• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.104-126
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• 2024

Buffer and backfill play an essential role in isolating high-level radioactive waste and retard the migration of leaked radionuclides in deep geological disposal system. A bentonite mixture, which exhibits a swelling property, is considered for buffer and backfill materials, and excessive groundwater inflow from surrounding rock mass may affect stability and efficiency of their role as an engineered barrier. Therefore, stringent quality control as well as in-situ installation management and inflow water constrol for buffer and backfill are required to ensure the safety of deep disposal facilities. In this study, we analyzed the design requirements of buffer and backfill by examining various laboratory tests and a field study of the Steel Tunnel Test at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory in Sweden. We introduced how to control the quality of buffer and backfill construction in-field, and also presented how to handle excessive groundwater inflow into disposal caverns, validating the groundwater retention capacity of bentonite pellets and the effectiveness of geotexile use.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.423-432
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• 2018

Since the Daegu subway fire accident, people's perception of safety has increased, and all materials inside the train have been changed to incombustible materials. However, there is still a lack of development of fire extinguishing systems. Train components are mostly made of steel plates, and therefore it is very difficult to extinguish the train fire by using general fire extinguishing equipment. In this regard, this paper investigated rapid and easy methods of extinguishing the train fire by using compressed air foam systems through full-scale fire tests. To extinguish the fire of train at rescue station, window breakers were used to quickly destroy the train windows, and the compressed air foam system was inserted inside the train. As a result, the train windows were destroyed in 5 seconds, and the 11.88-MW fire was put out in 30 seconds by the compressed air foam discharged from the compressed air foam system inserted inside the train. For the future work, there is a need for further experimental studies to prevent the spread of fire and protect tunnel structures with the use of compressed air foam systems.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.151-159
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• 2012

The potential repository domains for A-KRS (Advanced Korean Reference Disposal System for High Level Wastes) in geological characteristics of KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) facility site were proposed to develop a repository system design and to perform the safety assessment. The host rock of KURT facility site is one of major Mesozoic plutonic rocks in Korean peninsula, two-mica granite, which was influenced by hydrothermal alteration. The topographical features control the flow lines of surface and groundwater toward south-easterly and all waters discharge to Geum River. Fracture zones distributed in study site are classified into order 2 magnitude and their dominant orientations are N-S and E-W strike. From the geological features and fracture zones, the potential repository domains for A-KRS were determined spatially based on the following conditions: (1) fracture zone must not cross the repository; and (2) the repository must stay away from the fracture zones greater than 50 m. The western region of the fracture zones in the N-S direction with a depth below 200 m from the surface was sufficient for A-KRS repository. Because most of the fracture zones in N-S direction were inclined toward the east, we expected to find a homogeneous rock mass in the western region rather than in the eastern region. The lower left domain of potential domains has more suitable geological and hydrogeological conditions for A-KRS repository.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.837-847
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• 2019

Korea's long underground roads are being promoted around the metropolitan city center to realize advanced transportation networks. Many disaster prevention facilities are applied to secure fire safety of the closed and long-distance underground roads. As the facility response and fire suppression subjects are unclear, additional human and material damages from fire spread are inevitable. Therefore, in this study, we developed a remote automatic fire extinguishing system that uses the fire extinguishing water inside the fire hydrant to monitor the CCTV in the management room and sprays it directly to the fire site through automatic control. The design application method was studied through the performance improvement that can be put into practical use.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.156-166
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• 2001

A stochastic continuum(SC) modeling technique was developed to simulate the groundwater flow pathway in fractured rocks. This model was developed to overcome the disadvantageous points of discrete fracture network(DFN) modes which has the limitation of fracture numbers. Besides, SC model is able to perform probabilistic analysis and to simulate the conductive groundwater pathway as discrete fracture network model. The SC model was formulated based on the discrete fracture network(DFN) model. The spatial distribution of permeability in the stochastic continuum model was defined by the probability distribution and variogram functions defined from the permeabilities of subdivided smaller blocks of the DFN model. The analysis of groundwater travel time was performed to show the consistency between DFN and SC models by the numerical experiment. It was found that the stochastic continuum modes was an appropriate way to provide the probability density distribution of groundwater velocity which is required for the probabilistic safety assessment of a radioactive waste disposal facility.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.519-527
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• 2023

