• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.785-801
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• 2017

Biopolymer treatment of geomaterials to develop sustainable geotechnical systems is an important step towards the reduction of global warming. The cutting edge technology of biopolymer treatment is not only environment friendly but also has widespread application. This paper presents the strength and slake durability characteristics of biopolymer-treated sand sampled from Al-Sharqia Desert in Oman. The specimens were prepared by mixing sand at various proportions by weight of xanthan gum biopolymer. To make a comparison with conventional methods of ground improvement, cement treated sand specimens were also prepared. To demonstrate the effects of wetting and drying, standard slake durability tests were also conducted on the specimens. According to the results of strength tests, xanthan gum treatment increased the unconfined strength of sand, similar to the strengthening effect of mixing cement in sand. The slake durability test results indicated that the resistance of biopolymer-treated sand to disintegration upon interaction with water is stronger than that of cement treated sand. The percentage of xanthan gum to treat sand is proposed as 2-3% for optimal performance in terms of strength and durability. SEM analysis of biopolymer-treated sand specimens also confirms that the sand particles are linked through the biopolymer, which has increased shear resistance and durability. Results of this study imply xanthan gum biopolymer treatment as an eco-friendly technique to improve the mechanical properties of desert sand. However, the strengthening effect due to the biopolymer treatment of sand can be weakened upon interaction with water.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.11-14
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• 2009

This paper is interested in the incorporation of crushed sand and desert sand in the composition the self compacting concretes (SCC). Desert dune sand, which has a fine extra granulometry, and the crushed sand, which contains an important content of fines, can constitute interesting components for SCC. Part II consists in studying the behaviour of SCC containing various sands with different origins. These sands, with different sizes, consist of several combinations of rolled sand (RS), crushed sand (CS) and desert sand (DS). The study examines the influence of the granular combination of sands on the characteristics in the fresh and the hardened state of SCC. The results of the experimental tests showed an improvement of the workability of the fresh SCC by combining sands of varied granulometry. The addition of the DS to CS or to RS allowed the increase of the mixture viscosity but decreased the mechanical strengths. Furthermore, the CS-RS combinations increased the compressive and the tensile strengths of the studied SCC. The optimized formulations of sands gave the highest performances of the SCC.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.92-106
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• 2004

Elemental dry deposition fluxes were measured using dry deposition plates from March to June 1998 in Seoul, Korea. During this spring sampling period several yellow sand events characterized by long-range transport from China and Mongolia impacted the area. Understanding the impact of yellow-sand events on atmospheric dry deposition is critical to managing the heavy metal levels in the environment in Korea. In this study, the measured flux of a primarily crustal metal, Al and an anthropogenic metal, Pb was used with two hybrid receptor models, potential source contribution function (PSCF) and residence time weighted concentration (RTWC) for locating sources of heavy metals associated with atmospheric dry deposition fluxes during the yellow-sand events in Seoul, Korea. The PSCF using a criterion value of the 75th percentile of the measured dry deposition fluxes and RTWC results using the measured elemental dry deposition fluxes agreed well and consistently showed that there were large potential source areas in the Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia and industrial areas near Tianjin, Tangshan, and Shenyang in China. Major industrial areas of Shenyang, Fushun, and Anshan, the Central China loess plateau, the Gobi Desert, and the Alaskan semi-desert in China were identified to be major source areas for the measured Pb flux in Seoul, Korea. For Al, the main industrial areas of Tangshan, Tianjin and Beijing, the Gobi Desert, the Alashan semi-desert, and the Central China loess plateau were found to be the major source areas. These results indicate that both anthropogenic sources such as industrial areas and natural sources such as deserts contribute to the high dry deposition fluxes of both Pb and Al in Seoul, Korea during yellow-sand events. RTWC resolved several high potential source areas. Modeling results indicated that the long-range transport of Al and Pb from China during yellow-sand events as well as non yellow-sand spring daytimes increased atmospheric dry deposition of heavy metals in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.161-177
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• 1993

The Yellow Sand Events observed over the Korean peninsula during 22-24 April, 1993 were examined using the synoptic data and GMS visible image to identify the transport path of the Yellow Sand and the main factor governing the duration of the Yellow Sand phenomenon. The 850 hPa convergence chart and the 700 hPa trajectory analyses of the air mass laden with Yellow Sand particles suggested that the Yellow Sand particles observed over Korea were probably transported from the Gobi Desert and the Loess Plateau. The duration of the Yellow Sand Events was about 35-40 hours rather shorter than normal as the high pressure system centered near the Mongolia region moved rapidly toward the Yellow Sea, which drove away the Yellow Sand particles over the Korean peninsula toward the Japan Islands, furthermore the low-level stratification of the air mass over the Korean penishula showed the unstable atmospheric condition leading to atmospheric diffusion of the particles. The trajectory analyses and the GMS visible image indicated that the long-range transport of the air mass laden with the Yellow Sand particles of this case was more dependent on the 700 hPa air flow than on the 850 hPa air flow.

