• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.1096-1108
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• 2016

Metal fuel is being developed for the prototype generation-IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) to be built by 2028. U-Zr fuel is a driver for the initial core of the PGSFR, and U-transuranics (TRU)-Zr fuel will gradually replace U-Zr fuel through its qualification in the PGSFR. Based on the vast worldwide experiences of U-Zr fuel, work on U-Zr fuel is focused on fuel design, fabrication of fuel components, and fuel verification tests. U-TRU-Zr fuel uses TRU recovered through pyroelectrochemical processing of spent PWR (pressurized water reactor) fuels, which contains highly radioactive minor actinides and chemically active lanthanide or rare earth elements as carryover impurities. An advanced fuel slug casting system, which can prevent vaporization of volatile elements through a control of the atmospheric pressure of the casting chamber and also deal with chemically active lanthanide elements using protective coatings in the casting crucible, was developed. Fuel cladding of the ferritic-martensitic steel FC92, which has higher mechanical strength at a high temperature than conventional HT9 cladding, was developed and fabricated, and is being irradiated in the fast reactor.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.781-790
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• 2007

Hybrid electric vehicles(HEV) combined with more than one power sources have great potential to improve fuel economy and reduce pollutant emissions. The Integrated Starter Generator(ISG) HEV researched in this paper is a two energy sources vehicle, with a conventional internal combustion engine(ICE) and an energy storage system(batteries). In order to investigate the potential of diesel engine hybrid electric vehicles in fuel economy improvement and emissions reduction, a Dynamic Programming(DP) based supervisory controller is developed to allocate the power requirement between ICE and batteries with the objective of minimizing a weighted cost function over given drive cycles. A fuel-economy-only case and a fuel & emissions case can be achieved by changing specific weighting factors. The simulation results of the fuel-economy-only case show that there is a 45.1% fuel saving potential for this ISG HEV compared to a conventional transit bus. The test results present a 39.6% improvement in fuel economy which validates the simulation results. Compared to the fuel-economy-only case, the fuel & emissions case further reduces the pollutant emissions at a cost of 3.2% and 4.5% of fuel consumption with respect to the simulation and test result respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.1439-1447
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• 2023

The fuel cycle characteristics of the IVG.1M reactor were studied within the framework of the research reactor conversion program to modernize the IVG.1M reactor. Optimum use of the nuclear fuel and reactor was achieved through routine methods which included partial fuel reloading combined with scheduled maintenance operations. Since, the additional problem in planning the fuel cycle of the IVG.1M reactor was the poisoning of the beryllium parts of the core, reflector, and control system. An assessment of the residual power and composition of spent fuel is necessary for the selection and justification of the technology for its subsequent management. Computational studies were performed using the MCNP6.1 program and the neutronics model of the IVG.1M reactor. The proposed scheme of annual partial fuel reloading allows for maintaining a high reactor reactivity margin, stabilizing it within 2-4 β_eff for 20 years, and achieving a burnup of 9.9-10.8 MW × day/kg U in the steady state mode of fuel reloading. Spent fuel immediately after unloading from the reactor can be placed in a transport packaging cask for shipping or safely stored in dry storage at the research reactor site.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.791-798
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• 2007

The hydraulic hybrid vehicle(HHV) is an application of hydrostatic transmission technology to improve vehicle fuel economy and emissions. A relatively lower energy density of hydraulic accumulator and complicated coordinating operations between two power sources require a special energy management strategy to maximize the fuel saving potential. This paper presents a new type of configuration for parallel HHV to minimize the disadvantages of the hydraulic accumulator, as well as a methodology for developing an energy management strategy tailored specially for PHHV. Based on an analysis of the optimal energy distribution between two power sources over a representative urban driving cycle with a Dynamic Programming(DP) algorithm, a fuzzy-based optimal torque management strategy is designed and developed to control the torque distribution. Simulation results demonstrates that the optimal torque management strategy maximizes the advantages of this hybrid type of configuration, and the high power density characteristics of hydraulic technology effectively improve the robustness of the energy management strategy and fuel economy of the PHHV.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.133-138
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• 2004

