▲ Busiddol / CEO Kabboo Kim

(PowerKorea) Big earthquakes were rare in the Korean Peninsula which happened once every one to two hundred years. Recently however, the land is showing a sign of warning that the Korean land is no longer a safety zone from tremors. In 2017, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit Pohang, a main seaport city in the east, and shocked not only the residents around the region but also people from other parts of the peninsula as the ripple was felt far and wide. Experts, alongside worried people, raised a concern over many vulnerable buildings in South Korea that are not earthquake-proofed and made a strong voice of the need to apply seismic design to newly built houses and structures.   

Busiddol is a South Korean company established in December 2016 as a technology holding company specialized in soil and ground-reinforcing. The company made a strong presence in the field with development of Puzzle Soil. Puzzle Soil is 1) earth and sand grains made of ready-mixed concrete and ascon type grain aggregate [13, 19, 25, 40mm] 2) a specific mix of grains give rise to layer jamming 3) a thin substitution that strengthens bearing power 4) the soil that causes frictional resistance to surface like the layered skin of an onion to stand firm of the ground. 

Puzzle Soil is simple in application and shorter in length of construction. The inner angle of friction is more than 50 degree (New Excellent Technology approved) and the friction surface is dense. The adjusted particle size forms body-centered polygon which gives strong stability. The grains, or stones if you like, big or small, endures soil pressure with jamming friction and Indian Institute of Technology calls this ‘ideal filling layout’. Because of these big and small grains, the filling is even and similar in the ground if we look at body-centered polyhedron as a unit. And from this, the layer jamming friction is enforced. 

Kabboo Kim, CEO of Busiddol, who has more than 20 years of expertise in soil and ground-making, says “The jamming arousing Puzzle Soil is an excellent ground reinforcement and it reduces unit costs while increases performance which is the reason it obtained a New Excellent Technology Certificate in 2017. Experts at Busiddol find inspiration by observing carefully how nature works and make it into simple and cost effective in application.”

According to company officials, Puzzle Soil proved its performance and effect in more than 15 story high buildings as well as KTX Gwangmyeong, Samsung Display, and SsangYong Motor. Also in 2017, the Ministry of National Defense appointed Puzzle Soil as a test-application technology and a project is being carried on at the moment in cooperation with a designer. 

The excellent earthquake-proof technology of Puzzle Soil has been tested and wowed at the 19th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 2019 Korea Architecture Fair & Festival, and MBC Construction EXPO. 

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