• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.315-320
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• 2008

The effect of Mn additive on the thermoelectric properties of Fe-Si alloys prepared by a RF inductive furnace was investigated. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient were measured as a function of temperature under Ar atmosphere to evaluate their applicability to thermoelectric energy conversion. The electrical conductivity of the specimens increased with increasing temperatures showing typical semiconducting behavior. The electrical conductivity of Mn-doped specimens are higher than that of undoped specimens and increased slightly with increasing the amount of Mn additive. This must be due to the difference in carrier concentration and the amount of residual metallic phase ${\varepsilon}$-FeSi(The ${\varepsilon}$-FeSi was detected in spite of 100 h annealing treatment at $830^{\circ}C$). And metallic conduction increased slightly with increasing the amount of Mn additive. On the other hand, Mn-doped specimens showed the lower Seebeck coefficient due to metallic phase. The power factor of Mn-doped specimens are higher than that of undoped specimens and would be affected by the electrical conductivity more than Seebeck coefficient.

• Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.2430-2441
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• 2018

Selenium (Se)-rich binary Cu-Se and In-Se nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by a modified heat-up method at low temperature ($110^{\circ}C$) using the gum exudates from a cherry blossom tree. Coating of CISe absorber layer was carried out using Se-rich binary Cu-Se and In-Se NPs ink without the use of any external binder. Our results indicated that the gum used in the synthesis played beneficial roles such as reducing and capping agent. In addition, the gum also served as a natural binder in the coating of CISe absorber layer. The CISe absorber layer was integrated into the solar cell, which showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.37%. The possible reasons for low PCE of the present solar cells and the steps needed for further improvement of PCE were discussed. Although the obtained PCE is low, the present strategy opens a new path for the fabrication of eco-friendly CISe NPs solar cell by a relatively chief non-vacuum method.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.896-904
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• 2017

Several Generation IV nuclear reactor concepts have goals for optimizing investment recovery through phased introduction of multiple units on a common site with shared facilities and/or reconfigurable energy conversion systems. Additionally, small modular reactors are suitable for remote deployment to support highly localized microgrids in isolated, underdeveloped regions. The long-term economic viability of these advanced reactor plants depends on significant reductions in plant operations and maintenance costs. To accomplish these goals, intelligent control and diagnostic capabilities are needed to provide nearly autonomous operations with anticipatory maintenance. A nearly autonomous control system should enable automatic operation of a nuclear power plant while adapting to equipment faults and other upsets. It needs to have many intelligent capabilities, such as diagnosis, simulation, analysis, planning, reconfigurability, self-validation, and decision. These capabilities have been the subject of research for many years, but an autonomous control system for nuclear power generation remains as-yet an unrealized goal. This article describes a functional framework for intelligent, autonomous control that can facilitate the integration of control, diagnostic, and decision-making capabilities to satisfy the operational and performance goals of power plants based on multimodular advanced reactors.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.309-314
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• 1996

Developmental of photosynthetic pigments and changes in chlorophyll fluorescence of dark-grown rice seedlings were studied during greening. Light-illumination stimulated accumulations of total chlorophylls and carotenoids in leaves of etiolated seedlings, accompanied by a decrease in the ratio of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll b. When the composition of carotenoids was analyzed, violaxanthin level was shown to increase up to 24 h after the beginning of light illumination, followed by a subsequent decline. In contrast to this, zeaxanthin level increased consistently with progress of deetiolatin. The role of zeaxanthin is discussed in relation to chlorophyll fluorescence quenching. A study on chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics of the rice seedlings being deetiolated showed a time-dependent increase in Fv/Fm (yield of variable fluorescence/maximum yield of fluoresecnece) ratios, indicating that greening is responsible for the activation of photochemical reaction centers of the photosystem. When chlorophyll fluorescence quenching was examined, qNP (nonphotochemical quenching) and qE (energy-dependent quenching) exhibited a time-dependent decline with progress of greening. The presented results indicate that greening-induced development of the photosynthetic machinery is associated the conversion of the carotenoid violaxanthin to zeaxanthin, suggesting that zeaxanthin synthesized in the illuminated leaves may provide the protection from the damage when etiolated plants are exposed to light.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1345-1356
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• 2021

Damage to nuclear power plants causes human casualties and environmental disasters. There are electrical facilities that control safety-related devices in nuclear power plants, and seismic performance is required for them. The 2016 Gyeongju earthquake had many high-frequency components. Therefore, there is a high possibility that an earthquake involving many high frequency components will occur in South Korea. As such, it is necessary to examine the safety of nuclear power plants against an earthquake with many high-frequency components. In this study, the shaking table test of electrical facilities was conducted against the design earthquake for nuclear power plants with a large low-frequency components and an earthquake with a large high-frequency components. The response characteristics of the earthquake with a large high-frequency components were identified by deriving the amplification factors of the response through the shaking table test. In addition, safety of electrical facility against the two aforementioned types of earthquakes with different seismic characteristics was confirmed through limit-state seismic tests. The electrical facility that was performed to the shaking table test in this study was a motor control center (MCC).

