• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.17-22
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• 2012

Wind blown sand is expected to disrupt the operation of the railway as the presented railway project in this paper consists of large earthworks in extreme topography of the mega dune fields. For successful railway construction in sand dune area, effective mitigation measure is the most important factor to protect the track from wind blown sand. The effective mitigation measure requires an integrated consideration of the earthworks geometry and the direct control measures such as fence system. Basically there's no perfect measure protecting railway track from wind blown sand, and it would be more economical and effective to develop robust, deliberate maintenance program for track and direct control measure on the basis of geo-morphological study. The purpose of this study is to identify the large scale geo-morphological terrains and specific sand dune morphology in the project area in UAE and estimate the direction and migration rate for sand dunes with the local variations in prevailing wind directions by undertaking literature review, and aerial photographs, satellite images, and ground studies.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.49-60
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• 2013

The plan for major design-build projects of railway link among countries in gulf area (GCC) and freight rail construction is recently announced, but Korean companies have a hard time tendering due to special geotechnical condition in the Middle East. The major geotechnical risks during railway construction in the Middle East are related to ground improvement of soft Sabkha ground, wind-blown sand mitigation measure, dune sand compaction, and construction of large-scale cut and embankment. In this study, the characteristics of special geotechnical condition and potential geotechnical risks during railway construction in the Middle East are discussed on the basis of field observation, literature review, and field and laboratory test results.