• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.765-776
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• 2005

As a result of industrial advancement and land development, a number of highway slopes have been gradually formed and numerous problems related to their stability have been frequently caused. Generally, major factors for rock slope stability are lithology, slope inclination, slope height, degree of weathering, precipitation, condition of groundwater and so onl. Many complex factors are mostly involved in the collapse of rock slopes. In this study, a database for 94 collapsed Jungang highway slopes were set up using GIS program through literature search, site investigation, geological map and Korea tectonic province map. The analyses for the collapsed factor including sort of rock(by origin), tectonic province, highway direction, slope gradient and direction, degree of weathering, slope height were carried.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.809-828
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• 2016

In deep open pit mines, slope stability is very important. Particularly, increasing the depths increase the risks in mines having weak rock mass. Blasting operations in this type of open pits may have a negative impact on slope stability. Several or combination of methods can be used in order to enable better analysis in this type of deep open-pit mines. Numerical modeling is one of these options. Many complex problems can be integrated into numerical methods at the same time and analysis, solutions can be performed on a single model. Rock failure criterions and rock models are used in numerical modeling. Hoek-Brown and Mohr-Coulomb terms are the two most commonly used rock failure conditions. In this study, mine planning and discontinuity conditions of a lignite mine facing two big landslides previously, has been investigated. Moreover, the presence of some damage before starting the study was identified in surrounding structures. The primary research of this study is on slope study. In slope stability analysis, numerical modeling methods with Hoek-Brown and Mohr-Coulomb failure criterions were used separately. Preparing the input data to the numerical model, the outcomes of patented-blast vibration minimization method, developed by co-author was used. The analysis showed that, the model prepared by applying Hoek-Brown failure criterion, failed in the stage of 10. However, the model prepared by using Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion did not fail even in the stage 17. Examining the full research field, there has been ongoing production in this mine without any failure and damage to surface structures.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.181-194
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• 2019

Due to the seepage of groundwater, the resisting force of slopes decreases and the sliding force increases, resulting in significantly reduced slope stability. The instability of most natural slopes is closely related to the influence of groundwater. Therefore, it is important to study slope stability under groundwater seepage conditions. Thus, using a simplified seepage model of groundwater combined with the analysis of stresses on the slip surface, the limit equilibrium (LE) analytical solutions for two- and three-dimensional slope stability under groundwater seepage are deduced in this work. Meanwhile, the general nonlinear Mohr-Coulomb (M-C) strength criterion is adopted to describe the shear failure of a slope. By comparing the results with the traditional LE methods on slope examples, the feasibility of the proposed method is verified. In contrast to traditional LE methods, the proposed method is more suitable for analyzing slope stability under complex conditions. In addition, to facilitate the optimization of drainage design in the slope, stability charts are drawn for slopes with different groundwater tables. Furthermore, the study concluded that: (1) when the hydraulic gradient of groundwater is small, the effect on slope stability is also small for a change in the groundwater table; and (2) compared with a slope without a groundwater table, a slope with a groundwater table has a larger failure range under groundwater seepage.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.571-584
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• 2017

Slope mass rating (SMR) is commonly used for the geomechanical classification of rock masses in an attempt to evaluate the stability of slopes. SMR is calculated from the $RMR_{89-basic}$ (basic rock mass rating) and from the characteristic features of discontinuities, and may be applied to slope stability analysis as well as to slope support recommendations. This study attempts to utilize the SMR classification system for slope stability analysis and to investigate the engineering geological conditions of the slopes and the slope stability analysis of the Gas Flare site in phases 6, 7 and 8 of the South Pars Gas Complex in Assalouyeh, south of Iran. After studying a total of twelve slopes, the results of the SMR classification system indicated that three slope failure modes, namely, wedge, plane and mass failure were possible along the slopes. In addition, the stability analyses conducted by a number of computer programs indicated that three of the slopes were stable, three of the slopes were unstable and the remaining six slopes were categorized as 'needs attention'classes.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.16 no.6 s.65
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• pp.506-525
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• 2006

For the design of large scale rock slope which has complex formations and geological structures, generally, insufficiency of geotechnical investigations and laboratory tests are the main factors of slope failures doling construction. In such case, remedial measures to stabilize slope should be selected and applied through reliable investigations and analysis considering the geotechnical characteristics. The rock slope of this study, one of the largest cut slopes in Korea with a length of 520.0 m and maximum height of 122.0 m consists of metasedimentary rocks. And a case study on the causes of large-scale rock slope failure was carried out by analysis of landslides history and site investigations during construction. When the slope with the original design slope of 0.7: 1.0 (H:V) was partially constructed, the slope failure was occurred due to the factors such as poor conditions of rocks (weathered zone, coaly shale and fault shear zone), various discontinuities (joints, foliations and faults), severe rain storm and so on. The types of failures were rockfall, circular failure, wedge failure and the combination of these types. So, the design of slope was changed three times to ensure long-term slope stability. This paper is intended to be a useful reference for analyzing and estimating the stability of rock slopes whose site conditions are similar to those of this study site such as geological structures and geotechnical properties.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.483-503
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• 2017

