• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.421-427
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• 2019

Coastal erosion is becoming a significant problem in Greece, Bangladesh, and globally. For the prevention and minimization of damage from coastal erosion, combinations of various structures have been used conventionally. However, most of these methods are expensive. Therefore, creating artificial beachrock using local ureolytic bacteria and the MICP (Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation) method can be an alternative for coastal erosion protection, as it is a sustainable and eco-friendly biological ground improvement technique. Most research on MICP has been confined to land ureolytic bacteria and limited attention has been paid to coastal ureolytic bacteria for the measurement of urease activity. Subsequently, their various environmental effects have not been investigated. Therefore, for the successful application of MICP to coastal erosion protection, the type of bacteria, bacterial cell concentration, reaction temperature, cell culture duration, carbonate precipitation trend, pH of the media that controls the activity of the urease enzyme, etc., are evaluated. In this study, the effects of temperature, pH, and culture duration, as well as the trend in carbonate precipitation of coastal ureolytic bacteria isolated from two coastal regions in Greece and Bangladesh, were evaluated. The results showed that urease activity of coastal ureolytic bacteria species relies on some environmental parameters that are very important for successful sand solidification. In future, we aim to apply these findings towards the creation of artificial beachrock in combination with a geotextile tube for coastal erosion protection in Mediterranean countries, Bangladesh, and globally, for bio-mediated soil improvement.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.143-156
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• 2021

Rail transit lines usually pass through many complicated topographies in mountain areas. The influence of inclined bedrock on the train-induced soil vibration response was investigated. Model tests were conducted to comparatively analyze the vibration attenuation under inclined bedrock and horizontal bedrock conditions. A three-dimension numerical model was built to make parameter analysis. The results show that under the horizontal bedrock condition, the peak velocity in different directions was almost the same, while it obviously changed under the inclined bedrock condition. Further, the peak velocity under inclined bedrock condition had a larger value. The peak velocity first increased and then decreased with depth, and the trend of the curve of vibration attenuation with depth presented as a quadratic parabola. The terrain conditions had a significant influence on the vibration responses, and the inclined soil surface mainly affected the shallow soil. The influence of the dip angle of bedrock on the peak velocity and vibration attenuation was related to the directions of the ground surface. As the soil thickness increased, the peak velocity decreased, and as it reached 173% of the embedded pile length, the influence of the inclined bedrock could be neglected.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.95-108
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• 2023

Soft soil ground is a crucial factor limiting the development of the construction of transportation infrastructure in coastal areas. Soft soil is characterized by low strength, low permeability and high compressibility. However, the ordinary treatment method uses Portland cement to solidify the soft soil, which has low early strength and requires a long curing time. Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is an emerging method to address geo-environmental problems associated with geotechnical materials. In this study, a method of bio-cementitious mortars consisting of MICP and cement was proposed to stabilize the soft soil. A series of laboratory tests were conducted on MICP-treated and cement-MICP-treated (C-MICP-treated) soft soils to improve mechanical properties. Microscale observations were also undertaken to reveal the underlying mechanism of cement-soil treated by MICP. The results showed that cohesion and internal friction angles of MICP-treated soft soil were greater than those of remolded soft soil. The UCS, elastic modulus and toughness of C-MICP-treated soft soil with high moisture content (50%, 60%, 70%, 80%) were improved compared to traditional cement-soil. A remarkable difference was observed that the MICP process mainly played a role in the early curing stage (i.e., within 14 days) while cement hydration continued during the whole process. Micro-characterization revealed that the calcium carbonate filling the pores enhanced the soft soil.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.74-80
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• 2009

