• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.587-609
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• 2019

Short-and long-term stabilities of bentonite, favored material as buffer in geological repositories for high-level waste were reviewed in this paper in addition to alternative design concepts of buffer to mitigate the thermal load from decay heat of SF (Spent Fuel) and further increase the disposal efficiency. It is generally reported that the irreversible changes in structure, hydraulic behavior, and swelling capacity are produced due to temperature increase and vapor flow between $150{\sim}250^{\circ}C$. Provided that the maximum temperature of bentonite is less than $150^{\circ}C$, however, the effects of temperature on the material, structural, and mineralogical stability seems to be minor. The maximum temperature in disposal system will constrain and determine the amount of waste to be disposed per unit area and be regarded as an important design parameter influencing the availability of disposal site. Thus, it is necessary to identify the effects of high temperature on the performance of buffer and allow for the thermal constraint greater than $100^{\circ}C$. In addition, the development of high-performance EBS (Engineered Barrier System) such as composite bentonite buffer mixed with graphite or silica and multi-layered buffer (i.e., highly thermal-conductive layer or insulating layer) should be taken into account to enhance the disposal efficiency in parallel with the development of multilayer repository. This will contribute to increase of reliability and securing the acceptance of the people with regard to a high-level waste disposal.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.61-77
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• 2019

If a new utility tunnel is planned for high density existing urban areas in Korea, a rational decision-making process such as the determination of optimum design capacity by using the feasibility evaluation system based on quantitative evaluation indexes and the economic evaluation is needed. Thus, the previous study presented the important weight of individual higher-level indexes (3 items) and sub-indexes (16 items) through a hierarchy analysis (AHP) for quantitative evaluation index items, considering the characteristics of each urban type. In addition, an economic evaluation method was proposed considering 10 benefit items and 8 cost items by adding 3 new items, including the effects of traffic accidents, noise reduction and socio-economic losses, to the existing items for the benefit cost analysis suitable for urban utility tunnels. This study presented a quantitative feasibility evaluation method using the important weight of 16 sub-index items such as the road management sector, public facilities sector and urban environment sector. Afterwards, the results of quantitative feasibility and economic evaluation were compared and analyzed in 123 main road sections of the Seoul. In addition, a comprehensive evaluation method was proposed by the combination of the two evaluation results. The design capacity optimization program, which will be developed by programming the logic of the quantitative feasibility and economic evaluation system presented in this study, will be utilized in the planning and design phases of urban community zones and will ultimately contribute to the vitalization of urban utility tunnels.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.327-339
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to present the effective smoke control flow rate and mode for securing safety through quantitative risk assessment according to the smoke control flow rate and mode (supply or exhaust) of the platform when a train fire occurs at the subway platform. To this end, a fire outbreak scenario was created using a side platform with a central staircase as a model and fire analysis was performed for each scenario to compare and analyze fire propagation characteristics and ASET, evacuation analysis was performed to predict the number of deaths. In addition, a fire accident rate (F)/number of deaths (N) diagram (F/N diagram) was prepared for each scenario to compare and evaluate the risk according to the smoke control flow rate and mode. In the ASET analysis of harmful factors, carbon monoxide, temperature, and visible distance determined by performance-oriented design methods and standards for firefighting facilities, the effect of visible distance is the largest, In the case where the delay in entering the platform of the fire train was not taken into account, the ASET was analyzed to be about 800 seconds when the air flow rate was 4 × 833 m³/min. The estimated number of deaths varies greatly depending on the location of the vehicle of fire train, In the case of a fire occurring in a vehicle adjacent to the stairs, it is shown that the increase is up to three times that of the vehicle in the lead. In addition, when the smoke control flow rate increases, the number of fatalities decreases, and the reduction rate of the air supply method rather than the exhaust method increases. When the supply flow rate is 4 × 833 m³/min, the expected number of deaths is reduced to 13% compared to the case where ventilation is not performed. As a result of the risk assessment, it is found that the current social risk assessment criteria are satisfied when smoke control is performed, and the number of deaths is the flow rate 4 × 833 m³/min when smoke control is performed at 29.9 people in 10,000 year, It was analyzed that it decreased to 4.36 people.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.261-283
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• 2023

