• Title/Summary/Keyword: Physical Thermal Environmental Factors

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The adverse impact of personal protective equipment on firefighters' cognitive functioning

  • Park, Juyeon
    • The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.1-10
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    • 2019
  • Firefighters wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for protection from environmental hazards. However, due to the layers of protective functions, the PPE inevitably adds excessive weight, bulkiness, and thermal stress to firefighters. This study investigated the adverse impact of wearing PPE as an occupational stressor on the firefighter's cognitive functioning. Twenty-three firefighters who had been involved in firefighting at least for 1 year were recruited. The overall changing trend in the firefighter's cognitive functioning (short-term memory, long-term memory, and inductive reasoning) was measured by the scores of three standardized cognitive tests at the baseline and the follow-up, after participating in a moderate-intensity physical activity, wearing a full ensemble of the PPE. The study findings evinced the negative impact of the PPE on the firefighter's cognitive functioning, especially in short-term memory and inductive reasoning. No significant influence was found on the firefighter's long-term memory. The results were consistent when the participant's age and BMI were controlled. The outcomes of the present study will not only fill the gap in the literature, but also provide critical justification to stakeholders, including governments, policymakers, academic communities, and industry, for such efforts to improve human factors of the firefighter's PPE by realizing the negative consequences of the added layers and protective functions on their occupational safety. Study limitations and future directions were also discussed.

Effect of Foliage Plant Pachira aquatica on the Change of Indoor Temperature and Humidity (관엽식물 파키라가 실내 온·습도 변화에 미치는 영향)

  • Son, Ki-Cheol;Kim, Mi-Kyoung;Park, So-Hong;Chang, Myoung-Kap
    • Horticultural Science & Technology
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.377-380
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    • 1998
  • In order to investigate the effects of foliage plants on the changes of indoor thermal- and hygro- environments, experiments were carried out in two rooms with similar physical factors. Changes of indoor environmental parameters according to the existence of plants, their arrangement methods, and the existence of wrapseal for protecting the loss of water from the pot soil were measured during certain periods in winter and summer season, using Pachira aquatica which is widely used as indoor plant and has higher photosynthetic and traspiration rate than other foliage plants. The data suggested that the existence of plants didn't affect directly on the indoor thermal environment, while relative humidity increased about 3~5%, regardless of season, by putting plants which had volume equivalent to 2.4% of room volume. In summer, there was no difference in increasing effect of relative humidity between parallel arrangement with window and spread arrangement in the room, but in winter the former arrangement was more effective than the later.

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A Review and Analysis of the Thermal Exposure in Large Compartment Fire Experiments

  • Gupta, Vinny;Hidalgo, Juan P.;Lange, David;Cowlard, Adam;Abecassis-Empis, Cecilia;Torero, Jose L.
    • International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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    • v.10 no.4
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    • pp.345-364
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    • 2021
  • Developments in the understanding of fire behaviour for large open-plan spaces typical of tall buildings have been greatly outpaced by the rate at which these buildings are being constructed and their characteristics changed. Numerous high-profile fire-induced failures have highlighted the inadequacy of existing tools and standards for fire engineering when applied to highly-optimised modern tall buildings. With the continued increase in height and complexity of tall buildings, the risk to the occupants from fire-induced structural collapse increases, thus understanding the performance of complex structural systems under fire exposure is imperative. Therefore, an accurate representation of the design fire for open-plan compartments is required for the purposes of design. This will allow for knowledge-driven, quantifiable factors of safety to be used in the design of highly optimised modern tall buildings. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art experimental research on large open-plan compartment fires from the past three decades. We have assimilated results collected from 37 large-scale compartment fire experiments of the open-plan type conducted from 1993 to 2019, covering a range of compartment and fuel characteristics. Spatial and temporal distributions of the heat fluxes imposed on compartment ceilings are estimated from the data. The complexity of the compartment fire dynamics is highlighted by the large differences in the data collected, which currently complicates the development of engineering tools based on physical models. Despite the large variability, this analysis shows that the orders of magnitude of the thermal exposure are defined by the ratio of flame spread and burnout front velocities (VS / VBO), which enables the grouping of open-plan compartment fires into three distinct modes of fire spread. Each mode is found to exhibit a characteristic order of magnitude and temporal distribution of thermal exposure. The results show that the magnitude of the thermal exposure for each mode are not consistent with existing performance-based design models, nevertheless, our analysis offers a new pathway for defining thermal exposure from realistic fire scenarios in large open-plan compartments.

