• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.71-84
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• 2023

In accordance with Korean structural foundation design standards, dynamic or static load tests are mandated for 1 to 3% of total piles. The construction quality of the remaining 97% to 99% of piles is determined through penetration measurements. This study aims to enhance the quality control of the majority of piles by adopting a pile driving formula that considers both penetration and hammer energy. The current challenge lies in adapting existing overseas driving formulas to the domestic site conditions, characterized by shallow weathered or soft rocks, and the prevalent use of pre-bored piles. To address this, the Modified Gates formula was refined using domestic dynamic load data, thereby improving its applicability to pile management. Despite employing fewer variables, the proposed formula demonstrates a comparable accuracy to dynamic loading tests in predicting the bearing capacity of pre-bored piles. Consequently, this formula holds promise for practical use in future pile quality management.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.375-381
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• 2023

Purpose: This study assessed the diagnostic performance of stitched and non-stitched cross-sectional cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of non-displaced ovine mandibular fractures. Materials and Methods: In this ex vivo study, non-displaced fractures were artificially created in 10 ovine mandibles (20 hemi-mandibles) using a hammer. The control group comprised 8 hemi-mandibles. The non-displaced fracture lines were oblique or vertical, <0.5 mm wide, 10-20 mm long, and only in the buccal or lingual cortex. Fracture lines in the ramus and posterior mandible were created to be at the interface or borders of the 2 stitched images. CBCT images were obtained from the specimens with an 80 mm×80 mm field of view before and after fracture induction. OnDemand software (Cybermed, Seoul, Korea) was used for stitching the CBCT images. Four observers evaluated 56 (28 stitched and 28 non-stitched) images to detect fracture lines. The diagnostic performance of stitched and non-stitched images was assessed by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Sensitivity and specificity values were also calculated (alpha=0.05). Results: The AUC was calculated to be 0.862 and 0.825 for the stitched and non-stitched images, respectively (P=0.747). The sensitivity and specificity were 90% and 75% for the non-stitched images and 85% and 87% for the stitched images, respectively. The inter-observer reliability was shown by a Fleiss kappa coefficient of 0.79, indicating good agreement. Conclusion: No significant difference was found in the diagnostic performance of stitched and non-stitched cross-sectional CBCT images of non-displaced fractures of the ovine mandible.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.465-474
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• 2024

Uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) is a critical geomechanical parameter that plays a significant role in the evaluation of rocks. The practice of indirectly estimating said characteristics is widespread due to the challenges associated with obtaining high-quality core samples. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of utilizing the gene expression programming (GEP) technique for the purpose of forecasting the UCS for various rock categories, including Schist, Granite, Claystone, Travertine, Sandstone, Slate, Limestone, Marl, and Dolomite, which were sourced from a wide range of quarry sites. The present study utilized a total of 170 datasets, comprising Schmidt hammer (SH), porosity (n), point load index (Is(50)), and P-wave velocity (Vp), as the effective parameters in the model to determine their impact on the UCS. The UCS parameter was computed through the utilization of the GEP model, resulting in the generation of an equation. Subsequently, the efficacy of the GEP model and the resultant equation were assessed using various statistical evaluation metrics to determine their predictive capabilities. The outcomes indicate the prospective capacity of the GEP model and the resultant equation in forecasting the unconfined compressive strength (UCS). The significance of this study lies in its ability to enable geotechnical engineers to make estimations of the UCS of rocks, without the requirement of conducting expensive and time-consuming experimental tests. In particular, a user-friendly program was developed based on the GEP model to enable rapid and very accurate calculation of rock's UCS, doing away with the necessity for costly and time-consuming laboratory experiments.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.173-179
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• 2008

