• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.228-243
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• 2023

Bentonite is widely recognized and utilized as a buffer material in high-level radioactive waste repositories, mainly due to its favorable characteristics such as swelling capability and low permeability. Bentonite buffers play an important role in ensuring the safe disposal of radioactive waste by providing a low permeability barrier and effectively preventing the migration of radionuclides into the surrounding rock. However, the long-term performance of bentonite buffers still remains a subject of ongoing research, and one of the main concerns is the erosion of the buffer induced by swelling and groundwater flow. The erosion of the bentonite buffer can significantly impact repository safety by compromising the integrity of buffer and leading to the formation of colloids that may facilitate the transport of radionuclides through groundwater, consequently elevating the risk of radionuclide migration. Therefore, it is very important to numerically quantify the erosion of bentonite buffer to evaluate the long-term performance of bentonite buffer, which is crucial for the safety assessment of high-level radioactive waste disposal. In this technical note, Two-region model is introduced, a proposed model to simulate the erosion behavior of bentonite based on a dynamic bentonite diffusion model, and quantitative evaluation is conducted for the bentonite buffer erosion with this model.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.5 no.1_2 s.6
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• pp.9-15
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• 1997

The study area is located in the Central Bransfield Basin, Antarctica. To analyze the morphology of seafloor, structure of basement, and seismic stratigraphy of the sedimentary layers, we have acquired, processed, and interpreted the multi-channel seismic data. The northwest-southeastern back-arc extension dramatically changes seafloor morphology, volcanic and fault distribution, and basin structure along the spreading ridges. The northern continental shelf shows a narrow, steep topography. In contrast, the continental shelf or slope in the south, which is connected to the Antarctic Peninsula, has a gentle gradient. Volcanic activities resulted in the formation of large volcanos and basement highs near the spreading center, and small-scale volcanic diapirs on the shelf. A very long, continuous normal fault characterizes the northern shelf, whereas several basinward synthetic faults probably detach into the master fault in the south. Four transfer faults, the northwest-southeastern deep-parallel structures, controlled the complex distributions of the volcanos, normal faults, depocenters, and possibly hydrocarbon provinces in the study area. They have also deformed the basement structure and depositional pattern. Even though the Bransfield Basin was believed to be formed in the Late Cenozoic (about 4 Ma), the hydrocarbon potential may be very high due to thick sediment accumulation, high organic contents, high heat flow resulted from the active tectonics, and adequate traps.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.201-219
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• 2017

The Jinan Basin which includes Maisan locates in the central part of the northern boundary of the Yeongnam Massif. The basement rocks of the Jinan Basin and surrounding area are Precambrian gneiss and Mesozoic granite which were exposed on the surface before Cretaceous. The Jinan Basin, one of the Cretaceous pull-apart basins in South Korea, formed along the Yongdong-Gwangju fault system. Maisan is composed of conglomerate deposited in the eastern slope of the Jinan Basin showing the shape of horse ears and the unusual topography where many tafonies were developed. The strike slip fault that caused the Jinan Basin was connected to the deep depth so that the magma formed at 200 km depth could have extruded on the surface causing active volcanic activity in and around the Jinan basin. As a result, Cheonbansan composed of pyroclastic rocks, Gubongsan consisting of volcanic neck and WoonilamBanilam formed by the lava flow, appear around Maisan forming a specific terrain. After the formation of the Jinan Basin and surrounding volcanic rocks, they uplifted to form mountains including Masian; the uplifting time may be ca. 69-38 Ma. At this time, the Noryeong mountain range may be formed in the regions which extended from Chugaryeong through Muju and Jinan to Hampyeong dividing the Geumgang and Seomjingang water systems. Due to the ecological barrier, the Noryeong mountain range, Coreoleuciscus splendidus living in the Geumgang water systems was differentiated from that in the Soemjingang water system. In addition, the Geumgang and Mangyeong-Dongjingang water systems were separated by the Unjangsan, which developed in the NNW direction. As a result, diverse ecosystem have been established in and around Maisan and at the same time, diverse cultural and historical resources related to Maisan's unique petrological features, were also established. Therefore, Maisan and surrounding area can be regarded as a place where a geotourism can be successfully established by combining the ecological, cultural and historical resources with a geological heritage. Therefore Maisan and surrounding areas have a high possibility to be a National Geopark and UNESCO Global Geopark.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.463-471
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• 2006

