• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.82 no.3
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• pp.295-312
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• 2022

This study investigates the effects of nano silica (NS) and micro steel fiber on the properties of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). The experimental consists of three groups, each one with five percentages of NS content (0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8%) in addition to the 20% silica fume and 20% quartz powder proportioned according to the weight of cement added to the mixtures. In addition, three percentages of micro steel fibers (0%, 1% and 2%) were considered. Different mixtures with varying percentages of NS and micro steel fibers were prepared to set the water-to-binder ratio, such as 0.16% and 1.8% superplasticizer proportioned according the weight of the binder materials. The fresh properties, mechanical properties and elevated temperatures of the mixtures were calculated. Then, the results from the microstructure analyses were compared with that of the reference mixtureand it was found that 6% replacement of cement with NS was optimum replacement level. When the NS content was increased from 0% to 6%, the air content and permeability of the mixture decreased by 35% and 39%, the compressive and tensile strength improved by 21% and 18% and the flexural strength and modulus of elasticity increased by 20% and 11.5%, respectively. However, the effect of micro steel fibres on the compressive strength was inconclusive. The overall results indicate that micro steel fibres have the potential to improve the tensile strength, flexure strength and modulus of elasticity of the UHPC. The use of 6% NS together with 1% micro-steel fiber increased the concrete strength and reduce the cost of concrete mix.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.337-345
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• 2022

The foundation of high-rise concrete building in coastal areas generally must be installed in an integrated manner, not separately, in order to prevent defects caused by stress on the upper and lower parts of the mounting surface and to manage the process smoothly. However, when performing integrated punching, there is a concern that temperature stress cracks may occur due to hydration heat. Due to the large member size, it is difficult to make a sufficient commitment, so it is necessary to mix concrete with high self-charging properties to ensure workability. In this research, the amount of high-performance spray and admixture used was adjusted as experimental variables to satisfy this required performance. Through the analysis of the results for each blending variable, it was found that the unit quantity was 155kg/m³ and the cement ratio in the binder was 18%, and the target values of the pre-concrete properties and compressive strength were satisfied. A four-component binder(18% cement, 50% slag fine powder, 27% fly ash, 5% silica fume) was used.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.19-29
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• 2023

An ultra-high strength prestressed prismatic beam of 100 MPa in compressive strength was developed by increasing the watertightness of concrete by utilizing centrifugal molding processes without adding expensive admixtures such as silica fume. The ultra-high strength centrifugal shaped square beam installed on the wall is composited with the upper slab concrete and then subjected to a service load. Horizontal shear stress is generated by bending between the centrifugal molding beam and the floor plate, which causes the beam and floor plate to perform composite behavior through shear connections such as studs and rebars. In this study, a flexural load test was performed on a mock-up specimen that was synthesized by fabricating an RC slab on top of a 100 MPa-class centrifugal shaped beam produced at the factory. proven reliability.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.85 no.1
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• pp.29-53
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• 2023

High-strength shielding concrete against gamma radiation is a priority for many medical and industrial facilities. This paper aimed to investigate the gamma-ray shielding properties of high-strength hematite concrete mixed with silica fume (SF) with nanoparticles of lead dioxide (PbO₂), tungsten oxide (WO₃), and bismuth oxide (Bi₂O₃). The effect of mixing steel fibres with the aforementioned binders was also investigated. The reference mixture was prepared for high-strength concrete (HSCC) containing 100% hematite coarse and fine aggregate. Thirteen mixtures containing 5% SF and nanoparticles of PbO₂, WO₃, and Bi₂O₃ (2%, 5%, and 7% of the cement mass, respectively) were prepared. Steel fibres were added at a volume ratio of 0.28% of the volume of concrete with 5% of nanoparticles. The slump test was conducted to workability of fresh concrete Unit weight water permeability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity tests were conducted to assess concrete's engineering properties at 28 days. Gamma-ray radiation of 137Cs emits photons with an energy of 662 keV, and that of 60Co emits two photons with energies of 1173 and 1332 keV were applied on concrete specimens to assess radiation shielding properties. Nanoparticles partially replacing cement reduced slump in workability of fresh concrete. The compressive strength of mixtures, including nanoparticles was shown to be greater, achieving 94.5 MPa for the mixture consisting of 7.5 PbO2. In contrast, the mixture (5PbO₂-F) containing steel fibres achieved the highest values for splitting tensile, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity (11.71, 15.97, and 42,840 MPa, respectively). High-strength shielded concrete (7.5PbO2) showed the best radiation protection. It also showed the minimum concrete thickness required to prevent the transmission of radiation.

