• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.15-24
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• 2001

In order to evaluate undrained shear strength of clayey soils using Piezocone Penetration Test (CPTu), piezoncone factor is utilized. Commonly, piezoncone factors determined by empirical basis were preferred, which were established by correlation between measurements of piezocone test and undrained strengths obtained from other shearing tests. However, previous studies on the empirical piezocone factors were site-specific and there have been no systematic investigations on the effect of both engineering characteristics of clayey soils and soil non-homogeneity on the piezocone factor. Accordingly, the direct application of the previous results to Korean clayey soils without verification may be inappropriate. In this study, empirical piezocone factors are evaluated by comparing 46 CPTu results of 10 test sites with undrained shear strength obtained from Field Vane Test (FVT) and laboratory triaxial tests. Their reliabilities are investigated by the comparison with the previous piezocone factors and the deviation of data distribution from the mean values. And the effects of referencing test methods and typical engineering characteristics of clayey soils such as overconsolidation ratio (OCR) and plastic Index (I$_{p}$) are examined. Because piezocone factors obtained for various soil conditions are widely distributed, it is not appropriate to use the mean value as a representative. Instead, it is recommended to apply the piezocone factors with OCR, which is found to be a major factor in deriving piezocone factor. The necessitated piezocone factors are presented.d.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.105-115
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• 2009

In this study, SPT, FV, and CPT tests were performed at five very soft grounds in southern coast of Korea to characterize the $S_u$ of very soft ground. In addition, a new modified SPT that is applicable to very soft ground was developed. Tests results showed that in very soft ground (N<2), the $S_u$ was lower than 12.5 kPa using the empirical N-Su correlation, and lower than 50 kPa and 65 kPa using vane shear test and CPT, respectively. It was shown that the results of in-situ tests were higher than those estimated from the N-Su correlation, and it was also demonstrated that the range of estimated $S_u$ was quite wide. New correlations that relate the modified SPT $N_m$ with Su from FV and CPT were developed, which are $S_u=1.76N_m-10.47$ and $S_u=1.82N_m-9.71$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.73-83
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• 2017

Laboratory and in-situ tests were conducted to evaluate the cone factors for the layers with low plasticity containing a lot of silty and sand soils from the west coast (Incheon, Hwaseong and Gunsan areas) and its applicability was evaluated based on these results. The cone factors were evaluated from 19 to 23 based on unconfined compression strengths (qu), from 13 to 13.8 based on simple CU strengths and from 11.6 to 13.1 based on field vane strengths, respectively. The unconfined compression strengths of undisturbed silty soil samples with low plasticity were considerably underestimated due to the change of in-situ residual effective stress during sampling. Half of unconfined compression strength (qu/2) based cone factors of silty soils with low plasticity fluctuated and were approximately 1.8 times higher than simple CU based values of these soils. When evaluating cone factors of these soils, it should be judged overall on the physical properties such as the grain size distribution and soil plasticity and on the fluctuation of the corrected cone resistance and the sleeve friction due to the distribution of sandseam in the ground including pore pressure parameter.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.387-401
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• 2023

The Earth Pressure Balanced (EPB) Shield Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is widely employed for constructing urban underground spaces due to its minimal vibration and low noise levels. The injection of additives offers several advantages, including maintaining shield chamber pressure, reducing shear strength, minimizing cutter wear, and decreasing the permeability of the excavated soil. This technique is known as soil conditioning and involves the application of additives such as foam, polymer, and bentonite slurry. In this study, weathered granite soil commonly encountered at domestic tunnel sites was used as a soil specimen. Foam and polymer were applied as additives to assess the rheological properties of conditioned soils. The workability was evaluated through slump tests, while the rheological properties were assessed through laboratory pressurized vane shear tests conducted under the same conditions. Specially, the polymer was applied under specific conditions with low workability with high slump values, with the aim of evaluating the impact of polymer application. The test results revealed that with an increase in the Foam Injection Ratio (FIR), the slump value also increased, while the torque, peak strength, yield stress, apparent viscosity, and thixotropic area decreased. Conversely, an increase in the Polymer Injection Ratio (PIR) led to results opposite to those of FIR. Additionally, a correlation between the slump value and yield stress was proposed. When comparing conditions with only foam applied to those with both foam and polymer applied, even with similar slump values, the yield stress was found to be lower in the latter conditions.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.23-36
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• 1992

The flat dilatometer(DMT) has been practically used as an in-situ test equipment. It is a simple, rapid and cost-effective tool to characterize the in-situ stress-strain-strength properties of various types of ground materials. However, the results of flat DMT should be validated with considerable data with respect to the known reference values for a specific site. In this study, the applicability of existing relationships which were established for other local deposits is verified by performing the tests in several clay deposits. To compare with the DMT results, field vane tests and cone penetration tests were also carried out in the same field as reference tests, and unconsolidated undrained tests, oedometer tests, and other fundamental material properties tests were conducted on the thin-walled tube samples in the laboratory. The results of the flat DMT combined with empirical correlations are used to estimate soil types, unit weights, coefficients of lateral earth pressure at rest, overconsolidation ratios, constrained moduli and undrained shear strengths of three clay local deposits. It was found that various geotechnical properties estimated from the flat DMT generally well agree with those from the reference tests.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.23-31
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• 2005

The "Silt Pond" is 180 hectares in size and contained ultra soft slurry-like soil varying between 3 to 20 meters in thickness. Reclamation works in the Silt Pond commenced in the mid of 1990s. A considerable amount of subsurface investigation inclusive of sampling, field vane and density logging tests were carried out prior to the reclamation of the Silt Pond. Since material in the Silt Pond is extremely soft, filling was done by spreading sand with high water content in thin and equal thickness lifts, allowing the stability of the slurry-like foundation. Despite the extreme care taken, failures occurred during the sand spreading phase. A large piece of high strength geotextile measuring $900m{\times}700m$ was placed to strengthen the slurry like soil foundation at locations where the ultra-soft soil was found to be exposed. Following the remedial works, the Silt Pond was again reclaimed by sand spreading up to +4.0m CD. The success of the reclamation was confirmed by marine CPT profiling.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.209-222
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• 2024

The Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) shield Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is widely used for underground tunnel construction for its advantages, such as eliminating the need for additional facilities compared to the slurry shield TBM, which requires Slurry Treatment Plant (STP). During EPB shield TBM excavation, a soil conditioning technique is employed to enhance the physical properties of the excavated soil by injecting additives, thus broadening the range of applicable ground conditions to EPB shield TBMs. This study explored the use of xanthan gum, a type of biopolymer, as an alternative to the commonly used polymer additive. Biopolymers, derived from biological sources, are fully biodegradable. In contrast to traditional polymers such as polyacrylic acid, which contain environmentally harmful components, xanthan gum is gaining attention as an eco-friendly material due to its minimal toxicity and environmental impact. Test conditions with similar workability were established through slump tests, and the rheological characteristics were assessed using a laboratory pressurized vane shear test apparatus. The experiments demonstrated that, despite exhibiting similar workability, the peak strength in the flow curve decreased with increasing the content of xanthan gum. Consequently, a correlation between the xanthan gum content and peak strength was established. Replacing the traditional polymers with xanthan gum could enable stable EPB shield TBM operation by reducing equipment load, in addition to offering environmental benefits.