• Title/Summary/Keyword: Severe environmental conditions

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Influence of uplift on liquid storage tanks during earthquakes

  • Ormeno, Miguel;Larkin, Tam;Chouw, Nawawi
    • Coupled systems mechanics
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    • v.1 no.4
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    • pp.311-324
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    • 2012
  • Previous investigations have demonstrated that strong earthquakes can cause severe damage or collapse to storage tanks. Theoretical studies by other researchers have shown that allowing the tank to uplift generally reduces the base shear and the base moment. This paper provides the necessary experimental confirmation of some of the numerical finding by other researchers. This paper reports on a series of experiments of a model tank containing water using a shake table. A comparison of the seismic behaviour of a fixed base system (tank with anchorage) and a system free to uplift (tank without anchorage) is considered. The six ground motions are scaled to the design spectrum provided by New Zealand Standard 1170.5 (2004) and a range of aspect ratios (height/radius) is considered. Measurements were made of the impulsive acceleration, the horizontal displacement of the top of the tank and uplift of the base plate. A preliminary comparison between the experimental results and the recommendations provided by the liquid storage tank design recommendations of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering is included. The measurement of anchorage forces required to avoid uplift under varying conditions will be discussed.

Characterization of Naphthalene-Degrading Pseudomonas Species Isolated from Pollutant-Contaminated Sites: Oxidative Stress During their Growth on Naphthalene

  • Kang, Yoon-Suk;Kim, Young-Jun;Jeon, Che-Ok;Park, Woo-Jun
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.16 no.11
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    • pp.1819-1825
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    • 2006
  • Four naphthalene-degrading bacteria (Pseudomonas sp. strains O1, W1, As1, and G1) were isolated feom pollutant-contaminated sites. Examination of their substrate utilization and analyses of key naphthalene-catabolic regulatory genes revealed that the pathway and regulation of naphthalene-degradation in all four strains resemble those of NAH7 from P. putida G7. Superoxide anion production, superoxide dismutase activity, and catalase activity during their growth on naphthalene-amended medium increased significantly, compared with those with glucose-amended medium. Addition of ascorbate, an antioxidant, or ferrous iron ($Fe^{2+}$) increased the growth rates of all tested microorganisms on naphthalene. Northern blot and HPLC analyses showed that both nahA gene expression and naphthalene degradation increased under those conditions. Our data suggest that naphthalene degradation can impose severe oxidative stress, and defenses against oxidative stress would play an important role in the metabolism of naphthalene.

The Impact of Abrupt Climate Change on the Marine Ecosystem in the East Sea

  • Shin, Im-Chul;Yi, Hi-Il;Chung, Hyo-Sang;Kwon, Won-Tae;Chun, Jong-Hwa;Oh, Hyun-Taek
    • The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2003
  • Environmental changes caused by the abrupt climatic change are one of the important issues in the scientific community. In the East Sea, abrupt climatic shift, called Younger Dryas, is identified. The age of the Younger Dryas cold episode occurred at 11.2 ka. Overall, changes in circulation and bottom water conditions occurred during the Younger Dryas cold episode in the study area. Especially, climatic transition from meltwater spike to the Younger Dryas cold episode is characterized by significant shifts of oxygen isotope values, the coiling ratios of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, and the planktonic foraminifers abundances. The impact of abrupt climate change on the ecosystem is very significant. In the East Sea, the calcium carbonate secreting organism(foraminifers) is replaced by silicon dioxide secreting organisms(diatom, radiolarian) after the abrupt and severe cold climatic event. Based on the Doctrine of Uniformitarianism, at least climate change for the next 100 years would be severely influence on the marine ecosystem.

