• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.39-46
• /
• 2015

Dielectric constant depends on the variation of soil water content, and the estimation of soil water content using time domain reflectometry (TDR) has been studied by many researchers. The purpose of this study is the development and application of TDR penetrometer (TDRP) in order to evaluate the soil water content according to the penetration depth. The TDRP consists of cone, sleeve, driving rod, hammer, and guide. Three electrodes, which are used to measure the dielectric constant of soils, are mounted on the surface of sleeve and, in turn, connected with coaxial cable and time domain reflectometer. To establish the relationship between the volumetric water content and dielectric constant, several laboratory tests by using the TDRP are performed in the specimens with a variety of volumetric water content. The experimental results show that the dielectric constant is strongly correlated to volumetric water content as polynomial equations with an order of 3. In addition, the volumetric water content calculated from the dielectric constant is similar to that obtained from the sample weight. In the field, a small sampler is used to compare the volumetric water content calculated from the dielectric constant with the volumetric water content obtained from the sample. The results of field application demonstrate that the volumetric water content estimated by the TDRP shows similar trend to the gravimetric water content of sample. This study suggests that the TDRP is effectively used to evaluate the volumetric water content of unsaturated soils according to the penetration depth.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2002

Various CPT-based prediction models far profiling stress history of marine clay at the southern part of the Korean peninsula were investigated by using both statistical analysis and case history study. Preconsolidation pressures($\sigma'$p) and overconsolidation ratio(OCR) estimated by empirical correlations and cone penetration tests were compared with those of laboratory odometer test results. Stress history of marine clay determined by odometer test results was in general overconsolidated at below 10m depth from the mudline, whereas marine clay at below l0m depth from the mudline which has an around 0.3 overconsolidation ratio showed variable stresses and unstable states. Preconsolidation pressures were computed by both empirical methods of the Chen and Mayne(1996) and theoretical method of Konrad and Law(1987). It is estimated that Chen and Mayne(1996)'s prediction method based on pore water pressure is more reliable than any other prediction methods, and their method proved to be the most reliable for overconsolidation ratio estimation. However, it is recommended that Mayne & Holtz(1988) and Mayne & Bachus(1988) methods are more suitable than any other methods for predicting the overconsolidation ratio at an underconsolidated (OCR<1) clay. For these reasons, rather than making use of existing prediction models, development of site specific empirical correlations which considers local characteristics and site conditions may be required due to different local stress history and variable soil properties.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.51-60
• /
• 2013

The slime, deposited in the bored pile due to falling soil particle, reduces the bearing capacity of bored pile and thus the stability of construction also decreases. The weight pendulum and iron have been used for estimating the slime thickness based on the subjective judgment and thus the previous method has a limitation of reliability. The objective of this paper is to suggest the method for estimating the slime thickness by using characteristics of electrical resistivity as scientific method. The temperature-compensation resistivity probe (TRP), which has a conical shape and the diameter of 35.7mm, is applied to the measurement of the electrical resistivity in the borehole during penetration. The field tests are carried out for estimating the slime thickness in the application site of bored pile. The slime thickness is calculated through the difference between excavation depth of borehole and measured data. Furthermore, the laboratory tests are also conducted for investigating effects of casing, time elapsing and relative density by using the specimen of slime. The laboratory test supporting the suggested method is reasonable for determining the slime depth. The paper suggests that the electrical resistivity method may be a useful method for detecting slime thickness and the method is expected to be applicable to various sites of bored piles.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.701-718
• /
• 2021

Geological field surveys and a series of laboratory tests were conducted to obtain data related to landslides in Sancheok-myeon, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea where many landslides occurred in the summer of 2020. The magnitudes of various factors' influence on landslide occurrence were evaluated using logistic regression analysis and an artificial neural network. Undisturbed specimens were sampled according to landslide occurrence, and dynamic cone penetration testing measured the depth of the soil layer during geological field surveys. Laboratory tests were performed following the standards of ASTM International. To solve the problem of multicollinearity, the variation inflation factor was calculated for all factors related to landslides, and then nine factors (shear strength, lithology, saturated water content, specific gravity, hydraulic conductivity, USCS, slope angle, and elevation) were determined as influential factors for consideration by machine learning techniques. Minimum-maximum normalization compared factors directly with each other. Logistic regression analysis identified soil depth, slope angle, saturated water content, and shear strength as having the greatest influence (in that order) on the occurrence of landslides. Artificial neural network analysis ranked factors by greatest influence in the order of slope angle, soil depth, saturated water content, and shear strength. Arithmetically averaging the effectiveness of both analyses found slope angle, soil depth, saturated water content, and shear strength as the top four factors. The sum of their effectiveness was ~70%.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.20 no.8
• /
• pp.77-87
• /
• 2004

