• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.107-115
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• 2016

Currently, there are 442 operating nuclear power plants in the world, and 62 more are under construction. According to this reasoning, the treatment of radioactive waste is important to prevent the environmental ecosystem including humans, animals, and plants. Especially, a leakage of radioactive waste causes not only regional problem but also serious global one. In this study, we demonstrate the effect of radioisotopes (e.g., cesium, strontium, and cobalt) on a 3D culture cell. To develop the 3D cell culture system, we used a 96-well-culture plate with biocompatible agarose hydrogel. Using this method, we can perform the 3D cell culture system with three different cell lines such as HeLa, HepG2, and COS-7. In addition, we conducted a cell viability test in the presence of radioisotopes. Interestingly, the 3D morphological cells showed 42% higher cell viability than those on the 2D against cesium. This result indicates that the 3D platform provides cells morphological and physiological characteristic similar to in vivo grown tissues. Moreover, it overcomes the limitation of conventional cell culture system that can't reflect in vivo systems. Finally, we believe that the proposed approach can be applied a new strategy for simple high-throughput screening and accurate evaluation of metal toxicity assay.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.239-246
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• 2014

A study on the elution characteristics of biostimulating agents (sulfate and nitrate) from biostimulants which are used for in-situ bioremediation for the coastal sediment contaminated with organic matter was performed. The biostimulating agents were mixed with the coastal sediment, and then massed the mixture into ball. Two kinds of ball type biostimulant were prepared by coating the ball surface with two different polymers, cellulose acetate and polysulfone. A granular type biostimulant (GTB) was also prepared by impregnating a granular activated carbon in the biostimulating agent solution. The image of scanning electron microscopy for the biostimulant coated with cellulose acetate (CAB) showed that the inner side of the coating layer consisted of irregular and bigger size of pores, and the surface layer had tight structure like beehive. For the biostimulant coated with polyfulfone (PSB), the whole coating layer had a fine structure without pore. The elution rate of the biostimulating agents for the CAB was higher than that for the PSB, and the elution rate for the GTB was considerably higher than that for the PSB in distilled water as well as in sea water. The elution rate of the biostimulating agents in turbulent water flow was about 3 times higher than that in standing water, and the elution rate of nitrate was higher than that of sulfate from the stimulating agents.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2005

Ultrasonic inspection methods are widely used for detecting flaws in materials. The signal analysis step plays a crucial part in the data interpretation process. A number of signal processing methods have been proposed to classify ultrasonic flaw signals. One of the more popular methods involves the extraction of an appropriate set of features followed by the use of a neural network for the classification of the signals in the feature spare. This paper describes an alternative approach which uses the least mean square (LMS) method and exportation maximization (EM) algorithm with the model based deconvolution which is employed for classifying nondestructive evaluation (NDE) signals from steam generator tubes in a nuclear power plant. The signals due to cracks and deposits are not significantly different. These signals must be discriminated to prevent from happening a huge disaster such as contamination of water or explosion. A model based deconvolution has been described to facilitate comparison of classification results. The method uses the space alternating generalized expectation maximiBation (SAGE) algorithm ill conjunction with the Newton-Raphson method which uses the Hessian parameter resulting in fast convergence to estimate the time of flight and the distance between the tube wall and the ultrasonic sensor. Results using these schemes for the classification of ultrasonic signals from cracks and deposits within steam generator tubes are presented and showed a reasonable performances.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.105-112
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• 2017

A lot of piping systems have been used from nuclear power systems to water supply systems. The maintenance of the piping systems is needed to ensure proper operation of the piping systems. Failure of the large pipe systems especially such as KDHC(Korea District Heating Corporation) can be a matter directly related to the enterprise productivity and profitability. It can also lead to very important issues in promoting public safety and convenience. Therefore a method of quick and safety repairs have been emerged as the most important problem. In this study, freezing seal isolation method using liquid nitrogen cryogenic refrigerant was developed for the maintenance of a pre insulated heat transport pipe of KDHC with a diameter of 300 mm. In this study, by employing computational analysis techniques we performed the flow and heat transfer analysis for the targeted pre insulated heat transfer pipe and freezing seal jacket(ice-Plug) and have selected for optimal system. The detailed design model based on the results of the computational analysis finally was produced. A laboratory-scale test apparatus were designed and the freezing seal isolation self-test carried out. Also the performance assessment tests in the test bed of KDHC were carried out for on-site application.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.91-97
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• 2007

A survey of risk perception in Korea was conducted in 2001 with a special emphasis on industrial and technological risks. This article summarizes the characteristics of risk perception in consideration of socio-demographic background of respondents. The survey with sample size of 1,870 evaluates the perceived level of 25 risk items in the areas of transportation, chemicals, environment, industry, and nuclear power generation. Risks are categorized by using factor analysis to clarify attitudinal or behavioral properties of risk perception. Research findings show that the level of perceived risk does not correspond to the statistical level. Socio-demographic variables are significant predictors in explaining risk perception, or the discrepancies between "subjective" and "objective" risks. Effective risk communication can reduce the perceptional discrepancies, improve the awareness of technological risks, and ultimately facilitate the process of making and implementing policies for risk management and safety regulation. This article tries to provides policy guidelines for "Who is the target for risk communication" and "Which risk has the policy priority for safety improvement." Married females at the age of 30s and 40s with lower education and lower income in small cities are more vulnerable to risk misperception than other groups. More information and knowledge regarding unfamiliar, intangible, new technological risks should be delivered to the vulnerable groups for reducing perceptional bias. Society-wide safety can be improved by integrating policy, human, and social factors as well as techno-engineering advances.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.399-407
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• 2010

