• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.197-209
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• 2016

Clayey rock has large clay mineral content. When in contact with water, this expands considerably and may present a significant hazard to the stability of the rock in geotechnical engineering applications. This is particularly important in the present work, which focused on mitigating some unwelcomed properties of clayey rock. Changes in its physical properties were simulated by subjecting the rock to a low voltage direct current (DC) using copper, steel and aluminum electrodes. The modified mechanism of the coupled electrical and chemical fields acting on the clayey rock was analyzed. It was concluded that the essence of clayey rock electrochemical modification is the electrokinetic effect of the DC field, together with the coupled hydraulic and electrical potential gradients in fine-grained clayey rock, including ion migration, electrophoresis and electro-osmosis. The aluminum cathodes were corroded and generated gibbsite at the anode; the steel and copper cathodes showed no obvious change. The electrical resistivity and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the modified specimens from the anode, intermediate and cathode zones tended to decrease. Samples taken from these zones showed a positive correlation between electric resistivity and UCS.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.537-546
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• 2020

Oil and natural gas reserves have been recognised abundantly in clayey rich rock formations in deep costal reservoirs. It is necessary to understand the sedimentary history of those reservoir rocks to well explore these natural resources. This work designs a group of laboratory experiments to mimic the physical process of the sedimentary clay-rich rock formation. It presents characterisation results of the physical properties of the artificial clayey rocks synthesized from illite clay, quartz sand and brine water by high-pressure consolidation tests. Special focus is given on the effects of illite clay content and high-stress consolidation on the physical properties. Multi-step loaded consolidation experiments were carried out with stress up to 35 MPa on mixtures constituting of the illite clay, quartz sand and brine water with five initial illite clay contents (w=85%, 70%, 55%, 40% and 25%). Compressibility and void ratio were characterised throughout the physical compaction process of the mixtures constituting of five illite clay contents and their water permeability was measured as well. Results show that the applied stress induces a great reduction of clayey rock void ratio. Illite clay contents has a significant influence on the compressibility, void ratio and the permeability of the physically synthesized clayey rocks. There is a critical illite clay content w=70% that induces the minimum void ratio in the physically synthesised clayey rocks. The SEM study indicates, in the high-pressure synthesised clayey rocks with high illite clay contents, the illite clay minerals are located in layers and serve as the material matrix, and the quartz minerals fill in the inter-mineral pores or are embedded in the illite clay matrix. The arrangements of the minerals in microscale originate the structural anisotropy of the high-pressure synthesised clayey rock. The test findings can give an intuitive physical understanding of the deep-buried clayey rock basins in energy reservoirs.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.31-39
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• 2017

Applicability of Skempton's and Hansbo's equation for estimating strength incremental ratio of Korean marine clayey soil was analyzed. These empirical equations have been commonly applied to design soft ground improvement by, especially, staged loading method. Strength incremental ratios proposed by Skempton (1954, 1957) and Hansbo (1957) using field vane tests(FVTs), measured in Scandinavia depends on plasticity index and liquid limit. Although lean clay in Scandinavia can be classified as clay based on USCS, this soil contains no clay mineral because it was produced by the glacial grinding of rock, sometimes, called rock flour. On the contrary, plasticity indices of Korean marine clayey soils increase linearly with the percentage of clay fraction (% finer than $2{\mu}m$ by weight). Except for strength incremental ratios using $q_u/2$ values in the case of soils having a low plasticity, such as Incheon, Hwaseong and Gunsan soils, these values are in the range of 0.25 to 0.35, independently of the plasticity index, $I_p$.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.321-333
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• 2008

Considering risks and artificial enrichments of metals in the soils of the study area, the study aims to analyze geology, grain size and geochemistry. Geology is mainly composed of gneisses and phyllites of metamorphic rocks, sandstones, siltstones, shales, tuffs of sedimentary ones and granites and andesites of igneous ones in the area. In the area, mean contents of metals are not meaningful in accordance with petrogenesis. The soil textures of the area are of S, lS and sL of sandy soil, L, scL, cL of loam and C, zC and sC of clayey soil. Mean contents of Ni, Cr, Co and Cu are meaningfully high in loam and clayey soil relative to sandy soil, whereas Ni, Zn, Cd contents are higher in clayey soil than in loam. Those differences imply the metallic contents are dependent to grain size. Based on the metal contents in the soils of the study area, Cu and Zn in loams and Pb in sandy soils are corresponded to soil contamination warning standards, and As showing 75mg/kg of maximum content in loams is assigned to soil contamination countermeasure standards, respectively. Artificial enrichment factor minimized wall rock and grain size relations is over 1 in Cr, Ni and Cu, but the factor is below 1 in average of other metals.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.354-364
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• 2012

In order to evaluate the physical properties of rock which might serve as a database for both mining and civil works, a lot of laboratory tests for Jecheon limestones were conducted to find unit weight, absorption ratio, porosity, elastic wave velocity, uniaxial compressive strength, Young's modulus, poisson's ratio, tensile strength, shore hardness, friction angle and cohesion. On investigation of the mechanical properties of both the gray limestone and the clayey limestone distributed in the studied region, the clayey limestone turned out to have more weak mechanical properties which might come from low unit weight, high absorption ratio and high porosity of rocks. The failure criteria of Jecheon limestones were discussed by means of both Mohr-Coulomb criterion and Hoek-Brown criterion. Regression analyses of the physical properties obtained from a lot of laboratory tests were also conducted by means of both linear and multiple regression analyses.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.584-595
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• 2018

