• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.27-37
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• 2006

Cemented Sand and Gravel (C.S.G) method has become increasingly popular in Japan and throughout the world as a construction method and material. This method is favorably used for cofferdam and large dam because a quarry and aggregate plant facility can be diminished. Also, this method can reduce construction cost, work duration and destruction of environment. In this paper, a methodology for C.S.G mix design based on so-called soil mechanics approach is proposed for trapezoid-shaped dam. The methodology consists of selection of a suitable aggregate, introduction of compaction method, processing to prepare standard specimens, and determination of mix portions. Also, unconfined compressive strength tests and large triaxial compression tests are performed. From the results of the test, correlation equation among strength, elastic modulus and unit cement is proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.19-30
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• 2010

Bentonite-based grout has been widely used to seal a borehole constructed for a closed-loop vertical ground heat exchanger in a geothermal heat pump system (GHP) because of its high swelling potential and low hydraulic conductivity. Three types of bentonites were compared one another in terms of viscosity and thermal conductivity in this paper. The viscosity and thermal conductivity of the grouts with bentonite contents of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% by weight were examined to take into account a variable water content of bentonite grout depending on field conditions. To evaluate the effect of salinity (i.e., concentration of NaCl : 0.1M, 0.25M, and 0.5M) on swelling potential of the bentonite-based grouts, a series of volume reduction tests were performed. In addition, if the viscosity of bentonite-water mixture is relatively low, particle segregation can occur. To examine the segregation phenomenon, the degree of segregation has been evaluated for the bentonite grouts especially in case of relatively low viscosity. From the experimental results, it is found that (1) the viscosity of the bentonite mixture increased with time and/or with increasing the mixing ratio. However, the thermal conductivity of the bentonite mixture did not increase with time but increased with increasing the mixing ratio; (2) If bentonite grout has a relatively high swelling index, the volume reduction ratio in the saline condition will be low; (3) The additive, such as a silica sand, can settle down on the bottom of the borehole if the bentonite has a very low viscosity. Consequently, the thermal conductivity of the upper portion of the ground heat exchanger will be much smaller than that of the lower portion.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.5707-5715
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• 2015

Recently, construction industry has won an increasing number of orders for overseas construction projects, thereby achieving an external growth, but its competiveness is concentrated on the construction execution field. In particular, the plant field occupies most of the entire orders, which are concentrated regionally in the Middle East and Asia. In addition, low-cost orders are frequently caused by excessive competition. But its high value-added construction engineering(Below, CE) field's overseas market share and technological capacity are very low. Also, technological competiveness, in terms of order amount and other factors, is deepening in polarization between large CE companies and small and medium-sized CE firms. It is noted that the existing CE information systems mostly simply accumulate data such as design and specification standards and provide the information thereon to users, and thus have yet to provide the information essential for the CE and support such efforts. This study sought to prepare a system designed for sharing outstanding design documents information necessary for the CE industry, by category of construction so as to support the technological enhancement of the CE field. Toward that end, this study presented measures for constructing the system and services designed to exchange and share the outstanding design documents information and know-how by construction category necessary between ordering agencies and CE companies.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.67-74
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• 2019

In this paper the response factor is investigated for middle and small size-RC slab aged bridges. The response factor consists of static and dynamic response factors and is a main parameter in the frequency based-bridge load carrying capacity prediction model. Static and dynamic response factors are determined based on the frequency variation and the impact factor variation respectively between current and previous (or design) states of bridges. Here, the impact factor variation is figured out using the impact factor response spectrum which provides the impact factor according to the natural frequency of bridges. In this study, four actual RC slab bridges aged over 30 years after construction are considered and their span length is 12m. The dynamic loading test in field using a dump truck and eigenvalue analysis with FE models are conducted to identify the current and previous (or design) state-natural frequencies of the bridges, respectively. For more realistic considerations in the moving loading situation, the impact factor response spectrum is developed based on tri-axle moving loads representing the dump truck load distribution and various supporting conditions such as simply supported and both ends fixed conditions. From the results, the response factor is widely ranged from 0.21to 0.91, showing that the static response factor contributes significantly on the results while the dynamic response factor has a small effect on the result. Compared to the results obtained from the impact factor response spectrum based on the single axle-simply supported condition, the maximum percentage difference of the response factors is below 3.2% only.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.5D
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• pp.655-664
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• 2008

