• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.27-38
• /
• 2015

Triaxial tests on sand-silt mixture specimens under low and high confining pressures were performed to understand their shear behaviors. The fines content in the mixture is lower than the threshold value. A series of tests under different conditions including fines contents (0%, 9.8%, 14.7%, 19.6%), density of specimen (controlled by different compaction energies of $E_c=22kJ/m^3$, $E_c=504kJ/m^3$), confining pressure (100 kPa, 1 MPa, 3 MPa, 5 MPa) were performed to investigate influences of these factors. Based on the test results, the threshold fines content, where the dominant structure of mixture changes from sand-matrix to fines-matrix, decreases with the increase of confining pressure. Under very high confining pressures, as a result of sand particle crushing, the behavior of the dense specimen is similar to that of the loose specimen which shows hardening, compression behavior, and shear strength increases with increase of fines content. In conclusion, silt is granular material like sand, and its influence on shear behavior of sand-silt mixture is very different from that of plastic fines on sand-fines mixture.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.297-316
• /
• 2014

This paper presents a detailed study focused on investigating the effects of silt content on the static and dynamic properties of sand-silt mixtures. Specimens with a low-plastic silt content of 0, 15, 30 and 50% by weight were tested in static triaxial, cyclic triaxial, and resonant columns in addition to consolidation tests to determine such parameters as compression index, internal friction angle, cohesion, cyclic stress ratio, maximum shear modulus, normalized shear modulus and damping ratio. The test procedures were performed on specimens of three cases: constant void ratio index, e = 0.582; same peak deviator stress of 290 kPa; and constant relative density, $D_r$ = 30%. The test results obtained for both the constant-void-ratio-index and constant-relative-density specimens showed that as silt content increased, the internal friction angle, cyclic stress ratio and maximum shear modulus decreased, but cohesion increased. In testing of the same deviator stress specimens, both cohesion and internal friction angle were insignificantly altered with the increase in silt content. In addition, as silt content increased, the maximum shear modulus increased. The cyclic stress ratio first decreased as silt content increased to reach the threshold silt content and increased thereafter with further increases in silt content. Furthermore, the damping ratio was investigated based on different silt contents in three types of specimens.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.167-181
• /
• 2022

Soil liquefaction has been one of the most important concerns in geotechnical earthquake engineering in recent years, due to its damages to structures and its destructive effects. The cyclic liquefaction of silty sands, in particular, remains of great interest for both research and application. Although many factors are known that affect the liquefaction resistance of sands, the effect of fine grain content is perhaps one of the most studied and still controversial. In this study, 48 deformation-controlled cyclic simple shear tests were performed on BS and CS silt samples mixed with 5%, 15% and 30% by weight of Krk085, Krk042 and Krk025 sands in constant-volume conditions to determine the liquefaction potential of silty sands. The tests were carried out at 30% and 50% relative density and under 100 kPa effective stress. The results revealed that the liquefaction potential of silty sand increases with increasing average particle size ratio (D_50sand / d_50silt) of the mixture for a fixed silt content. Furthermore, for identical base sand, the liquefaction potentials of coarse grained sands increase with increasing silt content, while the respective potentials of fine grained sands generally decrease. However, this situation may vary depending on the silt grain structure and is affected by the nature of the fine grains. In addition, the variation of the void ratio interval was shown to provide a good intuition in determining the liquefaction potentials of silty sands, while the intergranular void ratio alone does not constitute a criterion for determining the liquefaction potentials of silty sands.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.99-110
• /
• 2009

In order to provide the design criteria, the characteristics of consolidation for soft ground improvement have been investigated using the field banking test performed by the vertical drain method at the northern container section in Busan New Port. Field test results indicated that the estimated degree of consolidation in design stage decreased by about 7% compared with the measured one. This difference is attributed to the fact that the conservative geological properties were applied with relatively high amount of maximum clay mixture ratio during the design stage. Based on this findings, another laboratory oedometer test was implemented to consider various combination of mixture ratio. It was found that the consolidation degree increased in accordance with the increase of sand/silt mixture ratio. Also, the proportion of 10%, 50%, and 40% for sand, silt, and clay, respectively, was observed as the best combination of mixture ratio to the actual measurement, which is very similar to the average grain size distribution in the banking test area. Therefore, it is suggested that the overall geological characteristics as well as the grain size distribution should be considered in design stage to improve the soft ground that contains mixture of sand, silt, and clay.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.423-431
• /
• 2008

In general, water-saturated silt or clay alluvium is characterized with relatively low-resistivity. Thus we often encountered the problem that such a low-resistivity layer is misguided to be good aquifer of high-permeability and low-resistivity in the development of groundwater. This research was conducted with an emphasis on the identification of saturated silt or clay layer from the aquifer by performing the laboratory experiment of IP and resistivity methods on the various materials consisting of alluvium aquifer. Silt or clay layer is found to be characterized with the higher chargeability zone, compared to the sand layer. Regarding the mixture of sand and clay, the higher clay volume, the lower resistivity and the higher chargeability. Subsequently chargeability decreases.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.21 no.11
• /
• pp.21-26
• /
• 2020

