• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.561-577
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• 2021

The compacted bentonite buffer in a geological repository for high-level radioactive waste disposal is saturated due to groundwater inflow. Saturation of the bentonite buffer results in bentonite swelling and bentonite penetration into the rock discontinuities present around the disposal hole. The penetrated bentonite is exposed to groundwater flow and can be eroded out of the repository, resulting in bentonite mass loss which can affect the physical integrity of the engineered barrier system. Hence, the evaluation of buffer-rock interactions and coupled behavior due to groundwater inflow and bentonite penetration is necessary to ensure long-term disposal safety. In this study, the effects of the bentonite penetration and swelling on the physical properties of jointed rock mass were evaluated using the quasi-static resonant column test. Jointed rock specimens with bentonite penetration were manufactured using Gyeongju bentonite and hollow cylindrical granite rock discs obtained from the KAERI underground research tunnel. The effects of vertical stress and saturation were assessed using the P-wave and S-wave velocities for intact rock, jointed rock and jointed rock with bentonite penetration specimens. The joint normal and joint shear stiffnesses of each joint condition were inferred from the wave velocity results assuming an equivalent continuum. The joint normal and joint shear stiffnesses obtained from this study can be used as input factors for future numerical analysis on the performance evaluation of geological waste disposal considering rock discontinuities.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.3-4
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• 2004

Results will be presented from two field studies that evaluated the in-situ treatment of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) using aerobic cometabolism. In the first study, a cometabolic air sparging (CAS) demonstration was conducted at McClellan Air Force Base (AFB), California, to treat chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) in groundwater using propane as the cometabolic substrate. A propane-biostimulated zone was sparged with a propane/air mixture and a control zone was sparged with air alone. Propane-utilizers were effectively stimulated in the saturated zone with repeated intermediate sparging of propane and air. Propane delivery, however, was not uniform, with propane mainly observed in down-gradient observation wells. Trichloroethene (TCE), cis-1, 2-dichloroethene (c-DCE), and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration levels decreased in proportion with propane usage, with c-DCE decreasing more rapidly than TCE. The more rapid removal of c-DCE indicated biotransformation and not just physical removal by stripping. Propane utilization rates and rates of CAH removal slowed after three to four months of repeated propane additions, which coincided with tile depletion of nitrogen (as nitrate). Ammonia was then added to the propane/air mixture as a nitrogen source. After a six-month period between propane additions, rapid propane-utilization was observed. Nitrate was present due to groundwater flow into the treatment zone and/or by the oxidation of tile previously injected ammonia. In the propane-stimulated zone, c-DCE concentrations decreased below tile detection limit (1 $\mu$g/L), and TCE concentrations ranged from less than 5 $\mu$g/L to 30 $\mu$g/L, representing removals of 90 to 97%. In the air sparged control zone, TCE was removed at only two monitoring locations nearest the sparge-well, to concentrations of 15 $\mu$g/L and 60 $\mu$g/L. The responses indicate that stripping as well as biological treatment were responsible for the removal of contaminants in the biostimulated zone, with biostimulation enhancing removals to lower contaminant levels. As part of that study bacterial population shifts that occurred in the groundwater during CAS and air sparging control were evaluated by length heterogeneity polymerase chain reaction (LH-PCR) fragment analysis. The results showed that an organism(5) that had a fragment size of 385 base pairs (385 bp) was positively correlated with propane removal rates. The 385 bp fragment consisted of up to 83% of the total fragments in the analysis when propane removal rates peaked. A 16S rRNA clone library made from the bacteria sampled in propane sparged groundwater included clones of a TM7 division bacterium that had a 385bp LH-PCR fragment; no other bacterial species with this fragment size were detected. Both propane removal rates and the 385bp LH-PCR fragment decreased as nitrate levels in the groundwater decreased. In the second study the potential for bioaugmentation of a butane culture was evaluated in a series of field tests conducted at the Moffett Field Air Station in California. A butane-utilizing mixed culture that was effective in transforming 1, 1-dichloroethene (1, 1-DCE), 1, 1, 1-trichloroethane (1, 1, 1-TCA), and 1, 1-dichloroethane (1, 1-DCA) was added to the saturated zone at the test site. This mixture of contaminants was evaluated since they are often present as together as the result of 1, 1, 1-TCA contamination and the abiotic and biotic transformation of 1, 1, 1-TCA to 1, 1-DCE and 1, 1-DCA. Model simulations were performed prior to the initiation of the field study. The simulations were performed with a transport code that included processes for in-situ cometabolism, including microbial growth and decay, substrate and oxygen utilization, and the cometabolism of dual contaminants (1, 1-DCE and 1, 1, 1-TCA). Based on the results of detailed kinetic studies with the culture, cometabolic transformation kinetics were incorporated that butane mixed-inhibition on 1, 1-DCE and 1, 1, 1-TCA transformation, and competitive inhibition of 1, 1-DCE and 1, 1, 1-TCA on butane utilization. A transformation capacity term was also included in the model formation that results in cell loss due to contaminant transformation. Parameters for the model simulations were determined independently in kinetic studies with the butane-utilizing culture and through batch microcosm tests with groundwater and aquifer solids from the field test zone with the butane-utilizing culture added. In microcosm tests, the model simulated well the repetitive utilization of butane and cometabolism of 1.1, 1-TCA and 1, 1-DCE, as well as the transformation of 1, 1-DCE as it was repeatedly transformed at increased aqueous concentrations. Model simulations were then performed under the transport conditions of the field test to explore the effects of the bioaugmentation dose and the response of the system to tile biostimulation with alternating pulses of dissolved butane and oxygen in the presence of 1, 1-DCE (50 $\mu$g/L) and 1, 1, 1-TCA (250 $\mu$g/L). A uniform aquifer bioaugmentation dose of 0.5 mg/L of cells resulted in complete utilization of the butane 2-meters downgradient of the injection well within 200-hrs of bioaugmentation and butane addition. 1, 1-DCE was much more rapidly transformed than 1, 1, 1-TCA, and efficient 1, 1, 1-TCA removal occurred only after 1, 1-DCE and butane were decreased in concentration. The simulations demonstrated the strong inhibition of both 1, 1-DCE and butane on 1, 1, 1-TCA transformation, and the more rapid 1, 1-DCE transformation kinetics. Results of tile field demonstration indicated that bioaugmentation was successfully implemented; however it was difficult to maintain effective treatment for long periods of time (50 days or more). The demonstration showed that the bioaugmented experimental leg effectively transformed 1, 1-DCE and 1, 1-DCA, and was somewhat effective in transforming 1, 1, 1-TCA. The indigenous experimental leg treated in the same way as the bioaugmented leg was much less effective in treating the contaminant mixture. The best operating performance was achieved in the bioaugmented leg with about over 90%, 80%, 60 % removal for 1, 1-DCE, 1, 1-DCA, and 1, 1, 1-TCA, respectively. Molecular methods were used to track and enumerate the bioaugmented culture in the test zone. Real Time PCR analysis was used to on enumerate the bioaugmented culture. The results show higher numbers of the bioaugmented microorganisms were present in the treatment zone groundwater when the contaminants were being effective transformed. A decrease in these numbers was associated with a reduction in treatment performance. The results of the field tests indicated that although bioaugmentation can be successfully implemented, competition for the growth substrate (butane) by the indigenous microorganisms likely lead to the decrease in long-term performance.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.53-68
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• 1981

