• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.484-494
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• 2019

This paper presents a preliminary investigation of the optimum nutrients combination required for bioremediation of spent-engine oil contaminated soil using Box-Behnken-Design. Three levels of cow-manure, poultry-manure and inorganic nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium (NPK) fertilizer were used as independent biostimulants variables; while reduction in total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and total soil porosity (TSP) response as dependent variables were monitored under 6-week incubation. Ex-situ data generated in assessing the degree of biodegradation in the soil were used to develop second-order quadratic regression models for both TPH and TSP. The two models were found to be highly significant and good predictors of the response fate of TPH-removal and TSP-improvement, as indicated by their coefficients of determination: $R^2=0.9982$ and $R^2=1.000$ at $p{\leq}0.05$, respectively. Validation of the models showed that there was no significant difference between the predicted and observed values of TPH-removal and TSP-improvement. Using numerical technique, the optimum values of the biostimulants required to achieve a predicted maximum TPH-removal and TSP-improvement of 67.20 and 53.42%-dry-weight per kg of the contaminated soil were as follows: cow-manure - 125.0 g, poultry-manure - 100.0 g and NPK-fertilizer - 10.5 g. The observed values at this optimum point were 66.92 and 52.65%-dry-weight as TPH-removal and TSP-improvement, respectively.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.633-642
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• 2019

In this work, lightweight sandwich plates consisting of a functionally graded porous (FGP) core and two laminated composite face sheets resting on elastic foundation have been proposed. Three different profiles are considered for the distributions of porosities along core thickness. The main aim of this paper is the investigation of the buckling behavior of the proposed porous sandwich plates (PSPs) by reporting their critical mechanical loads and their corresponding mode shapes. A finite element method (FEM) based on first order shear deformation theories (FSDT) is developed to discretize governing equations for the buckling behavior of the proposed sandwich plates. The effects of porosity dispersion and volume, the numbers and angles of laminated layers, sandwich plate geometrical dimensions, elastic foundation coefficients, loading and boundary conditions are studied. The results show that the use of FGP core can offer a PSP with half weight core and only 5% reduction in critical buckling loads. Moreover, stacking sequences with only ${\pm}45$ orientation fibers offer the highest values of buckling loads.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2021

Injection grouting is one of the most common ground improvement practice to increase the strength and reduce the hydraulic conductivity of soils. Owing to the environmental concerns of conventional grout materials, such as cement-based or silicate-based materials, bio-inspired biogeotechnical approaches are considered to be new sustainable and environmentally friendly ground improvement methods. Biopolymers, which are excretory products from living organisms, have been shown to significantly reduce the hydraulic conductivity via pore-clogging and increase the strength of soils. To study the practical application of biopolymers for seepage and ground water control, in this study, we explored the injection capabilities of biopolymer-based grout materials in both linear aperture and particulate media (i.e., sand and glassbeads) considering different injection pressures, biopolymer concentrations, and flow channel geometries. The hydraulic conductivity control of a biopolymer-based grout material was evaluated after injection into sandy soil under confined boundary conditions. The results showed that the performance of xanthan gum injection was mainly affected by the injection pressure and pore geometry (e.g., porosity) inside the soil. Additionally, with an increase in the xanthan gum concentration, the injection efficiency diminished while the hydraulic conductivity reduction efficiency enhanced significantly. The results of this study provide the potential capabilities of injection grouting to be performed with biopolymer-based materials for field application.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.221-231
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• 2023

Interest in aluminum alloys for the hydrogen valves of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is growing due to the reduction in fuel efficiency by the high weight. However, when an aluminum alloy is used, deterioration in mechanical characteristics caused by hydrogen embrittlement and wear is regarded as a problem. In this investigation, the aluminum alloy used to prevent hydrogen embrittlement was subjected to surface treatments by performing hard anodizing and plasma ion nitriding processes. The hard anodized Al alloy exhibited brittleness in which the mechanical characteristics rapidly deteriorated due to porosity and defects of surface, resulting in a decrease in the ultimate tensile strength and modulus of toughness by 15.58 and 42.51%, respectively, as the hydrogen charging time increased from 0 to 96 hours. In contrast, no distinct nitriding layer in the plasma ion-nitrided Al alloy was observed due to oxide film formation and processing conditions. However, compared to 0 and 96 hours of hydrogen charging time, the ultimate tensile strength and modulus of toughness decreased by 7.54 and 13.32%, respectively, presenting excellent resistance to hydrogen embrittlement.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.666-672
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• 2024

