• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.218-226
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• 2016

Field observations were used to study the characteristics and influence of groundwater level fluctuations on vegetation development on the natural beach of a sandy barrier island, in the Nakdong River estuary. The spatial/temporal fluctuations of the groundwater level and the interactions with the external forces (weather, ocean wave and tide) were analyzed. The results indicated that when it rains the groundwater level rises. During summer, when precipitation intensity is greater than 20 mm/hour, it rose rapidly over 20 cm. Subsequently, it fell gradually during periods of no precipitation. Seasonal characteristics indicated that the groundwater level was high during the summer rainy season and tended to fall in the winter dry season. The time-averaged groundwater level, observed from the four observations over 3 years (2012-2014), was about 1.47 m, higher than mean sea level (M.S.L.). It was shown that the average annual groundwater level rises toward the land rather than showing intertidal patterns observation. Differences in the presence or absence of a coastal sand dunes affected the progress of vegetation. In other words, in environments of saltwater intrusion where the groundwater level varies, dependent on the distance from the shoreline and bottom slope, sand dunes can be provided to affect soil conditions and groundwater, so that vegetation can be grown reliably.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.331-341
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• 2012

Granitoid rocks are generally high-quality rock from a geotechnical perspective, because they rarely contain systematic joints or fragmented fault zones. Although the rock type at the Sanhak site is granite, a collapsed slope has a deep soil layer and shows no residual structures such as discontinuities or faults; surface avalanches from this slope can be observed in several places. To study the stability of this slope, we investigated rainfall duration, variation in pore-water pressure, and the factor of safety considering three cases (current cross-section, initial planning cross-section, revised planning cross-section). With increasing duration of rainfall, the groundwater level rises, up to 20 m in height from ground surface. In the initial planning cross-section, safety was secure for rainfall of 2 days duration, but inadequate for rainfall of 4 days duration. In the revised planning cross-section, however, safety factors were secure for rainfall of 4 days duration. Therefore, to ensure permanent stability at the Sanhak site, a slope degree of 1:1.8 should be maintained during cutting.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.87-98
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• 1990

The present Study dealt with the earthquake-resistant design of cantilever retaining walls supporting cohesionless soils. With design examples of three different types of cantilever retaining walls, the factors of safety against sliding were computed at various values of horizontal acceleration coefficient and compared with each other. The horizontal inertia effect due to the weights of concrete wall itself and a portion of backfill was taken into account in the analyses, and also Mononobe-Okabe pseudo-static solution method was modified to deal with various states different from limiting equilibrium state. From the analyses of safety against sliding, it was found that a cantilever retaining wall with sloped base was the most efficient type in earthquake resistant design. It was also found that by sloping the base, the width of the base slab could be reduced, resulting in the least volume of concrete, excavation and backfill as compared to the other types of walls. In the case of a cantilever retaining wall with sloped feel, the efficiency similar to that of a wall with sloped base could be expected under static loading as well as at relatively low level of earthquake loading. However, this efficiency became vanished with the increase of horizontal acceleration coefficient, since the rate of reduction in developed earth pressures on the heel became smaller. In addition, the design charts with different soil friction angles as well as with different earthquake resistant design criteria of safety factor against sliding were presented for the design of cantilever retaining walls sith sloped base.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.255-274
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• 2014

The target of this study is large scale rock slope collapsed by around 7 pm on August, 2012, which is located at ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ limestone quarries of Gangneung city, Gangwondo. The slope prior to the collapse is formed as the height of about 200 m and the average inclination of $45^{\circ}$. The estimated amount of the collapse is about $1,500,000m^3$ with respect to the slope after the collapse. Geotechnical and field investigations such as boring, geophysical prospecting, surface geological survey, geological lineaments, borehole imaging, metric 3D imaging, experimental and field test, mining work by year, and daily rainfall were performed to find the cause of rock slope failure. Various analyzes using slope mass rating, stereonet projection, limit equilibrium method, continuum and non-continuum model were conducted to check of the stability of the slope. It is expected that the cause of slope failure from the results of various analysis and survey is due to the combined factors such as topography, rainfall, rock type and quality, discontinuities, geo-structural characteristics as the limestone cavity and fault zones, but the failure of slope in case of the analysis without the limestone cavity is not occurred. Safe factor of 0.66 was obtained from continuum analysis of the slope considering the limestone cavity, so the ultimate causes of slope failure is considered to be due to the influence of limestone cavity developed along fault zone.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.487-499
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• 2014

While the vertical open type of heat exchanger is more effective in areas of abundant groundwater, and is becoming more widely used, the heat exchanger most commonly used in geothermal heating and cooling systems in Korea is the vertical closed loop type. In this study, we performed numerical simulations of the optimal utilization of geothermal energy based on the hydrogeological and thermal properties to evaluate the efficiency of the vertical open type in areas of abundant groundwater supply. The first simulation indicated that the vertical open type using groundwater directly is more efficient than the vertical closed loop type in areas of abundant groundwater. Furthermore, a doublet system with separated injection and extraction wells was more efficient because the temperature difference (${\Delta}$) between the injection and extraction water generated by heat exchange with the ground is large. In the second simulation, we performed additional numerical simulations of the optimal utilization of geothermal energy that incorporated heat transfer, distance, flow rate, and groundwater hydraulic gradient targeting a single well, SCW (standing column well), and doublet. We present a flow diagram that can be used to select the optimal type of heat exchanger based on these simulation results. The results of this study indicate that it is necessary to examine the adequacy of the geothermal energy utilization system based on the hydrogeological and thermal properties of the area concerned, and also on a review of the COP (coefficient of performance) of the geothermal heating and cooling system.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.179-188
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• 2016

