• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.202-209
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• 2019

The objective of this study is to examine the reproducibility for compressive strength development and mechanical properties of lightweight concrete made using bottom ash aggregates and foam(LWC-BF). Based on the mix proportions conducted by Ji et al., six identical mixes were prepared with different actual foam volume ratios from 0% to 25% and water-to-binder ratios from 25% to 30%. The presently measured properties, including initial slump, slurry density, compressive strength gains at different ages, splitting tensile strength, and modulus of rupture, were very close to those determined in the previous tests by Ji et al. Thus, the developed LWC-BF has a good potential in obtaining a reproducibility for compressive strength development and mechanical properties even though the troubles of mixing control owing to the addition of preformed foam.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.541-552
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• 2019

Construction development and greenhouse gas emissions have globally required a strategic management to take some steps to stain and maintain the environment. Nowadays, recycled aggregates, in particular ceramic waste, have been widely used in concrete structures due to the economic and environmentally friendly solution, requiring the knowledge of recycled concrete. Also, one of the materials used as a substitute for concrete cement is wollastonite mineral to decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) from the cement production process by reducing the concrete consumption in concrete. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of wollastonite on the mechanical properties and durability of conventional composite concrete, containing recycled aggregates such as compressive strength, tensile strength (Brazilian test), and durability to acidic environment. On the other hand, in order to determine the strength and durability of the concrete, 5 mixing designs including different wollastonite values and recovered aggregates including constant values have been compared to the water - cement ratio (w/c) constant in all designs. The experimental results have shown that design 5 (containing 40% wollastonite) shows only 6.1% decrease in compressive strength and 4.9% decrease in tensile strength compared to the control plane. Consequently, the use of wollastonite powder to the manufacturing of conventional structural concrete containing recycled ceramic aggregates, in addition to improving some of the properties of concrete are environmentally friendly solutions, providing natural recycling of materials.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.81-90
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• 2014

For necessary information sharing or operation control via wire-wireless/mobile network connecting of devices at disaster area in greatest need of attention, an emergency network efficient construction method quickly connecting nodes within specific range using Delaunay triangulation is proposed. The emergency network constructed by proposed method shows the same aggregate network length, but does more excellent performance in term of network construction time the more long max length connectable to adjacent node as compared with the network by naive method. In experiment of 1000 input terminal nodes, 5 max length connectable to adjacent node, our proposed method enhances 89.1% in execution time without network length increase compared to naive method. So our method can go well to many useful applications as shift construction of communication network of adjacent devices, internet of things and efficient routing in the sensor network in continuous improvement of communication capability.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.229-235
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• 2021

Blockchain, recognized as one of the core technologies of the 4th industrial revolution, is an Internet-based distributed data management system which does not require centralized control. Blockchain is characterized by the integrity and reliability of information, and blockchains can be used where such characteristics are required. Typical applications of blockchain include finance, transaction, and evaluation management. In this paper, we designed a blockchain-based evaluation management system that allows users to freely create and manage evaluation instances. Evaluation managers can create an evaluation instance according to their purpose and allocate evaluation items and evaluators. When the evaluators finish evaluating the evaluation items, the evaluation manager can aggregate the evaluation results for the instance. Someone, who want to perform evaluation for various purposes but do not have an evaluation system, can implement the evaluation system relatively simply by using this system. In addition, due to the characteristic of the blockchain, evaluators cannot modify the evaluation scores they have already recorded, and neither the system administrator nor the evaluation administrator can modify the evaluation scores. For this reason, the reliability of the evaluation increases.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.433-450
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• 2022

