• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.211-218
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• 2022

This study characterizes Proctor and geophysical properties in a broad range of grading and fines contents. The results show that soil index properties such as uniformity and fines plasticity control the optimum water content and peak dry unit trends, as well as elastic wave velocity. The capillary pressure at a degree of saturation less than S = 20% plays a critical role in determining the shear wave velocity for poorly graded sandy soils. The reduction in electrical resistivity with a higher water content becomes pronounced as the water phase is connected A parallel set of compaction and geophysical properties of sand-kaolinite mixtures reveal that the threshold boundaries computed from soil index properties adequately capture the transitions from sand-controlled to kaolinite-controlled behavior. In the transitional fines fraction zone between F_F ≈ 20 and 40%, either sand or kaolinite or both sand and kaolinite could dominate the geophysical properties and all other properties associated with soil compaction behavior. Overall, the compaction and geophysical data gathered in this study can be used to gain a first-order approximation of the degree of compaction in the field and produce degree of compaction maps as a function of water content and fines fraction.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.455-468
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• 2022

Colloid Formation and Migration (CFM) project is being carried out within the Grimsel Test Site (GTS) Phase Ⅵ. Since 2008, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has joined CFM to investigate the behavior of colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport in a generic Underground Research Laboratory (URL). The CFM project includes a long-term in-situ test (LIT) and an in-rock bentonite erosion test (i-BET) to assess the in-situ colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport through the bentonite erosion in the natural flow field. In the LIT experiment, radionuclide-containing compacted bentonite was equipped with a triple-packer system and then positioned at the borehole in the shear zone. It was observed that colloid transport was limited owing to the low swelling pressure and low hydraulic conductivity. Therefore, a postmortem analysis is being conducted to estimate the partial migration and diffusion of radionuclides. The i-BET experiment, that focuses more on bentonite erosion, was newly designed to assess colloid formation in another flow field. The i-BET experiment started with the placement of compacted bentonite rings in the double-packer system, and the hydraulic parameters and bentonite erosion have been monitored since December 2018.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.243-259
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• 2023

Turkey is one of the most important earthquake regions in Europe. This region has been exposed to many earthquakes of different magnitudes from past to present. It is of great importance to determine the dynamic properties of the soils for structures to be built in earthquake zones. In order to minimize the damages that may occur, the behavior of the soils under repeated loads should be known and taken into consideration in the design. In this study, 4 different point borings were taken near active fault lines in the North Anatolian fault zone (NAFZ). In order to determine the dynamic parameters of soils, both dynamic triaxial (TRX) and resonant column (RC) tests were carried out on undisturbed samples at every 5 m. As a result of the experiments, V_s and G_max values were obtained from the field and differences were determined. The dynamic behavior of the soil was examined at varying depths with the comparison of reference models in the literature and compatible results were obtained. Finally, the behavior at the transition region is highlighted. As a result, three shear modulus and dumping ratio models have been proposed for clay soils to be used in different soil conditions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.285-301
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• 2023

During the construction of E75 highway through Grdelica gorge in Serbia, a major failure occurred in the zone of reinforced rock slope. Excavation was performed in highly anisotropic Paleozoic schist rock formation. The reinforcement consisted of the two rows of micropile wall with pre-stressed anchors. Forces in anchors were monitored with load cells while benchmarks were installed for superficial displacement measurements. The aim of the study is to investigate possible causes of instability considering different probability distributions of the strength of discontinuities and anchor bond strength by applying different optimization techniques for finding the critical failure surface. Even though the deterministic safety factor value is close to unity, the probability of failure is governed by variability of shear strength of anisotropic planes and optimization method used for locating the critical sliding surface. The Cuckoo search technique produces higher failure probabilities compared to the others. Depending on the assigned statistical distribution of input parameters, various performance functions of the factor of safety are obtained. The probability of failure is insensitive to the variation of bond strength. Different sampling techniques should yield similar results considering that the sufficient number of safety factor evaluations is chosen to achieve converged solution.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.149-163
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• 2023

