• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.783-799
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• 2015

In this study, effect of horizontal in situ stress on failure mechanism around underground openings excavated in isotropic, elastic rock zones is investigated. For estimating the plastic zone occurrence, an induced stress influence area approach (Bray Equations) was modified to define critical stress ratio according to the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion. Results obtained from modified calculations were compared with results of some other analytical solutions for plastic zone thickness estimation and the numerical modelling (finite difference method software, FLAC2D) study. Plastic zone and its geometry around tunnels were analyzed for different in situ stress conditions. The modified equations gave similar results with those obtained from the other approaches. However, safer results were calculated using the modified equations for high in situ stress conditions and excessive ratio of horizontal to vertical in situ stresses. As the outcome of this study, the modified equations are suggested to use for estimating the plastic zone occurrence and its thickness around the tunnels with circular cross-section.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.265-272
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to develop a new in-situ observation method and instrument in micro-scale to investigate the mechanism of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) initiation of Ni-base alloys in a high temperature water environment of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). A laser confocal microscope (LCM), an autoclave with diamond window view port, and a slow strain-rate tester with primary water circulation loop system were components of the instrument. Diamond window, one of the core components of the instrument, was selected based on its optical, chemical, and mechanical properties. LCM was used to observe the specimen in micro-scale, considering the experimental condition of a high-temperature primary water environment. Using in-situ method and instrument, it is possible to observe oxidation and deformation of specimen surface in micro-scale through the diamond window in a high-temperature primary water in real-time. The in-situ method and instrument developed in this work can be utilized to investigate effects of various factors on SCC initiation in a high-temperature water environment.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.36-43
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• 1999

The effect of microstructure on the fracture toughness of multi pass weld metal has been investigated. The micromechanisms of fracture process are identified by in-situ scanning electron microscopy(SEM) fracture observation using single edge notched specimen. The notches of the in-situ fracture specimens were carefully located such that the ends of the notches were in the as-deposited top bead and the reheated weld metal respectively. The observation of in-situ fracture process for as-deposited top bead indicated that as strains are applied, microcracks are formed at the interfaces between soft proeutectoid ferrite and acicular ferrite under relatively low stress intensity factor. Then, the microcracks propagate easily along the proeutectoid ferrite phase, leading to final fracture. These findings suggest that proeutectoid ferrite plays an important role in reducing the toughness of the weld metal. On the other hand, reheated regions showed that the microcrack initiated at the notch tip grows along the localized shear bands under relatively high stress intensity factor, confirming that reheated area showing momogeneous and fine microstructure would be beneficial to the fracture resistance of weld metal.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.237-248
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• 2000

Based on the preliminary results from the therm analysis, which is currently carrying, three-dimensional computer simulations using a finite element code, ABAQUS Ver. 5.8, were designed to determine the mechanically stable cavern and deposition hole spacing. Linear elastic modeling for the cases with different cavern and deposition hole spacing were carried out under three different in situ stress conditions. From the simulations, the response of the rock to the stress redistribution after the excavation of the openings could be investigated. Also the optimum cavern and deposition hole spacing could be estimated based on the factor of safety. When the in situ stress determined from the actual stress measurements in Korea were used, the case with cavern spacing of 40m and deposition hole spacing of 3m was in very stable condition, because the factor of safety was calculated as 3.42., When the in situ stress conditions for Sweden and Canada were used, the previous case, they seem to be in stable condition, since the factors of safety are still higher than 1.0. From these results, it was concluded that the rock will not fail even after the stress redistribution.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.80-89
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• 2008

The influence of in-situ rock stress on the stability of an underground rock structure increases as the construction depth become deeper and the scale of a rock structure become larger. In general, hydraulic fracturing stress measurement has been performed in the surface boreholes of the target area at the design stage of an underground structure. However, for some areas where the high horizontal stresses were observed or where the overstressed conditions caused by topographical and geological factors are expected, it is desirable to conduct additional in-situ stress measurement in the underground construction site to obtain more detailed stress information for ensuring the stability of a rock structure and the propriety of current design. The study area was a construction site for the additional underground oil storage facility located in the south-east part of OO city, Jeollanam-do. Previous detailed site investigation prior to the design of underground structures revealed that the excessive horizontal stress field with the horizontal stress ratio(K) greater than 3.0 was observed in the construction area. In this study, a total of 13 hydraulic fracturing stress measurements was conducted in two boreholes drill from the two water tunnel sites in the study area. The investigation zone was from 180 m to 300 m in depth from the surface and all of the fracture tracing works were carried out by acoustic televiewer scanning. For some testing intervals at more than 200 m ind depth from surface, the high horizontal stress components the horizontal stress ratio(K) greater than 2.50 were observed. And the overall investigation results showed a good agreement with the previously performed test.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.445-450
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• 2006

