• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.233-245
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• 2014

Coupled finite element analysis is carried out to study the effect of degree of saturation on the vertical displacements and pore water pressures simultaneously by developing a FORTRAN90 code. The finite element formulation adopted in the present study is based upon Biot's consolidation theory to include partially saturated soils. Numerical methods are applied to a two-dimensional plane strain strip footing (flexible) problem and the effect of variable degree of saturation on the response of excess pore water pressure dissipation and settlement of the footing is studied. The immediate settlement in the case of partly saturated soils is larger than that of a fully saturated soil, the reason being the presence of pore air in partially saturated soils. On the other hand, the excess pore water pressure for partially saturated soil are smaller than those for fully saturated soil.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1-7
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• 2013

Subcritical water which acts as organic solvent with increasing temperature and pressure because dielectric constant and viscosity decrease can be used to remediate PAHs-contaminated soil. Factors influencing on extraction were studied with varying the water temperature $200{\sim}275^{\circ}C$, extraction time 0~90 min, flow rate 10~100 mL/min and pressure 3.9~10MPa. 300 g of soil sample which was contaminated with PAHs(naphthalene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene; 423, 420, 539 and 428 mg/kg of initial concentration) was packed into the cell and placed to reactor and then the subcritical water was pumped through the cell for PAHs extraction. Naphthalene was removed almost 100% at relatively low temperature ($200^{\circ}C$). The removal rate of phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and pyrene increased by 8, 26, and 23% when the temperature increased from 200 to $275^{\circ}C$; and it was gradually increased as extraction time increased from 0 to 90 min. Decreasing removal rate when water flow rate increased from 10 to 30 mL/min, but there was no significant change after 30 mL/min. This is supposed due to channeling phenomenon. The pressure was not an effective factor for extraction of PAHs in this study. Based on the results, the importance of effective factor was in following sequence: temperature >> time > flow rate.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.116-122
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• 1996

This study has been focused on the applicability of microwave treatment of soil contaminated by volitile organic chemicals. Substrates studied were sand and sandy soil. These substrates were impregnated with toluene, tetrachloroethylene, o-xylene and p-dichlorobenzene. The microwave treatment was conducted in a modified domestic microwave oven: 2450 MHz, 700 W. The sandy soil temperature added water went up rapidly to about 130$\circ$C for 4 minutes. And then, the temperature appeared to plateau out. A series of tests were performed to depict the effectiveness of microwave treatment technique to organic contaminants from soils. Removal efficiencies in sandy soil and sand were increased with increasing water content and exposure time. Microwave radiation penetrates the soil and heats water throughout the matrix. Therefore, addition of a certain amount of water to the contaminated soil can efficiently enhance the ability of the soil to absorb microwave energy and promote the evaporation of the volitile contaminants. And the vapour pressure of impregnated organic contaminants becomes lower. the removal efficiency becomes poor.

• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.264-270
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• 2002

The frost heaving pressure can be a problem for weakening of the railroadbed material. In this study, upon freezing a saturated soil in a closed-system from the top, a considerable pressure was developed. This pressure is induced as a result of a curved ice-water interface. This study was initiated to investigate the soils frost heaving expansion pressure and physical characteristics resulting from freezing and freezing-thawing cycle process. Weathered granite soils, sandy soil were used in the laboratory freezing test subjected to thermal gradients under closed-systems.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.35-35
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• 2017

How do plants take up water from soils especially when water is scarce in soils? Plants have a strategy to respond to water deficit to manage water necessary for their survival and growth. Plants regulate water transport inside them. Water flows inside the plant via (i) apoplastic pathway including xylem vessel and cell wall and (ii) cell-to-cell pathway including water channels sitting in cell membrane (aquaporins). Water transport across the root and leaf is explained by a composite transport model including those pathways. Modification of the components in those pathways to change their hydraulic conductivity can regulate water uptake and management. Apoplastic barrier is modified by producing Casparian band and suberin lamellae. These structures contain suberin known to be hydrophobic. Barley roots with more suberin content from the apoplast showed lower root hydraulic conductivity. Root hydraulic conductivity was measured by a root pressure probe. Plant root builds apoplastic barrier to prevent water loss into dry soil. Water transport in plant is also regulated in the cell-to-cell pathway via aquaporin, which has received a great attention after its discovery in early 1990s. Aquaporins in plants are known to open or close to regulate water transport in response to biotic and/or abiotic stresses including water deficit. Aquaporins in a corn leaf were opened by illumination in the beginning, however, closed in response to the following leaf water potential decrease. The evidence was provided by cell hydraulic conductivity measurement using a cell pressure probe. Changing the hydraulic conductivity of plant organ such as root and leaf has an impact not only on the speed of water transport across the plant but also on the water potential inside the plant, which means plant water uptake pattern from soil could be differentiated. This was demonstrated by a computer simulation with 3-D root structure having root hydraulic conductivity information and soil. The model study indicated that the root hydraulic conductivity plays an important role to determine the water uptake from soil with suboptimal water, although soil hydraulic conductivity also interplayed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2010.03a
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• pp.599-606
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• 2010