• Korean Journal of Hazardous Materials
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2014

Acidic chemicals like sulfuric acid, nitric acid and hydrogen chloride take up 37% of the total chemical accidents which took place for the past 10 years. When an acidic chemical leak happens, fume is generated, diffusing into the air, which might cause serious damage to health of local residents and the environment. However, we have only little reference data for production and using of acidic chemicals. In this study, we investigated characteristics of production and using for acidic chemicals with high accident frequency. As a results, domestic chemical accidents were categorized according to chemical types and production, using, and handling characteristics of acidic chemicals were identified. Sulfuric acid was handled in the largest amount, followed in the order of hydrogen chloride, nitric acid, acrylic acid, and hydrogen fluoride. Sulfuric acid is used in the industry of manufacturing composite fertilizer and mainly used for manufacturing fertilizer. Hydrogen chloride is used in the industry of manufacturing basic chemicals for petrochemical family and mainly used for pH regulator. It is expected that this results could be used as preliminary data for making decisions on facilities required intensive management in order to prevent chemical accidents and prepare countermeasures against such accidents.

• Korean Journal of Hazardous Materials
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.6-11
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• 2014

There have been frequent chemical leaks over the past 10 years. Particularly, inorganic acids like sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrogen chloride take up 37 % of the total chemical accidents which took place for the past 10 years. When an acid chemical leak happens, fume is generated, diffusing into the air, which might cause serious damage to health of local residents and the environment. However, most of the acid-based chemicals, detecting and analysis methods have not been settled considering the frequency of accidents. In this study, we investigated detection and analysis methods to quickly analyze accident sites and evaluate the impacts on environments. Reviewing local and international test analysis methods of acids suggested that nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride can be analyzed with IC. It was also found that UV is better for the analysis of hydrogen fluoride and GC/MS for acrylic acid. The analytical methods suggested in the official test methods basically have limitations of consuming much time at stages of preparation and analysis. Considering prompt responses to chemical accidents, further studies should be done to compare the applicability of rapid monitoring methods such as FT-IR, IMR-MS and SIFT-MS.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.279-286
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• 2023

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to occupational hazards and the metabolic syndrome. A secondary objective was to analyze the additive and multiplicative effects of exposure to risk factors. Methods: This retrospective cohort was based on 31,615 health examinees at the Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital in Republic of Korea from 2012-2021. Demographic and behavior-related risk factors were treated as confounding factors, whereas three physical factors, 19 organic solvents and aerosols, and 13 metals and dust were considered occupational risk factors. Time-dependent Cox regression analysis was used to calculate hazard ratios. Results: The risk of metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in night shift workers (hazard ratio = 1.45: 95% confidence interval = 1.36-1.54) and workers who were exposed to noise (1.15:1.07-1.24). Exposure to some other risk factors was also significantly associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome. They were dimethylformamide, acetonitrile, trichloroethylene, xylene, styrene, toluene, dichloromethane, copper, antimony, lead, copper, iron, welding fume, and manganese. Among the 28 significant pairs, 19 exhibited both positive additive and multiplicative effects. Conclusions: Exposure to single or combined occupational risk factors may increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Working conditions should be monitored and improved to reduce exposure to occupational hazards and prevent the development of the metabolic syndrome.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.547-558
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• 2023