The high alkaline property in the concrete pore solution protects the embedded steel in concrete from corrosion due to aggressive ions attack. However, a continuous supply of those ions, in particular, chlorides altogether with a pH fall in electrochemical reaction on the steel surface eventually depassivate the steel to corrode. To mitigate chloride-induced corrosion in concrete structures, finely grained mineral admixtures, for example, pulverized fuel ash (PFA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and silica fume (SF) have been often advised to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) partially as binder. A consistent assessment of those partial replacements has been rarely performed with respect to the resistance of each binder to corrosion, although the studies for each binder were extensively looked into in a way of measuring the corrosion rate, influence of microstructure or chemistry of chlorides ions with cement hydrations. The paper studies the behavior of steel corrosion, chloride transport, pore structure and buffering capacity of those cementitious binders. The corrosion rate of steel in mortars of OPC, 30% PFA, 60% GGBS and 10% SF respectively, with chloride in cast ranging from 0.0 to 3.0% by weight of binder was measured at 7, 28 and 150 days to determine the chloride threshold level and the rate of corrosion propagation, using the anodic polarization technique. Mercury intrusion porosimetry was also applied to cement pastes of each binder at 7 and 28 days to ensure the development of pore structure. Finally, the release rate of bound chlorides (i.e. buffering capacity) was measured at 150 days. The chloride threshold level was determined assuming that the corrosion rate is beyond 1-2 mA/$m^3$ at corrosion and the order of the level was OPC > 10% SF > 60% GGBS > 30% PFA. Mercury intrusion porosimetry showed that 10% SF paste produced the most dense pore structure, followed by 60% GGBS, 30% PFA and OPC pastes, respectively. It was found that OPC itself is beneficial in resisting to corrosion initiation, but use of pozzolanic materials as binders shows more resistance to chloride transport into concrete, thus delay the onset of corrosion.

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.116-123
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• 1997

A chemically stabilized $\beta$-cristobalite, which is stabilized by stuffing cations of $Ca^{2+}$ and $Al^{3+}$, was prepared by a solution-polymerization route employing Pechini resin or PVA solution as a polymeric carrier. The polymeric carrier affected the crystallization temperature, morphology of calicined powder, and particle size distribution. In case of the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution process, a fine $\beta$-cristobalite powder with a narrow particle size distribution (average particle size : 0.3$\mu\textrm{m}$) and a BET specific surface area of 72 $\m^2$/g was prepared by an attrition-milling for 1 h after calcination at 110$0^{\circ}C$ for 1h. Wider particle size distribution and higher specific surface area were observed for the $\beta$-cristobalite powder derived from Pechini resin. The cubie(P1-to-tetraganalb) phase transformation in polynystalline $\beta$-cristobalite was induced at approximately 18$0^{\circ}C$. Like other materials showing transformation toughening, a critical size effect controlled the $\beta$-to-$\alpha$ transformation. Densifed cristobalite sample had some cracks in its internal texture after annealing. The cracks, occurred spontaneoulsy on cooling, were observed in the sample with an average grain sizes of 4.0 $\mu\textrm{m}$ or above. In case of the sintered cristobalite having a composition of CaO.$2Al_2O_3$.40SiO$_2$, small amount of amorphous phase and slow grain growth during annealing were observed. Shear stress-induced transformation was also observed in ground specimen. Cristobalite having a composition of CaO.2Al2O3.80SiO2 showed a more sensitive response to shear stress than the CaO.$2Al_2O_3$.40SiO$_2$ type cristobalite. Shear-induced transformation resulted in an increase of volume about 13% in $\alpha$-cristobalite phase on annealing for above 10 h in the case of the former composition.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2006

We investigated the effects of 835-MHz electromagnetic field (EMF), one of the most popular communication frequency band in Korean code-division multiple-access (CDMA) mobile phone system, on cellular signal transduction. For this, we examined the change of intracellular calcium $([Ca^{2+}]_i)$, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and F-actin polymerization after exposure to 835-MHz EMF followed by the treatment of agonists in Rat-2 fibroblast cells. Culture cells were pretreated with serum-tree medium and concomitantly exposed to 835-MHz at specific absorption rate (SAR) of 4.0 W/kg for 24 hr in a specialized designed apparatus based on Transverse Electro Magnetics (TEM) wave theory. Intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ responses to lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in Rat-2 fibroblast after exposure to 835-MHz EMF were shown to be similar pattern as observed in normal cultured cells. However, the LPA-induced calcium spiking was slightly delayed to 7 sec and sustained thereafter to a little higher ground level under 835-MHz EMF radiation compared to unexposed cells. ROS production level by LPA in the exposed cells was not different from that in control. Furthermore, LPA induced the production of stress fibers with no significant difference in the exposed and unexposed cells. These results suggest that mobile phone radiation (835-MHz, SAR 4.0 W/kg) may not be directly related to signal transduction in Rat-2 fibroblasts except the slight effect of calcium spiking in LPA-induced cells but remain to be further elucidated for possible indirect intervention.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.563-574
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• 2008

