• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.225-234
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• 2011

In this study, an in situ heater test for investigating the thermo-mechanical behavior related to heat flow was carried out. It was the first in situ heater test in Korea. For the test, an adequate design of heater, observation sensors, and data logging system was developed and installed with a consideration of the site condition and the test purposes. It was possible to observe that steep joints are overwhelmingly developed in the test area from a joint survey. The major rock and rock mass properties at the test site could be determined from the thermal and mechanical laboratory tests using the rock cores from the site. From the measured rock temperature distribution, it was possible to observe the influence of the rock joints and the heat flow through tunnel wall. When the heater temperature was maintained as $90^{\circ}C$, the rock temperature at 0.3 m from the heater hole was increased up to $40^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.263-269
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• 2004

During the last two years, Site Information and Total Environmental database management System (SITES) ver. 1.0 has been developed for the systematic SITES Database Module (SDM), which includes site information, facility information and environmental information. The SITES includes the module for site environmental monitoring system and safety assessment (M&A) system for the nuclear facility. SITES is expected to be an effective system for the radioactive waste disposal management facility. Currently, SITES ver.2.0 is under development after the SITES ver.1.0 that is focused on the M&A system. The main purpose of this paper is to introduce and try to account for the major development in the concept of SEMS sub-module of the M&A module. The SEMS is purposed of development of the program for real time environmental monitoring, prediction, and automatic alarm system using SITES Database and related information.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2011

An engineering scale test, which is called KENTEX, was carried out to understand and to analyze the coupled thermal, hydrological and mechanical phenomena in the engineered barrier system(EBS) of Korean reference disposal system. Using the experimental data obtained from KENTEX, the water saturation processes in bentonite could be analyzed. From the comparison between the model calculation using ABAQUS and the experimental results, the difference of the water content between them in the unsaturating part was large because the drying phenomena due to moisture redistribution by the temperature gradient could not be included in the model. In the saturating part, the difference of the water content between them was decreased gradually and showed to be small in the full saturation. And the time of about 95% saturation could be estimated about 500 days from the model calculation and experimental results. Also it could be known that the moisture redistribution in the unsaturated part could not be affected on the saturation time of bentonite in the repository. Therefore, it is considered that this model could be used to quantitatively predict the water saturation time in bentonite as EBS for the disposal system.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.42-58
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• 2001

In order to protect the environment from waste disposal activities, the prediction of the flux and flow paths of the contaminants from underground facilities should be assessed as accurately as possible. Especially, the prediction of the pathways and travel times of the nuclides from high level radioactive wastes in a deep repository to biosphere is one of the primary tasks for assessing the ultimate safety and performance of the repository. Since the contaminants are mainly transported with groundwater along the discontinuities developed within rock mass, the characteristics of groundwater flow through discontinuities is important for the prediction of contaminant fates as well as safety assessment of a repository. In this study, the actual fracture network could be effectively generated based on in situ data by separating geometric parameter and hydraulic parameter. The calculated anisotropic hydraulic conductivity was applied to a 3D porous medium model to calculate the path flow and travel time of the large studied area with the consideration of the complex topology in the area. Using the model, the pathways and travel times for groundwater were analyzed. From this study, it was concluded that the suggested techniques and procedures for predicting the pathways and travel times of groundwater from underground facilities to biosphere is acceptable and those can be applied to the safety assessment of a repository for radioactive wastes.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.5-13
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• 2017

With the purpose of energy recovery from sludge having calorific value as fuel we investigated the current status and characteristics of sludge in Korea in order to understand the type and amount of sludge that can recover energy. 'The Status Report on Waste Generation and Treatment in Korea' announced that 152 million tons of wastes were generated nationwide in 2015 and 9.2 % of the whole waste disposed into landfills which includes 15.1 % of the total industrial wastes. The average of upper calorific values of sewage sludge was 3,021 kcal/kg and that of wastewater sludge was 2,472 kcal/kg respectively. In order to determine the sludge as fuel, each correlations between calorific value, carbon content and combustibility ratio were evaluated. In the study, the current status and characteristics of sludge in Korea were investigated in order to understand the type and amount of sludge as fuel to recover energy. It is predicted that if the energy of sludge having a calorific value of 6 MJ/kg($${\sim_=}1,500kcal/kg$$) or more is recovered as fuel, the amount of the sludge disposed into landfills can be reduced about 40 %.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.840-843
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• 2009

