• 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 ㎛.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.23-29
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• 2019

In general, pipe laying works are performed by constructing underground facilities such as pipes and then refilling the rest of the area with sand or soil. However, there are many problems in the compaction process such as difficulties in tampering around the underground facility and low compaction efficiency. Such problems cause deformation and damage to the underground pipes during refilling work and ultimately cause road sinks. Construction methods using CLSM are one of the typical methods to solve these issues, and recently, studies on CLSM using coal ash, which has similar engineering properties as sand, have been actively performed to protect environment and recycle resources. While many studies have been conducted to recycle fly ash in many ways, the demand for recycling bottom ash is increasing as most of the bottom ash is not recycled and reclaimed at ash disposal sites. Therefore, in order to find bottom ash applications using eco-friendly soil binders that are environmentally beneficial and conform with CLSM standards, this study investigated flow characteristics and strength change characteristics of eco-friendly soil binders, weathered granite soil, a typical site-generated soil, bottom ash, and fly ash mixed soil and evaluated the soil pollution to present CLSM application methods using bottom ash.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.71-74
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• 2013

Here, we present a case of lung cancer in a 48-year-old male horse trainer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such case report to include an exposure assessment of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) as a quartz. The trainer had no family history of lung cancer. Although he had a 15 pack/year cigarette-smoking history, he had stopped smoking 12 years prior to his diagnosis. For the past 23 years, he had performed longeing, and trained 7-12 horses per day on longeing arena surfaces covered by recycled sands, the same surfaces used in race tracks. We investigated his workplace RCS exposure, and found it to be the likely cause of his lung cancer. The 8-hour time weight average range of RCS was 0.020 to $0.086mg/m^3$ in the longeing arena. Horse trainers are exposed to RCS from the sand in longeing arenas, and the exposure level is high enough to have epidemiological ramifications for the occupational risk of lung cancer.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.94-101
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• 2014

Approximately 240,000 tons of waste shells are produced annually in the south and west coast of South Korea. Some of these waste shells (oyster, cockle) are recycled as seeding collector and fertilizer, but most are dumped illegally near the coast. One of the alternative solutions that can economically utilize a large amount of these waste shells is to apply them to the production of construction materials. In this research, the basic physical properties of waste shells such as oyster, cockle, clam, manila clam were investigated, and were used to prepare cement mortar with a 25% replacement ratio of sand. According to the results, the 28 day compressive strength of cement mortar with cockle and manila clam shells was similar to that of plain cement mortar. The compressive strength decreased by about 18% when clam was used. However, the cement mortar with oyster shell showed about a 35% reduction in 28-day compressive strength, and two times the absorption capacity of plain cement mortar. The reduction in compressive strength and the increase in absorption capacity were mostly associated with the porous nature of the oyster shell.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1889-1894
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• 2012

A small-scale chamber test laboratory for controlled low strength materials with bottom ash and recycled in-situ soil have been carried out. Laboratory test which was simulated during construction stage was conducted. The vertical deflection of 4.43mm to 6.6mm, and the horizontal deflection of 5.49mm to 15.9 mm were measured during backfilling. In case of loading, the vertical deflection of 2.41mm to 8.69mm, and the horizontal deflection of 1.66mm to 2.53mm were measured. Its residual deflections were 1.40mm to 5.93mm for vertical and 1.66mm to 2.53mm for lateral. The vertical and horizontal deflecto of controlled low strength materials were smaller than that of sand backfill. Also, it was same trend for the measured surface settlement.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.131-138
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• 2013

This study was carried out to investigate the possibility of using basalt powder sludge instead of sand in a normal cement dry mortar as a way to recycle basalt powder sludge, which is a waste product from the manufacturing a process of basalt in Jeju. Basic performance evaluations of the dry mortar material included a compressive strength test, a flexural strength test, and SEM to observe the micro structure. The compressive and flexural strengths were increased to a replacement ratio of 21% of basalt powder sludge, whereby a strength enhancement of about 40% greater than that of normal dry mortar was shown. However, the creation of hydration products affected the replacement ratio of the basalt powder sludge. The possibility of using basalt powder sludge waste was identified in this study, and results showed that the basalt powder sludge waste could be used as a material for a secondary product of concrete.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.17-23
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• 2005

