• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.619-629
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• 2013

The objective of this study is to estimate shear wave velocity of earth dam materials using artificially generated vibration from blasting events and to verify its applicability. In this study, the artificial blasting and vibration monitoring were carried out at the site adjacent to Seongdeok dam, which is the first blasting test for an existing dam in Korea. The vibrations were induced by 4 different types of blasting with various depths of blasting boreholes and explosive charge weights. During the tests, the acceleration time histories were recorded at the bedrock adjacent to the explosion and the crest of the dam. From frequency analyses of acceleration histories measured at the crest, the fundamental frequency of the target dam could be evaluated. Numerical analyses varying shear moduli of earth fill zone were carried out using the acceleration histories measured at the bedrock as input ground motions. From the comparison between the fundamental frequencies calculated by numerical analyses and measured records, the shear wave velocities with depth, which are closely related to shear moduli, could be determined. It is found that the effect of different blasting types on shear wave velocity estimation for the target dam materials is negligible and the shear wave velocity can be consistently evaluated. Furthermore, comparing the shear wave velocity with the previous researchers' empirical relationships, the applicability of suggested method is verified. Therefore, in case that the earthquake record is not available, the shear wave velocity of earth dam materials can be reasonably evaluated if blasting vibration test is allowed at the site adjacent to the dam.