Most of earthquake-induced geotechnical hazards have been caused by the site effects relating to the amplification of ground motion, which are strongly influenced by the local geologic conditions such as soil thickness or bedrock depth and soil stiffness. In this study, an integrated GIS-based information system for geotechnical data, called geotechnical information system (GTIS), was constructed to establish a regional counterplan against earthquake-induced hazards at an urban area, Daejeon, which is represented as a hub of research and development in Korea. To build the GTIS for the area of interesting, pre-existing geotechnical data collections were performed across the extended area including the study area and a walk-over site survey was additionally carried out to acquire surface geo-knowledge data. For practical application of the GTIS used to estimate the site effects at the area of interesting, seismic microzoning map of the characteristic site period was created and presented as regional synthetic strategy for earthquake-induced hazards prediction. In addition, seismic zonation for site classification according to the spatial distribution of the site period was also performed to determine the site amplification coefficients for seismic design and seismic performance evaluation at any site in the study area. Based on the case study on seismic zonations at Daejeon, it was verified that the GIS-based GTIS was very useful for the regional prediction of seismic hazards and also the decision support for seismic hazard mitigation.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.483-492
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• 2017

Precipitation is one of key components in hydrological modeling and water balance studies. A comprehensive, optimized and sustainable water balance monitoring requires the availability of accurate precipitation data. The amount of precipitation measured in a gauge is less than the actual precipitation reaching the ground. The objective of this study is to determine the wind-induced under-catch of solid precipitation and develop a continuous adjustment function for measurements of all types of winter precipitation (from rain to dry snow), which can be used for operational measurements based on data available at standard automatic weather stations. This study provides Bayesian analysis for the systematic structure of catch ratio in precipitation measurement.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.207-219
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• 2008

In urban areas, it is very often to excavate ground adjacent to existing structures for the construction of new buildings. Deformation and vibration induced by such construction activities may cause damages to the existing structures and petitions from citizens. To secure safety of the existing structures, particularly of tunnels, establishment of general guidelines on vibration have been crucial concerns, although some institutions have their own guidelines which are not generally accepted. This study aims establishing guidelines for tunnel safety due to blast-induced vibration. Numerical methods are adopted for this study. Blast load equation proposed by International Society of Explosive Engineers (2000) is used to decide detonation pressure. Analysis models were obtained from the construction cases of Seoul Metros. By performing dynamic numerical analysis, vibration velocity of an existing tunnel is evaluated. The numerical results are verified by comparing with the field measurement data obtained in excavation sites adjacent to an existing tunnel. Based on the results vibration safety zone is proposed. Influence circle for vibration velocity is drawn and the area not exceeding the allowable vibration velocity is established.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.40-44
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• 2005

Nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$), which produced during the process of silage, metal etching, explosives, rocket fuels, welding, and by-product of burning of fossil fuels, is one of major components of air pollutant. Accidental exposure of high level of $NO_2$ produces cough, dyspnea, pulmonary edema which may be delayed $4\~12$ hours and, in $2\~6$weeks, bronchiolitis obliterans. We experienced a case of acute pulmonary injuny induced by industrial exposure to high level of $NO_2$ during repair of $NO_2$ pipeline in a refinery. A 55-year-old man experienced nausea and severe dyspnea in 6 hours after $NO_2$ inhalation. Initial blood gas examination revealed severe hypoxemia accompanying increased alveolar-arterial O2 difference. Radiological examination showed diffuse ground glass opacities in both lung fields. Clinical symptoms and laboratory findings, including radiological study and pulmonary function test were improved with conservative treatment using inhaled oxygen and bronchodilator. and there was no evidence of bronchial fibrosis and bronchiolitis obliterance in chest high resolution computed tomography performed 6 weeks after exposure. Here, we report a case of $NO_2$ induced acute pulmonary injuny with a brief review of the relevant literature.