• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.459-466
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• 2018

By conducting uniaxial loading cycle tests on the coal rock with outburst proneness, the dilatation characteristics at different loading rates were investigated. Under uniaxial loading and unloading, the lateral deformation of coal rock increased obviously before failure, leading to coal dilatation. Moreover, the post-unloading recovery of the lateral deformation was rather small, suggesting the onset of an accelerated failure. As the loading rate increased further, the ratio of the stress at the dilatation critical point to peak-intensity increased gradually, and the pre-peak volumetric deformation decreased with more severe post-peak damage. Based on the laboratory test results, the lateral deformation of the coals at different depths in the #1302 isolated coal pillars, Yangcheng Coal Mine, was monitored using wall rock displacement meter. The field monitoring result indicates that the coal lateral displacement went through various distinct stages: the lateral displacement of the coals at the depth of 2-6 m went through an "initial increase-stabilize-step up-plateau" series. When the coal wall of the working face was 24-18 m away from the measuring point, the coals in this region entered the accelerated failure stage; as the working face continued advancing, the lateral displacement of the coals at the depth over 6 m increased steadily, i.e., the coals in this region were in the stable failure stage.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.238-242
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• 2009

This study investigated the effects of organic loading rates on simultaneous carbon and nitrogen removal in an innovative fixed-film aerobic bioreactor. The fixed-film bioreactor (FFB) was composed of a two-compartment aeration tank, in which a synthetic filamentous carrier was submerged as biofilm support media, and a settling tank which polyvinylidene media (Saran) was used as settling aid for suspended solids. Three different organic loading rates, ranging from 0.92-2.02 kg chemical oxygen demand/$m^3$/day were applied by varying hydraulic retention time (HRT). The total soluble organic carbon removal efficiencies were in the range of 90-97%. The removal efficiency of ammonia was found to be in the range of 70-84%. Total nitrogen removal efficiency was found to be in the range of 40-45%, which indicates that denitrification reactions occurred simultaneously in the attached biofilm on the fibrous media in the aeration tank. The settling performance of suspended solids was significantly improved due to the presence of Saran media in the settling compartment, even for a short HRT. The fixed-film aerobic bioreactor used in this study demonstrated efficient treatment efficiency even at higher organic loading rates and at short HRTs.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.131-139
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• 2004

In this study, on-site sewage treatment tests were conducted using the Absorbent Biofilter System (ABS) under different hydraulic loading rates to examine its treatment characteristics and efficiencies and to determine its feasibility as a small on-site sewage treatment system in a rural area. Results showed that the removal rates of BOD and SS were satisfactory at hydraulic loading rates of 100~150 cm/day, meeting the Korean effluent water quality standards for the riparian zone (10 mg/L). In the case of nutrients (N, P), however, the system did not perform well, necessitating further improvement for nutrient removal. A comparative analysis indicated that as a small on-site sewage treatment system, the ABS would be more suitable than other treatment systems in terms of performance stability, maintenance requirement, and cost-effectiveness and could be applied as an alternative treatment system in Korean rural areas.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.4A
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• pp.529-536
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• 2008

The failure behavior of structures is changed under different loading rates, which might arise from the rate dependency of materials. This phenomenon has been focused in the engineering fields. However, the failure mechanism is not fully understood yet, so that it is hard to be implemented in numerical simulations. In this study, the numerical experiments to a brittle material are simulated by the Molecular Dynamics (MD) for understanding the rate dependent failure behavior. The material specimen with a notch is modeled for the compact tension test simulation. Lennard-Jones potential is used to describe the properties of a brittle material. Several dynamic failure features under 6 different loading rates are achieved from the numerical experiments, where remarkable characteristics such as crack roughness, crack recession/arrest, and crack branching are observed during the crack propagation. These observations are interpreted by the energy inflow-consumption rates. This study will provides insight about the dynamic failure mechanism under different loading rates. In addition, the applicability of the MD to the macroscopic mechanics is estimated by simulating the previous experimental research.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.86 no.5
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• pp.607-619
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• 2023

This study, it was tried to evaluate the asphalt behavior under tensile loading conditions through indirect Brazilian and direct tensile tests, experimentally and numerically. This paper is important from two points of view. The first one, a new test method was developed for the determination of the direct tensile strength of asphalt and its difference was obtained from the indirect test method. The second one, the effects of particle size and loading rate have been cleared on the tensile fracture mechanism. The experimental direct tensile strength of the asphalt specimens was measured in the laboratory using the compression-to-tensile load converting (CTLC) device. Some special types of asphalt specimens were prepared in the form of slabs with a central hole. The CTLC device is then equipped with this specimen and placed in the universal testing machine. Then, the direct tensile strength of asphalt specimens with different sizes of ingredients can be measured at different loading rates in the laboratory. The particle flow code (PFC) was used to numerically simulate the direct tensile strength test of asphalt samples. This numerical modeling technique is based on the versatile discrete element method (DEM). Three different particle diameters were chosen and were tested under three different loading rates. The results show that when the loading rate was 0.016 mm/sec, two tensile cracks were initiated from the left and right of the hole and propagated perpendicular to the loading axis till coalescence to the model boundary. When the loading rate was 0.032 mm/sec, two tensile cracks were initiated from the left and right of the hole and propagated perpendicular to the loading axis. The branching occurs in these cracks. This shows that the crack propagation is under quasi-static conditions. When the loading rate was 0.064 mm/sec, mixed tensile and shear cracks were initiated below the loading walls and branching occurred in these cracks. This shows that the crack propagation is under dynamic conditions. The loading rate increases and the tensile strength increases. Because all defects mobilized under a low loading rate and this led to decreasing the tensile strength. The experimental results for the direct tensile strengths of asphalt specimens of different ingredients were in good accordance with their corresponding results approximated by DEM software.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1989.04a
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• pp.38-43
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• 1989