In the present work, a new brick series based on the Vietnamese white clay minerals from the Bat Trang was fabricated to be applied in the radiation protection applications during the decommissioning of the nuclear power reactors. The bricks were constructed under various pressure rates varied from 7.61 MPa to 114.22 MPa. The influence of pressure rate on the physical and γ-ray shielding properties were investigated in the study. The experimental measurement for the material's density using the MH-300A density meter showed an enhancement in the prepared bricks' density by 22.5 % with increasing the applied pressure rate while the bricks' porosity reduced by 31.2 % when the pressure rate increased from 7.61 MPa to 114.22 MPa. The increase in the fabricated bricks density and the reduction in their porosities enhances the bricks' linear attenuation coefficients as measured by the NaI (Tl) detector along the energy range extended from 0.662 MeV to 1.332 MeV. The linear attenuation coefficient increased by 13.8 %, 17.6 %, 17.0 %, and 17.1 % at gamma ray energies of 0.662 MeV, 1.173 MeV, 1.252 MeV, and 1.332 MeV, respectively. The enhancement in the linear attenuation coefficient increases the bricks' radiation protection efficiency by 10.22 %, 14.48 %, 14.09 %, and 14.26 % at gamma ray energies of 0.662 MeV, 1.173 MeV, 1.252 MeV, and 1.332 MeV, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1932-1940
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• 2024

The current work deals with investigation of the gamma ray shielding properties for various natural stones from Vietnam to be applied in the radiation shielding applications. The physical and chemical properties affecting the γ-ray shielding performance were examined. The MH-300A density meter was utilized to measure the density (ρ, g/cm³) of stone samples, as well as the chemical composition of Vietnamese natural stones was measured using the X-ray fluorescence analyzer (Olympus X-5000). The study shows that the increase in Fe + Ca concentrations within the stone samples increases their density (from 2.48 to 2.86 g/cm³) accompanied with a reduction in the porosity (Φ, %) (from 8.23 to 0.15%) and water absorption (K, %) (from 3.42 to 0.05%) factors. Additionally, the increase in Fe + Ca concentrations increases the linear attenuation coefficient (μ, cm^-1) of the studied stones, where the Vietnamese marble stone (M 3.1) with the highest Fe + Ca concentration (65.97 wt%) has the highest linear attenuation coefficient which varied between 3.781 and 0.155 cm^-1 with raising the gamma ray energy between 0.040 and 1.332 MeV.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.135-145
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• 2015

In order to predict the deterioration of stone monument due to acid fog, an artificial fog test using pH4.0 and pH5.6 was applied to the Gyeongju Namsan granite, decite and marble. After the test had weathered Gyeongju Namsan granite a larger weight reduction due to acid fog than fresh one. Decite has shown the most significant changes among the tested rocks with about 0.005 % of weight reduction. Decite and weathered granite will have considerable weight reduction due to acid rain than the acid fog, whereas the marble was expected to show a weight reduction regardless of the phase of water. The porosity and water absorption rate of weathered granite had significantly increased. This result means that the weathered rock is predicted to be more susceptible to acid fog than the fresh rock. The absorption rate of the marble after the test had shown approximately 50 % increase. The color of the samples had slightly changed towards yellow, such tendency was greater shown in weathered rocks. The marble reacted with acid fog had an increased whiteness. A large amount of cation in the samples is caused mainly by the dissociation of minerals through the reaction with acid fog.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.6447-6454
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• 2013

