• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.5-12
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• 2018

Tests for transient water release and imbibitions measurement were conducted to estimate the unsaturated hydraulic conductivities by using back analysis. By using transient hydraulic characteristics, both the soil water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity fuction can be evaluated effectively and accurately. In this study the experiment for three samples were conducted accurately to measure the change of water content with time for various steps of matric suction. The back analysis calculated the amount of transient flow reliably in comparison with the experimental results. In the soil water retention curve there was no significant difference between the result of back analysis and that of experiment. The hydraulic conductivity function from back analysis was compared with the theoretical relation based on retention curve but they showed much difference. However, the unsaturated hydraulic behavior obtained by the combination of experimental and analytical techniques are considered to agree with the actual behavior.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.75-83
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• 2011

Emerging issues related with fully coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) behavior of unsaturated soil demand the development of a numerical tool in diverse geo-mechanical and geo-environmental areas. This paper presents general governing equations for coupled THM processes in unsaturated porous media. Coupled partial differential equations are derived from three mass balances equations (solid, water, and air), energy balance equation, and force equilibrium equation. With Galerkin formulation and time integration of these governing equations, finite element code is developed to find nonlinear solution of four main variables (displacement-u, gas pressure-$P_g$), liquid pressure-$P_1$), and temperature-T) using Newton's iterative scheme. Three cases of numerical simulations are conducted and discussed: one-dimensional drainage experiments (u-$P_g-P_1$), thermal consolidation (u-$P_1$-T), and effect of pile on surrounding soil due to surface temperature variation (u-$P_1$-T).

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.3C
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• pp.113-120
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• 2012

An actual slope failure was analyzed in residual soils at Jinju. Due to rainfall infiltration, the safety factor decreases in the unsaturated layers, since the effective stress and shear strength decrease. In this study, the effective stress is based on suction stress using soil water retention curve. Unsaturated properties were evaluated on soil water retention curve, hydraulic conductivity and shear strength with samples from the site. After infiltration analysis of unsaturated flow under the actual rainfall, the distribution of pore water pressure could be calculated in the slope layers. In the stress field of finite elements, an elastic analysis calculated total stress distribution in the layers and also shear stresses on the slip surface using elastic model. On the slip surface, suction stress and effective stress evaluated the shear strength. As a result, the factor of safety was calculated due to rainfall, which could simulate the actual slope failure. In particular, it was found that the suction stress increases and both the effective stress and the shear strength decrease simultaneously on the slip surface.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.67-74
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• 2007

Many studies for slope stability studies have indicated that the infiltration of rainwater into a slope decrease the slope stability. In order to minimize damage caused by slope failure, most design codes suggest that the slope stability be analyzed by saturated condition during rainy season. However it would be excessively conservative condition that every soil slope is saturated in rainy season irrespective of rainfall intensity, soil type and slope geometry. In addition, because most soil slopes are in an unsaturated state, it is necessary to consider the unsaturated characteristics of slope. This paper suggests a prediction method of saturation time for the weathered granite soil slopes due to rainfalls. The finite element analysis of transient water flow through unsaturated slope was used to investigate effects of soil-water characteristics, permeability at saturation, slope geometry, and rainfall intensity. From the result of these analyses, the prediction charts considering soil-water characteristics, permeability at saturation, and slope height were proposed in this study. It is possible to the time required to be saturated slope after rainfall.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.47-58
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• 2010

Seepage rate through the core zone of rockfill dam, estimated from graphical technique and the equation by Sakamoto (1998), is different from the real condition because of neglecting unsaturated flow. With existing method to estimate total seepage rate, it is difficult to understand the tendency of total seepage rate changes by reservoir water level change. Steady state seepage rate and the factors affecting the time needed to attain to changes of reservoir water level and saturated hydraulic conductivity and unsaturated hydraulic properties of core material are analysed thorough the 2-D steady and unsteady state seepage analyses of Soyanggang dam. Numerical results revealed that the seepage rate can be expressed by the linear equation form and the value of unsaturated soil parameter n is the most important factor affecting the seepage rate and the time needed to attain steady state. The estimation method presented in this study can be used by the designer and the personnel of dam safety for convenient estimation of seepage rate and quantitative analysis of measured seepage rate without 2-D and 3-D numerical analyses.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.81-102
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• 1992

