• Title/Summary/Keyword: Control rods

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Synthesis of Highly Concentrated ZnO Nanorod Sol by Sol-gel Method and their Applications for Inverted Organic Solar Cells

  • Kim, Solee;Kim, Young Chai;Oh, Seong-Geun
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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    • v.53 no.3
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    • pp.350-356
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    • 2015
  • The effects of the zinc oxide (ZnO) preparing process on the performance of inverted organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) were explored. The morphology and size of ZnO nanoparticles were controlled, leading to more efficient charge collection from device and higher electron mobility compared with nanospheres. Nanosized ZnO particles were synthesized by using zinc acetate dihydrate and potassium hydroxide in methanol. Also, water was added into the reaction medium to control the morphology of ZnO nanocrystals from spherical particles to rods, and $NH_4OH$ was used to prevent the gelation of dispersion. Solution-processed ZnO thin films were deposited onto the ITO/glass substrate by using spin coating process and then ZnO films were used as an electron transport layer in inverted organic photovoltaic cells. The analyses were carried out by using TEM, FE-SEM, AFM, DLS, UV-Vis spectroscopy, current density-voltage characteristics and solar simulator.

Development of a Variable Remote Center Compliance (VRCC) with Stiffness Adjusting Rods. (탄성 조절 막대를 이용한 가변형 원격 순응 중심 장치 개발에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Sang-Cheo
    • Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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    • v.11 no.8
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    • pp.704-708
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    • 2005
  • In this paper, a simple idea is proposed to change the compliance center of the Remote Center Compliance (RCC) by adjusting the elasticity of the Elastomer Shear Pad (ESP). To vary the elasticity of the ESP, a hole is made in the ESP along its stiffness axis, and a stiffness adjusting rod (SAR) is inserted into the hole. By adjusting the insertion depth of the rod, lateral stiffness of the ESP can be varied, and the compliance center of the VRCC can be controlled accordingly. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed idea, a prototype VRCC is designed and, the position of the compliance center with various lengths of the inserted rod are measured.

Shape Control of Gold Nanocrystal: Synthesis of Faceted Gold Nanoparticles and Construction of Morphology Diagram

  • Ahn, Hyo-Yong;Lee, Hye-Eun;Nam, Ki Tae
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2013.08a
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    • pp.281.1-281.1
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    • 2013
  • Shape control of gold nanocrystal is still one of the most important challenges remaining to achieve geometry dependent properties. Thus far, several strategies have been developed to control the shape of nanoparticles, such as adding capping agents and diverse additives or adjusting the temperature and pH. Here, we used an already established seed-mediated method that allowed us to focus on controlling the growth stage. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and ascorbic acid (AA) were used as the ligand and the reducing agent, respectively, without using any additional additives during the growth stage. We investigated how the relative ratio of CTAB and AA concentrations could be a major determinant of nanoparticle shape over a wide concentration range of CTAB and AA. As a result, a morphology diagram was constructed experimentally that covered the growth conditions of rods, cuboctahedra, cubes, and rhombic dodecahedra. The trends in the morphology diagram emphasize the importance of the interplay between CTAB and AA. Furthermore, high-index faceted gold nanocrystal was obtained by two step seeded growth. Already synthesized cubic particles developed into hexoctahedral nanocrystal consisting of 48 identical {321} facets, which indicates that the growth of gold nanocrystal is affected by initial morphology of seed particles. The hexoctahedral gold nanoparticles can be used in catalysis and optical applications which exploiting their unique geometry. Our research can provide useful guidelines for designing various facetted geometries.

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Subcriticality Evaluation Using the Modified Neutron Source Multiplication Method (개선된 중성자 선원 증배법을 이용한 미임계도 평가)

  • Yoon, Seok-Kyun;Naing, Win;Kim, Myung-Hyun
    • Journal of Energy Engineering
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.155-163
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    • 2007
  • To insure nuclear reactor safety, the reactivity of control rods should be calculated by measuring the criticality of reactor core and it is regularly performed during the annual physics test period. Also, the core criticality should be monitored during the start-up operation to avoid reactivity induced accidents. Many research works on control rod reactivity measurement and subcriticality measurement have been accomplished throughout the world for decades and recently a new method named "Modified Neutron Source Multiplication Method (MNSM)" was proposed in Japan which is known to be improved overcoming limitations of traditional Neutron Source Multiplication Method (NSM). In this study, MNSM was tested in calculation of subcriticalities and in evaluation of application validity using the educational reactor in Kyung Hee University, AGN-201. For this study, a revised nuclear data library and a neutron transport code system TRANSX - PARTISN were established. Correction factors for various control rod positions were produced using the k-effective values and the corresponding flux distributions and adjoint flux distributions. Experimental values of the core criticality were obtained using the neutron count rates of the BF3 proportional counters. The results showed that the expected reactivity worth of control rods by MNSM agreed well with the theoretical values and the correction factors contributed much for this purpose.

