• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.119-134
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• 1994

In order to assess the possibility of using steel fibers in the fissured ciays, uniaxial compression tests were performed on both unreinforced and reinforced clay samples containing a pre-existing crack. Test results showed that the steel fiber reinforcement increased resistance to cracks initiation and their propagation, and therefore increased both stress at crack growth initiation and peak stress at failure. The increase in resistance to cracks initiation and their propagation was related to the arresting or deflecting the crack propagation in clay samples by steel fibers. A theoretical interpretation of experimental results was made using fracture mechanics theory and pull-out mechanisms in fiber reinforced materials. It was revealed that the steel fibers had bridging effect through their pull-out action that caused an increased resistance to the propagation of the cracks in the samples. The predicted pull-out force based on theoretical analyses agreed reasonably well with the measured values obtained from pull-out tests.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.351-358
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• 2007

Using the results of the Piezocone Penetration Test(PCPT) which were executed at the Yangsan-Mulgum site, the applicability of the interpretation methods far estimating the OCR(Overconsolidation Ratio) of soft clay was evaluated. At the same time, the results from the laboratory tests using the total of 172 undisturbed soft clay samples taken from the 44 bore holes of the Yangsan-Mulgum site were used to compare the OCR values obtained from the consolidation test with those from the PCPT. The relationship between the predicted overconsolidation ratio($OCR_p$) using the PCPT and the measured overconsolidation ratio($OCR_c$) from the laboratory consolidation tests are investigated and presented in this study. The $OCR_p$ by using the Powell et al.'s method for non-fissured clay from the results of the PCPT shows the best relationship with the $OCR_c$ obtained from the laboratory consolidation test.