A Comparative Study of Piers with DSCT and Steel Piles

Because of climate changes, the demand for securing marine space is increasing owing to problems such as sea level rise, design wave height increase, and lack of land and space, and research on the development of a new high-performance pier has been conducted. In the existing pier supported by steel piles, buckling failure and corrosion problems may lead to a risk of structural safety, and maintenance is difficult owing to a narrow span. The new type of double-skinned composite tubular (DSCT) structure, which has been extensively studied recently, is filled with concrete between the inner and outer tubes, increasing the strength of concrete because of the three-axis confined effect. In addition, it is advantageous in terms of ductility. Furthermore, owing to the hollow cross-section, it is economical because it weighs less than the concrete-filled steel tubular (CFT) structure, effectively saving materials. In this study, the performance of a pier with 30 steel piles and that of a pier supported with 20 DSCT piles was compared under the same external force through finite element analysis. Consequently, it was confirmed that the pier with DSCT piles showed higher performance in displacement and stress than the existing pier with steel piles.

Development of an ANN-Based Urban Flood Alert Criteria Prediction Model and the Impact of Training Data Augmentation

Urban flooding occurs during heavy rains of short duration, so quick and accurate warnings of the danger of inundation are required. Previous research proposed methods to estimate statistics-based urban flood alert criteria based on flood damage records and rainfall data, and developed a Neuro-Fuzzy model for predicting appropriate flood alert criteria. A variety of artificial intelligence algorithms have been applied to the prediction of the urban flood alert criteria, and their usage and predictive precision have been enhanced with the recent development of artificial intelligence. Therefore, this study predicted flood alert criteria and analyzed the effect of applying the technique to augmentation training data using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm. The predictive performance of the ANN model was RMSE 3.39-9.80 mm, and the model performance with the extension of training data was RMSE 1.08-6.88 mm, indicating that performance was improved by 29.8-82.6%.

A Study of Soil Pollution by Road Runoff

Road runoff, a representative non-point source pollution, is known to seriously deteriorate the river water quality. In order to prevent river contamination due to road runoff, road runoff is infiltrated into the soil along the river. However, road runoff containing high concentrations of heavy metals and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) can cause soil pollution. In this study, soil samples were collected at the point where road runoff flows, and the concentrations of heavy metals, such as cadmium, lead, and zinc, and TPH in them were compared with that in uncontaminated soil. Consequently, the concentration of heavy metals in the soil into which the road runoff flows was up to 21 times higher than that of the nearby uncontaminated soil. In conclusion, the discharge of road runoff into the soil seriously pollutes the soil. Therefore, direct discharge of road runoff to soil should be prevented to prevent soil pollution.

Study on the Applicability of the Exterior Condition Assessment to Evaluate The Physical Vulnerability of Check Dams

Check dams are a typical structural approach used in watershed disaster management systems. Currently, approximately 12,000 check dams have been estimated to be constructed on mountain streams in Korea. More than 90% of these have been constructed in the last 20 years. This rapid increase over a short period of time has attracted attention to the necessity of maintenance strategies for check dams. The purpose of this study is to examine the applicability of the exterior condition assessment to evaluate the degree of deterioration in check dams. We classify the typical damage types of check dams and describe its key characteristics. Moreover, we apply a modified version of the condition assessment for large dams to meet the characteristics of check dams.

Analysis of the Factors Affecting Fine Dust Concentration Before and After COVID-19

This study conducted a comparative analysis of the factors affecting the concentration of fine dust before and after COVID-19. Of these, the dominant factor was CO, and the influence between variables increased even after COVID-19. In the case of PM10, the influence of wind direction and wind speed variables decreased, which is thought to be due to the reduction of westerly-based foreign air pollutants following China’s containment policy. Comparative analysis by season showed that the influence of temperature and humidity was higher in winter. In spring, the influence of wind direction and speed decreased with changes in the westerly wind and the influence of China’s containment policy. In summer and autumn, when the concentration of fine dust is relatively low, the influence of CO after COVID-19 was rather high, indicating that continuous CO management is necessary. Considering the relationship between these air pollutants and the meteorological environment, it is judged that fine dust reduction measures should be implemented.

