• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.37-48
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• 2017

Soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) has been widely used to estimate the shear strength and coefficient of permeability for unsaturated soils. In general, it is divided into the drying path in which the water is discharged and the wetting path in which the water is permeated, and it has a hysteresis indicating different suctions at the same volumetric water content. In reality the field behavior of unsaturated soils is much closer to the wetting path during the infiltration. The drying path has been practically used for various analyses because obtaining the wetting path takes longer than the drying path. Although many approaches for estimating wetting path have been studied till now, these are complex and do not fit well. Therefore, a simple method for estimating wetting path based on empirical approach in this study is proposed in unsaturated soils, and a feasibility study is conducted as well.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.15-24
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• 2016

To investigate the unsaturated characteristics of the Boeun granite weathered soil, matric suction and volumetric water content were measured in both drying and wetting paths using Automated Soil-Water Characteristics Curve Apparatus. Based on the measured results, Soil-Water Characteristics Curve was estimated by van Genuchten (1980) model. The relationship between effective degree of saturation and matric suction showed the non-linear curve with S-shape and the hysteresis phenomenon occurred during drying and wetting paths. Suction Stress Characteristics Curve was estimated by the Lu and Likos (2006) model. The suction stress in drying path was constantly maintained and that in wetting path tended to increase when the effective degree of saturation was low. But the suction stress in drying path was larger than that in wetting path at the same degree of saturation when the effective degree of saturation became larger. Meanwhile, Hydraulic Conductivity Function was evaluated by the van Genuchten (1980) model which is one of the parameter estimation methods. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity decreased with increasing the matric suction, and the decreasing velocity regarding to the matric suction in drying path was larger than that in wetting path.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.5C
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• pp.191-198
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• 2009

It has been reported in Korea that surface slope failures in weathered soil are mainly caused by downward infiltration due to rainfall. These failures are triggered by the deepening of the wetting band in soils accompanied by a decrease in matric suction induced by the water infiltration. So, a need exists that these trends of wetting path in gneiss weathered soils, which is commonly found in Korea, are assessed by phenomenological approach. In this paper, numerical analyses of unsaturated soil slope under rainfall conditions are presented based on the wetting path soil-water characteristic curve in the laboratory. As the field SWCC matches well with the wetting path of the laboratory SWCC from the literatures, it seems reasonable to adopt the laboratory wetting SWCC as an upper boundary condition in the assessment of unsaturated slope instability.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.25-32
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• 2011

The matric suction and volumetric water content of dredging soils obtained from Saemangeum area were measured by the automated Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) apparatus under both drying and wetting conditions. Based on the test result, SWCCs of the dredging soils were estimated by the van Genuchten(1980) model. The matric suction of drying process is larger than that of wetting process at a same effective degree of saturation. The suction stresses for various matirc suctions were estimated using Lu and Likos(2006) model and the Suction Stress Characteristic Curves (SSCC) were predicted using the independent parameter of SWCC. The suction stress of drying path was increased and decreased, while the suction stress of wetting path was continuously decreased with increasing the effective degree. Also, the suction stress of drying path is larger than that of wetting path at a same effective degree of saturation. The Hydraulic Conductivity Function(HCF) was also predicted by the van Genuchten(1980) model. The hydraulic conductivity was increased with increasing the volumetric water content. The hydraulic conductivity of drying path is larger than that of wetting path at a same matric suction. According to the results of SWCCs and SSCCs, the hysteresis phenomenon of suction stress or matric suction during both drying and wetting paths was occurred. The main reason of hysteresis phenomenon is a ink bottle effect of water among soil particles.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2018

The physical properties and unsaturated characteristics of acid sulfate soils were investigated and analyzed. As the results of measuring physical properties of the acid sulfate soils obtained around the Ilkwang mine area, the dry unit weight is $1.246t/m^3$ and this soil is classified into the silty sand (SM) by USCS. Soil Water Characteristics Curves (SWCC) of the drying and wetting paths were measured by the automated SWCC apparatus. Also, Hydraulic Conductivity Functions (HCF) of the drying and wetting paths were estimated by the van Geunchten (1980) model which is the most well-known parameter estimation method. The hydraulic conductivity of acid sulfate soils in the dry path was continuously decreased with increasing the matric suction. However, the hydraulic conductivity in the wetting path was decreased relatively small with increasing matric suction and decreased suddenly just before water entry value of matric suction. Meanwhile, the hysteresis phenomenon was occurred in SWCCs and HCFs during the drying and wetting paths.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.37-48
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• 2019

