• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.41-51
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• 2012

Soils are commonly unsaturated in the near surface. The stiffness of soils is affected by the amount of air and water. The objective of this study is to evaluate the porosity of the unsaturated soils by using the elastic waves including compressional and shear waves. The elastic waves are measured at different degrees of saturation by controlling the matric suction. Thus, the unsaturated soils are characterized at different levels of the matric suction. Shear and compressional waves are measured by using the bender elements and the piezo disk elements, respectively. Both transducers are installed on the walls of the rectangular cell. The unsaturated soils are prepared by using uniform size sands and silts. Test results show that both compressional and shear wave velocities change according to the matric suction. The elastic modulus, the shear modulus, and the Poisson's ratio are estimated based on the measured elastic wave velocities. In addition, the void ratio of the unsaturated soils estimated using elastic wave velocities matches well with the volume based void ratio. This study demonstrates that the elastic waves can be effectively used for the characterization of unsaturated soils.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.605-612
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• 2008

The shear wave velocity ($V_s$) has been commonly used to evaluate the dynamic properties of soil. The field $V_s$ probe (FVP) was already developed to assess the shear stiffness of a soft clay. The objective of this study is to investigate the disturbance effects of the FVP due to the penetration. The laboratory tests are conducted in a large-scale consolidometer (calibration chamber). The reconstituted clay is mixed at the water content of 110% using a slurry mixer. The FVP and down-hole test are carried out every 1cm interval to compare the data. In addition, two square rods with transducers are also implemented to get the reference value. The shear waves evaluated by the FVP, dow-hole tests, and reference rods are closely matched. This study suggests that the disturbance effect of the FVP due to the penetration into the soft clay soils is small enough and the $V_s$ evaluated by the FVP reflects well the in-situ characteristics. Furthermore, the combination of the FVP and down-hole test shows the possibility of hybrid equipment.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.603-609
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• 1999

The effect of an external acoustic excitation on the wake structure behind a circular cylinder was experimentally investigated. The sound wave was excited in the frequency range of the shear layer instability and two sound pressure levels of 114 and 120dB were used in this study. As a result, the acoustic excitation modified the wake structure by increasing the velocity fluctuation energy without changing the vortex shedding frequency. The acoustic excitation enhanced the vortex shedding process and promoted the shear layer instability. Consequently, the acoustic excitation reduced the length of the vortex formation region and decreased the base pressure. In addition, the vortex strength of vortices was increased and the width of the wake was spread out due to the acoustic excitation. When the excitation frequency was identical to the shear layer instability frequency, the effect of the external flow control on the cylinder wake was maximized. In addition, with increasing the sound pressure level, the effect of the external acoustic excitation on the wake structure increased.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.443-452
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• 2024

The use of sand-tire chip mixtures in construction industry is a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach that addresses both waste tire disposal and soil improvement needs. However, the addition of tire chip particles to natural soils decreases maximum shear modulus (G_max), but increases compressibility, which can be potential drawbacks. This study examines the effect of overconsolidation stress history on the maximum shear modulus (G_max) of rigid-soft mixtures with varying size ratios (SR) and tire chip contents (TC) by measuring the wave velocity through a 1-D compression test during loading and unloading. The results demonstrate that the G_max of tested mixtures in the normally consolidated state increased with increasing SR and decreasing TC. However, the tested mixtures with a smaller SR exhibited a greater increase in G_max during unloading because of the active pore-filling behavior of the smaller rubber particles and the consequent increased connectivity between sand particles. The SR-dependent impact of the overconsolidation stress history on G_max was verified using the ratio between the swelling and compression indices. Most importantly, this study reveals that the excessive settlement and lower G_max of rigid-soft mixtures can be overcome by introducing an overconsolidated state in sand-tire chip mixtures with low TC.

• 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 the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.29-35
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• 2001

The soil-structure interaction(SSI) analysis is essential to soil site where shear wave velocity is less than 1,050 m/sec and soil nonlinear characteristics for this kind of soil site have to be considered in SSI analysis. In order to consider soil nonlinear characteristics in the SSI analysis, simple and reliable soil nonlinear evaluation technique with seismic recorded data at downhole array is proposed in this study. The SSI analysis is carried out in order to prove the reliability of the proposed evaluation technique with Hualien large scale seismic test(HLSST) site in Taiwan. The analytical result are compared with Hualien earthquake recorded data and the analytical results with SHAKE program which is prevailed at present. As a result, the proposed evaluation technique shows a good agreement with both the Hualien earthquake recorded data and the analytical result with SHAKE program and the reliability and usefulness are confirmed.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.174-179
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• 1999

Shear wave velocity, one of major elastic constants in the dynamic design for civil structures, is conventionally measured from downhole, crosshole or sonic logging tests. SASW (Spectral Analysis of Surface Waves) method, which overcomes the disadvantage of the in-hole tests, can evaluate subsurface stiffness nondestructively and nonintrusively through measuring surface waves on surface. In this paper, principles of the SASW method are briefly described and the results of various field tests, conducted to investigate the applicability of the method, are summarized. The SASW method was successfully applied in evaluating the effects of dynamic compaction at Inchon international airport site, applied in evaluating the integrity of the lining and sidewall at a testing tunnel located in Mabukri, and applied in detecting thickness of a concrete retaining wall. The results of field tests and the nondestructive and economical characteristics of the method show the promising future of the SASW method in civil engineering projects.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2020

Recently, as the number of earthquakes increases in the Korean Peninsula and surrounding area, the importance of earthquake countermeasures and seismic design has been increasing. As a result, interest and concerns about liquefaction, which is one of the problems that concern the earthquake, are increasing. There are various methods that can assess the possibility of liquefaction by using geotechnical information for specific ground. However, direct comparisons of each method are not yet available. In this study, the two methods using the SPT-N value and the shear wave velocity among the methods for estimating the Cyclic Resistance Ratio (CRR) value required for the simplified liquefaction assessment method were compared. And the correction of the ground information required to use the two methods respectively was compared. As a result, more accurate evaluation results were obtained when the CRR value is calculated using the SPT-N values.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.211-222
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• 2021

The magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred in 2017 near 7.5 km north of Buk-gu, Pohang. In order to find out the characteristics of microtremor in Buk-gu, Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do, where earthquake damage occurred significantly, a total of 39 points were acquired to analyze the horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (HVSR). Microtremor vary from region to region, so the resonant frequency of the region is obtained by examining the microtremor. For Thickness analysis, we analyze the structure and properties of shear wave velocity (Vs) up to the underlying rock to compare resonance frequencies to match the horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) analysis technique against nearby boring data. Using F₀ = V_s/4H with a resonance frequency of alluvium is 1.3 ± 0.07 Hz and a resonance frequency of Yeonil group is 0.69 ± 0.22 Hz, the alluvium thickness was found to be 26~30 m and the Yeonil group thickness was 170~250 m.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.8
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• pp.7-16
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• 2023

This study aimed to evaluate the sulfate removal capacity of the enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) technique through the chemical precipitation of sulfate with calcium ions. The optimal EICP recipe was obtained to retain the excess calcium cations in the solution for the generation of a sufficient amount of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) mineral. The effect of gypsum precipitation on the EICP-treated sand specimen was investigated by measuring the shear wave velocity and by visual inspection via scanning electron microscopy. The EICP solution using soybean crude urease, as an alternative to laboratory-grade purified urease, exhibited a lower sulfate removal efficiency at a similar CaCO₃ production rate compared with the optimal EICP recipe because of soybean impurities.