• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.519-529
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• 2021

In coal mining activities, the abutment stress of the coal has to undergo cyclic loading and unloading, affecting the strength and seepage characteristics of coal; additionally, it can cause dynamic disasters, posing a major challenge for the safety of coal mine production. To improve the understanding of the dynamic disaster mechanism of gas outburst and rock burst coupling, triaxial devices are applied to axial pressure cyclic loading-unloading tests under different axial stress peaks and different pore pressures. The existing empirical formula is use to perform a non-linear regression fitting on the relationship between stress and permeability, and the damage rate of permeability is introduced to analyze the change in permeability. The results show that the permeability curve obtained had "memory", and the peak stress was lower than the conventional loading path. The permeability curve and the volume strain curve show a clear symmetrical relationship, being the former in the form of a negative power function. Owing to the influence of irreversible deformation, the permeability difference and the damage of permeability mainly occur in the initial stage of loading-unloading, and both decrease as the number of cycles of loading-unloading increase. At the end of the first cycle and the second cycle, the permeability decreased in the range of 5.777 - 8.421 % and 4.311-8.713 %, respectively. The permeability decreases with an increase in the axial stress peak, and the damage rate shows the opposite trend. Under the same conditions, the permeability of methane is always lower than that of helium, and it shows a V-shape change trend with increasing methane pressures, and the permeability of the specimen was 3 MPa > 1 MPa > 2 MPa.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.233-243
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• 2021

Rib spalling is a major issue affecting the safety of steeply inclined coal seam. And the failure coal face and support system can be affected with each other to generate a vicious cycle along with inducing large-scale collapse of surrounding rock in steeply inclined coal seam. In order to analyze failure mechanism and propose the corresponding prominent control measures of steeply inclined coal working face, mechanical model based on coal face-support-roof system and mechanical model of coal face failure was established to reveal the disaster mechanism of rib spalling and the sensitive analysis of related factors was performed. Furthermore, taking 3402 working face of Chen-man-zhuang coal mine as engineering background, numerical model by using FLAC3D was built to illustrate the propagation of displacement and stress fields in steeply inclined coal seam and verify the theory analysis as mentioned in this study. The results show that the coal face slide body in steeply inclined working face can be observed as the failure height of upper layer smaller than that of lower layer exhibiting with an irregular quadrilateral pyramid shape. Moreover, the cracks were originated from the upper layer of sliding body and gradually developed to the lower layer causing the final rib spalling. The influence factors on the stability of coal face can be ranked as overlying strata pressure (P) > mechanical parameters of coal body (e.g., cohesion (c), internal fraction angle (φ)) > support strength (F) > the support force of protecting piece (F') > the false angle of working face (Θ). Moreover, the corresponding control measures to maintain the stability of the coal face in the steeply inclined working face were proposed.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.489-509
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• 2024

Slope stability analysis and prediction are of critical importance to geotechnical engineers, given the severe consequences associated with slope failure. This research endeavors to forecast the factor of safety (FOS) for slopes through the implementation of six distinct ML techniques, including back propagation neural networks (BPNN), feed-forward neural networks (FFNN), Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy system (TSF), gene expression programming (GEP), and least-square support vector machine (Ls-SVM). 344 slope cases were analyzed, incorporating a variety of geometric and shear strength parameters measured through the PLAXIS software alongside several loss functions to assess the models' performance. The findings demonstrated that all models produced satisfactory results, with BPNN and GEP models proving to be the most precise, achieving an R² of 0.86 each and MAE and MAPE rates of 0.00012 and 0.00002 and 0.005 and 0.004, respectively. A Pearson correlation and residuals statistical analysis were carried out to examine the importance of each factor in the prediction, revealing that all considered geomechanical features are significantly relevant to slope stability. However, the parameters of friction angle and slope height were found to be the most and least significant, respectively. In addition, to aid in the FOS computation for engineering challenges, a graphical user interface (GUI) for the ML-based techniques was created.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.4527-4542
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• 2023