This paper aims to calculate age coefficient of ultrasonic pulse velocity by non-destructive test. When concrete compressive strength is measured by non-destructive test, rebound test hammer method is applied to estimate age coefficient depending on the course of time after concrete casting, but ultrasonic pulse velocity method is not applied in the process. Although it is necessary to consider age coefficient with change of ultrasonic pulse velocity of concrete depending on aging, there have been little attempts to apply that method. The experiments were conducted to calculate aging effects which will be applied to establish the formula of measuring concrete strength. As a result of experiments, it was found that ultrasonic pulse velocity showed radical changes depending on concrete hardening in comparison with initial standard values. So, it was concluded that age coefficient must be applied to calculate strength. In conclusion, age coefficient of ultrasonic pulse velocity of concrete was suggested on the basis of experimental results.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.1308-1308
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• 2024

Computer vision techniques have been widely employed in automated construction management to enhance safety and prevent accidents at construction sites. However, previous research in the field of vision-based approaches has often overlooked small-sized construction tools. These tools present unique challenges in data collection due to their diverse shapes and sizes, as well as in improving model performance to accurately detect and classify them. To address these challenges, this study aimed to enhance the performance of vision-based classifiers for small-sized construction tools, including bucket, cord reel, hammer, and tacker, by leveraging synthetic images generated from a 3D virtual environment. Three classifiers were developed using the YOLOv8 algorithm, each differing in the composition of the training dataset: (i) 'Real-4000', trained on 4,000 authentic images collected through web crawling methods (1,000 images per object); (ii) 'Hybrid-4000', consisting of 2,000 authentic images and 2,000 synthetic images; and (iii) 'Hybrid-8000', incorporating 4,000 authentic images and 4,000 synthetic images. To validate the performance of the classifiers, 144 directly-captured images for each object were collected from real construction sites as the test dataset. The mean Average Precision at an IoU threshold of 0.5 (mAP_0.5) for the classifiers was 79.6%, 90.8%, and 94.8%, respectively, with the 'Hybrid-8000' model demonstrating the highest performance. Notably, for objects with significant shape variations, the use of synthetic images led to the enhanced performance of the vision-based classifiers. Moreover, the practical applicability of the proposed classifiers was validated through confidence scores, particularly between the 'Hybrid-4000' and 'Hybrid-8000' models. Statistical analysis using t-tests indicated that the performance of the 'Hybrid-4000' model would either matched or exceeded that of the 'Hybrid-8000'model based on confidence scores. Thus, employing the 'Hybrid-4000' model may be preferable in terms of data collection efficiency and processing time, contributing to enhanced safety and real-time automation and robotics in construction practices.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.229-242
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• 2024

This study investigated water quality characteristics and influencing factors of park drinking fountains having directly piped water systems by analyzing stagnation water (first draw) and water after a 10-minute flush (flushed water). First draws exhibited significant variations in residual chlorine, heavy metals, bacteria, and turbidity, which were largely influenced by usage frequency and external environmental contamination. However, water quality stabilized after flushing. A seasonal analysis indicated that the greatest difference in residual chlorine between first draws and flushed water occurred in spring, followed by that in winter when drinking fountains were discontinued, accompanied by increased zinc concentrations in stagnation water. A comparative analysis of water quality variability by faucet type revealed that push-button faucets exhibited greater variabilities in copper, zinc, and nickel levels than screw-down faucets, likely due to corrosive by-products generated from water hammer effects. Additionally, an analysis based on exterior material indicated that metal fountains experienced higher temperature increases and elevated zinc concentrations in first draws than stone fountains. Regarding installation environments, drinking fountains exposed to direct sunlight or partial shade had higher concentrations of copper, zinc, and nickel in first draws than those installed in constant shade. Overall, these findings suggest that frequent use or flushing can help maintain stable water quality with the exception of push-button faucets.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.529-540
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• 2024

