• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2023

Xanthan gum and starch compound biopolymer (XS), an environmentally friendly soil-binding material produced from natural resources, has been suggested as a slope protection material to enhance soil strength and erosion resistance. Insufficient wet strength and the consequent durability concerns remain, despite XS biopolymer-soil treatment showing high strength and erosion resistance in the dried state, even with a small dosage of soil mass. These concerns need to be solved to improve the field applicability and post-stability of this treatment. This study explored the utilization of an alkaline-based cation crosslinking method using calcium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide to induce non-thermal gelation, resulting in the enhancement of the wet strength and durability of biopolymer-treated soil. Laboratory experiments were conducted to assess the unconfined compressive strength and cyclic wetting-drying durability performance of the treated soil using a selected recipe based on a preliminary gel formation test. The results demonstrated that the uniformity of the gel structure and gelling time varied depending on the ratio of crosslinkers to biopolymer; consequently, the strength of the soil was affected. Subsequently, site soil treated with the recipe, which showed the best performance in indoor assessment, was implemented on the field slope at the bridge abutment via compaction and pressurized spraying methods to assess feasibility in field implementation. Moreover, the variation in surface soil hardness was monitored periodically for one year. Both slopes implemented by the two construction methods showed sufficient stability against detachment and scouring, with a higher soil hardness index than the natural slope for a year.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.265-280
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• 2023

Water leakage in tunnels is a defect that can affect tunnel stability and the ground movement by changing the stress and pore water pressure of the surrounding ground. Long-term or large-scale water leaks may lead to damage of tunnel structure and the surrounding environment, such as tunnel lining instability and ground surface settlement. The present study numerically investigated the effects of water leakage on the structural stability of a tunnel and the ground behavior. The tunnel was assumed to be under undrained conditions for preventing the inflow of the surrounding water and leaks occurred in the concrete lining after completion of the tunnel construction. A coupled hydro-mechanical analysis using a TOUGH-FLAC simulator developed in Python was conducted for assessing the leakage induced-behavior of the tunnel structure and ground under different conditions of the amount and location of water leak. Additionally, the effect of hydro-mechanical coupling terms on the results of coupled response was investigated and discussed.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.163-173
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• 2023

The presence of high amounts of organic and inorganic contaminants in textile wastewater is a major environmental concern. Therefore, the treatment of textile wastewater is an urgent issue to save the aquatic environment. The disposal of large quantities of untreated textile wastewater into inland water bodies can cause serious water pollution. In this study, synthetic dye wastewater samples were prepared using orange dye in the laboratory. The synthetic samples were then treated by a batch adsorption process using the prepared activated carbon (AC) from date pits. The wastewater parameters studied were the pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), electrical conductivity (EC) and salinity. The activated adsorption process showed that the maximum removal efficiencies of electric conductivity (EC), salinity, TDS and TSS were 65%, 92%, 89% and 90%, respectively. The removal efficiencies were proportional to the increase in contact time (30-120 min) and AC adsorbent dose (1, 3 and 5 g/L). The adsorption profile indicates that 5 g/L of adsorbent delivers better results for TDS, EC, TSS and salinity at contact time of 120 min. The adsorption characteristics are better suited to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model than to the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were well suited for describing the adsorption or contact behavior of EC and TSS within the studied system.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.16 no.2 s.80
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• pp.205-212
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• 2004

Recently, as concerns over environmental issues are raised more and more trend to use recycled waste for producing construction materials is also raised. Especially, a case of waste resin is considerably destroying the environment due to disposal way that most waste resin produced is disposed of landfill. This study is performed by polymer concrete with recycled PET resin in terms of obtaining safely clean construction resources and protection of environment. High setting shrinkage and sensitivity to heat are main disadvantages of Polymer Concrete (PC) despites of a lot merits. The aim of this study is to investigate basic properties such as setting shrinkage, length change and sensitivity to heat about PET recycled polymer concrete. The other is to check the possibility of use of Montmorillonite as one of a lot of additive without special coupling agent. As results of experiments, various properties of polymer concrete with recycled PET resin are similar with conventional PC except that polymerization time is longer. Montmorillonite was efficiently used to reduce setting shrinkage, length change and coenicient of thermal expansion related to heat with enhanced strength