It is proposed that the electromechanical relation of the conductive materials with high electrical resistance may be used to estimate the current stress of prestressing tendons. To choose the best conductive material to this end, we studied the electromechanical relations of carbon fibers and metalic heat wires experimentally. It is found that the relation of carbon fibers can be modelled by a parabolic(or hyperbolic) function in the early stage of deformation. However because the relation is not consistent when it is unloaded and reload, carbon fibers are not suitable for this purpose. Metallic heat wires show a consistent linear relation during loading and unloading in the elastic deformation and are suitable for this purpose. To estimate the electromechanics relation of metallic wires, we developed a simple formula based on the rigid plasticity. We propose a new kind of prestressing tendons whose stress can be monitored.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.16 no.6 s.65
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• pp.437-450
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• 2006

Failure around an underground opening is a function of in-situ stress magnitudes, intact rock strength and the distribution of fractures in the rock mass. At high in-situ stress, the failure process is affected and eventually dominated by stress-induced fractures preferentially growing parallel to the excavation boundary. This fracturing is often observed in brittle type of failure such as slabbing or spatting. Recent studies dies on the stress-induced damage of rock revealed its importance especially in a highly stressed regime. As the constructions of underground structures at deep depths increased, the cases of the brittle failure also increased and furthermore spalling was occurred in Korea at low depths. To improve the stability of the underground structures at highly stressed regime, the characteristics of brittle failure should be examined, but they have not yet been properly investigated. Therefore in this report the characteristics of brittle failure such as types, failure mechanism and modeling methods etc. were considered in all aspects, based on the previous researches.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.3 no.5
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• pp.198-208
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• 2004

Although there has been no general agreement on the mechanism of primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) as one of major degradation modes of Ni-base alloys in pressurized water reactors (PWR's), common postulation derived from previous studies is that the damage to the alloy substrate can be related to mass transport characteristics and/or repair properties of overlaid oxide film. Recently, it was shown that the oxide film structure and PWSCC initiation time as well as crack growth rate were systematically varied as a function of dissolved hydrogen concentration in high temperature water, supporting the postulation. In order to understand how the oxide film composition can vary with water chemistry, this study was conducted to characterize oxide films on Alloy 600 by an in-situ Raman spectroscopy. Based on both experimental and thermodynamic prediction results, Ni/NiO thermodynamic equilibrium condition was defined as a function of electrochemical potential and temperature. The results agree well with Attanasio et al.'s data by contact electrical resistance measurements. The anomalously high PWSCC growth rate consistently observed in the vicinity of Ni/NiO equilibrium is then attributed to weak thermodynamic stability of NiO. Redox-induced phase transition between Ni metal and NiO may undermine the integrity of NiO and enhance presumably the percolation of oxidizing environment through the oxide film, especially along grain boundaries. The redox-induced grain boundary oxide degradation mechanism has been postulated and will be tested by using the in-situ Raman facility.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.530-548
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• 2022

The site selection process for deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste will be conducted in stages, and 103 evaluation parameters related to site selection have been proposed. In the field of rock mechanics and rock engineering, there are 33 evaluation parameters for intact rock, joint and rock mass, and they are applied in the basic and detailed investigation stages. In this report, uniaxial compressive strength, in-situ stress, joint distribution, and rock mass classification were selected as the main evaluation parameters, and among them, uniaxial compressive strength and in situ stress were selected as key evaluation parameters. Statistical techniques or regression analysis were performed for granite in Wonju and Chuncheon to evaluate the distribution range for the selected key evaluation parameters. The average of the uniaxial compressive strength in the Wonju area estimated through the posterior distribution is about 171 MPa, and about 123 MPa in the Chuncheon area. The maximum in situ stress acting in the Wonju area was less than 30 MPa and less than 40 MPa in the Chuncheon area. The direction of the maximum horizontal stress calculated by regression analysis was 101° in Wonju, and in the case of Chuncheon, it was 95°, respectiviely.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.113-119
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• 2015

Alloy 82/182 weld metals had been extensively used in joining the components of the PWR primary system. Unfortunately, there have been a number of incidents of cracking caused by PWSCC in Alloy 82/182 welds during the operation of PWR worldwide. To mitigate PWSCC, optimization of water-chemistry conditions, especially dissolved hydrogen (DH) and Zn contents, is considered as the most promising and effective remedial method. In this study, the PWSCC behaviours of Alloy 182 weld were investigated in simulated PWR environments with various DH content. Both in-situ and ex-situ oxide characterizations as well as PWSCC initiation tests were performed. The results showed that PWSCC crack initiation time was shortest in PWR water (DH: 30cc/kg). Also, high stress reduced crack initiation time. Oxide layer showed multi-layered structures consisted of the outer needle-like Ni-rich oxide layer, Fe-rich crystalline oxide, and inner Cr-rich inner oxide layers, which was not altered by the level of applied stress. To analyse the multi-layer structure of oxides, EIS measurement were fitted into an equivalent circuit model. Further analyses including TEM and EDS are underway to verify appropriateness of the equivalent circuit model.