• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2015

Background: In 2006, three farmers died at the bottom of an agricultural shallow well where the atmosphere contained only 6% oxygen. This study aimed to document the variability of levels of oxygen and selected hazardous gases in the atmosphere of wells, and to identify ambient conditions associated with the low-oxygen situation. Methods: A cross-sectional survey, conducted in June 2007 and July 2007, measured the levels of oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and explosive gas (percentage of lower explosive limit) at different depths of the atmosphere inside 253 wells in Kamphaengphet and Phitsanulok provinces. Ambient conditions and well use by farmers were recorded. Carbon dioxide was measured in a subset of wells. Variables independently associated with low-oxygen condition (<19.5%) were identified using multivariate logistic regression. Results: One in five agricultural shallow wells had a low-oxygen status, with oxygen concentration decreasing with increasing depth within the well. The deepest-depth oxygen reading ranged from 0.0% to 20.9%. Low levels of other hazardous gases were detected in a small number of wells. The low-oxygen status was independently associated with the depth of the atmosphere column to the water surface [odds ratio (OR) = 13.5 for 8-11 m vs. <6 m], depth of water (OR = 0.17 for 3-<8 m vs. 0-1 m), well cover (OR = 3.95), time elapsed since the last rainfall (OR = 7.44 for >2 days vs. <1 day), and location of well in sandy soil (OR = 3.72). Among 11 wells tested, carbon dioxide was detected in high concentration (>25,000 ppm) in seven wells with a low oxygen level. Conclusion: Oxygen concentrations in the wells vary widely even within a small area and decrease with increasing depth.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.31-48
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• 2024

To stabilize the excavations in urban area, soil anchorage is among the very common methods in geotechnical engineering. A more efficient deformation analysis can potentially lead to cost-effective and safer designs. To this end, a total of 116 three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) models of a deep excavation supported by tie-back wall system were analyzed in this study. An initial validation was conducted through examination of the results against the Texas A&M excavation cases. After the validation step, an extensive parametric study was carried out to cover significant design parameters of tie-back wall system in deep excavations. The numerical results indicated that the maximum horizontal displacement values of the wall (δ_hm) and maximum surface settlement (δ_vm) increase by an increase in the value of ground anchors inclination relative to the horizon. Additionally, a change in the wall embedment depth was found to be contributing more to δ_vm than to δ_hm. Based on the 3D FE analysis results, two simple equations are proposed to estimate excavation deformations for different scenarios in which the geometric configuration parameters are taken into account. The model proposed in this study can help the engineers to have a better understanding of the behavior of such systems.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.143-152
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• 2020

Korean society experienced successive earthquakes exceeding 5.0 magnitude in the past three years resulting in an increasing concern about earthquake stability of urban infrastructures. This study focuses on the significant aspects of earthquake risk assessment for the cut-and-cover underground railway station based on two-dimensional dynamic numerical analysis. Presented are features from a case study performed for the railway station in Seoul, South Korea. The PLAXIS2D was employed for numerical simulation and input of the earthquake ground motion was chosen from Pohang earthquake records (M5.4). The paper shows key aspects of earthquake risk for soil-structure system varying important parameters including embedded depth, supported ground information, and applied seismicity level, and then draws several meaningful conclusions from the analysis results such as seismic risk assessment.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.11 no.11
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• pp.5-18
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• 2010

In this paper, a 3-dimensional stiffened plate model for soil-metal box structures is proposed. 3-dimensional stiffened plate model is enable to model corrugated steel plates of soil metal box culverts considering section modulus and section properties of longitudinal and horizontal direction from a corrugated steel plate. Loading conditions which causes maximum displacement and maximum moment according to the step construction stages(a back filling to the top of the plate, a back filling to the maximum depth of cover, and loading of live loads) was applied and the behaviors of the soil metal box culverts was analyzed. Analysis results of 3-dimensional stiffened model were compared with those of 2-dimensional model, 3-dimensional equivalent plate model and 3-dimensional corrugated plate model. As results, the behaviors of 2-dimensional model and 3 dimensional equivalent model are different from 3-dimensional corrugated plate model but the result of 3-dimensional stiffened model has good agreement with that of 3-dimensional corrugated plate model.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Tobacco Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.123-132
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• 2000

