• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.335-346
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• 2022

Buckling failure is a typical slope instability mode that should be paid more attention to. It is difficult to provide systematic guidance for the monitoring and management of such slopes due to unclear mechanism. Here we examine buckling failure as the potential instability mode for a slope above a railway tunnel in southwest China. A comprehensive model test system was developed that can be used to conduct buckling failure experiments. The displacement, stress, and strain of the slope were monitored to document the evolution of buckling failure during the experiment. Monitoring data reveal the deformation and stress characteristics of the slope with different slipping mass thicknesses and under different top loads. The test results show that the slipping mass is the main subject of the top load and is the key object of monitoring. Displacement and stress precede buckling failure, so maybe useful predictors of impending failure. However, the response of the stress variation is earlier than displacement variation during the failure process. It is also necessary to monitor the bedrock near the slip face because its stress evolution plays an important role in the early prediction of instability. The position near the slope foot is most prone to buckling failure, so it should be closely monitored.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.283-290
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• 2012

Objectives: People who have chronic diseases, as well as gait imbalance or psychiatric drug use, may be susceptible to injuries from falls and slips. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of musculoskeletal diseases on incidental fall-related injuries among adults in Korea. Methods: We analyzed data from the 4th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2009), which are national data obtained by a rolling survey sampling method. The 1-year incidence of fall-related injuries was defined by health service utilization within the last year due to injury occurring after a slip and fall, and musculoskeletal diseases included osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and back pain. To evaluate the effects of preexisting musculoskeletal diseases, adults diagnosed before the last year were considered the exposed group, and adults who had never been diagnosed were the unexposed group. Results: The weighted lifetime prevalence of musculoskeletal disease was 32 540 per 100 000 persons. Musculoskeletal diseases were associated with a higher risk of fall-related injury after adjustment for sex, age, residence, household income, education, occupation, visual disturbance, paralysis due to stroke, and medication for depression (odds ratio [OR], 1.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.93). As the number of comorbid musculoskeletal diseases increased, the risk of fall-induced injuries increased (p-value for trend <0.001). In particular, patients who had any musculoskeletal condition were at much higher risk of recurrent fall-related injuries (OR, 6.20; 95% CI, 1.06 to 36.08). Conclusions: One must take into account the risk of fall-related injuries and provide prevention strategies among adults who have musculoskeletal diseases.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.577-596
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• 2016

FRP-concrete interfacial mechanical properties determine the strengthening effect of RC beams strengthened with FRP. In this paper, the model experiments were carried out with eight specimens to study the failure modes and the strengthening effect of RC beams strengthened with FRP. Then a theoretical model based on interfacial performances was proposed and interfacial mechanical behaviors were studied. Finite element analysis confirmed the theoretical results. The results showed that RC beams strengthened with FRP had three loading stages and that the FRP strengthening effects were mainly exerted in the Stage III after the yielding of steel bars, including the improvement of the bearing capacity, the decreased ultimate deformation due to the sudden failure of FRP and the improvement of stiffness in this stage. The mechanical formulae of the interfacial shear stress and FRP stress were established and the key influence factors included FRP length, interfacial bond-slip parameter, FRP thickness, etc. According to the theoretical analysis and experimental data, the calculation methods of interfacial shear stress at FRP end and FRP strain at midspan were proposed. When FRP bonding length was shorter, interfacial shear stress at FRP end was larger that led to concrete cover peeling failure. When FRP was longer, FRP reached the ultimate strain and the fracture failure of FRP occurred. The theoretical results were well consistent with the experimental data.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2011

Objective: The aim of this study is to reclassify human errors and to develop hands-on tools to apply the new classification for preventing human error accidents in highway construction site. Background: The main cause of accidents in highway construction was reported as the carelessness of workers. However, such diagnosis could not help us operationally prevent accidents in real workplace. Method: The accidents in highway construction were reanalyzed and the causes of human error were reclassified in order to educate and improve the awareness of human error in highway construction. Field survey and interview with safety managers and workers were conducted to find the causal relationship between the actual accidents and the human errors. Results: The most frequently observed human errors in highway construction were classified into six categories such as mis-perception, distraction, memory fail, slip, cognition error and mis-judgment. In order to provide hands-on tools to increase the awareness of human error in construction field, the human error checklist and card sorting diary were developed. Especially, the card sorting diary was designed to increase the ability in human error inspection of safety manager at construction site. Moreover, posters were developed based on actual accident cases. Conclusion: We suggested that the improved awareness and analytical report on checklist, card sorting diary and posters for construction field could collectively prevent the accident. Application: The classification of human error, hands-on tools and posters can be directly applicable on highway construction site. This analytical and collective approach preventing human error-related accident could be extended to other construction workplaces.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.17-28
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• 2023

