• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2005

The use of geogrid for SRW systems and bridge abutment has increased rapidly over the past 10 years in Korea. The concept of segmental retaining walls and reinforced soil is very old and for example The Ziggurats of Babylonia(i.e. Tower of Babel) were built some 2,500 to 3,000 years ago using soil reinforcing methods very similar to those described in current design. Modern SRW(Semental Retaining Wall) units were introduced in 1960's as concrete crib retaining wall systems. In this paper, the friction properties between segmental concrete units and geogrid are investigated by performing various tests.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.46-52
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• 2003

In this study, the full scale testing method of the geogrid-reiuorced soil Segmental Retaining Walll(SRW) under the simulated train loading were proposed in order to evaluate the applicability of reinforced soil SRW in railway embankment. The train loading was simulated by the design static wheel load and the impact coefficient due to the train passing velocity. This test was focused on the static performance of reinforced soil SRW in terms of the following measuring systems ; the horizontal earth pressure displacement acting on the facing block and the tensile strain along the geogrid. The data gathered from this full scale testing was compared with numerical analysis results by FLAC.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2001.06a
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• pp.1-11
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• 2001

This Paper presents the result of a parametric study on the behavior of stiffened grid reinforced segmental wall resting on non-yielding foundation. The parametric study was conducted using the nonlinear finite element analysis. In the finite element analysis, the step by step construction of the wall such as backfill, block reinforcement, block/backfill and soil/reinforcement interfaces were carefully modeled. The mechanical behavior of stiffened grid reinforced segmental walls was then investigated based on the result of analysis with emphasis on the effect of reinforcement stiffness on the behavior of the wall. The results of analysis indicate that the horizontal wall displacement decrease; with increasing the reinforcement stiffness at a decreasing rate, and that the horizontal stress at the back of the reinforced soil block does not much vary with the reinforcement stiffness. It is also revealed that the calculated maximum vertical stress at the base of the reinforced soil block agrees well with that based on the Meyerhof distribution and that the reinforcement and the connection force are considerably smaller than what might be expected based on the current design assumptions. The implications of the findings from this study to current design approaches were discussed in detail.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.13-24
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• 2003

This paper presents the results of investigation on the effects of foundation stiffness and surface loading on the performance of soil-reinforced segmental retaining walls using the finite element method of analysis. A parametric study was performed by varying the foundation stiffness and the location of surface loading. The results of the analyses indicate that the wall deformation and reinforcement tensile load tend to increase with decreasing foundation stiffness with little variation in the horizontal and vertical stress distributions at the back and the base of the reinforced soil zone. Also revealed is that the increment of reinforcement tensile load due to the presence of surface load may be significantly over-estimated when using the conventional approach. Furthermore, the external stability should be carefully examined when a surface loading is present just behind the reinforced soil zone. The implications of the findings from this study to current design approaches are discussed in detail.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.51-66
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• 1986

The design of fabric reinforced retaining wall structure was discussed in this article. It was confirmed that the reinforced retaining earth wall which was designed by new theoretical formulae developed this time was stable structurally and economically. The plastic fabric filter which was placed in layers behind the facing element reduced the lateral earth pressure on the wall elements in comparison with a conventional retaining earth walls. The reinforcing characteristics of earth wall was governed by the spacing of fabric layers, effective length of fabrics, particle distribution and compaction, and thus it is essential that, in the construction field, the reinforcing strips should be selected in order to develop the maximum friction forces bet.eon soil and fabric filters. The maximum tensile stress developed from the reinforcing strips was appeared at a little far distance from the back of skin element and it was not well agreed with the Rankine's theory but distributed well as a symmetrical shape against the point of the maximum tensile stress. The total length of the different layers should be sufficient so that the tension in the fabric strip could be transferred to the backfill material. Also the total stability of reinforced earth wall should be checked with respect to a failure surface which extended blond the different lathers.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.17-23
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• 2007

To construct an ideal geosynthetic reinforced soil retaining wall (GRS-RW), the facing of the wall should be flexible enough to accommodate a large deformation of the supporting ground and to develop the large tensile force in reinforcements during wall construction as long as the stability is ensured, but should be rigid enough to be stiff and stable as well as durable and aesthetically acceptable for a long life time when the wall is in service. Facing conditions during the construction and service of the wall are quite different. So it is difficult to be satisfied all these conditions with the current construction method which is mainly used in reinforced wall construction in Korea. Most of this contradiction could be solved by the staged construction procedure. According to the results of cases and references analyses, stage construction procedures make it possible to accommodate large deformation of the supporting ground and backfill without losing the stability of the wall, and to derive the tensile strength of reinforcement causing deformation of the facing. When the facing is a full-height rigid one, it also appeared almost impossible to occur a local shear failure of the active zone, and pull-out failure of reinforcements. Therefore, GRS-RWs having a full-height rigid facing have been constructed by the staged construction procedures that matched well with the theory of reinforced soil, which had outstanding stability and durability, and thus could be used for railways and bridge abutments in Korea in the future.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.4C
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• pp.239-245
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• 2006

The steep slopes have been increased of new roads, industrial site development and large scale residential development. The preservation administration and steep slope construction are currently investigated by many researchers in Korea. However, concrete retaining wall or reinforced soil (i.e. Block or Pannel) are being applied for the steep slope, which results in the front face form of the structure being limited. This research investigates the method that can make up afforestation environment-friendly circumstances during the construction of steep slope structure. It is considered that steep slope reinforced structure would be possible based on the monitoring results about earth pressure, horizontal displacement and consolidation quality generated during the construction of whole constructing reinforced structure. Also, there no problems in grassy surface, drainage, and deformation in spite of rainy season after construction period and until now. So that the seeding soil layer surface reinforced soil method could be adopt for steep slope reinforced structure and others.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.315-321
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• 2001

Since 1984, block-type reinforced earth wall with geogrid reinforcement has been widely used for retaining wall applications till now in Korea. The use of geogrid as a reinforcement in the reinforced earth wall is steadily increased in an amount over 1,500,000㎡ in a year However, still need exists that some problems in design and construction practices should be made to review, Therefore, this paper reviewed reasonable criteria for selection of backfills, design details considering the effect of the upper soil slope on reinforced earth wall, horizontal displacement of facing block during compaction, and the damage of geogrid reinforcements on the edge part of facing block. Finally, alternative methods of measures on those problems are proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.61-72
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• 2002

This paper presents the results of investigation on the behavior of soil-reinforced segmental retaining walls in tiered arrangement using the finite element method of analysis. 2D finite element analyses were performed on tiered walls with two levels of offset distance. Cases with equivalent surcharge as suggested by the NCMA design guideline were additionally analyzed in an attempt to confirm the appropriateness of the equivalent surcharge model adopted by NCMA. Deformation characteristics of a tiered wall with small offset distance suggest a compound mode of failure and support current design approaches requiring a global slope stability analysis for design. Also revealed is that the interaction between the upper and lower walls significantly affects not only the performance of the lower wall but also the upper wall, suggesting that the upper walls should also be designed with due consideration of the interaction.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.167-170
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• 2003