In this paper a back-propagation neural network model is developed to estimate the preconsolidation pressure of Korean soft soils based on 176 oedometer tests and 63 piezocone test results, which were compiled from 11 sites - western and southern parts of Korea. Only 147 data were used for the training of the neural network and 29 data, which were not used during the training phase, were used for the verification of trained network. Empirical and theoretical models were compared with the developed neural network model. A simple 4-4-9-1 multi-layered neural network has been developed. The cone tip resistance $q_T$ penetration pore pressure $u_2$, total overburden pressure $\sigma_{vo}$ and effective overburden pressure $\sigma'_{vo}$ were selected as input variables. The developed neural network model was validated by comparing the prediction results of the proposed neural network model for the new data which were not used for the training of the model with the measured preconsolidation pressures. It can also predict more precise and reliable preconsolidation pressures than the analytical and empirical model. Furthermore, it can be carefully concluded that neural network model can be used as a generalized model for prediction of preconsolidation pressure throughout Korea since developed model shows good performance for the new data which were not used in both training and testing data.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.32 no.9
• /
• pp.17-27
• /
• 2016

Parial drainage characteristics of clayey silt with low plasticity from the west coast (Incheon and Hwaseong) was analyzed using CPTU based existing correlation equations and compulsory replacement method. Generally, the estimated $OCRs={\kappa}{\cdot}((q_t-{\sigma}_{vo})/{\sigma}^{\prime}_{vo})$ using Powell and Quartman(1988) were higher than those obtained by the oeodometer tests. These trends were noticeable for the layers containing a lot of silty and sand soils. The assessment of partial drainage conditions was performed through Schnaid et al. (2004)'s equation; it is based on plotting the normalized cone resistance, $Q_t$ versus the pore pressure parameter, $B_q$ in combination with the strength incremental ratio, $s_u/{\sigma}^{\prime}_{vo}$ to the CPTU data. It is evident that more than half of the data fall in the range where $B_q$ < 0.3, corresponding to the domain in which the partial drainage prevails when testing normally consolidated soils at a standard rate of penetration (2 cm/s). To estimate the replacement depth of clayey silt with low plasticity, back analysis was carried out to evaluate the internal friction angle based on where the design depths are equal to the checked depths using bearing capacity equation. The internal friction angels obtained from the back analysis tended to increase as the plasticity index decreases, which is ranged approximately from ${\varphi}^{\prime}=2^{\circ}$ to ${\varphi}^{\prime}=7^{\circ}$.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.19-28
• /
• 2019

Grounds of the western coast of the Korean Peninsular are mostly composed of soft and cohesive soils, and it is necessary to carry out soil improvement before construction. The CGS (Compaction Grouting System) method has been commonly applied for the purpose of not only improving soft ground but also serving as the pile foundation of a bridge. In this paper, the CGS method was applied to the Incheon International Airport facility site, which consists of reclaimed landfill and soft clay soil, so as to evaluate the applicability of this soil improvement method to soft clay ground formations. Futhermore, results of construction were intensively studied along with a series of field experiments and theoretical consideration. The cone penetration tests were performed to assess the ground improvement effect of the CGS method. Consequently, the application of CGS method led to an increase in soil strength enough to be used as the pile foundation to support the bridge at the site. In addition, the size of the upper grout-bulb was estimated by adopting the cavity expansion theory and compared with that of actual grout bulb exhumed in the field. Therefore, it is proved that the cavity expansion theory can be utilized to predict and evaluate the improvement of soft ground.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.22 no.12
• /
• pp.67-76
• /
• 2006

The reasonable assessment of the shear stiffness of a dredged soft ground and soft clay is difficult due to the soil disturbance. This study addresses the development and application of a new in-situ shear wave measuring apparatus (field velocity probe: FVP), which overcomes several of the limitations of conventional methods. Design concerns of this new apparatus include the disturbance of soils, cross-talking between transducers, electromagnetic coupling between cables, self acoustic insulation, the constant travel distance of S-wave, the rotation of the transducer, directly transmitted wave through a frame from transducer to transducer, and protection of the transducer and the cable. These concerns are effectively eliminated by continuous improvements through performing field and laboratory tests. The shear wave velocity of the FVP is simply calculated, without any inversion process, by using the travel distance and the first arrival time. The developed FVP Is tested in soil up to 30m in depth. The experimental results show that the FVP can produce every detailed shear wave velocity profiles in sand and clay layers. In addition, the shear wave velocity at the tested site correlates well with the cone tip resistance. This study suggests that the FVP may be an effective technique for measuring the shear wave velocity in the field to assess dynamic soil properties in soft ground.