• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.47-56
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• 2013

There are many technical problems, which can not be resolved by the concept of saturated soil mechanics. Unsaturated soils show an apparent cohesion due to negative pore pressure and relatively lower permeability due to entrapped air compared to saturated soils. The determination of engineering properties of soils with various moisture content is very important to evaluate shear strength and stability of natural and engineered soils. So various researches should be made on unsaturated soils. Especially, sandy soils are widely distributed near Nakdong river, one of the four rivers where Restoration Projects were carried out. Many structures such as dams, flood control facilities, detention facilities and reservoirs have been built in this area. In this study, unsaturated triaxial compressive tests were conducted on sands or silty sands at Nakdong river in order to provide their fundamental characteristics for design and construction of geotechnical structures. As a result of the tests, the maximum deviator stress increased as the confining stress and matric suction increased. The cohesion increased non-linearly as the matric suction increased, but the angle of internal friction was marginally changed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.207-215
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• 2020

This paper presents a kinematic limit analysis for passive earth pressure of rigid retaining structures considering the unsaturation of the backfill. Particular emphasis in the current work is focused on the effects of the spatial change in the degree of saturation on the passive earth pressure under different steady-infiltration/evaporation conditions. The incorporation of change of effective unit weight with degree of saturation is the main contribution of this study. The problem is formulated based on the log-spiral failure model rather than the linear wedge failure model, in which both the spatial variations of suction and soil effective unit weight are taken into account. Parametric studies, which cover a wide range of flow conditions, soil types and properties, wall batter, back slope angle as well as the interface friction angle, are performed to investigate the effects of these factors on the passive pressure and the corresponding shape of potential failure surfaces in the backfill. The results reveal that the flow conditions have significant effects on the suction and unit weight of the clayey backfill, and hence greatly impact the passive earth pressure of retaining structures. It is expected that present study could provide an insight into evaluation of the passive earth pressure of retaining structures with unsaturated backfills.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.124-130
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• 2004

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of condensed molasses soluble (CMS) treatment on the mineralization of N, chemical properties and soil microbial population under the incubation condition with unsaturated water content during the 7 weeks at $25^{\circ}C$ in the different levels of CMS application. The results indicated that the total nitrogen content of soil was increased with increasing application rate of CMS and this trend was maintained up to 7 weeks. With CMS treatment content of $NH_4-N$ was gradually decreased. However, the content of $NO_3-N$ in the soil was gradually increased with incubation time due to the nitrification under the unsturated water condition. The CMS treatment increased the microbial populations such as bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi, which may be due to the availability of more nutrients such as amino acids, sugars and other minor elements from CMS. The pH of soil was found to be reduced by the addition of CMS, Whereas, electrical conduvtivity of soil was correspondingly increased with increasing application rate of CMS.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.70-78
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• 2009

Floodplain areas of major South Korean rivers were determined by analyzing topographical maps and hydraulic properties of floodplain soil were measured using disc tension infiltrometer. To assess the possibility of treating secondary effluents of municipal wastewater with floodplain soil, a computer code for the analysis of unsaturated flow in soil was employed along with searches conducted in the literature. Based on the data generated, an estimate of total floodplain filtration capacity in Korea was obtained. The results of our study reveal that Korean floodplains have surface soil that is adequate for treating water. Moreover, the distributions of floodplains are substantial over the entire reaches of the rivers, indicating that the conditions are favorable for floodplain filtration as additional treatment of secondary effluent. The capacity of floodplain filtration in Korea is circa 182,000,000 $m^3$/day and most of the rivers are estimated to have enough capacity of floodplain filtration to meet all the secondary effluent, indicating that this technology may be expected to make further improvements on river water quality. Furthermore, this method may also be applied to better the source-water quality for drinking water.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.67-74
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to identify the effect of engineering properties on the resilient modulus ($M_r$) of cohesive soils as subgrade. Eight representative cohesive soils representing A-6, and A-7-6 soil types collected from road construction sites, were tested in the laboratory to determine their basic engineering properties. The laboratory tests for the engineering properties were Atterberg limits test, sieve analysis, hydrometer test, Standard Proctor compaction test, and unconfined compressive strength test. Resilient modulus test and unconfined compressive strength test were conducted on unsaturated cohesive soils at three different moisture contents (dry of optimum moisture content, optimum moisture content, and wet of optimum moisture content). The increase in moisture content considerably affected the decrease in the resilient modulus. The resilient modulus increased with an increase in maximum unconfined compressive strength, percent of clay, percent of silt and clay, liquid limit and plasticity index. The resilient modulus decreased with an increase in percent of sand.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.261-266
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• 1993