Uncertainty is a fact belonging to engineering practice. An important uncertainty that sets geotechnical engineering is the variability associated with the properties of soils or, more precisely, the characterization of soil profiles. The reason is due largely to the complex and varied natural processes associated with the formation of soil. Spatial variability analysis for the study of the stability of natural slopes, complementing conventional analyses, is able to incorporate these uncertainties. In this paper the characterization is performed in back-analysis for a case of landslide occurred to verify afterwards the presence of the conditions of shear strength at failure. This approach may support designers to make more accurate estimates regarding slope failure responding, more consciously, to the legislation dispositions about slope stability evaluation and future design. By applying different kriging techniques used for spatial analysis it has been possible to perform a 3D-slope reconstruction. The predictive analysis and the areal mapping of the soil mechanical characteristics would support the definition of priority interventions in the zones characterized by more critical values as well as slope potential instability. This tool of analysis aims to support decision-making by directing project planning through the efficient allocation of available resources.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.545-554
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• 2007

Landslides is mainly induced by a heavy rainfall, earthquake ground motion, and some other factors like soil mechanics, morphological-geological factors etc. Since the starting point of the failure seemed to be originated at a construction site in the study, it is meaningful to find out the relationship between the landslide and the construction. For this study, the slope failure factor was examined carefully to see that the original natural slope had vulnerability and that the complex ground had unstability changed by construction. A field survey was conducted on the original ground surface and filled-up ground. A laboratory test was also conducted to determine the geomechanical properties of soil samples. 2D and 3D limit equilibrium analysis with changing groundwater level were conducted at the failure depth using a seismic refraction survey. The result shows that the factor of safety is similar stability under all condition, but unstable under saturated condition.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.149-160
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• 2013

Volcanic activity commonly creates a highly complicated volcanic complex due to the admixture of lava flow and sedimentation of volcanic ash. The Song-Gok site is composed of volcanic rocks that collapsed at the lower part of the slope, in combination with several discontinuities in and around a fault. The results of projection analysis indicated the possibility of plane, wedge, and toppling failure in the failure section. The results of discontinuity modeling using the Distinct Element Method (DEM) revealed a total displacement of 207 mm and a joint shear displacement of 114 mm. The yield surface zone was verified at the fault plane of the failure section. In geotechnical terms, volcanic rock slopes are characteristically vulnerable to failure because of differential weathering among the various rock types, the effect of groundwater based on the permeability of the rocks, and the presence of systematic joints generated by the cooling and contraction of lava. When considering the stability of a volcanic rock slope, it is necessary to consider data such as the geological features of the rock, as obtained through detailed geological survey, and variations in discontinuities and rock blocks.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Rock Mechanics Conference
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• 2011.09a
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• pp.89-97
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• 2011

Brittle failure of rock is a classical rock mechanics problem. Rock failure not only involves initiation and propagation of single crack, but also is a complex problem associated with initiation, propagation and coalescence of many cracks. As the most important feature of rock material properties is the heterogeneity, the Weibull statistical distribution is employed in the rock failure process analysis (RFPA) method to describe the heterogeneity in rock properties. In this paper, the applications of the RFPA method in geotechnical engineering and rockburst modeling are introduced with emphasis, which can provide some references for relevant researches.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.35-45
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• 2014

Limit equilibrium methods of slope stability analysis have been widely adopted mainly due to their simplicity and applicability. However, the conventional methods may not give reliable and convincing results for various geological conditions such as nonhomogeneous and anisotropic soils. Also, they do not take into account soil slope history nor the initial state of stress, for example excavation or fill placement. In contrast to the limit equilibrium analysis, the analysis of deformation and stress distribution by finite element method can deal with the complex loading sequence and the growth of inelastic zone with time. This paper proposes a technique to determine the critical slip surface as well as to calculate the factor of safety for shallow failure on partially saturated soil slope. Based on the effective stress field in finite element analysis, all stresses are estimated at each Gaussian point of elements. The search strategy for a noncircular critical slip surface along weak points is appropriate for rainfall-induced shallow slope failure. The change of unit weight by seepage force has an effect on the horizontal and vertical displacements on the soil slope. The Drucker-Prager failure criterion was adopted for stress-strain relation to calculate coupling hydraulic and mechanical behavior of the partially saturated soil slope.