• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.132-143
• /
• 2017

While working in an industrial environment which requires extended periods of upright posture; workers tend to develop muscle fatigue due to the constant load on lower-limb muscles. In addition, when working while bending knees; muscle fatigue of lower back and hamstrings is increased due to the abnormal posture. This can lead to damage of muscles, induce musculoskeletal disorders, and reduce long-term working efficiency. Recent medical studies have shown that long-term working in an upright posture can induce musculoskeletal disorders such as foot fatigue, edema, pain and varicose veins. Likewise, medical and rehabilitation expenses have grown due to the increase in musculoskeletal conditions suffered by workers. For this problem, we aim to develop a device that can reduce the physical fatigue on the lower limbs by supporting the weight of workers during the extended periods of upright and bending postures in the industrial environments. In this paper, we have designed and manufactured a wearable weight support system; with a user intention algorithm that the users can maintain various postures. For validation of the developed system, we measured the muscle activity of the users wearing the system with EMG sensors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.123-128
• /
• 1998

Leaky aquifer (two-aquifer) system in this study consist of an upper unconfined and a lower confined aquifer with a leaky layer between them. It is assumed that water is withdrawn from the confined aquifer of the aquifer system, the upper unconfined aquifer will be affected by the leaky aquifer separating the upper and lower aquifer. In order to analyze the leaky aquifer, the determination of hydraulic parameters is needed. In this paper, hydraulic parameters are suggested by improved SM (slope-matching) method. To know variation of groundwater head in leaky aquifer systems, an numerical scheme is made using the finite difference method. To verify the numerical scheme, its solution is compared to analytical one. The solution of them agrees well in one-dimensional system at steady-state condition. And heads of groundwader are computed upper and lower aquifer in two-dimensional system.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.211-215
• /
• 2017

The market of the municipal wasetewater treatment plant (MWTP) operation is expanding across the world including Korea. The contracting-out system was introduced for the effective operation of MWTPs. However, an improvement of the contracting-out system of MWTP has been continuously required. This research investigated current operational status of MWTPs in Korea, to suggest the improvement of the cost effective MWTP operation to promote the contracting-out system of MWTP operation. Results showed that lower operational costs of MWTP were lower in larger MWTPs than in smaller MWTPs. Overall, MWTPs operated by a public enterprise showed lower operational costs than those operated by government agencies and private enterprises. Among the MWTPs similar in their treatment capacity, treatment process and operation period, MWTPs operated by private enterprises showed the lowest operational cost. According to the survey, managers and operators of MWTPs emphasized the importance of improvement on the methods of selecting operating agencies and estimating operationing costs. The results of this study should be useful as important supporting data to promote the contracting-out system for the MWTP operation.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.170-174
• /
• 2000

Ureteropelvic junction obstruction and duplicated collecting system are common urologic anomalies in upper urinary system, but they seldom occur in combination. These obstruction can occur in both partial or complete duplicated collecting system. Complete duplication of the ureter may be asymptomatic or recognized when complications develop as a result of reflux into the lower pole ureter or obstruction of the upper pole with an ectopic ureterocele. It is difficult to choose an optimal therapy due to the high variability in function, degree of obsturction, damage and potential fir regeneration in growing kidney. We report our experience of successful surgical interventions in the ureteropelvic junction obstruction of the lower pole with complete duplicated collecting system.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.39-47
• /
• 2008

Most of the broiler houses in Korea have experienced problems on controlling the environmental conditions such as suitability, stability and uniformity of rearing condition inside the broiler house. It is very critical which if not properly controlled, would cause serious stress on the chickens. It is therefore urgent to develop optimum designs of naturally ventilated broiler house which is appropriate to the four seasons of Korea. Field experiment for this matter is very difficult to conduct due to the unpredictable and uncontrollable weather condition. In this study, the heating load of a naturally ventilated broiler house was calculated using TRANSYS 15 BES program while internal climate and thermal condition were computed using Fluent 6.2. The computed resulted of the conventional ventilation system (A) and upgraded ventilation system (B) (Seo et al, 2007) were compared with each other for cold season. The results of the Building Energy Simulation(BES) indicated that the system B, the upgraded ventilation system made 8% lower total heating load and 47% lower at only the broiler zone compared to the conventional broiler house. Considering the entire broiler house, the existence of middle ceiling made the heating energy 11% lower required than without middle ceiling. Accordingly, the system B with middle ceiling was found to save heating energy by 20% in average. This study showed that the BES program can be a very powerful to effectively compute the energy loads of agricultural building while the energy load is very close related to ventilation efficiency.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.293-300
• /
• 2000

Automated greenhouse production system often require crop growth monitoring involving accurate quantification of plant physiological properties. Conventional methods are usually burdensome, inaccurate, and harmful to crops. A thermal image analysis system can accomplish rapid and accurate measurements of physiological-property changes of stressed crops. In this research a thermal imaging system was used to measure the leaf-temperature changes of several crops according to nutrient stresses. Thermal images were obtained from lettuce, cucumber, and pepper plants. Plants were placed in growth chamber to provide relatively constant growth environment. Results showed that there were significant differences in the temperature of stressed plants and non-stressed plants. In a case of the both N deficiency and excess, the leaf temperatures of cucumber were $2^{\circ}C$ lower than controlled temperature. The leaf temperature of cucumber was $2^{\circ}C$ lower than controlled temperature only when it was under N excess stress. For the potassium deficiency or excess stress, the leaf temperaures of cucumber and hot pepper were $2^{\circ}C$ lower than controls, respectively. The phosphorous deficiency stress dropped the leaf temperatures of cucumber and hot pepper $2^{\circ}C$ and $1.5^{\circ}C$ below than controls. However, the leaf temperature of lettuce did not change. It was possible to detect the changes in leaf temperature by infrared thermography when subjected to nutrition stress. Since the changes in leaf temperatures were different each other for plants and kinds of stresses, however, it is necessary to add a nutrient measurement system to a plant-growth monitoring system using thermography.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
• /
• v.28 no.8
• /
• pp.337-342
• /
• 2016

