• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09a
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• pp.764-771
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• 2010

The stability analysis method of an unsaturated slope considering the suction stress was performed on the infinite sand slope. During drying and wetting processes, the Soil-Water Characteristics Curve (SWCC) of the sand with the relative density of 75% was measured using the automated SWCC apparatus. Also, the Suction Stress Characteristics Curve (SSCC) was estimated. Based on these results, the stability analysis of an unsaturated infinite slope was carried out considering the slope angle, the weathering zone and the relative change in friction angle as a soil depth. According to the result of slope stability analysis, the safety factors of slope were less than 1 when the slope angles were more than $50^{\circ}$. The safety factors of slope tend to increase with increasing the depth from the ground surface. Especially, the safety factors have a tendency to increase and decrease above near the ground water level due to the suction stress. The maximum safety factor of slope in this analysis was occurred at the Air Entry Value (AEV) of drying process. The influence range of suction stress above the ground water level can be found out and can be defined as the funicular zone which means the metric suction range from the air entry point to the point of residual volumetric water content.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.55-64
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• 2006

Shallow failures of slopes in weathered soils are caused by infiltration caused by prolonged rainfall. These failures are mainly triggered by the deepening of the wetting band accompanied by a decrease in suction induced by the water infiltration. In this paper, hysteresis on soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) of granite and gneiss weathered soils is investigated using transient flow analysis respectively. Each case was subjected to artificial rainfall intensities and time duration depending on the laboratory-based drying and wetting processes. The results show that the unsaturated seepage on weathered slopes are very much affected by the initial suction of soils and unsaturated permeability of the soils. In addition, a granite weathered soil has a lower air-entry value, residual matric suction, and wetting front suction and less hysteresis loop than a gneiss weathered soil.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.41-47
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• 2013

Well-graded and dense soils have good engineering properties. Unsaturated soil properties such as shear strength, compressibility and permeability are closely related to the soil-water characteristic curve of the soil. Therefore it is important to study the effects of the coefficient of uniformity and the porosity on the soil-water characteristic curve of the sandy soils, which are also related to the grain size distribution and the density of the soil, respectively. In this study soil-water characteristic curves (SWCCs) for six sandy soil specimens were investigated using Tempe pressure cells. The test data were best-fitted to Fredlund and Xing equation. The obtained fitting parameters and the characteristic points of SWCCs were discussed and correlated with the porosity and the coefficient of uniformity of the specimens. The results show that the smaller the porosity of the specimen becomes, the larger the value of the residual matric suction becomes, whereas the larger the coefficient of uniformity of the specimen becomes, the larger the value of the residual matric suction becomes. Regardless of the coefficient of uniformity, the smaller the porosity of the specimen, the flatter the max. slope of SWCC.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.290-298
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• 2020

A large residual fraction of aliphatic components of diesel prevails in soil, which has adverse effects on the environment. This study identified the most bio-recalcitrant aliphatic residual fraction of diesel through total petroleum-hydrocarbon fractional analysis. For this, the strain Acinetobacter sp. K-6 was isolated, identified, and characterized and investigated its ability to degrade diesel and n-alkanes (C₁₈, C₂₀, and C₂₂). The removal efficiency was analysed after treatment with bacteria and nutrients in various soil microcosms. The fractional analysis of diesel degradation after treatment with the bacterial strains identified C₁₈-C₂₂ hydrocarbons as the most bio-recalcitrant aliphatic fraction of diesel oil. Acinetobacter sp. K-6 degraded 59.2% of diesel oil and 56.4% of C₁₈-C₂₂ hydrocarbons in the contaminated soil. The degradation efficiency was further improved using a combinatorial approach of biostimulation and bioaugmentation, which resulted in 76.7% and 73.7% higher degradation of diesel oil and C₁₈-C₂₂ hydrocarbons, respectively. The findings of this study suggest that the removal of mid-length, non-volatile hydrocarbons is affected by the population of bio-degraders and the nutrients used in the process of remediation. A combinatorial approach, including biostimulation and bioaugmentation, could be used to effectively remove large quantities of aliphatic hydrocarbons persisting for a longer period in the soil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2005.03a
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• pp.1140-1147
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• 2005

The objective of this study was to identify the effect of the degree of saturation on the resilient modulus of cohesive soils as subgrade. Six representative cohesive soils representing A-4, A-6, and A-7-6 soil types collected from road construction sites across Ohio, were tested in the laboratory to determine their basic engineering properties. Resilient modulus tests were conducted on unsaturated cohesive soils at optimum moisture content, and samples compacted to optimum conditions but allowed to fully saturate. The subgrade compacted at optimum moisture content may be fully saturated due to seasonal change. Laboratory tests on fully saturated cohesive soils showed that the resilient modulus of saturated soils decreased to less than half that of soil specimens tested at optimum moisture content. The reduction of resilient modulus would possibly be caused by the buildup of pore water pressure. In resilient modulus testing performed in this study on saturated samples, pore water pressure increases were observed. Pore water pressure and residual pore water pressure gradually increased with an increase in deviator stress.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.21-26
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• 2018

