• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.1278-1284
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• 2008

This study carried out bender element tests in a calibration chamber in order to estimate the characteristics of soil specimen prepared in a calibration chamber. Basically, the purpose of bender element test is to measure the shear wave velocity. Bender element test cannot only confirm the status of soil specimen deposited in a chamber, but also estimate the consolidation process indirectly. In order to carry out bender element test in a calibration chamber, a pair of bender elements was installed inside the chamber, using the 'ㄷ' shaped frame. For the sandy soils having various relative densities in various stress conditions, the maximum shear modulus was estimated. From the comparison with bender element test results in a triaxial testing device, testing device and procedure was validated.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.37-45
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• 2006

Bender elements, composed of thin piezo-ceramics and elastic shims, have been used to measure shear wave velocities of specimens in laboratories. In a preliminary stage of their field applications, an in-house research of optimizing suitable bender elements and their geometrical arrangement has been carried out in a barrel of kaolinite-water mixture. Two types of measurement configuration, similar to cross-hole and in-hole seismic testing, have been implemented. prototype instrumented rods were penetrated into a soft clay layer in the west coast and excellent shear waves were recorded. Development of penetration device (mandrel) and associated instrumented rods are in progress for deeper investigation.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.47-57
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• 2006

The shear wave velocity is related with the stiffness of granular skeleton and mass density. The shear stiffness of the granular skeleton remains unaffected by the presence of the fluid. Bender elements are convenient shear wave transducers for instrumenting soil cells due to optimal soil-transducer coupling. This study addresses the principles of the shear wave, the design and implementation of bender elements including electromagnetic coupling prevention, directivity, resonant frequency, detection of first arrival, and near field effects. It is shown that electromagnetic coupling effects can be minimized using parallel-type bender elements. Thus, the in-plane S-wave directivity is quasi-circular. The resonant frequency of bender element installations depends on the geometry of the bender element, the anchor efficiency and the soil stiffness. One of the most cumbersome parts in the bender element test is near field effects, which affect the selection of arrival time. The selection of the first arrival within the near field Is effectively solved by the multiple reflection technique and signal matching technique. Bender elements, which requires several considerations, may be effective tools for the subsurface characterization by using S-wave.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1998.10a
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• pp.453-460
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• 1998

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.17-25
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• 2005

The bender element method is an experimental technique to determine very small strain ($<10^{-3}\%$), elastic shear modulus of a soil, $G_{max}$ by measuring the velocity of shear wave propagation through a sample. Bender elements have been applied as versatile transducers to measure small strain modulus of wet or dry soils in various laboratory apparatus. In this paper, bender element (BE), resonant column (RC) and torsional shear (TS) tests were performed on Toyoura sand at various testing conditions using the modified Stokoe type RC/TS testing equipment capable of performing BE test. Based on the results, applicabilities of the testing method using bender element were evaluated by comparing the values of $G_{max}$ obtained from RC/TS and BE testing methods. For more dependable evaluation, the loading frequency of each testing method was considered for the results obtained for samples in saturated condition by adapting Biot's theory.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.705-710
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• 2010

Bender element is made of connecting two piezoelectric elements which have different polarities from each other, and is a kind of sensors which can be used either way as a source making elastic wave or a receiver. Elastic waves generated by stimulating the bender elements can be decomposed to P-wave and S-wave propagation. Numerical and expeimental studies are conducted, and results show that multiple measurements are recommended to determine wave arrivals from the received signals.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.09a
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• pp.1110-1116
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• 2010

Void ratios are one of the key parameters for exact calculation of settlement of soft groundse. In the study, shear wave velocities of a soft ground were used to measure the field void ratio using bender elements sensors. The bender-element probes were installed in situ at the depths of 3, 5 and 8m on a pre-loading site near Incheon, Korea. During 90 days after installation, the changes of shear wave velocity and ground surface settlement were measured. The field void ratio was estimated from measured shear wave velocities. The void ratio estimated by the shear wave velocity measured by bender elements agrees well with the measured values in the field.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2007

Recent investigations into earthquake-induced damage have reported that liquefaction may take place on not only sands but also fine-contained soils or non-plastic silts. Although not a few study has been performed to understand the liquefaction of sands, relatively little effort has been devoted to improving our understanding of the liquefaction characteristics for non-plastic soils. Given that liquefaction strength is largely associated to shear wave velocity, bender element test as well as direct simple shear test is employed to examine the stiffness of non-plastic silt more precisely. Through the soil tests, the stiffness of non-plastic silts from the bender element tests is identified as slightly greater than that from the direct simple shear test. Further, the stiffness of non-plastic silts appears to be smaller than that of clay.

• International Journal of Safety
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.22-25
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• 2007

Damping out high frequency low amplitude structural vibrations using PZT bimorph is presented. Static and Dynamic analyses of the piezoelectric bimorph bender were performed. Three layer piezoelectric actuators were modeled with SOLID5 coupled-field elements using ANSYS. Static deflection and modal analyses of the piezoelectric bimorph bender are presented. Proper tuning of the values of the resistor and inductor in the shunt circuit is required for maximum vibration suppression.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.30-34
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• 2019

A newly proposed T-shape piezoelectric actuator, composed of piezoelectric benders, was designed and studied. This actuator has four legs, and can walk in both forward and backward directions. The piezoelectric actuator has a simple structure and can be easily fabricated. It consists of a piezoelectric bender and a joint. The piezoelectric bender is composed of carbon and ceramic materials. Therefore, there is an advantage in that it can be fabricated on a very small scale. Elliptical displacements of the piezoelectric actuators were analyzed by finite element analysis. Elliptical motion at the tip occurred at two voltages having a 90-degree phase difference. Based on the finite element analysis results, prototype actuators with maximum displacements were fabricated, and the characteristics of their movements were characterized.