• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2014

To reveal and classify site characteristics in densely populated areas in Chuncheon, Korea, Rayleigh-waves were recorded at 50 sites including four sites in the forest area using four 1-Hz velocity sensors and 24 4.5-Hz vertical geophones during the period of January 2011 to May 2013. Dispersion curves of the Rayleigh waves obtained by the extended spatial autocorrelation method were inverted to derive shear-wave velocity ($v_s$) models comprising 40 horizontal layers of 1-m thickness. Depths to weathered rocks ($D_b$), shear wave velocities of these basement rocks ($v_s^b$), average velocities of the overburden layer ($\bar{v}_s^s$), and the average velocity to a depth of 30 m ($v_s30$), were then derived from those models. The estimated values of $D_b$, $v_s^b$, $\bar{v}_s^s$, and $v_s30$ for 46 sites at lower altitudes were in the ranges of 5 to 29 m, 404 to 561 m/s, 208 to 375 ms/s, and 226 to 583 m/s, respectively. According to the Korean building code for seismic design, the estimated $v_s30$ indicates that the lower altitude areas in Chuncheon are classified as $S_C$ (very dense soil and soft rock) or $S_D$ (stiff soil). To determine adequate proxies for $v_s30$, we compared the computed values with land cover, lithology, topographic slope, and surface elevation at each of the measurement sites. Due to a weak correlation (r = 0.41) between $v_s30$ and elevation, the best proxy of them, applications of this proxy to Chuncheon of a relatively small area seem to be limited.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2001

For the ground resrxmse analysis, both in-situ and laboratory testing techniques such as downhole, SASW, resonant column and torsional shear tests were perlormed for Hong-Seong area. The grOlmd upper 30m is classified as SD since it has an average shear wave velocity as 209m/s. The response specLrums obtained by site-specific analyses generally satisfied the seismic code, but near the resonance period the motion was evaluated to be higher than the code.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.334-341
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• 2003

When the pressure tubes(f are in contact with the calandria tube(CT) in the pressurized heavy water reactor(PHWR), the temperature difference between inner and outer wall of W results in a thermal diffusion of hydrogen (deuterium) and hydride blisters are formed on the outer surface of PT. Because the hydride blisters and zirconium matrix are acoustically continuous, it is not easy to distinguish the blisters from the matrix with conventional ultrasonic method. An ultrasonic velocity ratio method was developed to detect small hydride blisters on the zirconium pressure tube. Hydride blisters were grown in the PT specimen using a steady state thermal diffusion device. The flight times of longitudinal echo and reflected shear echo from the outer surface were measured accurately. The velocity ratio of the longitudinal wave to the shear wave was calculated and displayed using contour plot. Compared to the conventional flight time method of longitudinal wave, the velocity ratio method shows superior sensitivity to detect smaller blisters as well as better images for the blister shapes. Detectable limit of the outer shape of the hydride blisters was conservatively estimated as $500{\mu}m$, with the same specifications of ultrasonic transducer used in the actual PHWR pressure tube inspection.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.6
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• pp.809-819
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• 2020

For the first time, the influence of in-plane magnetic field on wave propagation of Graphene Nano-Platelets (GNPs) polymer composite nanoplates is investigated here. The impact of three- parameter Kerr foundation is also considered. There are two different reinforcement distribution patterns (i.e. uniformly and non-uniformly) while the material properties of the nanoplate are estimated through the Halpin-Tsai model and a rule of mixture. To consider the size-dependent behavior of the structure, Eringen Nonlocal Differential Model (ENDM) is utilized. The equations of wave motion derived based on a higher-order shear deformation refined theory through Hamilton's principle and an analytical technique depending on Taylor series utilized to find the wave frequency as well as phase velocity of the GNPs reinforced nanoplates. A parametric investigation is performed to determine the influence of essential phenomena, such as the nonlocality, GNPs conditions, Kerr foundation parameters, and wave number on the both longitudinal and flexural wave characteristics of GNPs reinforced nanoplates.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.98-104
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• 2017

The ultrasonic pulse velocities of pressure, shear, and Rayleigh waves ( P-, S-, and R- waves) have been used for the condition evaluation of various concrete structures, but the statistical distribution according to the wave type has not been studied clearly in view of data reliability and validity. Therefore, this study analyzed the statistical distribution of P-, S-, R-wave velocities in concrete wide beams of $800{\times}3100mm$ (width ${\times}$ length) with a thickness of 300 mm. In addition, we investigated an experimental consistency by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness-of-fit test. The experimental data showed that the R-, S- and P- wave velocities in order have better statistical stability and reliability for in situ evaluation because R- and S-waves are less sensitive to confinement and boundary conditions. Also, good correlations between wave velocities and strength and modulus of elasticity were found, which indicate them as appropriate techniques for estimating the mechanical properties.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.47-56
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• 2014

