• Analyses & Alternatives
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.35-77
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• 2023

This study aims to solve the entangled loop between demographic transition (DT) and economic growth by analyzing cross-country data. We undertake a national-level group analysis to verify the compressed transition of demographic variables over time. Assuming that the LA (latecomer advantage) on DT over time exists, we verify that the DT of the latecomer is compressed by providing a formal proof of LA on DT over income. As a DT has the double-kinked functions of income, we check them in multiple aspects: early maturation, leftward threshold, and steeper descent under a contour map and econometric methods. We find that the developing countries (the latecomer) have speedy DT (CDT, compressed DT) as well as speedy income such that DT of the latecomers starts at lower levels of income, lasts for a shorter period, and finishes at the earlier stage of economic development compared to that of developed countries (the early mover). To check the balance of DT, we classify countries into four groups of DT---balanced, slow, unilateral, and rapid transition countries. We identify that the main causes of rapid transition are due to the strong family planning programs of the government. Finally, we check the effect of latecomer's CDT on economic growth inversely: we undertake the simulation of the CDT effect on economic growth and the aging process for the latecomer. A worrying result is that the CDT of the latecomer shows a sharp upturn of the working-age population, followed by a sharp downturn in a short period. Compared to early-mover countries, the latecomer countries cannot buy more time to accommodate the workable population for the period of demographic bonus and prepare their aging societies for demographic onus. Thus, we conclude that CDT is not necessarily advantageous to developing countries. These outcomes of the latecomer's CDT can be re-interpreted as follows. Developing countries need power sources to pump up economic development, such as the following production factors: labor, physical and financial capital, and economic systems. As for labor, the properties of early maturation and leftward thresholds on DTs of the latecomer mean that demographic movement occurs at an unusually early stage of economic development; this is similar to a plane that leaks fuel before or just before take-off, with the result that it no longer flies higher or farther. What is worse, the property of steeper descent represents the falling speed of a plane so that it cannot be sustained at higher levels, and then plummets to all-time lows.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4660-4670
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• 2022

Hydroxyurea (HU) is a novel salt-free reductant used potentially for the separation of U/Pu in the advanced PUREX process. In this work, the radiation stability of HU were systematically investigated in solution by examining the effects of the type of rays (α, β, and γ irradiations), the absorbed dose (10-50 kGy), and the HNO₃ concentration (0-3 mol L^-1). The influence degree on HU radiolysis rates followed the order of the absorbed dose > the ray type > the HNO₃ concentration, but the latter two had moderate effects on HU radiolysis products where NH₄⁺ and NO₂^- were found to be the most abundant ones, suggesting that the differences of α, β, and γ rays should be considered in the study of irradiation effects. The radiolysis mechanism was explored using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and it proposed the dominant radiolysis paths of HU, indicating that the radiolysis of HU was mainly a free radical reaction among ·H, e_aq^-, H₂O, intermediates, and the radiolytic free radical fragments of HU. The results reported here provide valuable insights into the mechanistic understanding of HU radiolysis under α, β, and γ irradiations and reliable data support for the application of HU in the reprocessing of spent fuel.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.238-247
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• 2023

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is an attractive fuel for ships considering its current technology and economic viability. However, safety guidelines for LPG-fueled ships are still under development, and there have been no cases of applying LPG propulsion systems to small and medium-sized ships in Korea. The purpose of this study was to perform an objective risk assessment for the first marine LPG engine system and propose safe operational standards. First, hazard and operability (HAZOP) analysis was used to divide the engine system into five nodes, and 58 hazards were identified. To compensate for the subjectivity of qualitative evaluation using HAZOP analysis, fuzzy set theory was used, and additional risk factors, such as detectability and sensitivity, were included to compare the relative weights of the risk factors using a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. As a result, among the five risk factors, those with a major impact on risk were determined to be the frequency and severity. Finally, the fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) was applied to select the risk rank more precisely by considering the weights of the risk factors. The risk level was divided into 47 groups, and the major hazard during the operation of the engine system was found through the analysis to be gas leakage during maintenance of the LPG supply line. The technique proposed can be applied to various facilities, such as LPG supply systems, and can be utilized as a standard procedure for risk assessment in developing safety standards for LPG-powered ships.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.76-85
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• 2023

