• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.535-543
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• 2019

Building on/with expansive soils with no treatment brings complications. Compacted expansive soils specifically fall short in satisfying the minimum requirements for transport embankment infrastructures, requiring the adoption of hauled virgin mineral aggregates or a sustainable alternative. Use of hauled aggregates comes at a high carbon and economical cost. On average, every 9m high embankment built with quarried/hauled soils cost $12600MJ.m^{-2}$ Embodied Energy (EE). A prospect of using mixed cutting-arising expansive soils with industrial/domestic wastes can reduce the carbon cost and ease the pressure on landfills. The widespread use of recycled materials has been extensively limited due to concerns over their long-term performance, generally low shear strength and stiffness. In this contribution, hydromechanical properties of a waste tyre sand-sized rubber (a mixture of polybutadiene, polyisoprene, elastomers, and styrene-butadiene) and expansive silt is studied, allowing the short- and long-term behaviour of optimum compacted composites to be better established. The inclusion of tyre shred substantially decreased the swelling potential/pressure and modestly lowered the compression index. Silt-Tyre powder replacement lowered the bulk density, allowing construction of lighter reinforced earth structures. The shear strength and stiffness decreased on addition of tyre powder, yet the contribution of matric suction to the shear strength remained constant for tyre shred contents up to 20%. Reinforced soils adopted a ductile post-peak plastic behaviour with enhanced failure strain, offering the opportunity to build more flexible subgrades as recommended for expansive soils. Residual water content and tyre shred content are directly correlated; tyre-reinforced silt showed a greater capacity of water storage (than natural silts) and hence a sustainable solution to waterlogging and surficial flooding particularly in urban settings. Crushed fine tyre shred mixed with expansive silts/sands at 15 to 20 wt% appear to offer the maximum reduction in swelling-shrinking properties at minimum cracking, strength loss and enhanced compressibility expenses.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.561-583
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• 2018

A variety of polycarboxylate ether (PCE)-based superplasticizers are commercially available. Their influence on the rheological retention and slump loss in respect of concrete differ considerably. Fluidity and slump loss are the cardinal features responsible for the quality of concrete. These are related to the dispersion of cement particles and the hydration process which are greatly influenced by type of polycarboxylate ether (PCE)-based superplasticizers. On the backdrop of relatively less studies in the context of rheological retention of high strength self-consolidating concrete (HS-SCC), the experimental investigations were carried out aiming at quantifying the effect of the six different PCE polymers (PCE 1-6) on the rheological retention of HS-SCC mixes containing two types of Ordinary Portland Cements (OPC) and unwashed crushed sand as the fine aggregate. The tests that were carried out included $T_{500}$, V-Funnel, yield stress and viscosity retention tests. The supplementary cementitious materials such as fly ash (FA) and micro-silica (MS) were also used in ternary blend keeping the mix paste volume and flow of concrete constant. Low water to binder ratio was used. The results reveal that not only the PCEs of different polymer groups behave differently, but even the PCEs of same polymer groups also behave differently. The study also indicates that the HS-SCC mixes containing PCE 6 and PCE 5 performed better as compared to the mixes containing PCE 1, PCE 2, PCE 3 and PCE 4 in respect of all the rheological tests. The PCE 6 is a new class of chemical admixtures known as Polyaryl Ether (PAE) developed by BASF to provide better rheological properties in even in HS-SCC mixes at low water to binder mix. In the present study, the PCE 6, is found to help not only in reduction in the plastic viscosity and yield stress, but also provide good rheological retention over the period of 180 minutes. Further, the early compressive strength properties (one day compressive strength) highly depend on the type of PCE polymer. The side chain length of PCE polymer and the fineness of the cement considerably affect the early strength gain.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.333-341
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• 2021

Steel slag, an industrial reject from the steel rolling process, has been identified as one of the suitable, environmentally friendly materials for concrete production. Given that the coarse aggregate portion represents about 70% of concrete constituents, other economic approaches have been found in the use of alternative materials such as steel slag in concrete. Unfortunately, a standard framework for its application is still lacking. Therefore, this study proposed functional model equations for the determination of strength properties (compression and splitting tensile) of steel slag aggregate concrete (SSAC), using gene expression programming (GEP). The study, in the experimental phase, utilized steel slag as a partial replacement of crushed rock, in steps 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%, respectively. The predictor variables included in the analysis were cement, sand, granite, steel slag, water/cement ratio, and curing regime (age). For the model development, 60-75% of the dataset was used as the training set, while the remaining data was used for testing the model. Empirical results illustrate that steel aggregate could be used up to 100% replacement of conventional aggregate, while also yielding comparable results as the latter. The GEP-based functional relations were tested statistically. The minimum absolute percentage error (MAPE), and root mean square error (RMSE) for compressive strength are 6.9 and 1.4, and 12.52 and 0.91 for the train and test datasets, respectively. With the consistency of both the training and testing datasets, the model has shown a strong capacity to predict the strength properties of SSAC. The results showed that the proposed model equations are reliably suitable for estimating SSAC strength properties. The GEP-based formula is relatively simple and useful for pre-design applications.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.327-334
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• 2022

