• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.186-198
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• 2015

This paper aims for the ultimate goal to optimize the work place environment through assuring the optimal required ventilation rate based on the analysis of the airflow. The working environment is deteriorated due to a rise in temperature of a coal mine caused by increase of its depth and carriage tunnels. To improve the environment, the ventilation evaluation on J coal mine is carried out and the effect of a length of the tunnel on the temperature to enhance the ventilation efficiency in the subsurface is numerically analyzed. The analysis shows that J coal mine needs $17,831m^3/min$ for in-flow ventilation rate but the total input air flowrate is $16,474m^3/min$, $1,357m^3/min$ of in-flow ventilation rate shortage. The temperatures were predicted on the two developed models of J mine, and VnetPC that is a numerical program for the flowrate prediction. The result of the simulation notices the temperature in the case of developing all 4 areas of -425ML as a first model is predicted 29.30 at the main gangway 9X of C section and in the case of developing 3 areas of -425ML excepting A area as a second model, it is predicted 27.45 Celsius degrees.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.501-518
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• 2019

The rock properties measured under in-situ geological condition can be used to increase the reliability in numerical simulations with regard to the long-term performance of a high-level waste repository. In this study, the change in mechanical properties of KURT (Korea atomic energy research institute Underground Research Tunnel) granite was evaluated under the simulated THM (Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical) coupled condition due to a deep geological formation in the disposal repository. The rock properties such as uniaxial compression strength, indirect tensile strength, elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio were measured under the coupled test conditions (M, HM, TM, THM). It was found that the mechanical properties of KURT granite is more susceptible to the change in saturation rather than temperature within the test condition of this study. The changes in uniaxial compression strength and indirect tensile strength from the rock samples of dried or saturated conditions showed the maximum relative error of about 20% and 13% respectively under the constant temperature condition. Therefore, it is necessary to use the material properties of rock measured under the coupled THM condition as input parameters for the numerical simulation of long-term performance assessment of a disposal repository

• Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
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• v.8 no.7
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• pp.485-496
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• 2018

In this paper, the smoke behavior in an underground station on operation of the fans in the ventiliation of the station was measured by the experimental method when the fire occurred in the underground station platform where the platfrom screen door was installed. The ventilation characteristics were compared when the ventilation system was operated and when the ventilation system was not operated when a fire occurred at the platform where the clean door was closed. To simulate the fire smoke, the smoke generated from the smoke generator was heated using a hot air fan. The transmittance was measured using a smoke density meter to quantitatively measure fire smoke. If the screen door is closed and the ventilation system of the underground station does not work, it is confirmed that if a fire occurs in the platform, smoke accumulates inside the platform, evacuating passengers is very difficult and can lead to a very dangerous situation. On the other hand, under the condition that the ventilation facility of the subway station is operated, the smoke evacuates to the outside through the ventilation facility of the underground station, and airflow is formed in the direction from the waiting room to the waiting area, so that the passenger located on the platform can safely evacuate toward the concourse. In the following paper, we will discuss the concurrent effect of tunnel ventilation through tunnel vent near the platform.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.230-242
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• 2019

While various automatic rock fracture survey methods have been researched, the evaluation of the accuracy of these methods raises issues due to the absence of a metric which fully expresses the similarity between automatic and manual fracture maps. Therefore, this paper proposes a geometry similarity metric which is especially designed to determine the overall similarity of fracture maps and to evaluate the accuracy of rock fracture survey methods by a single number. The proposed metric, Scanline Intersection Similarity (SIS), is derived by conducting a large number of scanline surveys upon two fracture maps using Python code. By comparing the frequency of intersections over a large number of scanlines, SIS is able to express the overall similarity between two fracture maps. The proposed metric was compared with Intersection Over Union (IoU) which is a widely used evaluation metric in computer vision. Results showed that IoU is inappropriate for evaluating the geometry similarity of fracture maps because it is overly sensitive to minor geometry differences of thin elongated objects. The proposed metric, on the other hand, reflected macro-geometry differences rather than micro-geometry differences, showing good agreement with human perception. The metric was further applied to evaluate the accuracy of a deep learning-based automatic fracture surveying method which resulted as 0.674 (SIS). However, the proposed metric is currently limited to 2D fracture maps and requires comparison with rock joint parameters such as RQD.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.309-332
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• 2021

Natural barrier systems surrounding the geological repository for the high-level radioactive waste should guarantee the hydraulic performance for preventing or delaying the leakage of radionuclide. In the case of the behavior of a crystalline rock, the hydraulic performance tends to be decided by the existence of discontinuities, so the coupled hydro-mechanical(HM) processes on the discontinuities should be characterized. The discontinuum modelling can describe the complicated behavior of discontinuities including creation, propagation, deformation and slip, so it is appropriate to model the behavior of a crystalline rock. This paper investigated the coupled HM processes in discontinuum modelling such as UDEC, 3DEC, PFC, DDA, FRACOD and TOUGH-UDEC. Block-based discontinuum methods tend to describe the HM processes based on the fluid flow through the discontinuities, and some methods are combined with another numerical tool specialized in hydraulic analysis. Particle-based discontinuum modelling describes the overall HM processes based on the fluid flow among the particles. The discontinuum methods that are currently available have limitations: exclusive simulations for two-dimension, low hydraulic simulation efficiency, fracture-dominated fluid flow and simplified hydraulic analysis, so it could be improper to the modelling the geological repository. Based on the concepts of various discontinuum modelling compiled in this paper, the advanced numerical tools for describing the accurate coupled HM processes of the deep geological repository should be developed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.167-183
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• 2021