This paper presents stability evaluation of unlined tunnels with semi-circular arch and straight sides (SASS) driven in non-homogeneous and anisotropic undrained clay. Numerical analysis has been conducted based on lower bound finite element limit analysis with second order cone programming under plane strain condition. The solutions will be used for the assessment of stability of unlined semi-circular arch tunnels and tunnels in which semi-circular roof is supported over rectangular/square sections. The stability charts have been generated in terms of a non-dimensional factor considering linear variation in undrained anisotropic strength for normally consolidated and lightly over consolidated clay with depth, and constant undrained anisotropic strength for heavily over-consolidated clay across the depth. The effect of normalized surcharge pressure on ground surface, non-homogeneity and anisotropy of clay, tunnel cover to width ratio and height to width ratio of tunnel on the stability factor and associated zone of shear failure at yielding have been examined and discussed. The geometry of tunnel in terms of shape and size, and non-homogeneity and anisotropy in undrained strength of clay has been observed to influence significantly the stability of unlined SASS tunnels.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.2 s.177
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• pp.111-128
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• 2006

Three dimensional crustal structure and source features of earthquake hypocenters on the Korean peninsula were investigated using P and S-wave travel time tomography. The main goal of this research was to find Vp/Vs anomalies at earthquake hypocenters as well as those of crustal structure of basins and deep tectonic settings. This allowed fer the extrapolation of more detailed seismotectonic force from the Korean peninsula. The earthquake hypocenters were found to have high Vp/Vs ratio discrepancies (VRD) at the vertical sections. High V/p/Vs ratios were also found in the sedimentary basins and beneath the Chugaryong Rift Zone (CRZ), which was due to mantle plume that subsequently solidified with many fractures and faults which were saturated with connate water. The hypocenters of most earthquakes were found in the upper crust for Youngwol (YE), Kyongju (KE), Hongsung (HE), Kaesong (KSE), Daekwan (DKE), and Daehung (DHE) earthquakes, but near the subcrust or the Moho Discontinuity for Mt. Songni (SE), Sariwon (SRE) and Mt. Jiri (JE) earthquakes. Especially, we found hot springs of the Daekwan, Daehung and Unsan regions coincide with high VRD. Also, this cannot rule out the possibility that there are some partial meltings in the subcrust of this region. High VRD might indicate that many faults and fractures with connate water were dehydrated when earthquakes took place, reducing shear modulus in the hypocenter areas. This is can be explained by due to the fact that a point source which is represented by the moment tensor that may involve changes in volume, shear fracture, and rigidity. High Vp/Vs ratio discrepancies (VRD) were also found beneath Mt. Backdu beneath 40 km, indicating that magma chamber existed beneath Mt. Backdu is reducing shear modulus of S-wave velocity.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.429-441
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• 2010

The Sunrise Dam gold deposit is located approximately 850 km ENE of Perth, in the eastern part of the Yilgam Craton, Western Australia. The mine has produced approximately 153 t of Au at an average grade of 4.2 g/t, which stands for the most significant gold discoveries during the last decade in Western Australia. The deposit occurs in the Laverton Tectonic Zone corresponding to the corridor of structural complexity in the Laverton greenstone belt, and characterized by tight folding and thrusting. The mine stratigraphy consists of a complexly deformed and altered volcaniclastic and volcanic rocks. These have been overlain by a turbidite sequence containing generally well-sorted siltstones, sandstones and magnetite-rich shales, which are consistently fining upwards. These sequences have been intruded by quartz diorite, ultramafic dikes, and rhyodacite porphyry (Archean), and lamprophyre dikes (Palaeoproterozoic). These rocks constitute the asymmetric NNE-trending Spartan anticline with north-plunging thrust duplication of the BIF unit. The deposit is located on the western limb of this structure. Transported, fluvial-lacustrine and aeolean sediments lie unconformably over the deposit showing significant variation in relief. Gold mineralization occurs intermittently along a NE-trending corridor of ca. 4.5 km length. The 20 currently defined orebodies are centered on a series of parallel, gently-dipping ($\sim30^{\circ}$) and NESW trending shear zones with a thrust-duplex architecture and high-strain characteristics. The paragenetic sequence of the Sunrise Dam deposit can be divided into five hydrothermal stages ($D_1$, $D_2$, $D_3$, $D_4a$, $D_4b$), which are supported by distinctive features of the mineralogical assemblages. Among them, the D4a stage is the dominant episode of Au deposition, followed by the $D_4b$ stage, which is characterized by more diverse ore mineralogy including base metal sulfides, sulfosalts, and telluride minerals. The $D_4a$ stage contains higher proportions of microscopic free gold (48%) than D4b stage (12%), and pyrite is the principal host for native gold (electrum) followed by tetrahedrite-group minerals in both stages.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.649-657
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• 2017

