• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.69-76
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• 2021

This study is to identify the mineralogical properties of caprock samples from drilling cores of the Pohang basin, which is the research area for the demonstration-scale CO2 storage project in Korea. The interaction of water-rock-gas that can occur due to CO2 injection was identified using geochemical modeling. Results of mineralogical studies, together with petrographic data of caprock and data on the physicochemical parameters of pore water were used for geochemical modeling. Modelling was carried out using the The Geochemist's Workbench 14.0.1 geochemical simulator. Two steps of modeling enabled prediction of immediate changes in the caprocks impacted by the first stage of CO2 injection and the assessment of long-term effects of sequestration. Results of minerlaogical analysis showed that the caprock samples are mainly composed of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase and a small amount of pyrite, calcite, kaolinite and montmollonite. After the injection of carbon dioxide, the porosity of the caprock increased due to the dissolution of calcite, and dawsonite and chalcedony were precipitated as a result of the dissolution of albite and k-feldspar. In the second step after the injection was completed, the precipitation of dawsonite and chalcedony occurred as a result of dissolution of calcite and albite, and the pH was increased due to this reaction. Results of these studies are expected to be used as data to quantitatively evaluate the efficiency of mineral trapping capture in long-term storage of carbon dioxide.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.113-126
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• 2017

In order to investigate the geological storage potential of $CO_2$, X-ray diffraction analysis were conducted for drilling core samples collected from the two drilling sites located in Yonil group of the Miocene Pohang Basin. As a result, various minerals were identified such as quartz, plagioclase, orthoclase opal-CT, smectite, mica, illite, kaolin mineral, chlorite, calcite, gypsum, pyrite, dolomite, and siderite. Smectite was detected in almost all of core samples, and relatively large amounts of smectite were observed in the cores from deeper strata. Opal-CT, mainly occurred in the upper interval of cores, was formed by diagenesis of amorphous diatoms. It shows a tendency that d101 value of cristobalite decreases with depth from $4.10{\AA}$ to $4.05{\AA}$. The almost identical variations in mineral composition with depth are observed at the two sites. This fact indicates that rocks distributed at the two sites were probably deposited in the similar depositional environments. It is determined that the strata in the study area can play roles of cap-rock for $CO_2$ storage, because the considerable amounts of smectite were contained in the rocks through the cores.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.265-280
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• 2023

Water leakage in tunnels is a defect that can affect tunnel stability and the ground movement by changing the stress and pore water pressure of the surrounding ground. Long-term or large-scale water leaks may lead to damage of tunnel structure and the surrounding environment, such as tunnel lining instability and ground surface settlement. The present study numerically investigated the effects of water leakage on the structural stability of a tunnel and the ground behavior. The tunnel was assumed to be under undrained conditions for preventing the inflow of the surrounding water and leaks occurred in the concrete lining after completion of the tunnel construction. A coupled hydro-mechanical analysis using a TOUGH-FLAC simulator developed in Python was conducted for assessing the leakage induced-behavior of the tunnel structure and ground under different conditions of the amount and location of water leak. Additionally, the effect of hydro-mechanical coupling terms on the results of coupled response was investigated and discussed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.12-23
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• 2016

For a successful accomplishment of Carbon Capture Sequestration (CCS) projects, appropriate injection conditions should be designed and optimized for site specific geological conditions. In this study, we evaluated the effect of injection conditions such as injection temperature and injection rate on the geomechanical stability of CCS system in terms of TOUGH-FLAC simulator, which is one of the well-known T-H-M coupled analysis methods. The stability of the storage system was assessed by a shear slip potential of the pre-existing fractures both in a reservoir and caprock, expressed by mobilized friction angle and Mohr stress circle. We demonstrated that no tensile fracturing was induced even in the cold CO2 injection, where the injected CO2 temperature is much lower than that of the reservoir and tensile thermal stress is generated, but shear slip of the fractures in the reservoir may occur. We also conducted a scenario analysis by varying injected CO2 volume per unit time, and found out that it was when the injection rate was decreasing in a step-wise that showed the least potential of a shear slip.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.675-685
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• 2015

