• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1207-1217
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• 2018

Geomechanics parameters are critical to numerical simulation, stability analysis, design and construction of geotechnical engineering. Due to the limitations of laboratory and in situ experiments, back analysis is widely used in geomechancis and geotechnical engineering. In this study, a hybrid back analysis method, that coupling numerical simulation, response surface (RS) and relevance vector machine (RVM), was proposed and applied to identify geomechanics parameters from hydraulic fracturing. RVM was adapted to approximate complex functional relationships between geomechanics parameters and borehole pressure through coupling with response surface method and numerical method. Artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm was used to search the geomechanics parameters as optimal method in back analysis. The proposed method was verified by a numerical example. Based on the geomechanics parameters identified by hybrid back analysis, the computed borehole pressure agreed closely with the monitored borehole pressure. It showed that RVM presented well the relationship between geomechanics parameters and borehole pressure, and the proposed method can characterized the geomechanics parameters reasonably. Further, the parameters of hybrid back analysis were analyzed and discussed. It showed that the hybrid back analysis is feasible, effective, robust and has a good global searching performance. The proposed method provides a significant way to identify geomechanics parameters from hydraulic fracturing.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.93-106
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• 2022

The total embankment settlement consists of three stages: the initial settlement, the primary consolidation settlement, and the secondary consolidation settlement. The total embankment settlement is largely controlled by the primary consolidation settlement, which is usually computed with numerical models that implement Biot's theory of consolidation. The key parameter that affects the primary consolidation time is the coefficient of permeability. Due to the complex stress and strain states in the foundation soil under the embankment, to be able to predict the consolidation time more precisely, aside from porosity-dependency, the strain-dependency of the coefficient of permeability should be also taken into account in numerical analyses. In this paper, we propose a two-dimensional plane strain numerical model of embankment primary consolidation, which implements Biot's theory of consolidation with both porosity-dependent and strain-dependent coefficient of permeability. We perform several numerical simulations. First, we demonstrate the influence of the strain-dependent coefficient of permeability on the computed results. Next, we validate our numerical model by comparing computed results against in-situ measurements for two road embankments: one near the city of Saga, and the other near the city of Boston. Finally, we give our concluding remarks.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.433-445
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• 2021

Plasma blasting by high voltage arc discharge were performed in laboratory-scale soil samples to investigate the fluid penetration efficiency. A plasma blasting device with a large-capacity capacitor and columnar soil samples with a diameter of 80 cm and a height of 60 cm were prepared. Columnar soil samples consist of seven A-samples mixed with sand and silt by ratio of 7:3 and three B-samples by ratio of 9:1. When fluid was injected into A-sample by pressure without plasma blasting, fluid penetrated into soil only near around the borehole, and penetration area ratio was less than 5%. Fluid was injected by plasma blasting with three different discharge energies of 1 kJ, 4 kJ and 9 kJ. When plasma blasting was performed once in the A-samples, penetration area ratios of the fluid were 16-25%. Penetration area ratios were 30-48% when blastings were executed five times consecutively. The largest penetration area by plasma blasting was 9.6 times larger than that by fluid injection by pressure. This indicates that the higher discharge energy of plasma blasting and the more numbers of blasting are, the larger are fluid penetration areas. When five consecutive plasma blasting were carried out in B-sample, fluid penetration area ratios were 33-59%. Penetration areas into B-samples were 1.1-1.4 times larger than those in A-samples when test conditions were the same, indicating that the higher permeability of soil is, the larger is fluid penetration area. The fluid penetration radius was calculated to figure out fluid penetration volume. When the fluid was injected by pressure, the penetration radius was 9 cm. Whereas, the penetration radius was 27-30 cm when blasting were performed 5 times with energy of 9 kJ. The radius increased up to 333% by plasma blasting. All these results indicate that cleaning agent penetrates further and remediation efficiency of contaminated soil will be improved if plasma blasting technology is applied to in situ cleaning of contaminated soil with low permeability.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.44-63
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• 2000