The Ecological Study of Phytoplankton in Kyeonggi Bay, Yellow Sea 1. Environmental Characteristics (西海 京畿 植物 플랑크톤에 對한 생態學的 硏究 I. 京畿 의 環境特性)

  • 최중기;심재형
    • 한국해양학회지
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.56-71
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    • 1986
  • In order to clarify the influence of environmental factors on the phytoplankton cmmunity in Kyeonggi Bay, the hydrological and water quality data were obtained from 20cruises from May, 1981, to September, 1982 in this bay. Physical conditions at the mouth of the bay are more stable than those at the head of the bay. Temperatures and salinities of the upper part of the bay show great seasonal fluctuations due to the river discharge. By the extending effects of freshwater, a weak two-layer flow system is formed from the upper part of the bay to Palmi Island. In summer thermal stratification are formed in the middle and outer parts of the bay. In winter, However, the temperature shows no vertical temperature gradient. The inner bay and the vicinity area of Incheon Harbour are relatively polluted and eutrophicated due to both the runoff of freshwater from the Han River and the waste discharge from Incheon industrial complex. However, except the polluted area, the study areas are well oxygenated with more than 90% saturation.

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Chemical and Physical Influence Factors on Performance of Bentonite Grouts for Backfilling Ground Heat Exchanger (지중 열교환기용 멘토나이트 뒤채움재의 화학적, 물리적 영향 요소에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Chul-Ho;Wi, Ji-Hae;Park, Moon-Seo;Choi, Hang-Seok;Shon, Byong-Hu
    • 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.

Effect of pore-water salinity on freezing rate in application of rapid artificial ground freezing to deep subsea tunnel: concentration of laboratory freezing chamber test (고수압 해저터널에 급속 인공동결공법 적용시 간극수의 염분 농도가 동결속도에 미치는 영향 평가: 실내 동결챔버시험 위주로)

  • Oh, Mintaek;Lee, Dongseop;Son, Young-Jin;Lee, In-Mo;Choi, Hangseok
    • Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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    • v.18 no.5
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    • pp.401-412
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    • 2016
  • It is extremely difficult to apply conventional grouting methods to subsea tunnelling construction in the high water pressure condition. In such a condition, the rapid artificial freezing method can be an alternative to grouting to form a watertight zone around freezing pipes. For a proper design of the artificial freezing method, the influence of salinity on the freezing process has to be considered. However, there are few domestic tunnel construction that adopted the artificial freezing method, and influential factors on the freezing of the soil are not clearly identified. In this paper, a series of laboratory experiments were performed to identify the physical characteristics of frozen soil. Thermal conductivity of the frozen and unfrozen soil samples was measured through the thermal sensor adopting transient hot-wire method. Moreover, a lab-scale freezing chamber was devised to simulate freezing process of silica sand with consideration of the salinity of pore-water. The temperature in the silica sand sample was measured during the freezing process to evaluate the effect of pore-water salinity on the frozen rate that is one of the key parameters in designing the artificial freezing method in subsea tunnelling. In case of unfrozen soil, the soil samples saturated with fresh water (salinity of 0%) and brine water (salinity of 3.5%) showed a similar value of thermal conductivity. However, the frozen soil sample saturated with brine water led to the thermal conductivity notably higher than that of fresh water, which corresponds to the fact that the freezing rate of brine water was greater than that of fresh water in the freezing chamber test.