Soil-water characteristic curve, which is called soil retention curve, is required to explore water flows in unsaturated soils, relative permeability of water in multi-phase fluids flow, and change to stiffness and volume of soils. Thus, the understanding of soil-water characteristic curves of soils help us explore the behavior of soils inclduing fluids. Biopolymers are environmental-friendly materials, which can be completely degraded by microbes and have been believed not to affect the nature. Thus, various biopolymers such as deacetylated power, polyethylene oxide, xanthan gum, alginic acid sodium salt, and polyacrylic acid have been studies for the application to soil remediation, soil improvement, and enhanced oil recovery. PAA (polyacrylic acid) is one of biopolymers, which have shown a great effect in enhanced oil recovery as well as soil remediation because of the improvement of water-flood performance by mobility control. The study on soil-water characteristic curves of sandy soils containing PAA (polyacrylic acid) has been conducted through experimentations and theoretical models. The results show that both capillary entry pressure and residual water saturation dramatically increase according to the increased concentration of PAA (polyacrylic acid). Also, soil-water characteristic curves by theoretical models are quite well consistent with the results by experimental studies. Thus, soil-water characteristic curves of sandy soils containing biopolymers such as PAA (polyacrylic acid) can be estimated using fitting parameters for the theoretical model.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.5-14
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• 2006

It has been reported that the failure of a slope in weathered soils or rocks induced by intensive rainfall occurs mainly within 2.0m below the ground surface, and that the effect of rainfall on the rise of the ground water level is not significant if the ground water level inside the slope is not so high before rainfall. Most slopes in Korea, however, have been examined to rather fail at the deeper part since they are usually designed on the basis of assumption that the ground water level rises up to the surface when raining. In this study, the rise of ground water level and slope stability were examined in order to verify the appropriateness of the current ground water level condition that has a significant effect on slope stability using the average daily rainfall in Seoul for the last 30 years. The result showed that the ground water level appears to rise up to 6.0~41.0% of the slope height respectively, and therefore the currently applied condition of ground water level may be somewhat overestimated.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.47-58
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• 2005

Development of underground space is conducted for various useful facility and underground structures and deep excavation technology for reclaimed area has been researched and developed. The seepage flow and behavior of phreatic line in reclaimed area was predominated by transient flow caused by tidal action. Also the soil-water characteristic relation is most important factor for transient flow analysis, therefore the research about the soil-water characteristic is strongly required. In this paper, laboratory tests (pressure cell, desiccator, and tensiometer test) and theoretical analysis were performed to investigate the soil-water characteristic such as air-entry value, metric suction, and residual water content. And the feasibility of prediction method for soil-water characteristic are presented by transient seepage analysis and comparison between analysis results and in-situ measured seepage flux in LNG TK-00 storage tank. Based on the result of laboratory and theoretical analysis, Fredlund and Xing's method provide to work out well for reclaimed ground soils. Also, the transient analysis result is more reasonable and effective for design of deep excavation work in coastal and reclaimed ground.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.4C
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• pp.185-191
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• 2010

Volumetric pressure plate extractor (VPPE) can be used for measurement of the soil-water characteristic curve in the laboratory using the axis-translation technique. The volume of extracted water from the soil specimen in VPPE can be measured continuously during the test without stoppage of air pressure for the measurements. However, the water volume measurement in VPPE using an air trap, a ballast tube, a burette, and a vacuum device so as to maintain a constant pore-water pressure in the soil specimen, is quite complicated and tedious. In order to improve the measuring problems of VPPE, a modified volumetric pressure plate extractor (MVPPE) was developed and tested on residual soil specimens. In addition, the modified apparatus can measure the volume of the extracted water using both Method A and Method B of ASTM D 6836-02 depending on the range of matric suction. Measuring principles and the improvements of MVPPE and typical results obtained from the tests are discussed in the paper.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.18-31
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• 2013

This study was performed to examine use of the pump-and-treat method for remediation of TCE, CF and CT in groundwater contaminated by DNAPL. The Woosan industrial complex is located in Wonju, about 120 km east of Seoul, Korea. Two pumping wells (KDPW7 and KDPW8) and five monitoring wells (KDMW7, KDMW8, KDMW9, KDMW10, and SKW2) were installed for the test. An asphalt laboratory is a main source of the extensive subsurface contamination at this site. To evaluate change in the concentrations of TCE, CF, and CT in groundwater in the study area, three rounds of pump-and-treat pilot tests were performed (6 July to 6 August, 22 August to 6 September, and 19 September to 2 December in 2011). The groundwater levels and the concentrations of TCE, CF, and CT exhibited negative correlations in the wet season but positive correlations in the dry season, which suggests that the TCE concentrations were mainly controlled by dilution through rainfall during the wet season and by residual TCE, CF, and CT in the unsaturated zone during the dry season. These possibilities should be considered in the full-scale remediation plan.