• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.464-468
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• 2010

In this study, a vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) monomer was successfully grafted onto the several fluoropolymer films including poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (FEP), poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-perfluoropropylvinyl ether) (PFA), and poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) films by using a simultaneous irradiation method. The results indicated that PVBC graft polymer can be easily grafted onto the ETFE film than other fluorinated films under the same irradiation condition. The grafted films were characterized by using FTIR, TGA, and SEM-EDS instruments. The elongation at the breaking of the grafted films was found to decrease with an increase of degree of grafting (DOG). The PVBC-grafted ETFE films were found to have better mechanical properties than other PVBC-grafted fluorinated films.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.180-184
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• 2008

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.973-986
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• 2015

Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) foil is a novel structural material which has being used in shell and spatial structures. This paper studies biaxial creep property of ETFE foil by creep tests and numerical simulation. Biaxial creep tests of cruciform specimens were performed using three stress ratios, 1:1, 2:1 and 1:2, which showed that creep coefficients in biaxial tension were much smaller than those in uniaxial one. Then, a reduction factor was introduced to take account of this biaxial effect, and relation between the reduction factor and stress ratio was established. Circular bubble creep test and triangle cushion creep test of ETFE foil were performed to verify the relation. Interpolation was adopted to consider creep stress and reduction factor was involved to take account of biaxial effect in numerical simulation. Simulation results of the bubble creep test embraced a good agreement with those measuring ones. In triangle cushion creep test, creep displacements from numerical simulation showed a good agreement with those from creep test at the center and lower foil measuring points.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.803-809
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• 2012

The non-isothermal crystallization behavior of ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) copolymer was investigated by DSC and imaging FTIR analysis. Modified non-isothermal Avrami analysis was applied to interpret the crystallization behavior of ETFE. It was found that the less linearity in ln[-ln(1-X(t))] vs. ln(t) plot was obtained in thermal analysis comparison with imaging FTIR due to relatively small crystallization enthalpy change in ETFE. It means that imaging FTIR measured by overall IR absorption intensity change due to the crystallization was found to be effective to understand the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of ETFE. In addition, the optical transmittance of ETFE was studied. The crystallite developed by slow cooling caused the light scattering and resulted in the increase of haze and the lowering of transmittance up to 8%. From our results, it was confirmed that cooling rate is an important processing parameter for maintaining optical transmittance of ETFE as a replacement material for glass.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.107-110
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• 2022

Lightweight and flexible photovoltaic (PV) modules are attractive for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications because of their easy construction and applicability. In this study, we fabricated lightweight and flexible c-Si PV modules using ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) front cover and shingled design string cells. The ETFE front cover instead of glass made the PV modules lighter in weight, and the shingled design string cells increased the flexibility. Finally, we fabricated a PV module with a conversion power of 240.08 W at an area of 1.25 m² and weighed only 2 kg/m². Moreover, to check the PV module's flexibility, we conducted a bending test. The difference of conversion power between the modules before and after bending shown was only 1.7 W, which showed a power reduction rate of about 0.7%.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.816-821
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• 2012

In this study, silane-crosslinked proton exchange membranes were prepared by step-wise radiation grafting of styrene and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPM) onto an poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) film and followed by sol-gel processing and sulfonation. The sequentially grafted films with styrene to provide the proton conductivity and TMSPM to form the crosslinked structure were prepared by different grafting order. The structural changes and thermal properties of the prepared films were investigated by FTIR and TGA, respectively. After the introduction of sulfonic acid functional groups, the distributions of sulfonic acid group and silicon atoms at the inside of the sulfonated membranes were analyzed by SEM-EDX.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.525-530
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• 2012

In this study, silane-crosslinked organic/inorganic composite membranes were prepared by simultaneous irradiation grafting of binary monomer mixtures (styrene and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPM)) with various compositions onto a poly(ethylene-alt-tetraethylene) (ETFE) film and followed by sol-gel processing and sulfonation to provide a silane-crosslinked structure and a proton conducting ability, respectively. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) were utilized to confirm the crosslinking of ETFE-g-PS/PTMSPM films. The prepared membranes with similar ion exchange capacity but a different TMSPM content were selected and their membrane properties were compared. The ETFE-g-PSSA/PTMSPM membranes were characterized by water uptake, dimensional stability, and proton conductivity after sulfonation. The membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) of the prepared membranes were fabricated and their single cell performances were measured.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2011

The wettabilities of the partially fluorinated polymers (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE), ethylenechlorotrifluoroethylene copolymer (ECTFE), and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)) were investigated by contact angle measurements. Zisman plots for ETFE and ECTFE exhibited linear relationships, while the Zisman plot for PVDF showed a slight curvature, which was interpreted to indicate strong non-dispersive interactions between the surface and the contacting liquids. The Lifshitz-van der Waals forces of the fluoropolymers were estimated to increase in the order of ETFE < PVDF $\ll$ ECTFE. An evaluation of the polar or "acid-base" interaction energies showed that PVDF, which possesses the most acidic hydrogens among the examined fluoropolymers, has the strongest acid-base interactions.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 2012

Various anion exchange membranes were prepared by radiation graft copolymerization of vinylbenzyl chloride onto fluorinated films and subsequent quaternization with various tertiary amines such as trimethylamine, N,N-dimethylbuthylamine, N,N-dimethylaniline, and N-methylpiperidine. The quaternizations of the anion exchange membranes were confirmed by measuring of the ion exchange capacities of the membranes. The mechanical properties and the water uptakes were also measured. The elongation at break was found to be largely dependent on the fluorinated film, the quateranry ammonium, and the degree of grafting. The results indicate that the poly (ethylene-alt-tetrafluoroethylene) with quaternized trimethylamine moiety exhibits higher flexible property compared to the other prepared anion exchange membranes.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.13-22
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• 2020

As the supply of photovoltaic (PV) increases worldwide, the cumulative installations in 2018 were 7.9 and 560 GW in Korea and the world, respectively. Typically, when the ground on commercial PV modules is installed, the area is limited; hence, new designs of PV modules are required to install additional PVs. Among the new design of PV modules, lightweight PV modules can be utilized in PV systems, such as buildings, farmlands, and floating PV. Concerning the investigation of lightweight PV modules, several studies on materials for replacing low-iron tempered glass, which comprises approximately 65% of the PV module weight, have been conducted. However, materials that are used as substitutes for glass should possess similar lightweight properties and reliability as glass. In this study, experimental tests were performed to evaluate the applicability of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) film with excellent resistance to water and aging as a front material of PV modules. The transmittance and ultraviolet properties of the ETFE film were determined and compared with those of glass. A 1-cell module and laboratory-scale 24-cell module were manufactured using the ETFE film and glass, and the electrical output was measured and analyzed. Furthermore, damp heat and thermal cycle tests were conducted to evaluate the reliability of the ETFE film module. Based on the experimental results, the electrical output and reliability of the ETFE film module were similar to those of the glass module, and the ETFE film could be used as the front material of PV modules.