• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.421-428
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• 2016

In this work, pozzolanic activities of various waste materials were compared with those of well-known by-product pozzolanic materials. Undensified and densified silica fume, ASTM class F and class C fly ash, and metakaolin were chosen as well-known pozzolanic materials, and bentonite powder, ceramic powder obtained from wash basin, and waste glass wool, which can possibly possess pozzolanic property, were chosen for comparison. Drop in electrical conductivity at $40^{\circ}C$ saturated lime solution was measured for each materials. The amount of Ca(OH)2 decomposed from cement paste at $450{\sim}500^{\circ}C$ was also measured to evaluate pozzolanic activity. The 28 day compressive strength were used to observe the mechanical property enhanced by incorporation of various waste materials. According to the experimental results, using "difference between maximum conductivity value and conductivity value at 4 hour" was found to be a reasonable approach to determine pozzolanic activity of a material. Pozzolanic activity measured using electrical conductivity correlates very well with that measured using the amount of Ca(OH)2 remained in the cement paste. Relatively good agreement was also found with electrical conductivity and 28 day compressive strength. It was found that electrical conductivity measurement can be used to evaluate pozzolanic activity of unknown materials.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.373-387
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• 2009

Considering the current construction technology and research status of deep repository tunnels for radioactive waste disposal, it is inevitable to use cementitious materials in spite of serious concern about their long-term environmental stability. Thus, it is an emerging task to develop low pH cementitious materials. This study reviews the state of the technology on low pH cements developed in Sweden, Switzerland, France, and Japan as well as in Finland which is constructing a real deep repository site for high-level radioactive waste disposal. Considering the physical and chemical stability of bentonite which acts as a buffer material, a low pH cement limits to $pH{\leq}11$ and pozzolan-type admixtures are used to lower the pH of cement. To attain this pH requirement, silica fume, which is one of the most promising admixtures, should occupy at least 40 wt% of total dry materials in cement and the Ca/Si ratio should be maintained below 0.8 in cement. Additionally, selective super-plasticizer needs to be used because a high amount of water is demanded from the use of a large amount of silica fume.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.107-119
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• 2014

The worldwide Status-of-Art survey for the in-situ experiments of the engineered barrier system for HLW underground disposal was performed as a preliminary action for the design of the in-situ demonstration at KURT. Some nations, which have executed or is ongoing the in-situ experiments at their underground research facilities, were summarized in this review. The demonstration projects reviewed were TBT/Sweden-France, LOT/Sweden, HE-E/Switzerland, PRACLAY/Belgium, FEBEX/Spain, HORONOBE/Japan, and BCE/Canada. The investigated items for the projects were mainly their purposes, constitutional structures, test conditions, monitoring parameters and the measuring tools, and test results. In this review, the hardware design and the assembling of the test system were more concentrated rather than their experimental results, because the purpose of this review is to achieve the necessary information for the practical design of the in-situ experiment to be installed at KURT. A mid scale in-situ demonstration of EBS at KURT, that is called IN-DBES, will be launched right after the completion the expanding project of KURT in 2015. It is hoped that the structural design, installing methods, hardware equipments required in the establishment of IN-DEBS will be referred on this review.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.19-35
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• 2014

A parametric sensitivity to the annual exposure dose rate to the farming exposure group has been probabilistically carried out for three principal elements associated with the nuclide transport behavior in the near-field of the pyroprocessed waste repository system. Credit time for both metal and ceramic containers, annual nuclide release rete, and the degree of loss of bentonite buffer around the container are selected as the elements and investigated for important nuclides. All the elements are shown to be sensitive to the results. Methodology studied through this study and the results are expected to make a good feedback to the repository design. As a follow-up study, separated in Part 2, the A-KRS will be deterministically assessed and then compared among each other with the normal, the worst, and the best case scenarios associated with their extreme values these elements could have.

• Clean Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.258-268
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• 2016

In this work, carboxymethylcellulose-based composite superabsorbent hydrogels were prepared by electron beam radiation. The composition of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) varied from 4 wt%, 5 wt%, and 6 wt% to 7 wt% based on the amount of distilled water in the syntheses of hydrogels. Graphite oxide, reduced graphene oxide, activated carbon, and bentonite were used as additives for the synthesis of composite superabsorbent. The effect of CMC composition and the type of additives on the gel properties of the prepared hydrogels was investigated. In order to verify the functional groups in the prepared materials, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used. In addition, mechanical strength, gel fraction, swelling kinetics, and equilibrium swelling ratios were measured for the prepared hydrogels. Swelling experiments were carried out in distilled water, urea solution, and physiological saline water. Prepared hydrogels were reused for 5 times, and gel fraction and swelling ratio were measured at every 24 hours. Among the prepared hydrogels, $C_{5%}GO$ and $C_{5%}rGO$ exhibited excellent mechanical property and relatively high swelling ratios for urea solution and physiological saline water with promising applicability as slow-release fertilizers.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2002

