• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.197-216
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• 2016

The increased speed of a train causes increased loads that act on the track substructures. To ensure the safety of the track substructures, proper maintenance and repair are necessary based on an accurate characterization of strength and stiffness. The objective of this study is to develop and apply a cone penetrometer incorporated with the dynamic cone penetration method (CPD) for investigating track substructures. The CPD consists of an outer rod for dynamic penetration in the ballast layer and an inner rod with load cells for static penetration in the subgrade. Additionally, an energy-monitoring module composed of strain gauges and an accelerometer is connected to the head of the outer rod to measure the dynamic responses during the dynamic penetration. Moreover, eight strain gauges are installed in the load cells for static penetration to measure the cone tip resistance and the friction resistance during static penetration. To investigate the applicability of the developed CPD, laboratory and field tests are performed. The results of the CPD tests, i.e., profiles of the corrected dynamic cone penetration index (CDI), profiles of the cone tip and friction resistances, and the friction ratio are obtained at high resolution. Moreover, the maximum shear modulus of the subgrade is estimated using the relationships between the static penetration resistances and the maximum shear modulus obtained from the laboratory tests. This study suggests that the CPD test may be a useful method for the characterization of track substructures.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.631-642
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• 2013

The standard CPT(Cone Penetration Test), which can be easily performed to investigate in-situ soil engineering properties, has been widely used. CPT are also widely being utilized in centrifuge model tests. In this study, a miniature cone with 10mm diameter was developed and its applicability in the centrifuge was evaluated. The developed miniature cone was equipped with a four degree-of-freedom in-flight robot. A series of cone penetration tests was performed under four centrifuge acceleration levels. As results, the cone resistances measured at the same confining stress within shallow penetration depth were affected by the centrifugal accelerations. The critical depth was proportional to the cone diameter and relative density. Cone resistances results below the critical depth and soil parameters obtained from the laboratory tests were compared with those by previously proposed empirical relations.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.37-51
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• 2019

This study focuses on the numerical simulations of the cone penetration tests in a sand ground. The mechanical responses of sand were described using the modified Mohr Coulomb plasticity model based on the critical state soil mechanics. In the plasticity model, the dilatancy angle was not a constant, but a function of the distance to the critical state line from the current state of void ratio and mean effective stress. To simulate cone penetration tests numerically, this study relied on Lagrangian finite element method under the axisymmetric condition. To enable penetration of the cone penetrometer without tearing elements along the symmetric axis, the penetration guide concept was adopted in this study. The results of numerical simulations on the calibration chamber cone penetration tests had good agreement with the experimental results.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.202-207
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• 2020

A track-type underwater construction robot (URI-R) was developed by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology. Because URI-R uses tracks to move on the seabed, insufficient ground strength may hinder its movement. For smooth operation of URI-R on the seabed, it is important to determine the geotechnical properties of the seabed. To determine these properties, standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetration test (CPT), and sampling are used on land. However, these tests cannot be applied on the seabed due to a high cost owing to the vessel, crane, sampler, and analysis time. To overcome these problems, a free fall cone penetration tester (FFCPT) is being developed. The FFCPT is a device that acquires the geotechnical properties during impact/penetration/finish phases by free fall in water. Depth information is crucial during soil data acquisition. As the FFCPT cannot measure the penetration depth directly, it is estimated indirectly using acceleration. The estimated penetration depth was verified by results of real tests conducted on land.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1085-1101
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• 2015

Changes in substructure conditions, such as ballast fouling and subgrade settlement may cause the railway quality deterioration, including the differential geometry of the rails. The objective of this study is to develop and apply a hybrid cone penetrometer (HCP) to characterize the railway substructure. The HCP consists of an outer rod and an inner mini cone, which can dynamically and statically penetrate the ballast and the subgrade, respectively. An accelerometer and four strain gauges are installed at the head of the outer rod and four strain gauges are attached at the tip of the inner mini cone. In the ballast, the outer rod provides a dynamic cone penetration index (DCPI) and the corrected DCPI (CDCPI) with the energy transferred into the rod head. Then, the inner mini cone is pushed to estimate the strength of the subgrade from the cone tip resistance. Laboratory application tests are performed on the specimen, which is prepared with gravel and sandy soil. In addition, the HCP is applied in the field and compared with the standard dynamic cone penetration test. The results from the laboratory and the field tests show that the cone tip resistance is inversely proportional to the CDCPI. Furthermore, in the subgrade, the HCP produces a high-resolution profile of the cone tip resistance and a profile of the CDCPI in the ballast. This study suggests that the dynamic and static penetration tests using the HCP may be useful for characterizing the railway substructure.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.96-106
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• 2003