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is considered as a clean and efficient energy conversion det ice for mobile and stationary applications. Anions all the components of the PEMFC, the interface between the electrolyte ,and electrode catalyst plays an important role in determining tile cell performance since the electrochemical reactions take place at the interface in contact with tile reactant gases. Therefore, to increase the interface area and obtain a high-performance PEMFC, surface of the electrolyte membrane was roughened by Ar$^{+}$ beam bombardment. The results imply that by modifying surface of the electrolyte membrane, platinum loading can be reduced significantly without performance loss. To optimize the surface treatment condition, effects of ion dose density on characteristics of the membrane/electrode interface were examined by measuring the cell performance, impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammograms. Surface of the modified membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and FT-IR.R.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.143-148
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• 2010

Research and Development (R&D) investment of hydrogen and fuel cell, funded by government from 2007 to 2008 in Korea, has been analyzed. R&D investment of hydrogen and fuel cell in 2008 would see 9% and 29% of total budget in the field of renewable energy, respectively. It was found that R&D investment is mainly dependent on mission of Ministry in Korea. Basic and apply research would be mainly invested by Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), while development research would be conducted by Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE). In R&D investment by performer, hydrogen technology would be conducted by government-funded institute and university. It was also shown that funds for hydrogen production have been much supported than hydrogen storage. Meanwhile, fuel cell would be mainly conducted by major companies. It was also shown that funds for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) have been much invested than other technology in fuel cell.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.253-264
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• 2022

This paper deals with the effects of design (active area, current density, membrane conductivity) and operating parameters (temperature, relative humidity) on the performance of hydrogen-fuelled proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The design parameter of a PEM fuel cell with the active area of the single cell considered in this study is 25 cm² (5 × 5). The operating voltage and current density of the fuel cell were 0.7 V and 0.5 A/cm² respectively. The variations of activation voltage, ohmic voltage, and concentration voltage with respect to current density are analyzed in detail. The membrane conductivity with variable relative humidity is also analyzed. The results show that the maximum activation overpotential of the fuel cell was 0.4358 V at 0.21 A/cm² due to slow reaction kinetics. The calculated ohmic and concentrated overpotential in the fuel cell was 0.01395 V at 0.76 A/cm² and 0.027 V at 1.46 A/cm² respectively.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.264-270
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• 2014

Fuel cell technology is the most representative area of alternative energy field on vehicle industry according to the limitation of petroleum resources. In recent years, the technology of fuel cell vehicles has made rapid progress, Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) reached to mass production of the Tucson ix hydrogen fuel cell vehicles first in the world. In addition, HMC is accelerating the development of hydrogen fuel cell buses, which have a number of advantages for hydrogen infrastructure and mass transport personnel. In this study, we examined potential of the commercialization through the demonstration of hydrogen fuel cell buses. As a result, we identified that the mass-production possibility of FCB has high potential and HMC's technology will lead to fuel cell bus industry.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.941-950
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• 2013

The Korean Nuclear-Hydrogen Technology Development (NHTD) Plan will be performing irradiation testing of coated particle fuel at HANARO to support the development of VHTR in Korea. This testing will be carried out to demonstrate and qualify TRISO-coated particle fuel for use in VHTR. The testing will be irradiated in an inert gas atmosphere without on-line temperature monitoring and control combined with on-line fission product monitoring of the sweep gas. The irradiation device contains two test rods, one has nine fuel compacts and the other five compacts and eight graphite specimens. Each compact contains about 260 TRISO-coated particles. The irradiation device is being loaded and irradiated into the OR5 hole of the in HANARO core from August 2013. The device will be operated for about 150 effective full-power days at a peak temperature of about $1030^{\circ}C$ in BOC (Beginning of Cycle) during irradiation testing. After a peak burn-up of about 4 atomic percentage and a peak fast neutron fluence of about $1.7{\times}10^{21}\;n/cm^2$, PIE (Post-Irradiation Examination) of the irradiated coated particle fuel will be performed at IMEF (Irradiated Material Examination Facility). This paper reviews the design of test rod and irradiation device for coated particle fuel, and discusses the technical results for irradiation testing at HANARO.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2007

As an arc fault interrupter, the AFCI mentioned in this paper has been designed to detect and interrupt arc faults due to wire deterioration, insulation, wire damage, loose connection, and excessive mechanical damage. Since AFCI is digital and uses mechanical and electric stress, the length of interruption against overload and over-current is much shorter than the current bi-metal method. Therefore, the risk of electrical fires has been reduced.