• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.87-97
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• 2022

The excessive settlement and deformation of disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone (DCM) embankments under dynamic loading have long been problems for engineers and technicians. In this work, the characteristics and mechanism of the plastic deformation of DCM under different degrees of compaction, water contents and confining pressures were studied by static triaxial, dynamic triaxial and scanning electron microscopy testing. The research results show that the axial stress increases with increasing confining pressure and degree of compaction and decreases with increasing water content when DCM failure. The axial strain at failure of the DCM decreases with increasing confining pressure and degree of compaction and increases with increasing water content. Under cyclic dynamic stress, the change in the axial stress level of the DCM can be divided into four stages: the stable stage, transition stage, safety reserve stage and unstable stage, respectively. The effects of compaction, water content and confining pressure on the critical axial stress level which means shakedown of the DCM are similar. However, an increase in confining pressure reduces the effects of compaction and water content on the critical axial stress level. The main deformation of DCM is fatigue cracking. Based on the allowable critical axial stress, a method for embankment deformation control was proposed. This method can determine the degree of compaction and fill range of the embankment fill material according to the equilibrium moisture content of the DCM embankment.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.615-627
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• 2024

Direct simple shear test is an effective method to measure strength and deformation properties of soil. However, existing direct simple shear apparatus have some shortcomings. The paper has developed a novel dual stress/strain-controlled direct simple shear apparatus. The novel apparatus has the following advantages: A rectangular specimen is used that effectively avoid common issues associated with conventional cylindrical specimens, such as specimen tilting. The utilization of deformation control rods ensures a uniform shear deformation of the specimen. Vertically integrated force transmission structure is improved that avoids issues arising from changes in pivot points due to lever tilting. Incorporating this novel direct simple shear apparatus, shear strength and shear creep tests of clay were performed. Shear strength parameters and shear creep behaviors are analyzed. The results of these experiments show that the novel apparatus can measure accurately the shear rheological properties of soil. This study provides strong guidance for studying the mechanical properties of soil in engineering practice.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.29-39
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• 2023

As the intensity of urban underground space development increases, more and more tunnels are planned and constructed, and sometimes it is inevitable to encounter situations where tunnels have to underpass the river embankments. Most previous studies involved tunnels passing river embankments perpendicularly or with large intersection angle. In this study, a project case where two EPB shield tunnels with 8.82 m diameter run parallelly underneath a river embankment was reported. The parallel length is 380 m and tunnel were mainly buried in the moderate / slightly weathered clastic rock layer. The field monitoring result was presented and discussed. Three-dimensional back-analysis were then carried out to gain a better understanding the interaction mechanisms between shield tunnel and embankment and further to predict the ultimate settlement of embankment due to twin-tunnel excavation. Parametrical studies considering effect of tunnel face pressure, tail grouting pressure and volume loss were also conducted. The measured embankment settlement after the single tunnel excavation was 4.53 mm ~ 7.43 mm. Neither new crack on the pavement or cavity under the roadbed was observed. It is found that the more degree of weathering of the rock around the tunnel, the greater the embankment settlement and wider the settlement trough. Besides, the latter tunnel excavation might cause larger deformation than the former tunnel excavation if the mobilized plastic zone overlapped. With given geometry and stratigraphic condition in this study, the safety or serviceability of the river embankment would hardly be affected since the ultimate settlement of the embankment after the twin-tunnel excavation is within the allowable limit. Reasonable tunnel face pressure and tail grouting pressure can to some extent suppress the settlement of the embankment. The recommended tunnel face pressure and tail grouting pressure are 300 kPa and 550 kPa in this study, respectively. However, the volume loss plays the crucial role in the tunnel-embankment interaction. Controlling and compensating the tunneling induced volume loss is the most effective measure for river embankment protection. Additionally, reinforcing the embankment with cement mixing pile in advance is an alternative option in case the predicted settlement exceeds allowable limit.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.1027-1044
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• 2017

Membrane penetration is the most important factor influencing the measurement of volume change for triaxial consolidated-drained shear test for coarse-grained soil. The effective pressure p, average particle size $d_{50}$, thickness $t_m$ and elastic modulus $E_m$ of membrane, contact area between membrane and soil $A_m$ as well as the initial void ratio e are the major factors influencing membrane penetration. According to the membrane deformation model given by Kramer and Sivaneswaran, an analytical solution of the membrane penetration considering the initial void ratio is deduced using the energy conservation law. The basic equations from theory of plates and shells and the elastic mechanics are employed during the derivation. To verify the presented solution, isotropic consolidation tests of a coarse-grained soil are performed by using the method of embedding different diameter of iron rods in the triaxial samples, and volume changes due to membrane penetration are obtained. The predictions from presented solution and previous analytical solutions are compared with the test results. It is found that the prediction from presented analytical solution agrees well with the test results.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.260-270
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• 1998

The field tests were performed to suggest the rational method for stability evaluation of soft clay. The behavior of settlement-displacement obtained by field monitoring system was to compare and analyze the results of the observationed method, and to investigate the complex behavior of soft clay with filling height. The results of this study are summarized as follows. 1. The horizontal displacement was suddenly increased when physical properties of soft clay showed maximum values and the part of the turning point. The values of these properties were available to the fundamental data for stability evaluation. The shear deformation appeared that difference of the horizontal displacement was maximum values. 2. Although the stability of embankment by step filling showed the unstable part over the failure standard line, the embankment was confirmed stable. So the evaluation of the stability of embankment is reasonable to use the inclination of curve than failure standard line. 3. The horizontal displacement and relative settlement were increased as same ratio at improvement ground. Estimation of shear deformation using Terzaghi's modified bearing capacity should consider the relations of embankment load and undrained shear strength at nonimprovement ground, and minimum safety factor is recommended to use larger than 1.2. 4. Excess pore water pressure was increased with increasing of filling height and decreased with maintain the filling height. The embankment was unstable when filling height was exceed the evaluation standard line, and the behavior of excess pore water pressure and horizontal displacement could use as a standard of judgement of the filling velocity control because their behavior were agree with each other.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.11
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• pp.43-54
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• 2022

The settlement at the railroad foundation is often the leading cause of track irregularity and potential derailment. The control of such deformation is considered necessary in track maintenance practice. Nevertheless, the monitoring process performed by in situ surveying requires an excessive amount of manpower and cost. The InSAR, a remote sensing technique by RADAR satellite, is used to overcome such a burden. The PS-InSAR technique is preferred for a long-term precise monitoring method. However, this study aims to obtain relatively brief analysis results from only two satellite images using the D-InSAR technique, while a minimum of 25 images are required for PS-InSAR. This study verifies the precision of D-InSAR within a few millimeters by inspecting railroad facilities and land settlements in Korea Railroad Research Institute's test track with images from TerraSAR-X Satellite. Multiple corner reflectors were adopted and installed on an embankment and the building roof to raise the surface reflectivity. Those reflectors were slightly adjusted periodically to verify the detecting performance. The results revealed the optimum distance between corner reflectors. Further, the deformation of railway tracks, slopes, and concrete structures was analyzed successively. In conclusion, this study indicates that the D-InSAR technique effectively monitors the short-term deformation of a broad area such as railway structures.