Electrical resistivity surveys were conducted at areas of abandoned landfills in Cheonan and Wonju. Geology and extent of leachate migration around the landfills were evaluated with collected resistivity data by 2-D and 3-D resistivity inverse modeling. The Cheonan landfill is located above the paddy fields and the resistivity survey lines were crossed to examine possible pollution at the paddy fields by leakage of the landfill leachate. In Wonju, the landfill and the downgradient paddy fields are divided by a concrete barrier wall. At the bottom of the landfill, there is a leachate settlement system, which has not been in operation. To evaluate leachate leakage into the paddy fields, a total of 4 survey lines were used. According to the resistivity survey results, the landfill leachate in Cheonan appeared to be restricted only within the interior of the landfill, not to migrate into the subsurface of the paddy fields. These results are well consistent with electrical conductivity values of groundwaters obtained from a periodic analysis of water qualities. In Wonju, however, it was inferred that the leachate emanating from the landfill migrated beneath the abandoned leachate settlement system and the leachate would reach the downgradient paddy fields. Low resistivity area was observed in the old reservoir area and it appeared to be derived from convergence of groundwater flows from the surrounding valley and the moist wet land. In addition, groundwater flow into the paddy fields occurs beneath the old reservoir embankment at depths of $7{\sim}8m$. This paper reports details of the resistivity surveys for the uncontrolled landfills.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Conference
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• 2000.06a
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• pp.16-23
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• 2000

The increasing functional needs of top-quality printing papers and packaging paperboards, and especially the rapid developments in electronic printing processes and various computer printers during past few years, set new targets and requirements for modern paper quality. Most of these paper grades of today have relatively high filler content, are moderately or heavily calendered , and have many coating layers for the best appearance and performance. In practice, this means that many of the traditional quality assurance methods, mostly designed to measure papers made of pure. native pulp only, can not reliably (or at all) be used to analyze or rank the quality of modern papers. Hence, introduction of new measurement techniques is necessary to assure and further develop the paper quality today and in the future. Paper formation , i.e. small scale (millimeter scale) variation of basis weight, is the most important quality parameter of paper-making due to its influence on practically all the other quality properties of paper. The ideal paper would be completely uniform so that the basis weight of each small point (area) measured would be the same. In practice, of course, this is not possible because there always exists relatively large local variations in paper. However, these small scale basis weight variations are the major reason for many other quality problems, including calender blacking uneven coating result, uneven printing result, etc. The traditionally used visual inspection or optical measurement of the paper does not give us a reliable understanding of the material variations in the paper because in modern paper making process the optical behavior of paper is strongly affected by using e.g. fillers, dye or coating colors. Futhermore, the opacity (optical density) of the paper is changed at different process stages like wet pressing and calendering. The greatest advantage of using beta transmission method to measure paper formation is that it can be very reliably calibrated to measure true basis weight variation of all kinds of paper and board, independently on sample basis weight or paper grade. This gives us the possibility to measure, compare and judge papers made of different raw materials, different color, or even to measure heavily calendered, coated or printed papers. Scientific research of paper physics has shown that the orientation of the top layer (paper surface) fibers of the sheet paly the key role in paper curling and cockling , causing the typical practical problems (paper jam) with modern fax and copy machines, electronic printing , etc. On the other hand, the fiber orientation at the surface and middle layer of the sheet controls the bending stiffness of paperboard . Therefore, a reliable measurement of paper surface fiber orientation gives us a magnificent tool to investigate and predict paper curling and coclking tendency, and provides the necessary information to finetune, the manufacturing process for optimum quality. many papers, especially heavily calendered and coated grades, do resist liquid and gas penetration very much, bing beyond the measurement range of the traditional instruments or resulting invonveniently long measuring time per sample . The increased surface hardness and use of filler minerals and mechanical pulp make a reliable, nonleaking sample contact to the measurement head a challenge of its own. Paper surface coating causes, as expected, a layer which has completely different permeability characteristics compared to the other layer of the sheet. The latest developments in sensor technologies have made it possible to reliably measure gas flow in well controlled conditions, allowing us to investigate the gas penetration of open structures, such as cigarette paper, tissue or sack paper, and in the low permeability range analyze even fully greaseproof papers, silicon papers, heavily coated papers and boards or even detect defects in barrier coatings ! Even nitrogen or helium may be used as the gas, giving us completely new possibilities to rank the products or to find correlation to critical process or converting parameters. All the modern paper machines include many on-line measuring instruments which are used to give the necessary information for automatic process control systems. hence, the reliability of this information obtained from different sensors is vital for good optimizing and process stability. If any of these on-line sensors do not operate perfectly ass planned (having even small measurement error or malfunction ), the process control will set the machine to operate away from the optimum , resulting loss of profit or eventual problems in quality or runnability. To assure optimum operation of the paper machines, a novel quality assurance policy for the on-line measurements has been developed, including control procedures utilizing traceable, accredited standards for the best reliability and performance.