Most clays under sustained load exhibit time-dependent deformation because of creep movement of soil particles and many investigators have attempted to relate their findings to the creep behavior of natural ground and to the long-term stability of slopes. Since the creep behavior of clays may assume a variety of forms depending on such factors as soil plasticity, activity and water content, it is difficult and complicated to analyse the creep behavior of clays. Rheological models composed of linear springs in combination with linear or nonlinear dashpots and sliders, are generally used for the mathematical description of the time-dependent behavior of soils. Most rheological models, however, have been proposed to simulate the behavior of secondary compression for saturated clays and few definitive data exist that can evaluate the behavior of non-saturated clays under the action of sustained stress. The clays change gradually from a solid state through plastic state to a liquid state with increasing water content, therefore, the rheological models also change. On the other hand, creep is time-dependent, and also the effect of thixotropy is time-function. Consequently, there may be certain correlations between creep behavior and the effects of thixotropy in compacted clays. In addition, the states of clay depend on water content and hence the height of the specimen under drained conditions. Futhermore, based on present and past studies, because immediate elastic deformation occurs instantly after the pressure increment without time-delayed behavior, the factor representing immediate elastic deformations in the rheological model is necessary. The investigation described in this paper, based on rheological model, is designed to identify the immediate elastic deformations and the effects of thixotropy and height of clay specimens with varing water content and stress level on creep deformations. For these purposes, the uniaxial drain-type creep tests were performed. Test results and data for three compacted clays have shown that a linear top spring is needed to account for immediate elastic deformations in the rheological model, and at lower water content below the visco-plastic limit, the effects of thixotropy and height of clay specimens can be represented by the proposed rheological model not considering the effects. Therefore, the rheological model does not necessitate the other factors representing these effects. On the other hand, at water content higher than the visco-plastic limit, although the state behavior of clays is visco-plastic or viscous flow at the beginning of the test, the state behavior, in the case of the lower height sample, does not represent the same behavior during the process of the test, because of rapid drainage. In these cases, the rheological model does not coincide with the model in the case of the higher specimens.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.90 no.2
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• pp.197-209
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• 2001