Natural soil is composed of particles of various sizes, and the shear behavior which is a kind of mechanical behavior of the soil is affected by the particle size distribution. In addition, since the natural soil contains a large mixture of coarse and fine grained soil, it is difficult to clearly understand the shear behavior of the soil. Therefore, a ring shear test was conducted on sandy soils that has various particle size distribution in order to identify the effect of the distribution on shear characteristics of soils. At this time, sand and silt were used for coarse and fine grained soils, respectively, to make sandy soils by changing the silt content. Also the water was supplied during the test to confirm shear characteristics of sandy soils with various particle size distributions. The result shows that the shear strength increases as the silt content increases, and the strength decreases as the silt content increases over the sand. Besides, residual shear strength gradually decreases because of the silt content when the water is supplied.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.33-39
• /
• 2024

Understanding the behavior of soil under cyclic loading conditions is essential for assessing its response to seismic events and potential liquefaction. This study investigates the effect of non-plastic fines content (FC) on excess pore pressure generation in medium-density sand-silt mixtures subjected to strain-controlled cyclic direct simple shear (CDSS) tests. The investigation is conducted by analyzing excess pore pressure (EPP) ratios and the number of cycles to liquefaction (Ncyc-liq) under varying shear strain levels and FC values. The study uses Jumunjin sand and silica silt with FC values ranging from 0% to 40% and shear strain levels of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.5%, and 1.0%. The findings indicate that the EPP ratio increases rapidly during loading cycles, with higher shear strain levels generating more EPP and requiring fewer cycles to reach liquefaction. At 1.0% and 0.5% shear strain levels, FC has a limited effect on Ncyc-liq. However, at a lower shear strain level of 0.2%, increasing FC from 0 to 10% reduces Ncyc-liq from 42 to 27, and as FC increases further, Ncyc-liq also increases. In summary, this study provides valuable insights into the behavior of soil under cyclic loading conditions. It highlights the significance of shear strain levels and FC values in excess pore pressure generation and liquefaction susceptibility.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.219-226
• /
• 2020

Unconfined compression test (UCT) is widely conducted in laboratories to evaluate the mechanical behavior of frozen soils. However, its results are sensitive to the initial conditions of sample creation by freezing as well as the end-surface conditions during loading of the specimen into the apparatus for testing. This work compared ice samples prepared by three-dimensional and one-dimensional freezing. The latter created more-homogenous ice samples containing fewer entrapped air bubbles or air nuclei, leading to relatively stable UCT results. Three end-surface conditions were compared for UCT on ice specimens made by one-dimensional freezing. Steel disc cap with embedded rubber was found most appropriate for UCT. Three frozen materials (ice, frozen sand, and frozen silt) showed different failure patterns, which were classified as brittle failure and ductile failure. Ice and frozen sand showed strain-softening, while frozen silt showed strain-hardening. Subsequent investigation considered the influence of fines content on the unconfined compression behavior of frozen soil mixtures with fines contents of 0-100%. The mixtures showed a brittle-to-ductile transition of failure patterns at 10%-20% fines content.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.350-359
• /
• 2012

The Korean terms of sediment grain size demonstrated in the 30 textbooks of elementary, middle, and high schools and university levels are compared and reviewed, and the problems of its use and alternative terms are proposed. The Korean terms of sediment grain size shown in the most textbooks are the translated terms of the Udden-Wentworth grade scale, and the different terms have been used in these textbooks. In the case of gravels, granule, cobble, and boulder have commonly been translated as wangmorae (king sand), janjagal (fine gravel), wangjagal (king gravel), and pyoryeog (drift gravel) or georyeog (large gravel), respectively. However, it is regarded to be reasonable that they are termed as janjagal, jungjagal (medium gravel), keunjagal (large gravel), and wangjagal, respectively. Adjectives such as 'maeu goun' (very fine), 'goun' (fine), 'junggan' (medium), 'gulgeun' (coarse), and 'maeu gulgeun' (very coarse), attached with each sediment name seem to be suitable to terms for sediments smaller than gravels. Silt has been commonly termed as misa (fine sand) in many textbooks, but it may be appropriate that silt is expressed as silt. Finally, mud, which is a mixture of silt and clay, should be named ito (mud) as shown in several textbooks including Dictionary of Korean Earth Science, though mud has been frequently termed as jinheug (slush or watery soil) in the most of textbooks for elementary and middle school students, and some high school and university textbooks.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.247-258
• /
• 2022

A field velocity resistivity probe (FVRP) can measure compressional waves, shear waves and electrical resistivity in boreholes. The objective of this study is to perform the soil classification through a machine learning technique through elastic wave velocity and electrical resistivity measured by FVRP. Field and laboratory tests are performed, and the measured values are used as input variables to classify silt sand, sand, silty clay, and clay-sand mixture layers. The accuracy of k-nearest neighbors (KNN), naive Bayes (NB), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM), selected to perform classification and optimize the hyperparameters, is evaluated. The accuracies are calculated as 0.76, 0.91, 0.94, and 0.88 for KNN, NB, RF, and SVM algorithms, respectively. To increase the amount of data at each soil layer, the synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) and conditional tabular generative adversarial network (CTGAN) are applied to overcome imbalance in the dataset. The CTGAN provides improved accuracy in the KNN, NB, RF and SVM algorithms. The results demonstrate that the measured values by FVRP can classify soil layers through three kinds of data with machine learning algorithms.