• Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.392-398
• /
• 2016

Wood-plastic composites (WPCs) composed of mainly wood flour and thermoplastics have attracted considerable attentions due to advantages of cost effectiveness, high durability, and microbial resistance. However, relatively poor fire resistance of WPCs from low thermal stability of wood and plastics prevents further uses. This study investigated the effect of expandable graphite (EG) and aluminium hydroxide (AH)/magnesium hydroxide (MH) on the properties of WPCs. The combined incorporation of both EG and metal hydroxide (i.e., AH or MH) into formulations leads to higher flexural modulus of filled composites compared to neat PP and WPC. In thermal properties, EG played an important role in improving thermal stability of filled composites by suppressing thermal decompositions of wood and PP. Moreover, EG showed better water absorption features. From this research, it can be said that EG and metal hydroxides have potentials as effective reinforcement, flame retardant, and moisture barrier.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.367-375
• /
• 2016

Although the bucky paper (BP) made from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possesses beneficial characteristics of hydrophobic nature and high porosity for membrane distillation (MD) application, weak mechanical strength of BP has often prevented the stable operation. This study aims to fabricate the BP with high mechanical strength to improve its MD performance. The strategy was to increase the purity level of CNTs with an assumption that purer CNTs would increase the Van der Waals attraction, leading to the improvement of mechanical strength of BP. According to this study results, the purification of CNT does not necessarily enhance the mechanical strength of BP. The BP made from purer CNTs demonstrated a high flux ($142kg/m^2{\cdot}h$) even at low ${\Delta}T$ ($50^{\circ}C$ and $20^{\circ}C$) during the experiments of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD). However, the operation was not stable because a crack quickly formed. Then, a support layer of AAO (anodic aluminum oxide) filter paper was introduced to reinforce the mechanical strength of BP. The support reinforcement was able to increase the mechanical strength, but wetting occurred. Therefore, the mixed matrix membrane (PSf-CNT) using CNTs as filler to polysulphone was fabricated. The DCMD operation with the PSf-CNT membrane was stable, although the flux was low ($6.1kg/m^2{\cdot}h$). This result suggests that the mixed matrix membrane could be more beneficial for the stable DCMD operation than the BP.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.63 no.1
• /
• pp.55-64
• /
• 2017

The paper concerns concrete carbonation, the phenomena that occurs in every type of climate, especially in urban-industrial areas. In European Standards, including Eurocode (EC) for concrete structures the demanded durability of construction located in the conditions of the carbonation threat is mainly assured by the selection of suitable thickness of reinforcement cover. According to EC0 and EC2, the thickness of the cover in the particular class of exposure depends on the structural class/category and concrete compressive strength class which is determined by cement content and water-cement ratio (thus the quantitative composition) but it is not differentiated for various cements, nor additives (i.e., qualitative composition), nor technological types of concrete. As a consequence the selected thickness of concrete cover is in fact a far estimation - sometimes too exaggerated (too safe or too risky). The paper presents the elaborated "self-terminated carbonation model" that includes abovementioned factors and enables to indicate the maximal possible depth of carbonation. This is possible because presented model is a hyperbolic function of carbonation depth in time (the other models published in the literature use the parabolic function that theoretically assume the infinite increase of carbonation depth value). The paper discusses the presented model in comparison to other models published in the literature, moreover it contains the algorithm of concrete cover design with use of the model as well as an example of calculation of the cover thickness.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.45-52
• /
• 1982

A fungus with the highest protopectinase productivity was selected among 205 strains isolated from the soil and identified as a Verticillium sp. The Verticillium sp. was cultivated on wheat bran and the crude extruct of its culture medium showed the highest protopectinase activity on the following conditions: 3 days of cultivation time, 27$^{\circ}C$ of cultivation temperature, 1.2 $m\ell$/g wheat bran of water content, and reinforcement of ammonium nitrate and calcium chloride at the concentration of 0.5 and 0.02%, respectively. The optimum conditions for pectin production from Citrus peel pulp by the protopectinase were consequently obtained as follows: 20$m\ell$/g of liquid volume-to-pulp weight ratio, 4$0^{\circ}C$ of reaction temperature, and 4 of reaction pH. The higher the enzyme concentration, the better the yield of pectin and the shorter the reaction time. Total 45.6mg of pectin/g peel was produced by 1 hour reaction at the enzyme concentration of 10.5 units/$m\ell$. Molecular weight of the pectin produced by the enzyme was estimated to be about 62,000 by Smit and Bryant's method.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.52 no.4
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2010

