• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.117-127
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• 2008

The volumetric pressure plate extractor (VPPE) was modified for the measurement of shear wave velocity ($V_s$) at various levels of matric suction as well as soil water characteristic curve (SWCC). A non-destructive technique with a pair of bender element (BE) was employed in order to measure the $V_s$ and the corresponding maximum shear modulus ($G_{max}$) of unsaturated soil specimens. Three types of soil were collected from different road construction sites in Korea. For all test soils, the variations in $G_{max}$ with the various levels of water content and matric suction were investigated using the developed apparatus. Compared with the preceding results from the suction-controlled torsional shear (TS) testing system and in-situ seismic tests, the feasibility fur evaluating modulus characteristics of unsaturated compacted soils with the developed VPPE-BE system was assessed. It was confirmed that the newly developed system would be potentially helpful in modeling seasonal variation of modulus.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.2 s.48
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• pp.39-50
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• 2006

Site response analyses were peformed based on equivalent linear technique using the shear wave velocity profiles of 162 sites collected around the Korean Peninsula. The she characteristics, particularly the shear wave velocities and the depth to bedrock, are compared to those in the western United States. The site coefficients of short period $(F_a)$ and the long period $(F_v)$ obtained from this study were significantly different compared to 1997 Uniform Building Code (1997 UBC). $F_a$ underestimated the motion in shot period ranges and $F_v$ overestimated the motion in mid period ranges in Korean seismic guideline. It is found that the existing Korean seismic design code were is required to be modified considering geological site conditions in Korea for the reliable estimation of sue amplification. Problems of the current seismic design code were dicussed in this paper and the development of site classification method and modification of desing response spectra were discussed in the companion papers(II-Development of Site Classification System and III-Modification of Dosing Response Specra).

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.129-136
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• 2006

Engineered mixtures, which consist of rigid sand particles and soft fine-grained rubber particles, are tested to characterize their small and large-strain responses. Engineered soils are prepared with different volumetric sand fraction, sf, to identify the transition from a rigid to a soft granular skeleton using wave propagation, $K_{o}-loading$, and triaxial testing. Deformation moduli at small, middle and large-strain do not change linearly with the volume fraction of rigid particles; instead, deformation moduli increase dramatically when the sand fraction exceeds a threshold value between sf=0.6 to 0.8 that marks the formation of a percolating network of stiff particles. The friction angle increases with the volume fraction of rigid particles. Conversely, the axial strain at peak strength increases with the content of soft particles, and no apparent peak strength is observed in specimens when sand fraction is less than 60%. The presence of soft particles alters the formation of force chains. While soft particles are not part of high-load carrying chains, they play the important role of preventing the buckling of stiff particle chains.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.17-33
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• 2007

Downhole seismic method is widely used for obtaining shear wave velocity profile of a site because it is simple and economical. Determining accurate travel time of shear wave is very important to obtain reliable result in downhole seismic method. In this paper, comparison study of various travel time determination methods was performed. Numerical study and model chamber test were performed for effective comparison study. Signal traces were acquired by performing downhole test at each numerical simulation and soil box test. Travel time data for each signal traces were determined by using six different methods and Vs profiles were evaluated. Comparing travel time data and Vs profiles with the reference value, the first arrival picking method proved to be ambiguous and unreliable. Other methods also did not always provide accurate results and the magnitude of error was dependent on the signal to noise ratio. Cross-correlation method proved to be the most adequate method for the field application and it was verified additionally with field data.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.118-134
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• 2015

An analytical solution of dynamic responses for seabed in shallow, finite and infinite thicknesses has been developed under flow and standing wave coexisting field at a constant water depth condition. To do this, based on the Biot's consolidation theory, the seabed is assumed as a porous elastic media with the assumptions that pore fluid is compressible and Darcy law governs the flow. The developed analytical solution is compared with the previous results and is verified. Using the analytical solution the deformation, pore pressure, effective and shear stresses of seabed are examined under various given values of flow velocity, incident wave period and seabed thickness. From this study, it is confirmed that the seabed response is quite different depending on consideration of flow, which causes changing period and length of incident and reflection waves.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.17 no.1 s.50
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• pp.1-13
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• 2007

