We developed a high-performance methane gas sensor based on a SnO2 hollow hemisphere array structure of nano-thickness. The sensor structures were fabricated by sputter deposition of Sn metal over an array of polystyrene spheres distributed on a planar substrate, followed by an oxidation process to oxidize the Sn to SnO2 while removing the polystyrene template cores. The surface morphology and structural properties were examined by scanning electron microscopy. An optimization of the structure for methane sensing was also carried out. The effects of oxidation temperature, film thickness, gold doping, and morphology were examined. An impressive response of ~220% was observed for a 200 ppm concentration of CH4 gas at an operating temperature of 400˚C for a sample fabricated by 30 sec sputtering of Sn, and oxidation at 800˚C for 2 hr in air. This high response was enabled by the open structure of the hemisphere array thin films.

Recent earthquake events arising all over the world, cause serious damages to material/ human resources every year. South Korea, categorized to be relatively safe from earthquakes, recently became subject to frequent seismic events, which made it essential to prepare for damages caused by such events. Failure of hydraulic structures, such as dams, can cause serious damages to resources in the lower reaches of a river. In this study, Seismic stability evaluation was performed to determine the crest displacements of dam caused by the 40 earthquake waves recorded actually.

Generally, levee design is performed through deterministic methods. However, deterministic methods, which are unable to take into account the heterogeneity of a physical system, is limited to overcome variable uncertainties taking place in the natural phenomena. Accordingly, structure design based on reliability analysis considering the uncertainty of variables are getting spotlight. Climate changes and global warming occurring all over the world, are ground to frequent natural disasters, such as earthquakes, which can lead to serious damages based on their magnitude. In this research, a seismic safety assessment method for levees is introduced, adopting the concept of reliability analysis methods.

Recent earthquake events arising all over the world, cause serious damages to material/ human resources every year. South Korea, categorized to be relatively safe from earthquakes, recently became subject to frequent seismic events, which made it essential to prepare for damages caused by such events. Failure of hydraulic structures, such as dams, can cause serious damages to resources in the lower reaches of a river. In this study, as a counterproposal for deterministic safety assessment for seismic events on dams, which cannot take into account the uncertainty of various parameters, a method is introduced which constructs a safety chart by creating an artificial seismic wave considering uncertainties of seismic sources, propagation paths and site effects.