• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.30-42
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• 2024

This study examined the jack-up spudcan penetration for a new type of offshore wind substructure newly proposed using the jack-up concept to reduce construction costs. The jack-up spudcan for offshore wind turbines should be designed to penetrate a stable soil layer capable of supporting operational loads. This study evaluated multi-layered soil conditions using centrifuge tests: loose sand over clay and loose sand-clay-dense sand. The penetration resistance profiles of spudcan recorded at the centrifuge tests were compared with the ISO and InSafeJIP methods. In the tests, a spudcan punch-through effect slightly emerged under the sand-over-clay condition, and a spudcan squeezing effect occurred in the clay-over-sand layer. On the other hand, these two effects were not critically predicted using the ISO method, and the InSafeJIP result predicted only punch-through failure. Nevertheless, ISO and InSafeJIP methods were well-matched under the conditions of the clay layer beneath the sand and the penetration resistance profiles at the clay layer of centrifuge tests. Therefore, the ISO and InSafeJIP methods well predict the punch-through effect at the clay layer but have limitations for penetration resistance predictions at shallow depths and strong stratum soil below a weak layer.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.97-110
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• 2023

The coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest in loose sand during virgin loading, K₀ , and during unloading, K'₀ , have been determined from laterally confined load-unload tests. The tests included measurement of lateral pressure with null pressure gauges, side wall friction with newly designed friction meters and applied pressure and base pressure with load cells. The importance of accounting for side-wall friction when evaluating the distribution of vertical pressure over the height of the soil specimen was demonstrated. Relatively uniform friction was observed during loading, but this was not the case during unloading unless friction reduction measures were employed. While the measured value of K₀ was found to be close to, if slightly higher than the value commonly estimated on the basis of friction angle, φ', the ratio of K'₀ to K₀ was found to reasonably fit an expression of the form K'₀/K₀ = 1 + C·log(OCR), with C equal to 1 in the present tests.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.361-375
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• 2015

Constructions over soft and loose soils are one of the most frequent problems in many parts of the world. Cement and cement-lime mixture have been widely used for decades to improve the strength of these soils with the deep soil mixing method. In this study, to investigate the freeze-thaw effect of sand improved by polymers (i.e., styrene-acrylic-copolymer-SACP, polyvinyl acetate-PVAc and xanthan gum) and fly ash, unconfined compression tests were performed on specimens which were exposed to freeze-thaw cycles and on specimens which were not exposed to freeze-thaw cycles. The laboratory test results concluded that the unconfined compressive strength increased with the increase of polymer ratio and curing time, whereas, the changes on unconfined compressive strength with increase of freeze-thaw cycles were insignificant. The overall evaluation of results has revealed that polymers containing fly ash is a good promise and potential as a candidate for deep soil mixing application.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.463-470
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• 2016

A vane shear test (VST) is a simple testing method for determining an undrained shear strength of cohesive soils by minimizing soil disturbance. In this study, the VST was used to determine a shear strength of sand. Dry Nakdong River sand was prepared for loose and dense conditions in a cell and then pressurized with 25, 50, 75 or 100 kPa from the surface of sand. A vane (5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height) was rotated and a torque was measured within sand. When a torque moment by vane and friction resistance moment by sand is assumed to be equalized, a friction angle can be obtained. When a vane rotates within clay, a uniform undrained shear strength is assumed to be acting on cylindrical failure surface. On the other hand, when it is applied for sand, the failure shape can be assumed to be an octagonal or square column. The relationship between measured torque and resistant force along assumed failure shapes due to friction of sand was derived and the internal friction angle of sand was determined for loose and dense conditions. For the same soil condition, a series of direct shear test was carried out and compared with VST result. The friction angle from VST was between 24-42 degrees for loose sand and 33-53 degrees for dense sand. This is similar to those of direct shear tests.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.497-503
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• 2020

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the shallower depth of the earth's crust is composed of loose dune or beach sand with soluble salts. The expansive behavior of salt bearing soil, fluctuation of ground water table and extreme environmental conditions offer a variety of geotechnical problems affecting safety and serviceability of the infrastructure built on it. Despite spending money, time and other resources on repair and rehabilitation, no significant attention is paid to explore the root causes of excessive differential settlement and cracking to these facilities. The scientific solution required to ensure safety and serviceability of the constructed infrastructure is to improve the strength and durability properties of the supporting ground. In this study, shredded plastic is employed as a low cost and locally available additive to improve strength characteristics of the desert sand. The study shows a remarkable increase in the shear strength and normal settlement of the soil. A seven (07) degree increase in angle of internal friction is achieved by adding 0.4 percent of the shredded plastic additive. The effect of different proportions and sizes of the plastic strips is also investigated to obtain optimum values. Such a long-lived solution will seek to reduce maintenance and repair costs of the infrastructure facilities laid on problematic soil along with reduction of environmental pollutants.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2018