• Clean Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2019

A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor packed with $Ni-CeO_2/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ catalyst was used for the dry ($CO_2$) reforming of propane (DRP) to improve the production of syngas (a mixture of $H_2$ and CO) and the catalyst stability. The plasma-catalytic DRP was carried out with either thermally or plasma-reduced $Ni-CeO_2/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ catalyst at a $C_3H_8/CO_2$ ratio of 1/3 and a total feed gas flow rate of $300mL\;min^{-1}$. The catalytic activities associated with the DRP were evaluated in the range of $500{\sim}600^{\circ}C$. Following the calcination in ambient air, the ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ impregnated with the precursor solution ($Ni(NO_3)_2$ and $Ce(NO_3)_2$) was subjected to reduction in an $H_2/Ar$ atmosphere to prepare $Ni-CeO_2/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ catalyst. The characteristics of the catalysts were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), temperature programmed reduction ($H_2-TPR$), temperature programmed desorption ($H_2-TPD$, $CO_2-TPD$), temperature programmed oxidation (TPO), and Raman spectroscopy. The investigation revealed that the plasma-reduced $Ni-CeO_2/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ catalyst exhibited superior catalytic activity for the production of syngas, compared to the thermally reduced catalyst. Besides, the plasma-reduced $Ni-CeO_2/{\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ catalyst was found to show long-term catalytic stability with respect to coke resistance that is main concern regarding the DRP process.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.587-609
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• 2019

Short-and long-term stabilities of bentonite, favored material as buffer in geological repositories for high-level waste were reviewed in this paper in addition to alternative design concepts of buffer to mitigate the thermal load from decay heat of SF (Spent Fuel) and further increase the disposal efficiency. It is generally reported that the irreversible changes in structure, hydraulic behavior, and swelling capacity are produced due to temperature increase and vapor flow between $150{\sim}250^{\circ}C$. Provided that the maximum temperature of bentonite is less than $150^{\circ}C$, however, the effects of temperature on the material, structural, and mineralogical stability seems to be minor. The maximum temperature in disposal system will constrain and determine the amount of waste to be disposed per unit area and be regarded as an important design parameter influencing the availability of disposal site. Thus, it is necessary to identify the effects of high temperature on the performance of buffer and allow for the thermal constraint greater than $100^{\circ}C$. In addition, the development of high-performance EBS (Engineered Barrier System) such as composite bentonite buffer mixed with graphite or silica and multi-layered buffer (i.e., highly thermal-conductive layer or insulating layer) should be taken into account to enhance the disposal efficiency in parallel with the development of multilayer repository. This will contribute to increase of reliability and securing the acceptance of the people with regard to a high-level waste disposal.

• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.117-128
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• 2021

In order for the users (shipping firms and shippers) and suppliers (stevedoring firms) in the container terminal industry to win-win, it is necessary to have some appropriate diverse market conditions for the industry. This study analyses the basic conditions and demand and supply characteristics of the industry and investigates the market performance of Busan container ports. First, this article analyses the basic characteristics of demand and supply. As the demand characteristics, there are five ones such as 1) exogeneity of demand, 2) function as export/import transportation and hub for transshipment, 3) increase of users' bargaining power, 4) high substituting elasticity, 5) reduction of volume growth. As the supply characteristics, there are seven ones such as 1) inelasticity of supply, 2) homogeneity of stevedoring services, 3) over-supply, 4) adoption of cutting-edge stevedoring technology, 5) scale economy and impossibility of storage, 6) labor market rigidity, 7) enhancing port's role in SCM. In addition, this study conducts the so-called structure-conduct-performance analysis. For the structure analysis, 1) lacks of scale economy in stevedoring companies, 2) high entry barrier, 3) strengthening of shipping firms' bargaining power, 4) transitory permission scheme for tariff are analyzed. For the conduct analysis, 1) price discrimination between export/import and transshipment, 2) mid-term length of terminal use contract, 3) continuous investment in equipment, 4) low level of cooperation among terminal operating firms are derived. For the performance analysis, 1) inequality in profitability, 2) reduction of export/import cost, 3) delay in adopting cutting-edge technology, 4) idle equipment are analyzed. Following this logical flow, the hypothesis that the market structure influences the market conduct is tested based on the actual dataset. As a future agenda in the conclusion, this article recommends the so-called port industrial policy.