Growth Rate study of CPAE Cells and Osteobalst by Local Hyperthermia Duplex Stainless Steel Thermo-rod (국소온열치료용 듀플렉스 스테인리스 스틸 발열체에 의한 혈관세포와 골세포의 온도에 따른 성장률 변화 관찰)

  • Choi, Sung-Min;Kim, Young-Kun
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.9 no.11
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    • pp.247-253
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    • 2009
  • We investigated the cell growth rate according to the change of temperature of the Thermo-rod used for the local hyperthermia therapy. For this study, we fabricated the Thermo-rods (TR) using Duplex Stainless Steels having magnetic properties as well as non magnetic properties. To evaluate cell growth rates up to 15 days, we conducted cell proliferation test using cell counting methods. For the tests, the CAPEs and Osteoblats were seeded on the 6-we11 plates with the induction heated thermo-rods 30 mins a day for 15 days with 2 days interval and without induction heated thermo-rods as control group respectively. We calculated cell growth rates, 6 hours after heating. From the results, in case of CAPEs and Osteobalsts seeded groups, the cell growth rates in all groups increased drastically for 6 days after seeding, but decreased irregularly after 6 days. In conclusion, the cell growth rates showed no significant difference among all groups and it indicated that there were no effects of temperate ($41^{\circ}C$) on cell growth rates.

Shear bond strength between CAD/CAM denture base resin and denture artificial teeth when bonded with resin cement

  • Han, Sang Yeon;Moon, Yun-Hee;Lee, Jonghyuk
    • The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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    • v.12 no.5
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    • pp.251-258
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    • 2020
  • PURPOSE. The bond strengths between resin denture teeth with various compositions and denture base resins including conventional and CAD/CAM purposed materials were evaluated to find influence of each material. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Cylindrical rods (6.0 mm diameter × 8.0 mm length) prepared from pre-polymerized CAD/CAM denture base resin blocks (PMMA Block-pink; Huge Dental Material, Vipi Block-Pink; Vipi Industria) were bonded to the basal surface of resin teeth from three different companies (VITA MFT®; VITA Zahnfabrik, Endura Posterio®; SHOFU Dental, Duracross Physio®; Nissin Dental Products Inc.) using resin cement (Super-Bond C&B; SUN MEDICAL). As a control group, rods from a conventional heat-polymerizing denture base resin (Vertex™ Rapid Simplified; Vertex-Dental B.V. Co.) were attached to the resin teeth using the conventional flasking and curing method. Furthermore, the effect of air abrasion was studied with the highly cross-linked resin teeth (VITA MFT®) groups. The shear bond strengths were measured, and then the fractured surfaces were examined to analyze the mode of failure. RESULTS. The shear bond strengths of the conventional heat-polymerizing PMMA denture resin group and the CAD/CAM denture base resin groups were similar. Air abrasion to VITA MFT® did not improve shear bond strengths. Interfacial failure was the dominant cause of failure for all specimens. CONCLUSION. Shear bond strengths of CAD/CAM denture base materials and resin denture teeth using resin cement are comparable to those of conventional methods.

Development of a Brain Phantom for Multimodal Image Registration in Radiotherapy Treatment Planning

  • H. S. Jin;T. S. Suh;R. H. Juh;J. Y. Song;C. B. Y. Choe;Lee, H .G.;C. Kwark
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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    • 2002.09a
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    • pp.450-453
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    • 2002
  • In radiotherapy treatment planning, it is critical to deliver the radiation dose to tumor and protect surrounding normal tissue. Recent developments in functional imaging and radiotherapy treatment technology have been raising chances to control tumor saving normal tissues. A brain phantom which could be used for image registration technique of CT-MR and CT-SPECT images using surface matching was developed. The brain phantom was specially designed to obtain imaging dataset of CT, MR, and SPECT. The phantom had an external frame with 4 N-shaped pipes filled with acryl rods, Pb rods for CT, MR, and SPECT imaging, respectively. 8 acrylic pipes were inserted into the empty space of the brain phantom to be imaged for geometric evaluation of the matching. For an optimization algorithm of image registration, we used Downhill simplex algorithm suggested as a fast surface matching algorithm. Accuracy of image fusion was assessed by the comparison between the center points of the section of N-shaped bars in the external frame and the inserted pipes of the phantom and minimized cost functions of the optimization algorithm. Technique with partially transparent, mixed images using color on gray was used for visual assessment of the image registration process. The errors of image registration of CT-MR and CT-SPECT were within 2mm and 4mm, respectively. Since these errors were considered within a reasonable margin from the phantom study, the phantom is expected to be used for conventional image registration between multimodal image datasets..