This study aimed to verify the validity of the evaluation items and weight determination of the indoor environmental safety area, which has the most frequent accidents, among the safety certification evaluations of educational facilities by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea, which has been conducted since May 2021. As a preceding study, the evaluation items of the school safety evaluation checklist being implemented in the US state of Vermont were compared, and the causes of accidents judged by teachers in the accident experiences written by 200 Korean teachers were compared with the safety certification evaluation items belonged to the Ministry of Education. In addition, research literature using the AHP analysis technique on safety risks of elementary and secondary schools in China and safety evaluation index study cases of 539 elementary school children in Indonesia were analyzed. Through these preceding studies, measures to add and adjust evaluation items were derived and the validity and importance rankings of evaluation items were calculated through AHP questionnaires to teachers and safety experts. In addition, a survey was conducted on 104 ordinary people to verify the results of expert analysis. As a result of expert AHP analysis, 'safety education and disaster response training (.396)' was the highest priority for the relative importance of the first layer, followed by 'safety measures (.387)' and 'building materials'. Safety (.216)' was found to be the highest priority. In the overall importance ranking of the 13 second-tier screening items, safety accident prevention education had the highest priority and disaster preparedness training ranked second, proving that the Ministry of Education's review weight was underestimated. In addition, slip and collision accident countermeasures, which were not in the existing Ministry of Education review items, ranked 4th, laboratory practice room safety measures ranked 6th, and sanitation, cleanliness, hazardous substance management, and cafeteria/cooking room safety measures ranked 9th, indicating a significant level of importance. Referring to the importance ranking, which is the result of this study, it is suggested that it is necessary to review the weight of each review item again.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.531-549
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship of hydrochemistry, geology, fault with occurrence of uranium and radon-222 from the groundwater in the Yeongdong area. In this study, 49 groundwater and 4 surface water samples collected in the study area were collected on two separate occasions. The surface radioactivities were measured at 40 points to know the relationship between the occurrence of uranium in groundwater and surface geology. The chemical composition of groundwater showed three types : $Ca-HCO_3$, $Na-HCO_3$ and $Ca-HCO_3(SO_4,\;NO_3)$. Two groundwater of 49 samples exceeded the maximum contaminant levels of uranium, $30{\mu}g/L$, proposed by the Ministry of Environment of Korea and 11 groundwater of 40 samples for Rn-222 concentrations exceeded the 148 Bq/L maximum contaminant level of US EPA. Most of unsuitable groundwater are located in the geological boundary related with the biotite gneiss and the surface radioactivities of rock samples showed no relationship with groundwater geochemical constituents. The strike-slip fault, Youngdong fault, is $N45^{\circ}E$ direction and the high concentrations of uranium in upper part of fault, consisted of granite and granitic gneiss are detected but in lower part, consisted of metamorphic sedimentary rock are not detected. It suggests that the natural radioactive concentrations are related with the geologic characteristics and the migration and diffusion of natural radioactive materials are affected by the fault.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.215-226
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• 2021