This research delves into the fabrication of an ultra-high-strength concrete, enriched with oxidized graphene nanoplatelet(GO) and hollow glass powder(HGP), notably eschewing the conventional inclusion of silica fume(SF). The primary objective was to scrutinize the autogenous shrinkage characteristics of this innovative formulation. It was discerned that the NewMix specimen, which incorporated the cGO(sourced from Company C) and HGP, and intentionally bypassed SF, showcased a commendable 13% reduction in autogenous shrinkage relative to the benchmark(Ref) specimenthat incorporated SF. Moreover, the proclivity for crack formation owing to autogenous shrinkage in the NewMix was observed to manifested by NewMix at the juncture of cracking emerged as the apex value. Attributed to the expansive specific surface area and exemplary dispersibility of cGO, it was postulated that the concrete's pore structure benefitted from enhanced infill, leading to a reduction in autogenous shrinkage. Additionally, the cGO integration fortified the concrete's resistance to crack initiation. Consequently, such an enhancement is posied to be pivotal in mitigating crack propagation resulting from autogenous shrinkage in ultra-high-strength concrete.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.169-176
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• 2023

The aim of the study was to establish the influence of particle size, chemical and phase composition of fine microspherical high-calcium fly ash (HCFA), as well as superplasticizer content on the strength of cementless composite materials based on 100% HCFA and mixtures of HCFA with Portland cement (PC). For the initial HCFA fractions, the particle size distribution, chemical and quantitative phase composition were determined. The compressive strength of cured composite materials obtained at W/B 0.4 and 0.25 was determined at a curing time of 3-300 days. For cementless materials, it was found that a change in the particle size d90 from 30 ㎛ (fraction 3) to 10 ㎛ (fraction 4) leads to an increase in compressive strength by more than 2 times. Compressive strength increases by at least another 2.2 times with the addition of Melflux 5581F superplasticizer (0.12%) and at W/B 0.25. The HCFA-PC blends were investigated in the range of 60-90% HCFA and the maximum compressive strength was found at 80% HCFA. On the basis of 80% HCFA-20% PC blend, the samples of ultra-high strength (108 and 150 MPa at 28 and 100 days of hardening) were obtained with the addition of 0.3% Melflux 5581F and 5% silica fume. The quantitative phase composition was determined for composite materials with a curing age of 28 days. It has been established that in a sample with ultra-high strength, a more complete transformation of the initial phases of both HCFA and PC occurs as compared to their transformation separately.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.303-316
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• 2023

Using industrial wastes and construction and demolition (C&D) wastes is potentially advantageous for concrete production in terms of sustainability improvement. In this paper, a sustainable Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) made with industrial wastes and C&D wastes was proposed by considerably replacing natural counterparts with recycled coarse aggregates (RCAs) and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) (i.e., Fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and silica fume (SF)). A total of 12 SCC mixes with various RCAs and different combination SCMs were prepared, which comprise binary, ternary and quaternary mixes. The mechanical properties in terms of compressive strength and static elasticity modulus of recycled aggregates (RA-SCC) mixes were determined and analyzed. Microstructural study was implemented to analyze the reason of improvement on mechanical properties. By means of life cycle assessment (LCA) method, the environmental impacts of RA-SCC with various RCAs and SCMs were quantified, analyzed and compared in the system boundary of "cradle-to-gate". In addition, the comparison of LCA results with respect to mechanical properties was conducted. The results demonstrate that the addition of proposed combination SCMs leads to significant improvement in mechanical properties of quaternary RA-SCC mixes with FA, GGBS and SF. Furthermore, quaternary RA-SCC mixes emit lowest environmental burdens without compromising mechanical properties. Thus, using the combination of FA, GGBS and SF as cement substitution to manufacture RA-SCC significantly improves the sustainability of SCC by minimizing the depletion of cement and non-renewable natural resources.