Hyeong-Dong Park

Development of a web-based Geographic Information System for the management of borehole and geological data

The main objective of this study is to develop a prototype model of Web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) application for efficient management of borehole and geological data. More than 10,000 boreholes and other geological data were archived into the database and Web-based GIS system was implemented for a local urban area of Seoul in Korea. A standard form of borehole data was suggested and the database was developed in the system. The system provides client users with geological information search function, on-line geological information function, statistical summaries, and administrative functions. As a result, the system makes the efficient management of geological data possible by adopting database and Web-based system. It is also expected that the system can be connected with other existing GIS applications for further applications.

Coal mining above a confined aquifer

Abstract Mining above a confined aquifer involves the risk of a water in-rush to the mining face through broken floor strata. Thus, safe mining should take into account the important factors which influence the fracture behavior in rock strata. From the geological point of view, these factors, on the one hand, include geological structures, mechanical properties and permeability of floor strata, the thickness of waterproof strata separating the coal seam from the confined aquifer, in situ stress state and hydraulic pressure of the confined aquifer. On the other hand, mining parameters factors include length and rate of the mining advance, the length of the mining face in the longwall mining system, and the face interval between the double mining panels if any. Focused on fracture behavior and extent in floor strata with reference to the double face mining above the confined aquifer in Yangzhuang colliery, Peoples Republic of China, this work includes a systematic and comprehensive study which covers the in situ survey of the geological structure and hydraulic process, laboratory experiments on the mechanical and permeating properties of rocks, and in situ measurement of stress and fluid flow in the floor strata and the pressure distribution in the mining gateways. To gain a better understanding and insight into fracture initiation and development in the floor strata during the mining process, both physical and numerical models were employed. The final fracture depth in the floor strata primarily depends on the geological and hydraulic conditions, while mining parameters are of secondary importance. From a comprehensive analysis of fracture behavior in the floor strata, the importance of an effective in situ survey for geological structures has been emphasized. The adoption of room and pillar or strip and pillar mining system is recommended to avoid a water in-rush catastrophe.

XML Web Service‐based development model for Internet GIS applications

Most of the current Internet Geographic Information System (GIS) applications cannot be shared and are not interoperable because of their heterogeneous environments. With the growth of Internet GIS, many difficulties have occurred in integrating GIS components because of their diversity. The main objective of this study is to suggest a new development model for dynamic and interoperable Internet GIS applications. The model is based mainly on the dynamic integration of Internet GIS components by applying Extensible Markup Language (XML), XML Web Service, Geography Markup Language (GML), and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), etc. The relevant technologies of Internet GIS were reviewed thoroughly, and then a new model was designed. During the design of the new model, typical examples of GIS Web Service components were suggested, together with practical structures for applications using these components. Six examples of components and four types of applications were suggested, and they were experimentally implemented for model validation and improvement. The suggested model and components will enable easier and more rapid development of Internet GIS applications through the dynamic integration of distributed GIS components. Users will be able to avoid redundancy and consequently reduce both cost and time during each GIS project.

Multi‐criteria evaluation and least‐cost path analysis for optimal haulage routing of dump trucks in large scale open‐pit mines

A new raster‐based GIS model that combines multi‐criteria evaluation and least‐cost path analysis was developed to determine the optimal haulage routes of dump trucks in large scale open‐pit mines. The model logic can consider multiple criteria simultaneously (i.e. speed, water body, ore body, curve, visibility, haul road maintenance) and can rate the adverse factor scores of truck movement using fuzzy membership functions. After establishing the weights of five factors by pairwise comparisons, the average adverse score grid can be generated by the weighted linear combination of factor and constraint scores. New software, called Dump Traveler, was implemented to improve the availability of the developed model. An application to the Roto South pit in the Pasir open‐pit coal mine, Indonesia, showed that the software can provide rational solutions to determine the optimal routes on truck haulage operations. Moreover, the layout of available haul roads can be evaluated to consider the trade‐off between road maintenance costs and the potential for traffic jams. Variations of weights for factors were found to be sensitive to the optimal haulage routes determined by least‐cost path analysis. The software provides both optimal routes on truck haulage operations and approximately estimated travel times along the routes, therefore it can support other truck dispatching software that mainly considers scheduling problems.

Tunneling Analyst: A 3D GIS extension for rock mass classification and fault zone analysis in tunneling

In this study, an extension called Tunneling Analyst (TA) has been developed in ArcScene 3D GIS software, part of the ArcGIS software package. It dramatically extends the functionalities of ArcScene because it allows: (1) estimation of the 3D distribution of rock mass rating (RMR) values using borehole and geophysical exploration data, (2) the modeling of 3D discontinuity planes such as faults from field-based structural measurements, and (3) analysis of 3D intersections and 3D buffer zones between proposed tunnel alignments and some discontinuities. Because TA can handle and visualize both 2D and 3D geological data in a single GIS environment, the tedious tasks required for data conversion between various software packages can be reduced significantly. The application to the Daecheong tunneling project in Korea shows that TA could present a rational solution to evaluating the rock mass classes along a proposed tunnel alignment and can also provide specific 3D spatial query tools to support the tunnel design work. This paper describes the concept and details of the development and implementation of TA.