The horizontal response spectra using the observed ground motions from the recent more than 19 macro earthquakes were analysed and then were compared to both the seismic design response spectra (Reg Guide 1.60), applied to the domestic nuclear power plants, and the Korean Standard Design Response Spectrum for general structures and buildings (1997). 130 horizontal ground motions, without considering soil types, were used for normalization with respect to the peak acceleration value of each ground motion. The results showed that response spectrum have strong dependency on epicentral distance. The results also showed that the horizontal response spectra revealed much higher values for frequency bands above 5 Hz than Reg. Guide (1.60). The results were also compared to the Korean Standard Response Spectrum for the 3 different soil types and showed that the vertical response spectra revealed much higher values for the frequency bands below 0.3 second than the Korean Standard Response Spectrum (SD soil condition). These spectral values dependent on frequency could be related to characteristics of the domestic crustal attenuation and the effect of each site amplification. However, through the qualitative improvements and quantitative enhancement of the observed ground motions, the conservation of horizontal seismic design response spectrum should be considered more significantly for the frequency bands above 5 Hz.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.533-541
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• 2021

Retaining walls have been used to prevent slope failure through resistance of earth pressure in railway, road, nuclear power plant, dam, and river infrastructure. To calculate dynamic earth pressure and determine the characteristics for seismic behavior, many researchers have analyzed the nonlinear response of ground and structure based on various numerical analyses (FLAC, PLAXIS, ABAQUS etc). In addition, seismic fragility evaluation is performed to ensure safety against earthquakes for structures. In this study, we used the FLAC2D program to understand the seismic response of the inverted T-type wall with a backfill slope, and evaluated seismic fragility based on relative horizontal displacements of the wall. Nonlinear site response analysis was performed for each site (S2 and S4) using the seven ground motions to calculate various seismic loadings reflecting site characteristics. The numerical model was validated based on other numerical models, experiment results, and generalized formula for dynamic active earth pressure. We also determined the damage state and damage index based on the height of retaining wall, and developed the seismic fragility curves. The damage probabilities of the retaining wall for the S4 site were computed to be larger than those for the S2 site.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.5A
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• pp.901-908
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• 2006

The structural integrity of containment building in Nuclear Power Plants has to be verified by the ISI(In Service Inspection) because there are some variations on the structural behavior of it due to the change of the physical properties of concrete and tendon with the lapse of time. In this study, the program 'SAPONC-CANDU' which can monitor and analyze the structural behavior of the containment building with grouted tendon (CANDU-type, 'Wolsong unit-2, 3, and 4' in Korea) was developed. This program is based on the algorithm which can calculate the prediction values of the quantities of strain variation for the vibrating-wire strain gauges embedded into the concrete of the containment building under temperature and time dependent factors which are creep, shrinkage, and prestressing force. The readings of the strain gauges are used as input data for the operation of the program. And it finally provides graphically a prediction value, line and band of the quantity of strain variation for the respective strain gauges, therefore, it is thought that the site engineers are able to assess the structural integrity of the domestic containment building with grouted tendon with easy using this program.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.6A
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• pp.543-560
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• 2010

Safety-related concrete structures in a nuclear power plant must be protected against the impact of flying objects, referred to in the profession as missiles. In practice, the structural verification is usually carried out by means of empirical formulas, which relate the velocity of the impinging missile to the wall thickness needed to prevent scabbing or perforation. The purpose of this study is to reevaluate the predictability of the local effect prediction formulas for the penetration and scabbing depths and perforation thickness. Therefore, available formulas for predicting the penetration depth, scabbing thickness, and perforation thickness of concrete structures impacted by solid missiles are summarized, reviewed, and compared. A series of impact analyses is performed to predict the local effects of the projectile at impact velocities varing from 95 to 215 m/s. The results obtained from the numerical simulations have been compared with tests that were carried out at Kojima to validate numerical modelling. The simulation results show reasonable agreement with the Kojima test results for the overall impact response of the RC slabs. From these results, it seems that the Degen equation give a very good estimate of perforation thickness against a tornado projectile for test data. Finally, the results obtained from the impact analysis have been compared with Degen formula to determine the perforation thickness of the RC slab.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.204-213
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• 2024

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a major cause of global warming and climate change, and are currently emerging as serious environmental problems worldwide. Among them, glass bottles do not decompose naturally, and a lot of resources and energy are input into the production and processing processes, so recycling of glass bottles is important in terms of resource conservation, minimizing environmental pollution, and reducing GHG. Therefore, this study created a material flow diagram of glass bottles using related statistical data such as domestic glass bottle production and processing volume. In addition, the US EPA WARM model, Germany Prognos calculation method, and Denmark Christensen's calculation method were used to estimate the greenhouse gas reduction amount of glass bottles. As a result of the study, out of about 490,000 tons of waste glass bottles discharged as municipal waste, about 300,000 tons (61.2%) were recycled, and the rest were incinerated (22.1%) and landfilled (17.3%). As of 2022, it is estimated that approximately 73,399 tons CO₂eq/yr will be reduced when applying the US EPA WARM model, approximately 52,847 tons CO₂eq/yr when applying the Prgonos calculation method, and approximately 135,201 tons CO₂eq/yr when applying the Christensen's calculation method. Further research is warranted that the methodology and GHG saving emission factors by reflecting glass recycling conditions and processes in Korea should be developed to reduce uncertainty of the results.