Weathering is the breaking/cutting down process of rocks due to physical and chemical processes in natural as well as artificial environment including $CO_2$ injection for storage in the sediment, or natural resource recovery process. This study suggests an alternative method to estimate the degree of weathering for granites. A series of laboratory and field experiments are performed to measure electrical resistivities on various rock samples experienced different degrees of weathering and their residual soils under different saturation conditions. It is found that the normalized electrical resistivity increases with a decrease in water absorption and the saturation. Simple boundaries are suggested to identify the weathering degree of granites, based on limited data. Field test results for three sites confirm that the suggested method could be estimated well the degree of weathering of granites compared with the other methods suggested previously. Although further research is required, this study suggests that an electrical resistivity could be an effective approach to estimate the degree of weathering of granites compared with the other methods suggested previously.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.194-201
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• 2021

Induced polarization (IP) effect is known to be caused by electrochemical phenomena at interface between minerals and pore water. Spectral induced polarization (SIP) method is an electrical survey to localize subsurface IP anomalies while injecting alternating currents of multiple frequencies into the ground. This method was effectively applied to mineral exploration of various ore deposits. Titanomagnetite ores were being produced by a mining company located in Gonamsan area, Gwanin-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Because the ores contain more than 0.4 w% vanadium, the ore deposit is called as Gwanin vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM) deposit. The vanadium is the most important of materials in production of vanadium redox flow batteries, which can be appropriately used for large-scale energy storage system. Systematic mineral exploration was conducted to identify presence of hidden VTM orebodies and estimate their potential resources. In geophysical exploration, laboratory geophysical measurement of rock samples is helpful to generate reliable property models from field survey data. Therefore, we performed laboratory SIP data of the rocks from the Gwanin VTM deposit to understand SIP characteristics between ores and host rocks and then demonstrate the applicability of this method for the mineral exploration. Both phase and resistivity spectra of the ores sampled from underground outcrop and drilling cores were different of those of the host rocks consisting of monzodiorite and quartz monzodiorite. Because the phase and resistivity at frequencies below 100 Hz are mainly dependent on the SIP characteristics of the rocks, we calculated mean values of the ores and the host rocks. The average phase values at 0.1 Hz were ores: -369 mrad and host rocks: -39 mrad. The average resistivity values at 0.1 Hz were ores: 16 Ωm and host rocks: 2,623 Ωm. Because the SIP characteristics of the ores were different of those of the host rocks, we considered that the SIP survey is effective for the mineral exploration in vanadiferous titanomagnetite deposits and the SIP characteristics are useful for interpreting field survey data.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.156-162
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• 2005

Particularly in research related to seawater intrusion the change of fluid electrical conductivity is one of major concerns, and effective monitoring can help to optimize a water pumping performance in coastal areas. Special considerations should be given to the mounting of sensors at proper depth during the monitoring design since the vertical distribution of fluid electrical conductivity is sensitive to the characteristics of seawater intrusion zone. This tells us the multi-channel electrical conductivity monitoring is of paramount consequence. It, however, is a rare event when this approach becomes routinely available in that commonly used commercial stand-alone type sensors are very expensive and inadequate for a long term monitoring of electrical conductivity or water level due to their restricted storage and difficulty of real-time control. For this reason, we have developed a real-time monitoring system that could meet these requirements. This system is user friendly, cost-effective, and easy to control measurement parameters - sampling interval, acquisition range, and others. And this devised system has been utilized for the electrical conductivity monitoring in boreholes, Yeonggwang-gun, Korea. Monitoring has been consecutively executed for 24 hours, and the responses of electrical conductivity at some channels have been regularly increased or decreased while pumping up water. It, with well logging data implemented before/after pumping water, verifies that electrical conductivity changes in the specified depths originate from fluid movements through sand layer or permeable fractured rock. Eventually, the multi-channel electrical conductivity monitoring system makes an effective key to secure groundwater resources in coastal areas.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.1-10
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to present the possibility a utilization of the tertiary mudstone in Pohang as road subsoil material through pilot experiments on the road embankment structure. This mudstone is an unconsolidated rock that is distributed in the soft rock sedimentary layer, the tertiary layer of the Cenozoic, and causes physical problems such as slaking, swelling, and reduced shear strength and chemical problem like acid drainage. In order to solve various complex problems, an laboratory mixing test was conducted, and the optimal mixing conditions of the tertiary mudstone (90%), composite slag (steel making 70%, blast furnace 30%), and neutralization and coating agent treatment were derived. In order to prove its utilization, a real-scale road embankment structure was constructed and tests were conducted for each section. The pre-processing section is stable due to the design of optimal mixing conditions, while in post-processing section, natural weathering proceeded rapidly, and structural problems were concerned. Since the effect of neutralizing and coating agents was confirmed in temporary-staking section, the neutralizing and coating agents can be applied during the temporary storage period.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.191-200
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• 2004