Smart Compass-Clinometer: A smartphone application for easy and rapid geological site investigation

This study presents a smartphone application for geological site investigation. The application allows a smartphone to replace a diverse array of instrumentation and processes required for data measurement, visualization, and analysis. This application, named Smart Compass-Clinometer, consists of a digital compass-clinometer module, a data visualization module, a data analysis module, and a data management module. The compass-clinometer module measures the orientation of geological structures using data collected from built-in sensors. It converts the sensor data to orientation information using an algorithm developed specifically for this purpose. The visualization module plots the measured data on stereographic projections using three different methods, and can be used concurrently with the compass-clinometer module. The analysis module conducts instability analyses on the measured data, and can present the results in graphical and statistical forms. Users can send or receive data wirelessly with the data management module, even without a connection to a cellular network. To evaluate and validate the precision and accuracy of the compass-clinometer module, indoor and outdoor tests were conducted using Smart Compass-Clinometer and a conventional compass-clinometer. The minimum standard deviation of measured values with Smart Compass-Clinometer was 0.096^o for dip and 0.122^o for dip direction. The average difference between values measured using Smart Compass-Clinometer and the conventional compass-clinometer in the outdoor test was 1.70^o for dip and 2.63^o for dip direction. In an underground mine, the average discrepancies between Smart Compass-Clinometer and the conventional compass-clinometer were 2.57^o in dip and 4.57^o in dip direction. Smart Compass-Clinometer offers geoscientists a fast, reliable, and convenient tool for geological investigation.

Estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield from mine tailing dumps using GIS: a case study at the Samgwang mine, Korea

This paper presents a Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based method for the estimation of soil erosion and sediment yield from mine tailing dumps at abandoned mining areas. A region of 21.27 km2 in size around the Samgwang mine in Korea was selected as a study area. GIS data sets (i.e. a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), a soil map and a land cover map) and the mean annual rainfall over 30 years recorded from the nearest observatory were used to create factor layers for calculating the mean annual rate of soil erosion using the universal soil loss equation model. The watershed areas were extracted from the DEM using hydrological analysis tools in GIS. The concept of sediment delivery ratio was used to determine the sediment yield from mine tailing dumps during storm events. As a result, the soil erosion and sediment yield from mine tailing dumps in the study area were calculated as 75.63–350.24 tons yr− 1 and 40.40–187.64 tons yr− 1 respectively.

A new algorithm for grid-based hydrologic analysis by incorporating stormwater infrastructure

We developed a new algorithm, the Adaptive Stormwater Infrastructure (ASI) algorithm, to incorporate ancillary data sets related to stormwater infrastructure into the grid-based hydrologic analysis. The algorithm simultaneously considers the effects of the surface stormwater collector network (e.g., diversions, roadside ditches, and canals) and underground stormwater conveyance systems (e.g., waterway tunnels, collector pipes, and culverts). The surface drainage flows controlled by the surface runoff collector network are superimposed onto the flow directions derived from a DEM. After examining the connections between inlets and outfalls in the underground stormwater conveyance system, the flow accumulation and delineation of watersheds are calculated based on recursive computations. Application of the algorithm to the Sangdong tailings dam in Korea revealed superior performance to that of a conventional D8 single-flow algorithm in terms of providing reasonable hydrologic information on watersheds with stormwater infrastructure.

ArcMine: A GIS extension to support mine reclamation planning

This paper presents a new GIS extension, named ArcMine, developed to support reclamation planning in abandoned mining areas. ArcMine provides four tools to (a) assess mine subsidence hazards, (b) estimate the erosion of mine wastes, (c) analyze flow paths of mine water at the surface, and (d) identify suitable tree species for mine reforestation. A spatial database incorporating a topographical map, geological map, mine drift map, and borehole data was designed and utilized in ArcMine to examine distributed mine hazards that can damage the surrounding environment. Application to abandoned mining areas in Korea shows that ArcMine could provide useful information on mine hazards to support reclamation planning. This paper reports the concept, development, and implementation of ArcMine.

Engineering geological zonation using interaction matrix of geological factors: An example from one section of Sichuan-Tibet Highway

In linear engineering projects such as those of the highways and railways in the northern Yarlu-Tsangpu Grand Canyon of Tibet that cross various geological and geomorphological units, engineering geological zonation must be carried out in advance because of complicated and diverse engineering geological conditions. Previous zonations have been based on qualitative approaches together with an overview of regional physio-geographic and geological settings. Such an approach is suitable for a broad regional development plan. However, it is not adequate for remediation of highways. In this paper, an interaction matrix approach was adopted and applied as an Engineering Geological Zonation Index (EZI) for the semi-quantitative analysis of the data from the Basu—Linzhi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway in China. Eight zonations and 19 sub-zonations of the section were made and evaluated, in accordance with a qualitative evaluation procedure. The results of the research presented in this paper will provide useful information for future railway design and construction.