The cemented sand and gravel (CSG) method is a construction technique that adds cement and water to rock-like materials, such as rivered gravel or excavation muck which can be obtained easily at areas adjacent to dam sites. This study was performed to evaluate the compaction and compressive strength properties of stress-strain, elastic modulus and fracture mode CSG materials reinforced polypropylene fiber. Polypropylene fiber widely used for concrete reinforcement is randomly distributed into cemented sand. The two types of polypropylene fiber (monofillament and fibrillated fiber) were used and fiber fraction ratio was 0, 0.2 %, 0.4 %, 0.6 % and 0.8 % by the weight of total dry soil. The effect of fiber fraction ratio and fiber shape on compaction and compressive strength were investigated. The optimum moisture contents (OMC) of CSG material increased as fiber fraction increased and the dry density of CSG material decreased as fiber fraction. Also, the maximum increase in compressive strength was obtained at 0.4 % content of monofillament and fibrillated fiber. CSG material behaviour was controlled not only by fiber fraction but also fiber distribution, fiber shape and fiber type.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.61 no.6
• /
• pp.711-719
• /
• 2017

This study investigates the effects of reinforcing bar diameter and cover depth on the shrinkage behavior of restrained ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) slabs. For this, twelve large-sized UHPFRC slabs with three different rebar diameters ($d_b=9.5$, 15.9, and 22.2 mm) and four different cover depths (h=5, 10, 20, and 30 mm) were fabricated. In addition, a large-sized UHPFRC slab without steel rebar was fabricated for evaluating degree of restraint. Test results revealed that the uses of steel rebar with a large diameter, leading to a larger reinforcement ratio, and a low cover depth are unfavorable regarding the restrained shrinkage performance of UHPFRC slabs, since a larger rebar diameter and a lower cover depth result in a higher degree of restraint. The shrinkage strain near the exposed surface was high because of water evaporation. However, below a depth of 18 mm, the shrinkage strain was seldom influenced by the cover depth; this was because of the very dense microstructure of UHPFRC. Finally, owing to their superior tensile strength, all UHPFRC slabs with steel rebars tested in this study showed no shrinkage cracks until 30 days.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.247-252
• /
• 1999

Rubber related geosynthetics(GS) as reinforcement and water barrier materials were manufactured by thermal bonding method and examined the their performance for applications to civil and environmental engineering fields. The spunbonded polyester nonwoven, fiber glass mat and fabric type geogrid of a high tenacity polyester filament were used as matrix and polyester film, elastomeric bitumen with SBS polymer and asphalt were used as reinforcements to manufacture the rubber related geosynthetics. A fiber glass mat and geogrid matrix GS showed more excellent mechanical properties and nonwoven and elastomeric bitumen matrix showed the more excellent permittivity. Softening points of rubber and asphalt mixture showed no difference and dimensional stability at high temperature, $120^{\circ}C$, represented no significant shrinkage. Resistance to ultraviolet of rubber related geosynthetics showed no visible alteration.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 1999.04a
• /
• pp.293-298
• /
• 1999

The crack of concrete induced by the heat of hydration is a serious problem, particularly in concrete structures such as underground box structure, mat-slab of nuclear reactor buildings, dams or large footings, foundations of high rise buildings, etc.. As a result of the temperature rise and restriction condition of foundation, the thermal stress which may induce the cracks can occur. Therefore the various techniques of the thermal stress control in massive concrete have been widely used. One of them is prediction of the thermal stress, besides low-heat cement which mitigates the temperature rise, pre-cooling which lowers the initial temperature of fresh concrete with ice flake, pipe cooling which cools the temperature of concrete with flowing water, design change which considers steel bar reinforcement, operation control and so on. The objective of this paper is largely two folded. Firstly we introduce the cracks control technique by employing low-heat cement mix and thermal stress analysis. Secondly it show the application condition of the cracks control technique like the subway structure in Seoul.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 2006.05b
• /
• pp.201-204
• /
• 2006

It should be noted that the critical chloride threshold level is not considered to be a unique value for all conditions. This value is dependent on concrete mix proportions, cement type and constituents, presence of admixtures, environmental factors, reinforcement surface conditions, and other factors. In this study, the accelerated corrosion test for reinforcing steel was conducted by electrochemical and cyclic wet and dry seawater method, respectively and during the test, corrosion monitoring by half-cell potential method was carried out to detect the time to initiation of corrosion for individual test specimen. For this purpose, lollypop and right hexahedron test specimens were made for 31%, 42%, and 50% of W/C, respectively, and then the accelerated corrosion test for reinforcing steel was executed. It was observed from the test that the time to initiation of corrosion was found to be different with the water-cement ratio and accelerated corrosion test method, respectively and the critical chloride threshold values were found to range from 0.91 to $1.47kg/m^3$.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.19 no.7
• /
• pp.13-18
• /
• 2018

Recently, road subsidence has been increasing in urban areas, threatening the safety of citizens. In the lower part of the road, various road facilities such as water supply and drainage pipelines and telecommunication facilities are buried, and the deterioration of the facilities causes the road subsidence. In particular, in the case of old sewer pipes which are attracting attention as a main cause of road subsidence, the management of sewer pipe replacement, repair and reinforcement is being performed depending on the burial year. Therefore, in this study, we tried to suggest a reliable road subsidence risk assessment method considering various sewer specifications and surrounding environment information and CCTV exploration result and GPR exploration result.