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Trends of Stability Indices and Environmental Parameters Derived from the Rawinsonde Data over South Korea

  • Eom, Hyo-Sik;Suh, Myoung-Seok
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.32 no.5
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    • pp.461-473
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    • 2011
  • In this paper, trends of the widely used stability indices (SIs) and environmental parameters (EPs) were examined by using the 30-year routine rawinsonde data observed in three upper air observatories (Osan, Gwangju and Pohang) over South Korea. To take into account of the contribution of water vapor to a parcel density, we applied the virtual temperature correction in calculating the SIs and EPs. The trends of SIs and EPs indicated significant increases of temperature and moisture contents, especially at the low-to-mid troposphere during the last 10 years. The warming trend in the lower troposphere shows about 3 times greater than that of the global average (+0.10- $+0.20^{\circ}C$/10 years), whereas the cooling trend of lower stratosphere demonstrates a similar trend with the global average (-0.33- $-0.60^{\circ}C$/10 years). The vertical stability is clearly reduced due to the unsymmetrical change of atmospheric elements. The unstabilizing trend with the increased moisture contents gradually changed the atmospheric environment in South Korea into the conditions favorable for the occurrence of severe weather or intensifications of such events. These trends are consistent with the recent observations, which showed clear increase in the intensity and frequency of heavy rainfalls.

Progress of Multipurpose and Proactive Rainwater Management in Korea

  • Han, Mooyoung
    • Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.65-69
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    • 2013
  • Despite the most severe weather and geological conditions, Korean people in earlier times were successful in maintaining sustainable water supplies because they understood the importance of rainwater management, and developed technologies and a philosophy which were needed to live under such circumstances. Recently, the Korean people have suffered frequent incidence of flood damage and drought, and have gradually started to remind themselves of the lessons of the past, which can be described as proactive, multipurpose rainwater management. Most of the problems associated with water and energy can be solved by the integration of rainwater management practices. The concept of multipurpose rainwater management and two examples of its practice are discussed. One is a design for a multipurpose rainwater tank which has been used in a building project, and is based on Korean philosophy. Secondly, a regulation was promulgated recently in Seoul that requires the building of rainwater tanks in new buildings over a certain size. The primary purpose is for the prevention of flooding, but water conservation is a secondary intention. Two examples of proactive rainwater management are discussed, one being public involvement in rainwater management, and the second being the rainwater piggy bank microcredit project. In order to maintain sustainability, to meet the requirements of the Millennium Development Goals, and to be prepared for the effects of climate change, it is expected that multipurpose and proactive rainwater management will be a very effective approach for both developing countries and developed countries. A worldwide network of scientific researchers, as well as a great number of professions, has suggested the promotion of rainwater management.

Region-Scaled Soil Erosion Assessment using USLE and WEPP in Korea

  • Kim, Min-Kyeong;Jung, Kang-Ho;Yun, Sun-Gang;Kim, Chul-Soo
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.314-320
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    • 2008
  • During the summer season, more than half of the annual precipitation in Korea occurs during the summer season due to the geographical location in the Asian monsoon belt. So, this causes severe soil erosion from croplands, which is directly linked to the deterioration of crop/land productivity and surface water quality. Therefore, much attention has been given to develop accurate estimation tools of soil erosion. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of using the empirical Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and the physical-based model of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) to quantify eroded amount of soil from agricultural fields. Input data files, including climate, soil, slope, and cropping management, were modified to fit into Korean conditions. Chuncheon (forest) and Jeonju (level-plain) were selected as two Korean cities with different topographic characteristics for model analysis. The results of this current study indicated that better soil erosion prediction can be achieved using the WEPP model since it has better power to illustrate a higher degree of spatial variability than USLE in topography, precipitation, soils, and crop management practices. These present findings are expected to contribute to the development of the environmental assessment program as well as the conservation of the agricultural environment in Korea.

An Experimental Study on Denitrification Efficiency of Agricultural Byproducts for Prevention of Nitrate Contamination from LID or Groundwater Recharge Facilities (지하수 함양시설 또는 LID시설에서의 질산성질소 오염방지를 위한 농업부산물의 탈질효율 실험연구)

  • Lee, Jinwon;Phung, Thanh Huy;Lee, Byungsun;Kim, Kangjoo;Lee, Gyusang
    • Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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    • v.26 no.6
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    • pp.82-94
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    • 2021
  • Facilities for low impact development (LID) or groundwater recharge have the high potential spreading groundwater nitrate contamination because of the rapid infiltration. This study was initiated to remove nitrate from the waters using agricultural byproducts as organic sources for denitrification during infiltration. As the first step of this purpose, we experimentally tested the denitrifying efficiency of 4 organic materials (pine tree woodchips, cherry leaves, rice straws, and rice hulls) and tried to identify the key factors controlling the efficiency. For this study, we precisely investigated the change of chemical reactions during the experiment by analyzing various geochemical parameters. The result shows that the denitrification efficiency is not simply linked to the availability of the easily decomposable contents in the organic matter. It is found that avoiding the severe pH decrease due to the CO2 generation is the essence to derive the efficient denitrifying conditions when organic matters were used.

