• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.103-111
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• 2017

Saudi Arabia coastal area is highly valuable construction as a flat area covered by sabkha deposit. However, sabkha deposit has some geotechnical problems because of high groundwater level, high salt contents in groundwater, loose density, and possibility of collapsible settlement due to presence of crystals vulnerable to moisture, and ground improvement is needed to improve the bearing capacity. In this study, the characteristics of the sabkha soils in the coastal area of Saudi Arabia were analyzed and the applicability of dynamic compaction method was evaluated. Parametric study was conducted to analyze the behavior of sabkha deposit during dynamic compaction. The appropriateness of the proposed analytical solutions to estimate the depth of improvement was evaluated, and the troubles and notes in applying dynamic compaction in sabkha deposit were discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.49-60
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• 2013

The plan for major design-build projects of railway link among countries in gulf area (GCC) and freight rail construction is recently announced, but Korean companies have a hard time tendering due to special geotechnical condition in the Middle East. The major geotechnical risks during railway construction in the Middle East are related to ground improvement of soft Sabkha ground, wind-blown sand mitigation measure, dune sand compaction, and construction of large-scale cut and embankment. In this study, the characteristics of special geotechnical condition and potential geotechnical risks during railway construction in the Middle East are discussed on the basis of field observation, literature review, and field and laboratory test results.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.57-65
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• 2013

Carbonate sands can be crushed under low confining pressure to achieve high compressibility. So particle crushing has significant influence on characteristics of strength and deformation. Trial embankment and hydrotest are conducted on Sabkha layer, consisting of carbonate sand to build tank structure. In this paper the settlement behavior was analyzed from each test. Particle crushing happened from 80 to 170kPa stress under compression test, and calcium was detected from chemical test. The test result came out Sabkha soil was very weak and easy to be crushing. About trial embankment test, particle crushing was not happen, and then extinction of pore water pressure and settlements were finished just during 2 days. On the other hand, the long-term settlement was happened in hydrotest. So the two test results did not correspond to each other. If loading stress is higher than yielding stress, instant settlement and secondary compression settlement are happened as a result of the particle crushing.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.247-256
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• 2013

The carbonate sands of the Sabkha layer in the Middle East have very low shear strength. Therefore, instant settlement and time-dependent secondary settlement occur when inner voids are exposed, as in the case of particle crushing. We analyzed settlement of the Sabkha layer under a large-scale foundation by hydrotesting, and compared the field test results with the results of laboratory tests. With ongoing particle crushing, we observed the following stress-strain behaviors: strain-hardening (Sabkha GL-1.5 m), strain-perfect (Sabkha GL-7.0 m), and strain-softening (Sabkha GL-7.5 m). General shear failure occurred most frequently in dense sand and firm ground. Although the stress-strain behavior of Sabkha layer carbonate sand that of strain-softening, the particle crushing strength was low compared with the strain-hardening and strain-perfect behaviors. The stress-strain behaviors differ between carbonate sand and quartz sand. If the relative density of quartz sand is increased, the shear strength is also increased. Continuous secondary compression settlement occurred during the hydrotests, after the dissipation of porewater pressure. Particle crushing strength is relatively low in the Sabkha layer and its stress-strain behavior is strain-softening or strain-perfect. The particle crushing effect is dominant factor affecting foundation settlement in the Sabkha layer.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.23-38
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• 2014

The composition of carbonate sands from a sabkha at Ruwais in the UAE differs from that of silica sand, and these sands are crushed easily under low compression pressures. Accordingly, particle crushing of carbonate sand occurs under high pressure, which results in additional settlement and reduces the shear strength. In this study, consolidation and triaxial tests were conducted to analyze the characteristics of carbonate sands following particle crushing. The unusual shear strength graphs of the carbonate sands result from the degree of particle pre-crushing. For the range at p' > p in the p (p')-q diagram, negative (-) excess porewater pressures occur if the axial pressure causes particle crushing that induces exposure of the inner voids. In addition, the q value decreased after particle crushing. In conclusion, the unusual characteristics of the carbonate sands were induced by particle crushing. The triaxial tests revealed that the degree of particle pre-crushing influenced the excess porewater pressure.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.5-14
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• 2023

The dry unit weight of the soil can be obtained by measuring the weight of the oven dried soil. According to the Korean Industrial Standards (KS F), oven dried soil at 110±5℃ continuously increases in weight when exposed to air. However, there is no regulation on the weight measurement time of oven dried soil, making it difficult to accurately measure the dry weight. In this study, a method to easily determine the dry weight was presented through the analysis of the weight singularity that appears during weight measurement. The weight singularity represents the smallest value among the measured weights, and is the weight at which the effect of moisture absorption in the air of the sample is minimized. In the course of the experiment, a container was selected using a statistical analysis method, and a photograph of the soil samples were presented using an optical microscope. In addition, the temperature of the weight singularity was measured using a non-contact infrared thermometer. As a result of analyzing the weight singularity of six types of soil, including Jumunjin sand, Naeseong stream sand, Yecheon weathered granite soil, Jeju sand, Sabkha sand, and Ulleung sand, the weight singularity of oven dried sample appeared between 8 and 27 seconds after weight measurement, and the temperature ranged from 103.4 to 108.13℃. The weight decrease rate of the singularity was 0.0066 to 0.0085% depending on the soil samples.