This study aimed to review the performance stability of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) fiber reinforcing materials among the synthetic fiber types for which the application of performance reinforcing materials to fiber-reinforced concrete is being reviewed by examining short-term and long-term performance changes. To this end, the residual performance was analyzed after exposing the PET fiber to an acid/alkali environment, and the flexural strength and equivalent flexural strength of the PET fiber-reinforced concrete mixture by age were analyzed, and the surface of the PET fiber collected from the concrete specimen was examined using a scanning microscope (SEM). The changes in were analyzed. As a result of the acid/alkali environment exposure test of PET fiber, the strength retention rate was 83.4~96.4% in acidic environment and 42.4~97.9% in alkaline environment. It was confirmed that the strength retention rate of the fiber itself significantly decreased when exposed to high-temperature strong alkali conditions, and the strength retention rate increased in the finished yarn coated with epoxy. In the test results of the flexural strength and equivalent flexural strength of the PET fiber-reinforced concrete mixture, no reduction in flexural strength was found, and the equivalent flexural strength result also did not show any degradation in performance as a fiber reinforcement. Even in the SEM analysis results, no surface damage or cross-sectional change of the PET reinforcing fibers was observed. These results mean that no damage or cross-section reduction of PET reinforcing fibers occurs in cement concrete environments even when fiber-reinforced concrete is exposed to high temperatures in the early stage or depending on age, and the strength of PET fibers decreases in cement concrete environments. The impact is judged to be of no concern. As the flexural strength and equivalent flexural strength according to age were also stably expressed, it could be seen that performance degradation due to hydrolysis, which is a concern due to the use of PET fiber reinforcing materials, did not occur, and it was confirmed that stable residual strength retention characteristics were exhibited.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.359-381
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• 2020

Within the framework of DECOVALEX-2019 Task D, full-scale engineered barriers experiment (FEBEX) at Grimsel Test Site was numerically simulated to investigate an applicability of implemented Barcelona basic model (BBM) into TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D simulator, which was developed for the prediction of the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of bentonite buffer. And the calculated heater power, temperature, relative humidity, total stress, saturation, water content and dry density were compared with in situ data monitored in the various sections. In general, the calculated heater power and temperature provided a fairly good agreement with experimental observations, however, the difference between power of heater #1 and that of heater #2 could not captured in the numerical analysis. It is necessary to consider lamprophyre with low thermal conductivity around heater #1 and non-simplified installation progresses of bentonite blocks in the tunnel for better modeling results. The evolutions and distributions of relative humidity were well reproduced, but hydraulic model needs to be modified because the re-saturation process was relatively fast near the heaters. In case of stress evolutions due to the thermal and hydraulic expansions, the computed stress was in good agreement with the data. But, the stress is slightly higher than the measured in situ data at the early stage of the operation, because gap between rock mass and bentonite blocks have not been considered in the numerical simulations. The calculated distribution of saturation, water content, and dry density along the radial distance showed good agreement with the observations after the first and final dismantling. The calculated dry density near the center of the FEBEX tunnel and heaters were overestimated compared with the observations. As a result, the saturation and water content were underestimated with the measurements. Therefore, numerical model of permeability is needed to modify for the production of better numerical results. It will be possible to produce the better analysis results and more realistically predict the coupled THM behavior in the bentonite blocks by performing the additional studies and modifying the numerical model based on the results of this study.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.362-372
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• 2003

Since the occurrence of Portland cement, a great number of concrete structures were constructed. But the concrete structures have their own life times, which inevitably demand repairing treatments, especially on their surface parts. Currently many various methods have been developed and are being applied fer this purpose. In this study, a newly developed method using pneumatic chipping machine and anchor pin was adopted far repair of old concrete structure and the mechanical characteristics of cementing plane between existing and new concrete were tested. Comparing the removal methods for the decrepit part of existing concrete using pneumatic chipping machine and hydraulic breaker, the peak cohesion was higher when using chipping machine at the cementing plane. On the other hand, the residual cohesion was higher for the case of breaker. Step shaped chipping on the cementing plane was effective in increasing peak cohesion, which results 14% increase in the case of 30 mm step height and 22% in 50 mm height when compared with planar chipping plane. The use of anchor pin increased the residual cohesion, which restricted shear slip on the cementing plane after peak shear stress and the tensile strength of 32% compared with that of non-anchored case. According to the combined effect of step shaped chipping of 30 mm and anchor pin with an interval of 15 cm, the peak cohesion reached up to 77% and the residual cohesion showed 180% of the ones of the fresh concrete, respectively.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.373-388
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• 2003