In Korea, the production of reclaimed concrete materials has been increased due to the increase in the concrete structures taken down every year. The reclaimed concrete materials have been reused as road materials. However, the studies on their mechanical and environmental properties have been very limited. The recycled rate of the materials is currently low in Korea. This paper presents the investigation of mechanical and environmental properties of the reclaimed concrete materials, as well as the comparisons with those of gravel. For the evaluation of the mechanical and environmental characteristics, following tests were conducted on both reclamed materials and gravel; liquid limit, plasticity index, CBR, sand equivalent test, abrasion test, pH test, and column leaching test. The test results showed that the reclaimed concretes satisfy the requirements for use as roadbase, subbase, and subgrade materials, except base materials. The pH of reclaimed concrete materials was less than 11 and the leaching test results satisfied the regulatory requirement of Waste Management Act in Korea. Based on the investigations, it appears that the reclaimed concrete materials are environmentally safe and applicable for use as road materials.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.535-543
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• 2019

Building on/with expansive soils with no treatment brings complications. Compacted expansive soils specifically fall short in satisfying the minimum requirements for transport embankment infrastructures, requiring the adoption of hauled virgin mineral aggregates or a sustainable alternative. Use of hauled aggregates comes at a high carbon and economical cost. On average, every 9m high embankment built with quarried/hauled soils cost $12600MJ.m^{-2}$ Embodied Energy (EE). A prospect of using mixed cutting-arising expansive soils with industrial/domestic wastes can reduce the carbon cost and ease the pressure on landfills. The widespread use of recycled materials has been extensively limited due to concerns over their long-term performance, generally low shear strength and stiffness. In this contribution, hydromechanical properties of a waste tyre sand-sized rubber (a mixture of polybutadiene, polyisoprene, elastomers, and styrene-butadiene) and expansive silt is studied, allowing the short- and long-term behaviour of optimum compacted composites to be better established. The inclusion of tyre shred substantially decreased the swelling potential/pressure and modestly lowered the compression index. Silt-Tyre powder replacement lowered the bulk density, allowing construction of lighter reinforced earth structures. The shear strength and stiffness decreased on addition of tyre powder, yet the contribution of matric suction to the shear strength remained constant for tyre shred contents up to 20%. Reinforced soils adopted a ductile post-peak plastic behaviour with enhanced failure strain, offering the opportunity to build more flexible subgrades as recommended for expansive soils. Residual water content and tyre shred content are directly correlated; tyre-reinforced silt showed a greater capacity of water storage (than natural silts) and hence a sustainable solution to waterlogging and surficial flooding particularly in urban settings. Crushed fine tyre shred mixed with expansive silts/sands at 15 to 20 wt% appear to offer the maximum reduction in swelling-shrinking properties at minimum cracking, strength loss and enhanced compressibility expenses.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.87-95
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• 2008

One way to shield an atypical structure to secure the occupant safety of an impact vehicle is to stack energy absorbing material modules around the structure. To be applicable to a cushion module, material must have enough energy absorbing capabilities while satisfying the safety requirements of the vehicle occupant. Static compression test of the potential materials gives a good indication which material is good for a slacking module. This paper presents the mechanical properties that a cushion material must have to satisfy the safety requirements. Static tests are performed for Quard-Guard system module, sand bag, recycled tires, Geo-Container, Geo-Cell and Expanded Polystyren (EPS) Blocks. Static test results are discussed and EPS block of $30kg/m^{3}$ density showed good potential for a cushion module. To check the dynamic effect of EPS block, drop tests have been made up to 35.6km/h impact speed. Drop test results are compared with static test results and no appreciable difference was found. To improve the EPS module property, making holes to the block is suggested and drop test are performed for the modified blocks. From the drop test results, design values are suggested.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.136-144
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• 2013

In this study, in order to establish a plan that will enable safe use of renewable resources such as diverse industrial by-products and urban recycled materials, we conducted experiments that focused on flow, bleeding, compressive strength and environmental pollution evaluation to evaluate the material properties of low strength concrete using BFS and SS. In the case of low strength concrete using BFS and SS, blending of at least BFS 6000 within a 30% range regardless of the type of sand used was found to be the most effective approach for improving the workability by securing the minimum unit quantity of water, restraining the bleeding ratio and establishing compressive strength by taking account of the applicability at the work site. In particular, in view of the efficient use of SS, the optimal mixing condition was found to be the mixing of BFS 8000 with in the 30% range, not only for improving the workability restraining the bleeding ratio and establishing the compressive strength but also for application to the work site. Further, the results of tests on hazardous substance content and those of elution tests conducted on soil cement using SS indicated that all values satisfied the environmental standards without any harmful effects on the surrounding environment.