• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.120-129
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• 2016

The user cost is an important analysis item which should be considered together with life-cycle of facility, administrator cost and discount rate in LCCA for efficient asset management of SOC facilities. Especially, a significant delay cost occurs often for users in the road field due to a work zone for cleaning and maintenance, and in such case, the administrator should consider the administrator cost as well as the user cost for more rational decision making. However, the user cost has not been considered in most decision making steps until recently and relevant studies also have not been carried out actively. In this study, the methodology to estimate the user cost and delay cost required in the decision making step using the traffic flow model and the direct benefit estimation model in the traffic facility investment evaluation guideline is suggested. And, the traffic flow model was estimated on 4 national highway sections where maintenance was actually carried out in 2014 using VISSIM and, the user cost and the delay cost were estimated based on the suggested methodology. The analysis result showed that the average user cost of $17,569,000KRW/km{\times}day$ occurred on Section A with approximately 30,000 AADT before a work zone occurred, and in case the first lane was blocked for maintenance, the delay cost of $10,193,000KRW/km{\times}day$ (158%) on average occurred additionally. The delay cost of $1,507,000KRW/km{\times}day$ (115%) and $1,985,000KRW/km{\times}day$ (119%) occurred on Sections B and D with approximately 20,000 AADT respectively and the delay cost of $262,000KRW/km{\times}day$ (105%) occurred on Section C with approximately 10,000 AADT. This result of this study was estimated based on the simulation of traffic flow model so that there is a limitation in its actual application. A study ot develop a highly appropriate model using actual observation data and improve the possibility to apply it through the verification using the simulation will be necessary in future.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.33 no.12
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• pp.913-921
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• 2011

This study examined the overall feasibility of low carbon green village formed in rural area. The check method is analyzing its environmental and economic feasibility and energy self-reliance. The biomass of the villages was set as 28 ton/day of livestock feces and 2 ton/day of cut fruit tree branches which make up the total of 30 ton/day. The facility consisted of a bio gasfication facility using wet (livestock feces) biomass and combined heat power generator, composting facility and wood boiler using dry (cut fruit tree branches) biomass. When operating the system, 540,540 kWh/yr of electricity and 1,762 Gcal/yr of heat energy was produced. The region's electricity energy and heat energy self-reliance rate will be 100%. The economic feasibility was found as a loss of 140 million won where the facility installation cost is 5.04 billion won, operation cost is 485.09 million won and profit is 337.12 million won. There will be a loss of about 2.2 billion won in 15 years but in the environmental analysis, it was found that crude replacement effect is about 178 million won, greenhouse gas reduction effect is about 92 million won making up the total environmental benefit of 270 million won. This means, there will be a yearly profit of about 130 million won. In terms of its environmental and economic feasibility and energy self-reliance, this project seemed to be a feasible project in overall even if it manages to get help from the government or local government.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.68-78
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• 2020

According to the new climate change agreement, technology development to reduce greenhouse gases is actively conducted worldwide, and research on energy efficiency improvement in the field of power generation and transmission and distribution is underway [1,2]. Economic analysis of the operation method of storing and supplying surplus electricity using energy storage devices, and using energy storage devices as a frequency adjustment reserve power in regional cogeneration plants has been reported as the most profitable operation method [3-7]. Therefore, this study conducted an economic analysis for the installation of energy storage devices in the combined heat and power plant in the Czech Republic. The most important factor in evaluating the economics of battery energy storage devices is the lifespan, and the warranty life is generally 10 to 15 years, based on charging and discharging once a day. For the simulation, the ratio of battery and PCS was designed as 1: 1 and 1: 2. In general, the primary frequency control is designed as 1: 4, but considering the characteristics of the cogeneration plant, it is set at a ratio of up to 1: 2, and the capacity is simulated at 1MW to 10MW and 2MWh to 20MWh according to each ratio. Therefore, life was evaluated based on the number of cycles per year. In the case of installing a battery energy storage system in a combined heat and power plant in the Czech Republic, the payback period of 3MW / 3MWh is more favorable than 5MW / 5MWh, considering the local infrastructure and power market. It is estimated to be about 3 years or 5 years from the simple payback period considering the estimated purchase price without subsidies. If you lower the purchase price by 50%, the purchase cost is an important part of the cost for the entire lifetime, so the payback period is about half as short. It can be, but it is impossible to secure profitability through the economy at the scale of 3MWh and 5MWh. If the price of the electricity market falls by 50%, the payback period will be three years longer in P1 mode and two years longer in P2 and P3 modes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.4
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• pp.506-514
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• 2013