A new methyltrophic bacterium which utilizes methanol as a sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from soil. It was Gram-negative, nonmotile, nonspore-forming rod, and strictly aerobic bacterium. Catalase and oxidase activities were present. Nitrate was reduced to nitrite. Vitamins and other growth factors were not required. Generation time was 1.6 hr under the optimal condition. The isolate assimilated methanol via the ribulose mono-phosphate pathway (Enter-Doudoroff varient) and did not have .alpha.-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. It assimilated ammonia through glutamate dehydrogenase. The guanine plus cytosine content of the DNA was 61.0 mol%. The celular fatty acid composition was primarily straight-chain saturated $C^{16 : 0}$ acids (palmitic acids) and unsaturated $C_{16 :1}$ acid (palmitoleic acids), and the isolate also contained two unidentified $C_{17}$ branched fatty acids. The major ubiquinone was Q-8, and Q-6 and Q-7 were present as minor components. Phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol were predominantly present, and diphosphatidyglycerol was also detected. Based on the physiological and biochemical properties, the isolate was assigned to a novel species of the genus Methylobacillus, Methylobacillus methanolovorus sp. nov.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.147-154
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• 2005

This study deals with the calibration of low-frequency water content reflectometer for measuring the volumetric water content of soils in landfill final cover layer, and the validity of calibrations was evaluated by electrical conductivity and index properties of the soils. Linear calibrations concerning volumetric water content to WCR period provided good agreement with the data. Analysis of the calibration data indicates that the slope of the calibration decreases as the electrical conductivity of the soil increases. Lower slopes correspond to soils with greater clay content, organic content, liquid limit, and plasticity index, which typically have higher electrical conductivity. It could be well explained that WCR can operate in a lower frequency range.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.129-137
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• 2013

The infiltration of rainwater into the surface soil is highly dependent on hydraulic variables, such as the infiltration rate, capillary fringe, moisture content, and unsaturated/saturated hydraulic conductivity. This study estimates the hydraulic conductivity (K) of fluvial deposits at three sites on the right and left banks of Nakdong River in Gyeongbuk Province, South Korea, including the Gumi, Waegwan, and Seongju bridge sites. The K values of 80 samples from 13 boreholes were estimated by using six grain-size methods (Hazen, Slichter, Kozeny, Beyer, Sauerbrei, and Pavchich formulae). The Beyer, Hazen, and Slichter methods showed a better relationship with K values along with an effective grain size than did the other three methods. The grain-size, pumping test, and slug test analyses resulted in different K values, but with similar K values in the grain-size analysis and pumping test. The lower K values of the slug test represent the uppermost fine sand layer.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.39-48
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• 2007

The soil-water characteristic curve(SWCC) is a useful tool in the prediction of the engineering behavior of unsaturated soils. Several equations are available in the literature to mathematically represent the experimental behavior of the SWCC. Some equations are based on the assumption that the shape of curve is dependent upon pore-size distribution. Other equations assume that SWCC can be estimated from the grain size distribution and the physical properties of soils. This study evaluated the suitability of using two different SWCC equations for defining the relationship between water content and matric suction. Various parameters that influence the SWCC behavior are also briefly discussed.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.55-68
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• 2008

At present underground structures such as road tunnels, railway tunnels, underground petroleum storages and radioactive waste storages are being constructed in numerous places in Korea. For the construction of underground structrues, it should be accounted for natural factors (geology, hydrogeology, soil, vegetation, topography and drainage patterns) and human-social factors (land use, urbanization, population, culture and transportation). Especially, hydrogeology should be regarded as an important factor for evaluating the safety of underground structures and their impact to groundwater system around the structures. This study aimed to recognize hydrogeological characteristics of shallow formations in the area from Dongrae crossway to Seo-Dong where 45 boreholes were drilled for the construction of Line-3 subway in Busan Megacity. Slug tests for unsaturated and saturated zones were conducted on 30 boreholes in the study area. From the result of the slug tests, it was identified that average zonal hydraulic conductivity in the unsaturated zone was higher than that in the saturated zone. Besides, the slug test result in the saturated zones may reflect hydraulic properties of the upper most part of the saturated zones.