This research aimed to refine the concrete floor finishing for enhancing its performance compared to the traditional way. The new method involved the removing the deteriorated mortar layer and reinforcing the surface to augment the durability and bond strength of the floor surface. This study performed the experience to evaluate the bond strength, drop depth, rebound hammer hardness, and the surface hardness of the surface by adopting traditional and refined method. The results showed the proposed method enhanced the performance on all the metrics. Based on the experiment, the bond strength increased about 2.79 times before installing the finishing material, and the strength also improved about 1.67 times and 1.44 times at the painted finishing and non-painted finishing, respectively. In addition, the drop depth decreased about 4.42 times when adopting the proposed method, which shows the enhanced resistance to declamination compared with applying the traditional way. Lastly, the surface hardness measured by scratch thickness significantly improved about 505% in this experiment. The finding of this study indicates that the proposed method can substantially enhance in bond strendth and durability of floor finishing, reduce the defects of the concrete-based floor, and extend the life of the products.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.187-199
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• 2013

Umbrella arch method (UAM) used for improving the stability of the tunnel ground condition has been widely applied in the tunnel construction projects due to the advantage of obtaining both reinforcement and waterproof. The purpose of this study is to develop the evaluation technique of the integrity of bore-hole in UAM by using a non-destructive test and to evaluate the possibility of being applied to the field. In order to investigate the variations of frequency depending on grouted length, the specimens with different grouted ratios are made in the two constraint conditions (free boundary condition and embedded condition). The hammer impact reflection method in which excitation and reception occur simultaneously at the head of pipe was used. The guided waves generated by hitting a pipe with a hammer were reflected at the tip and returned to the head, and the signals were received by an acoustic emission (AE) sensor installed at the head. For the laboratory experiments, the specimens were prepared with different grouted ratios (25 %, 50 %, 75 %, 100 %). In addition, field tests were performed for the application of the evaluation technique. Fast Fourier transform and wavelet transform were applied to analyze the measured waves. The experimental studies show that grouted ratio has little effects on the velocities of guided waves. Main frequencies of reflected waves tend to decrease with an increase in the grouted length in the time-frequency domain. This study suggests that the non-destructive tests using guided ultrasonic waves be effective to evaluate the bore-hole integrity of the UAM in the field.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.23
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• pp.11-24
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• 2008

A physical characteristics and chemical compositions change by weathering on the granite were examined for the conservation treatment of the Mireuksaji temple stone pagoda. The natural weathered granite was collected from the Mt. Mireuk, and divided into the classification standards based on weathering degrees and strength measured by rock-test hammer. The results from comparison of the strength measured by undestructive rock-test hammer and the strength values converted from ultrasonic velocity showed that each strength measurement value was proportionate. The water absorption of the sample was 1.68 to 0.20%. The F-type of fresh rock was not naturally saturated and the WW-type was naturally saturated but took quite a long time. The water absorption was increased gradually in order of SW-type, the MW-type and the HW-type according to weathering condition. The CW-type samples showed the highest water absorption among the weathered classification samples. Through dyeing test, it was found out that only the feldspar was dyed out of the F-type and the WW-type. The SW-type and the MW-type were distinguished by the fact that plagioclase being dyed. And dyed area was expanded to quartz crack in HW-type and CW-type. Physical change by weathering of the rock-forming minerals could be classified with 3 grades. Through the XRD analysis, albite among the rock-forming mineral showed remarkable decrease. SEM-EDX analysis of the component change in the rock-forming minerals such as biotite, plagioclase, and orthoclase, showed that in case of highly-weathered grade samples compared with fresh samples, contents of the $Al_2O_3$, $K_2O$, $Na_2O$ increase and CaO, MgO decrease in the biotite, the CaO, $K_2O$ increase and $Na_2O$ decrease in the plagioclase, the $Al_2O_3$ a little increase and $K_2O$, $Na_2O$ decrease in the orthoclase. The results of extracted cation analysis using the powder samples of each weathering grade, the CaO, $Na_2O$, $K_2O$ and MgO are highly chemical variations in rock forming minerals and positive variation show high in the weathering grade of the WW-type and CW-type. This research will be used as an importance data to establish a plan for conservation treatment of composed stone in the Mireuksaji temple stone pagoda.

