• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.91-112
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• 2020

In Ethiopia, dry land vegetation including the fairly intact lowland and western escarpment woodlands occupy the largest vegetation resource of the country. These forests play a central role in environmental regulation and socio-economic assets, yet they received less scientific attention than the moist forests. This study evaluated the woody plant species composition, population structure and carbon sequestration potential of the A. senegal woodland across three distance gradients from the settlements. A total of 45 sample quadrants were laid along a systematically established nine parallel transect lines to collect vegetation and soil data across distance gradients from settlement. Mature tree dry biomass with DBH>2.5 cm was estimated using allometric equations. A total of 41 woody plant species that belong to 20 families were recorded and A. senegal was the dominant species with 56.4 IVI value. Woody plant species diversity, density and richness were significantly higher in the distant plots compared to the nearest plots to settlement (p<0.05). The cumulative DBH class distribution of all individuals had showed an interrupted inverted J-shape population pattern. There were 19 species without seedlings, 15 species without saplings and 14 species without both seedlings and saplings. A significant above ground carbon (5.3 to 12.7 ton ha^-1), root carbon (1.6 to 3.6 ton ha^-1), soil organic carbon (35.6 to 44.5 ton ha^-1), total carbon stock (42.5 to 60.7 ton ha^-1) and total carbon dioxide equivalent (157.7 to 222.8 ton ha^-1) was observed consistently with an increasing of distance from settlement (p<0.05). Distance from settlement had significant and positive correlation with species diversity and carbon stock at 0.64^⁎⁎ and 0.78^⁎⁎. Disturbance intensity may directly influence the variation of species composition, richness and density along the A. senegal woodland. The sustainability of the A. senegal woodland needs urgent protection, conservation and restoration.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.705-713
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• 2016

For the soft ground construction, the factors not considered in the design stage occurs in the construction stage so that they cause the increase of the construction cost due to the structural stability and the design change. The subject of the study is the construction section of the industrial complex access road made in the Ochang region of Chungcheongbuk-do. The study is concerned with selecting the soft ground handling method such as the replacement method using rock debris and the surcharge reflecting the service load as the soft ground handling measure and analyzing the effect of reducing the construction cost with the stability of structures and the reduction of the construction period. The soft ground in the study section consists of sandy and cohesive soil and is 2.4m to 5.5m deep. It is distributed unevenly between the 1.5m to 5.9m stratums under the ground surface. Settlement is not serious, but the future uneven settlement and difference are expected so that the future settlement behavior is estimated by analyzing the site measurement results after the soft ground treatment. Moreover, in consideration of the regional characteristics and economic efficiency, soil with good quality is replaced with rock debris as the replacement material so that 29% of the construction cost is reduced due to the increase of stability and the reduction of duration. If the estimation of the dispersion of the pore water pressure within the dam body and the change of the underground water level and the relation of the actually measured soft ground with consolidation is studied further on the basis of the study, it is expected that the behavior of the soft ground will be correctly estimated in various site conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.25-40
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• 2007

Excessive earth pressure is one of the major mechanical factors in the deformation and damage of Cut-and-Cover Tunnel lining in shallow tunnels and portals of mountain tunnels (Kim, 2000). Excessive earth pressure may be attributed to insufficient compaction and consolidation of backfill material due to self-weight, precipitation and vibration caused by traffic (Komiya et al., 2000; Taylor et al., 1984; Yoo, 1997). Even though there were a lot of tests performed to determine the earth pressure acting on the tunnel lining, unfortunately there were almost no case histories of studies performed to determine remedial measures that reduce differential settlement and excessive earth pressure. In this study the installation of geotextile mat was selected to reduce the differential settlement and excessive earth pressure acting on the cut-and-cover tunnel lining. In order to determine settlement and earth pressure reduction effect (reinforcement effect) of geotextile mat reinforcement, laboratory tunnel model tests were performed. This study was limited to the modeling of rigid circular cut-and-cover tunnel constructed at a depth of $1.0D\sim1.5D$ in loose sandy ground and subjected to a vibration frequency of 100 Hz. Model tests with varying soil cover, mat reinforcement scheme and slope roughness were performed to determine the most effective mat reinforcement scheme. Slope roughness was adjusted by attaching sandpaper #100, #400 and acetate on the cut slope surface. Mat reinforcement effect of each mat reinforcement scheme were presented by the comparison of earth pressure obtained from the unreinforced and mat reinforced model tests. Soil settlement reduction was analyzed and presented using the Picture Analysis Method (Park, 2003).

