• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.207-215
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• 2003

Developed is a new environment-friendly concrete-block retaining wall system. The conventional analysis methods are not directly applicable because the proposed concrete-block wall system is made of by interlocking the blocks with shear keys. Therefore, the shear analysis as well as stability analysis have been conducted to secure the safety of block-wall system. Overall slope stability analysis was also performed. An appropriate strengthening method was developed to ensure the safety when the block-wall system is relatively high. The method of analysis for strengthening the concrete-block wall system was also proposed. The proposed environment-friendly concrete block retaining wall system shows reasonable safety and can be a good construction method for retaining walls and river bank walls.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.45-54
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• 1993

In this paper, the behaviors of reinforced earth retaining walls according to material properties of reinforcement were performed through the centrifuge model tests. Skin element was used flexible aluminum plate in the process of tests. And reinforcements were used with aluminum foil strips and non -woven polyester sheets. As a result of it, model retaining wall utilizing non-woven polyester sheets than aluminum foil strips was supported at high stress level, and maximum horizontal displacement value of skin element was 0.6H height at model walls. In the other hand, coefficient relation diagram for evaluation of horizontal displacement according to skin element location was proposed using test results.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.285-305
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• 2024

This study investigates the behaviour of hunchback retaining walls supporting unsaturated sandy backfill under active earth pressure conditions. Utilizing a horizontal slice method and a unified effective stress methodology, the influence of various factors on lateral earth pressure, including the position of the hunch along the wall, friction angles, and wall heights, is explored. The results suggest that relocating the hunch position from close to the wall's top to near its base leads to a significant decrease (ranging from 54% to 81%) in lateral earth pressure. However, as the hunch position transitions from near the top to mid-height, the point of application of active thrust shifts upward initially, then slightly downward as the hunch position approaches the toe. Notably, the reduction in lateral earth pressure is more pronounced for shorter wall heights and higher friction angles. Building upon these findings, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN)-based model is developed to accurately predict the lateral earth pressure coefficient and point of application, achieving R² values of 0.94 and 0.93, respectively. In addition, an analytical model based on Coulomb's earth pressure theory is presented and compared with ANN models. These models are anticipated to assist designers and practitioners in optimizing hunchback retaining walls for unsaturated backfill.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.47-56
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• 2005

Recently, geosynthetic reinforced earth walls are gradually replacing conventional concrete retaining walls for reasons of economy, expediency of construction, and aesthetics. A number of reinforced soil walls having more than 10m heights have been constructed to make more effective development in the country. However, mistakes in design and construction of reinforced earth walls have resulted in many troubles such as failure of reinforced earth walls, horizontal deformationor breakdown of facings, and so forth during or after construction. In this paper, a case study on global sliding failure of a geogrid-reinforced tiered wall is carried out to investigate the causes of the failure and suggest the proper countermeasures. From the subsurface investigation and field instrumentation, It is found that the cause of the global sliding failure was occurred by decreasing of bearing capacity of foundation ground induced by infiltration of rainwater.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.19-27
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• 2009

In order to investigate anti-freeze process of precast concrete L-type retaining walls in cold regions, test walls were installed in the campus of Kitami Institute of Technology (KIT, Hokkaido, Japan). The wall consists of following three sections, i) back filled with frost susceptible clay soil, ii) using thermal insulation material, and back filled with frost susceptible soil, iii) back filled with frost-unsusceptible soil. The freezing front distribution and ground temperature within the backfill were observed and deflections of the walls were measured over three freeze-thaw seasons. Some understanding of the mechanisms of the build-up of frost heave pressure was gained, and the effectiveness of replacement method was observed. A simulation was performed to predict the shape of the freezing front in the backfill behind L-type walls with various cross sections. These findings were employed to propose a method for determining the appropriate zone to be replaced with frost unsusceptible backfill material in cold regions.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.75-82
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• 2002

The Mononobe-Okabe method is generally used to evaluate the dynamic earth force for the seismic design of retaining walls. However, the Mononobe-Okabe method does not consider the effects of the dynamic interactions between the backfill soil and the wall. In fact, a phase difference exists between the inertia force and the seismic earth pressure. In this study, shaking table tests were peformed on gravity walls retaining dry backfill sand to analyze the influence of several parameters (the unit weight of the wall, the input acceleration and base friction) on the development of the seismic earth pressure. The experiments revealed that the magnitude of the inertia force mobilized during seismic loading affected the seismic earth pressure. The difference in the phase angles between the inertia force and the seismic earth pressure was retained at 180 degrees before the wall failed but its magnitude changed significantly as the wall began to fail.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.11 no.11
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• pp.1183-1187
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• 2002

Existing retaining walls are usually made from only one cast form and any damage must be promptly repaired. However, when a part of a retaining wall is repaired, a gap can be created between the repaired and existing parts, along with an unpleasing visual effect. As such, the whole structure is often reconstructed, rather than repairing one part, resulting in construction waste and possible contamination of the environment. Accordingly, the current study proposes a construction method for a retaining wall that uses separate blocks to downsize of quantity of construction waste. In addition, by changing the color or modifying the block cover a more environmentally friendly retaining wall construction method is achieved.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.319-328
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• 1998

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.5-15
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• 2017

PHC-W retaining wall method is one of the economical retaining wall methods. PHC-W pile used in PHC-W retaining wall method has special shape with flat surfaces so that the PHW-C retaining wall, with overlapped piles, shows outstanding vertical control and impermeability. In order to evaluate two types of retaining walls, numerical analysis were performed. The selection of cases depended on N values of the ground and ground properties, and two types of PHC-W retaining walls (defined as type A and B) were constructed. For a case that consists of inorganic clay and sand with less than 30 of N value, the maximum excavation depths for type A and B were respectively 10.5 m and 11.0 m. At the other case of which N value is above 30, the depths were 17.0 m and 19.5 m. From the results, it was found that maximum excavation depth, horizontal displacement, and safety factor for flexural strength of the wall were influenced by ground properties.