Evaluation method of soil fertility by combination of soil color characteristics and survey data from soil map as well as chemical properties was investigated on total 35 field and pot experiments. Total 35 tobacco fields including 11 fields located at Cheonweon county in Chungnam Province, 9 fields located at Goesan county in Chungbuk Province, and 15 fields located at Youngcheon county in Kyongbuk Province were selected in 1984 to cover the wide range of distribution in landscape and soil attributes. Yields of tobacco grown on the plots of both the pot and field experiment which were not applied with any fertilizer were considered as basic fertility of the soil (BFS). The BFS was estimated by 32 independent variables including 15 chemical properties, 3 color characteristics, and 14 soil survey data from soil map. Twenty-four independent variables containing 16 quantitative variables selected from 24 quantitative variables by collinearity diagnostics and 8 qualitative variables, were classified and analyzed by multiple linear regression (MLR) of REG and GLM models of SAS. Tobacco yield of field experiment showed high variations by eight times in difference between minimum and maximum yield indicating the diverse soil fertility among the experimental fields. Evaluation for the BFS by the MLR including quantitative variables was still more confidential than that by a single index and that showed more improvement of coefficient of determination ($R^2$) in pot experiment than in field experiment. Evaluation for the BFS by MLR in field experiment was still improved by adding qualitative variables as well as quantitative variables. The variability in the BFS of field experiment was explained 43.2% by quantitative variables and 67.95% by adding both the quantitative and qualitative variables compared with 21.7% by simple regression with NO$_3$-N content in soil. The regression evaluation for the best evaluation of the BFS of field experiment by MLR included NO$_3$-N content, L value, and a value of soil color as quantitative variables and available soil depth and topography as qualitative variables. Consequently, it is assumed that this approach by the MLR including both the quantitative and qualitative variables was available as an evaluation model of soil fertility for tobacco field.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.265-271
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• 1997

The salt accumulation, and chemical properties of 90 samples of the plastic film house soil in the area of Cheongju and Chungju were surveyed. Soil textural distribution of soil samples was 30% for sandy loam, 27% for loam and 43% for silty loam. Percentage distribution of electrical conductivity(EC) of surface soil was 23% below $2dS\;m^{-1}$, 30% for $2{\sim}4dS\;m^{-1}$, 25% for $4{\sim}6dS\;m^{-1}$ and 22% over $6dS\;m^{-1}$. Salt affected soil, which EC was higher than $4dS\;m^{-1}$, covered nearly 50% of all field surveyed. However subsoils(20~30cm) below $2dS\;m^{-1}$ was 68%. Salts in plastic film house soil was accumulated by increasing the cultivation period. After 5 years of cultivation electrical conductivity in plastic house soil was generally higher than $4.47dS\;m^{-1}$ in EC that was 2.8~5.6 times higher than that in the field soil in the outside of plastic film house. As the result of temporary removal of plastic film cover from the house during the rainy summer season, salt content in soil was decreased from $3.54{\sim}7.36dS\;m^{-1}$ to $0.71{\sim}2.92dS\;m^{-1}$ in EC due to the desalinization by runoff and percolating water. Contents of $NO_3-N$, $SO_4-S$ and Cl in plastic film house soil were 2.5. 7.0 and 3.4 times higher than those of open field respectively.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.1A
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• pp.133-142
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• 2006

This paper evaluates the moment equations in the 2000 Canadian highway bridge code (CHBDC) for soil-metal box structures, which are applicable to the span less than 8 m. Finite element analyses carried out for soil-metal box structures having spans of 3-12 m using the deep corrugated metal plates under three construction stages; backfill up to the crown, backfill up to the cover depth, and live loading. The coefficients of moment equations are newly proposed based on the results of numerous finite element analyses considering various design variables, such as span length, soil depth, backfill conditions. The validity of the proposed coefficients in the moment equations of the 2000 CHBDC is investigated by the comparison with the existing coefficients and numerical results of finite element analyses. The comparisons show that the moments of the 2000 CHBDC give good predictions for the span less than 8m, but underestimate for the span greater than 8m, whereas the proposed moments give good estimates of numerical results for the spans of 3-12 m. In addition, this study suggests the use of high strength steel to satisfy the requirement of design bending strength for the span greater than 8 m.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.24-33
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• 2017

