• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.49-58
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• 2019

The effect of microstructure on the permeability of two saturated marine clays was studied through a series of falling head permeability tests and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests. The key findings from this experimental study include the following results: (1) The permeability of undisturbed specimens is larger than that of reconstituted specimens at the same void ratio due to different soil fabrics, i.e., the pore size distributions (PSDs), even though they have the similar variation law in the permeability versus void ratio. (2) Different permeabilities of undisturbed and reconstituted specimens at the same void ratio are mainly caused by the difference in void ratio of macro-pores based on the MIP test results. (3) A high relevant relation between $C_k$ ($C_k$ is the permeability change index) and $e*_{10}$, can be found by normalizing the measured data both on undisturbed or reconstituted specimens. Hence, the reference void ratio $e*_{10}$, can be used as a reasonable parameter to identify the effect of soil fabric on the permeability of saturated soft clays.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.35-45
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• 2013

The void ratio is an important parameter for reflecting the soil behavior including physical property, compressibility, and relative density. The void ratio can be obtained by laboratory test with extracted soil samples. However, the specimen has a possibility to be easily disturbed due to the stress relief when extracting, vibration during transportation, and error in experimental process. Thus, the theoretical equations have been suggested for obtaing the void ratio based on the elastic wave velocities. The objective of this paper is to verify the accuracy of the proposed analytical solution through the error norm. The paper covers the theoretical methods of Wood, Gassmann and Foti. The elastic wave velocity is determined by the Field Velocity Probe in the southern part of Korean Peninsular. And the rest parameters are assumed based on the reference values. The Gassmann method shows the high reliability on determining the void ratio. The error norm is also analyzed as substitution of every parameter. The results show every equation has various characteristics. Thus, this paper may be widely applied for obtaining the void ratio according to the field condition.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 2023

To study the evaluation standard and control limit of mortar filling layer void length, in this paper, the train sub-model was developed by MATLAB and the track-bridge sub-model considering the mortar filling layer void was established by ANSYS. The two sub-models were assembled into a train-track-bridge coupling dynamic model through the wheel-rail contact relationship, and the validity was corroborated by the coupling dynamic model with the literature model. Considering the randomness of fastening stiffness, mortar elastic modulus, length of mortar filling layer void, and pier settlement, the test points were designed by the Box-Behnken method based on Design-Expert software. The coupled dynamic model was calculated, and the support vector regression (SVR) nonlinear mapping model of the wheel-rail system was established. The learning, prediction, and verification were carried out. Finally, the reliable probability of the amplification coefficient distribution of the response index of the train and structure in different ranges was obtained based on the SVR nonlinear mapping model and Latin hypercube sampling method. The limit of the length of the mortar filling layer void was, thus, obtained. The results show that the SVR nonlinear mapping model developed in this paper has a high fitting accuracy of 0.993, and the computational efficiency is significantly improved by 99.86%. It can be used to calculate the dynamic response of the wheel-rail system. The length of the mortar filling layer void significantly affects the wheel-rail vertical force, wheel weight load reduction ratio, rail vertical displacement, and track plate vertical displacement. The dynamic response of the track structure has a more significant effect on the limit value of the length of the mortar filling layer void than the dynamic response of the vehicle, and the rail vertical displacement is the most obvious. At 250 km/h - 350 km/h train running speed, the limit values of grade I, II, and III of the lengths of the mortar filling layer void are 3.932 m, 4.337 m, and 4.766 m, respectively. The results can provide some reference for the long-term service performance reliability of the ballastless track-bridge system of HRS.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.305-321
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• 2012

This study entails establishing reference standard sand in Nigeria for engineering and geoenvironmental research work. Sands from four geographical locations in southwestern Nigeria were examined for baseline geotechnical and mineralogical properties. A total of sixteen sand samples were collected. The samples were air dried and subjected to tests in accordance with standard specifications. The tests carried out were: specific gravity, grain size analysis, moisture content, bulk density, porosity, void ratio, chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction and Differential Thermal Analysis. The properties of the samples were compared with a standard (Ottawa sand in Illinois of the United States) in order to find out which of the four samples selected from southwestern Nigeria could serve as standard baseline sand. The results show that Igbokoda sand has geotechnical and mineralogical characteristics closest to Ottawa sand. It was therefore concluded that Igbokoda sand could be used as a standard baseline sand for research work in southwestern Nigeria and other parts of Nigeria since it needs little processing to bring it to the same level as standard baseline sand, like the Ottawa sand.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.461-472
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• 2023

