• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.27-37
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• 2016

Although many studies on the Granular Compaction Pile (GCP) have been done by many researchers, the GCP design has not been systematically done due to the absence of the rational design methodology. As the GCP design has been mostly done by engineers' own experiences, some failure cases have been reported to occur. For this reason, it is very difficult to confirm definite causes of the failure and establish the prevention plans for the failure. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the optimal mixing ratio of gravel and sand, the effects of the internal friction angle of the GCP on the stress concentration ratio and the vertical and horizontal settlements. In order to analyze the behavior of the soft ground reinforced with the GCP depending on the different design parameters such as the stress concentration ratio and the internal friction angle, a number of finite element (FE) analyses were performed. From the direct shear test, the optimal mixing ratio of gravel to sand was found to be 70:30. Based on the numerical analyses, as the internal friction angle increased, the stress concentration ratio increased and it converged to a constant value. In addition, the larger the internal friction angle, the smaller the settlements. Consequently, the use of the optimal mixing ratio of gravel and sand can lead to reducing both the lateral flow and the heaving phenomenon.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.4C
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• pp.139-147
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• 2012

In this study, various laboratory tests using bottom ash, which has similar engineering properties with sand, were conducted in order to solve the problem of clogging in granular compaction pile and to address sand supply and demand. In particular, testing was performed to help reduce clogging and minimize voids in a crushed stone compaction pile constructed in soft ground. Based on compaction tests and large diameter direct shear tests, an optimum mixing ratio was determined to be 80:20 (crushed stone to bottom ash) because an 80:20 mixing ratio showed the highest shear strength. Test results showed that as the bottom ash content increased above 20%, internal friction angle decreased. Another test method showed freezing and thawing had little effect when the replacement ratio was over 40%. Therefore, bottom ash mixed compaction piles in soft ground are most economical at a 40% replacement ratio.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.643-653
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• 2013

Recently, there are an increasing number of studies on the method of wrapping the outer wall of granular piles with geosynthetic fibers such as geotextile or geogrid that has a certain level of tensile strength as an alternative method for the ground improvement techniques. In this study, triaxial compression tests are performed on the sand and clay specimen encased with various textiles to evaluate the reinforcing effect with regard to the tensile strength of the textile. Furthermore, triaxial compression tests are performed on the clay specimen inserted by sand only and sand encased with geosynthetics to compare behavioral differences between the conventional sand compaction pile and geosynthetic encased sand pile with regard to the replacement ratio, ${\alpha}_s$ and the tensile strength of the geosynthetics. Based on the experimental results, the strength enhancement due to the textile is affected by the longitudinal tensile strength rather than the transverse one of the applied textile. The effect of the confinement by the textile encasement results in the large increase of the cohesions. The overall behaviors, such as shear strength, pore pressure parameter at failure and stress ratio, of the geosynthetic encased sand pile is quite different from those of the conventional sand compaction pile.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.25-37
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• 2022

In this paper, a small-scale model testing system was developed using a series of small-scale model tests to analyze the mechanism of compaction pile formation and evaluate the quality of controlled grading aggregates proposed as an alternative material to the sand compaction pile (SCP) method and granular compaction pile (GCP). These are the most typical ground improvement methods in field practice, particularly for soft grounds. However, the SCP has faced difficulties due to the supply shortage of natural sand and the corresponding price surge of sand. The GCP is limited in marine soft grounds because of the failure occurring at the pile tip caused by excessive expansion of the deeper bulbs, leading to uneven bulb formation. The uniformity of compacted pile bulbs is critical to ensuring the bearing capacity and quality of the compaction pile. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the new material and controlled grading aggregates using small-scale model tests simulating field compaction process to investigate its potential application in comparison with SCP. The compaction piles are examined in four cases according to different materials used for compaction pile and clay strength. The compaction pile materials, which are made of sand and controlled grading aggregates, used in this study were compared to reveal the mechanism of the bulb creation. The experimental data confirm that the bulb formation quality of the traditional sand and the new material, controlled grading aggregates are comparable. The compaction pile made of controlled grading aggregates presents higher bearing capacity than that of marine sand.