Lean Construction recommends implementing site production management by measuring the reliability of daily production tasks, collecting the causes for failure of incomplete tasks, and identifying problems in the existing process based on the collected data. Although many research projects have been performed to introduce Lean Construction in Korea, there are not many cases in which day-to-day site production operations has been stringently evaluated based on such methods. This paper introduces three cases in which such techniques were implemented on a residential, civil infrastructure and plant project. On each project, process maps were created with the superintendents and daily production meetings were held for two weeks. Consequently, the average PPC for the three projects was 79% for PPC and 16% for PAT. In addition, the majority of the failures were due to 'Directive/Plan' and 'Prerequisites.' The results show that project stakeholders (owners, contractors, etc.) lack the ability to plan ahead and keep to their plans, and also lack the capability to synchronize workflow between themselves. The results also reveal that project participants need to be more proactive in solving process problems on site and also need to be better educated in Lean concepts and methodologies.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.62-72
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• 2023

The aging of plant structures due to industrialization in the 1970s has increased the demand for blast demolition. While blasting can reduce exposure to environmental pollution by shortening the demolition period, improper blasting design and construction plans pose significant safety risks. Thus, it is vital to consider optimal blasting demolition conditions and other factors through collapse behavior simulation. This study utilizes a 3-D combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) code-based 3-D DFPA to simulate the collapse of a chimney structure in a thermal power plant in Seocheon, South Korea. The collapse behavior from the numerical simulation is compared to the actual structure collapse, and the numerical simulation result presents good agreement with the actual building demolition. Additionally, various numerical simulations have been conducted on the chimney models to analyze the impact of the duct size in the pre-weakening area. The no-duct, duct, and double-area duct models were compared in terms of crack pattern and history of Z-axis displacement. The findings show that the elapse-time for demolition decreases as the area of the duct increases, causing collapse to occur quickly by increasing the load-bearing area.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.273-284
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• 2024

This study investigates the impact of international oil price fluctuations on overseas construction orders secured by domestic and foreign companies. The analysis employs statistical data spanning the past 20 years, encompassing international oil prices, overseas construction orders from domestic firms, and new overseas construction orders from the top 250 global construction companies. The correlation between these variables is assessed using correlation coefficients(R), determination coefficients(R²), and p-values. The results indicate a strong positive correlation between international oil prices and overseas construction orders. The correlation coefficient between domestic overseas construction orders and oil prices is found to be 0.8 or higher, signifying a significant influence. Similarly, a high correlation coefficient of 0.76 is observed between oil prices and new orders from leading global construction companies. Further analysis reveals a particularly strong correlation between oil prices and overseas construction orders in Asia and the Middle East, potentially due to the prevalence of oil-related projects in these regions. Additionally, a high correlation is observed between oil prices and orders for industrial facilities compared to architectural projects. This suggests an increase in plant construction volumes driven by fluctuations in oil prices. Based on these findings, the study proposes an entry strategy for navigating oil price volatility and maintaining competitiveness in the overseas construction market. Key recommendations include diversifying project locations and supplier bases; utilizing hedging techniques for exchange rate risk management, adapting to local infrastructure and market conditions, establishing local partnerships and securing skilled local labor, implementing technological innovations and digitization at construction sites to enhance productivity and cost reduction The insights gained from this study, coupled with the proposed overseas expansion strategies, offer valuable guidance for mitigating risks in the global construction market and fostering resilience in response to international oil price fluctuations. This approach is expected to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic and foreign construction firms seeking success in the international arena.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.281-298
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• 2023

Continuous research efforts are being devoted to unmanned mobile platforms for lunar exploration. There is an ongoing demand for real-time information processing to accurately determine the positioning and mapping of areas of interest on the lunar surface. To apply deep learning processing and analysis techniques to practical rovers, research on software integration and optimization is imperative. In this study, a foundational investigation has been conducted on real-time analysis of virtual lunar base construction site images, aimed at automatically quantifying spatial information of key objects. This study involved transitioning from an existing region-based object recognition algorithm to a boundary box-based algorithm, thus enhancing object recognition accuracy and inference speed. To facilitate extensive data-based object matching training, the Batch Hard Triplet Mining technique was introduced, and research was conducted to optimize both training and inference processes. Furthermore, an improved software system for object recognition and identical object matching was integrated, accompanied by the development of visualization software for the automatic matching of identical objects within input images. Leveraging satellite simulative captured video data for training objects and moving object-captured video data for inference, training and inference for identical object matching were successfully executed. The outcomes of this research suggest the feasibility of implementing 3D spatial information based on continuous-capture video data of mobile platforms and utilizing it for positioning objects within regions of interest. As a result, these findings are expected to contribute to the integration of an automated on-site system for video-based construction monitoring and control of significant target objects within future lunar base construction sites.