• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2024

Biological nutrient removal is gaining increasing attention in wastewater treatment plants; however, it is adversely affected by low temperatures. This study examined temperature effects on nutrient removal and morphological stability of the granular and denitrifying phosphorus accumulating organisms (PAO and DPAO, respectively) using sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) at 5, 10, and 20 ℃. Lab-scale SBRs were continuously operated using anaerobic-anoxic and anaerobic-oxic cycles to develop the PAO and DPAO granules for 230 d. Sludge granulation in the two SBRs was observed after approximately 200 d. The average removal efficiency of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and PO₄^3--P remained >90% throughout, even when the temperature dropped to 5 ℃. The average removal efficiency of NO₃^--N remained >80% consistently in DPAO SBR. However, nitrification drastically decreased at 10 ℃. Hence, the removal efficiency of NH₄⁺-N was decreased from 99.1% to 54.5% in PAO SBR. Owing to the increased oxygen penetration depth at low temperatures, the influence on nitrification rates was limited. The granule in DPAO and PAO SBR was observed to be unstable and disintegrated at 10 ℃. In conclusion, morphological characteristics showed that changed conversion rates at low temperatures in aerobic granular sludge altered both nutrient removal efficiencies and granule formation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.511-525
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• 2024

Underground openings significantly affect the mechanical stability of underground spaces and create damaged zones. This study investigated the acoustic emission (AE) characteristics associated with the formation of damaged zones around circular openings. Uniaxial compression experiments were conducted on three types of rock specimens, namely, granite (GN-1 and GN-2), gabbro (GB), and slate (SL), containing a circular opening. AE and digital image correlation (DIC) techniques were used to monitor and evaluate the damaged zones near the circular openings. The AE characteristics were evaluated using AE parameters, including count, energy, amplitude, average frequency, and RA value. The DIC results revealed that the estimated diameters of the damaged zones of GN-1, GN-2, GB, and SL were 1.66D, 1.53D, 1.49D, and 1.9D, respectively. The average displacements at the surface of the damaged zones for these specimens were 0.814, 0.786, 0.661, and 0.673 mm, respectively, thus demonstrating a strong correlation with Young's modulus. The AE analysis with DIC revealed that tensile failure occurred in the direction parallel to the maximum compression axis as the load increased. Thus, this study provides fundamental data for a comprehensive analysis of damaged zones in underground openings and will facilitate the optimization of rock engineering projects and safety assessments thereof.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.181-232
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• 2018

To explore the history of Korean engineers, one must navigate the field answering to the question of who engineers are. This is not an easy task because, behind the English expression of engineer, there are various names and even histories pertaining to technology related actors in East Asian countries including South Korea, and the meaning and status of these names are different from one another. Thus, the process and method of answering to the question of who engineers are becomes the path to understanding the history of Korean engineers. This study, therefore, attempts to suggest research questions that should be raised to study Korean engineers and to find research methodology suited for addressing those questions. Until now, not enough efforts have been made to create and expand interdisciplinary discussions and contacts for this area of study. This study has some theoretical difficulties of having to combine concepts with different problematique. Nevertheless, it aims to discuss how to conduct research, what questions should be posed to analyze the construction of Korean engineers and what research methodologies are suitable for such research, based on previous researches conducted in the field of social science. Answers to the quest are sought through genealogy, conceptual history, actor-network theory, and the notion of techno-national formation.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.305-321
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• 2020

In this paper is presented the solution method for three-dimensional problem of transversely isotropic body's elastoplastic deformation by the finite element method (FEM). The process of problem solution consists of: determining the effective parameters of a transversely isotropic medium; construction of the finite element mesh of the body configuration, including the determination of the local minimum value of the tape width of non-zero coefficients of equation systems by using of front method; constructing of the stiffness matrix coefficients and load vector node components of the equation for an individual finite element's state according to the theory of small elastoplastic deformations for a transversely isotropic medium; the formation of a resolving symmetric-tape system of equations by summing of all state equations coefficients summing of all finite elements; solution of the system of symmetric-tape equations systems by means of the square root method; calculation of the body's elastoplastic stress-strain state by performing the iterative process of the initial stress method. For each problem solution stage, effective computational algorithms have been developed that reduce computational operations number by modifying existing solution methods and taking into account the matrix coefficients structure. As an example it is given, the problem solution of fibrous composite straining in the form of a rectangle with a system of circular holes.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1251-1272
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• 2015

It is widely recognized that the preferred yielding mechanism for a hybrid coupled wall structure is that all coupling beams over the height of the structure yield in shear prior to formation of plastic hinges in structural walls. The objective of the study is to provide feasible approaches that are able to promote the preferred seismic performance of hybrid coupled walls. A new design methodology is suggested for this purpose. The coupling ratio, which represents the contribution of coupling beams to the resistance of system overturning moment, is employed as a fundamental design parameter. A series of nonlinear time history analyses on various representative hybrid coupled walls are carried out to examine the adequacy of the design methodology. While the proposed design method is shown to be able to facilitate the desired yielding mechanism in hybrid coupled walls, it is also able to reduce the adverse effects caused by the current design guidelines on the structural design and performance. Furthermore, the analysis results reveal that the state-of-the-art coupled wall design guidelines could produce a coupled wall structure failing to adequately exhaust the energy dissipation capacity of coupling beams before walls yield.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.395-404
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• 2019

