• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.283-299
• /
• 2017

The leakage of tunnel causes the long-term durability of the structures such as concrete lining to deteriorate. The cause of durability degradation can be various substances contained in groundwater such as chloride, sulphate, water, and gas. In this study, a series of test were carried out to determine the watertightness performance and the resistance to salt water of the spray-applied membrane used as non-structural rock support or as a waterproof material for tunnels. As a result, it was found that the penetration of water could occur in a specimen, and the reason was that the internal pores generated by the mixing of the liquid polymer and the powder material and the internal pores were connected by the water pressure. The tensile strength of the test specimens immersed in distilled water and saline water was found to be reduced to less than half of the tensile strength in normal condition. In addition, The elongation was measured to be higher in distilled water than in salt water. However, this result will require further investigation.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.21 no.7
• /
• pp.17-26
• /
• 2020

The soft ground in the southwest coastal area composed of marine clay is greatly influenced by sediment composition, particle size distribution, particle shape, adsorption ions and pore water characteristics, tide and temperature. In addition, the geotechnical properties are very complex due to stress history, change in pore water, dissolution process and gas formation. In this study, the physical and mechanical properties of the soft ground were evaluated through field tests and laboratory tests to investigate the strength increase characteristics according to consolidation on the soft ground in the southwest coast. In addition, in order to understand the consolidation behavior of soft ground such as subsidence, pore water pressure, horizontal displacement of soil by embankment load, measuring instruments such as pore water pressuremeter, settlement gauge, inclinometer and differential settlement gauge was installed, and a piezocon penetration test was carried out step by step to confirm the increase in shear strength of the ground. Through this, it was confirmed that the shear strength of the ground is increased according to the stages of filling. In addition, by evaluating the properties of consolidation behavior, strength increase and consolidation prediction by empirical methods and theories were compared to analyze the characteristics of strength increase rate and consolidation behavior in consideration of regional characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.49-57
• /
• 2014

Orb-web spiders can be considered as an effective bio-indicative animal to monitor the ecological air pollution of certain habitat since they have limited shifting ability during their life spans. In this study we revealed the fine structural characteristics of booklung in the orb-web spider Nephila clavata, and its bio-indicative significance in the monitoring environmental asbestos exposure. The high resolution scanning electron microscopy results suggest that the cuticular spikes near the atrium could be act as an effective filtering structure for dust materials. Furthermore, inner cuticular spikes which protruded across the air sacs, have the functions not only sustaining appropriate respiratory volume of each air sac but also help to enhance respiratory capacity by maximizing the gross surface area for gas exchange. Interestingly, in spite of short exposure, the asbestose fibrils were effectively captured on the surface of the atrial cuticular spikes. Furthermore, histologic damages were observed due to penetration of asbestos fibrils through air sacs and fixed on the hemolymph space. In addition, although accumulated mass of hemocytes were observed near the fibrils, there were no asbestos bodies or coagulated hemocytes were found on the surface of the fibrils, This could be mainly due to the short exposure period towards asbestos. Briefly, these results indicate the spider's booklung could be valuable tool in the detection ecological air pollutants.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.92-98
• /
• 2010

Ferritic stainless steels, which have relatively small thermal expansion coefficient and excellent corrosion resistance, are increasingly being used in vehicle manufacturing, in order to increase the lifetime of exhaust manifold parts. But, there are limits on use because of the problem related to cosmetic resistance, corrosions of condensation and high temperature salt etc. So, Aluminum-coated stainless steel instead of ferritic stainless steel are utilized in these parts due to the improved properties. In this investigation, Al-8wt% Si alloy coated 409L ferritic stainless steel was used as the base metal during Gas Tungsten Arc(GTA) welding. The effects of coated layer on the microstructure and hardness were investigated. Full penetration was obtained, when the welding current was higher than 90A and the welding speed was lower than 0.52m/min. Grain size was the largest in fusion zone and decreased from near HAZ to base metal. As welding speed increased, grain size of fusion zone decreased, and there was no big change in HAZ. Hardness had a peak value in the fusion zone and decreased from the bond line to the base metal. The highest hardness in the fusion zone resulted from the fine re-precipitation of the coarse TiN and Ti(C, N) existed in the base metal during melting and solidification process and the presence of fine $Al_2O_3$ and $SiO_2$ formed by the migration of the elements, Al and Si, from the melted coating layer into the fusion zone.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.57 no.4
• /
• pp.559-564
• /
• 2019

Hierarchical $ZnCo_2O_4$ hollow nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning and subsequent heat-treatment process. The spinning solution containing polystyrene (PS) nanobeads was electrospun to nanofibers. During heat-treatment process, PS nanobeads in the composite were decomposed and therefore generated numerous pores uniformly in the structure, which facilitated the heat transfer and gas penetration into the structure. The resulting hierarchical $ZnCo_2O_4$ hollow nanofibers were applied as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The discharge capacity of the nanofibers was $815mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ ($646mA\;h\;cm^{-3}$) after the 300th cycle at a high current density of $1.0A\;g^{-1}$. However, $ZnCo_2O_4$ nanopowders showed the discharge capacity of $487mA\;h\;g^{-1}$ ($450mA\;h\;cm^{-3}$) after 300th cycle. The excellent lithium ion storage property of the hierarchical $ZnCo_2O_4$ hollow nanofibers was attributed to the synergetic effects of the hollow nanofiber structure and the $ZnCo_2O_4$ nanocrystals composing the shell. The hierarchical hollow nanofiber structure introduced in this study can be extended to various metal oxides for various applications, including energy storage.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.263-272
• /
• 2019

