• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.561-572
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• 2017

Seismic base isolation has been accepted as one of the most popular design procedures to protect important structures against earthquakes. However, due to lack of information and experimental data the application of base isolation is quite limited to nuclear power plant (NPP) industry. Moreover, the effects of inelastic behavior of soil beneath base-isolated NPP have raised questions to the effectiveness of isolation device. This study applies the wavelet analysis to investigate the effects of soil-structure interaction (SSI) on the seismic response of a base-isolated NPP structure. To evaluate the SSI effects, the NPP structure is modelled as a lumped mass stick model and combined with a soil model using the concept of cone models. The lead rubber bearing (LRB) base isolator is used to adopt the base isolation system. The shear wave velocity of soil is varied to reflect the real rock site conditions of structure. The comparison between seismic performance of isolated structure and non-isolated structure has drawn. The results show that the wavelet analysis proves to be an efficient tool to evaluate the SSI effects on the seismic response of base-isolated structure and the seismic performance of base-isolated NPP is not sensitive to the effects in this case.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.297-311
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• 2016

Based on the distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) technique, plastic optical fibers (POFs) are attractive candidates to measure deformations of geotechnical structures because they can withstand large strains before rupture. Understanding the mechanical interaction between an embedded POF and the surrounding soil or rock is a necessary step towards establishing an effective POF-based sensing system for geotechnical monitoring. This paper describes a first attempt to evaluate the feasibility of POF-based soil deformation monitoring considering the POF-soil interfacial properties. A series of pullout tests were performed under various confining pressures (CPs) on a jacketed polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) POF embedded in soil specimens. The test results were interpreted using a fiber-soil interaction model, and were compared with previous test data of silica optical fibers (SOFs). The results showed that the range of CP in this study did not induce plastic deformation of the POF; therefore, the POF-soil and the SOF-soil interfaces had similar behavior. CP was found to play an important role in controlling the fiber-soil interfacial bond and the fiber measurement range. Moreover, an expression was formulated to determine whether a POF would undergo plastic deformation when measuring soil deformation. The plasticity of POF may influence the reliability of measurements, especially for monitored geo-structures whose deformation would alternately increase and decrease. Taken together, these results indicate that in terms of the interfacial parameters studied here the POF is feasible for monitoring soil deformation as long as the plastic deformation issue is carefully addressed.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 2012

Rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr [teleomorph] is one of the most devastating diseases in rice plantation areas. Silicon is considered as a useful element for a large variety of plants. Rice variety MR219 was grown in the glasshouse to investigate the function of silicon in conferring resistance against blast. Silica gel was applied to soil while sodium silicate was used as foliar spray at the rates of 0, 60, 120, 180 g/5 kg soil and 0, 1, 2, 3 ml/l respectively. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design. Disease severity and silicon content of leaves were compared between the non-amended controls and rice plants receiving the different rates and sources of silicon. Silicon at all rates of application significantly (${\alpha}$ = 0.05) reduced the severity of disease with highest reduction (75%) recorded in treatments receiving 120 g of silica gel. SEM/EDX observations demonstrated a significant difference in weight concentration of silicon in silica cells on the leaf epidermis between silicon treated (25.79%) and non treated plants (7.87%) indicating that Si-fertilization resulted in higher deposition of Si in silica cells in comparison with non-treated plants. Application of silicon also led to a significant increase in Si contents of leaves. Contrast procedures indicated higher efficiency of silica gel in comparison to sodium silicate in almost all parameters assessed. The results suggest that mitigated levels of disease were associated with silicification and fortification of leaf epidermal cells through silicon fertilization.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.549-566
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• 2022

Mining of ore minerals (sfalerite, cinnabar, and chalcopyrite) from the old mine has led in significant environmental effects as contamination of soils and plants and acidification of water. Also, nanoparticles (NP) have obtained global importance because of their widespread usage in daily life, unique properties, and rapid development in the field of nanotechnology. Regarding their usage in various fields, it is suggested that soil is the final environmental sink for NPs. Nanoparticles with excessive reactivity and deliverability may be carried out as amendments to enhance soil quality, mitigate soil contaminations, make certain secure land-software of the traditional change substances and enhance soil erosion control. Meanwhile, there's no record on the usage of Nano superior substances for mine soil reclamation. In this study, five soil specimens have been tested at 4 sites inside the region of mine (<100 m) to study zeolites, and iron sulfide nanoparticles. Also, through using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), this study has tried to appropriately estimate the mechanical properties of soil under the effect of these Nano particles. Considering the RMSE and R2 values, Zeolite Nano materials could enhance the mine soil fine through increasing the clay-silt fractions, increasing the water holding capacity, removing toxins and improving nutrient levels. Also, adding iron sulfide minerals to the soils would possibly exacerbate the soil acidity problems at a mining site.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.289-300
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• 2020

With the rapid development of the distributed strain sensing (DSS) technology, the strain becomes an alternative monitoring parameter to analyze slope stability conditions. Previous studies reveal that the horizontal strain measurements can be used to evaluate the deformation pattern and failure mechanism of soil slopes, but they fail to consider various influential factors. Regarding the horizontal strain as a key parameter, this study aims to investigate the stability condition of a locally loaded slope by adopting the variable-controlling method and conducting a strength reduction finite element analysis. The strain distributions and factors of safety in different conditions, such as slope ratio, soil strength parameters and loading locations, are investigated. The results demonstrate that the soil strain distribution is closely related to the slope stability condition. As the slope ratio increases, more tensile strains accumulate in the slope mass under surcharge loading. The cohesion and the friction angle of soil have exponential relationships with the strain parameters. They also display close relationships with the factors of safety. With an increasing distance from the slope edge to the loading position, the transition from slope instability to ultimate bearing capacity failure can be illustrated from the strain perspective.

