• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.75-79
• /
• 2001

For handling and storage of reactive chemicals, the hazard evaluations have been extremely important. In the chemical industry, the most concerns are focused on the thermal harzards such as runaway reactions and thermal decompositions, which are mostly governed by thermodynamics and reaction kinetics or these reactive chemical in the system. This study no investigated the thermal decomposition characteristics of nitrophenylhydrazine isomers by using differential scanning calorimeter(DSC) and accelerating rate calorimeter(ARC). Experimental results showed that exothermic onset-temperatures in nitrophenylhydrazine(NPH) isomers were about 160-$210^{\circ}C$ by DSC and 100-$150^{\circ}C$ by ARC. The decomposition temperature acquired by ARC was about 50-$60^{\circ}C$ lower than that by DSC. Reaction heats were about 40-100cal/g by DSC and 330-750ca1/g by ARC. While ortho isomer of NPH show two distinct exothermic peaks, para isomer shows a single peak in DSC curves. The first exothermic peak for 2-NPH is mainly due to intramolecular dehydration forming 1-hydroxybenzotriazole(HOBT) and the second exothermic peak is mainly due to the decomposition of HOBT formed in the first step of decomposition. The exothermin peak in the DSC curve for 4-NPH is mainly due to dissociation of hydrazino and nitro groups.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.661-668
• /
• 2019

Seismic vulnerability assessment is a useful tool for rational safety analysis and planning of large and complex structural systems; it can deal with the effects of uncertainties on the performance of significant structural systems. In this study, an efficient dynamic reliability approach, probability density evolution methodology (PDEM), is proposed for seismic vulnerability analysis of earth dams. The PDEM provides the failure probability of different limit states for various levels of ground motion intensity as well as the mean value, standard deviation and probability density function of the performance metric of the earth dam. Combining the seismic reliability with three different performance levels related to the displacement of the earth dam, the seismic fragility curves are constructed without them being limited to a specific functional form. Furthermore, considering the seismic fragility analysis is a significant procedure in the seismic probabilistic risk assessment of structures, the seismic vulnerability results obtained by the dynamic reliability approach are combined with the results of probabilistic seismic hazard and seismic loss analysis to present and address the PDEM-based seismic probabilistic risk assessment framework by a simulated case study of an earth dam.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.88 no.4
• /
• pp.311-322
• /
• 2023

Riverine flood is one of the critical natural threats to river-crossing bridges. As floods are the most-occurred natural hazard worldwide, survival probability of bridges due to floods must be assessed in a speedy but precise manner. In this regard, the paper presents a reliability-based approach for a rapid assessment of failure probability of vulnerable bridge components under floods. This robust method is generic in nature and can be applied to both concrete and steel girder bridges. The developed methodology essentially utilizes limit state performance functions, expressed in terms of capacity and flood demand, for probable failure modes of various vulnerable components of bridges. Advanced First Order Reliability Method (AFORM), Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS), and Latin Hypercube Simulation (LHS) techniques are applied for the purpose of reliability assessment and developing flood fragility curves of bridges in which flow velocity and water height are taken as flood intensity measures. Upon validating the proposed method, it is applied to a case study bridge that experiences the flood scenario of a river in Gujarat, India. Research outcome portrays how effectively and efficiently the proposed reliability-based method can be applied for a quick assessment of flood vulnerability of bridges in any flood-prone region of interest.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.57-70
• /
• 2024

Masonry arch bridges as a vital infrastructure were not designed for seismic loads. Given that masonry arch bridges are made up of various components, their contribution under the seismic actions can be very undetermined and each of these structural components can play a different role in energy dissipation. Iran is known as a high-risk area in terms of seismic excitations and according to the seismic hazard zoning classification of Iran, most of these railway infrastructures are placed in the high and very high seismicity zones or constructed near the major faults. Besides, these ageing structures are deteriorated and thus in recent years, some of these bridges using various retrofitting approaches, including sprayed concrete technique are strengthened. Therefore, investigating the behavior of these restored structures with new characteristics is very significant. The aim of this study is to investigate the cyclic in-plane performance of masonry arch bridges retrofitted by sprayed concrete technique through the finite element simulation. So, by considering the fill-arch interaction, the nonlinear behavior of a bridge has been investigated. Finally, by extracting the hysteresis and enveloping curves of the retrofitted and non-retrofitted bridge, the effect of strengthening on energy absorption and degradation of material has been investigated.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
• /
• v.54 no.5
• /
• pp.427-434
• /
• 2019