Spent fuels from nuclear power plants, as well as high-level radioactive waste from the recycling of spent fuels, should be safely isolated from human environment for an extremely long time. Recently, meaningful studies on the development of deep borehole radioactive waste disposal system in 3-5 km depth have been carried out in USA and some countries in Europe, due to great advance in deep borehole drilling technology. In this paper, domestic deep geoenvironmental characteristics are preliminarily investigated to analyze the applicability of deep borehole disposal technology in Korea. To do this, state-of-the art technologies in USA and some countries in Europe are reviewed, and geological and geothermal data from the deep boreholes for geothermal usage are analyzed. Based on the results on the crystalline rock depth, the geothermal gradient and the spent fuel types generated in Korea, a preliminary deep borehole concept including disposal canister and sealing system, is suggested.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.217-226
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• 2019

Optimum engineering methods for bank protection were classified based on steepness of bank slope and an existence of waterfront facility in the floodplain, and a new concept of eco-hybrid rolling mat method which could be applicable for the unfitted cases with previously developed countermeasures was suggested in this study. The eco-hybrid rolling mat method can be constructed while maintaining the river environment and ecosystem that does not interfere with the ground and slopes, when bank erosion occurs, it is an economical and efficient construction method that can protect the revetment and the bank slope immediately. The developed eco-hybrid rolling mat method was verified for the designed structure, system, function and effect based on large-scale river experiments including field exposure and decomposition test. As a result, the normal operation and effect of the rolling mat ted under low and high velocity conditions were confirmed with respect to bank protection. The effect of bank erosion prevention was quantitatively validated by sediment concentration monitoring and analysis, and the product specification of the eco-hybrid rolling mat was presented based on the standardized mat applied in real-scale tests.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.39-52
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• 2014

Limestone caves that consist of main passages and branches are formed by a variety of processes, and have the characteristic of developing with a preferred orientation controlled by discontinuities such as bedding, joints, and faults around the cave. However, it is difficult to analyze a representative orientation from various orientations. To interpret the overall development orientation of limestone caves, this study proposes new development orientation analysis methods, termed the Average Span Ratio Method (ASRM) and the Individual Development Ratio Method (IDRM), using the weighting of persistence. Nine limestone caves in Korea were randomly selected for testing the new methods. The methods show a stronger development orientation for limestone caves than that obtained by traditional methods, which consider only the distribution of development orientations. Based on an analysis of the relationship between the average span and the dip angle of bedding, it is confirmed that shallowly dipping bedding is a major contributor to the expansion of span in limestone caves. In addition, using scan-line survey data acquired in the field, we perform an RMR analysis of stability of the ground around limestone caves.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1-17
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• 2014

This study analyzed characteristics of landform relieves on 12 bedrock whole(W) areas and 24 mountain(M) and valley(V) areas. Based on this result, characteristics and relations between bedrocks and landform relief were classified as follows. 1) gneiss-height M and granite-height W, M, V areas show active stream incision for uplift. However these areas have relatively low relief and grade compared to high altitude, because effect of denudation don't pass on whole slope. 2) gneiss-height W, V, gneiss-mid M, schist M, granite-mid M, volcanic rock W, M, sedimentary rock-height(conglomerate) W, M, V, sedimentary rock-mid (sandstone and shale) M, limestone W, M areas have active stream erosion and mass movement, but landform relieves are on the high side, because these have resistant bedrock and geological structure against weathering and erosion. 3) gneiss-mid W, V, schist W, V, granite-mid W, V, volcanic rock V, sedimentary rock-mid W, V, sedimentary rock-low(shale) M, limestone V areas landform relieves are on the low side, because these have weak resistance and active weathering, mass movement, erosion, transportation and deposit. 4) gneiss-low W, M, V, granite-low W, M, V, sedimentary rock-low W, V areas landform relieves are very low, because these don't have active erosion and mass movement as costal area with low altitude.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.81-98
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• 2012

This research aims 1) to analyse the spatial occurrence of red soils, in Korea 2) to predict their spatial distribution using terrain analyses, and 3) to interpret results from the perspective of pedogeomorphological processes. Red soils (often called red-yellow soils) in Korea are frequently found on welldrained plains and gently sloping areas. These soils are widely believed paleo-soils that were formed under hot and humid climatic conditions in the past. The spatial distribution of red soils was derived from the soil map of Korea, and a DEM based soil prediction was developed, based on a continuity equation to depict water and material flows over the landscape. About 64.5% of the red soil occurrence can be explained by the prediction. Close examinations between surveyed and predicted red soil maps show few distinctive spatial features. Granitic erosional plains at the inland of Korea show comparatively low occurrence of red soils, which might indicate active geomorphological processes within the basins. The occurrence of red soils at limestone areas is more abundant than that of the predicted, indicating the influence of parent materials on the formation of red soils. At and around lava plateau at Cheulwon and Youncheon, the occurrence of red soils is underestimated, which might partly be explained by the existence of loess-like surface deposits. There are also distinctive difference of prediction results between northern and southern parts of Korea (divided by a line between Seosan and Pohang). The results of this research calls for more detailed field-based investigations to understand forming processes of red soils, focusing on the spatial heterogeneity of pedological processes, the influence of parent materials, and difference in uplift patterns of the Korean peninsula.