• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.91-103
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• 2009

Slope failure depends upon the climatic features related to related rainfall, structural geology and geomorphological features as well as the variation of the mechanical behaviors of soil constituting a slope. In this paper, among many variables, effects of soil layer thickness on the slope failure process, and variations of matric suction and volumetric water content were observed. When the soil layer is relatively thick, the descending wetting front decreases matric suction and the observed matric suction reaches to "0" value. When the wetting front reaches to the impermeable boundary, the bottom surface of steel soil box, ascending wetting front was observed. This observation can be postulated to be the effects of various sizes of pores. When macro size pores exist, the capillary effects can be reduced and infilling of pore will be limited. The partially filled pores would be filled with water during the ascending of the wetting front, which bounces from the impermeable boundary. This assumption has been assured from the observation of variation of the volumetric water contents at different depth. When the soil layer is thick (thickness = 20 cm), for granular material, erosion is a cause triggering the slope failure. It has been found that the initiation of erosion occurs when the top soil is fully saturated. Meanwhile, when the soil layer is shallow (thickness = 10 cm), slope slides as en mass. The slope failure for this condition occurs when the wetting front reaches to the interface between the soil layer and steel soil box. As the wetting front approaches to the bottom of soil layer, reduction of shear resistance along the boundary and increase of the unit weight due to the infiltration occur and these produce complex effects on the slope failure processes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2013

The sludge disposal is a major economic factor in the sewage treatment facility operation. Moreover, since the ocean dumping will be prohibited by Korean environmental law from 2013, sludge should be eliminated or sludge volumetric reduction should be performed urgently. In this study, improvement of the sewage sludge dewaterability was investigated by ultrasound and electric field treatment. Sludge was treated by a single or in combination of either the electric field or ultrasound on a pilot pretreatment facility, then it was dewatered by lab-scale filter press. The operating input energy of ultrasound device was varied from 225~1,200 kJ/L and electric field device was varied from 4.5~24 kJ/L. The water contents of dewatered sludge cake treated with ultrasound (1,200 kJ/L) and combination of ultrasound/electric field (1,224 kJ/L) were decreased 10~12% by comparing non-treated sludge. At that time, water contents were 65~66%. The combination treatment of ultrasound/electric field was effective to reduce water content of dewatered sludge cake, however, water content was not changed by a single treatment of electric field because of low energy density.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.741-749
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• 1999

This study is to develop a method of measuring the soil water concentration by using TDR, which is based on the relationships between the bulk soil electrical conductivity of soil and the reflected wave of TDR. The proposed monitoring method is combined with two important relationships. One is that between the bulk soil electrical conductivity and the solute concentration, which is known to be linear at a constant volumetric soil water content and the other is that between the relative bulk soil electrical conductivity and the water content at a constant concentration. Some formulas have been proposed to solve the second relationship, but a new formula and the critical water content are proposed to improve the accuracy of measurement. This proposed formula estimates the relative bulk soil electrical conductivity for water contents which is divided to two regions, linear and nonlinear, by the critical water content. As the result of the comparison with other formulas, the proposed formula is proved to be superior to other formulas and to be an available method to apply to the unsaturated transient solute transport.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.1299-1305
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• 2014

For evaluating the effect of various artificial planting soil properties on the Euonymus fortunei 'Emelad'n Gold' growth, a container green wall system experiment was conducted in a wall of greenhouse at Konkuk University, Glocal campus. The experimental artificial planting grounds were prepared with different organic soil conditioner ratios (Control, $A_4O_1$, $A_2O_1$ and $A_1O_1$) and with drought tolerance and an ornamental value Euonymus fortunei 'Emelad'n Gold' was planted. The soil and plant characteristics were investigated from April to Jun 2010. The volumetric soil moisture contents were significantly increasing order as the amount of organic soil conditioner level increased in order to $A_1O_1$ > $A_2O_1$ > $A_4O_1$ > Control. At 4 treatment, soil chemical properties were inversely related to organic soil container ratios increase. The differences of root collar caliper, number of branch, and survival rate between the organic soil conditioner ratio were not significantly affected by organic soil conditioner. But, plant height, internode length, leaf length and leaf width were significantly shorter on plants planted $A_1O_1$ than plants planted other treatments. Therefore, Euonymus fortunei 'Emelad'n Gold' had good growth response regardless of organic soil conditioner ratio and the plant is expected to be a highly valuable shrub for the green wall system if it should be considered in integration with stormwater retention or as a soil conditioner for increasing soil water contents in artificial planting soil.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.331-339
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biodegradability and performance of organic removal and methane production rate when treating piggery wastewater using a pilot scale two-phase anaerobic system operated up to a volumetric rate of $10m^3/day$. The pilot scale two-phase anaerobic process is consisted of a continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor (CFSTR) for the acidification phase and an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket reactor (UASB) for the methanogenesis. The acidogenic reactor played key roles in reducing the periodically applied shock-loading and in the acidification of the influent organics. The acidogenic CFSTR was operated at organic loading rates (OLR) between 1.8 and $14.4kgCOD/m^3{\cdot}day$, and the UASB reactor was operated between 0.5 and $5.6kgCOD/m^3{\cdot}day$. A stable maximum biogas production rate was $81m^3/day$ and the methane conversion rate of the organic matter varied from 0.30 to $0.42L\;CH_4/g\;COD_{removed}$(0.40) at hydraulic retention time (HRT) above 3.5days. The methane contents ranged from 73 to 82% during the experimental period. It is known that most of the removed organic matter was converted to methane gas, and the produced biogas might be high quality for its subsequent use.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.38 no.11
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• pp.1105-1114
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• 2010

