• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.207-221
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• 2016

As greater numbers of fill dams and reservoirs become old, the risks of damage or embankment collapse increases. However, few studies have considered the deterioration and hazard classification of the internal core layers of fill dams. This study reports the results of geotechnical investigations of 13 earth-cored fill dams in Korea, based on no-water borehole drilling, Standard Penetration Test, and 2D and 3D electrical resistivity surveys along with in situ and laboratory testing. High-capacity no-water boring minimized core layer disturbance while providing continuous core sample recovery. The results allow the classification of potential hazards related to the existing core layers based on both visual inspection of the recovered samples and the results of engineering surveys and tests. Four types of potential hazard are classified: locally fluidized core with a high water content, rapid water inflow to a borehole, cores with granular materials, and relatively low stiffness of core. Among these, the locally fluidized core is the most critical hazard that requires remedial action because it is related to the potential internal flow path and internal erosion. The other three hazard types are of medium importance and require careful monitoring and regular inspection. Of note, there was no correlation between age and core deterioration. The results are expected to aid the safe management and potential upgrading of aging cored fill dams.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.5-15
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• 2012

Field monitoring data for embankments in thirteen road construction sites at coastal area of the Korean Peninsula were analyzed to investigate the characteristics of lateral flow in soft grounds, to which vertical drain methods were applied. First of all, the effect of the embankment scale on the lateral flow was investigated. Thicker soft soils and lager relative embankment scale produced more horizontal displacements in soft grounds. Especially, if thick soft grounds were placed, the relative embankment scale, which was given by the ratio of thickness of soft ground to the bottom width of embankments, became larger and in turn large horizontal displacement was produced. And also higher filling velocity of embankments induced more horizontal displacements in soft grounds. The other major factors affecting the lateral flow in soft ground were the thickness and undrained shear strength of soft grounds, the soil modulus and the stability number. Maximum horizontal displacement was induced by less undrained shear strength and soil modulus of soft grounds. Also more stability numbers produced more maximum horizontal displacements. When the shear deformation does not develop, the stability number was less than 3.0 and the safety factor of bearing was more than 1.7. However, if the stability number was more than 5.14 and the safety factor of bearing was less than 1.0, the unstable shear failure developed in soft ground. 50mm can be recommended as a criterion of the allowable maximum horizontal displacement to prevent the shear deformation in soft ground, while 100mm can be recommended as a criterion of the allowable maximum horizontal displacement to prevent the shear failure in soft ground.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.111-122
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• 2009

Dissolution of some of geo-materials may yield the loss of the soil strength and the settlement of earth structures. The goal of this study is to monitor the several physical behaviors of soluble mixtures during dissolution. Sand-salt mixtures are used to monitor the meso to macro response including the settlements and shear waves. The mixtures of photoelastic and ice disks are used to monitor micro to meso behavior of soluble mixture including the void ratio, force chain, coordination number and horizontal force changes. In the sand-salt mixtures, shear waves are measured by using bender elements in conventional oedometer cells. In the photoelastic disk - ice disk mixtures, micro to meso response are measured by digital images and load cells. The shear wave velocity decreases at the initial stage of the dissolution, and then increases and approaches to asymptotic value. The larger dissoluble particle and the more random packing produces the severe horizontal fore change. After dissolution, the void increases and the coordination number decreases. This study demonstrates that the particle level behavior such as the changes of the force chain, void ratio, and coordination number affects the global behavior such as the change of the shear wave velocity and horizontal force of the system.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.103-111
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• 2008

Soils naturally contain grains of different minerals which may be dissolved under chemical or physical processes. The dissolution leads changes in microstructure of particulate media, such as an increase in local void or permeability, which affects the strength and deformation of soils. This study focuses on the small strain stiffness characteristics of vanishing mixtures, which consist of sand and salt particles at different volume fractions. Experiments are carried out in a conventional oedometer cell (Ko-loading) integrated with bender elements for the measurement of shear waves. Dissolutions of particles are implemented by saturating the mixtures at various confining stresses. Axial deformation and shear waves are recorded after each loading stage and during dissolution process. Experimental results show that after dissolution, the vertical strain and the void ratio increase, while the shear wave velocity and small strain shear modulus decrease. The decrease of the velocity results from the void ratio increase and particle contact decrease. The process monitoring during dissolution of the particles shows that the vertical strain dramatically increases at the beginning of the saturation process and converges after vanishing process finishes, and that the shear wave velocity decreases at the beginning and increases due to the particle reorientation. Specimens prepared by sand and salt particles are proved to be able to provide a valuable insight in macro structural behaviors of the vanishings mixtures.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.107-118
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• 2006

Among a variety of influencing components, time-variant seepage and long-term underground motion are important to understand the abnormal behavior of tunnels. Excessiveness of these two components could be the direct cause of severe damage on tunnels, however, it is not easy to quantify the effect of these on the behavior of tunnels. These parameters can be estimated by using inverse methods once the appropriate relationship between inputs and results is clarified. Various inverse methods or parameter estimation techniques such as artificial neural network and least square method can be used depending on the characteristics of given problems. Numerical analyses, experiments, or monitoring results are frequently used to prepare a set of inputs and results to establish the back analysis models. In this study, a back analysis method has been developed to estimate geotechnically hard-to-known parameters such as permeability of tunnel filter, underground water table, long-term rock mass load, size of damaged zone associated with seepage and long-term underground motion. The artificial neural network technique is adopted and the numerical models developed in the first part are used to prepare a set of data for learning process. Tunnel behavior, especially the displacements of the lining, has been exclusively investigated for the back analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.43-54
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• 2006