The investigation on the rock discontinuity geometry has been usually undergone by direct measurement on the rock exposures. But this sort of field work has disadvantages, which we, for example, restriction of surveying areas and consuming excessive times and labors. To cover these kinds of disadvantages, image processing could be regarded as an altemative way, with additional advantages such as automatic and objective tools when used under adequate computerized algorithm. This study was focused on the recognition of the rock discontinuities captured in the image of rock exposure by digital camera and the production of the discontinuity map automatically. The whole process was written using macro commands builtin image analyzer, ImagePro Plus. ver 4.1(Media Cybernetic). The procedure of image processing developed in this research could be divided with three steps, which are enhancement, recognition and extraction of discontinuity traces from the digital image. Enhancement contains combining and applying several filters to remove and relieve various types of noises from the image of rock surface. For the next step, recognition of discontinuity traces was executed. It used local topographic features characterized by the differences of gray scales between discontinuity and rock. Such segments of discontinuity traces extracted from the image were reformulated using an algorithm of computer decision-making criteria and linked to form complete discontinuity traces. To verify the image processing algorithms and their sequences developed in this research, discontinuity traces digitally photographed on the rock slope were analyzed. The result showed about 75～80% of discontinuities could be detected. It is thought to be necessary that the algorithms and computer codes developed in this research need to be advanced further especially in combining digital filters to produce images to be more acceptable for extraction of discontinuity traces and setting seed pixels automatically when linking trace segments to make a complete discontinuity trace.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.490-497
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• 2009

The horizontal and vertical response spectra using the observed ground motion from the recent 5 macro earthquakes were analysed and then were compared to both the seismic design response spectra(Reg Guide 1.60), applied to the domestic nuclear power plants, and the Korean Standard Design Response Spectrum for general structures and buildings(1997). 74 horizontal and 89 vertical observed ground motions, without considering soil types, were used for normalization with respect to the peak acceleration value of each ground motion. The results showed that the horizontal MPOSD(Mean Plus One Sigma Standard Deviation) response spectra revealed much higher values for the whole frequency bands above 1 Hz than Reg. Guide(1.60). For the vertical response spectra, the results showed slightly higher than just between 7 and 8 Hz frequency band. The results were also compared to the Korean Standard Response Spectrum for the 3 different soil types and showed that the horizontal MPOSD response spectra revealed much higher values for the whole periods below 2 second(0.5 Hz) than those of SE soil type. The vertical response spectra showed similar to the values of the Korean Standard Response Spectrum of SD soil type. These spectral values dependent on frequency could be related to characteristics of the domestic crustal attenuation and the effect of each site amplification. However, through the qualitative improvements and quantitative enhancement of the observed ground motions, the conservation of horizontal seismic design response spectrum should be considered more significantly for the whole frequency bands above the 1 Hz.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.449-463
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• 2014

There are many case studies and application cases in abandoned mines for hydraulic filling method filled by slurry or paste form, but research on the pneumatic filling is not applied in Korea. The damage of steel pipe is occurred by wear due to the flow of filling material in the bent area of steel pipe in traditional pneumatic filling method. In this study, the new pneumatic filling method was developed using a newly devised improved nozzle to improve the above problem. The model test for mine filling was performed in the laboratory for the simulated accessible or inaccessible mine cavities, and the filling efficiency by the results obtained from the test was calculated. The filling efficiency was analyzed from the variation of outlet angle, feed rate and grain size of sand in model test of simulated accessible mine cavity. The superiority of improved pneumatic filling method was proved through the analysis of filling efficiency by the results obtained from each model tests of gravitational, traditional, and improved filling method in simulated inaccessible mine cavity.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.35-43
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• 2011

The area to be studied is the place where the main line rail way will be constructed in accordance with the scheduled construction project of Yeongju dam, and is a fold and mylonite zone over several km that is formed by ductile-shearing effect. The ductile shear zone, which has been transformed by faulting for long geological time, shows a complicated geological structure. Due to the recrystallization of mineral caused by transformation in deep underground (>8km), a mylonite zone with lamellar structure has properties distinguished from other fault zones formed by transformation near earth surface <2km). To see the properties of mylonite, this study analyzed the transformation rate of sample rocks and the shape of constriction structure accompanied with transformation. While the transformation of fault zone shows a round oblate, the mylonite zone shows a prolate form. Transformation rate in fault zone was measured to be less than 1.2 compared to the state before transformation while the measured rate in mylonite zone was 2.5 at most. Setting the surface of discontinuity as the base, the unconfined compressive strength of slickenside can be categorized in sedimentary rocks, and a change of strength was observed after water soaking over certain time. Taking into account that the weathering resistance of the rock based on mineral and chemical organization is relatively higher, its engineering properties seems to result from the shattered crack structure by crushing effect. When undertaking tunnel construction in mylonite zone, there should be a special care for the expansion of shattered cracks or the fall of strength by influx of ground water.