The present microbial reinforcement of rock and soil exhibits limitations, such as uneven reinforcement effectiveness and low calcium carbonate generation rate, resulting in limited solidification strength. This study introduces electroosmosis as a standard microbial grouting reinforcement technique and investigates its solidification effects on microbial-reinforced uranium tailings. The most effective electroosmosis effect on uranium tailings occurs under a potential gradient of 1.25 V/cm. The findings indicate that a weak electric field can effectively promote microbial growth and biological activity and accelerate bacterial metabolism. The largest calcium carbonate production occurred under the gradient of 0.5 V/cm, featuring a good crystal combination and the best cementation effect. Staged electroosmosis and electrode conversion efficiently drive the migration of anions and cations. Under electroosmosis, the cohesion of uranium tailings reinforced by microorganisms increased by 37.3% and 64.8% compared to those reinforced by common microorganisms and undisturbed uranium tailings, respectively. The internal friction angle is also improved, significantly enhancing the uniformity of reinforcement and a denser and stronger microscopic structure. This research demonstrates that MICP technology enhances the solidification effects and uniformity of uranium tailings, providing a novel approach to maintaining the safety and stability of uranium tailings dams.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.99-111
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• 2018

In this study three target radionuclides ($^{60}Co$, $^{137}Cs$, and $^{125}Sb$) were reacted with solid samples collected from the nuclear facility sites to investigate their sorption and mobility behaviors for preparing unexpected nuclear accidents. The highest sorption distribution coefficients ($K_{ds}$) of target radionuclides ($^{60}Co=947mL/g$, $^{137}Cs=2105mL/g$, $^{125}Sb=81.3mL/g$) were found in topsoil layer under groundwater condition, and the $K_d$ values of three radionuclides decreased in the order of fractured rock and bedrock samples under the same groundwater condition. High $K_d$ values of $^{60}Co$ in topsoil layer and fracture rock resulted from the clay minerals present, and the $K_d$ values decreased 58-69 % under seawater condition due to high ionic strength. $^{137}Cs$ sorption was controlled by the ion exchange reaction with $K^+$ on flayed edge sites (FES) of mica. The $^{137}Cs$ sorption was the most affected by seawater (89-97 % decrease), while $^{125}Sb$ sorption was not much affected by seawater. As the results of column and batch experiments, the retardation factors (R) of $^{137}Cs$, $^{60}Co$, and $^{125}Sb$ were determined about 5400-7400, 2000-2500, and 250-415, respectively, indicating no significant transport for these radionuclides even in fractured zone with groundwater. These results suggest that even in the case of severe nuclear accident at the nuclear facilities the mobility of released radionuclides ($^{60}Co$, $^{137}Cs$, and $^{125}Sb$) can be significantly retarded by the topsoil layer and fractured rock. In addition, the results of this study will be used for the safety and environmental performance assessment of nuclear facilities.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.250-259
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• 2018

We investigated the petrological features of the stone materials used in the Jeolla Usuyeong rampart and estimated their provenance through the geological survey. The Jeolla Usuyeong was designated as a historic site (No. 535) on 2016. Since the remaining rampart is less than 15%, it is necessary to make conservation on it. In this study, we discriminated the stone materials used for the rampart according to their petrographic characteristics and estimated the volume proportion of each stone by the rock type. Also, we measured the whole-rock magnetic susceptibility. The petrographic features of the stones in the rampart were compared with those in the vicinity by their mineral composition and texture. The stone materials of the rampart mainly consist of the tuff, lapilli tuff, and lapilli stone. Among these three kinds of rocks, lapilli tuff is quantitatively the most abundant (60.3%), the next is tuff (34.7%), and lapilli stone (2.5%) shows the least amount. The whole-rock magnetic susceptibility of the tuffaceous rocks can be divided by the value of $1.0{\times}10^{-3}$ SI unit. Also, the compressive strength of tuff exhibits about 156 MPa, which is adequate to reuse for the repairing work. Petrological comparisons between stone materials and outcrop rocks distributed around the Hwawon peninsula leads to a conclusion that the stone materials of the rampart are likely to have been delivered from the Dongoeri and Sindeok-ri. Judging from the results of the comparison on the frequency of use and physical properties among the tuffaceous rocks, tuff is considered to suitable for restoring the rampart.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.447-457
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• 2008

