• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.282-290
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• 2014

Though there have been advances in the numerical analysis of the acoustic scattering by smooth objects, numerical analysis of the acoustic scattering by the objects that are partially exposed on the interface are still rare. In determining the backscattering amplitude by a partially buried cylinder on a seabed, reverberation by the interface changes the feature of the scattering form function. Current study adopted the Method of moments (MoM) to provide the numerical analysis on the backscattering amplitude for a partially buried cylinder on a flat interface. Suggested numerical analysis showed the good agreements with the measurements and the analytic solution obtained by the Kirchhoff approximation. Numerical analysis described in the current study can be applied to the backscattering problem of any shape of the objects partially imbedded on a seabed by combining the reverberation from the seabed with the scattered wave from the objects.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.39-47
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• 2016

In order to prevent leakage of leachate in offshore landfill, hydraulic barrier is indispensable. In the case of rubble mound revetment at offshore landfill, HDPE sheet in slope should be installed. In this study, seepage analysis were performed to evaluate seepage and flow in the seabed and revetment according to extended length of HDPE sheet by using SEEP/W. Results show that, in the case of low permeability layer is distributed where extended length of HDPE sheet was more than 1m, seepage flux in seabed and revetment was greatly reduced. In order to prevent seepage in seabed and revetment in the case of sand layer of high permeability is existed above low permeable layer, extended length of HDPE sheet and impermeable improvement width of permeable layer should be more than 1m at seabed.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.1213-1220
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• 2015

A deep seabed integrated mining system consists of a mining vessel, a lifting pipe, a buffer station, a flexible pipe, and a mining robot for collecting manganese nodules. Recently, the concept of multiple mining robots was introduced to enhance to mining productivity. In this paper, the subsystem synthesis method was applied to the deep seabed integrated mining system in order to improve the efficiency of system analysis and to facilitate its extension to the system of multiple mining robots. Large deflections of the lifting and flexible pipe were considered by dividing a flexible pipe into several substructures, and applying flexible multibody dynamics to each substructure. Theoretical study has been carried out for the efficiency of the subsystem synthesis method for the integrated mining system, by comparing the arithmetic operational counts of the subsystem synthesis method with those of the conventional method.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.180-184
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is the improvement of a hook for the collection of marine wastes on the seabed, which is connected to the spring device. The performance of the modified hook was tested on the seabed around Wando island. The collection efficiency of the hook was improved especially in the rocky area on the seabed. A experiment in the study area is verified with seafloor images displayed by Side Scan Sonar. The modified hook can be used for the collection of marine wastes with the its less frequent loss in the sea.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2015

International Seabed Authority (ISA) is currently developing rules with regard to exploitation of manganese nodules which will be contained in its first regulations governing the exploitation of deep seabed mineral resources. A stakeholder survey was conducted in the early 2014 by ISA with the aim of facilitating participation of interested entities in the development process of the rules. The stakeholders who had replied to the survey included existing contractors, sponsoring States, environmentalists, academics, and nongovernmental organizations. Opinions given by them largely reflect their own interests. This paper aims to clarify the scope of the obligations regarding the environmental protection which may be imposed on contractors under the new regulations for the exploitation of manganese nodules. To do so, it first analyses the express provisions on environmental protection applicable to deep seabed mining included in the Law of the Sea Convention, its agreement on implementation of Part XI, and the regulations on exploration for manganese nodules. Secondly, it categorizes these obligations based on the categories of international obligations suggested by Combacau and Alland. Based on the categorizations this paper concludes that, in addition to the existing duties to protect deep seabed environment within the Law of the Sea Convention system, the following new obligations could be added: conservation of exploitation sites for a limited time after the contract is ceased; taking all necessary measures for rehabilitation of destroyed ecosystems that occurredas a result of mining activities; monitoring exploitation sites for a limited period time after the contract is ceased; observing rules and standards on safety of ships and environmental protection adopted under IMO instruments; regulation on the discharge of mine tailings from the facilities used for exploitation of deep sea minerals. Lastly, this paper attempts to provide ways of reflecting national interests in terms of potential obligations which may be included in the new regulations.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.447-454
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• 2014

In August, 2013, we collected epifaunal megabenthos using a deep sea camera (DSC) around a benthic impact study (BIS) site. This was located in the KR5 block of the Korea Deep Ocean Study (KODOS) area in the Northeastern Pacific. The DSC was positioned at $6.8{\pm}2.9m$ (SD) from the sea bottom and was operated from a position at $131^{\circ}56.85^{\prime}-131^{\circ}55.02^{\prime}W$ for 2.3 h at a speed of 1-2 knot. The geographical features of the study area consisted of two structures; a trough in the middle and hills at the east and west sides. Sediment conditions were consistent within six blocks and were affected by slope and polymetallic nodule deposits. We analyzed 226 megafaunal species. Sipunculida comprised the highest percentage of individuals (39%), and the dominant epifaunal megabenthos were Hormathiidae sp., Primnoidae sp., Hexactinellida sp., Hyphalaster inermis, Freyella benthophila, Paelopatides confundens, Psychropotes longicauda, and Peniagone leander. More than 80% of the total density of megafauna occurred on sea plain (D- and E-blocks). We found two distinct groups in the community, one located on sea plains and the other along both sides of the sea slop. Our results suggest that geographical features such as slope and polymetalic nodule deposits are important in controlling the distribution of the epifaunal megabenthos around the KODOS area.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.373-381
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• 2014

