• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.65-76
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• 2014

For soil improvement, sand mats or sand compaction piles are often constructed on soft marine clays. In such cases, some amounts of sand and clay are inevitably mixed. Sand or gravel often exists in the weathered soils near the slope surface. This research investigates the effect of mixing sand content on consistency limits and shear strength of clays. Firstly, sand was mixed with kaolinite or bentonite at 0, 9, 17, 23, 29, 33, 50% and then liquid and plastic limits were measured. Both plastic and liquid limits decreased as a sand content increased. The water content of clay-sand mixtures with different sand content increased by 10% or 20% step by step and then their undrained shear strength was measured using a portable vane shear device called Torvane. For all cases, undrained shear strength of clay-sand mixtures decreased rapidly until reaching a certain value. Their state changed from undrained to drained state gradually as the sand content increased, which caused their undrained shear strength to decrease. On the other hand, a series of direct shear tests were also conducted on such clay-sand mixtures to investigate the effect of sand content on cohesion and angle of internal friction. It was found from clay-sand mixtures that their cohesion decreased but angle of internal friction increased as the sand content increased.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.30 no.8 s.114
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• pp.711-719
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• 2006

A series of geotechnical centrifuge model tests and numerical modelling have been performed to study engineering characteristics of the composite ground reinforced by both the Sand Compaction Piles(SCPs) and the deformation-reducing sheet piles. The research has covered several key issues such as the load-settlement relation, the stress concentration ratio and the final water content of the ground Totally three centrifuge tests have been conducted by changing configuration of the sheet piles, i.e., a test without the sheet pile, a test with the sheet pile at a single side and a test with the sheet piles at the both sides. In the model tests, a vertical load was applied in-flight on the ground surface. On the other hand, class-C type numerical modelling has been performed by using the SAGE-CRISP to compare the centrifuge test results using an elasto-plastic model for SCPs and the Modified Cam Clay model for the soft clay. It has been found that the sheet piles can restraint failure of foundation, thereby increasing yield stress of the ground. The stress concentration ratio was in the range of $2{\sim}4$. In addition, numerical analysis results showed reductions both in the ground heave($20{\sim}30%$) and in the horizontal movement($28{\sim}43%$), demonstrating the deformation-reducing effect of the sheet piles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09a
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• pp.336-345
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• 2010

GS E&C was awarded the contract for the construction of Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway Package EX-7 from Station Km 72+000 to Station Km 81+300 in December 2008. This project is the $7^{th}$ contract package of the 105.5 km long expressway near Hai Phong city, which includes a FCM-styled bridge along with high embankments over soft ground. For these high embankments, there is a need to treat the soft soil for improving the overall stability during construction and for reducing the post-construction settlement of the expressway. The Designer of this project had adopted four (4) different types of ground improvement techniques to treat the soft ground, including the prefabricated vertical drains (PVD), sand drains (SD), pack drains (PD, or sometimes called packed sand drains), and sand compaction piles (SCP). The main focus of soft soil treatment should be paid attention to the residual settlement after construction. In current design, however, it appeared that the secondary compression (or creep) of the improved soil layer and the consolidation settlement of the lower untreated compressible soil layer have been neglected in the estimation of the post-construction settlement. These uncalculated residual settlements may not only unsatisfy the design criteria but also raise serious problems during service period of this expressway. In this paper, the subsoil condition and current design were reviewed focusing on the employed soft soil treatment method and expected residual settlement.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.27-37
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• 2016

Although many studies on the Granular Compaction Pile (GCP) have been done by many researchers, the GCP design has not been systematically done due to the absence of the rational design methodology. As the GCP design has been mostly done by engineers' own experiences, some failure cases have been reported to occur. For this reason, it is very difficult to confirm definite causes of the failure and establish the prevention plans for the failure. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the optimal mixing ratio of gravel and sand, the effects of the internal friction angle of the GCP on the stress concentration ratio and the vertical and horizontal settlements. In order to analyze the behavior of the soft ground reinforced with the GCP depending on the different design parameters such as the stress concentration ratio and the internal friction angle, a number of finite element (FE) analyses were performed. From the direct shear test, the optimal mixing ratio of gravel to sand was found to be 70:30. Based on the numerical analyses, as the internal friction angle increased, the stress concentration ratio increased and it converged to a constant value. In addition, the larger the internal friction angle, the smaller the settlements. Consequently, the use of the optimal mixing ratio of gravel and sand can lead to reducing both the lateral flow and the heaving phenomenon.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.4C
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• pp.137-145
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• 2011