Domestic urban railway underground station structures, which were built in the 1970s ad 1980s, had been constructed as Cut-and-Cover construction system without seismic design. Because the trends of earthquake occurrence is constantly increasing all over the world as well as the Korean Peninsula, massive human casualties and severe properties and structures damage might be occurred in an non-retrofitted underground station during an earthquake above a certain scale. Therefore, to evaluate the retrofit effect and soil-structure interaction of seismic retrofitted underground station, a centrifugal shaking table test with enhanced stiffness on its structural main member are carried out on 1/60 scaled model using the Kobe and Northridge earthquakes. The seismic retrofitted members, which are columns, side walls, and slabs, are evaluated to comparing with existing non-retrofitted centrifuge test results Also, to simulate the scaled ground using variation of shear velocity according to site conditions such as ground depth and density, resonant column test is performed. From the test results, the relative displacement behavior between ground and structures shows comparatively similar in ground, but is increased on ground surface. The seismic retrofit effects were measured using relative displacements and moment behavior of column and side walls rather than slabs. Additionally, earthquake wave can be used to main design factor due to large structural deformation on Kobe earthquake wave than Norhridge earthquake wave.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.121-127
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• 2012

Cool-temperate broad-leaved deciduous forests are one of dominant forest cover types in Asia monsoon climate regions. However, our understanding of how much storages carbon in these ecosystems is limited. We studied carbon storage in three cool-temperate broad-leaved deciduous forests at Jirisan National Park, Korea. The biomass of trees in the three stands on an average was $112tC\;ha^{-1}$ and ranged from 107 to $119tC\;ha^{-1}$. The total amount of soil organic matter at a depth of 30 cm in the three stands on an average was $66tC\;ha^{-1}$. In addition, the total carbon stocks of biomass and soil was approximately $178tC\;ha^{-1}$, ranged from 167 to $184tC\;ha^{-1}$. Above values among three stands did not show the valuable difference at Jirisan National Park. The amounts of carbon storage in three ecosystems at Jirisan National Park, were higher than those of other studies significantly, except Seoraksan National Park.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.43-66
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• 1985

Korea needs proper and rational public policies on conservation and use of forest land and other natural resources because of the accelerating expansion of national land developments in recent years. Unfortunately, there is no systematic planning system to support the needs. Generally, forest land use planning needs suitability analysis based on efficient land classification system. The goal of this study was to classify a forest land using multivariate satistical methods. A case study was carried out in winter of 1983 on a mountainous area higher than 100m above sea level located at Mt. Kwanak in Anyang -city, Kyung-gi-do (province). The study area was 19.80 km$^2$wide and was divided into 1, 383 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU's) by a 120m$\times$120m grid. Fourteen descriptors were identified and quantified for each OTU from existing national land data : elevation, slope, aspect, terrain form, geologic material, surface soil permeability, topsoil type, depth of the solum, soil acidity, forest cover type, stand size class, stand age class, stand density class, and simple forest soil capability class. For this study, a FORTRAN IV program was written for input and output map data, and the computer statistics packages, SPSS and BMD, were used to perform the multivariate statistical analysis. Fourteen variables were analyzed to investigate the characteristics of their fire quench distribution and to estimate the correlation coefficients among them. Principal component analysis was executed to find the dimensions of forest land characteristics, and factor scores were used for proper samples of OTU throughout the study area. In order to develop the classes of forest land classification based on 102 surrogates, cluster and discriminant analyses of principal descriptor variable matrix were undertaken. Results obtained through a series of multivariate statistical analyses were as follows ; 1) Principal component analysis was proved to be a useful tool for data selection and identification of principal descriptor variables which represented the characteristics of forest land and facilitated the selection of samples.