• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.579-593
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• 2017

Geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining walls can be employed as railway embankments to carry large static and dynamic train loads, but very few studies can be found in the literature that investigate their dynamic behavior under simulated wheel loading. A large-scale dynamic test on a reinforced soil railway embankment was therefore carried out. The model embankment was 1.65 meter high and designed to have a soilbag facing. It was reinforced with HDPE geogrid layers at a vertical spacing of 0.3 m and a length of 2 m. The dynamic test consisted of 1.2 million cycles of harmonic dynamic loading with three different load levels and four different exciting frequencies. Before the dynamic loading test, a static test was also carried out to understand the general behavior of the embankment behavior. The study indicated the importance of loading frequency on the dynamic response of reinforced soil railway embankment. It also showed that toe resistance played a significant role in the dynamic behavior of the embankment. Some limitations of the test were also discussed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.241-254
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• 2019

A finite element approach is presented to examine ground vibration characteristics under various moving loads in a homogeneous half-space. Four loading modes including single load, double load, four-load, and twenty-load were simulated in a finite element analysis to observe their influence on ground vibrations. Four load moving speeds of 60, 80, 100, and 120 m/s were adopted to investigate the influence of train speed to the ground vibrations. The results demonstrated that the loading mode in a finite element analysis is reliable for train-induced vibration simulations. Additionally, a three-dimensional finite element model (3D FEM) was developed to investigate the dynamic responses of a track-ballast-embankment-ground system subjected to moving loads induced by high-speed trains. Results showed that vibration attenuations and breaks exist in the simulated wave fronts transiting through different medium materials. These tendencies are a result of the difference in the Rayleigh wave speeds of the medium materials relative to the speed of the moving train. The vibration waves induced by train loading were greatly influenced by the weakening effect of sloping surfaces on the ballast and embankment. Moreover, these tendencies were significant when the vibration waves are at medium and high frequency levels. The vibration waves reflected by the sloping surface were trapped and dissipated within the track-ballast-embankment-ground system. Thus, the vibration amplitude outside the embankment was significantly reduced.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.872-879
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• 2010

High rock-fill embankment is relatively flexible, which makes crest of embankment subject to excessive amplification in displacement due to earthquake loading. To overcome problems related with site response in high embankment, it is essential to evaluate shear-wave velocity profile of the embankment with improved accuracy and reliability. In this aspect, an experimental research was performed to answer how to perform surface-wave tests and to analyze measurements at an embankment site with a sloping ground surface. Unlike flat ground surface, sloping ground may hamper and slow down propagation of surface waves due to multiple reflections and refractions in embankment. To figure out this reasoning for the effect of multiple reflections and refractions due to sloping surface, surface wave tests were performed at a reservoir embankment of Chung-Song in North KyeongSang Province. Parameters involved in surface wave tests at non-flat surface, including source directionality, geometry-related constraint and frequency components in source function, were investigated using field measurements.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.09a
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• pp.956-962
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• 2009

A high embankment is generally constructed by dividing into several sub-embankments. Unlike any soil embankment, a rock embankment is constructed by means of dynamic compaction. Such a sub-embankment and dynamic compaction may induce an increase of pressure at the lower part of embankment and cause a different behavior of ground from initial status. In this study, settlement of a high rock embankment is estimated using a hyperbolic model taking into construction history. The results from prediction are compared with those obtained from field measurements and large plate loading tests.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.898-905
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• 2005

The settlement of embankment on soft clay includes shear settlement due to shear deformation. Even though the consolidation settlement is not related to lateral displacement, but shear settlement makes the embankment unstable because it deforms ground and decreases the ground strength. In order to determine the shear deformation behaviour during embankment construction, 3 cases (1B, 2B, and 3B) of rapid undrained loading tests on soft clays were performed. Shear settlement is consist of elastic settlement, plastic settlement and viscous settlement. Elastic settlement isn't considered because the range is small, therefore the first is the range of plastic displacement, and the second is that of viscous displacement in the displacement-time curve for each loading stage. After determining that the change in the inclination of the viscous displacement range is larger than in the plastic displacement range after the ground failure occurs for the loading stage, the stability management methods were suggested considering that it is hard to divide the plastic displacement range and the viscous displacement range. The stability management method was based on the ratio of the plastic displacement range's inclination and the viscous displacement range's inclination. A stability management method based on the ratio of the total inclination for each loading stage compared to the whole inclination in the initial loading stage was also recommended.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.63-69
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• 2004

