• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.619-629
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• 2015

Influenced by various mining activities, fractures in rock masses have different densities, set numbers and lengths, which induce different mechanical properties and failure modes of rock masses. Therefore, precisely expressing the failure criterion of the fractured rock influenced by coal mining is significant for the support design, safety assessment and disaster prevention of underground mining engineering subjected to multiple mining activities. By adopting PFC2D particle flow simulation software, this study investigated the propagation and fractal evolution laws of the micro cracks occurring in two typical kinds of rocks under uniaxial compressive condition. Furthermore, it calculated compressive strengths of the rocks with different confining pressures and box-counting dimensions. Moreover, the quantitative relation between the box-counting dimension of the rocks and the empirical parameters m and s in Hoek-Brown strength criterion was established. Results showed that with the increase of the strain, the box-counting dimension of the rocks first increased slowly at the beginning and then exhibited an exponential increase approximately. In the case of small strains of same value, the box-counting dimensions of hard rocks were smaller than those of weak rocks, while the former increased rapidly and were larger than the latter under large strain. The results also presented that there was a negative correlation between the parameters m and s in Hoek-Brown strength criterion and the box-counting dimension of the rocks suffering from variable mining activities. In other words, as the box-counting dimensions increased, the parameters m and s decreased linearly, and their relationship could be described using first order polynomial function.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.171-183
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• 2020

The main objective of this study is the assessment of the ability of limestone mortars to resist to different chemical attacks. The ability of polypropylene (PP) fibres waste used as reinforcement of these concrete materials to enhance their durability is also studied. Crushed sand 0/2 mm which is a fine limestone residue obtained by the crushing of natural rocks in aggregates industry is used for the fabrication of the mortar. The fibres used, which are obtained from the waste of domestic plastic sweeps' fabrication, have a length of 20 mm and a diameter ranging between 0.38 and 0.51 mm. Two weight fibres contents are used, 0.5 and 1%. The durability tests carried out in this investigation included the water absorption by capillarity, the mass variation, the flexural and the compressive strengths of the mortar specimens immersed for 366 days in 5% sodium chloride, 5% magnesium sulphate and 5% sulphuric acid solutions. A mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a visual inspection are used for a better examination of the quality of tested mortars and for better interpretation of their behaviour in different solutions. The results indicate that the reinforcement of limestone mortar by PP fibres waste is an excellent solution to improve its chemical resistance and durability. Moreover, the presence of PP fibres waste does not affect significantly the water absorption by capillarity of mortar nether its mass variation, when exposed to chloride and sulphate solutions. While in sulphuric acid, the mass loss is higher with the presence of PP fibres waste, especially after an exposure of 180 days. The results reveal that these fibres have a considerable effect of the flexural and the compressive behaviour of mortar especially in acid solution, where a reduction of strength loss is observed. The mineralogical analysis confirms the good behaviour of mortar immersed in sulphate and chloride solutions; and shows that more gypsum is formed in mortar exposed to acid environment causing its rapid degradation. The visual observation reveals that only samples exposed to acid attack during 366 days have showed a surface damage extending over a depth of approximately 300 ㎛.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2011

Background: The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of critically ill patients with pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009 at a major medical center in Korea. Methods: This retrospective observational study examined critically ill adult patients with pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009, who were admitted to the AMC between August and December 2009. Results: 27 patients with confirmed pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009 were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Asan Medical Center (AMC). The median age (IQR) was 59 years (41~67), and 66.7% of the patients were older than 51 years. A total of 81.5% of the patients had 2 or more co-morbidities. The median time (IQR) from symptom onset to presentation was 2 days (1~4), and the median time from presentation to ICU admission was 0 days (0~1.5). All patients received oseltamivir (300 mg/day) and 13 patients received triple combination therapy (oseltamivir, amantadine, ribavirin). Twelve patients required mechanical ventilation on the first day of ICU admission. A total of 6 patients (22.2%) died within 28 days of admission. The patients who died had significantly higher acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores at presentation. There were no significant differences in age, co-morbidities, or antiviral regimens between survivors and non-survivors. Conclusion: Critical illness related to pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009 was common in elderly patients with chronic co-morbidities. All patients were given high-dose oseltamivir or triple combination antiviral therapy. Nonetheless, patients with critical illnesses associated with pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009 had a death rate of 22.2%.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.189-195
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• 2011