A box scale affects the shear behavior of soils in the direct shear test. The purpose of this study is to investigate the scale effect on the shear behavior of dilative granular materials by testing specimens of different heights placed in a type C shear box. Experimental tests were performed on specimens composed of glass beads with different heights and equal initial void ratios. Results showed that the peak friction and dilation angles linearly increased with the specimen height; however, the residual friction angle remained relatively constant. Similarly, the shear stiffness increased with the specimen height, rapidly reaching its peak state. Height does not have a significant effect on the total volume changes; nevertheless, a high aspect ratio can be assumed to result in global and homogeneous failure. The results and interpretations may be used as reference for recommending shear box scale in direct shear tests.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.125-135
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• 2011

To obtain a lower story height with a long span and better fire resistance, a new composite floor system using GFRP (glass-fiber-reinforced plastics) was proposed. This floor system consists of asymmetric steel with a web opening, a hollow core ball, concrete, and GFRP. To evaluate the flexural performance of the new composite floor system, an experiment was conducted. The test parameters were the presence of GFRP, the void ratio in relation to the hollow core balls, and the web opening. The test results showed that the resistance and stiffness of the specimen with GFRP were 10% higher than those of the reference specimen, and that fully composite action was accomplished up to the yielding point. After the attainment of the yield strength, the ductility of the specimen was reduced due to the stress concentration around the web openings. The slip between the concrete and steel beam, however, was small. Thus, in the design of the proposed new floor systems, it is desirable that the calculated resistance be reduced by 15%, for safety.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.61-72
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• 2013

The consolidation tests are conducted to investigate the soil particle crushing stress for understanding the secondary compression characteristics of carbonate sandy sabkha soil caused by particle crushing under a high confining stress. The rate of secondary crushing compression ($C_{{\alpha}{\epsilon}}{^*}$) is introduced instead of the rate of secondary compression to define the characteristic of the particle crushing compression settlement ($S_s{^*}$). Void ratio ($e_p{^*}$) and settlement ($H_p{^*}$) in particle crushing are used as a reference point of secondary behavior, and the ratio of primary compression index ($C_c$) to secondary crushing compression ($C_{{\alpha}{\epsilon}}{^*}$), $C_{{\alpha}{\epsilon}}{^*}/C_c$ value was changed from 0.0105 to 0.0187. When comparing with quartz sands, secondary compression settlement of sabkha is very large due to particle crushing which is not usually observed in quartz sand. It is observed that as the depth of sabkha layer becomes deep, the $S_s{^*}$ and $C_{{\alpha}{\epsilon}}{^*}$ increase under the same stress level.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.117-131
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• 2006

A coupled T-H-M(Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical) analysis was carried out for KENTEX (KAERI Engineering-scale T-H-M Experiment for Engineered Barrier System), which is a facility for validating the coupled T-H-M behavior in the engineered barrier system of the Korean reference HLW(high-level waste) disposal system. The changes of temperature, water saturation, and stress were estimated based on the coupled T-H-M analysis, and the influence of the types of mechanical constitutive material laws was investigated by using elastic model, poroelastic model, and poroelastic-plastic model. The analysis was done using ABAQUS, which is a commercial finite element code for general purposes. From the analysis, it was observed that the temperature in the bentonite increased sharply for a couple of days after heating the heater and then slowly increased to a constant value. The temperatures at all locations were nearly at a steady state after about 37.5 days. In the steady state, the temperature was maintained at $90^{\circ}C$ at the interface between the heater and the bentonite and at about $70^{\circ}C$ at the interface between the bentonite and the confining cylinder. The variation of the water saturation with time in bentonite was almost same independent of the material laws used in the coupled T-H-M processes. By comparing the saturation change of T-H-M and that of H-M(Hydro-Mechanical) processes using elastic and poroelastic material mod31 respectively, it was found that the degree of saturation near the heater from T-H-M calculation was higher than that from the coupled H-M calculation mainly because of the thermal flux, which seemed to speed up the saturation. The stresses in three cases with different material laws were increased with time. By comparing the stress change in H-M calculation using poroelasetic and poroelasetic-plastic model, it was possible to conclude that the influence of saturation on the stress change is higher than the influence of temperature. It is, therefore, recommended to use a material law, which can model the elastic-plastic behavior of buffer, since the coupled T-H-M processes in buffer is affected by the variation of void ratio, thermal expansion, as well as swelling pressure.