The influence of chlorine on marine bacterial communities was examined in this study. A non-chlorine-adapted marine bacterial community (NCAM) and a chlorine-adapted bacterial community (CAM, bacterial community treated with $0.2mg-Cl_2/L$ chlorine) were cultivated for 1 month. A distinct difference was observed between the NCAM and CAM, which shared only eight operational taxonomic units (OTUs), corresponding to 13.1% of the total number of identified OTUs. This result suggested that chlorine was responsible for the changes in the marine bacterial communities. Kordiimonas aquimaris was found to be a chlorine-resistant marine bacterium. The effect of intermittent chlorination on the two marine biofilm communities formed on the reverse osmosis (RO) membrane surface was investigated using various chlorine concentrations (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mg $Cl_2/L$). Although the average number of adherent marine bacteria on the RO membrane over a period of 7 weeks decreased with increasing chlorine concentration, disinfection efficiencies showed substantial fluctuations throughout the experiment. This is due to chlorine depletion that occurs during intermittent chlorination. These results suggest that intermittent chlorination is not an effective disinfection strategy to control biofilm formation.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.213-221
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• 2019

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been widely used to valorize food waste (FW) because of its ability to convert organic carbon into $CH_4$ and $CO_2$. Korean FW has a high content of fruits and vegetables, and efficient hydrolysis of less biodegradable fibers is critical for its complete stabilization by AD. This study examined the digestates from different anaerobic digesters, namely Rs, Rr, and Rm, as the inocula for the AD of vegetable waste (VW) and cellulose (CL): Rs inoculated with anaerobic sludge from an AD plant, Rr inoculated with rumen fluid, and Rm inoculated with anaerobic sludge and augmented with rumen fluid. A total of six conditions ($3\;inocula{\times}2\;substrates$) were tested in serial subcultures. Biogas yield was higher in the runs inoculated with Rm than in the other runs for both VW (up to 1.10 L/g VS added) and CL (up to 1.05 L/g VS added), and so was biogas production rate. The inocula had different microbial community structures, and both substrate type and inoculum source had a significant effect on the formation and development of microbial community structures in the subcultures. The overall results suggest that the bioaugmentation with rumen microbial consortium has good potential to enhance the anaerobic biodegradability of VW, and thereby can help more efficiently digest high fiber-content Korean FW.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.1039-1054
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the seismic performance of weak-axis column-tree type connections used in steel moment frames. These connections are composed of a shop-welded and fieldbolted steel structure and can improve welding quality. On this basis, column-tree type connections are widely used in steel moment resisting frames in Korea and Japan. In this study, splices designed with a semirigid concept regarding the seismic performance of column-tree connections were experimentally evaluated. The structures can absorb energy in an inelastic state rather than the elastic state of the structures by the capacity design method. For this reason, the plastic hinge might be located at the splice connection at the weak-axis column-tree connection by reducing the splice plate thickness. The main variable was the distance from the edge of the column flange to the beam splice. CTY series specimens having column-tree connections with splice length of 600 mm and 900 mm were designed, respectively. For comparison with two specimens with the main variable, a base specimen with a weak-axis column-tree connection was fabricated and tested. The test results of three full-scale test specimens showed that the CTY series specimens successfully developed ductile behavior without brittle fracture until 5% story drift ratio. Although the base specimen reached a 5% story drift ratio, brittle fracture was detected at the backing bar near the beam-to-column connection. Comparing the energy dissipation capacity for each specimen, the CTY series specimens dissipated more energy than the base specimen.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.523-528
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• 2007

The objectives of this research are to investigate the mechanism of coagulation affecting UF, find out the effect of metal salt coagulant on membrane fouling. Either rapid mixing + UF or slow mixing + UF process caused much less flux decline. For PACl coagulant, the rate of flux decline was reduced for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic membrane than alum due to higher formation of flocs. In addition, the rate of flux decline for the hydrophobic membrane was significantly greater than for the hydrophilic membrane, regardless of pretreatment conditions. In general, Coagulation pretreatment significantly reduced the fouling of the hydrophilic membrane, but did little decrease the flux reduction of the hydrophobic membrane. When an Al(III) salt is added to water, monomers, polymers, or solid precipitates may form. Different Al(III) coagulants (alum and PACl) show to have different Al species distribution over a rapid mixing condition. During the rapid mixing period, for alum, formation of dissolved Al(III) (monomer and polymer) increases, but for PACl, precipitates of $Al(OH)_{3(s)}$ increases rapidly. This experimental results pointed out that precipitates of $Al(OH)_{3(s)}$ rather than dissolved Al(III) formation is major factor affecting flux decline for the membrane.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.863-870
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• 2017

With the increasing interest in using bacterial biofilms in geo-engineering practices, such as soil improvement, sealing leakage in earth structures, and hydraulic barrier installation, understanding of the contribution of bacterial biofilm formation to mechanical and hydraulic behavior of soils is important. While mechanical properties of soft gel-like biofilms need to be identified for appropriate modeling and prediction of behaviors of biofilm-associated soils, elastic properties of biofilms remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study investigated the microscale Young's modulus of biofilms produced by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 in a liquid phase. The indentation test was performed on a biofilm sample using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) with a spherical indentor, and the force-indentation responses were obtained during approach and retraction traces. Young's modulus of biofilms was estimated to be ~33-38 kPa from these force-indentation curves and Hertzian contact theory. It appears that the AFM indentation result captures the microscale local characteristics of biofilms and its stiffness is relatively large compared to the other methods, including rheometer and hydrodynamic shear tests, which reflect the average macro-scale behaviors. While modeling of mechanical behaviors of biofilm-associated soils requires the properties of each component, the obtained results provide information on the mechanical properties of biofilms that can be considered as cementing, gluing, or filling materials in soils.