During and after the construction of embankment on soft ground, consolidation settlements and lateral displacements develop. But generally it's very difficult to predict the magnitude of lateral deformations and the correct distribution of lateral displacements with depth under the toe of embankment because the consolidation and the shear deformations of soft ground occur simultaneously. This study shows that later displacements of ground surface arise by embankment loading act on soft clay hight water contents in laboratory model testing. The results of model test are observed settlement of embankment, amount of maximum rising and displacement of ground surface with loading velocity. The formula were proposed to predict lateral movement by test series.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.17-28
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• 2009

When embankments are constructed on soft clay deposit, unsymmetrical surcharges due to embankments may generate the excessive vertical settlement and lateral deformation of soft clay foundation. The excessive deformations in soft grounds cause not only stability problem of the embankment itself but also that of the adjacent structures. The objectives of this research are to study the deformational behavior of soft ground due to the embankment load with different loading and soil conditions. Five model tests are carried out with different test conditions. From the results of the model tests, it is concluded that the lateral displacement induced by the embankment load occurs in the range of two times of the embankment width from a toe. In addition, the relationship between loading rate, v, and the vertical settlement of the soft ground, ${\Delta}s$, and the lateral displacement at the toe of embankment, ${\Delta}y_m$, is investigated based on the model test results.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.17-31
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• 2014

This paper investigates the development of failure surfaces induced by an embankment on soft marine clay deposits and the characteristics of such surfaces through numerical simulations and its comparative study with monitoring results. It is well known that the factor of safety of embankment slopes is closely related to the vertical loading, including the height of the embankment. That is, an increase in the embankment height reduces the factor of safety. However, few studies have examined the relationship between the lateral movement of soft soil beneath the embankment and the factor of safety. In addition, no study has investigated the distribution of the pore pressure coefficient B value along the failure surface. This paper conducts a continuum analysis using finite difference methods to characterize the development of failure surfaces during embankment construction on soft marine clay deposits. The results of the continuum analysis for failure surfaces, stress, displacement, and the factor of safety can be used for the management of embankment construction. In failure mechanism, it has been validated that a large shear displacement causes change of stress and pore pressure along the failure surface. In addition, the pore pressure coefficient B value decreases along the failure surface as the embankment height increases. This means that the rate of change in stress is higher than that in pore pressure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.233-245
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• 2018

Interest to basal reinforced piled embankments is increasing recently due to their rapid construction and reliability. A comprehensive parametric study is conducted to determine effects of pile properties, reinforcement stiffness, embankment properties and soft soil properties into settlements, pressures and excess pore water pressure development and dissipations. Results which are obtained by using one-layer reinforcement during construction are compared with the results obtained by using two-layer reinforcement during construction. Finite element method is used during the parametric study. Second layer of reinforcement is placed in five different positions in order to reveal effects of reinforcement position into behaviour. Traffic load is also taken into consideration during the study. Differences between the results without presence of traffic loading and with presence of traffic loading is stated in this the study.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.463-469
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• 2018

In offshore engineering, lateral cyclic loading may induce excessive lateral movement and bending strain in pile foundations. Previous studies mainly focused on deformation mechanisms of single piles due to lateral cyclic loading. In this paper, centrifuge model tests were conducted to investigate the response of a $2{\times}2$ pile group due to lateral cyclic loading in clay. After applying each loading-unloading cycle, the pile group cannot move back to its original location. It implies that residual movement and bending strain are induced in the pile group. This is because cyclic loading induces plastic deformation in the soil surrounding the piles. As the cyclic load increases from 62.5 to 375 kN, the ratio of the residual to the maximum pile head movements varies from 0.30 to 0.84. Moreover, the ratio of the residual to the maximum bending strains induced in the piles is in a range of 0.23 to 0.82. The bending strain induced in the front pile is up to 3.2 times as large as that in the rear pile. Thus, much more protection measures should be applied to the front piles to ensure the serviceability and safety of pile foundations.