• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.54-62
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• 2009

The present study investigates the behaviour of overtopping flows falling on the leeside of a caisson breakwater with dissipating blocks through laboratory measurements. The falling overtopping flows in the leeside are expected to directly affect the leeside stability of the breakwater. This study focuses on not the resultant stability but the characteristic pattern of the overtopping flows depending on wave conditions through examining front velocity and plunging distance in the leeside. Regular waves were used to investigate the dependence of the overtopping flow pattern on wave conditions and a modified image velocimetry combining the shadowgraphy and cross-correlation method was employed for measurements of image and velocity. From the measurements, it is shown that the plunging distance and front velocity of the overtopping flow in the breakwater leeside increase as the wave period or height increases. From non-dimensional relationships between the variables, empirical formula for the velocity and overtopping distance are suggested.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.9-17
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This research was designed to study the correlations between physical activities such as foot sensory impairment, balance and ambulatory abilities, as well as fall risk factors and mental activities such as cognitive performance and depression in order to provide fundamental data for the prevention of falling in the elderly. METHODS: A total of 36 elderly people over the age of 65 years who voluntarily joined the research were selected as subjects. Sensory perception in both feet was measured by using a monofilament in 10 parts with each part given one point. The points for each foot were integrated to analyze the correlations between physical and mental activities indices, and the results were analyzed by using Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The results of this research show that the extent to which senses in feet were impaired was correlated to TUG, a functional activity index involved in tranfers, gait, and turning movements, which was correlated to BBS (balance index) as well as MMSE-K and K-GDS (mental activities index). BBS was interrelated to FES-K (physical activities index) and MMSE-K. The muscular strength of the right ankle dorsiflexor had mutual relations with FES-K. CONCLUSION: The results of this research indicate that TUG is widely correlated to foot sensory impairment as well as general physical and mental activities in elderly people. BBS was also shown to be correlated with TUG, FES-K, and MMSE-K. Thus, it might be necessary that TUG and BBS be included as two items in physical and mental check-ups for the elderly, and further studies on correlations using evaluation items for physical and mental activities should lead to the simplification of the evaluation criteria.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.472-481
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• 2008

In this study hydraulic experiment was carried out to investigate the flow characteristics in the submerged outlet structure of Boryeong power plant and the efficiency of bubble reduction by installing horizontal porous plate in the outlet structure. The cross-sectional mean velocity in the submerged outlet structure was smaller than 1 m/s, the target value at the design stage to prevent bubble outflow to the open sea area. In addition, it was found that the maximum depth of bubble penetration is reduced 30 to 50% by installing the horizontal porous plate at the second falling location in the submerged outlet structure. It is expected that the total bubble amount entrained in the water will be most efficiently reduced by installing square-hole-shape porous plate of 20 cm hole size and making its central section as non-porous structure to dissipate the energy of falling water.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.23-31
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• 2020

In the construction sector, there were 99 fatalities from falls associated with steel tube and system scaffolds for three years from 2016 to 2018 and out of which 27.3 percent (27 workers) were found to have occurred during installing and dismantling procedure. To erect scaffolding which is installed for the work at height, the work platforms are generally installed first and the safety guardrails are installed and vice versa to dismantle. As a result, workers are exposed to the risk of falling because they erect and dismantle scaffolding without guardrails. To minimize the risk of falling, it is necessary to study a new construction method that can erect or dismantle scaffolding while guardrails are installed (called advanced guardrail system). This study analyzed advanced guardrail system in terms of safety regulation, workability and economic efficiency by investigating the domestic situation on the use of scaffolding, reviewing domestic and foreign standards for guardrails and conducting economic feasibility study. The results of this study is expected to greatly contribute to preventing falls in scaffolding installation and dismantlement procedure. As a follow-up study, empirical research is required including physical test of scaffolding with advanced guardrail system and effectiveness analysis after trial applications.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.59-68
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• 2017

PURPOSES : The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential risk level of road cave-ins due to subsurface cavities based on the deflection basin measured with falling weight deflectometer (FWD) tests. METHODS: Ground penetrating radar (GPR) tests were conducted to detect road cavities. Then FWD tests were conducted on 13 pavement test sections with and without a cavity. FWD deflections and a deflection ratio was used to evaluate the effect of geometry of the cavity and pavement for road cave-in potentials. RESULTS : FWD deflection of cavity sections measured at 60 cm or a closer offset distance to a loading center were 50% greater than more robust sections. The average deflection ratio of the cavity sections to robust sections were 1.78 for high risk level cavities, 1.51 for medium risk level cavities, and 1.16 for low risk level cavities. The relative remaining service life of pavement with a cavity evaluated with an surface curvature index (SCI) was 8.1% for the high level, 21.8% for the medium level, and 89.8% compared to pavement without a cavity. CONCLUSIONS : FWD tests can be applied to detect a subsurface cavity by comparing FWD deflections with and without a cavity measured at 60 cm or a closer offset distance to loading center. In addition, the relative remaining service life of cavity sections based on the SCI can used to evaluate road cave-in potentials.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.79-88
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the peak torques of the knee and ankle joint and local stability of the lower extremity's joints, and muscle activation patterns of the lower extremity's muscles between fallers and non-fallers in the elderly women during walking. Method: Four elderly women (age: $74.5{\pm}5.2yrs.$; height: $152.1{\pm}5.6cm$; mass: $55.3{\pm}5.4kg$; preference walking speed: $1.19{\pm}0.06m/s$) who experienced falls within six months since experiment had been conducted (falls group) and thirty-six subjects ($74.2{\pm}3.09yrs.$; height: $153.6{\pm}4.9cm$; mass: $56.7{\pm}6.4kg$; preference walking speed: $1.24{\pm}0.10m/s$) who had no experience in falls (non-falls group) within this periods participated in this study. They were measured torque peaks of the knee and ankle joint using a Human Norm and while they were walking on a treadmill at their natural pace, kinematic variables and EMG signals were collected with using a 3-D motion capture system and a wireless EMG system, respectively. Lyapunov Exponent (LyE) was determined to observe the dynamic local stability of the lower extremity's joints, and muscles activation and their co-contraction index were also analysed from EMG signals. Hypotheses between falls and non-falls group were tested using paired t-test and Mann-Whitey. Level of significance was set at p<.05. Results: Local dynamic stability in the adduction-abduction movement of the knee joint was significantly lower in falling group than non-falling group (p<.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, muscles which act on the abduction-adduction movement of the knee joint need to be strengthened to prevent from potential falls during walking. However, a small number of samples for fallers make it difficult to generalize the results of this study.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.93-98
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• 2019