• International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 2009

This paper examines the incorporation of the crushed sand (CS) and desert sand (DS) in the formation of self compacting concrete (SCC). These sands have been substituted for the rolled sand (RS), which is currently the only sand used in concretes and which is likely to run out in our country. DS, which comes from the Tunisian Sahara in the south, is characterized by a tight distribution of grains size. CS, a by-product of careers containing a significant amount of fines up to 15%, is characterized by a spread out granulometry having a maximum diameter of around 5mm. These two sands are considered as aggregates for the SCC. This first part of the study consists in analyzing the influence of the type of sand on the parameters of composition of the SCC. These sands consist of several combinations of 3 sands (DS, CS and RS). The method of formulation of the adopted SCC is based on the filling of the granular void by the paste. The CS substitution to the RS made it possible, for all the proportions, to decrease the granular voids, to increase the compactness of the mixture and to decrease the water and adding fillers proportioning. These results were also obtained for a moderate substitution of DS/CS (< 40%) and a weak ratio of DS/RS (20%). For higher proportions, the addition of DS to CS or RS did not improve the physical characteristics of the SCC granular mixture.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 1991

Yellow sands often occur in Korea during April and May each year, and they are believed to come from the Mongolian Gobi desert as the snow starts to melt in Spring time. Since the analysis of aerosol particulates can hardly distinguish the origin of particulates, the isentropic analysis of meteorological data is often used for the trajectories of the long range transport of yellows sand or air pollutants. The yellow sand case of April 9 $\sim$ 15, 1988, in Korea is analyzed for the identification of long range transport of yellow sands and their trajectories in East Asia, using isentropic analyses. We have tranformed the ECMWF grid data, analyzed in pressure coordinates, into the isentropic coordinates and then have traced the 286 K and 290 K air mass which started Gobi desert. The result shows the transport of yellow sands from the Gobi desert to the Korean peninsula.

• Atmosphere
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.137-147
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• 2012

The technique of Brightness Temperature Difference (BTD) between 11 and $12{\mu}m$ separates yellow sand dust from clouds according to the difference in absorptive characteristics between the channels. However, this method causes consistent false alarms in many cases, especially over the desert. In order to reduce these false alarms, we should eliminate the background noise originated from surface. We adopted the Background BTD (BBTD), which stands for surface characteristics on clear sky condition without any dust or cloud. We took an average of brightness temperatures of 11 and $12{\mu}m$ channels during the previous 15 days from a target date and then calculated BTD of averaged ones to obtain decontaminated pixels from dust. After defining the BBTD, we subtracted this index from BTD for the Yellow Sand Index (YSI). In the previous study, this method was already verified using the geostationary satellite, MTSAT. In this study, we applied this to the polar orbiting satellite, MODIS, to detect yellow sand dust over Northeast Asia. Products of yellow sand dust from OMI and MTSAT were used to verify MODIS YSI. The coefficient of determination between MODIS YSI and MTSAT YSI was 0.61, and MODIS YSI and OMI AI was also 0.61. As a result of comparing two products, significantly enhanced signals of dust aerosols were detected by removing the false alarms over the desert. Furthermore, the discontinuity between land and ocean on BTD was removed. This was even effective on the case of fall. This study illustrates that the proposed algorithm can provide the reliable distribution of dust aerosols over the desert even at night.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2008

A geochemical technique based on rare earth element geochemistry was used to clarity the source of the Asian dust (Yellow sand) in the Daejeon area. The Asian dusts were collected 4 times during 31th March- 2nd April and 25th May-27th May 2007. The Yellow sand shows PAAS (Post Archean Australian Shale)-normalized REE pattern of the flattened LREE and slightly depleted LREE without Eu anomaly, whereas the Daejeon soil has slightly enriched LREE and depleted HREE with negative Eu anomaly. Our results show that REE patterns of the Asian dust are LREE-flattened similar to those of the sediment from the south-eastern part of Ordos desert. This suggests that Asian dust in the Daejeon area might be derived from the south-eastern part of Ordos desert.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.497-503
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• 2020

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the shallower depth of the earth's crust is composed of loose dune or beach sand with soluble salts. The expansive behavior of salt bearing soil, fluctuation of ground water table and extreme environmental conditions offer a variety of geotechnical problems affecting safety and serviceability of the infrastructure built on it. Despite spending money, time and other resources on repair and rehabilitation, no significant attention is paid to explore the root causes of excessive differential settlement and cracking to these facilities. The scientific solution required to ensure safety and serviceability of the constructed infrastructure is to improve the strength and durability properties of the supporting ground. In this study, shredded plastic is employed as a low cost and locally available additive to improve strength characteristics of the desert sand. The study shows a remarkable increase in the shear strength and normal settlement of the soil. A seven (07) degree increase in angle of internal friction is achieved by adding 0.4 percent of the shredded plastic additive. The effect of different proportions and sizes of the plastic strips is also investigated to obtain optimum values. Such a long-lived solution will seek to reduce maintenance and repair costs of the infrastructure facilities laid on problematic soil along with reduction of environmental pollutants.

• Proceedings of the KGS Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.39-45
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• 2003

Linear dunes are the most ubiquitous of all desert dune types ( Lancaster, 1982： Pye and Tsoar, 1990; Bristow et al., 2000) and occur as aeolian bedforms that cover no less than 40 ％ of the world's desert sand dune areas (Bullard et al., 1995). Despite their omnipresence, however, their origin and long-term development remain inadequately understood (Tseo, 1993; Bullard et al., 1995; Bristow et al., 2000, Wang et al., 2002). (omitted)