• Journal of Wind Energy
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.79-87
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• 2022

A stabbing system is an underwater jointing structure for positioning the jacket substructure for offshore wind power on top of a pile foundation that is already installed in the seabed. In this paper, the structural safety of the stabbing system currently being developed in South Korea was evaluated through finite element analysis. For this study, conformity of the finite element modeling technique for a gripper (hydraulic cylinder) was reviewed, and the structural safety of the stabbing system was evaluated based on the stress safety factor under three design load combinations (combinations of vertical, shear, and moment loads). From the analysis, it was verified that the pile foundation and the stabbing system mounted on top of it are structurally safe according to the stress safety factor, and there will be no interference between major structural components (i.e., guide cone and pile foundation) due to rotation of the guide cone at the end of the jacket leg.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.89-100
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of bearing capacity of pre-bored super strength PHC (SSPHC) piles socketed in rocks based on dynamic load test results. Because the SSPHC piles have high compressive concrete strengths compared with those of regular high strength PHC piles, the allowable structural strengths of the SSPHC piles were increased. For optimal design of the super strength PHC piles, the geotechnical bearing capacity of the SSPHC piles should also increased to balance the increased allowable structural strength of the SSPHC piles. Current practices of pile installation apply the same amount of driving energy on both SSPHC and high strength PHC piles. As results of analyzing factors that influence bearing strength of SSPHC piles using dynamic load test, there was no relationship between SPT-N value at pile toe and end bearing capacity. But driving energy effects on end bearing capacity. In case of skin friction, driving energy had no effects. And reasonable method verifying design bearing strength is necessary because end bearing capacity is not considered sufficiently in restrike test results.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.615-626
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• 2019

Lightweight concrete (LWC) provides an attractive alternative to conventional piles by improving the durability of deep foundations. In this paper, the drivability of cylindrical and tapered piles made of lightweight and common concrete (CC) under hammer impacts was investigated by performing field tests and numerical analysis. The different concrete mixtures were considered to compare the mechanical properties of light aggregate which replaced instead of the natural aggregate. Driving tests were also conducted on different piles to determine how the pile material and geometric configurations affect driving performance. The results indicated that the tapering shape has an appropriate effect on the drivability of piles and although lower driving stresses are induced in the LWC tapered pile, their final penetration rate was more than that of CC cylindrical pile under hammer impact. Also by analyzing wave propagation in the different rods, it was concluded that the LWC piles with greater velocity than others had better performance in pile driving phenomena. Furthermore, LWC piles can be driven more easily into the ground than cylindrical concrete piles sometimes up to 50% lower hammer impacts and results in important energy saving.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.2381-2391
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• 2013

In general, ground's thermal properties, types of heat exchanger, operational method, thermal interference between piles can be considered as key factors which affect the thermal performance of energy pile. This study focused on the effect of these factors on the performance by a numerical model reflecting a real ground condition. Depending on the degree of saturation of ground, pile's heat transfer rate showed a maximum difference of three times, and the thermal resistance of pile made a maximum difference of 8.7%. As for the type of heat exchanger effects on thermal performance, thermal efficiency of 3U type energy pile had a higher value than those of W and U types. The periodic operation (8 hours operation, 16 hours pause) can preserve about 20% of heat efficiency compared to continuous operation, and hence it has an advantage of preventing the thermal accumulation phenomenon. Thermal interference effect in group piles may vary depending on the ground condition because the extent decreases as the ground condition varies from saturated to dry. The optimal separation distance that maintains the decreasing rate of heat efficiency less than 1% was suggested as 3.2D in U type, 3.6D in W type, and 3.7D in 3U type in a general ground condition.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.79-98
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• 2014

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on the evaluation of a thermal response test using a precast high-strength concrete (PHC) energy pile and a closed vertical system with W-type ground heat exchangers (GHEs). Field thermal response tests (TRTs) were conducted on a PHC energy pile and on a general vertical GHE installed in a multiple layered soil ground. The equivalent ground thermal conductivity was determined by using the results from TRTs. A simple analytical solution is suggested in this research to derive an equivalent ground thermal conductivity of the multilayered soils for vertically buried GHEs. The PHC energy pile and general vertical system were numerically modeled using a three dimensional finite element method to compare the results with TRTs'. Borehole thermal resistance values were also obtained from the numerical results, and they were compared with various analytical solutions. Additionally, the effect of ground thermal conductivity on the borehole thermal resistance was analyzed.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2020

