• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.345-354
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• 2018

Currently, layered geogrid method (LGM) is the commonly practiced technique for reinforcement of slopes. In this paper the geogrid-box method (GBM) is introduced as a new approach for reinforcement of rock-soil slopes. To achieve the objectives of this study, a laboratory setup was designed and the slopes without reinforcements and reinforced with LGM and GBM were tested under the loading of a circular footing. The effect of vertical spacing between geogrid layers and box thickness on normalized bearing capacity and failure mechanism of slopes was investigated. A series of 3D finite element analysis were also performed using ABAQUS software to supplement the results of the model tests. The results indicated that the load-settlement behavior and the ultimate bearing capacity of footing can be significantly improved by the inclusion of reinforcing geogrid in the soil. It was found that for the slopes reinforced with GBM, the displacement contours are widely distributed in the rock-soil mass underneath the footing in greater width and depth than that in the reinforced slope with LGM, which in turn results in higher bearing capacity. It was also established that by reducing the thickness of geogrid-boxes, the distribution and depth of displacement contours increases and a longer failure surface is developed, which suggests the enhanced bearing capacity of the slope. Based on the studied designs, the ultimate bearing capacity of the GBM-reinforced slope was found to be 11.16% higher than that of the slope reinforced with LGM. The results also indicated that, reinforcement of rock-soil slopes using GBM causes an improvement in the ultimate bearing capacity as high as 24.8 times more than that of the unreinforced slope.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.57-65
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• 2007

Slope collapse occurs mostly at the rainy season or thawing season in Korea. From a engineer point of view, the design criterion in recent of soil slopes during the rainfall have a conservative tendency because a slope stability is evaluated in the condition that ground water level is located in the surface. However, for the rational design of soil slopes during rainfall, the raining conditions and the unsaturated soil characteristics of soil slopes have to be considered. For the unsaturated soil characteristics of soil slopes, the laboratory tests for unsaturated soils and the seepage analyses for the raining conditions have to be performed. Due to these difficulties, a conservative design of soil slopes in the current design criterion has been carried out. In this paper, therefore, a simple design method is proposed. The method is considered to the unsaturated soil characteristics and the results of seepage analysis without numerical analysis. To verify the suggested design method, it is compared with both analysis results by current design criterion and analysis results based on the seepage analysis. Through the comparative study, it was found that the current design criterion has been excessively conservative. Hence, simple design method in this study was evaluated as the rational design for the soil slopes during rainfall.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.70-79
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• 2002

This study was conducted to develop environmental restoration methods for the ecological restoration of the rock exposed steep cut-slopes using native woody plants seeds by the hydro-seeding with artificial soil media. The main results are summarized as follows; 1. Quercus spp. seeded after seed treatment germinated over 80% and most of them grew well until one year. So, Quercus spp. can grow at the extremely dry rock exposed slopes revegetated by hydro-seeding with soil-fertilizer-seed mixed media. 2. The germinated seedlings grew well at the slopes oriented southeast. But in case of the survival ratio of the germinated seedlings, northwestward slopes was the best. 3. In case of the using pot seedlings of the Miscanthus sinensis var. purpurascens, it shows more beautiful scenery than the area using cool-season grasses. 4. As the results of the experiment, Albizzia julibrissin, Quercus spp. and Lespedeza crytobotrya can be useful at the restoration and revegatation of the cut-slopes. 5. At the results of the seed mixture experiment, cool-season grasses covered the ground quickly, but slowly germinated Quercus spp. and Lespedeza crytobotrya formed under story vegetation. Also, Albizzia julibrissin formed upper story vegetation will be replaced by Quercus spp. slowly.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.28-33
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• 2006

Shallow failures of slopes in weathered soils are caused by infiltration due to prolonged rainfall. These failures are mainly triggered by the deepening of the wetting band accompanied by a decrease in suction induced by the water infiltration. In this paper, hysteresis on soil-water characteristic curve(SWCC) of granite and gneiss weathered soils are investigated using transient flow analysis respectively. Each case was subjected to artificial rainfall intensities and time duration depending on the laboratory-based drying and wetting processes. The results show that the unsaturated seepage on weathered slopes are very much affected by the initial suction of soils and unsaturated permeability of the soils. In addition, a granite weathered soil has a lower air-entry value, residual matric suction, and wetting front suction and less hysteresis loop than a gneiss weathered soil.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.51-66
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• 1991