Korea contract Mn-nodule field in the NE equatorial Pacific is composed of seven sectors with average water depths of 4,513-5,025 m. Of the various factors controlling the properties of Mn-nodule, it seems that water depth is likely connected to the chemical composition and occurrence of nodules. To test whether such an assumption held in each sector, we reviewed previous research data accumulated since 1994 for one of the northern sectors (hereafter KR1) where there are stark contrasts in water depth. High-resolution seabed mapping clearly separates a northern part (KR1N) from a deeper southern part (KR1S), cutting across in the middle of the KR1. In addition, significant volcanic activities forming numerous seamounts are distinctive especially in KR1N. In terms of nodule occurrence, manganese nodules in KR1S are comparatively larger (2-4 cm) with a discoidal shape, while those in KR1N are generally small (<2 cm) with poly-lobate and irregular shapes. Nodules in KR1N also have lower Co, Cu, Mn and Ni, and higher Fe contents. The spatial separation in nodule characteristics might be caused by volcanic activities in KR1N rather than water depth contrast. During the formation of the seamounts in KR1N, rock fragments and volcanic ashes as new nuclei of the nodules would have been continuously generated. As a result, the nodules could not grow larger than 2 cm and display the shapes of a newbie (i.e., irregular and poly-lobate shapes). Moreover, significant Fe supply from volcanic activities probably decreases the Mn/Fe ratio, which may lead to the KR1 nodules being misinterpreted as a hydrogenic in origin compared to other sectors where a high Mn/Fe ratio is present.

• Journal of Advanced Research in Ocean Engineering
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.86-98
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• 2016

In this study, after the installation of a subsea pipeline, backfilling was performed in the trenched area. During these operations, a stability problem in the subsea pipeline occurred. The pipeline was directly impacted by environmental loading such as waves and currents that were caused by backfill material when scouring or sediment transport and siltation was carried out. Therefore, this study reviewed whether trenching was necessary, and conducted research into an indigenous seabed property that contains granular soil. A study of cohesive soil was also conducted in order to cross-correlate after calculating the values of the critical Shields parameter relevant to elements of the external environment such as waves and current, and the shear Shields parameter that depends on the actual shearing stress. In case of 1), sedimentation or erosion does not occur. In the case of 2), partial sedimentation or erosion occurs. If the case is 3), full sedimentation or erosion occurs. Therefore, in the cases of 1) or 2), problems in structural subsea pipeline stability will not occur even if partial sedimentation or erosion occurs. This should be reflected particularly in cases with granular and cohesive soil when a reduction in shear strength occurs by cyclic currents and waves. In addition, since backfilling material does not affect the original seabed shear strength, a set-up factor should be considered to use a reduced of the shear strength in the original seabed.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.387-394
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• 2015

Before salvaging a wrecked ship, the physics-based simulation is needed to predict lifting force before real operation by floating crane or barge. Procedures affecting lifting force for the salvage can be divided into three stages. At the first stage, the bottom breakout force for the wrecked ship to escape from seabed sediment should be calculated. At the second step, the current force acting on the wrecked ship while lifting from the seabed to near sea surface should be considered. Finally, buoyancy change near at the sea surface when the wrecked ship start to escape from the water should be considered. In the previous studies, only the breakout force at the first stage was calculated based on simple assumption of embedment depth and contact area of the wrecked ship. Therefore, we develop a program for salvage simulation including whole stages. It is composed of four modules such as the equations of motion, time integration, force calculation, and visualization. As a result, it is applied to simulate lifting the wrecked ship according to various environmental loads including seabed sediments.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.227-243
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• 2015

In this paper, the effects of nonlinear soft clay on dynamic embedment of offshore pipeline were investigated. Seabed embedment by pipe-soil interactions has impacts on the structural boundary conditions for various subsea structures such as pipeline, riser, pile, and many other systems. A number of studies have been performed to estimate real soil behavior, but their estimation of seabed embedment has not been fully identified and there are still many uncertainties. In this regards, comparison of embedment between field survey and existing empirical models has been performed to identify uncertainties and investigate the effect of nonlinear soil parameter on dynamic embedment. From the comparison, it is found that the dynamic embedment with installation effects based on nonlinear soil model have an influence on seabed embedment. Therefore, the pipe embedment under dynamic condition by nonlinear parameters of soil models was investigated by Dynamic Embedment Factor (DEF) concept, which is defined as the ratio of the dynamic and static embedment of pipeline, in order to overcome the gap between field embedment and currently used empirical and numerical formula. Although DEF through various researches is suggested, its range is too wide and it does not consider dynamic laying effect. It is difficult to find critical parameters that are affecting to the embedment result. Therefore, the study on dynamic embedment factor by soft clay parameters of nonlinear soil model was conducted and the sensitivity analyses about parameters of nonlinear soil model were performed as well. The tendency on dynamic embedment factor was found by conducting numerical analyses using OrcaFlex software. It is found that DEF was influenced by shear strength gradient than other factors. The obtained results will be useful to understand the pipe embedment on soft clay seabed for applying offshore pipeline designs such as on-bottom stability and free span analyses.