The AC power lines and signal lines of info-communication networks are routed on overhead poles and are highly exposed to lightning strikes. Due to the potential difference between grounding points of AC power lines and signal lines, the electronic equipments connected to the signal lines can easily be damaged by lightning surges. In this work, in order to develop reliable methods of protecting information and communication facilities from lightning surges, the reliability and performance of SPDs (surge protective devices) were experimentally investigated in an actual-sized test circuit. The behaviors of SPDs against lightning surges from AC power lines and signal lines and the coordinated effects of SPD installation methods were evaluated. As a consequence, it was confirmed that the bypass arrester methods and common grounding system are both highly effective.

We propose a high voltage dc-dc converter for a CW (continuous wave) $CO_2$ laser system using a current resonant half-bridge inverter and a Cockcroft-Walton circuit. This high voltage power supply includes a 2-stage voltage multiplier driven by a regulated half-bridge series resonant inverter. The inverter drives a step-up transformer and the secondary transformer is applied to the voltage multiplier. It is highly efficient because of the reduced amount of switching losses by virtue of the current resonant half-bridge inverter, and also due to the small size, low parasitic capacitance in the transformer stage owing to the low number of winding turns of the step up secondary transformer combined with the Cockroft-Walton circuit. We obtained a maximum laser output power of 44 W and a maximum system efficiency of over 16%.

This study describes neural network based dissolved gas analysis using composition patterns of gas concentrations for transformer fault diagnosis. DGA samples were gathered from related literatures and classified into six types of faults and then a neural network was trained using the DGA samples. Diagnosis tests were performed by the trained neural network with DGA samples of serviced transformers, fault causes of which were identified by actual inspection. Diagnosis results by the neural network were in good agreement with actual faults.

The positive column of a discharge tube filled with a mixture of mercury-xenon has a tendency to become contracted at room temperature. However, once the tube temperature is raised over 50 [$^{\circ}C$], the positive column changes from a contracted state to a diffused state. The xenon emission is stronger in the contracted positive column than in the diffused column. Alternatively, the mercury emission is more intense in the diffused positive column, and the luminance of the phosphor coating on the inner surface of the tube is higher than that in the contracted positive column. Moreover, higher luminance can be obtained by increasing the xenon pressure.

The influence of microstructure nonuniformity on the electrical characteristics of ZnO varistors was analyzed with the added amount of $Al_2$O$_3$ dopants. $Al_2$O$_3$ doping can effectively inhibit grain growth. When $Al_2$O$_3$ content is in the range between 0-0.1 %, the average grain size and the standard deviation decrease quickly and the grain growth is strongly inhibited. Therefore, it is possible to increase the microstructure uniformity by accurate addition of $Al_2$O$_3$ to the ZnO varistor. The breakdown voltage increases with the decrease of standard deviation. The greater the uniformity of the Zno varistor means the higher the global breakdown voltage. The $Al_2$O$_3$ dopants having about 0-0.023 wt% content can effectively improve the voltage ratio, and the voltage ratio reaches a minimum value of 2.32 at an $Al_2$O$_3$ content of 0.005 wt%.

This paper describes various characteristics of the new compounds for cable jackets and model cables advanced in waterproof performance in order to essentially solve the problems of underground (URD) distribution class power cable failures. Several compounds were manufactured by the inclusion of additives to base resins available in Korea and tested for basic property, mechanical and electrical characteristics. Two model cables were created by using the compounds determined in the test as being the most appropriate for new structured model cable jacket material. The waterproof performance and mechanical strength of the new cable jackets were verified by applicable tests. As a result, MDPE and LLDPE compounds were superior as cable jackets in both mechanical and electrical characteristic aspects when compared with conventional PVC. In addition, the model cables composed of the new compounds based on MDPE showed good quality results in the water permeability test.

In this study, an Alexandrite laser system for hair removal adopting a multi-discharge method in which three flash lamps are turned on consecutively was designed and fabricated to examine the pulse width and the pulse shape of the laser beams depending upon the changes in the lamp turn-on time. Specifically, this study demonstrates a technology that makes it possible to formulate various pulse shapes by turning on three flashlamps consecutively on a real-time basis with the aid of a PIC (program integrated circuit) one-chip microprocessor. With this technique, the lamp turn-on delay time can be varied more diversely from 0 to 10 ms and real-time control is possible with an external keyboard, enabling an assortment of pulse shapes. In addition, longer pulses can be more widely used for industrial processing as well as for numerous medical purposes.