Ice shapes accumulated on the aircraft surfaces are categorized into rime and glaze ice, which are highly dependent on various parameters such as ambient temperature, liquid water contents (LWC), mean volumetric droplet diameter and freestream velocity. In this study, quantitative analyses on the ice accretion have been attempted in a systematical manner and the key findings are as follows. First, the increase of freestream velocity can cause tremendous change in the ice accumulation such as the growth of ice accretion area, ice heading direction and maximum thickness of ice horn. Second, LWC is found to be linearly proportional to the ice accretion area. Third, the effects of ambient temperature on incoming water mass seem to be relatively small in comparison with LWC and freestream velocity. Finally, it was shown that MVD has only a little influence on ice shapes. However, it may increase the ice accretion area by increasing the droplet impacting range.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.81-91
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• 2010

In order to investigate the applicability and suitability of the coal ash (bottom ash) to landfill final cover, field pilot-scale lysimeter experiments were carried out. The mixture of loamy soil, bottom ash, and construction waste was placed as a cover material in lysimeter ($2m{\times}6m{\times}1.2m$) which were constructed with cement brick, and then volumetric water contents, pF value, and the quantity of runoff and seepage of treatment boxes filled with the mixture of loamy soil and the industrial by-products were monitored from July, 2007 to february, 2008. Among the cases tested, consequently, the case containing the mixture of bottom ash and loamy soil was most effective in plant growth and water retention ability.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.503-509
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• 2016

To identify causes for drastic decrease in yield of tomato with repeated culturing number of the bag culture substrate of greenhouse tomatoes we investigated the physical and chemical properties of a coir used as the bag culture substrate to grow tomato at the Booyeo tomato experimental institute located in Booyeo, Chungnam Province for three years from 2012 to 2014. The results showed that total porosity ranged from 65.4 to 73.1% for the bulk densities of coir ranging from 0.12 to $0.14g\;cm^{-3}$. The volumetric water contents measured at 0.01 bar as air entry point were 25% (before), 33% ($1^{st}yr$), 45% ($2^{nd}yr$), and 37% ($3^{rd}yr$). Organic matter contents ranged from 82.0 to 96.2% (highest in $1^{st}yr$). pH and EC ranged from 4.47 to 6.47 (highest in $2^{nd}yr$), and from 22.2 to $53.5dS\;m^{-1}$ (highest in $1^{st}yr$) and cation exchange capacity ranged from 71.0 to $191.7cmol\;kg^{-1}$ (highest in $3^{rd}yr$). The surface structure observed with electrical microscope showed that the number of large pores decreased with increasing cultivating time while the proportion of smaller pores increased, indicating that the coir was consistently decomposed. Therefore, we could conclude that these changes of all physical and chemical properties of the coir may influence the holding capacities of water and nutrients, resulting in deterioration of quality of culture substrate of greenhouse tomatoes.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.65-74
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• 2003

Most of land reclamation projects are being implemented along the south and west coastal lines of the Korean Peninsula. The earth structures and in-ground LNG tank, and buildings can be constructed using artificial freezing method on the reclaimed land to control the uplift pressure caused by capillary forces. In this study, upon freezing a saturated soil in a closed-system from the top, a considerable frost heaving pressure was developed. Decomposed granite soils, silty soil, and sandy soil were used in the laboratory freeze test which is sometimes subjected to thermal gradients under closed-systems. A major concern has been the ability to predict the frost heaving pressure over the results of relatively short-term laboratory tests. The frost heaving pressure arising within the soil samples and the temperature of the samples inside were monitored with time elapse. The degree of saturation versus heaving pressure curve is presented for each soil sample and the maximum pressure is closely related to this curve. TDR apparatus was used to measure the volumetric water content by the measurement of unfrozen water contents of frozen soils. Unfrozen water increased in soils containing a high percentage of fine-grained particles. In fine-grained soils with strong attractive farces between soil grains and water molecules, additional water is attracted into the pores leading to further volume changes and ice segregation.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.344-353
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• 2020

Plants native in Korea have not only ornamental values but also have excellent environmental adaptability, so they can be used as garden plants. Studies on proper volumetric water content (VWC) of substrates have been reported, but many have been conducted in glasshouse conditions where environmental factors were controlled. When considering garden planting, it is necessary to perform the automated irrigation system in outdoor conditions where rainfall occurs at frequent intervals. This research aimed to investigate the VWC suitable for the growth of Minuartia laricina, Arenaria juncea, and Corydalis speciosa in open filed. Sandy soil which consisted of particles of weathered rock was used, and the VWC of 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30 ㎥·m^-3 was maintained using an automated irrigation system with capacitance soil moisture sensors and a data logger. No significant differences in growth and antioxidant enzymes activity of A. juncea were observed among VWC treatments. However, the survival rate was low at VWC 0.30 ㎥·m^-3 treatment, which was the highest soil moisture content. Even considering the efficiency of water use, we recommended that VWC 0.15-0.20 ㎥·m^-3 is suitable for the cultivation of A. juncea. Minuartia laricina showed better growth with lower VWC. Because of frequent rainfall in open field, plant volume and survival rate was high even in VWC 0.15 ㎥·m^-3 treatment. In C. speciosa, the plant height, number of shoots and lateral shoots, and fresh and dry weight were higher in plants grown in VWC 0.25 ㎥·m^-3 as compared with that in the plants grown at 0.15, 0.20, and 0.30 ㎥·m^-3. Based on these results, M. laricina needed less water in open filed, and A. juncea and C. speciosa required higher VWC, but excessive water should be avoided.