• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.55 no.2
• /
• pp.186-197
• /
• 2022

The Daejanggakgibi Stele of Silleuksa Temple in Yeoju is a stone stele from the Goryeo Dynasty that is inscribed with various stories about the construction of Daejanggak, a place where Buddhist scriptures were kept. This stele has been maintained for a long time in a state in which discoloration of the body has occurred, and the inscription has been partially damaged due to dozens of cracks. Using non-destructive analysis methods for stone artifacts, material investigation, portable X-ray fluorescence analysis, and ultrasonic velocity analysis for the stele were performed. It was confirmed that the stele body was composed of light gray crystalline limestone, and the base stone, support stone, and cover stone were medium-grained biotite granite. Portable X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed that iron(Fe) was an original coloring element of the stele surface. From the distribution pattern of the coloration, it can be inferred that iron-containing materials flew down from between the stele body and the cover stone. Thereafter, living organisms or organic contaminants attached to it so that yellow and black contaminants were formed. Ultrasonic diagnosis revealed that the physical property of both the front and back surfaces ranged from fresh rocks(FR) to completely weathered rocks(CW), and the average weathering index was grade 3(intermediate). However, the point where cracks developed intensively was judged to be the completely weathered stage(CW), and some cracks located in the upper and lower parts of the stele bear potentially very high risk. It is necessary to monitor the movement of these cracks and establish reinforcement measures for conservation in the future.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.17 no.2 s.67
• /
• pp.83-89
• /
• 2007

Impact-echo test is a non-destructive testing method to determine dynamic properties of a material. This presentation introduces the experimental set-up and procedure of the test for rock specimens. In addition, the test results of domestic rocks collected in 5 different areas, a cement mortar and aluminium alloy are presented. The test results include resonance frequencies of P- and S-wave as well as damping ratios of the described 7 different materials. The differences between dynamic and static values of elastic moduli are about 10%, while the dynamic Poisson's ratios are greater than the static Poisson's ratios by at least 0.07. The damping ratio is dependent on the joint density and degree of weathering of a rock specimen.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.179-190
• /
• 2008

The distribution characteristics of some major environmental radionuclides ($^{40}K$, $^{228}Ac$, $^{226}Ra$, $^{222}Rn$) and U in rocks, soils and soil gas were studied at Geumjeong-Gu, Busan, Korea. The activities of radionuclides in granitic rocks are decreased in the odor of $^{40}K$>thorium decay series>uranium decay series. This reveals that Th was relatively more enriched in granitic rocks than U. The U content and activity of $^{226}Ra$ and $^{228}Ac$, however, don't reflect the fractionation sequence of granitic rocks in the study area. The activities of all these radionuclides and U content in soils are generally higher than in rocks, and their distribution in rocks, soils and soil gas show very low co-relationship. These facts indicate that the activities of radionuclides in soil and soil gas were greatly affected by leaching and adsorption properties of the radionuclides and their parents during weathering and pedogenetic process rather than their concentrations in parent rocks.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.122-143
• /
• 2010

The Shilla Stone Monument in Jungseongri was found during the road-construction in Pohang. It has approximately two hundreds of letters inscribed on the surface of one side, and it is estimated to be older than Shilla Stone Monument in Naengsuri which had been known for the oldest stele in Shilla Period. This monument is made of fine to medium-grained biotite granite, while the Shilla Stone Monument in Naengsuri is made of fine-grained granodioritic porphyry bearing feldspar and amphibole phenocrysts. Both rock types of the monuments are interpreted to be cognate with biotite granite in Shinkwangmyeon, and with granodioritic porphyry in Gigyemyeon. They are characterized by xenolith and miarolitic cavity. Damage aspects in both monuments are discoloring, cracking and breaking. These damages do not cause structural instability of the monuments, but attenuate aesthetic value. Black and brown discoloring contaminants on the surface of the Jungseongri Monument contain a high amount of manganese and iron. As a result of ultrasonic test, both monuments were evaluated to be medium-weathered (MW), although the velocity of the Shilla Monument in Jungseongri was slightly lower than the Shilla Monument in Naengsuri. This is because the Monument in Juengseongri had been exposed to outdoor environment for long time until the discovery. It is necessary for Shilla Monuments to be protected by appropriately environmental control and management.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.199-212
• /
• 2021

The Sebyeonggwan Hall (National Treasure No. 305) is located on the Naval Headquarter of Three Provinces in Tongyeong, and it has partly undergone with several rebuilding, remodeling, repairing and restorations since it's the first establishment in Joseon Dynasty (AD 1605) of ancient Korea. This study focuses on 50 foundation stones that comprise the Sebyeonggwan. These stones are made of six rock types and currently have various shapes of the surface damages. As the foundation stones, the dominant rock type was dacitic lapilli tuffs, and provenance-based interpretation was performed to supply alternative stones for conservation. Most of the provenance rocks for foundation stones showed highly homogeneity with their corresponding stones of petrography, mineralogy and magnetic susceptibility. According to surface deterioration assessments, the most serious damages of the stones were blistering and scaling. The deterioration mechanism was identified through the analysis of inorganic contaminants, and the primary reason is considered salt weathering caused by sea breeze and other combined circumstances. Based on the mechanical durability of the stones, there was no foundation stone that required the replacement of its members attributed to the degradation of the rock properties, but conservation treatment is considered necessary to delay superficial damage. The foundation stones are characterized by a combined outcome of multiple petrological factors that caused physical damage to surfaces and internal defects. Therefore, it's required to diagnosis and monitoring the Sebyeonggwan regularly for long-term preservation.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.47 no.6
• /
• pp.809-824
• /
• 2012

