• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2016

An active layer distributed on surface of an extreme cold region causes a frost heave by repeating the freezing and thawing according to the seasonal temperature change. Since the height of frost heave is greatly affected by the thickness of active layer, an accurate evaluation of the thickness of active layer is necessary for the safe design and construction of the infrastructure in the extreme cold region. In this study, dynamic cone penetrometer, which is miniaturized in-situ penetration device, is applied for the evaluation of active layer depth distribution. As the application tests, two dynamic cone penetration tests were conducted on the study sites located in Solomon and Alaska. In addition, ground temperature variations were obtained. As the results of the application tests, the depth of interface between the active layer and the permafrost was evaluated from the difference in dynamic cone penetration indexes of the active layer and the permafrost, and a layer was detected around the interface considered as an ice lens layer. Also, the interface depths between the above zero and the below zero temperature determined from the ground temperature variations correspond with the interface depths evaluated from the dynamic cone penetration tests. This study demonstrates that the dynamic cone penetrometer may be a useful tool for the evaluation of the active layer in the extreme cold region.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.67-80
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• 2014

The thickness of permafrost in Eastern Siberia is from 200 to 500 meters. The seasonally frozen layer can vary from 0 to 4m depending on ground temperature and its location. The shear wave velocity varies from 80m/s in summer to 1500m/s in winter depending on soil type. When melted, large impedence will occur due to the difference between the shear wave velocity of seasonally frozen soil and that of permafrost layer. Large displacement may occur at the boundary of the melted and the frozen layer, and this phenomenon should be considered in a seismic design. In this research, one-dimensional equivalent linear analyses were performed to investigate the effects of the seasonally frozen layer on ground amplification characteristics. Soil profiles of Yakutsk and Chara in Eastern Siberia were selected from geotechnical reports. 20 recorded ground motions were used to evaluate the effect of input motions. As the thickness of seasonally frozen layer and the difference in the shear wave velocity increases, the amplification is shown to increase. Peat, very soft organic soil widely distributed throughout Eastern Siberia, is shown to cause significant ground motion amplification. It is therefore recommended to account for its influence on propagated motion.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.29-34
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• 2024

Frost heave is one of the significant engineering characteristics of frozen ground and causes severe damages on geo-structures. Although thermo-hydro coupled analyses have been developed to predict frost heave behavior, these analyses involve excessive input parameters and have primarily been validated for frost heave in clayey soils. Frost heave mainly occurs in silty soils, which have relatively higher permeability compared to clayey soils, necessitating careful attention. This study introduces empirical models and verifies their reliability for silty soils. By using the validated model, the correlation of key input parameters is derived, which is expected to enhance the applicability of thermal-mechanical analysis for geo-structures on frozen ground in the future.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.19-29
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• 2013

Analysis via classical soil mechanics theory is either ineffective or inappropriate for fully describing stress distribution or failure conditions in cold regions, since mechanical properties of soils in cold regions are different from those reported in the classical soil mechanics theory. Therefore, collecting and analyzing technical data, and systematic and specialized research for cold regions are required for design and construction of the structure in cold regions. Freezing and thawing repeat in active layer of permafrost region, and a loading condition affecting the structure changes. Therefore, the reliable analysis of mechanical properties of frozen soils according to various conditions is prerequisite for design and construction of the structure in cold regions, since mechanical properties of frozen soils are sensitive to temperature condition, water content, grain size, relative density, and loading rate. In this research, the direct shear apparatus which operates at 30 degrees below zero and large-scaled low temperature chamber are used for evaluating shear strength characteristics of frozen soils. Weathered granite soil is used to analyzed the shear strength characteristics with varying freezing temperature condition, vertical confining pressure, relative density, and water content. This research shows that the shear strength of weathered granite soil is sensitively affected by various conditions such as freezing temperature conditions, normal stresses, relative densities, and water contents.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.31-40
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• 2022

Recently, the Arctic resource development project, where undeveloped energy resources (oil, natural gas, etc.) are deposited, is actively being promoted for the perspective of diversifying the construction market and developing future energy resources. However, the frozen ground always has problems such as sinking and frost-heaving due to extreme weather. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the thermal characteristics of the frozen soil to secure the stability of the ground structure. In this study, a series of laboratory tests were performed to evaluated the thermal characteristics of frozen soil samples in the oil sand field in Alberta, Canada. In additon, it was compared with the results of domestic(Gangwond-do) sample performed under the same conditions. As a comparison results of the experiments, it was clarified that the different frozen water content and thermal conductivity characteristics by temperature after completion of freezing could affect the frozen soil behavior.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.71-75
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• 2022

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.15-26
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• 1993

Frost heave on foundation(or ice jacking) is defined that foundation is uplifted by heav- ing force exerted around foundation from freezing of soils. This phenominon is often occurred in the light -weight structure e.g, small building, electro - telegraph pole, street light, pipe line, budge and reference point of survey. Frost heave is the most important factor in design of foundation of structure and the key issue in understanding mechanism of foundation in permafrost area. In this study is reviewed the state of the art on the analysis method of frost heave in USSR and is suggested the design method of benchmark pile. On the basis of above results, this study suggests a design chart able to do esign simply the benchmark pile in Yakutsk region.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.21-27
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• 2024

Frost heave, a significant engineering aspect of frozen ground, leads to various damages in Korea during the winter. Both the United States and Japan, encompassing regions with frozen ground, have actively researched frost heave and possess standardized experimental methods. Particularly, the Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS) has introduced a frost heave standard testing method, offering the advantage of relatively simple specimen preparation and experimental procedures. However, issues persist regarding the ambiguous engineering interpretation of frost heave test results and the lack of clear criteria for frost heave susceptibility assessment. This paper presents laboratory testing results following the JGS testing method on sand and silt mixtures using a triaxial temperature-controllable cell, and thoroughly analyzes the frost heave rate calculation process. Furthermore, it evaluates the applicability of frost heave susceptibility criteria proposed in the United States to frost heave rates based on the JGS testing method.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.27-36
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• 2014

Due to the latitudinal location of Korea, the seasonally frozen ground has been focused on as research topics such as the frost heaving under the asphalt road rather than the permafrost ground. However, the recent construction of the second Korean Antarctic research station, the Jangbogo station and the participation on the development of the natural gas pipeline in Russia arouse the research interests on the behavior of the permafrost ground. At the design process of the geotechnical structures on the permafrost ground, the evaluation of the creep characteristics of the frozen soil is very crucial. Since the domestic specification on the frozen soil testing does not exist currently, it is necessary to evaluate the creep characteristics of frozen soils systematically with regard to the affecting factors. Therefore, the creep characteristics of the frozen specimens of dense Jumoonjin sand were evaluated under various loads at -5 and $-10^{\circ}C$. Based on the test results, as the load became close to the strength and the temperature became lower, the duration of the secondary creep became shorter and more distinct tertiary creep responses were observed.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.45-56
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• 2014

Frozen ground in cold region consists of an upper active layer and lower permafrost which is permanently frozen land. During the summer season, the air temperature is high enough to make the frozen ground melt, which causes the reduction of soil strength and thaw settlement. These phenomena result in structural instability, so it is necessary to apply frozen ground stability techniques. Thermosyphon is a closed natural two-phase convection device to maintain the ground temperature below $0^{\circ}C$ by extracting heat from the ground and discharges it into the atmosphere. Experimental and numerical investigation has been performed to estimate the effect of the refrigerant filling ratio in thermosyphon using R-134a refrigerant and the thermal conductance of the thermosyphon.