• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.579-586
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• 2022

Pile-supported structures are installed on saturated sloping grounds, where the ground stiffness may decrease due to liquefaction during earthquakes. Thus, it is important to consider saturated sloping ground and pile interactions. In this study, we conduct a centrifuge test of a pile-supported structure, and analyze the p-y_p loops, p-y_p loops provide the correlation between the lateral pile deflection (y_p) and lateral soil resistance (p). In the dry sand model (UV67), the p-y_p loops stiffness increased as ground depth increased, and the p-y_p loops stiffness was larger by approximately three times when the pile moved to the upslope direction, compared with when it moved to the downslope direction. In contrast, no significant difference was observed in the stiffness with the ground depth and pile moving direction in the saturated sand model (SV69). Furthermore, we identify the unstable zone based on the result of the lateral soil resistance (p). In the case of the SV69 model, the maximum depth of the unstable zone is five times larger than that of the dry sand model, and it was found that the saturated sand model was affected significantly by kinematic forces due to slope failure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.09a
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• pp.1441-1446
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• 2009

Numerical analysis is a powerful method in evaluating the soil-pile-structure interaction under the dynamic loading, and this approach has been applied to the practical area due to the development of computer technology. Finite Difference Method, one of the most popular numerical methods, is sensitive to the shape and the number of mesh. However, the trial and error approach is conducted to obtain the accurate results and the reasonable simulation time because of the lack of researches about mesh size and the number. In this study, FLAC 3D v3.1 program(FDM) is used to simulate the dynamic pile model tests, and the numerical results are compared with the 1G shaking table tests results. With the different size and shape of mesh, the responses of pile behavior and the simulation time are estimated, and the optimum mesh sizes in dynamic analysis of single pile is studied.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-39
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• 2016

The finite element method (FEM), discrete element method (DEM), and Discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) are among the standard numerical techniques applied in computational geo-mechanics. However, in some cases there no possibility for modelling by traditional finite analytical techniques or other mesh-based techniques. The solution presented in the current study as a completely Lagrangian and mesh-free technique is smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). This method was basically applied for simulation of fluid flow by dividing the fluid into several particles. However, several researchers attempted to simulate soil-water interaction, landslides, and failure of soil by SPH method. In fact, this method is able to deal with behavior and interaction of different states of materials (liquid and solid) and multiphase soil models and their large deformations. Soil indicates different behaviors when interacting with water, structure, instrumentations, or different layers. Thus, study into these interactions using the mesh based grids has been facilitated by mesh-less SPH technique in this work. It has been revealed that the fast development, computational sophistication, and emerge of mesh-less particle modeling techniques offer solutions for problems which are not modeled by the traditional mesh-based techniques. Also it has been found that the smoothed particle hydrodynamic provides advanced techniques for simulation of soil materials as compared to the current traditional numerical methods. Besides, findings indicate that the advantages of applying this method are its high power, simplicity of concept, relative simplicity in combination of modern physics, and particularly its potential in study of large deformations and failures.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.244-255
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• 2019

Xylose isomerase (XI; E.C. 5.3.1.5) catalyzes the isomerization of xylose to xylulose, which can be used to produce bioethanol through fermentation. Therefore, XI has recently gained attention as a key catalyst in the bioenergy industry. Here, we identified, purified, and characterized a XI (PbXI) from the psychrophilic soil microorganism, Paenibacillus sp. R4. Surprisingly, activity assay results showed that PbXI is not a cold-active enzyme, but displays optimal activity at $60^{\circ}C$. We solved the crystal structure of PbXI at $1.94-{\AA}$ resolution to investigate the origin of its thermostability. The PbXI structure shows a $({\beta}/{\alpha})_8$-barrel fold with tight tetrameric interactions and it has three divalent metal ions (CaI, CaII, and CaIII). Two metal ions (CaI and CaII) located in the active site are known to be involved in the enzymatic reaction. The third metal ion (CaIII), located near the ${\beta}4-{\alpha}6$ loop region, was newly identified and is thought to be important for the stability of PbXI. Compared with previously determined thermostable and mesophilic XI structures, the ${\beta}1-{\alpha}2$ loop structures near the substrate binding pocket of PbXI were remarkably different. Site-directed mutagenesis studies suggested that the flexible ${\beta}1-{\alpha}2$ loop region is essential for PbXI activity. Our findings provide valuable insights that can be applied in protein engineering to generate low-temperature purpose-specific XI enzymes.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.93-96
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• 2017