Stone cultural heritages quantitatively as well as qualitatively occupy a large proportion in the designated heritages in Korea. The Stone Buddha statue in the Gulbulsa temple site, designated as the No. 121 treasure in 1935, is located in the southwestern slope of Mt. Sogeumgang, Dongcheon-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk Province and Buddhist images are sculptured on four sides of a 3.5m-tall gigantic rock. The damage states result from the weathering degree and indicate high correlation with the water contents. The water contents in the Stone Buddha of Gulbulsa temple site are highest at the east side and then decrease in order of north, south and west sides. These are proportional to the durations of sunshine. Moreover, the Stone Buddha of Gulbulsa temple site with dense joints, repaired areas and vegetated areas by lichens shows high water contents and damage states.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.158-167
• /
• 1994

The various weathering products derived from andesitic rocks in the Guweol mountain area of Pusan have been studied in order to investigate the occurrence, characteristics and evolutional trend of clay minerals in the weathered rock and soil using mainly X-ray powder diffraction method. Kaolinite and halloysite are very abundant in the weathered rocks and soils derived from andesitic rocks of this area. Also, $12{\AA}$- and $14{\AA}$-minerals occur in the considerable amount. $12{\AA}$-minerals have been identified as mica/vermiculite interlayer minerals showing the $25{\AA}$ basal reflection. Their crystal sizes are relatively big showing more than 10 micron in diameter. Two types of $14{\AA}$-mineral, which are vermiculite/smectite interlayer mineral and Al-vermiculite, have been observed. Kaolin minerais consist of kaolinite, $10{\AA}$ and $7{\AA}$ halloysite. Kaolinite relatively dominates in the strongly weathered soil of the area. In contrast with kaolinite. $12{\AA}$- and $14{\AA}$-minerals such as vermiculite/smectite and mica/vermiculite interlayer minerals tend to occur in the weakly to intermediately weathered products. Based on their occurrences, it strongly suggests that they are intermediate products in the course of the weathering process from the parent materials into the kaolin mineral.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.126-138
• /
• 2012

Ultrasonic method is widely used for the evaluation of weathering index and of degree of deterioration because it is easily applicable $in$ $situ$. The basic idea of the method is that the ultrasonic velocity decreases as a rock is being weathered. Thus, the difference of ultrasonic velocities between fresh rock and weathered rock indicates the degree of weathering. In this method, the ultrasonic velocity of fresh rock is assumed to be 5,000 m/s. However, this assumption can cause significant errors in estimating weathering index, especially in case that those rocks of the same type have a wide range of ultrasonic velocities such as in Korea. Therefore, we obtained twenty rock specimens and sixty core samples commonly used for stone cultural heritages in Korea, and measured ultrasonic velocities. From the results, we found that the ultrasonic velocities of the same rock type, granite samples range from 3,118 to 5,380 m/s, and that the estimated weathering index can be highly biased if we use the fixed value of 5,000 m/s. We created a database (DB) by combining the measurement data and reported it. We also measured ultrasonic velocities by direct and indirect methods to quantify the calibration coefficient for each sampling site. We found that the calibration coefficients vary widely from site to site (1.31-1.76). Other factors, such as operator bias and temperature did not show any significant effect on errors in ultrasonic velocity measurements. Lastly, we applied our ultrasonic velocity DB and calibration coefficients to a stone cultural heritage, Bonghwang-ri Buddha statue. Our estimation of the weathering index was 0.3, 0.1 smaller than that by conventional method. The degree of deterioration was also different, "moderately weathered", while conventional method gave "highly weathered". Since other independent studies reported that the degree of deterioration of the Buddha statue was "moderately weathered", our estimation seems to be more accurate. Thus our method can help accurately evaluate the weathering index and the conservation planning for a stone cultural heritage.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.440-452
• /
• 2005

The granites in the Gyeongju area are represented by the Namsan granites and the Tohamsan granodiorites. In this study I examined the geomorphological and geological characteristics of the granite landforms in the Gyeongju area. Joint, tor and corestones are most identifiable geomorphological and geological structure in the study areas. Tor in the Namsan granites is well developed and mainly composed of cubic corestones. Petrographical features of the stones used for the stone-built cultural properties are compared with those of the granites cropped out nearby. Additionally radiogenic element contents (K, Th, U) were acquired for comparison by gamma-ray spectrometer analysis. Most stones from the stone-built cultural properties in the Bulguksa Temple are very similar to the Namsan granites in terms of petrography, radiogenic elements. On the contrary almost all stones from the Seokguram Grotto share common petrographical, physical and chemical characteristics with the Tohamsan granodiorites. Therefore it can be suggested that the stones in the Bulguksa Temple were supplied from Namsan, and that the stones in the Seokgurarn Grotto were collected at nearby Tohamsan.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.144-154
• /
• 2015

Mechanical energy is accumulated in the object when stress is exerted on rock specimens, and the failure is occurred when the stress is larger than critical stress. The accumulated energy is emitted as various forms including physical deformation, light, heat and sound. Uniaxial compression strength test and point load strength test were carried out in low temperature environment, and thermal variation of rock specimens were observed and analyzed quantitatively using thermal infrared camera images. Temperature of failure plane was increased just before the failure because of concentration of stress, and was rapidly increased at the moment of the failure because of the emission of thermal energy. The variations of temperature were larger in diorite and basalt specimens which were strong and fresh than in tuff specimens which were weak and weathered. This study can be applied to prevent disasters in rock slope, tunnel and mine in cold regions and to analyze satellite image for predicting earthquake in cold regions.