A marine SCR System is emerging as an alternative to comply with NOx Tier III Emission standards, a restriction on greenhouse gas from vessels implemented by the International Maritime Organization. The system is greatly affected by the uniformity of the fluid flowing into the catalyst, so the performance of the catalyst of an SCR system needs to be guaranteed. This study conducted research on a mixed evaporator of an SCR system, which is one of the factors affecting the uniformity of the fluid. When the angle of the mixed evaporator is set to $90^{\circ}$, the fluid uniformity is at its highest at 83%, under the condition that the length of the mixed evaporator be 3.5 D. When the length was 3.5 D and less, the fluid uniformity had a tendency to improve relative to the case without a bent pipe. However, a longer mixed evaporator results in a more perfect liquidity development in the pipe with a liquidity distribution similar to the case where no curved pipe is formed in front of the catalyst. A lower angle for the mixed evaporator results in a lower flow uniformity, and a longer length of the mixed evaporator results in a lower difference in the flow uniformity caused by the angle. The flow uniformity can be improved by 6% with a mixed evaporator, which confirmed that all factors applied to an SCR system have a close relationship with the efficiency.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.367-373
• /
• 2018

Background: Fear of local anesthesia (LA) is a significant impediment to dental care as many patients delay or avoid treatment to avert pain. Computer-controlled local anesthetic delivery system (CCLAD), with constant and controlled rate of flow, present a painless alternative. The present study aimed to compare anxiety and pain perceived with conventional and computerized systems, for different stages of anesthesia delivery when administering various nerve blocks. Methods: One hundred patients requiring bilateral LA participated in the study. One side was anesthetized using one system and the contralateral side was anesthetized using the other, in two separate appointments. Patients assigned anxiety scores on a 5-point scale and used the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain determination at needle insertion, during delivery of anesthetic solution, immediately after injection, and at the end of the periodontal procedure. Each patient's preference for the delivery system of future injections was also recorded. Results: Patients reported significantly lower anxiety levels with CCLAD compared to the syringe. Significantly lower mean VAS scores for anesthesia deposition, pain immediately after, and at the end of the periodontal procedure were also noted. However, pain at needle insertion was comparable between the two systems, with no statistical significance. Overall, 64.4% patients preferred CCLAD for future anesthesia. Conclusion: Lower pain perceived with CCLAD and higher preference for the system suggest that CCLAD should replace conventional syringes to allow pain-free dental treatment.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.308-316
• /
• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to determine reduction of various odorous materials from a swine farm equipped with a continuous pit recirculation system (CPRS) with aerobically treated liquid manure. Methods: The CPRS is used in swine farms in South Korea, primarily to improve air quality in pig houses. In this study, CPRS consists of a manure aerobic treatment system and a fit recirculation system; the solid fraction is separated and composted, whereas the aerobically treated liquid fraction (290.0%±21.0% per day of total stored swine slurry) is continuously returned to the pit. Four confinement pig barns in three piggery farms were used; two were equipped with CPRS and the other two operated a slurry pit under the slatted floor. Results: All chemical contents of slurry pit manure in the control were greater than those of slurry pit manure in the CRPS treatment (p<0.05). Electrical conductivity and pH contents did not differ among treatments. The biological oxygen demand of the slurry pit treatment was greater than that of the other treatments (p<0.05). Total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and ammonia nitrogen contents of the slurry pit treatment were greater than those of other treatments (p<0.05). Odor intensity of the CPRS treatment was lower than that of the control at indoor, exhaust, and outside sampling points (p<0.05). The temperature and carbon dioxide of the CPRS treatment in the pig barn was significantly lower than those of control (p<0.05). All measured odorous material contents of the CPRS group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The CPRS application in pig farms is considered a good option as it continuously reduces the organic load of animal manure and lowers the average odorant concentration below the threshold of detecting odorous materials.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.58-65
• /
• 1994

It is necessary to effective temperature and humidity management for normal growth of crops in protected cultivation during the summer season. Because the highest temperature of vinyl house inhibit normal growth of crop and decrease of crop production or marketability in summer season. Finally, the vinyl house was impossible some crop cultivation in summer season. This study was conducted to investigate effective and economic method for temperature drop in protected cultivation during the summer season. 1. In medium size vinyl house(5$\times$13$\times$3m), the effect of temperature drop appeared the highest in treatment of shading with aluminium thermal curtain＋fog system＋ventilation with fan. The effect of temperature drop was about 1$0^{\circ}C$ lower than outer air temperature and about 4$^{\circ}C$ lower than outer soil temperature. 2. The effect of temperature drop according to shading with aluminium thermal curtain＋fog system＋ventilation with fan during the highest temperature of summer season Jul., 20 to Aug., 21 was appeared about 8$^{\circ}C$ lower than outdoor above ground(1.2m) and about 7$^{\circ}C$ lower than outdoor surface ground. 3. The changes of solar radiation during a day according to shading with aluminium thermal curtain＋ventilation with fan and shading with black curtain＋ventilation with fan treatments was appeared respectively about 29.3%, 32.5% of outdoor solar radiation a fine day and respectively about 27.4%, 31.8% of outdoor solar radiation a cloudy day.