• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.19-35
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• 2018

The necessity of predicting the spatial information of the site-specific seismic response, which is essential information for the comprehensive earthquake disaster countermeasures, is increasing for the mid-west urban areas where the earthquake-induced damages can be increased due to frequent occurrence of mid-scale earthquake such as 2016 Gyeongju Earthquake and 2017 Pohang Earthquake. Especially, researches on strategic securing of site survey datasets and understanding the site-specific site response characteristics were conducted for Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. In this study, a GIS-based framework for site-specific assessment of site response and induced vulnerable area in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea was proposed. Geo-Data based on GIS platform was constructed for regional estimation of geotechnical characteristics by collecting borehole and land coverage datasets. And the geo-spatial grid information was developed for deriving spatial distribution of geotechnical layer and site response parameters based on the optimization of the geostatistical interpolation method. Accordingly, base information for Improving earthquake preparedness measures was derived as seismic zonation map with administrative sub-units considering the quantitative site effect of Gyeonggi-do.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.12 no.11
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• pp.493-504
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• 2023

The Republic of Korea is located far from the boundary of the earthquake plate, and the intra-plate earthquake occurring in these areas is generally small in size and less frequent than the interplate earthquake. Nevertheless, as a result of investigating and analyzing earthquakes that occurred on the Korean Peninsula between the past two years and 1904 and earthquakes that occurred after observing recent earthquakes on the Korean Peninsula, it was found that of a magnitude of 9. In this paper, the Korean Peninsula Historical Earthquake Record (2 years to 1904) published by the National Meteorological Research Institute is used to analyze the relationship between earthquakes on the Korean Peninsula and statistical self-similarity. In addition, the problem solved through this paper was the first to investigate the relationship between earthquake data occurring on the Korean Peninsula and statistical self-similarity. As a result of measuring the degree of self-similarity of earthquakes on the Korean Peninsula using three quantitative estimation methods, the self-similarity parameter H value (0.5 < H < 1) was found to be above 0.8 on average, indicating a high degree of self-similarity. And through graph visualization, it can be easily figured out in which region earthquakes occur most often, and it is expected that it can be used in the development of a prediction system that can predict damage in the event of an earthquake in the future and minimize damage to property and people, as well as in earthquake data analysis and modeling research. Based on the findings of this study, the self-similar process is expected to help understand the patterns and statistical characteristics of seismic activities, group and classify similar seismic events, and be used for prediction of seismic activities, seismic risk assessments, and seismic engineering.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2015

Recently, Korean government has tried out to set up earthquake hazards prevention system. In the system, several geotechnical hazard maps including liquefaction hazard map and landslide hazard map for the whole country have drawn to consider the domestic seismic characteristics. To draw the macro liquefaction hazard map, big data of site investigations in metropolitan areas and provincial areas has to be verified for its application. In this research, we carried out site response analyses using 522 borehole site investigation data in S city during a desirable earthquake. The soil classification was separately compared to shear wave velocity considering the uncertainty of site investigation data. Probability distribution and statistical analysis for the results of site response analyses was applied to the feasibility study. Finally, we suggest a new site amplification coefficient, hereby presented with the similar results of liquefaction hazard mapping using the calculated liquefaction potential index by the site response analyses. Above-mentioned study will be expected to help to follow research and draw liquefaction hazard map in moderate seismic region.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.101-112
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• 1999

Structural walls have been mostly used for the design of reinforced concrete buildings in seismic areas because they play a role as an efficient bracing system and offer great potential for lateral load resistance and drift control. The lateral resistance system for the earthquake load should be designed to have enough ductility and stable hysteretic response in the critical regions where plastic deformation occurred beyond yielding. The behavior of the reinforced concrete element to experience large deformation in the critical areas by a major earthquake is affected by the performance of the confined core concrete. Thus, the confinement of concrete by suitable arrangements of transverse reinforcement results in a significant increase in both the strength and ductility of compressed concrete. This paper reports the experimental results of reinforced concrete structural walls for wall-type apartment structure under axial loads and cyclic reversal of lateral loads with different confinement of the boundary elements. The results show that confinement of the boundary element by open 'U'-bar and cross tie is effective. The shear strength capacity is not increased by the confinement but deformation capacity is improve.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.247-259
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• 2008

The potential use of Cu-based shape memory alloys (SMA) in retrofitting historical monuments is investigated in this paper. This study is part of the ongoing work conducted in Tunisia within the framework of the FP6 European Union project (WIND-CHIME) on the use of appropriate modern seismic protective systems in the conservation of Mediterranean historical buildings in earthquake-prone areas. The present investigation consists of a finite element simulation, as a preliminary to an experimental study where a cantilever masonry wall, representing a part of a historical monument, is subjected to monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings around a horizontal axis at the base level. The wall was retrofitted with an array of copper SMA wires with different cross-sectional areas. A new model is proposed for heat-treated copper SMAs and is validated based on published experimental results. A series of nonlinear finite element analyses are then performed on the wall for the purpose of assessing the SMA device retrofitting capabilities. Simulation results show an improvement of the wall response for the case of monotonic and quasi-static cyclic loadings.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.821-845
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• 2016

Extensive researches on distribution of earthquake induced damages in different regions have shown that geological and geotechnical conditions of the local soils significantly influence behavior of alluvial areas under seismic loading. In this article, the site of Babol city which is formed up of saturated fine alluvial soils is considered as a case study. In order to reduce the uncertainties associated with earthquake resistant design of structures in this area (Babol city), the required design parameters have been evaluated with consideration of site's dynamic effects. The utilized methodology combines experimental ground ambient noise analysis, expressed in terms of horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratio, with numerical one-dimensional response analysis of soil columns using DEEPSOIL software. The H/V spectral analysis was performed at 60 points, experimentally, for the region in order to estimate both the fundamental period and its corresponding amplification for the ground vibration. The investigation resulted in amplification ratios that were greater than one in all areas. A good agreement between the proposed ranges of natural periods and alluvial amplification ratios obtained through the analytical model and the experimental microtremor studies verifies the analytical model to provide a good engineering reflection of the subterraneous alluviums.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.545-554
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• 2019