The design of new bioactive scaffolds offering physiologic environment for tissue formation is an important frontier in biomaterials research. In this study, we performed compressive strength, water-uptake ability, and SEM analysis for physical property assessment of 3-D silk/PLGA scaffold, and investigated the adhesion, proliferation, phenotype maintenance, and inflammatory responses of RAW 264.7 and NIH/3T3 for cell compatibility. Scaffolds were prepared by the solvent casting/salt leaching method and their compressive strength and water-uptake ability were excellent at 20 wt% silk content. Result of cell compatibility assay showed that inflammatory responses distinctly decreased, and initial adhesion and proliferation were maximized at 20 wt% silk content. In conclusion, we suggest that silk/PLGA scaffolds may be useful to tissue engineering applications.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.210-217
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• 2006

Many types of interspinous distraction devices (IDDs) have been recently developed as an alternative surgical treatment to laminectomy and fusion with pedicle screws for the treatment of the lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). They are intended to keep the lumbar spine in a slightly flexed posture to relieve pain caused by narrowing of the spinal canal and vertebral foramen. However, their biomechanical efficacies are not well known. In this study, we evaluated the kinematic behaviors and changes in intradiscal pressure (IDP) of the porcine lumbar spine implanted with IDD. For kinematics analysis, five porcine lumbar spines (L2-L6) were used and the IDD was inserted at L4-L5. Three markers (${\phi}{\le}0.8mm$) were attached on each vertebra to define a rigid body motion for stereophotogrammetric assessment of the spinal motion in 3-D. A moment of 7.5Nm in flexion-extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation were imparted with a compressive force of 700N. Then, IDD was implanted at L3-L4. IDPs were measured using pressure transducer under compression (700N) and additional extension moment (700N+7.5Nm). In kinematic behaviors, insertion of IDD resulted in statistically significant decrease 42.8% at the implanted level in extension. There were considerable changes in ROM at the adjacent levels, but statistically insignificant. In other motions, there were no significant changes in ROM as well regardless of levels. IDPs at the surgical level (L3-L4) under compression and extension moment decreased by 12.9% and 18.8% respectively after surgery (p<0.05). At the superiorly adjacent levels, IDPs increased by 19.4% and 12.9% under compression and extension, respectively (p<0.05). Corresponding changes at the inferiorly adjacent levels were 29.4% and 6.9%, but they were statistically insignificant (p>0.05). The magnitude of pressure changes due to IDD, both at the operated and adjacent levels, were far less than the previously reported values with conventional fusion techniques. Our experimental results demonstrated the IDDs can be very effective in limiting the extension motion that may cause narrowing of the spinal canal and vertebral foramens while maintaining kinematic behaviors and disc pressures at the adjacent levels.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.318-325
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• 2019

Recently, research and development on agricultural robots have been on the rise as the interest in smart farming has increased. Robots used in smart greenhouses should be taken into account with the working characteristics and growing environment. This study examined cleaning robots developed through the environmental analysis of smart greenhouses. This study assessed the evaluation method considering the requirements of the pest control robot applicable to the smart greenhouse. The performance and quality assessment criteria were established to conduct tests through the requirements of robots. The required functions and goals of the pest control robot were derived by referring to the robot-related standards. A driving and working ability test was conducted to assess the performance of the robot. The driving test was conducted on the driving performance of the robot and the work capability was tested on the pest control performance. In addition, a durability test was conducted to assess the quality of the robot. The required factors for smart greenhouse robots were derived from the test results. The study results are expected be a standard for an evaluation of a variety of robots for applications to smart greenhouses.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.8-14
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• 2019

