Ground reinforcement is a method used to reduce the damage caused by earthquakes. Usually, cement-based reinforcement methods are used because they are inexpensive and show excellent performance. Recently, however, reinforcement methods using eco-friendly materials have been proposed due to environmental issues. In this study, the cement reinforcement method and the biopolymer reinforcement method using sodium alginate were compared. The dynamic properties of the reinforced ground, including shear modulus and damping ratio, were measured through a resonant-column test. Also, the viscosity of sodium alginate solution, which is a non-Newtonian fluid, was also explored and found to increase with concentration. The maximum shear modulus and minimum damping ratio increased, and the linear range of the shear modulus curve decreased, when cement and sodium alginate solution were mixed. Addition of biopolymer showed similar reinforcing effect in a lesser amount of additive compared to the cement-reinforced ground, but the effect decreased above a certain viscosity because the biopolymer solution was not homogeneously distributed. This was examined through a shear-failure-mode test.

Modeling the soil–structure interaction (SSI) in seismic design involves the use of soil response curves for single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structures; however, real structures have multiple degrees of freedom (MDOF). In this study, shaking-table-derived p-y curves for SDOF and MDOF superstructures were compared using numerical analysis. It was found that an MDOF structure experienced less displacement than an SDOF structure of the same weight, but the effect of increasing the DOF decreased at greater pile depths. Numerical analysis results estimated using the natural periods and mass participation rates of the structures were similar to those of shaking table tests. Abbreviations: finite element: FE; frequency response function: FRF; multiple degrees of freedom: MDOF; single degree of freedom: SDOF; soil–structure interaction: SSI.

In Korea, earthquakes have continued to occur even after the occurrence of Gyeongju and Pohang earthquakes of 2016 and 2017, respectively, raising awareness of earthquakes. Because earthquakes cause damage to not only structures but also humans, it is essential to improve the seismic performance and design earthquake-resistant structures to minimize earthquake damages. If the seismic performance of a structure is improved through ground improvement and reinforcement, ground response analysis should be performed considering the dynamic properties of the site of the structure. In addition, cement has been widely used as a material for ground improvement, but recently, ground improvement methods in which biopolymers are utilized for ecofriendly construction have been investigated extensively. However, studies on the changes in the dynamic properties of ground improved using biopolymers, and the ground-response analysis has not been investigated in detail. In this study, resonant column tests were performed using samples mixed with cement and sodium alginate to evaluate the effects o f ground improvement using a biopolymer. In addition, the dynamic properties of the improved samples were adopted in performing the ground response analysis, which demonstrated confirmed the ground stability after ground improvement. From the results, the ground dynamic properties, shear modulus, and damping ratio were influenced when the biopolymer and cement were mixed with the soil. Furthermore, the ground response analysis confirmed that the maximum ground acceleration on the surface decreased.

Approximately 76% of the reservoirs built in Korea are facilities that are more than 50 years old. The risk of disasters has increased because of reservoir aging and the deepening polarization of drought and floods caused by abnormal weather conditions. In addition, the number of earthquakes has been gradually increasing in Korea, and anxiety has increased significantly because of the recent series of large earthquakes since the earthquakes in Pohang and Gyeongju. Accordingly, risk assessment and preparation are required through the stability evaluation of earthquakes in old reservoirs. The stability evaluation method, based on the limit equilibrium method, depends highly on the soil strength parameters; hence, it is essential to identify the soil strength parameters accurately. However, even though the soil strength parameters are of the same layer, they have different values because of the heterogeneity of the ground. It is difficult to select the representative value of the soil strength parameters because of the time and economic constraints of the ground survey. Therefore, in this study, the probability of failure of an old reservoir owing to seismic events was calculated, and the stability was evaluated. The water level and the uncertainty of the strength constant of the reservoir were considered. The analysis showed that the probability of collapse has increased because of the increase in the water level and the coefficient of variation of the friction angle, and the stability of the reservoir, considering the seismic events, was found to not satisfy the minimum factor of safety for slope activities.