• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.383-393
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• 2024

Monopile foundations of offshore wind turbines embedded in soft clay are subjected to the long-term cyclic lateral loads induced by winds, currents, and waves, the vibration of monopile leads to the accumulation of pore pressure and cyclic strains in the soil in its vicinity, which poses a threat to the safety operation of monopile. The researchers mainly focused on the hysteretic stress-strain relationship of soft clay and kinds of stiffness degradation models have been adopted, which may consume considerable computing resources and is not applicable for the long-term bearing performance analysis of monopile. In this study, a modified cyclic stiffness degradation model considering the effect of plastic strain and pore pressure change has been proposed and validated by comparing with the triaxial test results. Subsequently, the effects of cyclic load ratio, pile aspect ratio, number of load cycles, and length to embedded depth ratio on the accumulated rotation angle and pore pressure are presented. The results indicate the number of load cycles can significantly affect the accumulated rotation angle of monopile, whereas the accumulated pore pressure distribution along the pile merely changes with pile diameter, embedded length, and the number of load cycles, the stiffness of monopile can be significantly weakened by decreasing the embedded depth ratio L/H of monopile. The stiffness degradation of soil is more significant in the passive earth pressure zone, in which soil liquefaction is likely to occur. Furthermore, the suitability of the "accumulated rotation angle" and "accumulated pore pressure" design criteria for determining the required cyclic load ratio are discussed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.361-375
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• 2015

An energy pile is one of the novel ground heat exchangers (GHEX's) that is a economical alternative to the conventional closed-loop vertical GHEX. The combined system of both a structural foundation and a GHEX contains a heat exchange pipe inside the pile foundation and allows a working fluid circulating through the pipe, inducing heat exchange with the ground formation. In this paper, a group of energy piles equipped with parallel U-type (5, 8 and 10 pairs) heat exchange pipes was constructed in a test-bed by fabricating in large-diameter cast-in-place concrete piles. In addition, a closed-loop vertical GHEX with 30m depth was constructed nearby to conduct in-situ thermal response tests (TRTs) and to compare with the thermal performance of the cast-in-place energy piles. A series of thermal performance tests was carried out with application of an artificial cooling and heating load to evaluate the heat exchange rate of energy piles. The applicability of cast-in-place energy piles was evaluated by comparing the relative heat exchange efficiency and heat exchange rate with preceding studies. Finally, it is concluded that the cast-in-place energy piles constructed in the test-bed demonstrate effective and stable thermal performance compared with the other types of GHEX.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.1049-1061
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• 2013

In this paper, a relative heat exchange rate is numerically compared for cast-in-place concrete energy piles with different heat exchange pipe configurations, and a new design method for energy piles is proposed. An equivalent heat exchange rate was estimated for the W-type (one series loop), multiple U-type (four parallel loops), and coil-type heat exchanger installed in the same large-diameter drilled shaft. In order to simulate a cooling operation in summer by a CFD analysis, the LWT (leaving water temperature) into a energy pile was fixed at $35^{\circ}C$ and then the EWT (entering water temperature) into a heat pump was monitored. In case of continuously applying the artificial maximum cooling load for 100 hours, all of the three types of heat exchangers show the marginally similar heat exchange rate. However, in case of intermittently applying the cooling load with a cycle of 8 hours operation-16 hours off for 7 consecutive days, the coil type heat exchanger exhibits a heat exchange rate only 86 % of the multiple U-type due to measurable thermal interference between pipe loops in the energy pile. On the other hand, the W-type possesses the similar heat exchange rate to the multiple U-type. The equivalent heat exchange rates for each configuration of heat exchangers obtained from the CFD analysis were adopted for implementing the commercial design program (PILESIM2). Finally, a design method for cast-in-place concrete energy piles is proposed along with a design chart in consideration of typical design factors.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.33-42
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• 2012

The efficiency of the current design methods for computing pile resistances is analyzed using field load-settlement tests results. Twelve load-settlement test data for drilled shafts and bored piles were obtained from the literature. These load-test data were fitted using the t-z method. Subsequently, the ultimate resistances were evaluated based upon the failure criteria from following methods: (1) the Davisson's approach and (2) settlement corresponding to 5% or 10% shaft diameter approach. The ultimate resistances for these drilled shafts and bored piles were also predicted using methods based on the design code from North America (United States, Canada), Europe, and Asia (Japan). The pile resistances determined from field load-settlement tests were compared with those calculated using the design codes. The comparisons show that most design codes predict a conservative resistance for drilled shafts and bored piles. However, in the case of drilled shafts, we find that some of the design codes can over-predict the resistance and, therefore, should be applied cautiously. This research also shows that the t-z method can be successfully used to predict the ultimate resistance and the load transfer mechanism for a single pile.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.3548-3556
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• 2015

In order to fulfill the needs of reliable and economically feasible foundation, engineers should consider not only the working load that can endure extreme conditions but also apprehending precise behavior of continuous dynamic load while designing the foundation of offshore wind power generators. To actualize the foundation, a model pile was made in miniature. Also, calibration chamber was made and a 500mm height of sand-bed was made to perform "static lateral load experiment" and "repetitive loading experiment", total of two Lateral load tests. As a result, in Static Lateral load test, the bigger length/diameter of model pile led an increase in load displacement. However, when performing "Cyclic Lateral load test", the increase in number of under loading led the decrease in horizontal displacement from each repeated lateral load. While performing Static Lateral load test and repeated loading experiment, we could observe the decreasing in the rate of ultimate lateral load capacity increase of the pile. Also, it turned out that the higher relative density of the ground, the lower ultimate lateral load capacity by repeated horizontal loading.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.25-34
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• 2020