The amount of material upheaved owing to the installation of a granular compaction pile (GCP) in the seabed was analyzed by a field execution. The amount of material upheaved was predicted by existing equations, proposed by the Korea Construction New-Technology Association (KCNET; 2003) and Shiomi and Kawamoto (1986), and compared with the amount measured by bathymetry in the field. As a result, the upheaval heights were found to show a clear increase with increasing replacement ratio. The measured amount was larger than the amount predicted by the equations, but the amount predicted from the equation proposed by KCNET (2003) was relatively close to the measured amount. The upheaval heights were found to be more sensitive to the replacement ratio than the installation depth. The increasing trends of the upheaval heights with the installation depth as predicted by the equation of KCNET (2003) were in agreement with the measured trends at a replacement ratio of 25%. As a result of comparing the coefficients of upheaval by the equations, the coefficients of upheaval determined by the equation of KCNET (2003) were larger than those determined by the equation proposed by Shiomi and Kawamoto (1986), which were relatively close to the measured trends. Specifically, the difference between results obtained by both these equations was large when the replacement ratio was relatively low.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.09a
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• pp.133-144
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• 2009

Incheon Bridge, 18.4 km long sea-crossing bridge, will be opened to the traffic in October 2009 and this will be the new landmark of the gearing up north-east Asia as well as the largest & longest bridge of Korea. Incheon Bridge is the integrated set of several special featured bridges including a magnificent cable-stayed girder bridge which has a main span of 800 m width to cross the navigation channel in and out of the Port of Incheon. Incheon Bridge is making an epoch of long-span bridge designs thanks to the fully application of the AASHTO LRFD (load & resistance factor design) to both the superstructures and the substructures. A state-of-the-art of the geotechnologies which were applied to the Incheon Bridge construction project is introduced. The most Large-diameter drilled shafts were penetrated into the bedrock to support the colossal superstructures. The bearing capacity and deformational characteristics of the foundations were verified through the world's largest static pile load test. 8 full-scale pilot piles were tested in both offshore site and onshore area prior to the commencement of constructions. Compressible load beyond 30,000 tonf pressed a single 3 m diameter foundation pile by means of bi-directional loading method including the Osterberg cell techniques. Detailed site investigation to characterize the subsurface properties had been carried out. Geotextile tubes, tied sheet pile walls, and trestles were utilized to overcome the very large tidal difference between ebb and flow at the foreshore site. 44 circular-cell type dolphins surround the piers near the navigation channel to protect the bridge against the collision with aberrant vessels. Each dolphin structure consists of the flat sheet piled wall and infilled aggregates to absorb the collision impact. Geo-centrifugal tests were performed to evaluate the behavior of the dolphin in the seabed and to verify the numerical model for the design. Rip-rap embankments on the seabed are expected to prevent the scouring of the foundation. Prefabricated vertical drains, sand compaction piles, deep cement mixings, horizontal natural-fiber drains, and other subsidiary methods were used to improve the soft ground for the site of abutments, toll plazas, and access roads. Light-weight backfill using EPS blocks helps to reduce the earth pressure behind the abutment on the soft ground. Some kinds of reinforced earth like as MSE using geosynthetics were utilized for the ring wall of the abutment. Soil steel bridges made of corrugated steel plates and engineered backfills were constructed for the open-cut tunnel and the culvert. Diverse experiences of advanced designs and constructions from the Incheon Bridge project have been propagated by relevant engineers and it is strongly expected that significant achievements in geotechnical engineering through this project will contribute to the national development of the longspan bridge technologies remarkably.