In this study, in order to evaluate the characteristics of mortar and concrete using wood chip cogeneration plant flooring as fine aggregate, mortar characteristics according to wood chip aggregate replacement rate and water-cement ratio as a substitute for crushed sand, and concrete characteristics according to wood chip aggregate replacement rate were compared and evaluated. The cement mortar flow according to the wood chip aggregate replacement rate showed a tendency to increase as the wood chip aggregate replacement rate increased, and the compressive strength and flexural strength increased as the wood chip aggregate replacement rate increased. The slump and air content of concrete increased as the aggregate replacement rate increased, and the compressive strength and tensile splitting strength of concrete tended to increase as the wood chip aggregate replacement rate increased. Accordingly, the possibility of using the flooring by the cogeneration plant as a fine aggregate for concrete was confirmed.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.581-594
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• 2021

In 2020, about 132 million m³ of aggregate was produced in Korea. Of the total domestic aggregates produced in 2020, about 33.3 % was sand and about 66.7% was gravel. It estimated that of the 132 million m³ of aggregates in Korea in 2020, about 52% was produced by screening crushed aggregate, by 36% by forest aggregate, 3% by land aggregate, 5.6% by sea aggregate and 2.5% by washing each other, and 0.4% by river aggregate. This indicates that screening crushed aggregate and forest aggregate are the main producers of domestic aggregates. Leading producing metropolitan cities were Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Gangwon-do, Chungcheongnam-do, Incheon in order decreasing volume, which together accounted for about 72.4% of total product. In 2020, aggregates were produced in 153 cities, about 67% of the 231 cities of Korea, 38 local governments have developed aggregates of more than 1 million m³, and the combined production of the 38 cities accounted for about 65% of national total. This means that the aggregate extraction trend of local governments is becoming larger and more concentrated. In 2020, at 153 local governments, a total of 889 operations produced aggregates with 420 operations by permission, 469 operations by declaration. A review of production by size of operation indicated that about 17 million m³ (12.8% of the total aggregate) was produced by 14 operations reporting production of more than 1 million m³. In about 420 operations, the maximum period of permit is 32 years to at least 2 months. When the remaining period of permit is taken into account, only about 55% of active operations can be developed the aggregate after 2021. In order to maintain the permitted aggregate volume by 2020 level, it will be necessary to obtain an extension permit or find new operation sites for at least 200 or more operations.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.429-438
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• 2022

This study evaluated the effect of the degree of weathering on the particle size distribution and the amount of fine particles generated in the aggregate production process during the crushing of igneous rock. Rock samples were collected from three areas with differences in strength from the Schmith hammer measurement at the aggregate quarry in Geochang, Gyeongsangbuk-do. After crushing with a jaw crusher under the same conditions in laboratory, particle size analysis, mineral analysis, chemical analysis, and weathering index were calculated. The Schmidt hammer measurements were 56, 28, and <10, and the CIA and CIW values of weathering index were also different, so the rock samples were classified into hard rock, soft rock, and weathered rock according to the weathering degree. It shows a smaller particle size distribution toward weathered rocks under the microscope, and the proportion of altered clay minerals such as sericite increased. The composition of feldspar and quartz was high for hard rock, and the ratio of muscovite and kaolinite was low. As a result of the crushing of the jaw crusher, hard rock produced a lot of coarse crushed material (13.2mm), while soft rock and weathered rock produced fine crushed material (4.75mm). The former showed the characteristics of the beta distribution curve, and the latter showed the bimodal distribution curve. The production of fine rock particles (based on 0.71mm of sieve, wt. %) increased to 13%<21%<22% in hard rock, soft rock, and weathered rock, and the greater the degree of weathering, the more fine rock particles were generated. The fine particles are recovered by the operation of the sand unit in the wet aggregate production process. Therefore, in order to minimize the amount of sludge generated in the aggregate production process, it was judged that a study on the optimal operation of cyclones could be necessary.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.549-560
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• 2021

In 2019, at 147 local governments, a total of 872 operations produced aggregates with 414 operations by permission, 458 operations by declaration except the marine operations. The leading aggregate sources were, in descending order of the number of operations, crushed, forest, land, washing, river aggregate. By aggregate type, gravel-only operations were slightly more than sand-only ones. By province, Gyeongsangbuk-do had 149 operations, followed by Gyeonggi-do with 135, Gangwon-do with 113, and Gyeongsangnam-do with 92, Chungcheongbuk-do with 81, and Jeollabuk-do with 70. A review of production by size of operation indicated that about 23,100 thousand m³ (17.6% of the total aggregate) was produced by 17 operations reporting production of more than 1 million m³, about 29,900 thousand m³ was produced by 44 operations reporting production between 500 and <1,000 thousand m³, about 60,000 thousand m³ was produced by 273 operations reporting production between 100 and <200 thousand m³, about 17,000 thousand m³ was produced by 409 operations reporting production between 10 and <100 thousand m³. 129 operations that producted less than 10 thousand m³ accounted for 0.4% of total aggregate produced in Korea in 2019. Operations that produce more than 1 million m³ of aggregate was only from forest and crushed aggregate. The period of permission for aggregate producing based on permission is mostly less than 10 years, and in particular, for river and land aggregates, the permission period is very short, less than 2 years.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.49-62
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• 2022

