Experimental Evaluation of Leaching Effects on the Compressibility of Marine Clay and its Strain Rate Dependency

This study investigated how leaching affects compressibility behavior of marine clay and its strain rate dependency based on laboratory tests using three pairs of specimens. Each pair of specimens consisted of leached and unleached samples with identical geotechnical properties except soil salinity. The behavior characteristics of the leached and unleached specimens were evaluated using several series of constant rate-of-strain (CRS) tests with differing strain rates. The results revealed that the compressibility of leached clay increased as its salinity decreased. However, void ratio, Atterberg limits, and preconsolidation pressure in leached samples were lower than those in unleached clay. The increased compressibility and decreased preconsolidation pressure may be induced from a weakening of the interparticle bonds in the leached soil skeleton. The CRS test results with differing strain rates revealed that higher strain rates corresponded with higher levels of effective stress and higher apparent preconsolidation pressure in both leached and unleached clays.     

Mechanical and Germination Characteristics of Stabilized Organic Soils

High-organic-content dredged soils are known to have inferior mechanical characteristics because they are highly compressible and have low shear strength. To recycle dredged soil with a high organic content as a top soil this study describes an investigation of the mechanical properties and germination characteristics of stabilized organic soils using unconfined compression tests, pH tests, and seed germination tests. Several mixtures with organic contents in the range 0–30% by mass and binder contents in the range 5–15% were prepared to evaluate the effects of the organic content on the mechanical and germination characteristics of the stabilized soils. The results show that an increase in the organic content leads to a decrease in the strength and pH of the stabilized organic soil, which are favorable conditions for germination. The germination rate increased significantly with the increasing organic content, and the plant growth rate also increased. The addition of a binder into the mixtures increased the strength of the soil; however, it also increased the pH and decreased the rate of seed germination and plant growth.     

Regional-scale landslide risk assessment on Mt. Umyeon using risk index estimation

Landslides - The frequency of landslides and their magnitude are increasing worldwide due to global climate change, causing damage to people and infrastructure. Therefore, landslide risk assessment...     

Relative effect method of landslide susceptibility zonation in weathered granite soil: a case study in Deokjeok-ri Creek,South Korea

The objective of this study was to produce and evaluate a landslide susceptibility map for weathered granite soils in Deokjeok-ri Creek, South Korea. The relative effect (RE) method was used to determine the relationship between landslide causative factors (CFs) and landslide occurrence. To determine the effect of CFs on landslides, data layers of aspect, elevation, slope, internal relief, curvature, distance to drainage, drainage density, stream power index, sediment transport index, topographic wetness index, soil drainage character, soil type, soil depth, forest type, timber age, and geology were analyzed in a geographical information system (GIS) environment. A GIS-based landslide inventory map of 748 landslide locations was prepared using data from previous reports, aerial photographic interpretation, and extensive field work. A RE model was generated from a training set consisting of 673 randomly selected landslides in the inventory map, with the remaining 75 landslides used for validation of the susceptibility map. The results of the analysis were verified using the landslide location data. According to the analysis, the RE model had a success rate of 86.3 % and a predictive accuracy of 88.6 %. The validation results showed satisfactory agreement between the susceptibility map and the existing data on landslide locations. The results of this study can therefore be used to mitigate landslide-induced hazards and to plan land use.