• The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
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• no.6
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• pp.77-99
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to show that the reason behind the ambivalent characteristic displayed in Niki de Saint Phalle's works is in her trauma and how such characteristic can be extracted from her works. During her creative years, Saint Phalle worked on various materials from different genres such as assemblages, shooting paintings, a series on Bride and Monster, 'Nana', 'Tarot Garden'and public sculptures. One commonality found among her various works is the ambivalent characteristic that contains contrasting elements simultaneously. Saint Phalle suffered a terrible psychological damage inflicted by her parents during her childhood. Specifically, she was sexually assaulted by her father and emotionally neglected by her mother, the trauma that affected her for the rest of her life. As a result, she came to develop extreme love- hate relationships with her parents and this became the main reason for the ambivalent characteristic displayed in her works. The love-hate relationship Saint Phalle developed can be identified through various researches done on the subject of the affect of sexual assault. It is common for incest victims to develop ambivalent feelings towards the perpetrator and Saint Phalle was no exception. Dissociation disorder and a snake well explain the trauma from her father. It is a generally accepted belief in the field of psychology that dissociation disorder commonly occurs to children who experience incest. And dissociation disorder is similar to the characteristic of ambivalence in the sense that a single entity contains more than two contrasting elements at the same time. In addition, the amputated doll objects used in her assemblages coincide with the expression of body detachment of people with dissociation disorder. These facts clearly indicate that the trauma from her father is showing through in her works. A snake is a subject matter that reflects the ambivalent tendency of Saint Phalle that resulted from her trauma. She remembers her father's rape as an image of a snake which is related to a phallic symbol in mythology or art reflecting her trauma. Moreover, she displays a similar pattern of ambivalent emotion like love and hate or fear towards a snake and her father. This is also confirmed by her portrayal of a snake as a monster or reversely as a creature with fundamental vitality in her works. The lack of affection from her mother can be explained by her mother's maternal deprivation. It appears that Saint Phalle's mother possessed all the causes for maternal deprivation such as maternal separation, personality disorder and inappropriate attitude towards child rearing. Especially, a study that shows mother's negative attitude towards child breeding tends to increase dissociation experience of children is another important evidence that supports Saint Phalle's dissociation tendency. These traces of Saint Phalle's trauma are clearly revealed in her assemblages and shooting paintings. The violent objects in her assemblages such as a hammer, razor, nail represent the rage and defensiveness towards her father. The objects such as fragments of broken plates of feminine patterns, pots and mirrors that her mother used symbolize the affection towards her mother. On the other hand, the destructed objects can be interpreted as her hate and resentment towards her mother. Shooting paintings contain her extreme fury and hate. Things such as acts of shooting and the image associated with blood after shooting are blunt expressions of her bursts of emotions. I have tried to define and classify the ambivalent characteristics shown in her assemblages and shooting paintings as hate, rage, violence, calm, love and pleasure according to the frame of Thanatos and Eros. Out of the six, hate, rage, violence and clam are associated with Thanatos while love and pleasure are associated with Eros and they correspondingly form an ambivalent structure. These ambivalent characteristics can be found in her assemblages and shooting paintings. The objects in her assemblages such as a razor, saw, hammer imply hate, rage, violence and the silence felt throughout her works represent calmness. And, as mentioned, the feminine objects can be seen as symbolizing love. In shooting paintings, hate, rage, violence can be found in the use of force and in the traces of watercolor after shooting, and a sense of pleasure in her feelings of catharsis after her shooting. Moreover, a shielded calmness can be found on the plywood all covered with plaster before the shooting. This study looked into the ambivalent characteristic of Saint Phalle's works by examining her trauma to find its correlation, and a meaning of this study can be found from the fact that it refocused the origin of Saint Phalle who is generally known as a feminist artist. Additionally, a meaning of the study can be found also from the fact that it examined the ambivalent characteristics of her works through a frame of Thanatos and Eros.