Preparation and Characterization of Wood Polymer Composite by a Twin Screw Extrusion (이축 압출공정을 이용한 Wood Polymer Composite의 제조 및 특성 분석)

  • Lee, Jong-Hyeok;Lee, Byung-Gab;Park, Ki-Hun;Bang, Dae-Suk;Jhee, Kwang-Hwan;Sin, Min-Cheol
    • Elastomers and Composites
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    • v.46 no.3
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    • pp.211-217
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    • 2011
  • Wood Polymer Composite (WPC) has attracted a great deal of attention in environmental industries due to renewable resources, processability, excellent physical properties and logging regulations for application to housing units and engineering construction materials. In this study, commercial WPCs were prepared by using a modular intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruder. The effect of three main factors such as wood flour contents, coupling agent concentrations and pre-treatment of wood flour on the properties of WPCs was extensively investigated. It was found that tensile strength and thermal stability were decreased with increasing wood flour contents whereas the water absorption was increased. Addition of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) into WPC exhibited better physical properties. On the contrary, the water absorption was slightly decreased with PP-g-MA. Finally the sample, which was prepared with pre-treated wood flour, represented the highest tensile strength. However, the water absorption of the sample was increased due to the transition of crystalline structure of cellulose.

Weed and Pest Control by means of Physical Treatments;Effect of infrared irradiation on viability of weed seeds (물리적인 방법을 이용한 잡초 및 병해충 방제 방법의 개발;적외선 조사가 잡초종자의 발아율에 미치는 영향)

  • Kang, Whoa-Seug;Yu, Chang-Yeon;Kang, Wie-Soo;Lee, Gwi-Hyun;Oh, Jae-Heun
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.86-90
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    • 1996
  • This study was to provide the basic information for the development of thermal weeder which uses LPG as fuel. Weed seeds of Digitaria sanguinalis S. and Portulaca oleracea L. mainly developed in fram and forestry nurseries were used as experimental samples. At different irradiation temperature(60, 80, 100, 150, $200^{\circ}C$), the dffects of weed seed species(digitalis, purslane), condition of seed(dry, soaked), and irradiation time(2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 180, 300 sec) on seed viability were investigated was investigated by examining interaction and main effect of experimental factors. The results showed that viability of weed seed was significantly affected by all irradiation temperature tested. Irradiation time significantly affected on viability of weed seed on all levels of irradiation temperature. also, there were interactions between condition of weed seed and irradiation time on seed viability at each irradiation temperature.

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Uncertainty Estimation of Single-Channel Temperature Estimation Algorithm for Atmospheric Conditions in the Seas around the Korean Peninsula (한반도 주변해역 대기환경에 대한 싱글채널 온도추정 알고리즘의 불확도 추정)

  • Jong Hyuk Lee;Kyung Woong Kang;Seungil Baek;Wonkook Kim
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.39 no.3
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    • pp.355-361
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    • 2023
  • Temperature of the Earth's surface is a crucial physical variable in understanding weather and atmospheric dynamics and in coping with extreme heat events that have a great impact on living organismsincluding humans. Thermalsensors on satellites have been a useful meansfor acquiring surface temperature information for wide areas on the globe, and thus characterization of its estimation uncertainty is of central importance for the utilization of the data. Among various factors that affect the estimation, the uncertainty caused by the algorithm itself has not been tested for the atmospheric environment of Korean vicinity. Thisstudy derivesthe uncertainty of the single-channel algorithm under the local atmospheric and oceanic conditions by using reanalysis data and buoy temperature data collected around Korea. Atmospheric profiles were retrieved from two types of reanalysis data, the fifth generation of European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis of the global climate and weather (ERA5) and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications-2 (MERRA-2) to investigate the effect of reanalysis data. MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN) was used as a radiative transfer code for simulating top of atmosphere radiance and the atmospheric correction for the temperature estimation. Water temperatures used for MODTRAN simulations and uncertainty estimation for the single-channel algorithm were obtained from marine weather buoyslocated in seas around the Korean Peninsula. Experiment results showed that the uncertainty of the algorithm varies by the water vapor contents in the atmosphere and is around 0.35K in the driest atmosphere and 0.46K in overall, regardless of the reanalysis data type. The uncertainty increased roughly in a linear manner as total precipitable water increased.

