• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.99-105
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• 2009

The main purpose of this work is to analyse damages caused by debris flows during the heavy rainfalls at Inje of Kangwon Province, Korea. A series of site investigations have been carried out to survey the characteristics of debris flows occurred during the summer season of 2006. It has been found that major losses in human life and property are caused by discharge of soil and rock fragments from landslides. During the rainfall high precipitation rate of 113.5 mm/hour and 355 mm/day was recorded, which could happen at 80-500 year period. Comparing the rainfall record with the time of landslides being occurred, occurrence of the landslides is directly related to heavy rainfalls. At present, several debris barriers have been built at the valleys and natural slopes have been protected by the seed spray method. It is intended to propose an alternative of restoration of landslide damages and maintenance based on findings from the current study.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.793-802
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• 2019

The centrifuge model test is usually used for two-dimensional deformation and instability study of the soil slopes. As a typical loose slope, the municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill is easy to slide with large deformation, under high water levels or large earthquakes. A series of centrifuge model tests of landfill slide induced by rising water level and earthquake were carried out. The particle image velocimetry (PIV), laser displacement transducer (LDT) and marker tracer (MT) methods were used to measure the deformation of the landfill under different centrifugal accelerations, water levels and earthquake magnitudes. The PIV method realized the observation of continuous deformation of the landfill model, and its results were consistent with those by LDT, which had higher precision than the MT method. The deformation of the landfill was mainly vertically downward and increased linearly with the rising centrifugal acceleration. When the water level rose, the horizontal deformation of the landfill developed gradually due to the seepage, and a global slide surface formed when the critical water level was reached. The seismic deformation of the landfill was mainly vertical at a low water level, but significant horizontal deformation occurred under a high water level. The results of the tests and analyses verified the applicability of PIV in the two-dimensional deformation measurement in the centrifuge model tests of the MSW landfill, and provide an important basis for revealing the instability mechanism of landfills under extreme hydraulic and seismic conditions.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.206-216
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• 2021

Deutzia paniculata Nakai, a rare and endemic plant, has limited distribution throughout the North and South Gyeongsang provinces of South Korea. The D. paniculata community grows mostly on the stony slopes of forests, valley edges, and rock layers at 250-960 m in altitude, where deciduous trees are dominant and high humidity is maintained. Correlation analysis of vegetation and environmental factors found that the Walter's dogwood-mulberry community was correlated with soil acidity (pH). Whilst the queritron community had correlations with distance from the valley, rock rate and slope. The natural habitat of the Palgongsan Mountain in Daegu is known to have high genetic diversity, had eight D. paniculata individuals recorded from 2014 to 2018, and 12 individuals recorded in 2020 (new individuals due to a newly created space within the herbaceous layer caused by grass mowing works), it is therefore unlikely that the community would perish unless there was an artificial disturbance. To conserve the natural habitats of D. paniculata, oppression by Sasa borealis, damage, increase in crown density of the upper layer, overexploitation, and absence of seedlings should be carefully investigated. In addition, response measures should also be established and the impact on seed fullness and the reproductive characteristics of D. paniculata recorded. To restore declined genetic diversity, individuals from high genetic diversity regions, such as Palgongsan Mountain, should be artificially transplanted.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.23-29
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• 2019

Heavy rainfall is in causing debris flow by recent climate change and causes much damage in the downstream. The debris flow from the mountainous area runs to the downstream, repeating sedimentation and erosion, and appears as a fluidized soil-water mixture. Continuity equation and momentum equation were applied to analyze the debris flow with strong mobility, and the sedimentation and erosion velocity with fine particle fractions were also applied. This study is to analyze the behavior of debris flow at the downstream end for the variation of the amount of sediments can occur in the upstream of the mountain. Analysis of sediment volume concentration at the downstream end of the channel due to the variance of the length of pavement of the granulated soils resulted in the higher the supply flow discharge and the longer the length of pavement, the greater the difference in the level of sediment concentration and the earlier the point of occurrence of the inflection point. The results of this study will provide good information for determining the erosion-sedimentation velocity rate which can detect erosion and sedimentation on steep slopes.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.963-978
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• 2020

Earthquakes can induce a large number of landslides and cause very serious property damage and human casualties. There are two issues in study on earthquake-induced landslides: (1) slope stability analysis under seismic loading and (2) debris flow run-out analysis. This study aims to review technical studies related to the development and application of earthquake-induced landslide models (seismic slope stability analysis). Moreover, a pilot application of a physics-based slope stability model to Mt. Umyeon, in Seoul, with several earthquake scenarios was conducted to test regional scale seismic landslide mapping. The earthquake-induced landslide simulation model can be categorized into 1) Pseudo-static model, 2) Newmark's dynamic displacement model and 3) stress-strain model. The Pseudo-static model is preferred for producing seismic landslide hazard maps because it is impossible to verify the dynamic model-based simulation results due to lack of earthquake-induced landslide inventory in Korea. Earthquake scenario-based simulation results show that given dry conditions, unstable slopes begin to occur in parts of upper areas due to the 50-year earthquake magnitude; most of the study area becomes unstable when the earthquake frequency is 200 years. On the other hand, when the soil is in a wet state due to heavy rainfall, many areas are unstable even if no earthquake occurs, and when rainfall and 50-year earthquakes occur simultaneously, most areas appear unstable, as in simulation results based on 100-year earthquakes in dry condition.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.229-240
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• 2020