The customary approach used in the blast vibration analysis is to derive empirical relations between the peak particle velocities of blast-induced waves and the scaled distance, and to develop patterns limiting the amounts of explosives. During the periods when excavations involving blasting were performed at sites far from residential areas and infrastructure works, this method based on empirical correlations could be effective in reducing vibrations. However, blasting procedures applied by the fast-moving mining and construction industries today can be very close to, in particular cities, residential areas, pipelines, geothermal sites, etc., and this reveals the need to minimize blast vibrations not only by limiting the use of explosives, but also employing new scientific and technological methods. The conventional methodology in minimizing blast vibrations involves the steps of i) measuring by seismograph peak particle velocity induced by blasting, ii) defining ground transmission constants between the blasting area and the target station, iii) finding out the empirical relation involving the propagation of seismic waves, and iv) employing this relation to identify highest amount of explosive that may safely be fired at a time for blasting. This paper addresses practical difficulties during the implementation of this conventional method, particularly the defects and errors in data evaluation and analysis; illustrates the disadvantages of the method; emphasizes essential considerations in case the method is implemented; and finally discusses methods that would fit better to the conditions and demands of the present time compared to the conventional method that intrinsically hosts the abovementioned disadvantages.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.187-195
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• 2023

Intensive rainfall during the summer season in Korea has triggered numerous devastating landslides outside of downtown in mountainous areas. The 2D slope stability analysis that is generally used for cut slopes and embankments is inadequate to model slope failure in mountainous areas. This paper presents a new 3D slope stability formulation using the global sliding vector in the limit equilibrium method, and it uses an ellipsoidal slip surface for static and quasi-static analyses. The slip surface's flexibility of the ellipsoid shape gives a lower FS than the spherical failure shape in the Fellenius, Bishop, and Janbu's simplified methods. The increasing sub-columns of each column tend to increase the FS and converge to a steady value. The symmetrical geometric conditions of the convex turning corners do not indicate symmetrical failure of the surface in 3D analysis. Pseudo-static analysis shows that the horizontal seismic force decreases the FS and increases the mass volume at the critical failure state. The stability index takes the FS and corresponding sliding mass into consideration to assess the potential risk of slope failure in complex mountainous terrain. It is a valuable parameter for selecting a vulnerable area and evaluating the overall risk of slope failure.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.455-464
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• 2024

Seismic movements have varying effects on structures based on characteristics of local site. During an earthquake, weak soils are susceptible to damage due to amplified wave amplitudes. Soil-structure interaction issue has garnered increased attention in Türkiye, after devastating earthquakes in Kocaeli Gölcük (1999), Izmir (2020), Kahramanmaraş Pazarcık and Elbistan (2023). Consequently, liquefaction potential has been investigated in detail for different regions of Türkiye, mainly with available field test results. Çankırı, a city located close to North Anatolian Fault, is mainly built on alluvium, which is prone to liquefaction. However, no study on liquefaction hazard has been conducted thus far. In this study, groundwater level map, SPT map, and liquefaction risk map have been generated using Geographical Information System (GIS) for the Buğday Pazarı District of Çankırı province. Site investigations studies previously performed for 47 parcels (76 boreholes) were used within the scope of this study. The liquefaction assessment was conducted using Seed and Idriss's (1971) simplified method and the visualization of areas susceptible to liquefaction risk has been accomplished. The results of this study have been compared with the City Council's precautionary map which is currently in use. As a result of this study, it is recommended that minimum depth of boreholes in the region should be at least 30m and adequate number of laboratory tests particularly in liquefiable areas should be performed. Another important recommendation for the region is that detailed investigation should be performed by local authorities since findings of this study differ from currently used precautionary map.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.34-40
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• 2008

Underwater seismic refraction with advanced interpretation approaches makes important contributions to shallow marine exploration and geotechnical investigations in Australia's coastal areas. A series of case studies are presented to demonstrate the recent applications of continuous and static USR methods to river crossing and port infrastructure projects at various sites around Australia. In Sydney, static underwater seismic refraction (USR) with bottom-placed receivers and borehole seismic imaging assisted the development of improved geotechnical models that reduced construction risk for a tunnel crossing of the Lane Cove River. In Melbourne, combining conventional boomer reflection and continuous USR with near-bottom sources and receivers improved the definition of a buried, variably weathered basalt flow and assisted dredging assessment for navigation channel upgrades at Geelong Ports. Sand quality assessment with continuous USR and widely spaced borehole information assisted commercial decisions on available sand resources for the reclamation phase of development at the Port of Brisbane. Buried reefs and indurated layers occur in Australian coastal sediments with the characteristics of laterally limited, high velocity, cap layers within lower velocity materials. If these features are not recognised then significant error in depth determination to deeper refractors can occur. Application of advanced refraction inversion using wavefront eikonal tomography to continuous USR data obtained along the route of a proposed offshore pipeline near Fremantle allowed these layers and the underlying bedrock refractor to be accurately imaged. Static USR and the same interpretation approach was used to image the drowned granitic regolith beneath sediments and indurated layers in the northern area of Western Australia at a proposed new berthing site where deep piling was required. This allowed preferred piling sites to be identified, reducing overall pile lengths. USR can be expected to find increased application to shallow marine exploration and geotechnical investigations in Australia's coastal areas as economic growth continues and improved interpretation methods are developed.