It is essential to understand the complex thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) coupled behavior in the engineered barrier system and natural barrier system to secure the high-level radioactive waste repository's long-term safety. The heat from the high-level radioactive waste induces thermal pressurization and vaporization of groundwater in the repository system. Groundwater inflow affects the saturation variation in the engineered barrier system, and the saturation change influences the heat transfer and multi-phase flow characteristics in the buffer. Due to the complexity of the coupled behavior, a numerical simulation is a valuable tool to predict and evaluate the THMC interaction effect on the disposal system and safety assessment. To enhance the knowledge of THMC coupled interaction and validate modeling techniques in geological systems. DECOVALEX, an international cooperation project, was initiated in 1992, and KAERI has participated in the projects since 2008 in Korea. In this study, we introduced the main contents of all tasks in the DECOVALEX-2023, the current DECOVALEX phase, to the rock mechanics and geotechnical researchers in Korea.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.131-143
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• 2022

The lunar exploration autonomous vehicle operates based on the lunar topography information obtained from real-time image characterization. For highly accurate topography characterization, a large number of training images with various background conditions are required. Since the real lunar topography images are difficult to obtain, it should be helpful to be able to generate mimic lunar image data artificially on the basis of the planetary analogs site images and real lunar images available. In this study, we aim to artificially create lunar topography images by using the location information-based style transfer algorithm known as Wavelet Correct Transform (WCT2). We conducted comparative experiments using lunar analog site images and real lunar topography images taken during China's and America's lunar-exploring projects (i.e., Chang'e and Apollo) to assess the efficacy of our suggested approach. The results show that the proposed techniques can create realistic images, which preserve the topography information of the analog site image while still showing the same condition as an image taken on lunar surface. The proposed algorithm also outperforms a conventional algorithm, Deep Photo Style Transfer (DPST) in terms of temporal and visual aspects. For future work, we intend to use the generated styled image data in combination with real image data for training lunar topography objects to be applied for topographic detection and segmentation. It is expected that this approach can significantly improve the performance of detection and segmentation models on real lunar topography images.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.15-27
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• 2024

In this case study, detailed survey of the Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ) evaluation for the deep geological repository for high level nuclear waste was conducted. Oversea and Domestic case studies were compiled and investigated. EDZ is considered a crucial factor in the performance assessment of spent fuel disposal, leading to numerous studies worldwide aiming to understand the characteristics of the EDZ and quantitatively assessment of its extent through field and laboratory tests at Underground Research Laboratory (URL) sites. To enhance the understanding of EDZ, this study begins with defining and exploring the history of EDZ, compiling factors influencing EDZ, and summarizing the impacts caused by EDZ. Subsequently, an analysis of EDZ and rock properties is performed, followed by presenting generalized outcomes, limitations drawn from previous research, and proposing future research directions.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.217-224
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• 2008

In deep geological disposal system, the integrity of a disposal canister having spent fuels is very important factor to assure the safety of the repository system. This disposal canister is one element of the engineered barriers to isolate and to delay the radioactivity release from human beings and the environment for a long time so that the toxicity does not affect the environment. The main requirement in designing the deep geological disposal system is to keep the buffer temperature below 100$^{\circ}C$ by the decay heat from the spent fuels in the canister in order to maintain the integrity of the buffer material. Also, the disposal canister can endure the hydraulic pressure in the depth of 500 m and the swelling pressure of the bentonite as a buffer. In this study, new concept of the disposal canister for the CANDU spent fuels which were considered to be disposed without any treatment was developed and the thermal stability and the structural integrity of the canister were analysed. The result of the thermal analysis showed that the temperature of the buffer was 88.9$^{\circ}C$ when 37 years have passed after emplacement of the canister and the spacings of the disposal tunnel and the deposition holes were 40 m and 3 m, respectively. In the case of structural analysis, the result showed that the safety factors of the normal and the extreme environment were 2.9 and 1.33, respectively. So, these results reveal that the canister meets the thermal and the structural requirements in the deep geological disposal system.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.30-58
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• 2022

The deep geological repository for high-level radioactive waste disposal is a multi barrier system comprised of engineered barriers and a natural barrier. The long-term integrity of the deep geological repository is affected by the coupled interactions between the individual barrier components. Erosion and piping phenomena in the compacted bentonite buffer due to buffer-rock interactions results in the removal of bentonite particles via groundwater flow and can negatively impact the integrity and performance of the buffer. Rapid groundwater inflow at the early stages of disposal can lead to piping in the bentonite buffer due to the buildup of pore water pressure. The physiochemical processes between the bentonite buffer and groundwater lead to bentonite swelling and gelation, resulting in bentonite erosion from the buffer surface. Hence, the evaluation of erosion and piping occurrence and its effects on the integrity of the bentonite buffer is crucial in determining the long-term integrity of the deep geological repository. Previous studies on bentonite erosion and piping failed to consider the complex coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical behavior of bentonite-groundwater interactions and lacked a comprehensive model that can consider the complex phenomena observed from the experimental tests. In this technical note, previous studies on the mechanisms, lab-scale experiments and numerical modeling of bentonite buffer erosion and piping are introduced, and the future expected challenges in the investigation of bentonite buffer erosion and piping are summarized.