• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.51-66
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• 1986

The design of fabric reinforced retaining wall structure was discussed in this article. It was confirmed that the reinforced retaining earth wall which was designed by new theoretical formulae developed this time was stable structurally and economically. The plastic fabric filter which was placed in layers behind the facing element reduced the lateral earth pressure on the wall elements in comparison with a conventional retaining earth walls. The reinforcing characteristics of earth wall was governed by the spacing of fabric layers, effective length of fabrics, particle distribution and compaction, and thus it is essential that, in the construction field, the reinforcing strips should be selected in order to develop the maximum friction forces bet.eon soil and fabric filters. The maximum tensile stress developed from the reinforcing strips was appeared at a little far distance from the back of skin element and it was not well agreed with the Rankine's theory but distributed well as a symmetrical shape against the point of the maximum tensile stress. The total length of the different layers should be sufficient so that the tension in the fabric strip could be transferred to the backfill material. Also the total stability of reinforced earth wall should be checked with respect to a failure surface which extended blond the different lathers.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.763-783
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• 2016

A methodology based on Teaching Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO) algorithm is proposed for optimum design of reinforced concrete retaining walls. The objective function is to minimize total material cost including concrete and steel per unit length of the retaining walls. The requirements of the American Concrete Institute (ACI 318-05-Building code requirements for structural concrete) are considered for reinforced concrete (RC) design. During the optimization process, totally twenty-nine design constraints composed from stability, flexural moment capacity, shear strength capacity and RC design requirements such as minimum and maximum reinforcement ratio, development length of reinforcement are checked. Comparing to other nature-inspired algorithm, TLBO is a simple algorithm without parameters entered by users and self-adjusting ranges without intervention of users. In numerical examples, a retaining wall taken from the documented researches is optimized and the several effects (backfill slope angle, internal friction angle of retaining soil and surcharge load) on the optimum results are also investigated in the study. As a conclusion, TLBO based methods are feasible.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2006.03a
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• pp.96-102
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• 2006

Because of the increasing need to use clayey soil as the backfill in reinforced soil structures and embankment material, nonwoven geotextiles with the drain capability have been receiving much attention. However, there are few studies of the deformation behavior of nonwoven geotextiles at geosynthetics reinforced soil structures in the field because the nonwoven geotextile, which has low tensile stiffness and higher deformability than geogrids and woven geotextiles, is difficult to measure its deformation by strain gauges and to prevent the water from infiltrating. This study proposes a new, more convenient method to measure the deformation behaviour of nonwoven geotextile by using a strain gauge; and examines the availability of the method by conducting laboratory tests and by applying it on two geosynthetics reinforced soil (GRS) walls in the field. A wide-width tensile test conducted under confining pressure of 7kPa showed that the local deformation of nonwoven geotextile measured with strain gauges has a similar pattern to the total deformation measured with LVDT. In the field GRS walls, nonwoven geotextile showed a larger deformation range than the woven geotextile and geogrid; however, the deformation patterns of these three reinforcement materials were similar. The function of strain gauges attached to nonwoven geotextile in the walls works normally for 16 months. Therefore, the method proposed in this study for measuring nonwoven geotextile deformation by using a strain gauge proved useful.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.51-61
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• 2000

This paper reviews fundamentals of a pseudo-static seismic design/analysis method for soil-reinforced segmental retaining walls. A comparative study on NCMA and FHWA seismic design guidelines, which are one of the most well known design guidelines for mechanically stabilized earth walls, was also performed. The results demonstrate that there exist significant discrepancies in the results of external stability analysis despite the same calculation model used in the two guidelines, due primarily to different seismic coefficient selection criteria. It is also demonstrated that the internal stability calculation model for NCMA guideline tends to yield larger seismic reinforcement force in the shallower reinforcement layers, resulting in an increased number of reinforcement layers at the top of reinforced wall and increased reinforcement lengths to ensure adequate anchorage capacity. The internal stability calculation model adopted by FHWA guideline, however, leads to redistribution of dynamic force to the lower reinforcement layers and thus results n an opposite trend of NCMA guideline. Findings from this study clearly demonstrate a need for more in-depth studies to develop a generally acceptable design/analysis method.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.965-988
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• 2016