This study examined the feasibility on the construction of a wood industrialization service center for a wood industry cluster establishment in Jeollanam-do. Construction of the wood industrialization service center is based on a discount rate of 3.5%, an investment period of 4 years, a business operations period of 16 years and an investment cost of 24600 million won; the total amount of the net present value, the cost-benefit ratio and the internal rate of return were assumed to be 2.579 million won, 2.51%, and 10.1%, respectively. In addition, the production inducement coefficient, the induced production effect, the income-induced coefficient, the income inducement effect, the employment inducement coefficient, and the employment inducement effect were estimated 1.4345, 35287 million won, 0.1655, 4000.7 million won, and 0.4665, 1,145 people, in the effects of the wood related industries using the multi-regional input-output model, respectively. Financial independence of operating income to cover its own costs incurred in accordance with the operating project might be practicable.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.93-105
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• 2014

This study evaluated the relative efficiency of mobile emission reduction countermeasures through a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach and determined the priority of countermeasures based on the efficiency. Ten countermeasures currently applied for reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution materials were selected to make a scenario for evaluation. The reduction volumes of four air pollution materials(CO, HC, NOX, PM) and three greenhouse gases($CO_2$, $CH_4$, $N_2O$) for the year 2027, which is the last target year, were calculated by utilizing both a travel demand forecasting model and variable composite emission factors with respect to future travel patterns. To estimate the relative effectiveness of reduction countermeasures, this study performed a super-efficiency analysis among the Data Envelopment Analysis models. It was found that expanding the participation in self car-free day program was the most superior reduction measurement with 1.879 efficiency points, followed by expansion of exclusive bus lanes and promotion of CNG hybrid bus diffusion. The results of this study do not represent the absolute data for prioritizing reduction countermeasures for mobile greenhouse gases and air pollution materials. However, in terms of presenting the direction for establishing reduction countermeasures, this study may contribute to policy selection for mobile emission reduction measures and the establishment of systematic mid- and long-term reduction measures.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.363-370
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• 2013

Small scale hydropower is one of most attractive and cost-effective energy technologies for installation within sewage treatment plants. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of a semi-kaplan micro-hydropower (MHP) system for application to sewage treatment plants with high flow fluctuations and a low head. The semi-kaplan MHP is equipped with an adjustable runner blade, and is without a guide vane, so as to reduce the incidence of mechanical problems. A MHP rating 13.4 kWp with a semi-kaplan turbine has been considered for Kiheung Respia sewage treatment plant, and this installation is estimated to generate 86.8 MWh of electricity annually, which is enough to supply electricity to over 25 households, and equivalent to an annual reduction of 49 ton $CO_2$. The semi-kaplan turbine showed a 90.2% energy conversion efficiency at the design flow rate of 0.35 $m^3/s$ and net head of 4.7 m, and was adaptable to a wide range of flow fluctuations. Through the MHP operation, approximately 2.1% of total electricity demand of Kiheung Respia sewage treatment plant will be achievable. Based on financial analysis, an exploiting MHP is considered economically acceptable with an internal rate of return of 6.1%, net present value of 15,539,000 Korean Won, benefit-cost ratio of 1.08, and payback year of 15.5, respectively, if initial investment cost is 200,000,000 Korean Won.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.54-68
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• 2015