Laboratory tests for single plane sliding were conducted using the model rock slope to investigate the cut slope deformability and failure mechanism due to combined effect of engineering characteristics such as angle of sliding plane, water force, joint roughness and infillings. Also the possibility of prediction of slope failure through displacement monitoring was explored. The joint roughness was prepared in forms of saw-tooth type having different roughness specifications. The infillings was maintained between upper and lower roughness plane from zero to 1.2 times of the amplitude of the surface projections. Water force was expressed as the percent filling of tension crack from dry (0%) to full (100%), and constantly increased from 0% at the rate of 0.5%/min and 1%/min upto failure. Total of 50 tests were performed at sliding angles of $30^{\circ}$ and $35^{\circ}$ based on different combinations of joint roughness, infilling thickness and water force increment conditions. For smooth sliding plane, it was found that the linear type of deformability exhibited irrespective of the infilling thickness and water force conditions. For sliding planes having roughness, stepping or exponential types of deformability were predominant under condition that the infilling thickness is lower or higher than asperity height, respectively. These arise from the fact that, once the infilling thickness exceeds asperities, strength and deformability of the sliding plane is controlled by the engineering characteristics of the infilling materials. The results obtained in this study clearly show that the water force at failure was found to increase with increasing joint roughness, and to decrease with increasing filling thickness. It seems possible to estimate failure time using the inverse velocity method for sliding plane having exponential type of deformability. However, it is necessary to estimate failure time by trial and error basis to predict failure of the slope accurately.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.413-422
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• 2022

Barnea manilensis is a bivalve which bores soft rocks, such as, limestone or mudstone in the low intertidal zone. They make burrows which have narrow entrances and wide interiors and live in these burrows for a lifetime. In this study, the morphology and the microstructure of the valve of rock-boring clam B. manilensis were observed using a stereoscopic microscope and FE-SEM, respectively. The chemical composition of specific part of the valve was assessed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. 3D modeling and structural dynamic analysis were used to simulate the boring behavior of B. manilensis. Microscopy results showed that the valve was asymmetric with plow-like spikes which were located on the anterior surface of the valve and were distributed in a specific direction. The anterior parts of the valve were thicker than the posterior parts. EDS results indicated that the valve mainly consisted of calcium carbonate, while metal elements, such as, Al, Si, Mn, Fe, and Mg were detected on the outer surface of the anterior spikes. It was assumed that the metal elements increased the strength of the valve, thus helping the B. manilensis to bore sediment. The simulation showed that spikes located on the anterior part of the valve received a load at all angles. It was suggested that the anterior part of the shell received the load while drilling rocks. The boring mechanism using the amorphous valve of B. manilensis is expected to be used as basic data to devise an efficient drilling mechanism.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.990-995
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• 1999

To determine the effect of chemical structure of linear amine curing agents on thermal and mechanical properties, standard epoxy resin DGEBA was cured with ethylene diamine(EDA) and hexamethylene diamine(HMDA) in a stoichiometrically equivalent ratio. From this work, the effect of linear amine curing agents on the thermal and mechanical properties is significantly influenced by the chemical structure or chain length of curing agents. In contrast, the results show that the DGEBA/EDA system having the two carbons had higher values in the thermal stability, maximum conversion of epoxide, density, glass transition temperature, tensile modulus, flexural strength, and flexural modulus than the DGEBA/HMDA system having the six carbons, whereas the DGEBA/EDA cure system had relatively low values in the shrinkage(%), thermal expansion coefficient, tensile strength, and had similar values in the maximum exothermic temperature, and conversion of epoxide compared to the DGEBA/HMDA cure system. This findings indicate that packing ability in the HMDA structure affects the thermal and mechanical properties.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.35-42
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• 2015

Grouting method has been widely used for the ground improvement and stabilization: mostly to block or control the ground water in the early years and to improve the ground, repair the structure in recent years, ever increasing its use. Despite many advantages so far, the existing grouting method also has some shortcomings including uncertain permeation of grouting with gravity type if the voids between the soil particles are narrow, and problems due to the relaxation of the neighboring ground when injected using injection pressure. As an alternative, a vibration injection method with constant amplitude and frequency has been developed in recent years, with the vibration grouting being reported to have a permeability increasing effect of grout material compared with the positive pressure injection type. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to investigate the improvement effect of the vibration grouting that applies short-period vibration energy by varying vibration cycle, vibration time and ground conditions to evaluate the strength enhancing effect of grouting materials, expansion effect of grouting body, ground improvement effect of the grouting and the penetration characteristics of the rock joint. The findings of this study show the improved compressive strength of grout, expansion of grouting body and increased penetration rate, according to the vibration compared with non-vibration under the loose soil condition.