In case of unmanned aerial vehicles used in modern society, there has been a problem where a human operator should be still needed to control the UAV because of a lower level of autonomy. In this paper, genetic algorithm is selected as a methodology for the autonomy accomplishment and then we verify a possibility of UAV autonomy by applying the GA. The landing is one of the important classical tasks on aerial vehicle and the lunar Landing is one of the most historical events. Autonomy possibility of computer-simulated UAV is verified by landing autonomy method of a falling body equipped with a propulsion system similar to the lunar Lander. When applying the GA, the genom is encoded only with 4 actions (left-turn, right-turn, thrust, and free-fall) and applied onto the falling body, Then we applied the major operations of GA and achieved a success experiment. A major contribution is to construct a simulated UAV where an autonomy of UAV can be accomplished while minimizing the sensor dependency. Also we implemented a test-bed where the possibility of autonomy accomplishment by applying the GA can be verified.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.205-217
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the subjective health status (SHS) of low-income older adults living alone. Methods: This is a cross-sectional correlational study using secondary data analysis. Sociodemographic and health-related characteristics were included in this analysis. The health-related characteristics were categorized into three domains: physical, characterized by the number of chronic diseases and fall-related factors, timed up and go, and grip strength; psychological, in terms of depression and loneliness; and social, in terms of social support. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The mean SHS score was 2.46 out of five. Several factors influenced the SHS of low-income older adults living alone, including sex, age, level of education, monthly income, and the three domains. Four significant predictive factors of SHS in low-income older adults living alone were identified (42.5%): the number of chronic diseases, fear of falling, depression, and social support. Conclusion: SHS is a critical factor for older adults living alone on a low-income. Hence, evaluating SHS and developing interventions to improve it periodically is necessay. Such interventions should consider chronic disease management, screening and mediation for depression and fear of falling, and strengthening their social support systems.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.435-440
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of older adult's head-turn gait on gait parameters by comparing with head oriented forward gait and to provide criteria for their risk of falling compared to young adult. Methods: The subjects were 19 young adults in their 20s and 18 older adults in their 60s or above residing in Daegu or Gyeongsangbuk-do. To evaluate their gait parameters, spatiotemporal gait parameters were measured using a gait analysis tool (Legsys, BioSensics, USA) under two conditions: 1) walking while keeping one's eyes forward and 2) walking while turning the head. The measurement for each test was performed after one practice session, and the mean value of three measurements was analyzed. The collected data were statistically processed using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare any differences in gait parameters between the two groups under the two conditions. The statistical significance level was set at α=0.05. Results: According to the comparison of gait parameters in young adult and older adult between the head oriented forward gait and head-turn gait, statistically significant differences were observed in two parameters: stride length according to the height ratio and stride speed obtained by dividing the stride length according to the height ratio by time (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the head-turn gait causes greater differences in stride length and speed among older adult than in young adult and therefore can act as a cause of falling.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.431-441
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• 2024

A newly developed line-style sand pluviator has been calibrated to prepare repeatable sand specimens of specific statuses of compactness and homogeneity for laboratory tests. Sand is falling via a bottom slot of a fixed hopper, and by moving the sample container under the slot, the container is evenly filled with sand. The pluviator is designed with high flexibility: The falling height of sand, the hopper's opening width and the relative moving speed between the hopper and the sample box can be easily adjusted. By changing these control factors, sand specimens of a wide range of densities can be prepared. A series of specimen preparation was performed using the coarse Merwede River sand. Performance of the pluviator was systematically evaluated by exploring the alteration of achievable density, as well as checking the homogeneity and fabric of the prepared samples by CT scanning. It was found that the density of prepared coarse sand samples has monotonic correlations with none of the three control factors. Furthermore, CT scanning results suggested that the prepared samples exhibited excellent homogeneity in the horizontal direction but periodical alteration of density in the vertical direction. Based on these calibration test results, a preliminary hypothesis is proposed to describe the general working principles of this type of pluviators a priori, illustrating the mechanisms dominating the non-monotonic correlations between control factors and the relative density as well as the vertically prevalent heterogeneity of specimens. Accordingly, practical recommendations are made in a unified framework in order to lessen the load of similar calibration work.