• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.5-13
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• 2021

Liquefaction behaviors of two natural silty samples containing fines including clay of 50% or more (Sample No.1 was silt 44.1% and clay 8.8%, sample No.2 was silt 57.2% and clay 12.4%) were examined by a cyclic triaxial test. According to the results on samples containing 50% or more of fine particles, an increase in the fine content decreases the liquefaction resistance of the sample. In other words, when the fine content increases, the liquefaction state of sample is reached with a small number of cyclic loads. In the relationship between the excess pore water pressure ratio and the number of cycles, the slope of the excess pore water pressure ratio increases more steeply as the fine content increases. As a result of analyzing the liquefaction behavior of the two silts with the content of clay contained in the fines, liquefaction occurred more easily in the No.2 silt with high clay content. This result shows that the clay contained in the fines affects the liquefaction behavior of the silt.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.5-11
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• 2020

Recently, due to the liquefaction caused by earthquakes in Pohang and surrounding areas, the importance of researches on the liquefaction assessment has increased. The possibility of liquefaction can be assessed using the geotechnical information. The cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) value used in the assessment of liquefaction can be determined by using the SPT-N values or shear wave velocity, V_s value. A study was conducted to compare the accuracy of the liquefaction assessment using these two types of geotechnical information, and concluded that the results using SPT-N values are more accurate than those using V_s values. The previous study speculated that the used V_s value was measured at a depth of 12 m uniformly without considering the critical depth of liquefaction. Therefore, 10 empirical equations that convert SPT-N values measured at critical depth of liquefaction into V_s values to confirm the validity of geotechnical information measured at 12 m points uniformly are used to assess the liquefaction possibility and the results were compared with the actual liquefaction results to confirm the accuracy. As a result, 7 out of 10 cases considering critical depth for liquefaction show higher accuracy than those not considered.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1-13
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• 2009

Liquefaction is a significant threat to structures on loose saturated sandy soil deposits in the event of an earthquake, and can often cause catastrophic damage, economic loss, and loss of life. Nevertheless, the Korean peninsula has for a long time been recognized as a safe region with respect to the hazard of liquefaction, as the peninsula is located in a moderate seismicity region, and there have been no reports of liquefaction, with the exception of references in some historical documents. However, some earthquakes that have recently occurred in different parts of the world have led to liquefaction in non-plastic silty soils, a soil type that can be found in many of the western coastal areas of Korea. In this study, we first present procedures for evaluating the liquefaction potential, and calculate the liquefaction potential index (LPI) distribution at two western coastal sites using both piezocone penetration test (CPTu) data and standard penetration test (SPT) data. The LPI is computed by integrating liquefaction potential over a depth of 20m, and provides an estimate of liquefaction-related surface damage. In addition, we compared the LPI values obtained from CPTu and SPT, respectively. Our research found that the CRR values from CPTu were lower than those from the SPT, particularly in the range between 40 and 120 for the corrected tip resistance, (qc1N)CS, from the CPTu, or in the range of CRR less than 0.23, resulting in relatively high LPI values. Moreover, it was observed that the differences in the CRR between the two methods were relatively higher for soils with high fine contents.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.147-158
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• 2004

Laboratory dynamic tests are carried out to assess the liquefaction potential of saturated sands in most countries. However, simple results such as the maximum cyclic shear stress and the number of cycles at initial liquefaction are used in the experimental assessment of liquefaction potential, even though various results can be obtained from the dynamic test. In addition, it seemed to be inefficient because more than three dynamic tests with different stress ratio have to be carried out to draw a liquefaction resistance experimental curve. To improve the present assessment method fur liquefaction potential, a new critical resistible characteristic far soil liquefaction is proposed and verified through conventional cyclic triaxial tests with Jumunjin sand. In the proposed method, various experimental data such as effective stress path, stress-strain relationship, and the change of excess pore water pressure can be used in the determination of cumulative plastic shear strains at every 1/4 cycle. Especially, the critical cumulative plastic shear strain to initiate liquefaction can be defined in a specific point called a phase change point in the effective stress path and it can be calculated from a hysteric curve of stress-strain relationship up to this point. Through this research, it is found that the proposed cumulative plastic shear strain can express the dissipated energy to resist dynamic loads and consider the realistic soil dynamic behavior of saturated sands reasonably. It is also found that the critical plastic shear strain can be used as a registible index of soils to represent the critical soil dynamic state, because it seems to include no effect of large deformation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.127-140
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• 2004

Conventional methods for the assessment of liquefaction potential were primarily for areas of severe earthquake zones (M=7.5) such as North America and Japan. Detailed earthquake related researches in Korea started in 1997, including development of the seismic design standards for port and harbour structures, which was later completed in 1999. Because most contents in the guidelines were quoted through literature reviews from North America and Japan, which are located in strong earthquake region, those are not proper in Korea, a moderate earthquake region. This requires further improvement of the present guidelines. Considering earthquake hazard data in Korea, use of laboratory tests based on irregular earthquake motion appears to be effective to reflect the dynamic characteristics of soil more realistically than those using simplified regular loading. In this study, cyclic triaxial tests using irregular earthquake motions are performed with different earthquake magnitudes, relative densities, and fines contents. Assessment of liquefaction potential in moderate earthquake regions is discussed based on various laboratory test results. Effects of these components on dynamic behavior of soils are discussed as well. From the test results, screening limits and magnitude scaling factors to determine the soil liquefaction resistance strength in seismic design were re-investigated and proposed using normalized maximum stress ratios under real irregular earthquake motions.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.145-159
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• 2004

