• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.559-569
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• 2022

Infrastructure engineering is a field that supports construction (assembly) as a representative industry that creates high added value and jobs by combining science and technology with knowledge, though its importance is underestimated. According to a report from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Korea), the value-added rate (65.3%) of the engineering industry and the employment inducement coefficient (14 employees per billion won) are three times higher than in manufacturing. In particular,the forward value chain (such as project management and basic design) accounts for less than 10~15% of the total project cost but determines the overall price and quality of the infrastructure facilities. In this study, a work break-down system, design support module and database development method for road design projects for design platform development is presented. Based on the presented development method, a cloud-based infrastructure design platform's prototype is developed. The developed infrastructure engineering platform is expected to provide a web-based design work environment without time/space restrictions and greatly contribute to winning overseas business orders and securing competitiveness.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.357-363
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• 2022

Background: Refractory ceramic fibers (RCFs) are a suspected carcinogen but have been widely used as insulations. Depending on the temperature, RCFs can transform into crystalline SiO₂, which is a carcinogen that can be present in the air during bulk RCF handling. This study analyzed the physicochemical and morphological characteristics of RCFs at high temperatures and determined the exposure levels during the semiconductor scrubber maintenance. Methods: Sampling was conducted at a company that manufactures semiconductor scrubbers using RCFs as insulation. Bulk RCF samples were collected both before and after exposure to a scrubber temperature of 700℃. Airborne RCFs were collected during scrubber maintenance, and their characteristics were analyzed using microscopes. Results: The components of bulk RCFs were SiO₂ and Al₂O₃, having an amorphous structure. Airborne RCFs were morphologically different from bulk RCFs in size, which could negatively affect maintenance workers' health. 58% of airborne RCFs correspond to the size of thoracic and respirable fibers. RCFs did not crystallize at high temperatures. The exposure caused by airborne RCFs during the scrubber frame assembly and insulation replacement was higher than the occupational exposure limit. Conclusion: Workers conducting insulation replacement are likely exposed to airborne RCFs above safe exposure limits. As RCFs are suspected carcinogens, this exposure should be minimized through prevention and precautionary procedures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.58-74
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• 2022

Deterministic accident analysis plays a central role in the nuclear power plant (NPP) safety evaluation and licensing process. Traditionally the conservative approach opted for the point kinetics model, expressing the reactor core parameters in the form of reactivity and power tables. However, with the current advances in computational power, high fidelity multi-physics simulations using real-time code coupling, can provide more detailed core behavior and hence more realistic plant's response. This is particularly relevant for transients where the core is undergoing reactivity anomalies and uneven power distributions with strong feedback mechanisms, such as reactivity initiated accidents (RIAs). This work addresses a RIA, specifically a control element assembly (CEA) withdrawal at power, using the multi-physics analysis tool RELAP5/MOD 3.4/3DKIN. The thermal-hydraulics (TH) code, RELAP5, is internally coupled with the nodal kinetics (NK) code, 3DKIN, and both codes exchange relevant data to model the nuclear power plant (NPP) response as the CEA is withdrawn from the core. The coupled model is more representative of the complex interactions between the thermal-hydraulics and neutronics; therefore the results obtained using a multi-physics simulation provide a larger safety margin and hence more operational flexibility compared to those of the point kinetics model reported in the safety analysis report for APR1400. The systems engineering approach is used to guide the development of the work ensuring a systematic and more efficient execution.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Construction Safety
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2023

Gang-foam is used in many construction projects because it is not only precise in terms of vertical, horizontal, and specifications, but also easy to install and dismantle. However, major accidents occur every year due to non-compliance with safety rules and work order, also manuals and checklists currently in use are insufficient. Thirty-seven surveys was conducted by analyzing major accident cases of domestic gang-form construction project and deriving 20 risk factors and 43 check points. Based on the survey, the importance and appropriateness of check points were evaluated. As a result of this study, a checklist was presented, check points were placed in the order of importance based on assembly, installation, dismantling, and lifting of the Gang-form process. The checklist was organized so that workers could comply with safety rules and work order. Through this, it is expected to prevent major accidents and contribute to efficient safety management.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.62-66
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• 2006