The scope of this paper covers the applications of bender element tests in consolidation, tomography, and liquefaction. Loading and unloading time during consolidation are evaluated based on shear wave velocity. As S-wave velocity is dependent on effective stress, the loading step may be determined. However, cautions are required due to the different mechanism between the settlement and effective stress criteria. The stress history may be evaluated because the S-wave shows the cement controlled regime and stress controlled regimes. A fixed frame complemented with bender elements permits S-wave tomography The tomography system is tested at low confinement within a true triaxial cell. Results show that shear wave velocity tomography permits monitoring changes in the velocity field which is related to the average effective stress. To monitor the liquefaction phenomenon, S-wave trans-illumination is implemented with a high repetition rate to provide detailed information on the evolution of shear stiffness during liquefaction. The evolution of shear wave propagation velocity and attenuation parallel the time-history of excess pore pressure during liquefaction. Applications discussed in this paper show that bender elements can be a very effective tool for the detection of shear waves in the laboratory.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.13-21
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• 2008

Partitioning tracer method is a useful tool to characterize large domains of the aquifers contaminated with light nonaqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs). Sorption of the partitioning tracers to the organic matter content of soil can potentially influence the efficacy of partitioning tracer method. LNAPL-water partitioning coefficients of tracers ($K_{nw}$), measured by static method, showed linear relationship. Sorption isotherm tests were conducted to evaluate the sorption capacity of the soils packed in the columns and the results were appropriately represented by Freundlich sorption isotherm. The sorption of tracers proportionally increased with the increase of the organic matter content of the soil. Laboratory experiments were conducted in four columns each packed with soils of different organic matter contents to determine the potential interference effects of sorption to soil organic matter content and correction factors for the errors in estimation of LNAPLs by partitioning tracer method. Though there were no contaminants added, breakthrough curves from columns packed with mixture of Jumunjin standard sand and organic matter showed separation of tracers. Columns were then contaminated to residual saturation with kerosene and breakthrough curves were obtained. The results show that sorption of tracers to soil organic matter leads to an increase in the retardation factor (R) and hence, to an overestimation of the saturation of LNAPLs. A relation between the percentage of organic matter content and the corresponding percentage error in the estimation of NAPLs has been developed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.15 no.1 s.54
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• pp.28-38
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• 2005

According to the recent development of measurement system utilizing one or a set of boreholes, visualization of the explored underground became to be a major issue. It induced even the introduction of monitoring apparatuses on the borehole wall with multi-function tool, but the usage of these was often limited by where is unfavorable rock condition and a few of engineers can approach. And so, a portable type of borehole camera with only the essential function has been investigated and a few of commercial models about this is recently being applied into the field condition. This paper was based on the monitoring results obtained using a commercial model by Dr. Nakagawa. Discontinuities in rock mass were the topic for the visualization, and it was studied how can visualize their three dimensional distribution and what a numerical formulation is needed and how to understand the visualization result. The numerical formulation was based on the geometric correlation between the dip direction / dip of discontinuous plane and the trend / plunge of borehole, a set of the equation of a plane was induced. As field application of this into two places, it is found that the above visualization methodology will be especially an useful geotechlical tool for analyzing the local distribution of discontinuities.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2013

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technology coupled with underground carbon dioxide sequestration is introduced. $CO_2$ can be injected into an oil reservoir in order to enhance oil production rate and $CO_2$ EOR can be turned into CCS in a long term sense. Coupling $CO_2$ EOR with CCS may secure a large scale and consistent $CO_2$ source for EOR, and the $CO_2$ EOR can bring an additional economic benefit for CCS, since the benefit from enhanced oil production by $CO_2$ EOR will compensate costs for CCS implementation. In this paper, we introduced the characteristics of $CO_2$ EOR technology and its market prospect, and reviewed the Weyburn $CO_2$ EOR project which is the first large-scale $CO_2$ EOR case utilizing an anthropogenic $CO_2$ source. We also introduced geotechnical elements for a successful and economical implementation of $CO_2$ EOR with CCS and they were a miscroseismic monitoring during and after injection of $CO_2$, and determination of minimum miscible pressure (MMP) and maximum injection pressure (MIP) of $CO_2$.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.299-310
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• 2014

Nationally, tunnel and underground constructions are necessary for the environmental sustainability and the efficient use of land space. For the importance of eco-friendly circumstances, 2-arch or large road tunnel has been designed so far. However, such a 2-arch or large tunnel has problems in terms of cost, constructability, construction period, and maintenance. Therefore, in this study, tunnel behavior and stability of rock pillar according to the pillar width and cover depth for parallel tunnels are investigated by performing FE analysis and using empirical formula. According to the results, Rock pillar is reinforced for distributed vertical load by Tie-Bolt due to unpredicted ground deformation, and the reinforced rock pillar's behaviour from the FE analysis shows a quite good agreement with field measurement. According to ground conditions, if the pillar width of the parallel tunnels is reduced, it can be more efficient in use of the tunnel space compared to previous tunnels.