In geological $CO_2$ sequestration, the behavior of $CO_2$ within a reservoir can be characterized as two-phase flow in a porous media. For two phase flow, these processes include drainage, when a wetting fluid is displaced by a non-wetting fluid and imbibition, when a non-wetting fluid is displaced by a wetting fluid. In $CO_2$ sequestration, an understanding of drainage and imbibition processes and the resulting NW phase residual trapping are of critical importance to evaluate the impacts and efficiencies of these displacement process. This study aimed to observe migration and residual trapping of immiscible fluids in porous media via cyclic injection of drainage-imbibition. For this purpose, cyclic injection experiments by applying n-hexane and deionized water used as proxy fluid of $scCO_2$ and pore water were conducted in the two dimensional micromodel. The images from experiment were used to estimate the saturation and observed distribution of n-hexane and deionized water over the course drainage-imbibition cycles. Experimental results showed that n-hexane and deionized water are trapped by wettability, capillarity, dead end zone, entrapment and bypassing during $1^{st}$ drainage-imbibition cycle. Also, as cyclic injection proceeds, the flow path is simplified around the main flow path in the micromodel, and the saturation of injection fluid converges to remain constant. Experimental observation results can be used to predict the migration and distribution of $CO_2$ and pore water by reservoir environmental conditions and drainage-imbibition cycles.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.47-58
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• 2014

To investigate the unsaturated characteristics of the tailings obtained from the waste dump at Imgi mine, matric suction and volumetric water content were measured in both drying and wetting processes using Automated Soil-Water Characteristics Curve Apparatus. Based on the measured result, Soil Water Characteristic Curves (SWCC) were estimated by van Genuchten model. According to the unsaturated soil classification method, the tailings of the waste dump correspond to clayey sand. As a result of Suction Stress Characteristic Curve (SSCC) by Lu and Likos model, SSCC has a shape of S which is similar to SWCC. The hysteresis phenomenon occurred in SSCCs, which means the suction stress of drying path is larger than that of wetting path in the same effective degree of saturation. The effective stress of unsaturated soil is equal to that of saturated soil when matric suction is less than Air Entry Value (AEV). However, the effective stress of unsaturated soil is larger than that of saturated soil when matic suction is more than AEV. Meanwhile, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity by van Genuchten model decreased with increasing matric suction, and the hydraulic conductivity of drying path is larger than that of wetting path.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.357-363
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• 2014

The electrolyte wetting phenomena in the electrode of lithium ion battery is studied numerically using a multiphase lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). When a porous electrode is compressed during roll-pressing process, the porosity and thickness of the compressed electrode are changed, which can affect its wettability. In this study, the change in electrolyte distribution and degree of saturation as a result of varying the compression ratio are investigated with two-dimensional LBM approach. We found that changes in the electrolyte transport path are caused by a reduction in through-plane pore size and result in a decrease in the wettability of the compressed electrode.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.41-49
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• 2003

Rainfall-induced landslides in a weathered granite soil slope usually happen on shallow slip surfaces above the groundwater table. The pore-water pressure of soil above the groundwater table is usually negative. This negative pore-water pressure (or matric suction) has been found to make a large contribution to the slope stability. Therefore, the variation of in-situ matric suction profiles with time elapse in a soil slope should be understood. In this study, a field measurement program was carried out from June to August, 2001 in order to monitor in-situ matric suctions and volumetric water contents in a weathered granite soil slope. Finite-element transient seepage analyses are also conducted using SEEP/W. The influence of climatic conditions on the variation of in-situ matric suctions could be found to decrease rapidly with the change of depth. It could be found that decrement of matric suction induced by precipitation is affected not only by the amount and duration of rainfalls but also by the initial matric suction just prior to rainstorms. The soil-water characteristic from the field monitoring tends toward the wetting path of SWCC obtained from the laboratory test.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2019

High-level radioactive waste (HLW) such as spent fuel is inevitably produced when nuclear power plants are operated. A geological repository has been considered as one of the most adequate options for the disposal of HLW, and it will be constructed in host rock at a depth of 500~1,000 meters below ground level with the concept of an engineered barrier system (EBS) and a natural barrier system. The compacted bentonite buffer is one of the most important components of the EBS. As the compacted bentonite buffer is located between disposal canisters with spent fuel and the host rock, it can restrain the release of radionuclides and protect canisters from the inflow of groundwater. Because of inflow of groundwater into the compacted bentonite buffer, it is essential to investigate soil-water characteristic curves (SWCC) of the compacted bentonite buffer in order to evaluate the entire safety performance of the EBS. Therefore, this paper conducted laboratory experiments to analyze the SWCC for a Korean Ca-type compacted bentonite buffer considering dry density, confined or unconfined condition, and drying or wetting path. There was no significant difference of SWCC considering dry density under unconfined condition. Furthermore, it was found that there was higher water suction in unconfined condition that in confined condition, and higher water suction during drying path than during wetting path.