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.279-284
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• 2021

The high theoretical specific capacity of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries makes them a more promising energy storage system than conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the slow kinetics of the electrochemical conversion reaction seriously hinders the utilization of Li-S as an active battery material and has prevented the successful application of Li-S cells. Therefore, exploration of alternatives that can overcome the sluggish electrochemical reaction is necessary to increase the performance of Li-S batteries. In this work, an ionic liquid (IL) is proposed as a functional additive to promote the electrochemical reactivity of the Li-S cell. The sluggish electrochemical reaction is mainly caused by precipitation of low-order polysulfide (l-PS) onto the positive electrode, so the IL is adopted as a solubilizer to remove the precipitated l-PS from the positive electrode to promote additional electron transfer reactions. The ILs effectively dissolve l-PS and greatly improve the electrochemical performance by allowing greater utilization of l-PS, which results in a higher initial specific capacity, together with a moderate retention rate. The results presented here confirmed that the use of an IL as an additive is quite effective at enhancing the overall performance of the Li-S cell and this understanding will enable the construction of highly efficient Li-S batteries.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.419-425
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• 2020

DC distribution system has been evaluated as an excellent one in comparison with existing AC distribution network because it needs fewer power conversion stages and the full capacity of the equipment can be used without consideration for power factor. Recently, research and development on the implementation of DC distribution networks have been progressed globally based on the rapid advancement in power-electronics technology, and the technological developments from the viewpoint of infrastructure are also in progress. However, to configure a distribution network which is a distribution line for DC, more accurate and rapid introduction of analysis technology is needed for the monitoring, control and operation of the system, which ensure the system run flexible and efficiently. However, in case of a bipolar DC distribution network, there are two buses acting as slack buses, so the Jacobian matrix cannot be configured. Without solving this problem, DC distribution network cannot be operated when the network is unbalanced. Therefore, this paper presented a comprehensive method of analysis with consideration of operating elements which are directly connected between neutral electric potential caused by the unbalanced of load in DC distribution network with bipolar structure.

• Water for future
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.56-66
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• 2019

Nepal is bestowed with abundant water. With more than 1500 mm average annual rainfall in the country, a vast quantity of underutilized groundwater in the Terai belt, and the water stored in snowcaps in the Himalayas, aquifers in the mountains and glacial lakes, Nepal is potentially in an advantageous position in terms of per capita availability. However, low emphasis in management aspect of water and high emphasis in infrastructural developments related to water resources management has resulted in conversion of water in Nepal from a resource to a burden. The global climate change, reduction in number of rainy days, increase in intensity of rainfall during wet monsoon season, encroachment of river banks for settlement, inadequate release of environmental flows from hydropower plants, and attempt to tame the mighty and high velocity rivers of Nepal have resulted in increasing number of water induced disasters (flood and landslide), rise in conflict between local residents and hydropower developers, higher number of devastating landslides, and in some extreme cases mass migration of residents resulting in climate refugees. There is a ray of hope; the awareness level of the people regarding sustainable use of water resources is increasing, the benefit sharing mechanism is gradually being implemented, the role of interdisciplinary and integrated water resources management is appreciated at a higher level and the level of preparedness against flood and landslides is at a higher degree compared to a couple of decades ago. With the use of renewable energy sources, the possibilities for sustainable and productive use of water are on the rise in Nepal.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.202-210
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• 2019

In order to maximize the utilization of sewage sludge, a waste from wastewater treatment facility, the residual sewage sludge generated after lipid and carbohydrate extraction for biodiesel and bioethanol production was used to produce bio-oil by pyrolysis. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that sludge pyrolysis mainly occurred between 200 and $550^{\circ}C$ (with peaks formed around 337.0 and $379.3^{\circ}C$) with the decomposition of the main components (carbohydrate, lipid, and protein). Bio-oil was produced using a micro-tubing reactor, and its yield (wt%, g-bio-oil/g-residual sewage sludge) increased with an increase in the reaction temperature and time. The maximum bio-oil yield of 33.3% was obtained after pyrolysis at $390^{\circ}C$ for 5 min, where the largest amount of energy was introduced into the reactor to break the bonds of organic compounds in the sludge. The main components of bio-oil were found to be trans-2-pentenoic acid and 2-methyl-2-pentenoic acid with the highest selectivity of 28.4% and 12.3%, respectively. The kinetic rate constants indicated that the predominant reaction pathway was sewage sludge to bio-oil ($0.1054min^{-1}$), and subsequently to gas ($0.0541min^{-1}$), rather than the direct conversion of sewage sludge to gas ($0.0318min^{-1}$).

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.55-59
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• 2018

Currently, the development of industry makes needs larger electric supply. Providers must consider the efficiency about losses and reliability of the system. In this case, DC power system can save electrical energy; long-distance transmission line losses. Relevance to switch technology with a voltage-source converter (VSC) in AC-DC conversion system have been researched. But, protection device of DC-link against fault current is still needed to study much. VSC DC power system is vulnerable to DC-cable short-circuit and ground faults, because DC-link has a huge size of capacitor filter which releases extremely large current during DC faults. Furthermore, DC has a fatal flaw that current zero crossing is nonexistence. To interrupt the DC, several methods which make a zero crossing is used; parallel connecting self-excited series LC circuit with main switch, LC circuit with power electronic device called hybrid DC circuit breaker. Meanwhile, self-excited oscillator needs a huge size capacitor that produces big oscillation current which makes zero crossing. This capacitor has a quite effective on the price of DCCB. In this paper, hybrid self-excited type superconducting DCCB which are using AC circuit breaker system is studied by simulation tool PSCAD/EMTDC.