TOPMODEL, semi-distributed hydrological model, is frequently applied to predict the amount of discharge, main flow pathways and water quality in a forested catchment, especially in a spatial dimension. TOPMODEL is a kind of conceptual model, not physical one. The main concept of TOPMODEL is constituted by the topographic index and soil transmissivity. Two components can be used for predicting the surface and subsurface contributing area. This study is conducted for the validation of applicability of TOPMODEL at small forested catchments in Korea. The experimental area is located at Gwangneung forest operated by Korea Forest Research Institute, Gyeonggi-do near Seoul metropolitan. Two study catchments in this area have been working since 1979 ; one is the natural mature deciduous forest(22.0 ha) about 80 years old and the other is the planted young coniferous forest(13.6 ha) about 22 years old. The data collected during the two events in July 1995 and June 2000 at the mature deciduous forest and the three events in July 1995 and 1999, August 2000 at the young coniferous forest were used as the observed data set, respectively. The topographic index was calculated using $10m{\times}10m$ resolution raster digital elevation map(DEM). The distribution of the topographic index ranged from 2.6 to 11.1 at the deciduous and 2.7 to 16.0 at the coniferous catchment. The result of the optimization using the forecasting efficiency as the objective function showed that the model parameter, m and the mean catchment value of surface saturated transmissivity, $lnT_0$ had a high sensitivity. The values of the optimized parameters for m and InT_0 were 0.034 and 0.038; 8.672 and 9.475 at the deciduous and 0.031, 0.032 and 0.033; 5.969, 7.129 and 7.575 at the coniferous catchment, respectively. The forecasting efficiencies resulted from the simulation using the optimized parameter were comparatively high ; 0.958 and 0.909 at the deciduous and 0.825, 0.922 and 0.961 at the coniferous catchment. The observed and simulated hyeto-hydrograph shoed that the time of lag to peak coincided well. Though the total runoff and peakflow of some events showed a discrepancy between the observed and simulated output, TOPMODEL could overall predict a hydrologic output at the estimation error less than 10 %. Therefore, TOPMODEL is useful tool for the prediction of runoff at an ungaged forested catchment in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.112-118
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• 1978

Four domestic frying oils (soybean, corn, rapeseed and rice bran oil) were studied on their changing properties according to thermal oxidation by means of chemical analysis of their compositions and measurements of various physical and chemical properties. The content of linoleic acid which is an essential unsaturated fatty acid and the total amount of unsaturated fatty acids were highest in soybean oil (53.2% and 80.3% respectively) among the unheated frying oils and the degree of its thermal degradation was lowest during the continuous heating period for 48 hours at $180^{\circ}C$. However in general, the contents of unsaturated fatty acids were sharply decreased by thermal oxidation whereas the saturated fatty acid contents ranging 10-17% were not changed considerably, which largely agreed with the results of iodine value measurements. The free acid and peroxide values were also lowest in soybean oil (0.09 and 5.6 respectively) among the unheated oils whereas an anomalously high free acid value was observed in rapeseed oil (54.8) which was packed in unleveled glass bottles. Such a high value is probably ascribed to the photo-catalyzed oxidation during storage. The viscosity measurements have shown similar values before heating, but after thermal oxidation for 32 hours the rapeseed and rice bran oils became too thick to measure viscosity by capillary flow method with heavy darkening in color.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.4 s.109
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• pp.436-447
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• 2004

Wetland plants have evolved specialized adaptations to survive in the low-oxygen conditions associated with prolonged flooding. The development of internal gas space by means of aerenchyma is crucial for wetland plants to transport $O_2$ from the atmosphere into the roots and rhizome. The formation of tissue with high porosity depends on the species and environmental condition, which can control the depth of root penetration and the duration of root tolerance in the flooded sediments. The oxygen in the internal gas space of plants can be delivered from the atmosphere to the root and rhizome by both passive molecular diffusion and convective throughflow. The release of $O_2$ from the roots supplies oxygen demand for root respiration, microbial respiration, and chemical oxidation processes and stimulates aerobic decomposition of organic matter. Another essential mechanism of wetland plants is downward water movement across the root zone induced by water uptake. Natural and constructed wetlands sediments have low hydraulic conductivity due to the relatively fine particle sizes in the litter layer and, therefore, negligible water movement. Under such condition, the water uptake by wetland plants creates a water potential difference in the rhizosphere which acts as a driving force to draw water and dissolved solutes into the sediments. A large number of anatomical, morphological and physiological studies have been conducted to investigate the specialized adaptations of wetland plants that enable them to tolerate water saturated environment and to support their biochemical activities. Despite this, there is little knowledge regarding how the combined effects of wetland plants influence the biogeochemistry of wetland sediments. A further investigation of how the Presence of plants and their growth cycle affects the biogeochemistry of sediments will be of particular importance to understand the role of wetland in the ecological environment.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.145-155
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• 2012