Situated close to Heathrow Airport, and adjacent to the M4 and M25 Motorways, the site at Axis Park is considered a prime location for business in the UK. In consequnce two of the UK's major property development companies, MEPC and Redrew Homes sought the expertise of Intergeo to remediate the contaminated former industrial site prior to its development. Industrial use of the twenty-six hectare site, started in 1936, when Hawker Aircraft commence aircraft manufacture. In 1963 the Firestone Tyre and Rubber Company purchased part of the site. Ford commenced vehicle production at the site in the mid-1970's and production was continued by Iveco Ford from 1986 to the plant's decommissioning in 1997. Geologically the site is underlain by sand and gravel, deposited in prehistory by the River Thames, with London Clay at around 6m depth. The level of groundwater fluctuates seasonally at around 2.5m depth, moving slowly southwest towards local streams and watercourses. A phased investigation of the site was undertaken, which culminated in the extensive site investigation undertaken by Intergeo in 1998. In total 50 boreholes, 90 probeholes and 60 trial pits were used to investigate the site and around 4000 solid and 1300 liquid samples were tested in the laboratory for chemical substances. The investigations identified total petroleum hydrocarbons in the soil up to 25, 000mg/kg. Diesel oil, with some lubricating oil were the main components. Volatile organic compounds were identified in the groundwater in excess of 10mg/l. Specific substances included trichloromethane, trichloromethane and tetrachloroethene. Both the oil and volatile compounds were widely spread across the site, The specific substances identified could be traced back to industrial processes used at one or other dates in the sites history Slightly elevated levels of toxic metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were also identified locally. Prior to remediation of the site and throughout its progress, extensive liaison with the regulatory authorities and the client's professional representatives was required. In addition to meetings, numerous technical documents detailing methods and health and safety issues were required in order to comply with UK environmental and safety legislation. After initially considering a range of options to undertake remediation, the following three main techniques were selected: ex-situ bioremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soils, skimming of free floating hydrocarbon product from the water surface at wells and excavations and air stripping of volatile organic compounds from groundwater recovered from wells. The achievements were as follows: 1) 350, 000m3 of soil was excavated and 112, 000m3 of sand and gravel was processed to remove gravel and cobble sized particles; 2) 53, 000m3 of hydrocarbon contaminated soil was bioremediated in windrows ; 3) 7000m3 of groundwater was processed by skimming to remove free floating Product; 4) 196, 000m3 of groundwater was Processed by air stripping to remove volatile organic compounds. Only 1000m3 of soil left the site for disposal in licensed waste facilities Given the costs of disposal in the UK, the selected methods represented a considerable cost saving to the Clients. All other soil was engineered back into the ground to a precise geotechnical specification. The following objective levels were achieved across the site 1) By a Risk Based Corrective Action (RBCA) methodology it was demonstrated that soil with less that 1000mg/kg total petroleum hydrocarbons did not pose a hazard to health or water resources and therefore, could remain insitu; 2) Soils destined for the residential areas of the site were remediated to 250mg/kg total petroleum hydrocarbons; in the industrial areas 500mg/kg was proven acceptable. 3) Hydrocarbons in groundwater were remediated to below the Dutch Intervegtion Level of 0.6mg/1; 4) Volatile organic compounds/BTEX group substances were reduced to below the Dutch Intervention Levels; 5) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals were below Inter-departmental Committee for the Redevelopment of Contaminated Land guideline levels for intended enduse. In order to verify the qualify of the work 1500 chemical test results were submitted for the purpose of validation. Quality assurance checks were undertaken by independent consultants and at an independent laboratory selected by Intergeo. Long term monitoring of water quality was undertaken for a period of one year after remediation work had been completed. Both the regulatory authorities and Clients representatives endorsed the quality of remediation now completed at the site. Subsequent to completion of the remediation work Redrew Homes constructed a prestige housing development. The properties at "Belvedere Place" retailed at premium prices. On the MEPC site the Post Office, amongst others, has located a major sorting office for the London area. Exceptionally high standards of remediation, control and documentation were a requirement for the work undertaken here.aken here.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.513-521
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• 2009

The primary goal of this research was to develop an optimized analytical procedure for soil analysis based on ion-selective microelectrodes for agricultural purposes, which can perform on-site measurement of various ions in soil easily and rapidly. For the simple and rapid on-site diagnosis, an analysis of soil chemicals was performed employing a multicomponent-in-situ-extractant and an evaluation of ionselective microelectrodes were conducted through the regressive correlation method with a standard analytical approach widely employed in this area. Examination of sensor responses between various soil nutrient extractants revealed that 0.01M HCl and 1M LiCl provided the most ideal Nernstian response. However, 1M LiCl deteriorated the selective response for analytes due to high concentration (1M) of lithium cation. Thus, employing either 0.1M HCl as an extractant followed by 10 times dilution, or 0.01M HCl as an extractant without further dilution was chosen as the optimal extractant composition. A study of regressive correlation between results from ion-selective microelectrodes and those from the standard analytical procedure showed that analyses of $K^+$, $Na^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $NO_3{^-}$ showed the excellent consistency between two methods. However, the response for $NH_4{^+}$ suffered the severe interference from $K^+$. In addition, the selectivity for $Mg^{2+}$ over $Ca^{2+}$ was not sufficient enough since available ionophores developed so far do not provide such a high selectivity for $Mg^{2+}$. Therefore, as an agricultural on-site diagnostic instrument, the device in development requires further research on $NH_4{^+}$ analysis in the soil sample, development of $Mg^{2+}$-selective ionophore, and more detailed study focused on potassium, one of the most important plant nutrients.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2000.03b
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• pp.575-582
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• 2000

