• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.491-503
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• 2021

Shallow tunnels are vulnerable to earthquakes, and shallow ground is usually inhomogeneous. Based on the limit equilibrium method and variational principle, a solution for the seismic collapse mechanism of shallow tunnel in inhomogeneous ground is presented. And the finite difference method is employed to compare with the analytical solution. It shows that the analytical results are conservative when the horizontal and vertical stresses equal the static earth pressure and zero at vault section, respectively. The safety factor of shallow tunnel changes greatly during an earthquake. Hence, the cyclic loading characteristics should be considered to evaluate tunnel stability. And the curve sliding surface agrees with the numerical simulation and previous studies. To save time and ensure accuracy, the curve sliding surface with 2 undetermined constants is a good choice to analyze shallow tunnel stability. Parameter analysis demonstrates that the horizontal semiaxis, acceleration, ground cohesion and homogeneity affect tunnel stability greatly, and the horizontal semiaxis, vertical semiaxis, tunnel depth and ground homogeneity have obvious influence on tunnel sliding surface. It concludes that the most applicable approaches to enhance tunnel stability are reducing the horizontal semiaxis, strengthening cohesion and setting the tunnel into good ground.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.207-217
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• 2020

Slope reliability analysis and risk assessment for spatially variable soils under rainfall infiltration are important subjects but they have not been well addressed. This lack of study may in part be due to the multiple and diverse evaluation indexes and the low computational efficiency of Monte-Carlo simulations. To remedy this, this paper proposes a highly efficient computational method for investigating random field problems for slopes. First, the probability density evolution method (PDEM) is introduced. This method has high computational efficiency and does not need the tens of thousands of numerical simulation samples required by other methods. Second, the influence of rainfall on slope reliability is investigated, where the reliability is calculated from based on the safety factor curves during the rainfall. Finally, the uncertainty of the sliding mass for the slope random field problem is analyzed. Slope failure consequences are considered to be directly correlated with the sliding mass. Calculations showed that the mass that slides is smaller than the potential sliding mass (shallow surface sliding in rainfall). Sliding mass-based risk assessment is both needed and feasible for engineered slope design. The efficient PDEM is recommended for problems requiring lengthy calculations such as random field problems coupled with rainfall infiltration.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.427-445
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• 2015

By means of finite element numerical simulation and pseudo-static method, the shallow-buried bilateral bias twin-tube tunnel subject to horizontal and vertical seismic forces are researched. The research includes rupture angles, the failure mode of the tunnel and the distribution of surrounding rock relaxation pressure. And the analytical solution for surrounding rock relaxation pressure is derived. For such tunnels, their surrounding rock has sliding rupture planes that generally follow a "W" shape. The failure area is determined by the rupture angles. Research shows that for shallow-buried bilateral bias twin-tube tunnel under the action of seismic force, the load effect on the tunnel structure shall be studied based on the relaxation pressure induced by surrounding rock failure. The rupture angles between the left tube and the right tube are independent of the surface slope. For tunnels with surrounding rock of Grade IV, V and VI, which is of poor quality, the recommended reinforcement range for the rupture angles is provided when the seismic fortification intensity is VI, VII, VIII and IX respectively. This study is expected to provide theoretical support regarding the ground reinforcement range for the shallow-buried bilateral bias twin-tube tunnel under seismic force.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2019