• Plant Biotechnology Reports
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.179-183
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• 2010

Ethylene is a key gaseous hormone that controls various physiological processes in plants including growth, senescence, fruit ripening, and responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. In spite of some of these positive effects, the gas usually inhibits plant growth. While chemical fertilizers help plants grow better by providing soil-limited nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate, overusage often results in growth inhibition by soil contamination and subsequent stress responses in plants. Therefore, controlling ethylene production in plants becomes one of the attractive challenges to increase crop yields. Some soil bacteria among plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) can stimulate plant growth even under stressful conditions by reducing ethylene levels in plants, hence the term "stress controllers" for these bacteria. Thus, manipulation of relevant genes or gene products might not only help clear polluted soil of contaminants but contribute to elevating the crop productivity. In this article, the beneficial soil bacteria and the mechanisms of reduced ethylene production in plants by stress controllers are discussed.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to provide information for the livestock for the livestock carcass composting operation in agricultural waste management. Burial, landfilling and incineration of livestock carcass may have environmental regulatory and economic liabilities. Dead animals amended with agricultural residues can be composted and used to promote soil fertility and reduce environmental pollution. In this study we evaluated the effect of amendments on the primary and secondary composting reaction and stability of compost. The full-scale composting bin of swine carcass in roofed system with three amendments was adequate in reaching sufficient temperature above 55$^{\circ}C$ long enough to kill the pathogen. The average temperature of the compost material in dead swine amended with corn stover increased rapidly to 64$^{\circ}C$ on the 2nd day after primary composting and dropped to near ambient temperature on the 140th day of composting. The composting with of corn stover and wheat straw are more efficient for swine carcass composting than that of sawdust. Therefore, the amendment property is an important factor in the design of composting facility.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.88-95
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• 2020

Object: The purpose of this study was to select priority points for soil management using the location of groundwater and to suggest this method for soil contamination surveys. Method: Groundwater impact range was set to an area of 100 to 500 meters from the center point of agricultural groundwater wells. Data on industrial complex and factory areas, areas of stored or used ores and scrap metals, areas associated with waste and recycling, and traffic-related facilities areas were collected and checked for whether they fall within the groundwater impact range. Longitude and latitude coordinates of these data were mapped on the groundwater impact range using QGIS (Quantum Geographic Information System). Results: Considering the groundwater impact range, the points were selected as follows: 589 points were selected from 6,811 factories and 259 points were selected from 1,511 recycling business points. Traffic-related facility areas were divided between gas stations, bus depots, and auto mechanics. Thirty-four points were selected from 149 bus depots and 573 points were selected from 6,013 auto mechanic points. From the 2,409 gas station points, 323 were selected. Conclusion: Contaminated soil influences groundwater and crops, which can harm human health. However, soil pollution is not easily identified, so it is difficult to determine what has occurred. Pollution must be prevented beforehand and contaminated soil found. By selecting and investigating soil contamination survey points in consideration of the location of groundwater wells, we can safely manage water resources by preventing groundwater contamination in advance.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Agricultural Machinery Conference
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• 1993.10a
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• pp.1166-1175
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• 1993

The objective of this study is to measure contra-retractive adhesion and lift resistance acting on the rim section of a circular wheel for analyses of their effects on the dynamic load. A circular iron wheel was used for experiments. A part of the wheel rim was cut off, and transducers which can measure normal and tangential forces were installed in this section. Experiments were conducted on a laboratory soil bin which was filled with clayey soil under wet and dry conditions. The mechanism of generating contra -retractive adhesion on a circular wheel were analyzed by the experiments and motion analyses of the wheel. Effects of lift resistance on dynamic load were analyzed by measured forces under wet soil conditions in comparison in comparison with those under dry conditions. The showed that a part of the lift resistance were transferred to the dynamic load. These results may become basic data and ideas for analyses of tractor dynamic under wet soil conditions.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.625-639
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• 2015

Monopiles have been most widely used for supporting offshore wind turbines (OWTs) in shallow water areas. However, multi-member lattice-type structures such as jackets and tripods are also considered good alternatives to monopile foundations for relatively deep water areas with depth ranging from 25-50 m owing to their technical and economic feasibility. Moreover, jacket structures have been popular in the oil and gas industry for a long time. However, several unsolved technical issues still persist in the utilization of multi-member lattice-type supporting structures for OWTs; these problems include pile-soil-interaction (PSI) effects, realization of dynamically stable designs to avoid resonances, and quick and safe installation in remote areas. In this study, the effects of PSI on the dynamic properties of bottom-fixed OWTs, including monopile-, tripod- and jacket-supported OWTs, were investigated intensively. The tower and substructure were modeled using conventional beam elements with added mass, and pile foundations were modeled with beam and nonlinear spring elements. The effects of PSI on the dynamic properties of the structure were evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation considering the load amplitude, scouring depth, and the uncertainties in soil properties.