• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.353-362
• /
• 2019

Soil-rock mixture (S-RM) is an inhomogeneous geomaterial that is widely encountered in nature. The mechanical and physical properties of S-RM are important factors contributing towards different deformation characteristics and unstable modes of the talus slope. In this paper, the equivalent substitution method was employed for the preparation of S-RM test samples, and large-scale triaxial laboratory tests were conducted to investigate their mechanical parameters by varying the water content and confining pressure. Additionally, a simplified geological model based on the finite element method was established to compare the stability of talus slopes with different strength parameters and in different excavation and support processes. The results showed that the S-RM samples exhibit slight strain softening and strain hardening under low and high water content, respectively. The water content of S-RM also had an effect on decreasing strength parameters, with the decrease in magnitude of the cohesive force and internal friction angle being mainly influenced by the low and high water content, respectively. The stability of talus slope decreased with a decrease in the cohesion force and internal friction angle, thereby creating a new shallow slip surface. Since the excavation of toe of the slope for road construction can easily cause a landslide, anti-slide piles can be used to effectively improve the slope stability, especially for shallow excavations. But the efficacy of anti-slide piles gradually decreases with increasing water content. This paper can act as a reference for the selection of strength parameters of S-RM and provide an analysis of the instability of the talus slope.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.803-814
• /
• 2020

Managing erosion control dams requires the annual average sediment yield to determine their storage capacity and time to full sediment-fill and dredging. The GeoWEPP (Geo-spatial interface for Water Erosion Prediction Project) model can predict the annual average sediment yield from various land uses and vegetation covers at a watershed scale. This study assessed the GeoWEPP to determine the annual average sediment yield for managing erosion control dams by applying it to five erosion control dams and comparing the results with field observations using ground-based LiDAR (light detection and ranging). The modeling results showed some differences with the observed sediment yields. Therefore, GeoWEPP is not recommended to determine the annual average sediment yield for erosion control dams. Moreover, when using the GeoWEPP, the following is recommended :1) use the US WEPP climate files with similar latitude, elevation and precipitation modified with monthly average climate data in Korea and 2) use soil files based on forest soil maps in Korea. These methods resulted in GeoWEPP predictions and field observations of 0 and 63.3 Mg·yr-1 for the Gangneung, 142.3 and 331.2 Mg·yr-1 for the Bonghwa landslide, 102.0 and 107.8 Mg·yr-1 for the Bonghwa control, 294.7 and 115.0 Mg·yr-1 for the Chilgok forest fire, and 0 and 15.0 Mg·yr-1 for the Chilgok control watersheds. Application of the GeoWEPP in Korea requires 1) building a climate database fit for the WEPP using the meteorological data from Korea and 2) performing further studies on soil and streamside erosion to determine accurate parameter values for Korea.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.54-64
• /
• 2021

The chemical warfare agents (CWAs) have been developed for offensive or defensive purposes and used as chemical weapons in war and terrorism. The CWAs are exposed to the natural environment, transported through the water system and then eventually contaminate soil and groundwater. Therefore, effective decontamination technology to remediate CWAs are needed. The CWAs are extremely dangerous and prodution is strictly prohibited, therefore, it is difficult to use CWAs even in experimental purpose. In this study, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was chosen as a model representative CWA because it is a simulant of anti-plant CWAs and one of the major component of agent orange. The optimum degradation conditions such as oxidant:activator ratio were determined. The effects of hydroxylamine and chelating agents such as citric acid (CA), oxalic acid (OA), malic acid (MA), and EDTA addition to increase Fe2+ activation were also investigated. Scavenger experiments using tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and ethanol confirmed that although both sulfate (SO4•-) and hydroxyl radical (•OH) existed in Fe2+-persulfate system, sulfate radical was the predominant radical. To promote the Fe2+ activator effect, the effect of hydroxylamine as a reducing agent was investigated. In chelating agents assisted Fe2+-persulfate oxidation, the addition of 2 mM of CA and MA enhanced 2,4-D degradation. In contrast, EDTA and OA inhibited the 2,4-D removal due to steric hindrance effect.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.15-23
• /
• 2006

During earthquake, force components acting on quay walls consist of inertia force, earth pressure and water pressure. The earth pressure is largely influenced by the backfill condition such as soil density and the installation of gravel backfill. Therefore, shaking table tests were performed by using four different model sections, which were designed by varying the soil density and the backfill materials. The magnitude and the phase of force components acting on quay wall were analyzed. Test results showed that the gravel backfill and the soil compaction were effective to reduce the excess pore pressure in backfill and the magnitude and phase of backfill thrust were much influenced by the excess pore pressure in backfill. When the input acceleration was 0.10g, the average ratios of the inertia force, the front dynamic water force and the thrust to the total force were $64\%,\;21\%\;and\;16\%$, respectively. As the excess pore pressure increased, the ratio of the thrust to the total force increased.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.22 no.12
• /
• pp.89-98
• /
• 2006

In this paper the behavior of saturated sand deposits where liquefaction occurred before is studied for successive earthquakes. The relationship between past pore pressure generation and reliquefaction resistance is examined by using cyclic direct simple shear tests. If the soil sample in direct simple shear produced nearly 90% of excess pore pressure during first time loading, its liquefaction resistance increased during following cyclic loading after consolidation. However, a fully liquefied soil during first time loading has a densely packed condition but shows less liquefaction resistance for the following cyclic loading. UBCSAND model that can account for pore pressure change and stiffness loss of soil during shaking is used to analyze the centrifuge test simulating reliquefaction. The pore pressure rise during first time cyclic loading controls liquefaction resistance. The measurements from reliquefaction centrifuge test are compared with numerical predictions. By considering frequent earthquakes having occurred at the Southern Korea near Japan, such effective stress approach is necessary for reliquefaction study.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.25 no.10
• /
• pp.41-53
• /
• 2009