Purpose: This study evaluated the long term clinical and radiographic results and the survival rates of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). In addition, the factors affecting the survival of the procedure were analyzed and the survival curve was compared according to the affecting factors. Materials and Methods: Ninety-nine cases of UKA performed between December 1982 and January 1996 were involved: 10 cases with Modular II, 44 cases with Microloc, and 45 cases with Allegretto prostheses. The mean follow-up period was 16.5 years. Clinically, the hospital for special surgery (HSS) scoring system and the range of motion (ROM) were evaluated. Radiographically, the femorotibial angle (FTA) was measured. The survival rate was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression analysis was used to identify the factors affecting the survival according to age, sex, body mass index, preoperative diagnosis, and type of implant. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves were compared according to the factors affecting the survival of UKA. Results: The overall average HSS score and ROM was 57.7 and 134.3° preoperatively, 92.7 and 138.4° at 1 year postoperatively, and 79.1 and 138.4° at the last follow-up (p<0.001, respectively). The overall average FTA was varus 0.8° preoperatively, valgus 4.1° at postoperative 2 weeks, and valgus 3.0° at the last follow-up. The overall 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year survival rates were 91.8%, 82.9%, 71.0%, and 67.0%, respectively. The factors affecting the survival were the age and type of implant. The risk of the failure decreased with age (hazard ratio=0.933). The Microloc group was more hazardous than the other prostheses (hazard ratio=0.202, 0.430, respectively). The survival curve in the patients below 60 years of age was significantly lower than those of the patients over 60 years of age (p=0.003); the survival curve of the Microloc group was lower compared to the Modular II and Allegretto groups (p=0.025). Conclusion: The long-term clinical and radiographic results and survival of UKA using old fixed bearing prostheses were satisfactory. The selection of appropriate patient and prosthesis will be important for the long term survival of the UKA procedure.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.79 no.4
• /
• pp.289-294
• /
• 2016

Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate the prognostic value of Charlson's weighted index of comorbidities (WIC) in patients with prolonged acute mechanical ventilation (PAMV, ventilator care ${\geq}96$ hours). Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 299 Korean PAMV patients who were admitted in a medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital between 2008 and 2013. Survivors were defined as patients who survived for 60 days after ICU admission. Results: The patients' mean age was $65.1{\pm}14.1$ years and 70.6% were male. The mean ICU and hospital length of stay was $21.9{\pm}19.7$ and $39.4{\pm}39.1$ days, respectively. In addition, the 60-day mortality rate after ICU admission was 35.5%. The mean WIC was $2.3{\pm}1.8$, with significant differences between nonsurvivors and survivors ($2.7{\pm}2.1$ vs. $2.1{\pm}1.7$, p<0.05). The area under the curve of receiver-operating-characteristics curve for WIC was 0.593 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.523-0.661; p<0.05). Based on Kaplan-Meier curves of 60-day survival, WIC ${\geq}5$ had statistically lower survival than WIC <5 (logrank test, p<0.05). In a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model, WIC ${\geq}5$ was associated with poor prognosis (hazard ratio, 1.901; 95% CI, 1.140-3.171; p<0.05). The mortality rate of patients with WIC ${\geq}5$ was 54.2%. Conclusion: Our study showed a WIC score ${\geq}5$ might be helpful in predicting 60-day mortality in PAMV patients.