The flat Dilatometer test(flat DMT) has been known as an in-situ testing method which is simple and robust to use, and reliable for site stratification and evaluation of soil properties. It was designed and proposed by Marchetti in 1975 to characterize the properties of soils. There are many researches that have been done to evaluate the horizontal coefficient of consolidation from the dissipation test results of flat DMT on normally consolidated and slightly overconsolidated clays. The representative estimation methods of estimating the horizontal consolidation coefficient are DMT-C method which uses a C-reading dissipation curve and DMT-A method which uses a A-reading dissipation curve. This paper represents a comparison analysis of those two methods in obtaining the horizontal coefficients of consolidation. The reference values are also obtained by CPTU and other laboratory tests. The applicability of using flat DMT to characterize the consolidation behavior is also reviewed for two sites. According to the results, DMT-A method is not suitable for silty clays possibly because of the compressibility characteristics. As for the normally consolidated and slightly overconsolidated clays, the results obtained from the two methods are comparable with each other as well as with the laboratory test results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09a
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• pp.1245-1252
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• 2010

Many industrialized countries are confronted with a difficulty about reuse of closed waste landfill. facilities. Especially, the demand of closed waste landfill maintenance and reuse nearby urban area has been increased, because of the shortage of usable land and extend of urban area. For the safe reuse of closed waste landfill, the most important check point is the effect of waste landfill on environment abound them. However, the non-sanitary closed waste landfill generally have no leachate lining system, therefore, the in-situ lining system such as sheet-pile, and vertical slurry wall etc. was needed to prevent the leachate outgoing from the waste landfill. In this paper present the case history of performance evaluation of vertical slurry wall by tracer tests.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.605-612
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• 2008

The shear wave velocity ($V_s$) has been commonly used to evaluate the dynamic properties of soil. The field $V_s$ probe (FVP) was already developed to assess the shear stiffness of a soft clay. The objective of this study is to investigate the disturbance effects of the FVP due to the penetration. The laboratory tests are conducted in a large-scale consolidometer (calibration chamber). The reconstituted clay is mixed at the water content of 110% using a slurry mixer. The FVP and down-hole test are carried out every 1cm interval to compare the data. In addition, two square rods with transducers are also implemented to get the reference value. The shear waves evaluated by the FVP, dow-hole tests, and reference rods are closely matched. This study suggests that the disturbance effect of the FVP due to the penetration into the soft clay soils is small enough and the $V_s$ evaluated by the FVP reflects well the in-situ characteristics. Furthermore, the combination of the FVP and down-hole test shows the possibility of hybrid equipment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.662-669
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• 2006

PEM(Prestressed Earth Method) is a method to minimize lateral movements of the ground generated by progressive excavation and increases shear strength by applying prestresses to the end of earth bolt equipped with a P.C. panel after earth bolt is set up under the in-situ ground. In case of PEM, there are noticeable advantages. First of all, PEM maximizes the utility of the ground because PEM needs less volume of backfill and cutting than other general walls. Second, it's an environmental method possible to garden on the banquette. In this study, the behavioral characteristics of PEM are analyzed and compared with soil nailing system through the measured data of PEM and numerical method using SMAP-2D program and also an increased stability of PEM is evaluated by increasing prestress of earth bolts through the numerical analysis using Slide (ver. 4.0) program.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.705-712
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• 2005

Among soft ground treatment methods with granular soil used in domestic, the sand compaction pile method has been utilized greatly, but, as a result of exhaustion of sand and increase of unit cost, a necessity of an alternative method is suggested. In this study, the static load tests for group crushed-stone compaction piles which were constructed at in-situ site were performed. Pile diameter was 700mm and area of loading plates were changed. The static load tests of single and group piles were performed for area replacement ratio of 20, 30 and 40%. Based on test results, bearing capacity of group crushed-stone compaction pile were estimated. The more both single pile and group pile increase, the more yield bearing capacity tended to increase. Also, the yield bearing capacity of a group pile is about 50% less than the yield bearing capacity of a single pile. If the ground reinforced with the crushed-stone compaction pile is replacement ratio of $20{\sim}40%$, RIYB of both single pile and group pile increases qualitative tendency of linear more than original ground