The conventional method for assessment of liquefaction potential proposed by Seed and Idriss has been widely used in most countries because of simplicity of tests. Even though various data such as stress, strain, stress path, and excess pore water pressure can be obtained from the dynamic test, especially, two simple experimental data such as the maximum deviatoric stress and the number of cycles at liquefaction have been used in the conventional assessment. In this study, a new detailed assessment for liquefaction potential to reflect both characteristics of real earthquake motion and dynamic soil resistance is proposed and verified. In the assessment, the safety factor of the liquefaction potential at a given depth of a site can be obtained by the ratio of a resistible cumulative plastic shear strain determined through the performance of the conventional cyclic test and a driving cumulative plastic shear strain calculated from the shear strain time history through the ground response analysis. The last point to cumulate the driving plastic shear strain to initiate soil liquefaction is important for this assessment. From the result of cyclic triaxial test using real earthquake motions, it was concluded that liquefaction under the impact-type earthquake loads would initiate as soon as a peak loading signal was reached. The driving cumulative plastic shear strain, therefore, can be determined by adding all plastic shear strains obtained from the ground response analysis up to the peak point. Through the verification of the proposed assessment, it can be concluded that the proposed assessment for liquefaction potential can be a progressive method to reflect both characteristics of the unique soil resistance and earthquake parameters such as peak earthquake signal, significant duration time, earthquake loading type, and magnitude.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.31-44
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• 1992

The probabilistic and statistical model is used to estimate the probability of liquefaction potential and pore water pressure build up due to earthquake in fully saturated sand deposit for each case of being structure(anisotropic) or not(isotropic). To execute this paper, dynamic shear strength parameters to show the relationship between shear strength and cyclic loading under isotropic or anisotropic condition in saturated sand deposit are presented. Using these parameters, the program which Predicts Pore water Pressure build up due to earthquake is developed. Using the 3-dimensional Random Field Model considering uncertainty of resistance and strength parameter, the program which computes the probability of liquefaction potential is developed. The developed program is applied to a case study, and then the result shows that the probability of liquefaction in isotropic condition is higher than in anisotropic condition. The ratio of pore water pressure tends to decrease as Kc increases.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.9
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• pp.5-20
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• 2020

In 2017, after the Pohang earthquake, liquefaction phenomena were firstly observed after the observation of domestic earthquake by epicenter. In this study, various in-situ tests and laboratory tests were performed to determine the dynamic properties in (1) Songlim Park, (2) Heunghae-eup, Mangcheon-ri and (3) Heungan-ri, Pohang. As a site investigation, the standard penetration test (SPT), cone penetration test (CPT), multichannel analysis of surface wave (MASW), density logging, downhole test, and electrical resistivity survey were performed. In addition, cyclic triaxial test against sampled sand from site was also conducted. Based on the result, high ground water level and loose sand layer in shallow depth were observed for all sites. In addition, liquefaction resistance ratio of soil sampled from Songlim park was lower than those of Jumunjin sand, Toyoura sand, and Ottawa sand.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.7
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• pp.31-40
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• 2012

In most design codes, soils are classified as either sandy or clayey soils, and appropriate design equations for each soil type are used to estimate their soil behaviour. However, sand-fine mixtures, which are typically referred to as intermediate soils, are somewhere at the middle of sandy or clayey soils, and therefore a unified interpretation of soil behaviour is necessary. In this paper, a series of cyclic shear tests were carried out for three different combinations of sand-fine mixtures with various fines content. Silica-sand mixture and fines (Iwakuni natural clay, Tottori silt, kaolinite) were mixed together with various mass ratios, while paying attention to the changes of void ratios expressed in terms of sand structure. The cyclic shear strengths of the mixtures below the threshold fines content were examined with the increasing fines contents. As a result, as the fines contents increased, their cyclic deviator stress ratios decreased for dense samples while it increased for loose samples. Additionally, cyclic deviator stress ratio of the mixtures was estimated using the concept of equivalent granular void ratio.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.83-93
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• 2003

This research, in order to study the effects of initial shear stress of anisotropically consolidated sand that has 0.558% fines, performed several undrained static and dynamic triaxial test. To simulate the real field conditions, loose and dense samples were prepared. Besides, the cyclic shear strength of Nakdong River sand under various combinations of initial static shear stress, stress path, pore water pressure and residual strength relationship was studied. By using Bolton's theory, peak internal friction angle at failure which has considerable effects on the relative density and mean effective stress was determined. In p'- q diagram, the phase transformation line moves closer to the failure line as the specimen's initial anistropical consolidation stress increases. Loose sands were more affected than dense sands. The increase of consolidation stress ratio from 1.4 to 1.8 had an effect on liquefaction resistance strength resulting from the increase of relativity density, and showed similar CSR values in dense specimen condition.