The advantage of electric taxies is that people who are not familiar with electric vehicle(EV) can have easily experience to ride EV. So, EV taxi would be a reasonable strategy for triggering EV market expansion. However, the EV taxi can be adopted by taxi companies with financial benefits. Therefore the feasibility study should be required by analyzing the cost with the points of view of the taxi company. In this study we suggested the methodology for feasibility study of the EV taxi based on the real taxi data and presented political implication. According to the study result, EV taxies could have economic value under the specific conditions such that the government subsidy is added to the purchase price of the vehicle. Also, the charging time should be used as drivers' rest time or mealtime in order not to consider the loss cost. We suggest that the new feasibility study which compares an EV taxi with other alternative vehicles such as PHEV or with an old EV taxi is needed as the future works.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.22-34
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• 2011

This paper presents the investigation results of a research on how engineers can analyze the economic effect of the ETCS(Electronic Toll Collection System) installed to minimize the vehicle delays on freeway tollgates during toll payments. This research considered this economic effect to occur in the form of vehicle passing time reductions at the ETCS, and the multi-service queuing theory was applied to estimate these values. This research found: 1) When vehicles approaching tollgates show Poisson distribution and the service time of the ETCS shows Exponential distribution, the multi-service queuing theory would be applicable for estimating vehicle passing times at toll-gates, 2) Despite the ETCS placement, exit sections of tollgates give a greater reduction of vehicle passing times than entering sections due to more delays at conventional toll payments, and 3)The ETCS would not guarantee vehicle passing time reductions all the time, because in such a case as many vehicles were queuing at the ETCS, the total delay level for a toll gate would increase greatly. In addition, in order to examine the accuracy of the estimated vehicle passing values, this research compared the values from the multi-service queuing theory with the observed values from a set of field survey values at freeway toll-gates, and found that the two values were in a good agreement with a very low error range of 1-3 seconds per vehicle. Based on this result, the multi-service queuing theory was recommended for practice.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.40 no.12
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• pp.995-1005
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• 2007

This study presents a framework for optimum scale determination for small hydropower development in a river basin. The framework includes the construction of hydrology and topography data, the simulation of hydropower operation, the economic analysis, and the determination of optimum scale of the small hydropower. The optimum scale of design flow and facility are determined by Net Present Value among economic analysis indices. The investment cost is estimated by the cost function derived from the construction cost of existing small hydropower plants. The benefit from power generation is estimated by the price announced by government. The presented framework is applied to the two potential sites in Cho River basin for the dam and run-of-river type of plants. Finally, the sensitivity analysis for a design flow and scale of the plant is performed for the each site. The usage of the framework presented in the study is highly expected for the estimation of potential hydropower resources or the decision support tool for a proprietor by estimating the optimum scale and economical feasibility in advance.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.131-140
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• 2012

Lane markings such as edgelines, centerlines, and lines that delineate lanes generally provide drivers with the various information for safe driving. Drivers can easily recognize the lane markings through the color differences between the markings and road surfaces during the daytime. However, it is a bit difficult for drivers to perceive them during the nighttime due to the lack of artificial lights. Although the glass beads with the 1.5-refractive index have been used to improve the visibility of the lane markings during the nighttime, it is still difficult for drivers to recognize the lane markings properly, especially during the rainy nighttime, which may often lead to traffic accidents. To improve the retroreflectivity and visibility of the lane markings during the rainy nighttime, the high refractive beads with the 2.4-refractive index are essentially required, but they do not work appropriately during the dry nighttime. Thus, the mixed materials with the 1.5, 1.9, and 2.4-refractive beads should be considered for the satisfactory implementation of the lane markings. This study reveals the best mixing rates of the beads by conducting benefit-cost analysis under various weather conditions in Korea. The analysis results show that the lane markings with the 100% of the 2.4-refractive beads provide the highest visibility of lane markings regardless of the roadway conditions, but the benefit-cost (B/C) ratio of the bead mixture is merely 0.46. The best mixing rate of the beads, from the highest B/C ratio viewpoint, was identified as the mixture with a 80% of 1.5-refractive beads and a 20% of 2.4-refractive beads. Some limitations and future research agenda have also been discussed.