Experimental study of the loads induced by a large-scale tornado simulation on a HAWT model

  • Lopez, Juan P.;Hangan, Horia;El Damatty, Ashraf
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.33 no.6
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    • pp.437-446
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    • 2021
  • As wind turbine rotors increase, the overall loads and dynamic response become an important issue. This problem is augmented by the exposure of wind turbines to severe atmospheric events with unconventional flows such as tornadoes, which need specific designs not included in standards and codes at present. An experimental study was conducted to analyze the loads induced by a tornado-like vortex (TLV) on horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT). A large-scale tornado simulation developed in The Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment (WindEEE) Dome at Western University in Canada, the so-called Mode B Tornado, was employed as the TLV flow acting on a rigid wind turbine model under two rotor operational conditions (idling and parked) for five radial distances. It was observed that the overall forces and moments depend on the location and orientation of the wind turbine system with respect to the tornado vortex centre, as TLV are three-dimensional flows with velocity gradients in the radial, vertical, and tangential direction. The mean bending moment at the tower base was the most important in terms of magnitude and variation in relation to the position of the HAWT with respect to the core radius of the tornado, and it was highly dependent on the rotor Tip Speed Ratio (TSR).

Experimental study of the loads induced by a large-scale tornado simulation on a HAWT model

  • Lopez, Juan P.;Hangan, Horia;El Damatty, Ashraf
    • Wind and Structures
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.303-312
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    • 2022
  • As wind turbine rotors increase, the overall loads and dynamic response become an important issue. This problem is augmented by the exposure of wind turbines to severe atmospheric events with unconventional flows such as tornadoes, which need specific designs not included in standards and codes at present. An experimental study was conducted to analyze the loads induced by a tornado-like vortex (TLV) on horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWT). A large-scale tornado simulation developed in The Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment (WindEEE) Dome at Western University in Canada, the so-called Mode B Tornado, was employed as the TLV flow acting on a rigid wind turbine model under two rotor operational conditions (idling and parked) for five radial distances. It was observed that the overall forces and moments depend on the location and orientation of the wind turbine system with respect to the tornado vortex centre, as TLV are three-dimensional flows with velocity gradients in the radial, vertical, and tangential direction. The mean bending moment at the tower base was the most important in terms of magnitude and variation in relation to the position of the HAWT with respect to the core radius of the tornado, and it was highly dependent on the rotor Tip Speed Ratio (TSR).

Responses of Castanea crenata to Injection Wound for Oxytetracycline(OTC) (옥시테트라사이크린(OTC) 수간주입 상처에 대한 밤나무의 반응)

  • Cha, Byeong-Jin;Yun, Jeong-Koo
    • Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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    • v.15 no.1
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    • pp.77-85
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    • 1996
  • Chestnut(Castanea crenata) were trunk-injected by two methods to check the changes around the injection wound. In September 1993, high concentration of oxytetracycline(OTC) was injected through the injection wound of 1cm diameter and low concentration of OTC through 0.5cm diameter. Trunk diameter of injected trees ranged from 10cm to 20cm. All trees were in their vigorous conditions. Tree reaction was examined in June, 1994. None of them showed any sign of decay by the time. However, under the bark, sapwood was remarkably discolored. But, more severe discoloration was found in 1cm-injection wound than in 0.5cm one. Sapwood of some trees split from the injection wound, and the split was longer in 1cm-injection wounded trees than in 0.5cm trees. From the split, callus grew out and the split was closing. In this kind of trunk injection, the damage was more severe in 1cm-injection wound than in 0.5cm-injection wound.

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