An improved model for predicting the reinforced concrete element behavior under dynamic strain rates was developed using the layer modeling technique. The developed strain rate sensitive model for axial/flexural analysis of reinforced concrete elements was uses to predict the test results, performed at different loading rates, and the predictions were reasonable. The developed analysis technique was used to study the loading rate sensitivity of reinforced concrete beams and columns with different geometry and material properties. Two design formulas for computing the loading rate dependent axial and flexural strengths of reinforced concrete sections were also suggested.

• Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.323-328
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• 2001

The behavior of bridge column under multi-directional loading as well as uni-directional loading need to be studied because bridge columns will be subjected to the multi-directional cyclic loading during a strong earthquake. To evaluate the capacity of columns, uni-axial cyclic loading tests and bi-axial alternate cyclic loading tests were carried out. The number of cycles of alternate bi-axial loading were determined considering the ratio of natural frequencies in two orthogonal directions. From the test results, strength degradation and ductility reduction were observed in biaxial loading conditions. Their rates were found to be more rapid in the loading pattern that was determined considering the different natural frequencies.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.151-159
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• 2018

Annually, the global production of construction aggregates reaches over 40 billion tons, making aggregates the largest mining sector by volume and value. Currently, the aggregate industry is shifting from sand to hard rock as a result of legislation limiting the extraction of natural sands and gravels. A major implication of this change in the aggregate industry is the need for understanding rock fragmentation and energy absorption to produce more cost-effective aggregates. In this paper, we focused on incorporating dynamic rock and soil mechanics to understand the effects of loading rate and water saturation on the rock fragmentation and energy absorption of three different sandstones (Red, Berea and Buff) with different pore sizes. Rock core samples were prepared in accordance to the ASTM standards for compressive strength testing. Saturated and dry samples were subsequently prepared and fragmented via fast and dynamic compressive strength tests. The particle size distributions of the resulting fragments were subsequently analyzed using mechanical gradation tests. Our results indicate that the rock fragment size generally decreased with increasing loading rate and water content. In addition, the fragment sizes in the larger pore size sample (Buff sandstone) were relatively smaller those in the smaller pore size sample (Red sandstone). Notably, energy absorption decreased with increased loading rate, water content and rock pore size. These results support the conclusion that rock fragment size is positively correlated with the energy absorption of rocks. In addition, the rock fragment size increases as the energy absorption increases. Thus, our data provide insightful information for improving cost-effective aggregate production methods.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.129-145
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• 2006

This paper provides an insight into the response of non-seismic reinforced concrete (RC) building frames to excitations of different frequencies through experimental investigation. The results of cyclic loading tests of six full-scale RC beam-column sub-assemblies are presented. The tested specimens did not have any transverse reinforcement inside the joint core, and they were subjected to quasi-static and dynamic loading with frequencies as high as 20 Hz. Some important differences between the cyclic responses of non-seismic and ductile RC frames are highlighted. The effect of excitation frequency on the behavior of non-seismic joints is also discussed. In the quasi-static tests, shear deformation of the joint panel accounted for more than 50% of the applied story drift. The test results also showed that higher-frequency excitations are less detrimental than quasi-static cyclic loads, and non-seismic frames can withstand a higher load and a larger deformation when they are applied faster.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.306-310
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• 2009

Packed-bed reactor for removing ammonia was tested at different loading rates. Nitrifiers for ammonia removing was encapsulated in gel media which consisted of polyethlene glycol, alginate and activated carbon. The removal efficiency was nearly 100% when ammonia loading was $12g/m^3/hr$, and the maximum elimination capacity (EC) achieved on this study was $18g/m^3/hr$. The initial microbial portion of nitrifiers in the media was about 82% and it was increased to more than 90% at the end of the operation. Short-term shock loading test was carried out to survey the stability of the media. The inlet loading rates were varied from 2 to $20g/m^3/hr$. The packed-bed reactor overcame the shock loading i.e. removal efficiency recovered rapidly from about 80% to almost 100% within 6 hrs. The results of Live/Dead cell test showed that nitrifiers maintained there activity in the encapsulated media during the test and also against ammonia shock load.