The conventional disposal methods of waste tires are harmful to the environment. Moreover, the recycling/reuse of waste tires in domestic and industrial applications is limited due to parent product's quality control and environmental concerns. Additionally, the recycling industry often prefers powdered rubber particles (<0.60 mm). However, the processing of waste tires yields both powdered and coarser (>0.60 mm) size fractions. Reprocessing of coarser rubber requires higher energy increasing the product cost. Therefore, the waste tire rubber (WTR) less favored by the recycling industry is encouraged for use in construction products as one of the environment-friendly disposal methods. In this study, WTR fiber >0.60 mm size fraction is collected from the industry and sorted into 0.60-1.18, 1.18-2.36-, and 2.36-4.75-mm sizes. The effects of different fiber size fractions are studied by incorporating it as fine aggregates at 10%, 20%, and 30% in the self-compacting rubberized concrete (SCRC). The experimental investigations are carried out by performing fresh and hardened state tests. As the fresh state tests, the slump-flow, T500, V-funnel, and L-box are performed. As the hardened state tests, the scanning electron microscope, compressive strength, flexural strength and split tensile strength tests are conducted. Also, the water absorption, porosity, and ultrasonic pulse velocity tests are performed to measure durability. Furthermore, SCRC's energy absorption capacity is evaluated using the falling weight impact test. The statistical significance of content and size fraction of WTR fiber on SCRC is evaluated using the analysis of variance (ANOVA). As the general conclusion, implementation of various size fraction WTR fiber as fine aggregate showed potential for producing concrete for construction applications. Thus, use of WTR fiber in concrete is suggested for safe, and feasible waste tire disposal.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.3.1-3.9
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• 2023

The efficiency of somatic cell nuclear transfer (NT) in pigs is low and requires enhancement. We identified the most efficient method for zona pellucida (ZP) removal and blastomere aggregation in pigs and investigated whether the aggregation of NT and parthenogenetic activation (PA) of blastomeres could reduce embryonic apoptosis and improve the quality of NT-derived embryos by investigating. Embryonic developmental competence after ZP removal using acid Tyrode's solution or protease (pronase E). The embryonic developmental potential of NT-derived blastomeres was also investigated using well-of-the-well or phytohemagglutinin-L. We analyzed apoptosis in aggregate-derived blastocysts. The aggregation rate of protease-treated embryos was lower than that of Tyrode's solution-treated embryos (69.2% vs. 88.3%). No significant difference was observed between phytohemagglutinin-L and well-of-the-well (35.7%-38.5%). However, 2P1N showed a higher number of blastocysts compared to 3N (73.8% vs. 24.3%) and an increased blastocyst diameter compared to the control and 1P2N (274 ㎛ vs. 230-234 ㎛). In blastomeres aggregated using phytohemagglutinin-L, the apoptotic cell ratio was significantly higher in 1P2N and 3N than in 3P (5.91%-6.46% vs. 2.94%, respectively). Our results indicate that aggregation of one NT embryo with two PA embryos improved the rate of blastocysts with increased blastocyst diameter.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.1.1-1.13
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• 2021

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dystrophic mineralization deposits from 3 calcium silicate-based cements (Micro-Mega mineral trioxide aggregate [MM-MTA], Biodentine [BD], and EndoSequence Root Repair Material [ESRRM] putty) over time after subcutaneous implantation into rats. Materials and Methods: Forty-five silicon tubes containing the tested materials and 15 empty tubes (serving as a control group) were subcutaneously implanted into the backs of 15 Wistar rats. At 1, 4, and 8 weeks after implantation, the animals were euthanized (n = 5 animals/group), and the silicon tubes were removed with the surrounding tissues. Histopathological tissue sections were stained with von Kossa stain to assess mineralization. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) were also used to assess the chemical components of the surface precipitates deposited on the implant and the pattern of calcium and phosphorus distribution at the material-tissue interface. The calcium-to-phosphorus ratios were compared using the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test at a significance level of 5%. Results: The von Kossa staining showed that both BD and ESRRM putty induced mineralization starting at week 1; this mineralization increased further until the end of the study. In contrast, MM-MTA induced dystrophic calcification later, from 4 weeks onward. SEM/EDX showed no statistically significant differences in the calcium- and phosphorus-rich areas among the 3 materials at any time point (p > 0.05). Conclusions: After subcutaneous implantation, biomineralization of the 3-calcium silicate-based cements started early and increased over time, and all 3 tested cements generated calcium- and phosphorus-containing surface precipitates.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.317-324
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• 2023