Studies on nondestructive evaluation methods using electromagnetic waves have been commonly conducted to evaluate necking defects in bored piles. However, the propagation of electromagnetic waves are affected by water contents of surrounding materials. This study aims to investigate a suitability of electromagnetic waves for evaluating necking defects in bored piles embedded in sandy soils through laboratory experiments. Laboratory experiments are performed with a model pile having a necking defect. The diameter and length of model pile are 600 mm and 1 m, respectively, and the model pile is embedded in sandy soils with different water contents of 10%, 20%, and 30%. For the propagation of electromagnetic waves, a transmission line is configured in reinforcement cage using an electrical wire. The generation and detection of electromagnetic waves are conducted using a time domain reflectometer. Experimental results show that the peak amplitude of electromagnetic waves reflected at the necking defect decreases with an increase in the water content in sandy soils. In addition, the velocity of electromagnetic waves reflected from the toe of the model pile decreases win an increase in the water content. However, estimated locations of the necking defects are almost the same to that of the actual location of the necking defect. This study demonstrates that electromagnetic waves may be an effective method for evaluating necking defects in bored piles embedded in sandy soils

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.35-45
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• 2007

It is known that the response of piles is affected by the shape of pile as well as soil conditions. In order to investigate the characteristics of the axial responses and bearing capacities of non-displacement tapered and cylindrical piles in sands, 12 model pile load tests using a calibration chamber were conducted on model tapered and cylindrical piles, which were specially manufactured to measure the base and shaft load capacities independently. Results of the model tests showed that the shaft load of tapered piles continuously increased with pile settlement, whereas the shaft load of cylindrical piles reached ultimate values at a settlement equal to 4% of pile diameter. Therefore, taper piles have greater shaft loads than cylindrical one at the same settlement. It is also observed that the total load capacity of tapered piles is lower than cylindrical piles for dense sand but is greater than that of cylindrical piles for medium sand. The ultimate unit base resistance of tapered piles was greater than that of cylindrical piles for lateral earth pressure ratio greater than 0.4, and the shaft resistance was greater than that of cylindrical piles irrespective of lateral earth pressure ratio.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.47-60
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• 2023

At present, in South Korea, there is a growing concern regarding solar power facilities installed on slopes because they are prone to damage caused by natural disasters, such as heavy rainfall and typhoons. Each year, these solar power facilities experience soil erosion due to heavy rainfall and foundation damage or detachment caused by strong wind loads. Despite these challenges, the interaction between the ground and structures is not adequately considered. Current analyses primarily focus on the structural stability under external loads; the overall facility site's stability-excluding the solar structures-in relation to its surrounding slopes is neglected. Therefore, in this study, we use finite-difference method analysis to simulate the behavior of the foundation and piles to assess changes in lateral displacement and bending stress in piles, as well as the safety factor of sloped terrains, in response to various influencing factors, such as pile diameter, spacing between piles, pile-embedding depth, wind loads, and dry and wet conditions. The analysis results indicate that pile spacing and wind loads significantly influence lateral displacement and bending stress in piles, whereas pile-embedding depth strongly influences the safety factor of sloped terrains. Moreover, we found that under certain conditions, the design criteria in domestic standards may not be met.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.33-44
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• 2014

The preliminary design of suction pile as the supporting system for concrete floating structures was performed for the pilot project of the southwest coast area in Korea. Prior to starting design work, site conditions of the area including ground and hydraulic conditions, and a 100-year return period external force were throughly evaluated. The suction pile for mooring of the offshore floating structures has to satisfy the lateral resistance against external force as well as the penetration ability according to the soil conditions such as soil types, shear strengths, effective stresses, and seepage forces. In the design, the required penetration depths, which were stable for lateral resistance, were evaluated with the diameters of cylindrical suction pile as the final installing ones. And the design suction pressures at each penetrating depths, at which sand boiling did not occur, were assessed through the comparison of penetration and penetrationresistance forces. As a result, it was impossible for suction piles with the diameter range of 3.0~5.0 m to penetrate into required penetration depths. On the other hand, suction piles with the diameter range of 6.0 m and 7.0 m satisfied both the horizontal stability and the penetration ability by design suction pressures at the required penetration depths of 8.5 m and 8.0 m, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.573-581
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• 2008

In general, conventional sheeting H-pile is often used as a temporary member installed upon construction of outer retaining wall at basement floor. In CBW (composite basement wall), R/C basement wall is combined with H-Pile and resists lateral soil pressure together. This paper presents an experimental results of push out shear test of CBW with stud coupler as shear connectors to combine H-Pile with R/C wall six specimens with different diameter of FT (form tie) and arrangement of shear connectors were tested to evaluate the shear capacity of the composite wall. Test results showed that shear strength increased with diameter of FT. The shear strength of shear connector in CBW could be suitably predicted by using the previous equations codified in the codes. Best correlation, especially, was found when the calculation result by the formula in AISC 360-05 was compared to test one.