Offshore renewable energy resources are attractive alternatives in addressing the nation's clean energy policies because of the high demand for electricity in the coastal region. As a large portion of potential resources is in deep and farther water, economically competitive floating systems have been developed. Despite the advancement of floating technologies, the high capital cost remains a primary barrier to go ahead offshore renewable energy projects. The dynamically installed piles (DIPs) have been considered one of the most economical pile concepts due to their simple installation method, resulting in cost and time-saving. Nevertheless, applications to real fields are limited because of uncertainties and underestimated load capacity. Thus, this study suggests the appropriate analytical approach to estimate the inclined load capacity of the DIPs by using the upper bound plastic limit analysis (PLA) method. The validity of the PLA under several conditions is demonstrated through comparison to the finite element (FE) method. The PLA was performed to understand how flukes, soil profiles, and load inclinations can affect the inclined load capacity and to provide reliable evaluations of the total resistance of the DIPs. The studies show that PLA can be a useful framework for evaluating the inclined load capacity of the DIPs under undrained conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.423-424
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• 2005

The performance of HANA claddings was evaluated in out-of-pile conditions. All the performance test results revealed that HANA claddings were superior to the reference claddings such as Zircaloy-4 and A-cladding. Corrosion resistance was improved by 60 to 70% compared to the commercial claddings. Creep, burst, tensile, LOCA, wear and microstructural properties were shown to be as good as the commercial claddings.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.6C
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• pp.231-240
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• 2011

Various pile load tests were carried out at Gwangyang district for 10 different piles in order to analyze the characteristcs of steel pile using high strength steel and high driving energy. Pile drivability results showed that PHC piles needed highest total blow count even with the shortest pile length and high strength steel pipe piles showed smallest total blow count eventhough driven to a more hard ground condition with longer pile length. Pile dynamic analysis results showed that for PHC pile and general steel pipe pile the allowable pile design load was decided by the allowable material strength but for high strength steel pipe pile the design load can be decided according to the ground bearing capacity. Static load test and load transfer test results showed that the pile design efficiency could be improved over 80% allowing lesser number of piles necessary for a more economical solution. Set-up effects was analyzed and regression equation for the site ground condition was derived. Bearing capacity was checked with widely used design equation and the limitation of current design method and future technology development on this subject is dicussed in this paper.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.38-44
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• 2007

Using the mathematical model suggested by Bennet et al.(1992), the reflection and transmission coefficients by a circular pile breakwater has been investigated in the framework of potential theory. Flow separation due to sudden contraction and expansion is generated and is the main cause of significant energy loss. Therefore, evaluation of exact energy loss coefficient is critical to enhance the reliability of mathematical model. To obtain the energy loss coefficient, 2-dimensional turbulent flow is analyzed using the FLUENT commercial code. The energy loss coefficient can be obtained from the pressure difference between upstream and downstream. Energy loss coefficient is the function of porosity and the relation equation between them is suggested throughout the curve fitting processing. To validated the suggested relation, comparison between the analytical results and the experimental results is made for four different porosities with good agreement.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1893-1908
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• 2021

In light of the importance of helium production in influencing the behaviour of fast reactor fuels, in this work we present a burn-up module with the objective to calculate the production of helium in both in-pile and out-of-pile conditions tracking the evolution of 23 alpha-decaying actinides. This burn-up module relies on average microscopic cross-section look-up tables generated via SERPENT high-fidelity calculations and involves the solution of the system of Bateman equations for the selected set of actinide nuclides. The results of the burn-up module are verified in terms of evolution of actinide and helium concentrations by comparing them with the high-fidelity ones from SERPENT, considering two representative test cases of (U,Pu)O₂ fuel in fast reactor conditions. In addition, a code-to-code comparison is made with the independent state-of-the-art module TUBRNP (implemented in the TRANSURANUS fuel performance code) for the same test cases. The herein presented burn-up module is available in the SCIANTIX code, designed for coupling with fuel performance codes.