• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.09a
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• pp.1365-1371
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• 2009

A new s-wave probe, called "MudFork", has been recently developed and is used in accurate measurements of shear wave velocities of soft soils. In previous researches, some instrumental defects of the probe have been reported. Bending deformation of probe is caused by small section modulus of blades, and open-ended bender elements are vulnerable to damage during penetration. Herein, we improved the MudFork to solve these problems. Field tests at Sinan, Jeollanamdo using the improved MudFork were conducted. Results from MPT are compared with the results from CPT.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.2C
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• pp.125-131
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• 2008

Ground stiffness(shear wave velocity) is one of the key parameters in geotechnical earthquake engineering. An In-situ seismic technique has its own advantages and disadvantages over the others in stiffness measurements. By combining the crosshole and seismic cone techniques and utilizing favourable features of bender elements, a new hybrid probe has been developed in order to enhance data quality and easiness of testing. The basic structure of the probe, called "MudFork" is a fork composed of two blades, on each of which source and receiver bender elements were mounted respectively. To evaluate the disturbance caused by the penetration of the probe, shear wave velocity measurements were carried out in the Kaolinite slurry in the laboratory. Finally, the probe was penetrated in coastal mud near Incheon, Korea, using SPT(standard penetration test)rods pushed with a routine boring machine and shear wave velocity measurements were carried out. The results were verified with data from laboratory and cone testing. The performance of the probe turns out to be excellent in terms of data quality and testing convenience.