• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.723-738
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• 2017

Rock is a heterogeneous material, which introduces complexity in the analysis of rock slopes, since both the existing discontinuities within the rock mass and the intact rock contribute to the degradation of strength. Rock failure is often catastrophic due to the brittle nature of the material, involving the sliding along structural planes and the fracturing of rock bridge. This paper proposes an advanced discretization method of rock mass based on block theory. An in-house software, GeoSMA-3D, has been developed to generate the discrete fracture network (DFN) model, considering both measured and artificial joints. Measured joints are obtained from the photogrammetry analysis on the excavation face. Statistical tools then facilitate to derive artificial joints within the rock mass. Key blocks are searched to provide guidance on potential reinforcement measures. The discretized blocky system is subsequently implemented into a discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) code. Strength reduction technique is employed to analyze the stability of the slope, where the factor of safety can be obtained once excessive deformation of slope profile is observed. The combined analysis approach also provides the failure mode, which can be used to guide the choice of strengthening strategy if needed. Finally, an illustrated example is presented for the analysis of a rock slope of 20 m height inclined at $60^{\circ}$ using combined GeoSMA-3D and DDA calculation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2013

In recent years, increasing damage due to landslides. So the government is to create a geotechnical hazard map. This study was to evaluate the applicability of the geotechnical hazard map by using 4 years of landslide cases in Seoul and Busan. And the in-situ aseessment has been carried out in test-bad area with specialists. Study has shown dangerous grade in geotechnical hazard map is more dangerous than the actual. Thus we can utilize geotechnical hazrd map in the purpose of the geotechnical hazard preliminary assessment. However, the in-site inspection and evaluation is required for in order to select the hazard area.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.407-418
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• 2021

Due to the complexity of the causes of the sliding mass instabilities, landslide susceptibility and hazard evaluation are difficult, but they can be more carefully considered and regionally evaluated by using new programming technologies to minimize the hazard. This study aims to evaluate the landslide hazard zonation in the Tabriz region, Iran. A fuzzy logic-based multi-criteria decision-making method was proposed for susceptibility analysis and preparing the hazard zonation maps implemented in MATLAB programming language and Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. In this study, five main factors have been identified as triggering including climate (i.e., precipitation, temperature), geomorphology (i.e., slope gradient, slope aspect, land cover), tectonic and seismic parameters (i.e., tectonic lineament congestion, distribution of earthquakes, the unsafe radius of main faults, seismicity), geological and hydrological conditions (i.e., drainage patterns, hydraulic gradient, groundwater table depth, weathered geo-materials), and human activities (i.e., distance to roads, distance to the municipal areas) in the study area. The results of analyses are presented as a landslide hazard map which is classified into 5 different sensitive categories (i.e., insignificant to very high potential). Then, landslide susceptibility maps were prepared for the Tabriz region, which is categorized in a high-sensitive area located in the northern parts of the area. Based on these maps, the Bozgoosh-Sahand mountainous belt, Misho-Miro Mountains and western highlands of Jolfa have been delineated as risk-able zones.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.181-195
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• 2022

Roughness and joint inclination angle are the important factors that affect the strength and deformation characteristics of jointed rock mass. In this paper, 3D printer has been employed to make molds firstly, and casting the jointed specimens with different joint roughness coefficient (JRC), and different joint inclination angle (α). Conventional triaxial compression tests were carried out on the jointed specimens, and the influence of JRC on the strength and deformation parameters was analyzed. At the same time, acoustic emission (AE) testing system has been adopted to reveal the AE characteristic of the jointed specimens in the process of triaxial compression. Finally, the morphological of the joint surface was observed by digital three-dimensional video microscopy system, and the relationship between the peak strength and JRC under different confining pressures has been discussed. The results indicate that the existence of joint results in a significant reduction in the strength of the joint specimen, JRC also has great influence on the morphology, quantity and spatial distribution characteristics of cracks. With the increase of JRC, the triaxial compressive strength increase, and the specimen will change from brittle failure to ductile failure.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.81 no.2
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• pp.205-217
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• 2022