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.59-67
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• 2009

Three-dimensional (3D) numerical analyses have been conducted to study the behaviour of a single pile to tunnelling. The numerical analysis has included soil slip at the pile-soil interface. In the numerical analyses the interaction between the tunnel and the pile constructed in weathered soil and rock has been analysed. The study includes the pile settlement, the relative shear displacement between the pile and the soil and the shear stresses at the interface and the axial force on the pile. In particular, the shear stress transfer mechanism at the pile-soil interface related to the tunnel advancement has been rigorously analysed. Due to changes in the relative shear displacement at the pile-soil interface during the tunnel advancement, the shear stress and the axial force distributions along the pile have been changed. Upward shear stress developed at most part of the pile (Z/L=0.0-0.8), while downward shear stress is mobilised near the pile tip (Z/L=0.8-1.0) resulting in tensile force on the pile, where Z is the pile location and L is the pile length. Some insights into the pile behaviour to tunnelling obtained from the numerical analyses will be reported and discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.47-59
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• 2023

In this research, laboratory tests were conducted on clayey sand (SC) to analyze its physical properties, compaction/permeability characteristics, and stress-strain behavior. The main objective was to determine the transitional fines content at which the mechanical properties of sand transition to those of clay, resulting in a change in the geotechnical behavior of the material. Additionally, to assess the practical applicability of SC soil, field data from a soft ground improvement site with significant settlement issues were collected. The settlement characteristics derived from laboratory tests and numerical simulations were then compared and analyzed in relation to the actual settlement data obtained from the field, aiming to evaluate the suitability of the SC soil as a compaction target layer. The laboratory tests and compaction analysis showed that the SC soil exhibited a distinct change in mechanical properties, shifting from sandy behavior to clayey behavior when the fines content exceeded 25%. This transition in mechanical behavior was found to be closely correlated with the content of clay particles within the material. Through numerical simulations of the soft ground site, it was verified that the use of clayey sand with a fines content exceeding the transitional level as a compaction target layer resulted in settlements that closely aligned with the measured settlements, with an average agreement of 91.2%. Based on these findings, it is deemed advisable to incorporate clayey sand with a fines content exceeding the transitional level as part of the compaction target layer in the design of soft ground improvements.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.7-20
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• 2024

Ground improvement techniques through soil densification are widely used to enhance the cyclic resistance and seismic performance of liquefiable soils. However, most studies have primarily focused on the increase in soil strength before and after ground improvement, with limited investigation into changes in spatial statistical characteristics. This study aims to identify the changes in soil strength and spatial variability due to ground improvement by analyzing data from 19 cases where ground improvement was conducted using timber piles, aggregate piers, and dynamic compaction, with a cone penetration test (CPT) performed pre- and post-improvement. The changes in cone tip resistance were evaluated by comparing cone tip resistance profiles before and after ground improvement, while changes in spatial variability were assessed by examining variations in three parameters of the random field: mean (or trend function), variance, and scale of fluctuation. The results indicate that cone tip resistance generally increased, while inherent variability tended to decrease. The scale of fluctuation, representing spatial autocorrelation, generally increased following ground improvement, with higher initial fluctuation parameters correlating with a greater rate of increase. Furthermore, the probabilistic analysis of liquefaction-induced settlement revealed that changes in the scale of fluctuation due to ground improvement significantly influenced the variability of settlement, underscoring the importance of considering this factor.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.1148-1155
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• 2010