In order to analyze the influence of particle shape on evolution of particle crushing and characteristic of shear behavior of granular soil, direct shear test was simulated by using DEM (Discrete Element Method). Six particle shapes were generated by clump and cluster model built in PFC (Particle Flow Code). The results of direct shear test for six particle shapes were compared and analyzed with those for circular particle shape. The results of numerical tests showed a good agreement with those of experimental tests, thus the appropriateness of numerical modelling set in this study was proved. As for particle shape, more angular and rougher particle induced larger internal friction angle and more particle crushing than relatively round and smooth particle. When particles were crushed, crushing was concentrated on the shear band adjacent to the shear plane. Finally, it can be concluded that the numerical models suggested in this study can be used extensively for other studies concerning the shear behavior of granular soil including soil crushing.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.105-116
• /
• 2010

The estimation of surface settlement, ground behavior and tunnel displacement are the main factors in urban tunnel design with shallow depth and unconsolidated soil. On deformation analysis of shallow tunnel, it is important to identify possible deformation mechanism of shear bands developing from tunnel shoulder to the ground surface. This paper investigated the effects of key design parameter affecting deformation behavior by numerical analysis using nonlinear model incorporating the reduction of shear stiffness and strength parameters with the increment of the maximum shear strain after the initiation of plastic yielding. Numerical parametric studies are carried out to consider the reduction of shear stiffness and strength parameters, horizontal stress ratio, cohesion and shotcrete thickness.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2022.05a
• /
• pp.329-329
• /
• 2022

Accurate characterization of terrestrial precipitation variation from high spatial resolution satellite sensors is beneficial for urban hydrology and microscale agriculture modeling, as well as natural disasters (e.g., urban flooding) early warning. However, the widely-used top-down approach for precipitation retrieval from microwave satellites is limited in several hydrological and agricultural applications due to their coarse spatial resolution. In this research, we aim to apply a novel bottom-up method, the parameterized SM2RAIN, where precipitation can be estimated from soil moisture signals based on an inversion of water balance model, to generate high spatial resolution terrestrial precipitation estimates at 0.01º grid (roughly 1-km) from the C-band SAR Sentinel-1. This product was then tested against a common reanalysis-based precipitation data and a domestic rain gauge network from the Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) over central South Korea, since a clear difference between climatic types (coasts and mainlands) and land covers (croplands and mixed forests) was reported in this area. The results showed that seasonal precipitation variability strongly affected the SM2RAIN performances, and the product derived from separated parameters (rainy and non-rainy seasons) outperformed that estimated considering the entire year. In addition, the product retrieved over the mainland mixed forest region showed slightly superior performance compared to that over the coastal cropland region, suggesting that the 6-day time resolution of S1 data is suitable for capturing the stable precipitation pattern in mainland mixed forests rather than the highly variable precipitation pattern in coastal croplands. Future studies suggest comparing this product to the traditional top-down products, as well as evaluating their integration for enhancing high spatial resolution precipitation over entire South Korea.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.385-393
• /
• 2022

Previous studies postulated insignificant capillary rise (h_c) effect above the water table (H_w) for unsaturated soils. In addition, these studies utilised dry unit weight above H_w. This paper, therefore, addresses the effect of these postulations on strength where the influence of h_c using a modified upper bound approach, Discontinuity Layout Optimization (UNSAT-DLO) for a simulated soil was predicted. Two different parametric studies to model passive earth pressure and bearing capacity problems are carried out to provide an insight into the effect of capillary rise on strength. Significant increase in strength, owing to unsaturated conditions, was obtained where the maximum increase was when suction slightly less or greater than the air entry suction. On the other hand, the results showed a negative effect of h_c. For example, up to 8.24% decrease in passive thrust (P_p) was obtained at H_w=0 m when h_c rose 1 m from 0 m. To put this into perspective, this was equivalent to a decrease of about 2° in 𝜙 at H_w=0 m and h_c =0 m in order to obtain the same result at h_c =1 m. For the bearing capacity problem, the effect was seen to be higher, up to 18.4% decrease in N_𝛾 was obtained when h_c rose from 0 m to 2.5 m at H_w =0 m. In addition, the results revealed a negative influence of assigning dry unit weight above H_w or h_c.. However, considerable increase in strength was obtained when unsaturated unit weight above h_c was assigned.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.33-46
• /
• 2023

In this study, carbon storage in the aboveground biomass, litter layer, and soil layer was calculated for abandoned mining restoration areas to determine the level of carbon storage after the restoration project through comparison with the ecological reference. Five survey sites were selected for each abandoned mining restoration area in Boryeong-si, Chungcheongnam-do, and the ecological reference that can be a goal and model for the restoration project. The carbon storage in the restoration area was 0~21.3Mg C ha^-1, the deciduous layer 3.3~6.0Mg C ha^-1, and the soil layer(0-30cm) 8.3~35.1Mg C ha^-1, showing a significant difference in carbon storage by target site. The total carbon storage was between 6.1 and 35.3% of the ecological reference, with restoration area ranging from 14.0 to 62.4 Mg C ha^-1. The total carbon storage in the restoration area and the ecological reference differed the most in the aboveground biomass and was less than 12%. Based on these results, forest restoration area need to improve the carbon storage of forests through continuous management and monitoring so trees can grow and restore productivity in the early stages of the restoration project. The results of this study can be used as primary data for preparing future forest restoration indicators by identifying the storage of abandoned mining restoration areas.