134 Dutch cone (mechanical cone) and 9 piezocone (electronic cone) penetration tests have been performed in the southwestern part of Korea. In general, Dutch cone results may be different from that of piezocone due to the difference in structure of the cones. 6 Dutch cone and piezocone test data which were obtained at the same point respectively, were analyzed and plotted in soil classification chart proposed by Robertson et. al.(1986, 1990). Cone factors of Dutch cone and piezocone test empirically have been determined using laboratory and field vane test results. Using this cone factors, it was shown that there was good correlation between shear strength estimated using cone resistance and that of laboratory test and field vane tests. It was found that there was a good correlation between cone resistance from Dutch cone and that from piezocone. Relationship formula was also suggested. Dutch cone test provides a useful means for stratigraphic profiling in large project and has some advantage over piezocone in particular situations, such as very soft clay ground and dredged area.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2007.09a
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• pp.611-622
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• 2007

In the design and construction of the coastal/offshore structures, it is very important to evaluate the geotechnical characteristics of marine soils, which support the structures. Although the offshore site investigation is much more difficult than onshore, safe and precise jobs have not been accomplished in Korea because of the insufficiency of the test equipments especially for the site with deep water depth. The main objective of this study is to develop a new type of marine cone penetration testing(CPT) system, which can be utilized to even deep sea and high depth of soil layer. The system is one of seabed types and employs the conventional cone, which shows more reliable results than miniature cone. The most important parts of the marine CPT including continuous rod system, cone penetration system with wheel drive, automatic cone rod assembly/dissembly system etc., were designed and manufactured. Some tests to verify the developed marine CPT system were performed at both onshore and offshore sites as well as mechanical test in laboratory. The test results show the consistent and promising performance of the new equipment, and thereafter the system would be applicable to various sites with practical/economical advantages.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.33-38
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• 2018

The internal erosion due to poor compaction of the material was the main cause of collapse of the embankment in Korea. The assessment of the compaction state of the dam body was a very important check in the safety diagnosis of the embankment. In this study, the correlation between dynamic cone penetration test and plate loading test which is the most typical compaction evaluation technique was analyzed to verify the applicability of the dynamic cone penetration test in evaluating the compaction state of the dam body. The standard penetration tests were carried out six times to define soil properties and depth of the test site. The spatial distributions were obtained by the Kriging method after 15 times of plate loading tests and 47 times of dynamic cone penetration tests. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the spatial distribution of the plate loading test and the dynamic cone penetration test spatial distribution at the constant penetration depth was calculated. The load distribution in the plate loading test and the blow counts at penetration depths of 5 cm, 10 cm and 15 cm in the dynamic cone penetration test showed a weak positive correlation.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.1-6
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• 1987

The objective of this study is to develop a soil hardness tester which can estimate tillage resistance with tae travelling cone-penetrometer. For the study, a series of tests was performed using the cone penetrating in the horizontal direction. Based on the tests above, soil hardness was represented by travelling cone-index vs depth of cone penetration, travelling speed and moisture contents of the soil Resistance characteristics obtained from the experiments were compared with those by a vertical cone-penetrometer and the Yamanaka's soil hardness tester. Following conclusions were made from the study. 1. 8 to 9 peaks per one meter were detected in the resistance curve of cone penetration regardless of the travelling speed of cone-penetrometer when it penetrated the soil in the horizontal direction. This phenomenon seemed to be a similar one noticed in shearing pitch of plowing. 2. Cone index increased as travelling speed increased from 0.08m/sec to 0.5m/sec. 3. Linear relationship was found between the cone indices measured by the travelling coe-penetrometer and Yamanaka's hardness tester. 4. Increasing rate of the cone indices measured by vertical cone-penetrometer decreased as the depth of soil increased while the cone indices by the travelling cone-pentrometer increased linearly.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.7 no.5
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• pp.13-20
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• 2006

We have conducted standard penetration tests and static cone penetration tests that are widely used the land base examination on the soft ground subsurface of Yongdong area, and examined the correlation between them. We have also made a comparative analysis of the correlation between the indoor tests on the materials collected on the site and on-the-spot penetration tests. The results are as follows : The relationship between Standard Penetration Test N-value and Dutch Cone Tset show $Q_c=1.93N+0.29$ for organic soil, $Q_c=2.19N+0.20$ for clay, $Q_c=2.34N+1.06$ for silt, $Q_c=3.02N+0.54$ for silty sand, and $Q_c=3.47N+0.46$ for sand. In this case of sand $Q_c/N$ increases when the soil particles are larger. The relationship between standard penetration test N-value and Unconfined Compression Strength $q_u$ show $q_u=0.11N+0.03$ for organic soil, $q_u=0.11N+0.25$ for clay, and $q_u=0.18N-0.03$ for silt.