• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.31-37
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• 2011

Only a few studies have been conducted using reduced slag as recycled material. The reduced slag in electric furnace is produced as a by-product in making a steel and a few applications of the reduced slag as expensive additives and bonding materials or as the stabilized soils was reported. The purpose of this study is to present the feasibility of the reduced slag as recycled material, especially, in a field of civil engineering. In order to achieve the purpose experiments such as SEM and XRF analysis was conducted for the reduced slag in electric furnace. Based on the results various geotechnical experiments were conducted to know engineering properties of slag-soil mixtures. Weathered soils and clay are mixed with reduced slag for various ratios. As the ratio of reduced slag to weathered soil increases, the maximum dry unit weight of the mixture decreased with increasing optimum moisture content. The results indicates that there is no effect on a reduced slag by compaction efforts. The shear strengths of the weathered soil-slag mixtures are slightly higher or similar to those of weathered soils. The permeability of the weathered soil-slag mixtures is similar to that of silty or sandy soils. Therefore, it is possible to use the mixtures as embankment or backfill materials in the fields. The unconfined strength of the mixtures of reduced slag and clay is higher than that of clay and it tends to increase with the curing time. Therefore it can be used to improve the soft ground.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2022

The present study investigated effects of microbial additives and silo density on chemical compositions, fermentation indices, and aerobic stability of whole crop rice (WCR) silage. The WCR ("Youngwoo") was harvested at 49.7% dry matter (DM), and ensiled into 500 kg bale silo with two different compaction pressures at 430 kgf (kilogram-force)/cm² (LOW) and 760 kgf/cm² (HIGH) densities. All WCR forage were applied distilled water (CON) or mixed inoculants (Lactobacillus brevis 5M2 and Lactobacillus buchneri 6M1) with 1:1 ratio at 1x105 colony forming unit/g (INO). The concentrations of DM, crude protein, ether extract, crude ash, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber of whole crop rice before ensiling were 49.7, 9.59, 2.85, 6.74, 39.7, and 21.9%, respectively. Microbial additives and silo density did not affect the chemical compositions of WCR silage (p>0.05). The INO silages had lower lactate (p<0.001), but higher propionate (p<0.001). The LOW silages had higher lactate (p=0.004). The INO silages had higher yeast count (p<0.001) and aerobic stability (p<0.001). However, microbial counts and aerobic stability were not affected by silo density. Therefore, this study concluded that fermentation quality of WCR silage improved by microbial additives, but no effects by silo density.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.39 no.7
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• pp.17-30
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• 2023

This study investigates the impact of water immersion and high temperature on the shear strength of cemented sand through direct shear tests. Standard Jumunjin sand was used and cemented with binders, such as ultra-rapid hardening cement and an epoxy aqueous solution. The binder was mixed at concentrations of 4%, 8%, or 12%. Subsequently, cylindrical cemented specimens with a diameter of 64 mm and height of 25 mm were produced using compaction. The curing period was three days, and the specimens were cured under dry air, immersion, and heating conditions. The heating condition involved subjecting the immersed specimens to a microwave oven three times for three minutes to achieve an internal temperature of approximately 90℃. Regardless of the binder type, the cohesion of the cemented sand increased with higher binder content, whereas the internal friction angle exhibited a slight increase or decrease. Compared with ultra-rapid hardening cemented sand, epoxy-cemented sand displayed an average cohesion that was five times higher and an internal friction angle that was 10° higher. Overall, irrespective of binder type, the shear strength decreased during water immersion and increased during heating. Notably, the epoxy-cemented sand exhibited a three-fold increase in cohesion and a more than 20° increase in the internal friction angle during heating.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2024

Recently, development of non-traditional energy such as oil sands has been actively conducted in the cold region such as Canada. Frozen soil has different thermal and mechanical characteristics from general soil due to its high organic contents. This study evaluated the impact of organic matter content on the thermal and mechanical behavior of frozen soil samples collected from Alberta, Canada, and Gangwon Province, South Korea. As the organic content increases, the maximum dry unit weight decreases and the optimum moisture content increases in compaction tests. In uniaxial compression tests under frozen conditions, the strength of the frozen specimens increased as the temperature decreased. The strength of Canada soil sample increased with higher organic matter content at low temperatures. However, the strength of frozen soil was not significantly affected by organic matter content due to the complex behavior and unfrozen water content. Thermal conductivity tests showed higher thermal conductivity in frozen conditions compared to unfrozen conditions, due to the higher thermal conductivity of ice compared to water. These findings provide essential data for geotechnical design and construction in large-scale projects such as oil sands development in cold regions. Further research is needed to explore the impact of organic matter content on different types of frozen soils.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.221-227
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• 1989

This study was conducted to understand the influence of soil compaction on root growth and nutrient uptake characteristics of the soybean roots grown in two soils with different texture. Tap root elongation was measured on young seedling grown in cores compacted to different bulk densities of 1.2, 1.4 and $1.6/cm^3$ with different soil water retention in laboratory. The soil used were Samgag sandy loam and Baegsan loam soils. The wet and dry weight, total length, average radius and total surface area of roots were measured on soybean plants grown in 1/5000 a Wagner pots compacted to different bulk density of 1.2 and $1.4g/cm^3$. The nutrient uptake of soybean shoot was measured and evaluated with the unit surface area of roots at the 7th, 17th and 27th days after germination. The results were as follows: 1. The tap root elongation rate was faster in the loam soil with low bulk density than in the sandy loam soil with high bulk density. The elongation rates were remarkedly decreased when soil water was lower than the retention of 4 bars in loam soil and that of 1 bars in sandy loam soil. 2. Tap root elongation rate sharply decreased as increased soil strength higher than $2kgf/cm^2$ measured by ELE penetrometer showing curvillinear regression. However, it was low regardless of soil strength when soil water retention was 10 bars in sandy loam soil. 3. From the pot experiment, the total length of roots were longer in loam soil than in sandy loam soil and was longer in the soils with lower bulk density. The average radius of fine roots grown in sandy loam soil was larger than that grown in loam soil. The total surface area of roots was greater in the loam soil with low bulk density than in the sandy loam soil with high bulk density as the total length of roots. 4. The amounts of nutrient uptake by soybean shoots were greater in loam soil primarily due to more production of dry matter than in sandy loam soil. The nitrogen influx rates through the unit surface area were 597 to $753nmoles/day-cm^2$ in loam soil and 222 to $365nmoles/day\;cm^2$ in sandy loam soilshowing higher value in higher bulk density. The potasium influx rates were 99 to $175nmoles/day-cm^2$, and those of phosphate were 26 to $46nmoles/day\;cm^2$. Those of Ca and Mg were 175 to 246 and 163 to $205nmoles/day\;cm^2$. The difference in nutrient influx rates between bulk densities of these elements were lower than that of nitrogen.