• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.21-32
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• 2022

Steel pile foundations are widely used for offshore constructions due to their high bearing capacity and efficiency. Typically, offshore structures that have reached the end of their design life are required to be demolished. However, pile foundations are often left on site due to technical and economic limitations. The pile left on the site not only pollutes the environment, but can also cause obstacles for the construction of new structures. Therefore, research is required to completely eliminate these foundations at the site. In this study, a new type of double-wall pile foundation that can drastically reduce the pull-out load was conceptually proposed, and a series of model tests were performed to validate the performance of the double-wall pile foundation. The installation and extraction of the double-wall pile were simulated in dry sand in the model test, and the measured up-lift load was compared to that of the conventional pile. According to the result, the maximum up-lift load induced by the decommissioning of the double-wall pile was reduced by 45% when compared to the traditional pile in dense sand. This study verified the mechanism for reducing the up-lift load of the double-wall foundation and confirmed the possibility of completely decommissioning a pile that has reached the end of its nominal service life.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.343-363
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• 2023

Sulawesi island, as a global producer of nickel resources, is leading the rapid growth of nickel industry of Indonesia. Nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi was formed by lateritization of the world-scale East Sulawesi Ophiolite (ESO) under the active tectonic setting and tropical rainforest climate. In this paper, exploration cases for nickel laterite deposits in five regions of Sulawesi are reported. Regional characteristics on nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi are understood based on various exploration activities such as outcrop, trench and pit survey, petrological observation, geochemical analysis, and interpretation of drilling data, etc.. In the northeastern part of 'Southeast-Arm', which is a strategic location for nickel industry of Indonesia, ESO is extensively exposed to the surface. In the Morombo and Morowali regions, typical high-grade saprolite-type orebodies with a thickness of 10 to 20 m occur. The cases showed that topographic relief tends to regulate Ni-grade distribution and orebody thickness, and that high grade intervals tend to occur in places where joints and garnierite veins are dense. In the Tinanggea and South Palangga regions in the southern part of the Southeast-Arm, overburden composed of Neogene to Quaternary deposits is a major factor affecting the preservation and profitability of nickel laterite deposits. Despite the overburden, high-grade saprolite-type orebodies composed of Ni-bearing serpentine with garnierite veins occur in a thickness of around 10 m to secure economic feasibility. In contrast, in the Ampana region in the northern part of 'East-Arm', low-grade nickel laterite deposits with immature laterite profile was identified, which is thought to be the result of active denudation due to tectonic uplift. Exploration cases in this paper will help to understand characteristics and controlling factors on nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi, Indonesia.