This paper investigates the seismic behavior of reinforced concrete shear wall buildings with multiple underground stories. A base-case where the buildings are modeled with a fixed condition at ground level is adopted, and then the number of basements is incrementally increased to evaluate changes in performance. Two subsurface site conditions, corresponding to very dense sands and medium dense sands, are used for the analysis. In addition, three ground shaking levels are used in the study. Results of the study indicated that while the common design practice of cropping the structure at the ground surface leads to conservative estimation of the base shear for taller and less rigid structures; it results in unpredicted and nonconservative trends for shorter and stiffer structures.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.79-100
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• 1995

This paper proposes a stabilizing method against landslide using slide suppressor wall reinforced with soil nails. Included are a procedure to predict earth pressures acting on the concrete panel and a method of analysis of stabilizing pile. Based on the proposed procedure, the efficient installation type and inclusion angle of nails are analyzed. Also, optimum location of the slide suppressor wall composed of concrete panel and stabilizing pile is analyzed. Finally the comparison with a method proposed by Wright is made, and the effect of interactions between stabilizing piles is examined, throughout the design example.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.85-97
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• 2005

Despite a number of advantages of reinforced earth walls over conventional concrete retaining walls, there exist concerns over long-term residual deformation when subjected to repeated and/or cyclic loads, especially when used as part of permanent structures. In view of these concerns, in this paper time-dependent deformation characteristics of geosynthetic reinforced soil under sustained and/or repeated loads were investigated using a series of plane strain compression tests on geogrid reinforced weathered granite soil specimens. The results indicate that sustained or repeated loads can yield appreciable magnitudes of residual deformations, and that the residual deformations are influenced not only by the loading characteristics but by the mechanical properties of geogrid. It is also found that the preloading technique can be effectively used in controlling residual deformations of reinforced soils subjected to sustained and/or repeated loads.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.301-313
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• 2001

Reinforced earth is a composite construction material in which the strength of engineering fill is enhanced by the addition of strong tensile reinforcement in variable types. The basic mechanism of reinforced earth involves the generation of frictional forces and bearing resistances between the soil and the reinforcement. The primitive structure of reinforced earth in Korean peninsula were found as the earth wall built around the old fort In about 3rd century Modern reinforced earth was introduced to Korea early 1980, and spreaded tremendously through the nation. Among them, not a few reinforced earth walls which were built ignored over all stabilities have been collapsed. In this paper basic concepts, economic benefits, design considerations and future applicable trends of reinforced earth are reviewed in simple manners.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.21-29
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• 2005

This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation on the behavior of a geosynthetic reinforced two-tier segmental retaining wall (GR-SRW) on a yielding foundation. A hypothetical 10 m high two tier GR-SRW to be constructed on an incompetent foundation containing a layer of relative soft soil deposit was considered. A verified finite-element procedure was employed to get insights into the effect of foundation yielding on the wall behavior including the wall deformation and the reinforcement load. It is shown that the effect of foundation yielding is to increase the wall deformation as well as the reinforcement load, thus influencing both the internal as well as the external stability of the wall. Practical implications of the findings obtained from this study are highlighted in this paper.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.104-110
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• 2012

It is a common practice to design basement walls acting as a one-way slab or plate with idealized boundary conditions, resulting in potentially inefficient design. The walls are often supported by buttress columns and side walls in the vertical direction, thereby acting as a two-way slab. In this study, structural behavior of single-story, three-span basement wall subjected to lateral soil pressure was investigated. Three dimensional finite element analyses were conducted to determine the force distribution on the wall. Based on the numerical studies, a regression analysis was carried out to determine the design values of moments in vertical and horizontal directions as well as shear forces on the wall and design charts are developed. The proposed design method with accompanying design charts would enable practicing engineers to estimate member forces on the wall for preliminary design purpose without resorting to finite element analysis. Numerical examples demonstrated the applicability of the proposed method.