A rupture in a high-pressure pipe causes the fluid in the pipe to be discharged in the atmosphere at a high speed resulting in a supersonic jet that generates the compressible flow. This supersonic jet may display complicated and unsteady behavior in general. In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed to investigate the compressible flow generated by a supersonic jet ejected from a high-pressure pipe. A Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model was selected to analyze the unsteady nature of the flow, which depends upon the various gases as well as the diameter of the pipe. In the CFD analysis, the basic boundary conditions were assumed to be as follows: pipe of diameter 10 cm, jet pressure ratio of 5, and an inlet gas temperature of 300 K. During the analysis, the behavior of the shockwave generated by a supersonic jet was observed and it was found that the blast wave was generated indirectly. The pressure wave characteristics of hydrogen gas, which possesses the smallest molecular mass, showed the shortest distance to the safety zone. There were no significant difference observed for nitrogen gas, air, and oxygen gas, which have similar molecular mass. In addition, an increase in the diameter of the pipe resulted in the ejected impact caused by the increased flow rate to become larger and the zone of jet influence to extend further.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.16 no.6 s.65
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• pp.506-525
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• 2006

For the design of large scale rock slope which has complex formations and geological structures, generally, insufficiency of geotechnical investigations and laboratory tests are the main factors of slope failures doling construction. In such case, remedial measures to stabilize slope should be selected and applied through reliable investigations and analysis considering the geotechnical characteristics. The rock slope of this study, one of the largest cut slopes in Korea with a length of 520.0 m and maximum height of 122.0 m consists of metasedimentary rocks. And a case study on the causes of large-scale rock slope failure was carried out by analysis of landslides history and site investigations during construction. When the slope with the original design slope of 0.7: 1.0 (H:V) was partially constructed, the slope failure was occurred due to the factors such as poor conditions of rocks (weathered zone, coaly shale and fault shear zone), various discontinuities (joints, foliations and faults), severe rain storm and so on. The types of failures were rockfall, circular failure, wedge failure and the combination of these types. So, the design of slope was changed three times to ensure long-term slope stability. This paper is intended to be a useful reference for analyzing and estimating the stability of rock slopes whose site conditions are similar to those of this study site such as geological structures and geotechnical properties.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.283-292
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• 2013

A calcareous rock slope failed during excavation of the slope for construction of a tunnel entrance. The slope is located at the construction site for widening highway in Yeongwol, Korea. Field surveys, laboratory tests, and numerical analyses were performed to determine the reason for the slope failure. The numerical analysis revealed that the safety factor of the slope before construction of the entrance was less than 1, and that this decreased after construction. After construction of the entrance, the sliding zone of the slope increased and slope stability decreased because the shear strain and plastic zone in the slope over the tunnel entrance showed an increase relative to the lower part of the slope. To enhance the stability of the slope for construction of the tunnel entrance, countermeasures such as rock bolts, rock anchors, and FRP (Fiber glass Reinforced Plastic) grouting were adopted in light of the field conditions. Serial field monitoring performed to confirm the reinforcing effects of the adopted countermeasures revealed a small amount of horizontal deformation of the slope soils, most of the elastic deformation that can regain its former value. In addition, the axial forces of the rock bolt and anchor were more strongly affected by slope excavation during construction of the tunnel entrance than by tunnel excavation or the rainy season, and the axial forces tended to converge after excavation of the tunnel. Therefore, we can confirm that the slope is currently safe.