Shallow failures occur frequently in both engineered and natural slopes in expansive soils. Rainfall infiltration is the most predominant triggering factor that contributes to slope failures in both expansive soils and clayey soils. However, slope failures in expansive soils have some distinct characteristics in comparison to slopes in conventional clayey soils. They typically undergo shallow failures with gentle sliding retrogression characteristics. The shallow sliding mass near the slope surface is typically in a state of unsaturated condition and will exhibit significant volume changes with increasing water content during rainfall periods. Many other properties or characteristics change such as the shear strength, matric suction including stress distribution change with respect to depth and time. All these parameters have a significant contribution to the expansive soil slopes instability and are difficult to take into consideration in slope stability analysis using traditional slope stability analysis methods based on principles of saturated soil mechanics. In this paper, commercial software VADOSE/W that can account for climatic factors is used to predict variation of matric suction with respect to time for an expansive soil cut slope in China, which is reported in the literature. The variation of factor of safety with respect to time for this slope is computed using SLOPE/W by taking account of shear strength reduction associated with loss of matric suction extending state-of-the art understanding of the mechanics of unsaturated soils.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.173-190
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• 2012

With recent growing interests in the Performance-Based Seismic Design and Assessment Methodology, more realistic modeling of a structural system is deemed essential in analyzing, designing, and evaluating both newly constructed and existing buildings under seismic events. Consequently, a shallow foundation element becomes an essential constituent in the implementation of this seismic design and assessment methodology. In this paper, a contact interface fiber section element is presented for use in modeling soil-shallow foundation systems. The assumption of a rigid footing on a Winkler-based soil rests simply on the Euler-Bernoulli's hypothesis on sectional kinematics. Fiber section discretization is employed to represent the contact interface sectional response. The hyperbolic function provides an adequate means of representing the stress-deformation behavior of each soil fiber. The element is simple but efficient in representing salient features of the soil-shallow foundation system (sliding, settling, and rocking). Two experimental results from centrifuge-scale and full-scale cyclic loading tests on shallow foundations are used to illustrate the model characteristics and verify the accuracy of the model. Based on this comprehensive model validation, it is observed that the model performs quite satisfactorily. It resembles reasonably well the experimental results in terms of moment, shear, settlement, and rotation demands. The hysteretic behavior of moment-rotation responses and the rotation-settlement feature are also captured well by the model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.58 no.6
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• pp.1045-1075
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• 2016

Shallow footings are one of the most common types of foundations used to support mid-rise buildings in high risk seismic zones. Recent findings have revealed that the dynamic interaction between the soil, foundation, and the superstructure can influence the seismic response of the building during earthquakes. Accordingly, the properties of a foundation can alter the dynamic characteristics (natural frequency and damping) of the soil-foundation-structure system. In this paper the influence that shallow foundations have on the seismic response of a mid-rise moment resisting building is investigated. For this purpose, a fifteen storey moment resisting frame sitting on shallow footings with different sizes was simulated numerically using ABAQUS software. By adopting a direct calculation method, the numerical model can perform a fully nonlinear time history dynamic analysis to realistically simulate the dynamic behaviour of soil, foundation, and structure under seismic excitations. This three-dimensional numerical model accounts for the nonlinear behaviour of the soil medium and structural elements. Infinite boundary conditions were assigned to the numerical model to simulate free field boundaries, and appropriate contact elements capable of modelling sliding and separation between the foundation and soil elements are also considered. The influence of foundation size on the natural frequency of the system and structural response spectrum was also studied. The numerical results for cases of soil-foundation-structure systems with different sized foundations and fixed base conditions (excluding soil-foundation-structure interaction) in terms of lateral deformations, inter-storey drifts, rocking, and shear force distribution of the structure were then compared. Due to natural period lengthening, there was a significant reduction in the base shears when the size of the foundation was reduced. It was concluded that the size of a shallow foundation influences the dynamic characteristics and the seismic response of the building due to interaction between the soil, foundation, and structure, and therefore design engineer should carefully consider these parameters in order to ensure a safe and cost effective seismic design.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.260-260
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• 2017