To study the evolution mechanism of cracks in rocks with multiple defects, rock-like samples with multiple defects, such as strip-shaped through-going cracks and cavity groups, are used, and the crack propagation law and changes in AE (acoustic emission) and strain of cavity groups under different inclination angles are studied. According to the test results, an increase in the cavity group inclination angle can facilitate the initial damage degree of the rock and weaken the crack initiation stress; the initial crack initiation direction is approximately 90°, and the extension angle is approximately 75~90° from the strip-shaped through-going cracks; thus, the relationship between crack development and cavity group initiation strengthens. The specific performance is as follows: when the initiation angle is 30°, the cracks between the cavities in the cavity group develop relatively independently along the parallel direction of the external load; when the angle is 75°, the cracks between the cavities in the cavity group can interpenetrate, and slip can occur along the inclination of the cavity group under the action of the shear mechanism rupture. With the increase in the inclination angle of the cavity group, the AE energy fluctuation frequency at the peak stress increases, and the stress drop is obvious. The larger the cavity group inclination angle is, the more obvious the energy accumulation and the more severe the rock damage; when the cavity group angle is 30° or 75°, the peak strain of the local area below the strip-shaped through-going fracture plane is approximately three times that when the cavity group angle is 45° and 60°, indicating that cracks are easily generated in the local area monitored by the strain gauge at this angle, and the further development of the cracks weakens the strength of the rock, thereby increasing the probability of major engineering quality damage. The research results will have important reference value for hazard prevention in underground engineering projects through rock with natural and artificial defects, including tunnels and air-raid shelters.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.113-125
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• 1999

In this study the occurrence and mineralogical characteristics of clay minerals from the Munhyun-dong landslide area in Pusan city were examined by XRD, SEM, and chemical analyses. Several types of clay minerals such as halloysite, vermiculite, mica/vermiculite interstratified mineral, vermiculite/smectite interstratified mineral, kaolinite and illite are found abundantly in the area. The occurrence of clay minerals suggest that they have been formed by weathering of andesite which is the bedrock of the area. It is believed that halloysite was formed in the early stage of weathering, and vermiculite, mica/vermiculite interstratified mineral and mica/vermiculite interstratified mineral were formed in the middle stage, and finally, kaolinite was formed. The clay minerals occurring in the central part of the landsliding area and within the slip surface are dominated by expandable minerals such as halloysite, vermiculite and vermiculite/smectite interstratified mineral. These clay minerals expand by absorbing water and effectively decrease the shear resistance of the rock mass, and therefore, they could be an important factor for the landslide. The analyses of geology and mineralogical characteristics of the area suggest that the landslide was caused by combination of various factors including steep slope, heavy rainfall, abundant joints, alteration of the rocks, and occurrence of expandable clay minerals. The result of this study suggests that the investigation for the prevention of possible landslide must include the examination of clay mineralogy as well as the site geology.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.6_2
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• pp.1901-1922
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• 2021

Since most large earthquakes occur by reactivation of preexisting active faults, it is important to understand the locations and characteristics of active faults in terms of earthquake hazard research and earthquake disaster prevention. Recently, several remote sensing techniques are broadly used for lineament analysis performed prior to field surveys in active fault surveys. The aim of this paper is introducing simple principles and application examples of each remote sensing technique (satellite remote sensing, airborne remote sensing, InSAR, LiDAR) widely used for active fault investigation. This paper also explains the analytical methods for the slope break generated by fault activity based on GIS and the horizontal displacement of the strike-slip fault. In discussion, we would like to discuss the problems and solutions on making DEM based on aerial photography, and a new developed technique (RRIM) to overcome the problems of DEM based on aerial LiDAR. Understanding remote sensing techniques used for active fault investigation and utilizing appropriate methods depending on the situation and limitations of each remote sensing technique are important for effective active fault investigation.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.895-906
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• 2018

The improvement project for school zone in Korea is occurring mostly in kindergartens and elementary schools in which children are mainly active, and is being promoted as part of measures to prevent children's traffic accidents. However, since the study on the essential installation facilities and proper level of safety facilities for School zone is lacking, this study relatively evaluated the efficiency of safety facility installation using DEA (Data Envelope Analysis) and suggested improvement plan. We built the facilities and incident data for 28 school zones in Hwaseong City. Six major facilities (Raised intersection, Raised crosswalk, Protective fence, Skid Proof, Speed hump, Speed cameras) that have proven to be effective in the preceding research were analyzed as input factors. As a result of the analysis, only 12 out of 28 showed efficiency and 16 out of efficiency. Effective groups of school zones were found to have fewer installed Protective fences, Skid Proof, and Speed cameras installations than school zones classified as ineffective groups. Protective fences were found to be efficient even if only 47% of the total extension of the school zone was installed, and the number of slip prevention facilities was 8.7 per square km. The number of subjects to be compared is 28, so this study is limited to use as a relative efficiency evaluation index, and it can be grouped into nationwide units and efficiency evaluation can be done for each group.