The learning control develops controllers that learn to improve their performance at executing a given task, based on experience performing this specific task. In a previous work, the authors presented an iterative precision of linear decentralized learning control based on p-integrated learning method for the vertical dynamic multiple systems. This paper develops an indirect decentralized learning control based on adaptive control method. The original motivation of the learning control field was learning in robots doing repetitive tasks such as an assembly line works. This paper starts with decentralized discrete time systems, and progresses to the robot application, modeling the robot as a time varying linear system in the neighborhood of the nominal trajectory, and using the usual robot controllers that are decentralized, treating each link as if it is independent of any coupling with other links. Some techniques will show up in the numerical simulation for vertical dynamic robot. The methods of learning system are shown for the iterative precision of each link.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.458-464
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• 2014

Light scattering enhancement is widely used to enhance the optical absorption efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. In this work, we systematically analyzed the effects of spherical voids distributed as light-scattering centers in photoanode films made of an assembly of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Spherical voids in electrode films were formed using a sacrificial template of polystyrene (PS) spheres. The diameter and volume concentration of these spheres was varied to optimize the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells. The effects of film thickness on this efficiency was also examined. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was performed to study electron transport in the electrodes. The highest power conversion efficiency of 4.07 % was observed with $12{\mu}m$ film thickness. This relatively low optimum thickness of the electrode film is due to the enhanced light absorption caused by the light scattering centers of voids distributed in the film.

• Proceedings of the Korea Association of Information Systems Conference
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• 1996.11a
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• pp.217-227
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• 1996

The new field of learning control develops controllers that learn to improve their performance at executing a given task, based on experience performin this specific task. In a previous work［6］, the authors presented a theory of indirect learning control based on use of indirect adaptive control concepts employing simultaneous identification ad control. This paper develops improved indirect learning control algorithms, and studies the use of such controllers in decentralized systems. The original motivation of the learning control field was learning in robots doing repetitive tasks such as on an assembly line. This paper starts with decentralized discrete time systems, and progresses to the robot application, modeling the robot as a time varying linear system in the neighborhood of the nominal trajectory, and using the usual robot controllers that are decentralized, treating each link as if it is independent of any coupling with other links. The basic result of the paper is to show that stability of the indirect learning controllers for all subsystems when the coupling between subsystems is turned off, assures convergence to zero tracking error of the decentralized indirect learning control of the coupled system, provided that the sample time in the digital learning controller is sufficiently short.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.599-612
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• 2013

Purpose: To synthesize and identify the studies that delineated the relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction in clinical nurses in Korea. Methods: Electronic databases were searched, including KmBase, KoreaMed. riss4u, National Assembly Digital Library and National Discovery for Science Leaders (NDSL) The search terms included nurse, satisfaction and empowerment. Only papers published in Korean were included. Results: Twelve studies, from 156 references screened, were included the final analysis. All studies were non-experimental and used correlational analysis. A significant positive relationship between structural or psychological empowerment and job satisfaction was found. Older nurses with longer clinical experience and higher education background were more likely to have high level of structural and psychological empowerment and job satisfaction. Conclusion: The study results indicate that to produce an empowering work environment, nurse managers have to create a supportive organizational culture, and provide access to resources and opportunity as well as to strengthen emotional support.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.1907-1916
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• 2020

In this work, the depletion capability implemented in Monte Carlo code MCS is investigated to predict the isotopic compositions of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). By comparison of MCS calculation results to post irradiation examination (PIE) data obtained from one pressurized water reactor (PWR), the validation of this capability is conducted. The depletion analysis is performed with the ENDF/B-VII.1 library and a fuel assembly model. The transmutation equation is solved by the Chebyshev Rational Approximation Method (CRAM) with a depletion chain of 3820 isotopes. 18 actinides and 19 fission products are analyzed in 14 SNF samples. The effect of statistical uncertainties on the calculated number densities is discussed. On average, most of the actinides and fission products analyzed are predicted within ±6% of the experiment. MCS depletion results are also compared to other depletion codes based on publicly reported information in literature. The code-to-code analysis shows comparable accuracy. Overall, it is demonstrated that the depletion capability in MCS can be reliably applied in the prediction of SNF isotopic inventory.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.104-108
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• 2000

It is very important to know the real roughness of electrode surface in electrochemistry. But it is impossible to know absolute roughness of electrode surface for various reasons. In this work, we compared the roughnesses of polycrystalline gold electrode often used in electrochemistry calculated from the images of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and cyclic voltammetry with those of Au (111) and HOPG. The roughness of polycrystalline gold calculated from STM image was $1.1(\pm0.1)$, that from adsorption-desorption of oxygen was $2.4(\pm0.7)$ and that from adsorption of N-docosyl-N'-methyl viologen was $1.6(\pm0.1)$.