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.253-260
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• 2017

As global warming became a worldwide issue, a significant effort has been made on the development of technology related to $CO_2$ capture and storage. Geologic sequestration of $CO_2$ is one of those technologies for safe disposal of $CO_2$. Geologic sequestration stores $CO_2$ in the form of supercritical fluid into the underground site surrounded by solid rock, and concrete is used for prevention of $CO_2$ leakage into the atmosphere. In such case, concrete may experience severe damage by attack of supercritical $CO_2$, and especially in contact with underground water, very aggressive form of carbonation can occur. In this work, to prevent such deterioration in concrete, calcium phosphates were added to the portland cement to produce hydroxyapatite, one of the most stable mineral in the world. Temperature rise, viscosity, set and stiffening, and strength development of cement paste incorporating three different types of calcium phosphates were investigated. According to the results, it was found that the addition of calcium phosphate increased apparent viscosity, but decreased maximum temperature rise and 28 day compressive strength. It was found that monocalcium phosphate was found to be inappropriate for portland cement based material. Applicability of dicalcium and tricalcium phosphates for portland cement needs to be evaluated with further investigation, including the long term compressive strength development.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.451-459
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of a solidifying agent for recycling the fine powder separated from the nuclear power plant decommissioned concrete as a solidifying agent(SA) for radioactive waste. In order to evaluate the performance of the solidifying agent, a powder simulating the fine powder of waste concrete separated from the dismantled concrete of a nuclear power plant was produced, and the main variables were the type of binder and the replacement ratio of zeolite. The solidifying agent was evaluated for fluidity performance, compressive strength, and leaching resistance to non-radioactive cesium. The compressive strength of SA increased as the zeolite replacement ratio increased, and the SA containing 5% or more of zeolite showed a compressive strength that was 1.4 to 1.7 times higher than the acceptance criteria. The cesium leaching index of all specimens was 6 or higher, satisfying the acceptance criteria, and the leaching index of SA was 1.47~1.63 times higher than that of OPC. In particular, the average leaching index after 28 days of the 5% zeolite-substituted solidifying agent was 9.15, which was improved by about 6.4% compared to OPC, and it was confirmed that the zeolite was effective in improving the leaching resistance to cesium ions by showing stable performance over the entire period.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2023

As the installation of solar panel accelerates, so does the number of solar panels reaching their end-of-life (EOL). However, the EOL solar panels is becoming a concern, as they contain potentially hazardous materials and are not easily recycled. Coping strategies such as effective collection, disposal, and recycling methods will be important to manage the growing number of EOL solar panels in the coming years.Therefore, many studies have focused on the development of EOL solar panel recycling technology. One recycling technology for EOL solar panels applicable to the construction field is the application of extracted tempered glass from EOL solar panels as construction materials. This study summarized the EOL solar panel disassembly technology and evaluated the mechanical properties of mortar using extracted tempered glass as fine aggregate. The results showed that when tempered glass was used as a fine aggregate in mortar, the compressive strength, flexural strength, and macro pores in the 1-3 ㎛ with 200-300 ㎛ range were affected, regardless of the disassembly technology of EOL solar panels. Especially, we found that the mechanical performance of mortar using chemically treated tempered glass was noticeably decreased due to changes in the chemical composition of the extracted tempered glass resulting from the removal of K₂O and CuO due to chemical reactions. Meanwhile, it was found that when fly ash was used as a binder, the reduction of mechanical performance could be alleviated.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.43-71
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• 1999