Air-launch means launching from aircraft such as fighter jets, and has various advantages, such as cost reduction and less environmental/weather impact during launch. However, there are no air-launch satellite in Korea. Examining air-based launch satellite and anti-satellite missiles operated and developed by foreign private companies and various countries confirmed the necessity of domestic research and development. In South Korea, various research activities, including satellite launch system design and development approaches for different launch platforms, have been carried out mainly by academia. Development of upward maneuver air launch technology which is launched in the air when the aircraft is moving upward is suggested. Additionally, an introduction to wind tunnel tests for safety separation verification is provided. A new concept for a test facility has been suggested to conduct drop tests.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.705-715
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• 2017

In this study, applicability of compressed air form (CAF) fire water was verified in a bid to use the undersea effluent as fire water. Foam collector was fabricated in accordance with KS B ISO 7203-1 (Specification for low expansion foam concentrates for top application to water-immiscible liquids) and the test was conducted using fresh water as fire water for 19 times and using seawater as fire water 15 times that totaled 34 times. Foam reduction time was 237.73 seconds on average with fresh water and 215.60 seconds with seawater, which proved the applicability of CAF fire water using seawater. Besides, window breaker was fabricated to directly extinguish the fire in train and a full-scale fire test was conducted three times. At the final 3rd test, window glass was broken in 2 seconds to make the hole for fire extinguishing and suppressed the fire in 3 seconds using CAF fire extinguisher.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.295-303
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• 2012

Based on the data observed and analyzed on a groundwater flow system in the KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) site, the transport of radionuclides, which were assumed to be released at the supposed position, was calculated on the time-domain. A groundwater pathway from the release position to the surface was identified by simulating the groundwater flow model with the hydrogeological characteristics measured from the field tests in the KURT site. The elapsed time when the radionuclides moved through the pathway is evaluated using TDRW (Time Domain Random Walk) method for simulating the transport on the time-domain. Some retention mechanisms, such as radioactive decay, equilibrium sorption, and matrix diffusion, as well as the advection-dispersion were selected as the factors to influence on the elapsed time. From the simulation results, the effects of the sorption and matrix diffusion, determined by the properties of the radionuclides and underground media, on the transport of the radionuclides were analyzed and a decay chain of the radionuclides was also examined. The radionuclide ratio of the mass discharge into the surface environment to the mass released from the supposed repository did not exceed $10^{-3}$, and it decreased when the matrix diffusion were considered. The method used in this study could be used in preparing the data on radionuclide transport for a safety assessment of a geological disposal facility because the method could evaluate the travel time of the radionuclides considering the transport retention mechanism.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.160-172
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• 2022

The design regulations for simple explosive storage in Korea only stipulate standards for the materials and thickness of the wall of the structure because the amount of explosives that can be stored is small. There is concern about secondary damage during an internal explosion in a simple storage facility, and it is necessary to reexamine the current standards. The numerical analysis for the TNT 15 kg explosion inside the simple storage was carried out by setting the factors using the robust experimental design method. The displacement of the structure generated under the same time condition was analyzed, and the contribution was evaluated. The contribution of concrete thickness was the highest, and the contribution of concrete strength and rebar arrangement was lower than that of concrete thickness. The reinforcement diameter contributed extremely little to the displacement. The structural standards of the simple storage that are currently applied are insufficient on blast resistance, and it is necessary to present new design standards. Therefore, the design factor to be applied later analysis and actual experiments were taken into consideration. For the design variables, the thickness of the concrete was 15 cm considering the displacement, the concrete strength was selected as general concrete considering the inlet discharge pressure, the factor with the lowest average displacement was selected for the reinforcement arrangement and the diameter of the reinforcement, the factor with the smallest level was selected in consideration of economic feasibility because the difference in displacement was low.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.52-69
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• 2002

The WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant), located 42km east of Carlsbad, New Mexico (NM), in bedded salt 655m below the surface, is a mined repository constructed by the US DOE for the permanent disposal of transuranic (TRU) wastes generated by activities related to defence of the US since 1970. Its historical disposal operation began in March 1999 following receipt of a final permit from the State of NM after a positive certification decision for the WIPP was issued by the EPA in 1998, as the first licensed facility in the US for the deep geologic disposal of radioactive wastes. The CCA (Compliance Certification Application) for the WIPP that the DOE submitted to the EPA in 1966 was supported by an extensive performance assessment (PA) carried out by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), with so-called 1996 PA. Even though such PA methodologies could be greatly different from the way we consider for HLW disposal in Korea largely due to quite different geologic formations in which repository are likely to be located, a review on lots of works done through the WIPP PA studies could be the most important lessons that we can learn from in view of current situation in Korea where an initial phase of conceptual studies on HLW disposal has been just started. The objective of this art report is an overview of the methodology used in the recent WIPP PA to support the US DOE WIPP CCA and some relevant results completed by SNL.