In order to evaluate the local site effects at two town fortress areas in Korea where stone parapets were col-lapsed by historical earthquakes, site characteristics were assessed using site investigations such as borehole drillings and seismic tests. Equivalent-linear site response analyses were conducted based on the shear ways velocity ($V_s$) profiles and geotechnical characteristics determined from site investigations. The study sites are categorized as site classes C and B according to the mean $V_s$ to 30 m ranging from 500 to 850 m/s, and their site periods are distributed in the short period range of 0.06 to 0.16 sec, which contains the natural period of fortress wall and stone parapet. From the results of site response analyses in the study areas, for site class C indicating most of site conditions, contrary to site class B, the short-period (0.1-0.5 sec) and mid-period (0.4-2.0 sec) site coefficients, $F_a$ and $F_v$ specified in the Korean seismic design guide, underestimate the ground motion in short-period band and overestimate the ground motion in mid-period band, respectively, due to the high amplification in short period range, which represent the site-specific seismic response characteristics. These site-specific response characteristics indicate the potential of resonance in fortress walls during earthquake and furthermore could strongly affect the collapse of parapets resulted from seismic events in historical records.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.4 s.44
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• pp.29-42
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• 2005

Total 350 borehole profiles were selected from the database of borehole logs in Seoul, for the site-specific seismic evaluation at two 4km${\times}$4km plain areas. Equivalent-linear site response analyses for the selected 350 sites were conducted based on shear wave velocity (Vs) Profiles, which were determined from the N-Vs correlation established using borehole seismic testing results in the inland areas of Korea. Most sites were categorized as site classes C and D based on the mean Vs to 30 m in depth (Vs30) ranging from 250 to 550 m/s. The she periods of the plains in Seoul ranging between 0.1 and 0.4 sec were significantly lower than those of the western US, from which the site coefficients in Korea were derived. For plains in Seoul, the site coefficients, Fa's and Fv's specified in the Korean seismic design guide, underestimate the ground motion in short-period (0.1-0.5 sec) band and overestimate the ground motion in mid-period (0.4-2.0 sec) band, respectively, because ol the differences in the geotechnical conditions between Seoul and the western US, although the Fa's in several sites overestimate the motion due to the base Isolation effect resulted from the soft layer in soil deposit.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.24-33
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• 2017

Domestic urban railway underground station structures, which were built in the 1970s ad 1980s, had been constructed as Cut-and-Cover construction system without seismic design. Because the trends of earthquake occurrence is constantly increasing all over the world as well as the Korean Peninsula, massive human casualties and severe properties and structures damage might be occurred in an non-retrofitted underground station during an earthquake above a certain scale. Therefore, to evaluate the retrofit effect and soil-structure interaction of seismic retrofitted underground station, a centrifugal shaking table test with enhanced stiffness on its structural main member are carried out on 1/60 scaled model using the Kobe and Northridge earthquakes. The seismic retrofitted members, which are columns, side walls, and slabs, are evaluated to comparing with existing non-retrofitted centrifuge test results Also, to simulate the scaled ground using variation of shear velocity according to site conditions such as ground depth and density, resonant column test is performed. From the test results, the relative displacement behavior between ground and structures shows comparatively similar in ground, but is increased on ground surface. The seismic retrofit effects were measured using relative displacements and moment behavior of column and side walls rather than slabs. Additionally, earthquake wave can be used to main design factor due to large structural deformation on Kobe earthquake wave than Norhridge earthquake wave.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.339-352
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• 2016

The best way of investigating the physical and mechanical properties of subsurface materials is the combined interpretation of data from borehole geophysical surveys and geotechnical experiments with rock samples. In this study two surface seismic surveys with refraction and surface-wave method are alternatively conducted for downhole seismic surveys in test site for geological field trip in Jeungpyung, Chungbuk. P- and S-wave velocity structures are delineated by refraction and MASW (multichannel analysis of shear waves) methods, respectively. Possion's ratio section, reconstructed from P- and S-wave velocities, is correlated to the outcrop geological features consisting of reddish sedimentary rock, gray volcanic rock, and joints/fractures. In addition, rock samples representative for reddish sedimentary and gray volcanic features are geotechnically analyzed to provide physical, mechanical properties, and elastic modulus. Dynamic elastic moduli estimated from geophysical data is found to be higher than the one from geotechnical data. Reddish sedimentary rock characterized with low porosity and moisture content corresponds to the zone of low electrical resistivities and their small variations in the resistivity sections between the rainy and dry days. This trend suggests that the weathered gray volcanic rock and the nearby fractures with higher low porosity and moisture content are interpreted to be good carrier especially in rainy season.