Background: Genus Quercus is a successful group that has occupied the largest area of forest around the world including South Korea. The acorns are an important food source for both wild animals and humans. Although the reproductive characteristics of this genus are highly variable, it had been rarely studied in South Korea. Therefore, in Seoraksan and Odaesan National Parks (i) we measured the acorn production of Quercus mongolica, an overwhelmingly dominant species in South Korea, for 3 years (2017-2019), (ii) evaluated the spatial-temporal variation of acorn production, and (iii) analyzed the effects of oak- and site-related variables on the acorn production. Results: The annual acorn production of Q. mongolica increased 36 times from 1.2 g m-2 in 2017 to 43.2 g m-2 in 2018, and decreased to 16.7 g m-2 in 2019, resulting in an annual coefficient of variation of 104%. The coefficient of spatial variation was high and reached a maximum of 142%, and the tree size was the greatest influencing factor. That is, with an increase in tree size, acorn production increased significantly (2018 F = 16.3, p < 0.001; 2019 F = 8.2, p < 0.01). Elevation and slope also significantly affected the production in 2019. However, since elevation and tree size showed a positive correlation (r = 0.517, p < 0.001), the increase in acorn production with increasing elevation was possibly due to the effect of tree size. The acorn production of Odaesan for 3 years was 2.2 times greater than that of Seoraksan. This was presumed that there are more distribution of thick oak trees and more favorable site conditions such as deep soil A-layer depth, high organic matter, and slower slopes. Conclusion: As reported for other species of the genus Quercus, the acorn production of Q. mongolica showed large spatial and annual variations. The temporal variability was presumed to be a weather-influenced masting, while the spatial variability was mainly caused by oak tree size.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.5-12
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• 2011

This study was performed to analyze the degree of rainfalls, the duration time of rainfalls, the inclination of slopes and other damage causes depending on the ground condition, when the landslide occurs by the rainfall. Based on that, a big and a small model soil box were compared to examine the features of landslides, which is ultimately for forecasting landslides. An artificial rainfall device was installed in the model box, and the large model box has a real-size slope in it. Also, various measures were fulfilled such as collapse forms, a pore pressure, an earth pressure and moisture contents in order to analyze the effect of the model box size on the landslide mechanism and to test the usability of a small model box as a material for landslide experiments.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.283-298
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• 2022

Landslides triggered by the combination of heavy precipitation and anthropological disturbance in hilly areas cause severe damage to human lives, properties, and infrastructure constructions. A comprehensive investigation of the influencing factors and failure mechanisms of landslides are significant for disaster mitigation and prevention. This paper utilized the combination of detailed geological investigation, physical experimental testing as well as numerical modelling to determine the failure mechanism, and proposed a countermeasures of the Lantian landslide occurred on 2, July 2017. The results reveal that the Lantian landslide is a catastrophic reactivated slide which occurred in an active tectonic region in Southwest China. Because of the unique geological settings, the fully to highly weathered basalts in the study area with well-developed fractures favored the rainwater infiltration, which is the beneficial to slide reactivation. Engineering excavation and heavy precipitation are the main triggering factors to activate the slide motion. Two failure stages have been identified in the landslide. The first phase involves a shallow mass collapse originated at the upper slopes, which extends from the road to platform at rear part, which is triggered by excavation in the landslide region. Subjected to the following prolonged rainfall from 19 June to 2 July, 2017, the pore water pressure of the slope continually increased, and the groundwater table successively rise, resulting in a significant decrease of soil strength which leads to successive large-scale deep slide. Thereinto, the shallow collapse played a significant role in the formation of the deep slide. Based on the formation mechanisms of the landslide, detailed engineering mitigation measures, involving slope cutting, anchor cable frame, shotcrete and anchorage, retaining wall and intercepting ditch were suggested to reduce the future failure risk of the landslide.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.535-545
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• 2022

Improving the stability of the ground in seismic design requires an understanding of the dynamic behavior of the ground under seismic loads. The shaking table test is an important methodology to provide this understanding. This study aimed to assess the influence on boundary conditions, as they are among the most important factors affecting the test. This was achieved by testing the influence of boundary conditions on the seismic responses of model slopes at different locations in the testing apparatus. A model slope was fabricated at different locations in a laminar shear box, and the influence of the boundary conditions was then measured. Each model slope was created at 100, 50, and 25 cm from the soil wall, and sine wave seismic loads of the same size were inputted. The results confirmed that the acceleration was amplified by the influence of the boundary in the case of the slope being located 25 cm from the boundary, whereas the influence of the boundary conditions decreased when the slope was located at 50~100 cm.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.21-28
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• 2023

In this paper, an experimental study was conducted to present the properties of rapid hardening composite mat, and a numerical analysis was carried out to analyze the slope protection effect of the mats based on ground conditions, rainfall, slope gradient and soil height. As a result, the application of rapid hardening composite mat increased the slope safety factor in all conditions, and the increase rate of safety factor showed an average of 40% increase both in dry and rainy seasons. Through these research findings, the protective effect of the rapid hardening composite mat on sloping surfaces has been proven, and it is suggested that the rapid hardening composite mat is suitable for application in areas where slope failure or collapse is expected.