The study was performed to evaluate the effect of landfill leachate on the hydraulic conductivity of Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL) with two types of leachate. GCL used in waste landfills have a significant ability as a barrier material, however, they also have a potential danger when exposed to some organic and inorganic leachate as well as humic materials. In this study, swelling tests and hydraulic conductivity tests were performed to evaluate the effect of humic materials and landfill leachate on the hydraulic characteristics of the GCL. The result of swelling tests showed that the amount of humic materials and high electronic conductivity caused a decrease of the swelling of bentonite. This is expected to increase the hydraulic conductivity of GCL. The increasing of hydraulic conductivity observed for GCL permeated with 0-leachate was significantly higher than that of Y-leachate. This result shows that humic materials are obviously affecting with the increasing of hydraulic conductivity of GCL.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2004

Seedling mechanization of lettuce is known to be difficult due to the small seed size and the irregular seed shape. The purpose of seed pelleting is to make seedling mechanization possible by enlarging the seed size. After that, it can reduce seedling and thinning labours and can also save seeds. According to the results, there were significant differences on the percent germination and day to 50% final germination in accordance with the pelleting polymer. Among the pelleting polymer, gemination of seeds using polynimyl alcohol (PVA) was generally smooth, and followed by polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), methyl cellulose (MC), and wteen 80. The germination rate was also different according to the pelleting particulate matters. Generally, percent germination and speed of seed using the mixture of diatomaceous earth, talc and calcium carbonate were higher and faster than using other polleting materials, respectively. Thus, it should be suitable pelleting particulate matter for the pelleting of lettuce seeds. On the other hands germination of seeds using limestone, calcium oxide and benonite were low. The seed size of lettuce after pelleting was 33 times as large as the raw seed size. During the process of seed pelleting, netrient addition induced the decrement on the germination and the delay of germination speed. Also, there was differences in the germinability of pelleted seeds in accordance with the addition of nutrient sources. MS medium was generally lower than monosodium phosphate in inhibition of seed germination. Germination of pelleted seeds after priming was higher than the seeds without the treatment, and also showed the trend of early germination.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.123-131
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• 2021

The buffer is a key component of an engineered barrier system that safeguards the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Buffers are located between disposal canisters and host rock, and they can restrain the release of radionuclides and protect canisters from the inflow of ground water. Since considerable heat is released from a disposal canister to the surrounding buffer, the thermal conductivity of the buffer is a very important parameter in the entire disposal safety. For this reason, a lot of research has been conducted on thermal conductivity prediction models that consider various factors. In this study, the thermal conductivity of a buffer is estimated using the machine learning methods of: linear regression, decision tree, support vector machine (SVM), ensemble, Gaussian process regression (GPR), neural network, deep belief network, and genetic programming. In the results, the machine learning methods such as ensemble, genetic programming, SVM with cubic parameter, and GPR showed better performance compared with the regression model, with the ensemble with XGBoost and Gaussian process regression models showing best performance.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.101-119
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• 2021

Korea's National Treasure No. 229, the Jagyeongnu (clepsydra) of Changgyeonggung Palace, is a scientific and cultural property representing the pinnacle of science and technology in the Joseon Dynasty. Currently, only the large, mid-sie, and small Pasuhos (bronze jars) remain. During a nearly two-year conservation project by the Cultural Heritage Conservation Science Center (CHCSC) that began in 2018, conservators identified the contaminants on the surface of the water clock's components. It turned out that the contaminants had been caused by the exposure of squalane and silicone oil, used in an earlier preservation treatment, to the elements. The CHCSC conducted experiments to determine the most effective method to remove the contaminants. First, the conservators tried using an organic solvent, a poultice, and the application of toluene and bentonite, which yielded excellent reactivity and significant color difference changes (𝚫E). However, the reactivity was insufficiently effective to warrant the health hazards to the conservators and the environment (toluene is toxic). Although organic solvents required considerably more effort, time, and human resources, the conservators confirmed that their use achieved a true color difference variation (𝚫E) that was within the same range as the toxic hydrocarbon. Thus, they confirmed that using an organic surfactant was the best method for removing the contaminants.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.182-189
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• 2021

Porous ceramics were manufactured using the foaming method for the development of inorganic insulating materials. Silica fume and SiO₂ were used as main raw materials, and bentonite was used as a rapid setting agent for uniform structure formation of porous ceramics. The porous ceramics were sintered at 1200℃, and porosity, density, compressive strength, microstructure and thermal conductivity were analyzed. As the content of silica fume to SiO₂ of the porous ceramics increased 70 to 90 %, the specific gravity increased from 0.63 to 0.69, and the compressive strength increased from 9.41 Mpa to 12.86 Mpa. But, the porosity showed a tendency to decrease from 72.07 % to 70.82 %, contrary to the specific gravity. As a result of measuring the thermal conductivity, the porous ceramic with a silica fume content of 70 % showed a thermal conductivity of 0.75 to 0.72 W/m·K at 25 to 800℃, respectively, and, another that a silica fume content of 90 % showed a 0.66~0.86 W/m·K. So the lower the silica f ume content, the lower the thermal conductivity, which was conf irmed to be consistent with porosity result. As a result of microstructure analysis using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), pores in the range of tens to hundreds ㎛ were observed inside and outside the porous ceramic, and it was confirmed that the pore distribution was relatively uniform.