The thermodynamic properties of shaft lining concrete (SLC) are important evidence for the design and construction, and the spatial variability of concrete materials can directly affect the stochastic thermal analysis of the concrete structures. In this work, an array of field experiments of the concrete materials are carried out, and the statistical characteristics of thermophysical parameters of SLC are obtained. The coefficient of variation (COV) and scale of fluctuation (SOF) of uncertain thermophysical parameters are estimated. A three-dimensional (3-D) stochastic thermal model of concrete materials with heat conduction and hydration heat is proposed, and the uncertain thermodynamic properties of SLC are computed by the self-compiled program. Model validation with the experimental and numerical temperatures is also presented. According to the relationship between autocorrelation functions distance (ACD) and SOF for the five theoretical autocorrelation functions (ACFs), the effects of the ACF, COV and ACD of concrete materials on the uncertain thermodynamic properties of SLC are analyzed. The results show that the spatial variability of concrete materials is subsistent. The average temperatures and standard deviation (SD) of inner SLC are the lowest while the outer SLC is the highest. The effects of five 3-D ACFs of concrete materials on uncertain thermodynamic properties of SLC are insignificant. The larger the COV of concrete materials is, the larger the SD of SLC will be. On the contrary, the longer the ACD of concrete materials is, the smaller the SD of SLC will be. The SD of temperature of SLC increases first and then decreases. This study can provide a reliable reference for the thermodynamic properties of SLC considering spatial variability of concrete materials.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.355-364
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• 2004

A study on the weathering grade classification has been performed for granite and granite gneiss in Korea. The qualitative classification criteria of weathering were reviewed and then modified with field studies for the weathered rock masses. The thin section observations and XRD analyses for the different weathering grades rock samples showed the petrographical and petrophysical difference with respect to the weathering : the proportion of weathering-resistant minerals suck at quartz and orthoclase has a tendency to increase with the development of weathering, but that of weathering-sensible minerals such as anorthite and biotite is decreased. The ranges of physical and mechanical rock properties for different weathering grades were obtained from the laboratory rock tests and field tests for the studied rocks. And then, along with $RDI_{sq}$(Fookes et al., 1988), the weathering index $I_{a}$, (Woo, 2003) has been developed in this study to demarcate the weathering grade. Those two indices rely mainly on the water absorption ratio of rock and on the different rock strength. The range of these weathering indices have been determined with the physical and mechanical rock properties that can be obtained from simple field or laboratory tests in 4 grades $I_{a}$＞ 7 for F, 3.5 ＜ $I_{a}$ ＜ 10 for SW, 1.0 $I_{a}$＜ 6.0 for MW and $I_{a}$＜ 2.5 for HW. Consequently, the weathering index could be utilized to classify quantitatively the rock weathering grade, especially for the studied granites and the granite gneiss in Korea.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.40 no.3 s.184
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• pp.295-306
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• 2007

In this study, we predicted areas vulnerable to ground subsidence near abandoned underground coal mine at Sam-cheok City in Korea using a probability (frequency ratio) model with Geographic Information System (GIS). To extract the factors related to ground subsidence, a spatial database was constructed from a topographical map, geo-logical map, mining tunnel map, land characteristic map, and borehole data on the study area including subsidence sites surveyed in 2000. Eight major factors were extracted from the spatial analysis and the probability analysis of the surveyed ground subsidence sites. We have calculated the decision coefficient ($R^2$) to find out the relationship between eight factors and the occurrence of ground subsidence. The frequency ratio model was applied to deter-mine each factor's relative rating, then the ratings were overlaid for ground subsidence hazard mapping. The ground subsidence hazard map was then verified and compared with the surveyed ground subsidence sites. The results of verification showed high accuracy of 96.05% between the predicted hazard map and the actual ground subsidence sites. Therefore, the quantitative analysis of ground subsidence near abandoned underground coal mine would be possible with a frequency ratio model and a GIS.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.453-464
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• 2008

