be high even though lower rainfall intensity, but this tendency declines with ground depth. The stability analysis of slope was carried out for the actual plane of failure with the data representing the field condition. The factor of safety thus calculated was about unity (1.0) or just below, which means that the adopted method of analysis is in good agreement with the field condition.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.33-44
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• 1998

Preliminary study has been conducted to analyse the co-relation between shallow landslides frequently occurring in rainy seasons and the water infiltration into the slope. The change of stress state due to partial saturation of a soil and hence the reduction of its shear strength have been reviewed. The variation of the safety factor of an infinite planar slope in accordance with various water infiltration scenarios has been estimated by limit equilibrium method to explain the mechanism of shallow slope failure. Numerical analysis under the same condition as those of some models dealt with in the previous method has been carried out by using FLAC, a finite difference program, and the results have been compared with the ones obtained by limit equilibrium method. Both results proved to be identical, which implies the ability of the numerical approach to the problems related to the stability analysis of unsaturated slope with the irregular geometry. Further improvement, however, should be made to apply the present analysis procedure to general slopes since it deals with a simple one.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.35-42
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• 2012

This paper evaluates the effect of anisotropic conductivity on the seepage face and reliability index of an homogeneous dam with and without toe drain. The analysis are conducted under steady state saturated-unsaturated seepage condition using finite element method. Various anisotropic conductivity ratios were interpreted under such conditions as the vertical conductivity is reduced while the horizon conductivity is fixed. The shear strength of soil is defined by the modified Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. The analysis results demonstrate that the length of seepage face and reliability index at the downstream and upstream of the dam increase with an increasing anisotropic ratio. These results of the seepage face and reliability index, however, depend on the total head difference between the upstream slope and downstream toe. The difference in seepage face and reliability index is attributed to the different equipotential head with different anisotropic ratios of the dam material.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.12-17
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• 2005

Natural fiber/phenolic biocomposites with chopped henequen fibers treated at various levels of electron beam irradiation (EBI) were made by means of a matched-die compression molding method. The interfacial property was explored in terms of interfacial shear strength measured by a single fiber microbonding test. The thermal properties were studied in terms of storage modulus, tan ${\delta}$, thermal expansion and thermal stability measured by dynamic mechanical analysis, thermomechanical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. The result showed that the interfacial and thermal properties depend on the treatment level of EBI done to the henequen fiber surfaces. The present result also demonstrates that 10 kGy EBI is most preferable to physically modify the henequen fiber surfaces and then to improve the interfacial property of the biocomposite, supporting earlier results studied with henequen/poly (butylene succinate) and henequen/unsaturated polyester biocomposites.