This research is an experimental work of developing a construction material using municipal wastewater sludge as liner and cover materials for waste disposal landfill. Weathered granite soil and flyash, produced as a by-product in the power plant, were used as the primary additives to improve geotechnical engineering properties of sludge. For secondary additives, bentonite and cement were mixed with sludge to decrease the permeability and to increase the shear strength, respectively. Various laboratory test required to evaluate the design criteria for liner and cover materials, were carried out by changing the mixing ratio of sludge with the additives. Basic soil properties such as specific gravity, grain size distribution, liquid and plastic limits were measured to analyze their effects on permeability, compaction, compressibility and shear strength properties of mixtures. Laboratory compaction tests were conducted to find the maximum dry densities and the optimum moisture contents of mixtures, and their effectiveness of compaction in field was consequently evaluated. Permeability tests of variable heads with compacted samples, and the stress-controlled consolidation tests with measuring permeabilities of samples during consolidation process were performed to obtain permeability, and to find the compressibility as well as consolidational coefficients of mixtures, respectively. To evaluate the long term stability of sludges, creep tests were also conducted in parallel with permeability tests of variable heads. On the other hand, for the compacted sludge decomposed for a month, permeability tests were carried out to investigate the effect of decomposition of organic matters in sludges on its permeability. Direct shear tests were performed to evaluate the shear strength parameters of mixed sludge with weathered granite, flyash and bentonite. For the mixture of sludge with cement, unconfined compression tests were carried out to find their strength with varying mixing ratio and curing time. On the other hand, CBR tests for compacted specimen were also conducted to evaluate the trafficability of mixtures. Various test results with mixtures were assessed to evaluate whether their properties meet the requirements as liner and cover materials in waste disposal landfill.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.113-125
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• 1984

Water supply has been mainly dependent on the construction of the dams in Korea. It is difficult, however, to continue to construct dams for many reasons, such as the decrease of construction sites, the increase of construction costs, the compensation of residents in flooded areas, and the environmental effects. Water demands have increased and are expected to continue increasing due to the concentration of people in the cities, the rise of the living standard, and rapid industrial growth. It is acutely important to find countermeasures such as development of ground water, desalination, and recycling of waste water to cope with increasing water demands. Recycling waste water includes all means of supplying non-potable water for their respective usages with proper water quality which is not the same quality as potable water. The usages of the recycled water include toilet flushing, air conditioning, car washing, yard watering, road cleaning, park sprinkling, and fire fighting, etc. Raw water for recycling is obtained from drainage water from buildings, toilets, and cooling towers, treated waste water, polluted rivers, ground water, reinfall, etc. The water quantity must be considered as well as its quality in selecting raw water for the recycling. The types of recycling may be classified roughly into closed recycle systems and open recycle systems, which can be further subdivided into individual recycle systems, regional recycle systems and large scale recycle system. The treatment methods of wastewater combine biochemical and physiochemical methods. The former includes activated sludge treatment, bio-disc treatment, and contact aeration treatment, and the latter contains sedimentation, sand filtration, activated carbon adsorption, ozone treatment, chlorination, and membrane filter. The recycling patterns in other countries were investigated and the effects of the recycling were divided into direct and indirect effects. The problems of water reuse in recycle patterns were also studied. The problems include technological, sanitary, and operational problems as well as cost and legislative ones. The duties of installation and administrative organization, structural standards for reuse of water, maintenance and financial disposal were also studied.

• Journal of the Korean Professional Engineers Association
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.15-23
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• 1996

With the ever-increasing importance of high-speed information in society as we move towards the 21 st century, telecommunication laboratories of advanced nations are pressing forward with research and development aimed at implementing its W & P(Visual Intelligent and Personal) services and construction of a new network to support them. In legals to the former, based on a long-term view of technological and market trends, those laboratories are researching and developing services that will make possible an effective progression from the development of services that answer to potential needs towards the full-scale implementation of VI & P services. In regards to the latter, these laboratories are responding in a flexible manner to the increasing diversity and disposal of the communications environment by separating the network into a transmission system and a versatile information control/conversion -ion system and laboratories are working at enhancing the performance of both. Within these board aims, the laboratories are currently focusing our attention in three areas : the technology for a high-speed broadband transmission system featuring optical frequency multiplexing and ATM techniques, network and software technologies for advanced information control and conversion, and technology for constructing a new access network that can provide a comprehensive range of multimedia services. This article describes the laboratories' concept of how VI & P services will develop in the future, and the latest trends in the field of communications. It also describes the ideal configuration of the new network and discusses the important technological aspects of how it is to be constructed. Finally, it presents the results of the laboratories'recent research which include some innovative work, point out the areas requiring future investigation.