This study aims to compare the performance of TRIGRS (Transient Rainfall Infiltration and Grid-based Regional Slope-stability model) and TiVaSS (Time-variant Slope Stability model) in the prediction of rainfall-induced shallow landslides. TRIGRS employs one-dimensional (1-D) subsurface flow to simulate the infiltration rate, whereas a three-dimensional (3-D) model is utilized in TiVaSS. The former has been widely used in landslide modeling, while the latter was developed only recently. Both programs are used for the spatiotemporal prediction of shallow landslides caused by rainfall. The present study uses the July 2011 landslide event that occurred in Mt. Umyeon, Seoul, Korea, for validation. The performance of the two programs is evaluated by comparison with data of the actual landslides in both location and timing by using a landslide ratio for each factor of safety class ( index), which was developed for addressing point-like landslide locations. In addition, the influence of surface flow on landslide initiation is assessed. The results show that the shallow landslides predicted by the two models have characteristics that are highly consistent with those of the observed sliding sites, although the performance of TiVaSS is slightly better. Overland flow affects the buildup of the pressure head and reduces the slope stability, although this influence was not significant in this case. A slight increase in the predicted unstable area from 19.30% to 19.93% was recorded when the overland flow was considered. It is concluded that both models are suitable for application in the study area. However, although it is a well-established model requiring less input data and shorter run times, TRIGRS produces less accurate results.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.97-106
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• 1998

This study was carried out to investigate the problem of analysis method of circular sliding, which uses a high rate to work out a countermeasure for landslides. The results of this study were summarized as follows : 1. As a result of the analysis of sliding surface along the soil layers in forty model slopes, the boundary layer in weathered soil and weathered rock indicated a very high possibility of sliding than in other places. 2. Because most landslides in Korea occur along the discontinuity face at the boundary of soil layers, below 2m. from land surface, it is a good method for safe design to work the countermeasure for these kinds of landslides in cutting slopes. 3. When the inclination of slopes is fixed and the length of slopes is changed, the cercular sliding slopes were more safe as the soil layers are more shallow and the length of slopes are shorter, but the safety ratio of infinite sliding slopes was same as the other even though their length of slopes was different. 4. As a result of the analysis by cercular sliding analysis method and infinite sliding analysis method with some condition that the inclination of slopes was $30^{\circ}$ degree, because most landslides in Korea occur at this condition, these methods indicated different results to each other as well as cercular sliding analysis method showed too much safety ratio than infinite sliding analysis method.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.47-59
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• 2016

Rocking behavior of shallow foundation reduces the superstructure load during earthquake. However, because of deficiency of understanding of rocking mechanism and soil permanent deformation, it has not been applied to real construction. In this study, slow cyclic tests were conducted for embedded shallow foundations with various slenderness ratio via centrifuge tests. From the variation of earth pressure 'soil rounding surface' phenomenon which makes maximum overturning moment equal to ultimate moment capacity was observed. Rocking and sliding behavior mechanism was evaluated. Also, nonlinear behavior and energy dissipation increase as rotation angle increases. And ultimate moment capacity of embedded foundation is larger than that of surface foundation. Finally, adequate ultimate moment capacity can be suggested for seismic design through this study.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.280-293
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• 2005

In this study, a model to calculate the expected total construction cost has been developed by combining a model to calculate the sliding distance of a caisson of a vertical breakwater and a model to calculate the rehabilitation cost of a caisson. The optimal cross-section of a caisson of a vertical breakwater is defined as the cross-section that requires a minimum expected total construction cost within the allowable limit of caisson sliding. Two allowable limits are considered: 0.1 m of the expected sliding distance during the lifetime of the breakwater and 0.1 of the probability that the cumulative sliding distance during the lifetime of the breakwater is greater than 0.3 m. A discount rate has also been introduced to convert the future rehabilitation cost to the present value. The introduction of the discount rate reduces the expected total construction cost for the caissons designed for shorter return periods due to frequent rehabilitations. The present design method requires a smaller cross-section than the conventional deterministic method in shallow water depths, enabling us to design a caisson more economically. On the other hand, the above-mentioned allowable limits of caisson sliding show similar results for smaller water depths, while, for larger depths, the former requires a larger cross-section than the latter.