Background: COVID-19 pandemic represented a unique stressful event that affected the physical health and psychological well-being (PWB) of individuals and communities. Monitoring PWB is essential not only to clarify the burden on mental health effects but also to define targeted psychological-supporting measures. This cross-sectional study evaluated the PWB of Italian firefighters during the pandemic. Methods: Firefighters recruited during the pandemic period filled out a self-administered questionnaire, the Psychological General Well-Being Index, during the health surveillance medical examination. This tool is usually used to assess the global PWB and explores six subdomains: anxiety, depressed mood, positive well-being, self-control, general health, and vitality. The influencing roles of age, gender, working activities, COVID-19, and pandemic restrictive measures were also explored. Results: A total of 742 firefighters completed the survey. The aggregate median PWB global score was in the 'no distress"" range (94.3 ± 10.3), which was higher than that observed in studies conducted using the same tool in the Italian general population during the same pandemic period. Similar findings were observed in the specific subdomains, thus suggesting that the investigated population was in good PWB condition. Interestingly, significantly better outcomes were detected in the younger firefighters. Conclusion: Our data showed a satisfactory PWB situation in firefighters that could be related to different professional factors such as work organization and mental and physical training. In particular, our results would suggest the hypothesis that in firefighters, maintaining a minimum/moderate level of physical activity (consisting of even just going to work) might have a profoundly positive impact on psychological health and well-being.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.675-688
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• 2024

Cold-formed steel (CFS) is prone to buckling failure under loading. Lightweight concrete (LC) made of lightweight aggregate has light weight and excellent thermal insulation performance. However, concrete is brittle in nature which is why different materials have been used to improve this inherent behavior of concrete. The distortional buckling (DB) performance of cold-formed steel-lightweight concrete (CFS-LC) composite columns was investigated in this paper. Firstly, the compressive strength test of foam concrete (FC) and ceramsite concrete (CC) was carried out. The performance of the CFS-LC members was investigated. The test results indicated that the concrete-filled can effectively control the DB of the members. Secondly, finite element (FE) models of each test specimen were developed and validated with the experimental tests followed by extensive parametric studies using numerical analysis based on the validated FE models. The results show that the thickness of the steel and the strength of the concrete-filled were the main factors on the DB and bearing capacity of the members. Finally, the bearing capacity of the test specimens was calculated by using current codes. The results showed that the design results of the AIJ-1997 specification were closer to the experimental and FE values, while other results of specifications were conservative.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.243-260
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• 2024

Thirteen self-compacting recycled concrete filled aluminium tubular (SCRCFAT) columns were tested under concentric compression loads. The effects of the replacement ratio of the recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and steel fibre (SF) reinforcement on the structural performance of the SCRCFAT columns were studied. A control specimen (C000) was cast with normal concrete without SF to be reference for comparison. Twelve columns were cast using RCA, six columns were cast using concrete incorporating 2% SF while the rest of columns were cast without SF. Failure mode, ductility, ultimate load capacity, axial deformation, ultimate strains, stress-strain response, and stiffness of the SCRCFAT columns were studied. The results showed that, the peak load of tested SCRCFAT columns incorporating 5-100 % RCA without SF reduced by 2.33-11.28 % compared to that of C000. Conversely, the peak load of tested SCRCFAT columns incorporating 5-100% RCA in addition to 2% SF increased by 21.1-40.25%, compared to C000. Consequently, the ultimate axial deformation (Δ) of column C100 (RCA=100% and SF 0%) increased by about 118.9 % compared to C000. The addition of 2% SF to the concrete mix decreased the axial deformation of SCRCFAT columns compared to those cast with 0% SF. Moreover, the stiffness of the columns cast without SF decreased as the RCA % increased. In contrast, the columns stiffness cast with 2% SF increased by 26.28-89.7 % over that of C000. Finally, a theoretical model was proposed to predict the ultimate loads tested SCRCFAT columns and the obtained theoretical results agreed well with the experimental results.