The matric suction and volumetric water content of Jumunin standard sand with a relative density of 60% were measured using an Automated Soil-Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) apparatus during both drying and wetting processes. The test time for the drying process was longer than that for the wetting process, because the flow of water is likely to be protected by air trapped in voids within the soils during the drying process. Based on the matric suction and volumetric water content, the SWCC was estimated using the model proposed by van Genuchten (1980). For the drying process, the unsaturated fitting parameters ${\alpha}$, n, and m were 0.399, 8.586, and 0.884, respectively; for the wetting process, the values were 0.548, 5.625, and 8.220, respectively. The hysteresis phenomenon occurred in the SWCCs, which means the SWCC of the drying process is not matched with the SWCC of the wetting process. Using these unsaturated parameters, we estimated the Suction Stress Characteristic Curve (SSCC), based on the relationship between suction stress and the effective degree of saturation. The suction stress showed a rapid decrease when the matric suction exceeds the Air Entry Value (AEV). Therefore, the effective stress of unsaturated soils is different from that of saturated soils when the matric suction exceeds the AEV. The suction stress of the drying process exceeds that of the wetting process for a given effective degree of saturation. The hysteresis phenomenon was also recognized in SSCCs. The hysteresis phenomenon of SSCCs arises from that of SWCCs, which is induced by the ink bottle effect and the contact angle effect. In the case of a sandy slope, the suction stress is positive and acts to enhance the slope stability as the water infiltrates the ground, but is negative when the suction stress exceeds the AEV. The results obtained for the wetting process should be applied in analyses of slope stability, because the process of water infiltration into ground is similar to the wetting process.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.163-179
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• 2003

Multifunctionality of agriculture which is not traded on the market now has been an important international issue in that it environmental and public benefits. We carried out to modify and to update the function of upland farming on flood prevention and fostering water resources. Economic values of environmental benefits were evaluated by replacement cost methods. Models to evaluate the function of preventing flood were selected as: (1)precipitation(flood-inducing) - runoff(A), (2) soil depth ${\times}$ soil air phase, (3) precipitation (flood-inducing) - runoff(B), (4) soil depth ${\times}$ effective porosity of soil. Models to estimate the function of fostering water resources were (1) saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) ${\times}$ duration of saturation(days) ${\times}$ (1-ratio of water flow directly into river), (2) precipitation ${\times}$ ratio of water fostered by rain resources ${\times}$ (area of upland/total land area), and (3) soil water retention quantity(under standing crop or tree) - SWRQ(in bare soil). Function of preventing flood was $883Mg\;ha^{-1}$ of water per year and 645 million Mg for the whole upland area. Function of fostering water resources was $94.1Mg\;ha^{-1}$ of water per year and 69 million Mg for the whole upland area. The value of flood-preventing function evaluated by replacement cost methods was estimated 1,428 billion won per year as compared to the cost for dam construction. The value of water resource fostering were estimated 8.6 billion won in the price of living water.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.105-115
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• 2021

The geological CO2 sequestration in underground geological formation such as deep saline aquifers and depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs is one of the most promising options for reducing the atmospheric CO2 emissions. The process in geological CO2 sequestration involves injection of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) into porous media saturated with pore water and initiates CO2 flooding with immiscible displacement. The CO2 migration and distribution, and, consequently, the displacement efficiency is governed by the interaction of fluids. Especially, the viscous force and capillary force are controlled by geological formation conditions and injection conditions. This study aimed to estimate the effects of surfactant on interfacial tension between the immiscible fluids, scCO2 and porewater, under high pressure and high temperature conditions by using a pair of proxy fluids under standard conditions through pendant drop method. It also aimed to observe migration and distribution patterns of the immiscible fluids and estimate the effects of surfactant concentrations on the displacement efficiency of scCO2. Micromodel experiments were conducted by applying n-hexane and deionized water as proxy fluids for scCO2 and porewater. In order to quantitatively analyze the immiscible displacement phenomena by n-hexane injection in pore network, the images of migration and distribution pattern of the two fluids are acquired through a imaging system. The experimental results revealed that the addition of surfactants sharply reduces the interfacial tension between hexane and deionized water at low concentrations and approaches a constant value as the concentration increases. Also it was found that, by directly affecting the flow path of the flooding fluid at the pore scale in the porous medium, the surfactant showed the identical effect on the displacement efficiency of n-hexane at equilibrium state. The experimental observation results could provide important fundamental information on immiscible displacement of fluids in porous media and suggest the potential to improve the displacement efficiency of scCO2 by using surfactants.