Bird-strike is one of the most important design factors for safety in the aviation industry. Bird-strikes have been the cause of significant damage to aircraft and rotorcraft structures and the loss of life. This study used DYTRAN software to simulate the transient response of an Euler-Lagrangian composite helicopter blade that has been impacted by a bird. The Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) method and a suitable equation of state were applied to model the bird. ALE was applied to the bird-strike analysis due to the large difference between the properties of the blade and bird. The debris of the bird was assumed to be a fluid and applied as Euler elements after the collision. Through the analysis of bird impacts, the leading-edge of the rotor blade (50.8 mm) was used to identify a positive margin of 1.18 based on the TSAI-FILL criteria. The results are assessed to be sufficiently reliable and may be evaluated to replace tests with various analysis conditions. The structural stability of the rotor blade could be assessed by applying various load conditions and different modeling methods in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.5-13
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• 2019

The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) plays an important role in determining the soil suction parameters required to predict the seepage or shear behaviors of unsaturated soils. In addition, path dependency of the SWCC affects the mechanical and hydrologic behaviors. In general, there is a disadvantage that it takes a long time to measure both the drying and wetting paths of the SWCC by a stepwise pressurization method. Thus, the continuous pressurization method as an improved testing method for the SWCC was suggested, and the testing time for two paths of the SWCC was significantly shorter than the conventional methods. For the applicability evaluation of this method, the results of the SWCC obtained by the stepwise pressurization method and the evaporation method in this study were compared to the result obtained from this method. As a result, it was found that the difference among three methods was negligible, and the testing time of the continuous pressurization method was greatly decreased. Therefore, it can be said that it is possible to quickly and accurately measure the SWCC under various conditions by the continuous pressurization method.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.446-452
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• 2021

As a higher standard for food consumption is required, the consumption of chicken meat that can satisfy the subdivided food preferences is increasing. In March 2003, the quality criteria for chicken carcasses notified by the Livestock Quality Assessment Service suggested quality grades according to fecal contamination and the size and weight of blood and bruises. On the other hand, it is too difficult for human inspection to qualify mass products, which is key to maintaining consistency for grading thousands of chicken carcasses. This paper proposed the computer vision algorithm as a non-destructive inspection, which can identify chicken carcass parts according to the detailed standards. To inspect the chicken carcasses conveyed at high speed, the image calibration was involved in providing robustness to the side effect of external lighting interference. The separation between chicken and background was achieved by a series of image processing, such as binarization based on Expectation Maximization, Erosion, and Labeling. In terms of shape analysis of chicken carcasses, the features are presented to reveal geometric information. After applying the algorithm to 78 chicken carcass samples, the algorithm was effective in segmenting chicken carcass against a background and analyzing its geometric features.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.506-513
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• 2020

In this study, the mechanical properties, absorption, and reduction performance of NOx in the mortar containing mineral admixture like zeolite and active hwangtoh were evaluated. Zeolite and active hwangtoh were used as binder, and zeolite and active hwangtoh were substituted for cement. The substitution ratio of two types of mineral admixtures was considered as 20 and 30% respectively. As a result of evaluating the compressive strength and flexural strength of each mortar specimen, the highest strength in the plain mixture was evaluated. As the substitution ratio of zeolite and active hwangtoh increased, the compressive and flexural strength decreased. In addition, the difference of compressive and flexural strength between active hwangtoh and zeolite mixing was evaluated to be insignificant. To evaluate the absorption rate, the mixture was designed to lower the W/B ratio of the existing mixture and set the substitution ratio of active hwangtoh and zeolite at 25%. The highest absorption ratio in the mortar with zeolite was evaluated, and the difference in absorption ratio between the remaining two mortar mixtures was small. The assessment of reduction performance of NOx considering the application of photocatalyst showed a clearly decreasing reduction behavior, even if they were the same mortar mixture. Zeolite and active hwangtoh also showed a higher NOx reduction than the Plain mixture, because of their porosity properties. In the case of active hwangtoh, the absorption ratio was lower than that of zeolite mixture, but the reduction of NOx performance was better than the result of zeolite mixture.