• Fire Science and Engineering
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.39-45
• /
• 2013

This study analyzes the explosion hazard of dry cleaning solvent recovery machine in laundry shop in two aspects, i.e. combustible and ignition source, and determines the explosive conditions of this machine by conducting mockup explosion tests repeatedly, varying conditions and using real dry cleaning solvent recovery machines. As to combustibles, two kinds of combustibles used widely in Korea have been selected and tested. The flash points, LEL's, and saturation vapor pressures of those combustibles have been measured, and their explosion specific curves have been drawn, based on the results of the measurements, so that the explosion risks of those materials may be determined, depending on the temperatures. Potential voltages generated from materials for laundry and foreign materials of metals have been assumed to be the ignition sources in this application, and their potential voltages have been measured, depending on temperature, humidity, and antistatic agent, by using real materials for laundry and a potential voltage measuring device. Tests have been conducted, varying the quantities, concentrations, and operating temperatures of materials for laundry. As a result, explosions have not been generated with potential voltages of materials for laundry, but explosions have been observed when applying artificial spark energy of 2.0 mJ.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.525-534
• /
• 2014

Environmental problems typically occurring in abandoned mine lands (AML) include: contaminated and acidic surface water and groundwater; stockpiled waste rock and mill tailings; and ground subsidences due to mining operations. This study examines the effectiveness of various geophysical techniques for mapping potential hazard and contaminated zones. Four AML sites with sedimentation contamination problems, acid mine drainage (AMD) channels, ground subsidence, manmade liner leakage, and buried mine tailings, were selected to examine the applicability of various geophysical methods to the identification of the different types of mine hazards. Geophysical results were correlated to borehole data (core samples, well logs, tomographic profiles, etc.) and water sample data (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and heavy metal contents). Zones of low electrical resistivity (ER) corresponded to areas contaminated by heavy metals, especially contamination by Cu, Pb, and Zn. The main pathways of AMD leachate were successfully mapped using ER methods (low anomaly peaks), self-potential (SP) curves (negative peaks), and ground penetrating radar (GPR) at shallow penetration depths. Mine cavities were well located based on composite interpretations of ER, seismic tomography, and well-log records; mine cavity locations were also observed in drill core data and using borehole image processing systems (BIPS). Damaged zones in buried manmade liners (used to block descending leachate) were precisely detected by ER mapping, and buried rock waste and tailings piles were characterized by low-velocity zones in seismic refraction data and high-resistivity zones in the ER data.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.273-282
• /
• 2023

Probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) has been widely used to evaluate the seismic risk of nuclear power plants (NPPs). However, studies on seismic PSA for process plants, such as gas plants, oil refineries, and chemical plants, have been scarce. This is because the major disasters to which these process plants are vulnerable include explosions, fires, and release (or dispersion) of toxic chemicals. However, seismic PSA is essential for the plants located in regions with significant earthquake risks. Seismic PSA entails probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA), event tree analysis (ETA), fault tree analysis (FTA), and fragility analysis for the structures and essential equipment items. Among those analyses, ETA can depict the accident sequence for core damage, which is the worst disaster and top event concerning NPPs. However, there is no general top event with regard to process plants. Therefore, PSA cannot be directly applied to process plants. Moreover, there is a paucity of studies on developing fragility curves for various equipment. This paper introduces PSA for gas plants based on FTA, which is then transformed into Bayesian network, that is, a probabilistic graph model that can aid risk-informed decision-making. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a gas plant, and several decision-making cases are demonstrated.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.113 no.2
• /
• pp.187-197
• /
• 2024

In this study, we aimed to identify the factors influencing post-fire mortality in Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) using Cox's proportional hazards model and analyze the impact of these factors. We monitored the mortality rate of fire-damaged pine trees for seven years after a forest fire. Our survival analysis revealed that the risk of mortality increased with higher values of the delta normalized difference vegetation index (dNDVI), delat normalized burn ratio (dNBR), bark scorch index (BSI), bark scorch height (BSH) and slope. Conversely, the risk of mortality decreased with higher elevation, greater diameter at breast height (DBH), and higher value of delta moisture stress index (dMSI) (p < 0.01). Verification of the proportional hazards assumption for each variable showed that all factors, except slope aspect, were suitable for the model and significantly influenced fire occurrence. Among the variables, BSI caused the greatest change in the survival curves (p < 0.0001). The environmental change factors determined through remote sensing also significantly influenced the survival rates (p < 0.0001). These results will be useful in establishing restoration plans considering the potential mortality risk of Korean red pine after a forest fire.