Seawater intake systems have significant problems due to seawater pollution, suspended solids, unstable intake and maintenance etc. An underground type seawater intake system was newly developed to overcome the existing weaknesses and was facilitated in Gyukpo port. In this study, to check the performance of the new system, the samples for water quality and the 3-D numerical modeling test were conducted. The five times test included the COD, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, pH, and suspended solid for the intake system. The analyses show that the COD, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, PH showedminor changes before and after. On the other hand, the change in suspended solids was significant and water was purified below 5 mg/l, first level fisheries water, after. The numerical model adopted the RNG $k-{\epsilon}$ algorithm and the CFX model based on the finite volume method. The porosity algorithm was used to reproduce filtered-sand, outer diameter, and thickness. The numerical results showed that the double pipe is advantageous in that it provides a uniform pressure between the inner and outer pipe for the flow to be stable. In addition, the use of multiple intake pipes did not interfere with the discharge reduction of 0.98 at the both intake pipes compared with the central intake pipe.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2015

Ceramic foams are prepared as positive images corresponding to a plastic foam structure which exhibits high porosities (85-90%). This structure makes the ceramic foams attractive as a catalyst in a dry reforming process, because it could reduce a high pressure drop problem. This problem causes low mass and heat transfers in the process. Furthermore, the reactants would shortly contact to catalyst surface, thus low conversion could occur. Therefore, this research addressed the preparation of dry reforming catalysts using a sol-gel catalyst preparation via a polymeric sponge method. The specific objectives of this work are to investigate the effects of polymer foam structure (such as porosity, pore sizes, and cell characteristics) on a catalyst performance and to observe the influences of catalyst preparation parameters to yield a replica of the original structure of polymeric foam. To accomplish these objectives industrial waste foams, polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) foams, were used as a polymeric template. Results indicated that the porosity of the polyurethane and polyvinyl alcohol foams were about 99% and 97%. Their average cell sizes were approximate 200 and 50 micrometres, respectively. The cell characteristics of polymer foams exhibited the character of a high permeability material that can be able to dip with ceramic slurry, which was synthesized with various viscosities, during a catalyst preparation step. Next, morphology of ceramic foams was explored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and catalyst properties, such as; temperature profile of catalyst reduction, metal dispersion, and surface area, were also characterized by $H_2-TPR$ and $H_2-TPD$ techniques, and BET, respectively. From the results, it was found that metal-particle dispersion was relatively high about 5.89%, whereas the surface area of ceramic foam catalysts was $64.52m^2/g$. Finally, the catalytic behaviour toward hydrogen production through the dry reforming of methane using a fixed-bed reactor was evaluated under certain operating conditions. The approaches from this research provide a direction for further improvement of marketable environmental friendly catalyst production.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.281-289
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• 2015

Carbonation of concrete causes reduction of pH and subsequently causes steel corrosion for reinforced concrete structure. However, for plain concrete structure or PC product, it can lead to a decrease in porosity, high density, improvement of concrete, shrinkage-compensation. Recently, based on this theory, research of $CO_2$ curing effect has been performed, but it was mainly focused on its effects on compressive strength using only ordinary portland cement. Researches on $CO_2$ curing effect for concrete containing $CO_2$ reactive materials such as ${\gamma}-C_2S$, MgO haven't been investigated. Therefore, this study has performed experiments under water-binder ratio 40%, and the replacement ratios of ${\gamma}-C_2S$ and MgO were 90%. Micro-chemical analysis, measurement of compressive strength according to admixtures and $CO_2$ curing were investigated. Results from this study revealed that higher strength was measured in case of $CO_2$ curing compared with none $CO_2$ curing for plain specimen indicating difference between 1.08 and 1.26 times, in case of ${\gamma}-C_2S$ 90, MgO 90 specimen, incorporating high volume replaced as much as 90%, it was proven that when applying $CO_2$ curing, higher strength which has difference between 14.56 and 45.7 times, and between 6.5 and 10.37 times was measured for each specimen compared to none $CO_2$ curing. Through micro-chemical analysis, massive amount of $CaCO_3$, $MgCO_3$ and decrease of porosity were appeared.