It has been reported that many slope failures in unsaturated soils are mainly caused by downward infiltration due to rainfall. The rainfall characteristics could be an important factor, and more predictable slope failures can be achieved by considering more reasonable rainfall conditions. So, a need exists that these trends of infiltration in weathered soils, which is commonly found in Korea, are assessed by considering rainfall conditions based on phenomenological approach. In this paper, numerical analyses of unsaturated soil slope under rainfall conditions are presented based on the soil-water characteristic curve in the laboratory and huff method. Then the performance of unsaturated weathered soil slopes was evaluated under various conditions after applying the effect of overburden pressure on SWCCs and fines contents. The results demonstrated that the rainfall conditions using Huff method can be very effective and the proper application on analysis is very important to enhance the prediction on unsaturated slope stability.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Advanced Composite Structures
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.86-94
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• 2015

A series of injection and drainage test were conducted on an circular acrylic tube to investigate the pressure generated by the accumulated fill materials inside a circular acrylic tube structure. The acrylic tube was filled by means of gravity filling with a slurry material having an average water content of 700%. The water head during the filling process was 1.8m and the bottom pressure during initial filling was 20.18kPa. The recorded stress at the sides of the acrylic tube was 17.89kPa during the filling process and was reduced to 13.58kPa during the leaving process. Continuous drainage of the acrylic tube has greatly influenced the stresses around the tube structure. As the water is gradually allowed to overflow, the generated pressure at the topmost pressure sensor of the tube was reduced further to 2.17kPa. Eventually, the initially liquid state slurry material transforms into plastic state after water has dissipated and substantial soil particles are deposited in the acrylic tube. The final water content of the deposited silt inside the acrylic tube after the test was 42%. It was found that the state of stresses(geo-static earth pressures) in the acrylic tube was anisotropic rather than isotropic.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.144-152
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• 1997

In this study the experiment on water retention cure was conducted by using a volumetric pressure plate extractor for two different soils (SUS and KUS). When the volumetric pressure plate extractor is used, the volume of water removed from the soil sample at each increasing pressure step can be accurately measured and retained. When pressure values are subsequently reduced, the volume of water that returns to the soil can then also be accurately measured. The hysteresis effect of water retention curve was considered in the experiment. Parameters of water retention function were estimated by fitting experimental data with three proposed equations. Results of estimation showed that parameters of Gardner, Brooks-Corey and van Genuchten equations were found to be associated with air-entry value and width of size distribution. Consequently van Genuchten equation was proved to be best fined through the measured data points.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.127-136
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• 2008

Geophysical survey for establishing a wide site for the distribution of water content, wetting front infiltration due to the rainfall, and distribution of groundwater level has been performed by using 8round penetration radar (GPR) method, electrical resistivity method, and so on. On the other hand, a narrow area survey was performed to use a permittivity method such as time domain reflectometry, frequency domain reflectometry, and amplitude domain reflectometry methods for estimating volumetric water content, soil density, and concentration of contaminant in surface and subsurface. The permittivity methods establish more corrective physical parameters than different found survey technologies mentioned above. In this study for establishment of infiltration behaviors for wetting front in the unsaturated soil caused by an artificial rainfall, soil physical parameters for volumetric water content, pore water pressure, and pore air pressure were measured by FDR measurement device and pore water pressure meter which are installed in the unsaturated weathered granite soil with different depths. Consequently, the authors were proposed to a new establishment method for analyzing the variations of volumetric water content and wetting front infiltration from the responses of infiltrating pore water in the unsaturated soil.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.998-1003
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• 2008

It has been recognized unsaturated soil behaviour playing an important role in geomechanics. Up to now, only a few experimental data are available for the technical difficulties related to both volume changes and suction measurements. In this study, the volume changes of unsaturated compacted silty soil were monitored with proximeter (i.e. non-contactable transducer) during various triaxial compression tests, which gave a realistic estimation in the volume changes of unsaturated soil sample. Various triaxial compression tests for unsaturated soil under different drainage conditions are carried out. The behaviour of the pore pressure, namely, the pore-air pressure and the pore-water pressure, and matric suction during the shearing tests are investigated. The experimental results have revealed that the mechanical behaviour of unsaturated soil can be significantly affected by the matric suction.