폐자동차의 최종처분 과정에서 발생하는 자동차 파쇄 폐기물(Automobile Shredder Dust)은 대부분이 고분자 화합물로 높은 발열량을 가지고 있다. 또한 할로겐족 원소가 포함된 난연성 고분자류가 많아 다이옥신의 생성 우려가 높은 고분자류와 다이옥신 생성의 촉매 역할을 할 수 있는 금속성분이 많이 함유되어 있어 가스화용융시스템에 적용하여 처리하기에 매우 적합한 폐기물이다. 본 연구에서는 ASR의 가스화 용융 시설에서 고농도 CO를 함유한 합성가스를 수성가스전환반응(Water Gas Shift reaction, WGS)을 이용하여 수소의 수율을 높이는 기술을 제시하였다. 가스화 용융 설비에서 배출되는 합성가스 조성을 기준으로 적합한 고정층 WGS 반응기를 설계하고, 고온 촉매(KATALCO 71-5M)와 저온 촉매(KATALCO 83-3X)를 사용하여 실험하였다. 수성가스 반응 후의 가스 조성은 온도가 상승할수록 일산화탄소가 줄어들고 이에 따라 수소와 이산화탄소 발생량이 증가 되어 고온 촉매를 사용했을 경우 일산화탄소 전환율 ($1-CO_{out}/CO_{in}$)은 55.6에서 95.8%까지 상승하였다. 동일한 온도조건에서는 촉매에 관계없이 $CO/H_2$가 감소할수록 전환율도 감소하는 경향을 보였지만 동일한 합성가스 조성에서 일산화탄소 전환율을 비교하면 저온 촉매가 고온 촉매보다 매우 우수함을 알 수 있었다.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2004

To validate the previous conceptual design of cover system, construction of the engineered barrier test facility is completed and the performance tests of the disposal cover system are conducted. The disposal test facility is composed of the multi-purpose working space, the six test cells and the disposal information space for the PR center. The dedicated detection system measures the water content, the temperature, the matric potential of each cover layer and the accumulated water volume of lateral drainage. Short-term experiments on the disposal cover layer using the artificial rainfall system are implemented. The sand drainage layer shows the satisfactory performance as intended in the design stage. The artificial rainfall does not affect the temperature of cover layers. It is investigated that high water infiltration of the artificial rainfall changes the matric potential in each cover layer. This facility is expected to increase the public information about the national radioactive waste disposal program and the effort for the safety of the planned disposal facility.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.333-359
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• 2021

Gases such as hydrogen and radon can be generated around the canister in high-level radioactive waste disposal systems due to several reasons including the corrosion of metal materials. When the gas generation rate exceeds the gas diffusion rate in the low-permeability bentonite buffer, the gas phase will form and accumulate in the engineered barrier system. If the gas pressure exceeds the gas entry pressure, gas can migrate into the bentonite buffer, resulting in pathway dilation flow and advective flow. Because a sudden occurrence of dilation flow can cause radionuclide leakage out of the engineered barrier of the radioactive waste disposal system, it is necessary to understand the gas migration behavior in the bentonite buffer to quantitatively evaluate the long-term safety of the engineered barrier. Experimental research investigating the characteristics of gas migration in saturated bentonite and research developing numerical models capable of simulating such behaviors are being actively conducted worldwide. In this technical note, previous gas injection experiments and the numerical models proposed to verify such behaviors are introduced, and the future challenges necessary for the investigation of gas migration are summarized.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.11-19
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• 2008

The development of an excavation damaged zone, EDZ, due to the blasting impact and stress redistribution after excavation, can influence on the long tenn stability, economy, and safety of the underground excavation. In this study, the size and characteristics of an EDZ around an underground research tunnel, which was excavated by controlled blasting, in KAERI were investigated. The results were implemented into the modelling for evaluating the influence of an EDZ on hydro-mechanical behavior of the tunnel. From in situ tests at KURT, it was possible to determine that the size of EDZ was about l.5rn. Goodman jack tests and laboratory tests showed that the rock properties in the EDZ were changed about 50% compared to the rock properties before blasting. The size and property change in the EDZ were implemented to a hydro-mechanical coupling analysis. In the modeling, rock strengths and elastic modulus were assumed to be decreased 50% and. the hydraulic conductivity was increased 1 order. From the analysis, it was possible to see that the displacement was increased while the stress was decreased because of an EDZ. When an EDZ was considered in the model, the tunnel inflow was increased about 20% compared to the case without an EDZ.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.267-282
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• 2024

This study aims to develop a wireless communication system for long-term monitoring of high-level radioactive waste disposal facilities. Conventional wired sensors can lead to a deterioration in buffer quality and management difficulties due to the use of cables for power supply and data transmission. This study proposes the adoption of a wireless communication system and compares the received signal strengths within bentonite using modules such as WiFi, ZigBee, and LoRa. Increases in dry density of bentonite and distance between transceivers led to reduced received signal strength. Additionally, using the low-frequency band exhibited less signal attenuation. Based on these findings, a conceptual design for a wireless network-based THM integrated sensor system was proposed. Results of this study can be used as foundational data for long-term monitoring of disposal facility.