Tensile Strength and Dynamic Modulus of Pervious Polymer Concrete with Freezing and Thawing Cycles

The expansion of impervious areas owing to urbanization has adverse effects on water circulation. The application of low-impact development techniques to solve these problems is gaining popularity. Among others, Permeable pavements are the most widely employed low-impact development techniques. In this study, the dynamic modulus and tensile strength of pervious polymer concrete pavement were evaluated before and after freezing-thawing cycles. A tensile strength test, performed to check the soundness of the pervious polymer concrete, yielded a tensile strength and tensile strength ratio of 0.66 to 0.96 MPa, and 72 to 83%, respectively. The ultrasonic pulse velocity was measured to determine the dynamic modulus according to the freezing-thawing cycles. When 300 freezing-thawing cycles were performed, the dynamic modulus was analyzed to drop to a level of 77~85% of the initial value. The standards for freezing and thawing tests of pervious concrete have not yet been established. It is necessary to develop test standards for freezing-thawing resistance of pervious concretes considering climate change.

Parameter Adjustment to Prevent the Overestimation of Peak Discharge in a Small Watershed

We revisit empirical methods to prevent the overestimation of peak discharge in a small watershed, in particular investigating the time-area method, which has not been considered in the overestimation problem of peak discharge. To avoid misapplying the same inlet time between the unit hydrograph and rational formula, distinct parameter adjustments for each method are proposed. We adopt the secondary basin response time for the unit hydrograph, rainfall duration for the rational formula, and time of concentration for the time-area method, as suitable parameters to adjust the estimation of peak discharge. In conclusion, adding 10 minutes to secondary basin response time, 20 minutes to rainfall duration, and 30 minutes to time of concentration, respectively, yields estimates within a reasonable range of specific discharge in a small watershed.

Analysis of Chloride Deterioration and Structural Safety Evaluation of Bridge Barriers

Recently, there has been an increase in the chloride deterioration of bridges on urban highways owing to the excessive usage of deicing agents in winter, thus necessitating repair and maintenance measures to ensure the durability of concrete. In this study, the status of the damages occurring in the concrete barriers, such as walls and median partitions, of bridges on urban highways in Seoul was investigated. After collecting a total of 306 cores from various sites, a chloride analysis test was performed on a total of 918 samples obtained by dividing each core into three parts. The results were analyzed using the depth, upper and lower parts of the barrier, damage conditions, and route. In addition, the safety of the structure was evaluated in the case of repair by removing the corroded reinforcing bars (main reinforcing bars and spacers) directly exposed to chloride.

A Study on the Durability of Fire Hoses of Fire Hydrants

Although the number of fires has not changed considerably in recent times, property damage and casualties due to fires are increasing every year. Maintaining the performance of fire-fighting facilities installed in buildings has been emphasized for maximizing human safety and minimizing property damage caused by fires. As a result, since 2017, the maintenance of fire extinguishers throughout their service life, has been mandated. In case of a fire, initial fire extinguishing and fire spreading prevention are crucial. There have been no available measures for the maintenance and verification of indoor fire hydrants and outdoor fire hydrant hoses used for extinguishing fires and preventing combustion expansion. This study was therefore intended to present measures for ascertaining the service life of these fire extinguishers, by evaluating their firefighting abilities through sample analysis and case analysis of the fire hoses. Research shows that the degradation of performance of the fire hoses becomes evident between 9 and 10 years, so that 10 years of service life is considered appropriate for the fire hoses.

Properties of Shotcrete According to Accelerator Types and Mixing Ratios

Shotcrete should be attached to the ground and should have stable strength for a long-term. It should develop strength earlier for rapid work. Therefore, in this study, three types of accelerators—aluminate, cement mineral, and alkali-free—were selected and mixed to secure the initial strength. Depending on the type and mixing rate of each accelerator, slump, air amount, and compressive strength were used to evaluate the basic properties, boiling water absorption test, and chloride ion penetration resistance to conduct durability analysis. The mixing of aluminate-based and cement-mineral-based accelerators was effective in improving the initial strength, and alkali-free accelerator was effective in improving the long-term strength. The mixture to which accelerators were not mixed showed the highest water-tightness.