In the stability analysis of hillside slopes, the roots of vegetation have been considered to act as a soil reinforcement. In order to predict the amount of increase in soil shear resistance, produced by tensile strength of roots that intersect a potential slip surface in hillside slopes, new soil -root interaction models are proposed in this paper. For this purpose, firstly, laboratary teats and in-situ tests wert performed on soil-root systems, and experimental results were compared with a couple of soil-root interaction models which had been proposed by Gray, Waldron, and Wu etc. Based on this comparison, a new soil-root interaction model is proposed. Secondly, a probabilistic soil-root model is proposed based on statistical analysis considering random nature of root distribution, root characteristics, and soil-root interactions. Finally, to examine the effect of this root reinforcement system on stability of hillside slopes, a simple three-dimensional stability analysis was performed, and it was shown that root reinforcement had a significant stabilizing influence on shallow slips rather than deep slips in hillside slopes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.1-15
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• 2007

A variety of revegetation methods are being utilized and developed. However, most of revegetation methods used on highway slopes in Korea are based on foreign-introduced plant varieties to stabilize road surfaces and to administer afforestation for surface covering at an earlier phase. Therefore. it results in various problems. such as failure to achieve harmony with the surrounding vegetation and 10 cause re-denudation of slopes as the foreign-in introduced plant varieties wane out from 2~3 years after hydro-seeding, etc. In addition, some of the revegetation plants seeded in the earlier phase grow excessively high, thus causes successional problems, such as to inhibit the invasion of the secondary vegetation from the surrounding areas, etc. Therefore, in this study, 160 slopes located in the nationwide express highways have been investigated and analyzed in order to produce basic data for restoration of ecological environment in slopes created on a long-term basis by investigating and analyzing locational characteristics of cut and filled slopes in express highways, status of revegetation methods, characteristics of soil and plant-ecological environment. 1. Investigation on cut and embanked slopes in express highways was carried out in the total of 160 locations, which include 108 cut slopes and 52 embanked slopes. As a whole, the most frequently used revegetation method was seed spray, which was found to be used in the total of 55 target slops investigated. 2. Planting method of Wistaria floribunda applied to some of the blasted rock zones was found to cause damages as Wistaria floribunda trailed up the surrounding vegetation and the secondary invaded trees. In order to prevent this, this method must be used only in the lowest parts of large-sized slopes. Also, it will be required to administer continuous management and maintenance in the areas already planted with this plants. 3. The areas of blasted rock and ripping rock slopes were applied with coir net (net + seeding) method. However, many of these areas failed in achieving ground covering. Most areas where revegetation was in progress, they were covered with Eragrostis curvula(Weeping lovegrass) only. In areas with soil, such as decomposition of granite, where afforestation is difficult. In this slopes, soil base must be improved by hrdroseeding with thin-layer vegetation base application methods in order to achieve success in afforestation with native plants. 4. Woody species, rather than herb species, are more helpful in stabilization of slope surfaces. Therefore, it is important to be able to grow and protect woody species on highway slopes. Growth of woody vegetation is most largely influenced by soil depth. Thus, when hydro-seeding woody plants, it is recommended to apply at the upper layer of the slopes, which is capable to sufficiently provide the fundamentals required in plant growth.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.139-151
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• 2007