In winter season, the pore water inside the ground freezes and thaws repetitively due to the cold air temperature. When the freezing-thawing processes are repeated on the ground, the change in soil particle structure occurs and thus the damage of the infrastructure may be following. This study was performed in order to investigate the stiffness change of soils due to the freeze-thaw by using elastic waves. Sand-silt mixtures are prepared with in the silt fraction of 40 %, 60 % and 80 % in weight and in the degree of saturation of 40 %. The specimens are placed into the square freezing-thawing cell by the temping method. For the measurement of the elastic waves, a pair of the bender elements and a pair of piezo disk elements are installed on the cell, and a thermocouple is inserted into soils for the measurement of the temperature. The temperature of the mixtures is decreased from $20^{\circ}C$ to $-10^{\circ}C$ during freezing, is maintained at $-20^{\circ}C$ for 18 hours, is gradually increased up to the room temperature of $20^{\circ}C$ to thaw the specimens. The shear waves, the compressional waves and the temperature are measured during the freeze-thaw process. The experimental result indicates that the shear and the compressional wave velocities after thawing are smaller than those of before freezing. The velocity ratio of after thawing to before freezing of shear wave is smaller than that of the compressional wave. As silt fraction increases from 40 % to 80 %, the shear and compressional wave velocities are gradually increased. This study suggests that the freezing-thawing process in unsaturated soil loosens the soil particle structure, and the shear wave velocity reflects the effect of freezing-thawing more sensitively than the compressional wave velocity.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.47-54
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• 2014

Although shear wave velocity ($V_s$) is an important design factor in seismic design, the measurement is not usually made in typical field investigation due to time and economic limitations. In the present study, an investigation was made to predict sand $V_s$ based on the standard penetration test (SPT) results by using artificial neural network (ANN) model. A total of 650 dataset composed of SPT-N value ($N_{60}$), water content, fine content, specific gravity for input data and $V_s$ for output data was used to build and train the ANN model. The sensitivity analysis was then performed for the trained ANN to examine the effect of the input variables on the $V_s$. Also, the ANN model was compared with seven existing empirical models on the performance. The sensitivity analysis results revealed that the effect of the SPT-N value on $V_s$ is significantly greater compared to other input variables. Also, when compared with the empirical models using Nash-Sutcliffe Model Efficiency Coefficient (NSE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), the ANN model was found to exhibit the highest prediction capability.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.67-80
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• 2014

The thickness of permafrost in Eastern Siberia is from 200 to 500 meters. The seasonally frozen layer can vary from 0 to 4m depending on ground temperature and its location. The shear wave velocity varies from 80m/s in summer to 1500m/s in winter depending on soil type. When melted, large impedence will occur due to the difference between the shear wave velocity of seasonally frozen soil and that of permafrost layer. Large displacement may occur at the boundary of the melted and the frozen layer, and this phenomenon should be considered in a seismic design. In this research, one-dimensional equivalent linear analyses were performed to investigate the effects of the seasonally frozen layer on ground amplification characteristics. Soil profiles of Yakutsk and Chara in Eastern Siberia were selected from geotechnical reports. 20 recorded ground motions were used to evaluate the effect of input motions. As the thickness of seasonally frozen layer and the difference in the shear wave velocity increases, the amplification is shown to increase. Peat, very soft organic soil widely distributed throughout Eastern Siberia, is shown to cause significant ground motion amplification. It is therefore recommended to account for its influence on propagated motion.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1-10
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• 2008

Shear wave velocity($V_S$), which can be obtained using various seismic tests, has been emphasized as representative geotechnical dynamic characteristic mainly for seismic design and seismic performance evaluation in the engineering field. For the application of conventional geotechnical site investigation techniques to geotechnical earthquake engineering, standard penetration tests(SPT) and piezocone penetration tests(CPTu) together with a variety of borehole seismic tests were performed at many sites in Korea. Through statistical modeling of the in-situ testing data, in this study, the correlations between $V_S$ and geotechnical in-situ penetrating data such as blow counts(N value) from SPT and piezocone penetrating data such as tip resistance ($q_t$), sleevefriction($f_s$), and pore pressure ratio($B_q$) were deduced and were suggested as an empirical method to determine $V_S$. Despite the incompatible strain levels of the conventional geotechnical penetration tests and the borehole seismic tests, it is shown that the suggested correlations in this study are applicable to the preliminary estimation of $V_S$ for Korean soil layers.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.29-37
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• 2021

Since many geotechnical structures are constructed on a weathered granite layer, it is important to evaluate their characteristics. As a seismic design is the more important nowadays, the demands to estimate a shear wave velocity (V_S) based on acceptable methods are increasing. In this study, an empirical equation predicting V_S of the weathered granite layer is suggested based on the nonlinear multiple variable regression analysis whose independent variables are both SPT (Standard penetration test)-N₆₀ and chemical weathering index. It is concluded that the accuracy of the empirical equation estimating V_S of the weathered granite layer increases when it considers the chemical weathering index as an additional independent variable compared to the result of simple regression analysis using only N₆₀.