In this study, the torque and horizontal stress acting on vane were measured and then used to determine a friction angle of sand. A dry Nakdong River sand was prepared for loose and dense conditions in a cell and then pressurized with 25, 50, 75 or 100 kPa from the surface of sand. A vane (5cm in diameter and 10cm in height) was rotated and the torque and horizontal stress were measured at real time. A maximum torque was 3.5-9.5Nm for loose sand and 7.4-17.6Nm for dense sand, respectively. The maximum torque increased as an overburden pressure increased. The maximum torque obtained at 14-20 degrees of vane rotation, which was not influenced by the initial alignment of earth pressure and vane blade. An initial horizontal stress ratio was 0.33-0.35 on the average. The horizontal stress increased initially and then decreased due to particle disturbance. A friction angle was calculated from real time varying horizontal stress and torque, which decreased with increasing overburden pressure. The friction angle of loose sand from vane shear test was similar to that of direct shear test but that of dense sand was overestimated.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.107-117
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• 2004

A series of model tests were conducted to investigate how the number of reinforcement layers, stiffnesses, types of reinforcement material and buried depth of a flexible pipe can affect bearing capacity-settlement curve at a loose sand foundation. In the test results, whereas the type of failure in unreinforced sand was local shear, the type of failure, for model tests with more than 2 reinforcement layers in loose sand, was general shear: The number of the optimum reinforcement layers was found to be two: Stiffness and type of reinforcement were more important than the maximum tensile strength of reinforcement in improving bearing capacity. When the depth of buried pipe from the sand surface was less than the width of the footing, test results showed that both bearing capacity and ultimate bearing capacity of buried pipe in unreinforced sand significantly decreased, and the type of failure in the reinforced sand changed from general shear to local shear.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2024

This study investigates the effects of loading frequency (f) and specimen size on the liquefaction resistance of clean sand. A series of cyclic direct simple shear tests were conducted on Jumunjin sand with varying consolidated relative densities (40% and 80%), f values (0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 Hz), and diameter to height (D/H) ratios (3.63, 3.18, 2.82, and 2.54). The results demonstrated the significant influence of f and D/H ratio on the number of cycles to liquefaction (N_cyc-liq) and the cyclic resistance ratio (CRR₁₅). It was observed that increasing f linearly increased N_cyc-liq. Increasing the specimen height also led to higher N_cyc-liq values irrespective of the f or relative density. Moreover, a positive correlation between CRR₁₅ and f indicated that higher f yielded higher CRR₁₅. This relationship was more pronounced in dense sand than in loose sand. Specimen height also significantly affected CRR₁₅, with increasing the specimen height resulting in higher CRR₁₅ values. Furthermore, the effect of f on CRR₁₅ was less significant compared to the influence of specimen height. The effect of f on the normalized cyclic resistance ratio (NCRR) was relatively negligible for loose sand but more substantial for dense sand depending on the D/H ratio. Data analysis revealed that the NCRR generally decreases as the D/H ratio increases. An interpolation formula was provided to calculate the NCRR based on the D/H ratio regardless of the f and relative density.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.5-17
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• 2018

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck the city of Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea on November 15, 2017. Many sand volcanoes were observed on paddy fields, parks and roads. This phenomenon was the first to be observed as a sign of soil liquefaction in South Korea. In this study, two different kinds of ejected Pohang sands were collected from a liquefied paddy field. Those sands were reconstituted into loose and dense conditions and then a series of cyclic simple shear tests were conducted under confining stresses of 100 and 200 kPa. A real earthquake motion was also repetitively applied to the specimen. As a result of constant shear stress tests, the cyclic resistance ratio (CRR) of loose sand was 0.12-0.14, while the CRR value of dense sand was 0.17-0.21. It was shown that the relative density was more influencing factor on liquefaction resistance than the sand types and initial confining stress. When a real Pohang earthquake motion was repetitively applied to the specimen, a loose sand was liquefied at the second earthquake motion but the dense sand at the third earthquake motion.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.407-426
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• 2008

The bentonite slurry has been used as the stabilize suspension for wet process bored pile construction in Thailand. The bentonite suspension has benefit on filtration in the sand layer, but it creates thick cake film along pile shaft and loose sedimentation at pile toe. The base grouting technique was widely used to rectify the soft base or loose sedimentation problem of bored pile. The base grouting technique was not increased only end bearing capacity, but was also more increase in skin friction capacity of the bored piles. The comprehensive researches on base grouting was carried out by installing PVC casing inside the shaft to allow the drilling through the pile base in order to collect the soil sample below the pile tip. The polymer based slurry recently was used to replace the bentonite slurry to overcome the thick cake film along pile shaft as well as loose sedimentation at pile toe. The extent research on polymer slurry by physical model was performed to verify the real behavior of polymer. The appropriate mixing ratio of polymer was proposed. The design skin friction coefficient, $\beta$ and end bearing coefficient, Nq, for sand layer base on fully instrumented tested pile were proposed. The application on remedial of the lose capacity bored pile with large displacement in Bangladesh was proposed and discussed.