To suggest a modified shallow foundation design method which can be considered the scale effect of foundation on IGM(intermediate geomaterial) soil layer, the weathered soil layer that is uniformly formed up to 8m(2B) with over 50 N-value is selected and 3 times field loading tests are performed on several sized square-shaped shallow foundations with 30, 75, 150, 240 and 400cm in width respectively. Because the soil modulus of elasticity(Es) calculated by soil investigation and 1st field test(PBT) results showed an underestimated tendency, a modified correlation is required for the reasonable estimation of Es on the weathered soil. Also, the N-value was increased with an increasing in depth. However, the N-values around the test foundations showed the different values even though the foundations on the same level because the test site was arranged by excavation. Therefore, the more detail soil investigations are required for the each test foundations respectively. Since Es based on elasticity theory is determined by the stress distribution shape of the foundation and elasticity modulus of the soil, the scale effect considered pressure-settlement curve can be clearly derived from the correlation on stress distribution shape and the variation of soil elasticity modulus with depth. Therefore, the modified correlation will be suggested to estimate a reasonable Es on the weathered soil, and the scale effect considered shallow foundation design method is also developed based on the elastic theory and field tests in this research.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.79-97
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• 2017

Natural clays exhibit features such as structural and anisotropy. In this work, a constitutive model that is able to replicate these two salient features of natural clays is presented. The proposed model is based on the classical S-CLAY1 model, where the anisotropy of the soil is captured through the initial inclination and rotation of the yield surface. To account for the structural of the soil, the compression curve of the reconstituted soil is taken as the reference. All parameters of the proposed constitutive model have clear physical meanings and can be conveniently determined from conventional triaxial tests. This proposed model has been used to simulate the behavior of soft soil in the undrained triaxial tests and the performance of Murro embankment in terms of settlement and horizontal displacements during embankment construction and consolidation stage. Results of numerical simulations using proposed model have been compared with the field measurement data. The comparisons show that the two features significantly influence the prediction results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09a
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• pp.285-292
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• 2010

Recently, it is difficult to find a good soil ground due to the shortage of land for new construction site. Because of this situation, the geosynthetics are commonly used for reinforcing the substructure of the soil ground, and hence improving the bearing capacity and reducing the settlement. The geocell is one of geosynthetics and is the advanced system of geogrid. It is the way to increase earth strength and bearing capacity by using three dimension type of geocomposite. In this paper, the Horizontal permeability was determined with considering various geocell shapes. The permeability test was performed by following method of ASTM D4716(87) and potential filling material for geocell was used. The bearing capacity mechanism which enhances the soil ground with evenly maintaining the degree of the compaction was also analyzed for geocell reinforced ground.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.70-80
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• 1989

In this research program special triaxial compression tests and dehydration-swelling tests under the condition of freeze-thaw process were conducted to show the effects of freezethaw process on the physical properties of weathered granite soil, and their results as follows; 1.Consolidation settlement of weathered granite soil mass was increased due to freeze-thaw process, and the initial tangent coefficient of dense state was higher than that of loose state. 2.Compression behaviour of soil was increased according to the decrease of freezing temperature, and when the freezing temperature was reached under - 10$^{\circ}$C, the compression rate was not influenced by change of freezing temperature. 3.The experiments showed that the void ratio and permeability of soil were converged into their values of shrinkage limit, and the permeability was higher due to the freeze-thaw process and as the lower the freezing temperature. 4.The decrease of liquid limit was indicated as the lower the freezing temperature, and as more the freeze4haw cycles, the moisture content was shown the lower side. 5.It was shown that the shrinkage was decreased by freeze-thaw process and not influenced by way of freezing temperature, but dehydration rate was higher.