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DESIGN OF A LOAD FOLLOWING CONTROLLER FOR APR+ NUCLEAR PLANTS

  • Lee, Sim-Won;Kim, Jae-Hwan;Na, Man-Gyun;Kim, Dong-Su;Yu, Keuk-Jong;Kim, Han-Gon
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.44 no.4
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    • pp.369-378
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    • 2012
  • A load-following operation in APR+ nuclear plants is necessary to reduce the need to adjust the boric acid concentration and to efficiently control the control rods for flexible operation. In particular, a disproportion in the axial flux distribution, which is normally caused by a load-following operation in a reactor core, causes xenon oscillation because the absorption cross-section of xenon is extremely large and its effects in a reactor are delayed by the iodine precursor. A model predictive control (MPC) method was used to design an automatic load-following controller for the integrated thermal power level and axial shape index (ASI) control for APR+ nuclear plants. Some tracking controllers employ the current tracking command only. On the other hand, the MPC can achieve better tracking performance because it considers future commands in addition to the current tracking command. The basic concept of the MPC is to solve an optimization problem for generating finite future control inputs at the current time and to implement as the current control input only the first control input among the solutions of the finite time steps. At the next time step, the procedure to solve the optimization problem is then repeated. The support vector regression (SVR) model that is used widely for function approximation problems is used to predict the future outputs based on previous inputs and outputs. In addition, a genetic algorithm is employed to minimize the objective function of a MPC control algorithm with multiple constraints. The power level and ASI are controlled by regulating the control banks and part-strength control banks together with an automatic adjustment of the boric acid concentration. The 3-dimensional MASTER code, which models APR+ nuclear plants, is interfaced to the proposed controller to confirm the performance of the controlling reactor power level and ASI. Numerical simulations showed that the proposed controller exhibits very fast tracking responses.

Nuclear Core Design for a Marine Small Power Reactor (선박용 소형동력로의 노심 핵설계)

  • 최유선;김종채;김명현
    • Journal of Energy Engineering
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.146-152
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    • 1996
  • A small power reactor core of 108 MW$\_$th/ was designed with some design constraints: 2 year refueling cycle length, soluble boron free operation, low power density, and proven fuel assembly design - Uljin 3'||'&'||'4 design specifications. CASMO-3 and KINS-3 was used to evaluate operational capability for power level control via control rods. Cycle length, power peaking factor, M.T.C., and power coefficients were also checked. Designed core loaded with KOFAs satisfied all design goals. We found that much more burnable poisons are to be loaded with axial enrichment zoning. Control rod assemblies should be located at every other assemblies with more than 3 banks. Additional shutdown banks are proposed for the safe plant cooldown, which could be located at core periphery.

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Neutronics analysis of TRIGA Mark II research reactor

  • Rehman, Haseebur;Ahmad, Siraj-ul-Islam
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.50 no.1
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    • pp.35-42
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    • 2018
  • This article presents clean core criticality calculations and control rod worth calculations for TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotope production-General Atomics) Mark II research reactor benchmark cores using Winfrith Improved Multi-group Scheme-D/4 (WIMS-D/4) and Program for Reactor In-core Analysis using Diffusion Equation (PRIDE) codes. Cores 133 and 134 were analyzed in 2-D (r, ${\theta}$) and 3-D (r, ${\theta}$, z), using WIMS-D/4 and PRIDE codes. Moreover, the influence of cross-section data was also studied using various libraries based on Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF/B-VI.8 and VII.0), Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion File (JEFF-3.1), Japanese Evaluated Nuclear Data Library (JENDL-3.2), and Joint Evaluated File (JEF-2.2) nuclear data. The simulation results showed that the multiplication factor calculated for all these data libraries is within 1% of the experimental results. The reactivity worth of the control rods of core 134 was also calculated with different homogenization approaches. A comparison was made with experimental and reported Monte Carlo results, and it was found that, using proper homogenization of absorber regions and surrounding fuel regions, the results obtained with PRIDE code are significantly improved.