A Study on Environmental Standards of School Building (교사환경기준에 관한 연구)

  • Hong, Seok-Pyo;Park, Young-Soo
    • The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.11-43
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    • 2000
  • The purpose of this study was, through analyzing the previous researches, to grasp the present status of environment of school building(ESB), research the sundry records of each element and, through comparative analysis of the standard of ESB in Korea, the United States, and Japan, select the normative standard of ESB, to clarify the point at issue presented in Regulation of Construction & facility Management for Elementary and and Secondary School in Korea, and to suggest an alternative preliminary standard of ESB. To carry out a research for this purpose, these were required: 1. to investigate the existing present status of ESB, 2. to make a comparative analysis of the standard of ESB in each country, 3. to suggest the normative standard of preliminary standard of ESB, 4. to analyze the controversial points of the standard of ESB in Korea, 5. to suggest an alternative preliminary standard of ESB. The conclusions were as follows: 1. Putting, through analyzing the previous researches, the existing present status of ESB together, it seemed that lighting environment, indoor air environment and noise environment were all in poor conditions. 2. In the result of a comparative analysis of the standard of ESB in Korea, Japan and the United States, in Korea the factors of each lighting and indoor air environment were not presented properly, in Japan, in lighting environment aspect, the standard on natural lighting and the factors on brightness were not presented., and in the USA the essential factors of each environment were throughly presented. In the comparison of the standards on each factor, Korea showed that the standard level presented was less properly prescribed than those of the USA and Japan but it also showed that the standard levels prescribed in the USA and in Japan were mostly similar to the standard levels in records investigated. 3. With the result of the normative standard selection on School Builiding environment factor of prescribed in this study, the controversial points of the standard of ESB in Korea were analyzed and the result was utilized to suggest new preliminary standard of ESB. 4. As the result of the analysis of the controversial points of the standard of ESB in Korea, it was found that the standard of ESB in Korea should be established on a basis of School Health Act and be concretely presented in School Health Regulation and School Health Rule. The factors of each environment was improperly presented in the existing standard of ESB in Korea. Moreover the standard of them was inferior to that of the records investigated and those of in the USA and in Japan and it also showed that the standard of it in Korea was improper to maintain Comfortable Learning Environment. 5. A suggested preliminary standard of ESB acquired through above study as follows: 1) In this study a new kind of preliminary standard of ESB is divided into lighting environment, indoor air environment, noise environment, odor environment and for above classification, reasonable factor and standard should be established and the controling way on each standard and countermeasures against it should be considered. 2) In lighting environment, the factors of natural lighting are divided into daylight rate, brightness, glare. In the standard on each factor, daylight rate should secure 5% of a mean daylight rate and 2% of a minimum daylight rate, brightness ratio of maximum illumination to minimum illumination should be under 10:1, and in glare there should not be an occurrence factor from a reflector outside of the classroom. And the factors of unnatural lighting are illumination, brightness, and glare. In the standard on each factor, illumination should be 750 lux or more, brightness ratio should be under 3 to 1, and glare should not occur. And Optimal reflection rate(%) of Colors and Facilities of Classroom which influences lighting environment should be considered. 3) In indoor air environment factors, thermal factors are divided into (1) room temperature, (2) relative humidity, (3) room air movement, (4) radiation heat, and harmful gases (5) CO, (6) $CO_2$ that are proceeded from using the heating fuel such as oval briquettes, firewood, charcoal being used in most of the classroom, and finally (7) dust. In the standard on each factor, the next are necessary; room temperature: $16^{\circ}C{\sim}26^{\circ}C$(summer : $E.T18.9{\sim}23.8^{\circ}C$, winter: $E.T16.7{\sim}21.7^{\circ}C$), relative humidity: $30{\sim}80%$, room air movement: under 0.5m/sec, radiation heat: under $5^{\circ}C$ gap between dry-bulb temperature and wet-bulb temperature, below 1000 ppm of ca and below 10ppm of $CO_2$, dust: below 0.10 $mg/m^3$ of Volume of dust in indoor air, and ventilation standard($CO_2$) for purification of indoor air : once/6 min.(about 7 times/40 min.) in an airtight classroom. 4) In the standard on noise environment, noise level should be under 40 dB(A) and the noise measuring way and the countermeasures against it should be considered. 5) In the standard on odor environment, odor level under Physical Method should be under 2 degrees, and the inspecting way and the countermeasures against it should be considered.

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