• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.429-443
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• 1995

The deformational response of plastic board drains installed to accelerate consolidation of soft soils, is examined as a problem of downdrag. The drain is modelled as a beam-column in which the axial load increases nonlinearly with depth. The soil response is represented by the Winkler medium whose coefficient of subgrade modulus increases linearly with depth. The governing equations for the drain-soil system are derived and solved as an eigenvalue problem. The critical buckling loads and the shape of the drain are obtained as functions of the normalized subgrade modulus of the soil at the top, the parameters signifying the variation of axial load along the length of the drain and the increase of subgrade modulus with depth. The derived deformed shapes of the drain are consistent with the observed ones.

• KCID journal
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.20-32
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• 1998

In the present study, 2-D consolidation theory of the dredged clay by means of horizontal drain method is proposed. The horizontal drain method to install the drains such as plastic drain board within the dredged clay is a soil improvement method to accel

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.37-45
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• 2008

A pilot test using environmentally friendly drains, was carried out to evaluate their applicability potential in the field. The pilot test site was divided into 5 different areas, with several combinations of vertical and horizontal drains installed for evaluation. Conventional natural fiber drains (FDB), new developed straw drain board (SDB) and plastic drain board (PDB) were used as vertical drains, while sand and fiber mats were used as horizontal drains. Surface settlement rates and excess pore pressure generation/dissipation tendency of PDB and FDB are almost identical except those of SDB. Cone tip resistance obtained from cone penetration test measured at the end of 1st consolidation stage for upper soft layer definitely increased irrespective of types of vertical drains. The monitoring and site investigation test data obtained at the pilot test site prove the vertical natural fiber drains can be used as substitutes of conventional plastic and sand material.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1996.12a
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• pp.89-100
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• 1996

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.17-23
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• 2003

Accurate prediction of consolidation behaviors of the soft ground improved by plastic board drains is not easy because the consolidation characteristics of the improved ground has not been fully elucidated yet. The shape of drains is one of the most important factors which affect the consolidation characteristics of the improved ground. In this paper, a series of model consolidation tests of soft clay ground improved by plastic board drain were carried out, in order to investigate the effect of both plastic board width and stress level on consolidation characteristics of the improved ground. As the results, behaviors of both settlement and excess pore pressure dissipation were elucidated. Also, the non-uniform distribution of water content in the model ground was obtained. Then, in order to investigate the effect of vertical drainage on the consolidation behavior in the model tests, the comparison between experimental consolidation behaviors and Barron's theoretical ones were carried out. As the results, it was elucidated that the consolidation behavior in the model tests was affected not only by radial drainage but also by vertical drainage.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2005

Discharge capacity of the fiber mat and the fiber drain made with natural fibers abstracted from plant source was evaluated by permeability test for fiber mat and Delft type test and composite discharge capacity test using disturbed clayey soils for fiber drain. The permeability test results for environmentally friendly coconut fiber mat prove that fiber mat has outstanding permeability in substituting permeable sand. However, discharge capacity of fiber drain evaluated by conventional Delft type discharge capacity test was relatively lower than that of plastic drain board. Nevertheless, settlement and pore pressure dissipation behaviors of fiber drain and plastic drain board installed clay soil during the composite discharge capacity test were almost similar to that of plastic drain board. It is found that the natural fiber drain satisfies requiring minimum discharge capacity in substituting the conventional plastic drain board.

• Geotechnical Engineering
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.39-54
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• 1997

Laboratory testings were carried out on plastic board drains (PBDs) using large scale test apparatus to evaluate the physical properties and the drainage performance. The test results reveal that the domestic products of PBDs are well compared with the foreign prod acts as far as the quality and drainage performance are concerned. It has also been confirmed that the discharge capacity decreases with time in such a way that the air bubbles are entrapped inside kinky PBDs and these air bubbles block the water flow through PBDs. It has been found that the vacuum pressure iseffectively applicable to recover the discharge capacity affected by the entrapped air bubbles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.133-145
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• 2001

This paper presents quality and measure controls of Plastic Board Drains(PBD) for improvement of soft ground. Laboratory and field tests has been carried out to evaluate the quality of PBD focussing on : discharge capacity of flow area; permeability of filter sleeve; migration of fine particles; deformed shape of PBD; consolidation of clay in the close vicinity of PBD; tensile strength of PBD; long-term consolidation behavior of clay-PBD. Test results show that the quality of PBD is sufficient to perform the improvement of soft silty and clayey ground. But, geotechnical engineer must make efforts minimizings of PBD damage and ground disturbance, continuity of drainage system during construction. Adequate monitoring system should apply at ground focussing on number, location, and accuracy of geotechnical instrumentation, measurement and evaluation of data for ground behaviour.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.45-50
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• 2006

Although the discharge capacity of the natural fiber drains are very low compared to that of plastic drain board (PDB), it is found that the conventional fiber drains and the new developed straw drain boards have great potential for use as a substitute for conventional plastic drain boards through several model tests. To verify their field application, a pilot test using environmentally friendly drains is also being carried out to prove their effective discharge capacity in the field. The pilot test site was divided into 5 different areas, with various combinations of vertical and horizontal drains installed for evaluation. Definite characteristics of various drains are still to be found due to the delay in construction of embankment. Consolidation behavior of three types of vertical drains and two types of horizontal drains will be analyzed after the completion of the embankment in the near future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.293-299
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• 2008

If a conventional type of Plastic Board Drain (PBD) is installed to the deep clay deposit, it is subjected to a high lateral earth pressure. a flow channel of PBD may be reduced by the collapse of cores and clogged by the intrusion of filter into the space between cores which are made by lateral pressure. It could decrease the ability of initial discharge capacity and the reliability of long term discharge capacity. A cylindrical plastic board drain (C-PBD) considered in this study consists of cylindrical core and several supports so that it can prevent the reduction of area of flow channel from the higher lateral earth pressure effectively. The discharge capacity of C-PBD was compared to that of a conventional PBD through performing experiments using the composite discharge capacity apparatus which can consider in-situ condition such as penetration of drains, ground settlement and discharge capacity. As a result, C-PBD showed much better performance than PBD in the ability of discharge. It was observed that the C-PBD was folded whereas the conventional PBD was folded after the experiment.