To protect the surface of ground-cutting slopes and ground-raised slopes and to recover environment-friendly slopes at the national road expansion construction between Gamchon and Yaechon, test-construction work was done using several modes of hydro-seeding measures to select a suitable construction method through the field survey; the results were as follows : As a result of survey on physio-chemical characteristics of soil, the average soil inclination on ground-raised slopes was from 4.73 mm to 5.37 mm; the average soil acidity was from pH 6.47 to 6.73; the average soil humidity was within the scope of 0.57~1.70 %,; the average soil inclination on ground-cutting slopes was 9.17~10.43mm; the average soil acidity was pH 6.67~6.77 and the average soil humidity was within the scope of 0.53~1.27 %; considered overall, they showed generally satisfactory base materials for plant breeding. As a result of the number of sprouting individuals, the average sprouting number of individuals on test spots executed by Coir net with Seed spray construction methods and the average number of sprouting individuals on other test spots executed by furrow-digging with Seed spray and Straw mat-mulching measures were 1,172 number of per square meter and 970 number of per square meter respectively; thus they showed higher numerical value comparing with other test spots. Likewise, the average number of sprouting individuals on test spots of the ground-cutting slopes executed by Coir net with Seed spray method and the average number of sprouting individuals on other test spot executed by furrow-digger with Seed spray and Straw mat-mulching measures were found to be 1,107 number of per square meter and 1,105 number of per square meter respectively, whose numerical value showed rather higher other test spots. As a result of a survey on living plants' breeding index [dried weight], the weight in dried state on test spots executed by Coir net with Seed spray method and other test spots executed by furrow-digger with Seed spray and Straw mat-mulching measures on both ground-raised and ground-cutting slopes was found to be higher and showed similar characteristics statistically. As a result of survey on the surface-covering degree of ground-raised slopes, nine weeks after test construction, test spots executed by Coir net with Seed spray method and other test spots executed by furrow-digger with Seed spray and Straw mat-mulching measures showed commonly more than 70% of surface-covering degree, but other test spots showed only below 35% of surface covering degree; especially in case of test spots by Verdvol seed spray measures, they showed 10% of the lowest surface-covering. Surface-covering degree on the test spot of ground-cutting slopes nine weeks after test construction showed more than 75% both executed by Coir net with Seed spray construction method and executed by furrow-digger with Seed spray and Straw mat-mulching measures. As a result of survey on appearing plants on the test spots, there dominates Eragrostis curvula both on ground-raised slopes and on ground-cutting slopes with other seeding plant life's lower breeding and there appear intruders, such as Setaria viridis Beauv, Digitaria sanguinalis Scop, and Chenopodium album var.centrorubrum Makino. As for water-borne excavation and soil's washing-away on the slopes, there happened less washing-away and water-borne excavation with good breeding of plant life on test spots executed both by Coir net with Seed spray construction method and by furrow-digger with Seed spray and Straw mat-mulching measures, but there happened much more soil's washing-away along with water-home excavation at the test spot executed by Seed spray with measures. After the research results of test construction sites are examined overall, it's presumed that furrow-digger with Seed spray and Straw mat-mulching measures [interval between lines is 40cm, 5cm in depth] will be preferred to prevent erosion and water-home excavation of slopes located within the construction sites.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.1264-1270
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• 2010

In this study, the effects of slope inclination and rainfall on weathered soil slope stability were investigated for current cut soil slope design criteria. A series of slope stability analysis was performed on the slopes with the same height (5m), but different inclinations (1:0.8, 1:1, 1:1.2, 1:1.5, 1:2). Seepage analysis was also conducted to examine the rainfall effects directly and compare the combined seepage and slope stability analysis results with the slope stability analysis results for rainy season from the current cut soil slope design criteria. Typical properties for weathered soils were used in both the slope and seepage analysis. The analysis results showed that, for the slopes much steeper than the standard slopes, the factor of safety criteria were satisfied. Therefore, it appears that the slope designs by current cut soil slope design criteria lead to conservative results.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.123-136
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• 2002

The infiltration of prolonged rainfall causes shallow slope failures on surficial slopes. Experiments performed on soil-water characteristic curves in weathered soils of three different types(SW, SP, SM) were used to construct a general equation for the soil-water characteristic curve. Based on this, the saturated depth by Green & Ampt model was compared with the results of numerical analyses and the range of application of Green & Ampt model was evaluated. It was found that the saturated depth occurred by infiltration on the surface of slopes has an inf1uence on the surficial stability of slopes md, the stability analysis of unsaturated soils calculated by using the soil-water characteristic curve of weathered soils was found to be a proper analysis for shallow slope failures due to rainfall.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.10
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• pp.2794-2802
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• 2009

Soil nailing method is widely used in reinforcing slopes and excavating earth. The analysis of nail-reinforced slopes, generally require complicated computer programs. The purpose of this paper is suggest, Soil stability Chart for nailed slopes which are very useful for pre-design, rapidly design, and final check. Three slope types, three nail lengths and three nail angles are selected for the stability analysis by using limit equilibrium method form Bishop and French. From the above results, this study propose the reinforced design charts for examine the necessity of reinforcement can be examined. The suggested stability chart and Taylor's Slope Stability Chart, showed similar safety factors. This Soil Nailing design charts can provide the solutions for necessity of reinforcement, economical of nail's length ratio and installation angle as well.