Spatial variations of physicochemical and microbiological variables were examined to understand spatial heterogeneity of those variables in intertidal flat. Variograms were constructed for understanding spatial autocorrelations of variables by a geostatistical analysis and spatial correlations between two variables were evaluated by applications of a Cross-Mantel test with a Monte Carlo procedure (with 999 permutations). Water content, organic matter content, pH, nitrate, sulfate, chloride, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), four extracellular enzyme activities (${\beta}-glucosidase$, N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, phosphatase, arylsulfatase), and bacterial diversity in soil were measured along a transect perpendicular to shore line. Most variables showed strong spatial autocorrelation or no spatial structure except for DOC. It was suggested that complex interactions between physicochemical and microbiological properties in sediment might controls DOC. Intertidal flat sediment appeared to be spatially heterogeneous. Bacterial diversity was found to be spatially correlated with enzyme activities. Chloride and sulfate were spatially correlated with microbial properties indicating that salinity in coastal environment would influence spatial distributions of decomposition capacities mediated by microorganisms. Overall, it was suggested that considerations on the spatial distributions of physicochemical and microbiological properties in intertidal flat sediment should be included when sampling scheme is designed for decomposition processes in intertidal flat sediment.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.47-56
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• 2017

Aseismic designs of pile-supported wharves are commonly performed utilizing simplified dynamic analyses, such as multi-mode spectral analyses. Simplified analyses can be useful for evaluating the limit state of structures. However, several pile-supported wharves, that have been damaged during past earthquakes, have shown that soil deformation and soil-pile dynamic interaction significantly affect the entire behavior of structures. Such behavior can be captured by performing nonlinear effective stress analyses, which can properly consider the dynamic interactions among the soil-pile-structure. The present study attempts to investigate the earthquake performance of a pile-supported wharf utilizing a three-dimensional numerical method. The damaged pile-supported wharf at the Kobe Port during the Hyogo-ken Nambu earthquake (1995) is selected to verify the applicability of the numerical modeling. Analysis results showed a suitable agreement with the observations on the damaged wharf, and the significant effect of excess pore pressure development and pile-soil dynamic interaction on the seismic performance of the wharf.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.165-185
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• 2013

In the present study, the numerical and experimental investigations were performed on the backfill- exterior wall-fluid interaction systems in case of empty and full tanks. For this, firstly, the non-linear three dimensional (3D) finite element models were developed considering both backfill-wall and fluid-wall interactions, and modal analyses for these systems were carried out in order to acquire modal frequencies and mode shapes by means of ANSYS finite element structural analysis program. Secondly, a series of field tests were fulfilled to define their modal characteristics and to compare the results from proposed approximation in the selected structures. Finally, comparing the theoretical predictions from the finite element models to results from experimental measurements, a close agreement was found between theory and experiment. Thus, it can be easily stated that experimental verifications provide strong support for the finite element models and the proposed procedures themselves are the meritorious approximations to the real problem, and this makes the models appealing for use in further investigations.

• Journal of Wind Energy
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.91-99
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• 2023

In research conducted on a southwestern Korean offshore meteorological tower, acceleration datasets were gathered over half a year with time-history sensors. To enhance data credibility, a parallel measurement system was used for verification. A model of the tower was configured using beam elements, and with modifications accounting for added stiffness from auxiliary structures. Ground interactions were considered as calibrated springs based on soil layer properties. The tower's dynamic attributes and mass sensitivity were discerned using eigenvalue analysis. The structural natural frequency was consistent, with variations primarily due to new equipment adding approximately 1400 kgs. With free vibration damping assumptions, a damping ratio of roughly 1 % was derived.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2009.09a
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• pp.157-171
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• 2009

A 151 storey super high-rise building located in an area of reclaimed land constructed over soft marine clay in Songdo, Korea is currently under design. This paper describes the design process of the foundation system of the supertall tower, which is required to support the large building vertical and lateral loads and to restrain the horizontal displacement due to wind and seismic forces. The behaviour of the foundation system due to these loads and foundation stiffness influence the design of the building super structure, displacement of the tower, as well as the raft foundation design. Therefore, the design takes in account the interactions between soil, foundation and super structure, so as to achieve a safe and efficient building performance. The site lies entirely within an area of reclamation underlain by up to 20m of soft to firm marine silty clay, which overlies residual soil and a profile of weathered rock. The nature of the foundation rock materials are highly complex and are interpreted as possible roof pendant metamorphic rocks, which within about 50m from the surface have been affected by weathering which has reduced their strength. The presence of closely spaced joints, sheared and crushed zones within the rock has resulted in deeper areas of weathering of over 80m present within the building footprint. The foundation design process described includes the initial stages of geotechnical site characterization using the results of investigation boreholes and geotechnical parameter selection, and a series of detailed two- and three-dimensional numerical analysis for the Tower foundation comprising over 172 bored piles of varying length. The effect of the overall foundation stiffness and rotation under wind and seismic load is also discussed since the foundation rotation has a direct impact on the overall displacement of the tower.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.83-95
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• 2017

This study examined the magnitude and distribution of earth pressure on the excavation wall in jointed rock mass by considering different groundwater conditions under various rock types, joint inclination angles, and earth pressure coefficients. Based on a physical model test (Son and Park, 2014), extended studies were conducted considering rock-structure interactions based on the discrete element method, which can consider the joints characteristics of rock mass. The results showed that the earth pressure was highly influenced by the groundwater condition as well as the rock type, joint inclination angle, and earth pressure coefficient. The results were also compared with Peck's earth pressure for soil ground, and clearly showed that the earth pressure in jointed rock mass can be greatly different from that in soil ground.