Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society ISSN:2508-2876(Print) 2287-9528(Online) 한국지반신소재학회 논문집

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.