This study conducted direct shear test on about 290 sorts of materials such as sandy soil, clayey soil and gravely soil to present proper standard on shear strength of soil. Shear strength of soil in large scale tends to show that angle of internal friction increases as sand contents grow and it ranges $23.5^{\circ}{\sim}34.9^{\circ}C$ with cohesion of 2.0 kPa~15.7 kPa. Elastic modulus was visibly distinct by load, and which increased approximately 80% as vertical load grows. Angle of internal friction arranging $15.0^{\circ}{\sim}28.6^{\circ}$ on clayey soil decreased as clay contents rises and cohesion increase in regular scale. Elastic modulus tends to increase initial elastic modulus with almost same growing rate. While angle of internal friction on gravely soil indicates $29.9^{\circ}{\sim}36.7^{\circ}$ which hardly shows distinctive features. According to test in detail, cohesion of SW (well-graded sand), SP (poorly-graded sand), SC (clayey sand) and SM (silty sand) indicates value by 94%, 78% and 59% comparing to SC, SW and SP respectively. Angle of internal friction of ML (low-liquid limit silt) and CL (low-liquid limit clay) appears almost same features, and MH (high-liquid limit silt) despite of 88% value of ML. Cohesion among them varies with similar growing rate.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.575-585
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• 2020

In this numerical study, the 2D dynamic behavior of a clayey basin and its effect on damage pattern over basin edge are investigated. To attain this goal, a fully nonlinear time domain analysis method has been applied. Then, the fragility curves of the considered two typical industrial structures for that certain point are estimated using the acceleration time histories recorded at each surface point. The results show that the use of the damage related parameters in site effect analyses, instead of amplification curves, can yield more realistic estimation of the basin dynamic response. In a distance about 150 m from outcrop at the basin edge, the differences between fragility curves increase when increasing the distance from outcrop with respect to the reference rock site. Outside this region and towards the basin center, they tend to occur in rather single curves. Furthermore, to connect the structural damage to the basin edge effect, the earthquake demand value at different points for two typical structures was evaluated. It was seen that the probability of occurrence of damage increases over 250 m from outcrop, while the effect of the basin edge was limited to 150 m in case of the basin edge evaluation by using fragility curves.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-111
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• 1993

The transformation of rocks into unconsoli-dated debris is the prime geomorphic processes including weathering and soil forming process. In these processes, rocks tend to be unconsol-idated debris with small particles. Particularly, typical granite is more likely affected by weathering, since the rock consists of quartz, feldspar and mica that can be easily coarse-grained and well jointed without bedding. The purposes of this study are to clarify the index and properties of mechanical weathering that contributed to transformation of granite distributed in Korea. A total of seventy-three samples of weathering products of granite in Korea were collected during the three-year period, March 30, 1989 to February 21, 1992. The prticle analysis was performed for clay, silt and sand using Sieve and Hydrometer. The results of the analysis are as the followings: First, soil textures in the study area are included seven categories of textures as C, CL, SCL, Sil, SL, LS, and S. Among these textures, the most frequent soil texture were SL, S and SCL in order. Second, the weathering products of granite are crumbled by weathering and hydrothermal. Clay texture consisted of fine materials seems to be influenced by hydrothermal, while Sand texture composed of coarse materials, seems to be significantly influenced by weathering. Third, the index of mechanical weathering by region indicates that Hawngdeung(1) is the lowest as 2.37 and the index by soil texture shows that Clay texture is the lowest as 2.46. Forth, the regression analysis of MW showes that sand/clay variable is the most significant variable. Finally, pedochemical weathering is prevailed on the clayey gruss and geochemical weathering is on the gruss and shattering is on the weathered rock, strongly, but the fine materials in some sites were formed by argillation of hydrothermal.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.417-427
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• 2017

This study aims to present cases of rock slope failures caused by geological structures. Status of slope failures, results of cause analysis and stabilizing methods are introduced, focusing primarily on rock slope failures caused by specific geologic structures, such as intersection of faults infilled with clay, foliation and fault shear zone by dike intrusion and deep-seated clayey layer along lithologic boundary. Detailed geological survey, geophysical exploration and boring survey were conducted for cause analysis. Stabilizing method to prevent further slope failures and to ensure long-term stability of slopes were established, considering characteristics of geological structures, types of failure and geological conditions.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.114-122
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• 1995

The principle and applications of GPR(Ground Penetrating Radear) are familiar to engineering geologists and geophsicists as very attractive technique for continuous high resolution images of the subsurface. However, the main limitation of GPR is obviously related to presence of clayey or silty conductive soils, resulting in complete attenuation of radar signals. This difficulty gives hesitation for the exploration of the deeper targets for example detecting bedrock, particularly in Korean situation that most regions have conductive overburden. In order to prove usefulness of geological survey with GPR in that situation, the technique was tried to investigate depth of bedrock under thick conductive overburden and the other geolocgical informations for the constructionof foundation in the Dongbu apartment site, Kimhae. The reflection patterns on the processed GPR sections are well correlated with the geotechnical units-bedrock, alluvium, landfill unit and their internal layer-boundaries of boring data before GPR survey, except upper contact of bedrock. The isopach maps of the geotechnical units for the 3-D interpretations are made from GPR sections. The maps provided useful geological information that bedrock was distributed as plain and valley with 22~27m depth under alluvium unit (this depth is 5~8 m deeper than drill log) and sedimentary layers subsided and bended along growth fault with NNE strike/15$^{\circ}$SE dip in alluvium unit.