Landslides on hillside slopes with shallow soil cover over a sloping bedrock are frequently caused by increases in porewater pressures following of heavy rainfall and it is one of the most important factors of assessing the risk of landslide to predict the groundwater level fluctuations in hillslopes. This paper presents the comparative study of three unsaturated flow models developed by Sloan et al., Reddi, L.N., and Thomas, H.A., Jr., respectively, which are used to predict the increase of groundwater levels in hillside slopes. The parametric study for each of models is also presented. The Kinematic Storage Model(KSM) developed by Sloan et at. is utilized to predict the saturated groundwater flow. They are applied to the two sites in Korea so as to examine the possibility of use in the groundwater flow model. The results show that two unsaturated models developed by Sloan et al. and Reddi, L. N. are largely affected by the uncertain parameters like saturated permeability and saturated water content : the abed model has the potential of use in unsaturated flow model with the optimal estimates of model parameters utilizing available optimization techniques. And it is also found that the KSM must be modified to account for the time delay effect in the saturated zone. The results of this paper are able to be utilized in developing the predictive model of groan dwater level fluctuations in a hillslope.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 1999

A new numerical method using solution-adaptive grids (SAG) is developed to solve the Richards' equation (RE) for unsaturated flow in porous media. Using a grid generation technique, the SAG method automatically redistributes a fixed number of grid points during the flow process, so that more grid points are clustered in regions of large solution gradients. The method uses the coordinate transformation technique to employ a new transformed RE, which is solved with the standard finite difference method. The movement of grid points is incorporated into the transformed RE, and therefore all computation is performed on fixed grid points of the transformed domain without using any interpolation techniques. Thus, numerical difficulties arising from the movement of the wetting front during the infiltration process have been substantially overcome by the new method. Numerical experiments for an one-dimensional infiltration problem are presented to compare the SAG method to the modified Picard method using a fixed grid. Results show that accuracy of a SAG solution using 41 nodes is comparable with the solution of the fixed grid method using 201 nodes, while it requires only 50% of the CPU time. The global mass balance and the convergence of SAG solutions are strongly affected by the time step size (Δt) and the weighting parameter (${\gamma}$) used for generating solution-adaptive grids. Thus, the method requires automated readjustment of Δt and ${\gamma}$ to yield mass-conservative and convergent solutions, although it may increase computational costs. The method can be effective especially for simulating unsaturated flow and other transport problems involving the propagation of a sharp-front.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.143-148
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• 2018

In this study the performance and humidity variation for 2 unit cells connected in series were experimentally measured. The relative flow direction of hydrogen and air was changed from parallel flow to counter flow. Internal humidity distribution was then measured by 5 embedded sensors on each channel. In all experimental conditions, the former unit cell showed a better performance and the gap is noted to be higher when counter flow is applied. The performance was noted to be higher at high humidification case in the parallel flow. However, in the counter flow, the difference of performance according to the humidification is negligible. Hydrogen and air are discharged from the PEMFC unsaturated with water vapor at parallel flow/low humidification condition, which explains lower performance of the PEMFC than other conditions. The humidities in hydrogen and air streams of counter flow were noted to increase rapidly even at low humidification condition and the consequential even hydration of membrane is the reason of higher performance.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.245-256
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• 1995

SMC(Sheet Molding Compound), a thermoset composite material which consists of unsaturated polyester resin, fiberglass strands, fillers, and various chemical additives for curing agent, has been widely used in fabrication of structural components. The mechanical properties of molded SMS parts are strongly dependent on material flow results during compression molding process, while such flow in molds is affected by material characteristics. For numerical simulation of SMC molding process, estimation of material property of SMC must be accomplished. In this study, flow resistance of SMC was estimated through a simple compression test using a lubricant with grease oil under the constant strain rate condition at various temperatures and the result was compared with other material data available in the literature. The accuracy of the experimentally determined flow resistance was tested by finite element analyses of compression molding of SMC. Simulation results were compared with experimental results under the plane strain condition.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.79-87
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• 1996

SMC(Sheet Molding Compound) is made of unsaturated polyester resin and other additives reinforced with randomly distributed chopped fiberglass strands. Because of its higher stiffness per unit mass, SMC was used as a substitute for steel for automotive steel outer panels. Thus, understanding of flow characteristics during fabrication of SMC is of importance since the formation of weld line depends on material flow. In the present study, SMC compression molding simulations in the flat and T-shape molds were accomplished. During simulations, the preferential the preferential flow occurred at the low mold closing speed while plug flow was observed for the higher mold closing speed. When the preferential flow was observed, the weld line was seen at the final stage. For simulations, rigid-viscoplastic finite element method was applied. Self-contact algorithm was also applied in order to predict the formation of the weld line. Simulation results were compared to the experimental results available in the literature.