The Ubo fault Bone, which cross over the northwestern to southeastern direction at the Hwabuk damsite in Hakseongri, Gunwigun, Gyeongsangbukdo Province, has length about 20km. The Ubo fault zone in this area is segmented to several small faults and makes a gentle slope and hill along the right side of the drainage in the Hwabuk dam. In the storage area of Hwabuk dam, 2 pairs of faults occur and the width of fracture zones are about 2m. To define the fracture Bone using the geochemical data, the samples were collected at 0.5m, 1m, 2m, 4m, 8m, 16m and 32m apart from the center of the main fracture Bone toward north and south, respectively, and analyzed for major elements and mineral content Approaching the fracture Bone, Fe$_2$O$_3$, MgO, K$_2$O, quartz, muscovite and chlorite are increasing and Na$_2$O, CaO, plagioclase and biotite are decreasing, respectively. Based on the rock chemistry and mineral content, the range of the main fracture zone affected by the Ubo fault at Hakseongri is 2m width in total, the secondary deformed zone is 8m width in total. Finally the maximum affected range by the Ubo fault is inferred to 16m width in total.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.4-31
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• 2018

The Neolithic pottery excavated from the Jungsandong site has been classified into four types of pottery (I: feldspar type, II: mica type, III: talc type and IV: asbestos type) according to their mineral composition. These four types of potteries generally appear to have undergone incomplete firing, while the level of oxidation in the type I pottery objects, which have a relatively higher clay content, was found to be particularly low. The type III objects, which have a high talc content, are judged to have been somewhat slow in removing carbon because they contain saponite belonging to the smectite group. Of the four types of pottery, type IV showed the highest redness and the most uniform characteristics, thus indicating a good level of oxidation. In particular, fixed carbide (C; 33.7 wt.%) with a thickness of about 1mm, and originating from organic substances, was detected inside the walls of the type I pottery, while the deep radial cracks in the outer surfaces of the pottery are thought to have been caused by repeated thermal shocks. Given that all of the pottery except for the type I artifacts are considered to be have been made for storage purposes, those containing talc and tremolite are easy to done liquid storing vessels based on an analysis of their material characteristics. As for the type II relics, which are composed of various minerals and exhibit poor physical properties, they seem to have been used for simple storage purposes. As domestic talc and asbestos mines were concentrated in the areas of Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Chungnam, it seems likely that talc and tremolite were produced as contiguous minerals. Considering the distance between the remains in Jungsandong and these mines and their geographical distribution, there is a possibility - albeit somewhat slight - that these mines were developed for the mining of various minerals. Although ultramafic rock masses - such as serpentine capable of generating talc and tremolite - have not been found in the Jungsandong area, limestone and biotite granite containing mica schist have been identified in the northwestern part of Yeongjong Island, indicating that small rock masses might have formed there in the past. Therefore, it is judged necessary to accumulate data on pottery containing talc and tremolite, other than the remains in Jungsandong, and to investigate the rocks and soils in the surrounding area with greater precision. The firing temperatures of the pottery found at the Jungsandong site were interpreted by analyzing the stability ranges of the mineral composition of each type. As a result, they have been estimated to range from 550 to $800^{\circ}C$ for the type I artifacts, and from 550 to $700^{\circ}C$ for the type I, II and IV artifacts. However, these temperatures are not the only factors to have affected their physical properties and firing temperature, and the types, particle sizes, and firing time of the clay should all be taken into consideration.