The hollow modular concrete block reinforced foundation method is one of the ground reinforcement foundation methods that uses hexagonal honeycomb-shaped concrete blocks with mixed crushed rock to reinforce soft grounds. It then forms an artificial layered ground that increases bearing capacity and reduces settlement. The hollow modular honeycomb-shaped concrete block is a geometrically economical, stable structure that distributes forces in a balanced way. However, the behavioral characteristics of hollow modular concrete block reinforced foundations are not yet fully understood. In this study, a bearing capacity test is performed to analyze the reinforcement effectiveness of the hollow modular concrete block through the laboratory model tests. From the load-settlement curve, punching shear failure occurs under the unfilled sand condition (A-1-N). However, the filled sand condition (A-1-F) shows a linear curve without yielding, confirming the reinforcement effect is three times higher than that of unreinforced ground. The bearing capacity equation is proposed for the parts that have contact pressure under concrete, vertical stress of hollow blocks, and the inner skin friction force from horizontal stress by confining effect based on the schematic diagram of confining effect inside a hollow modular concrete block. As a result of calculating the bearing capacity, the percentage of load distribution for contact force on the area of concrete is about 65%, vertical force on the area of hollow is 16.5% and inner skin friction force of area of the inner wall is about 18.5%. When the surcharge load is applied to the concrete part, the vertical stress occurs on the area of the hollow part by confining effect first. Then, in the filled sand in the hollow where the horizontal direction is constrained, the inner skin friction force occurs by the horizontal stress on the inner wall of the hollow modular concrete block. The inner skin friction force suppresses the punching of the concrete part and reduces contact pressure.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.161-175
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• 2024

Aggregate typically refers to sand and gravel formed by the transportation of rocks in rivers or artificially crushed, constituting a core resource in the construction industry. Gyeongsangbuk-do, the largest administrative area in South Korea, produces various sources of gravel, including forest, land (excluding other sources), river, and crushed stone. As of 2022, it has extracted approximately 6.96 million cubic meters of aggregate, with permitted production totaling around 4.07 million cubic meters and reported production of about 2.88 million cubic meters. The aggregate demand in Gyeongsangbuk-do is estimated to be 12.39 million cubic meters according to the estimation method in Ready-Mix Concrete. From the supply perspective, about 120 extraction sites are operational, with most municipalities maintaining an appropriate balance between aggregate demand and supply. However, in some areas, there is inbound and outbound transportation of aggregate to neighboring regions. Regions with significant inbound and outbound aggregate transportation in Gyeongsangbuk-do are areas connected to Daegu Metropolitan City and Pohang City along the Gyeongbu rail line, showing a high correlation with population distribution. Gyeongsangbuk-do faces challenges such as population decline, aging rural areas, and insufficient balanced regional development. Analysis using GIS reveals these trends in gravel demand and supply. Currently in this study, Gyeongsangbuk-do meets its demand for aggregate through the supply of various aggregate sources, maintaining stable aggregate procurement. River and terrestrial aggregates may be sustained as short-term supply strategies due to the difficulty of longterm development. Considering the reliance on raw material supply for selective crushing, it suggests the need for raw material management to maintain stability. Gyeongsangbuk-do highlights quarries in the forest as an important resource for sustainable aggregate supply, advocating for the development of large-scale aggregate quarries as a long-term alternative. These research findings are expected to provide valuable insights for formulating strategies for sustainable management and stable utilization of aggregate resources.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.136-144
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• 2013

In this study, in order to establish a plan that will enable safe use of renewable resources such as diverse industrial by-products and urban recycled materials, we conducted experiments that focused on flow, bleeding, compressive strength and environmental pollution evaluation to evaluate the material properties of low strength concrete using BFS and SS. In the case of low strength concrete using BFS and SS, blending of at least BFS 6000 within a 30% range regardless of the type of sand used was found to be the most effective approach for improving the workability by securing the minimum unit quantity of water, restraining the bleeding ratio and establishing compressive strength by taking account of the applicability at the work site. In particular, in view of the efficient use of SS, the optimal mixing condition was found to be the mixing of BFS 8000 with in the 30% range, not only for improving the workability restraining the bleeding ratio and establishing the compressive strength but also for application to the work site. Further, the results of tests on hazardous substance content and those of elution tests conducted on soil cement using SS indicated that all values satisfied the environmental standards without any harmful effects on the surrounding environment.