This study is to examine a relation between coal mining subsidence occurrence at abandoned underground coal mines and underground goaf with respect to surface geology, subsurface structure, depth and thickness of coal beds and the distribution of drifts. A study is carried out at the site where susceptibility of coal mining subsidence was proven high in a previous study. In that previous study, the susceptibility of coal mining subsidence was spatially analyzed by GIS using digitized geological maps, investigation reports, digitized mining tunnel maps without consideration of subsurface structure and the multi-level arrangement of drifts. Here we analyze geological characteristics around the goaf and the distribution of coal seam based upon digitized geological maps and investigation reports on the study area. And digitized mining tunnel maps are also used to analyze the depth and multi-level arrangement of drifts. The results show that weakened surface rock strength, relatively shallow depth and large thickness of coal seam below the surface are closely related to the coal mining subsidence occurrence. Complicatedly inter-connected drifts, shallow depth of drifts and surface rock fractures are revealed as additional control factors affecting coal mining subsidence. These factors examined in this study as well as original factors should be taken into account for the quantitative estimation of coal mining subsidence occurrence at abandoned underground coal mine.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.594-610
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• 2023

The horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) has been widely applied to evaluate ground characteristics such as site response and thickness of the soft sedimentary layer on top of the bedrock via dominant frequencies and amplification factors of microtremors. Eight seismic stations were selected to investigate the HVSR results at the surface and at varying depths, and their variations due to wind speeds. These stations are equipped with seismic sensors on the surface and downhole(s) at depths. The borehole data analysis reveals that the geological condition at burial depth influences the HVSR results. Their dominant frequencies indicate the entire thickness of the soft layer, not the thickness to the bottom or top of the soft sedimentary layer from the seismometer burial depth. Analysis of the background noise observed at the surface showed that the resonance frequency estimation varied with wind speed changes. In the studied cases, the background noise observed in the sedimentary layer at depths of 20 to 66 meters yielded stable and consistent resonance frequency estimation regardless of wind speed fluctuations. The results of the seismic sensors buried deeper than 100 meters are unstable. The result indicates that the background noise from the buried seismometer at shallow depths (~0.3 m) under light wind conditions (wind speeds less than 3 m/s) is sufficient to achieve the purpose of the HVSR analysis.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.513-523
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• 2012

The upper sedimentary layer of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea shows stacked mass-flow deposits such as slide/slump deposits in the upper slope, debris-flow deposits in the middle and lower slope, and turbidites in the basin plain. Shallow gases or gas hydrates are also reported in many area of the Ulleung Basin, which are very important in terms of marine resources, environmental changes, and geohazard. This paper aims at studying acoustic characteristics and distribution pattern of gas-related structures such as acoustic column, enhanced reflector, dome structure, pockmark, and gas seepage in the upper sedimentary layer, by analysing high-resolution chirp profiles. Acoustic column shows a transparent pillar shape in the sedimentary layer and mainly occurs in the basin plain. Enhanced reflector is characterized by an increased amplitude and laterally extended to several tens up kilometers. Dome structure is characterized by an upward convex feature at the seabed, and mainly occurs in the lower slope. The pockmark shows a small crater-like feature and usually occurs in the middle and lower slope. Gas seepage is commonly found in the middle slope of the southern Ulleung Basin. These gas-related structures seem to be mainly caused by gas migration and escape in the sedimentary layer. The distribution pattern of the gas-related structures indicates that formation of these structures in the Ulleung Basin is controlled not only by sedimentary facies in upper sedimentary layer but also by gas-solubility changes depending on water depth. Especially, it is interpreted that the chaotic and discontinuous sedimentary structures of debris-flow deposits cause the facilitation of gas migration, whereas the continuous sedimentary layers of turbidites restrict the vertical migration of gases.