Air pollutants have a high impact on everyday life as well as on human health; therefore, new technologies such as low-emission vehicles and add-on systems for air pollutant reduction are needed for our society. However, the environmental benefits and costs of those technologies are not taken into account in existing economic feasibility assessments, which is a barrier that needs to be overcome for green technology to achieve wide dissemination and fast penetration in the market. Thus, this study develops a methodology to assess the economic feasibility of an air pollutant reduction technology by taking into account the social costs from air pollutants and carries out a case study to validate the methodology. Because the social unit costs for air pollutants have not been evaluated yet in South Korea, the methodology uses the social unit costs evaluated for the European Union that are then converted to those for South Korea based on the measuring criteria for vehicle emission gases, parity purchasing price, foreign currency exchange rate, and customer price index. The social unit costs for South Korea are used to assess economic feasibility. A case study was performed to assess the economic feasibility of a dual fuel system using diesel and compressed natural gas by taking into account social costs from air pollutants as well as economic costs. This study could contribute to assessing the true economic feasibility of green technology, projects, and policy related with air pollutant reduction.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.141-153
• /
• 2023

Biological pump processes generated by diatom production in the surface water of the Southern Ocean play an important role in exchanging CO₂ gas between the atmosphere and ocean. In this study, the biogenic opal content of the sediments was measured to elucidate the variation in the primary production of diatoms in the surface water of the Southern Ocean since the last glacial period. A piston core (COR-1bPC) was collected from the Conrad Rise, which is located in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. The sediments were mainly composed of siliceous ooze, and sediment lightness increased and magnetic susceptibility decreased in an upward direction. The biogenic opal content was low (38.9%) during the last glacial period and high (73.4%) during the Holocene, showing a similar variation to that of Antarctic ice core ΔT and CO₂ concentration. In addition, the variation of biogenic opal content in core COR-1bPC is consistent with previous results reported in the Antarctic Zone, south of the Antarctic Polar Front, in the Southern Ocean. The glacial-interglacial biogenic opal production was influenced by the extent of sea ice coverage and degree of water column stability. During the last glacial period, the diatom production was reduced due to the penetration of light being limited in the euphotic zone by the extended sea ice coverage caused by the lowered seawater temperature. In addition, the formation of a strong thermocline in more extensive areas of sea ice coverage led to stronger water column stability, resulting in reduced diatom production due to the reduction in the supply of nutrient-rich subsurface water caused by a decrease in upwelling intensity. Under such environmental circumstances, diatom productivity decreased in the Antarctic Zone during the last glacial period, but the biogenic opal content increased rapidly under warming conditions with the onset of deglaciation.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.37 no.4 s.109
• /
• pp.436-447
• /
• 2004

Wetland plants have evolved specialized adaptations to survive in the low-oxygen conditions associated with prolonged flooding. The development of internal gas space by means of aerenchyma is crucial for wetland plants to transport $O_2$ from the atmosphere into the roots and rhizome. The formation of tissue with high porosity depends on the species and environmental condition, which can control the depth of root penetration and the duration of root tolerance in the flooded sediments. The oxygen in the internal gas space of plants can be delivered from the atmosphere to the root and rhizome by both passive molecular diffusion and convective throughflow. The release of $O_2$ from the roots supplies oxygen demand for root respiration, microbial respiration, and chemical oxidation processes and stimulates aerobic decomposition of organic matter. Another essential mechanism of wetland plants is downward water movement across the root zone induced by water uptake. Natural and constructed wetlands sediments have low hydraulic conductivity due to the relatively fine particle sizes in the litter layer and, therefore, negligible water movement. Under such condition, the water uptake by wetland plants creates a water potential difference in the rhizosphere which acts as a driving force to draw water and dissolved solutes into the sediments. A large number of anatomical, morphological and physiological studies have been conducted to investigate the specialized adaptations of wetland plants that enable them to tolerate water saturated environment and to support their biochemical activities. Despite this, there is little knowledge regarding how the combined effects of wetland plants influence the biogeochemistry of wetland sediments. A further investigation of how the Presence of plants and their growth cycle affects the biogeochemistry of sediments will be of particular importance to understand the role of wetland in the ecological environment.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.125-148
• /
• 2014

This paper performs a historical analysis on the various factors contributing to the current carbon lock-in of Korean electricity industry by using techo-institutional complex. The possibilities of the industry's carbon lock-out toward more sustainable development are also investigated. It turns out that market, firm, consumer, and government factors are all responsible for the development of the carbon lock-in of Korean power industry; the Korean government consistently favoring large power plants based on the economy of scale; below-cost electricity tariff; inflation policy to suppress increases in power price; rapid demand growth in summer and winter seasons; rigidities of electricity tariff; and expansion of gas-fired and imported coal-fired large power plants. On the other hand, except for nuclear power generation and smart grid, environment laws and new and renewable energy laws are the other remaining factors contributing to the carbon lock-out. Considering three key points that Korea is an export-oriented economy, the generation mix is the most critical factor to decide the amounts of carbon emission in the power industry, and the share of industry and commercial power consumption is over 85%, it is unlikely that Korea will achieve the carbon lock-out of power industry in the near future. Therefore, there are needs for more integrated approaches from market, firm, consumer, and government all together in order to achieve the carbon lock-out in the electricity industry. Firstly, from the market perspective, it is necessary to persue more active new and renewable energy penetration and to guarantee consumer choices by mitigating the incumbent's monopoly power as in the OECD countries. Secondly, from the firm perspective, the promotion of distributed energy system is urgent, which includes new and renewable resources and demand resources. Thirdly, from the consumer perspective, more green choices in the power tariff and customer awareness on the carbon lock-out are needed. Lastly, the government shall urgently improve power planning frameworks to include the various externalities that were not properly reflected in the past such as environmental and social conflict costs.