Demand for hydrogen as a renewable energy resource is increasing. However, unlike conventional fossil fuels, hydrogen requires a dedicated refueling station for fuel supply. A risk assessment of hydrogen refueling stations must be undertaken to secure the infrastructure. Therefore, in this study, a risk assessment for hydrogen refueling stations was conducted through both qualitative and quantitative risk assessments. For the qualitative evaluation, the hydrogen dispenser module was evaluated as two nodes using the hazard and operability (HAZOP) analysis. The risk due to filter clogging and high-pressure accidents was evaluated to be high according to the criticality estimation matrix. For the quantitative risk assessment, the Hydrogen Korea Risk Assessment Module (Hy-KoRAM) was used to indicate the shape of the fire and the range of damage impact, and to evaluate the individual and social risks. The individual risk level was determined of to be as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP). Additional safety measures proposed include placing the hydrogen refueling station about 100m away from public facilities. The social risk level was derived as 1E-04/year, with a frequency of approximately 10 deaths, falling within the ALARP range. As a result of the qualitative and quantitative risk assessments, additional safety measures for the process and a safety improvement plan are proposed through the establishment of a restricted area near the hydrogen refueling station.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.25-31
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to increase the thermal efficiency of a landfill gas (LFG) power generation engine by capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from landfill gas (LFG) using monoethanolamine (MEA), which is widely used in the chemical CO₂ absorption process. Since the use of LFG as an energy source can be a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, MEA can be used to reduce CO₂ in LFG and increase the concentration of CH₄ to improve the efficiency of power generation. In this study, experiments were conducted to measure the solubility of CO₂ and CH₄ in MEA solution, increase the solubility under different conditions, and analyse the dissolution characteristics. It was found that the CO₂ absorption rate increased as the ratio of MEA to reaction gas increased. There is an optimum MEA concentration to maximise CO₂ solubility, and even if the concentration is increased above this concentration, the solubility does not improve significantly. This study provided fundamental work to develop a more practical fuel by capturing CO₂ from LFG and increasing the concentration of CH₄ while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.672-680
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• 2023

Weight is a critical factor in the ship design process given that it has a substantial impact on the hydrodynamic performance of ships. Typically, ships are optimally designed for specific conditions with a fixed draft and displacement. However, in reality, weight and draft can vary within a certain range owing to operational activities, such as fuel consumption, ballast adjustments, and loading conditions . Therefore, we investigated how resistance changes under three different loading conditions, namely overload, design-load, and lightship, for small craft, using both model experiments and numerical simulations. Additionally, we examined the sensitivity of weight changes to resistance to enhance the performance of ships, ultimately reducing power requirements in support of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 50% by 2050. We found that weight changes have a more significant impact at low Froude Numbers. Operating under overload conditions, which correspond to a 5% increase in draft and an 11.1% increase in displacement, can lead to a relatively substantial increase in total resistance, up to 15.97% and 14.31% in towing tests and CFD simulations, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.681-687
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• 2023

The selection technique for optimal operation position selection technique is used to present the initial bow and stern draft with minimum resistance, for achievingthat is, the optimal fuel consumption efficiency at a given operating displacement and speed. The main purpose of this studypaper is to develop a program to select the optimal operating position with maximum energy efficiency under given operating conditions based on the effective power data of the target ship. This program was written as a Python-based GUI (Graphic User Interface) usingbased on artificial intelligence techniques sucho that ship owners could easily use the GUIit. In the process, tThe introduction of the target ship, the collection of effective power data through computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the learning method of the effective power model using deep learning, and the program for presenting the optimal operation position using the deep neural network (DNN) model were specifically explained. Ships are loaded and unloaded for each operation, which changes the cargo load and changes the displacement. The shipowners wants to know the optimal operating position with minimum resistance, that is, maximum energy efficiency, according to the given speed of each displacement. The developed GUI can be installed on the ship's tablet PC and application and used to determineselect the optimal operating position.

• Composites Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2024

Due to the structural characteristic of a double roller, the double roller can have various deformation behaviors depending on a gap block design, even if dimensions and loading conditions for the double roller are the same. Based on this feature, we propose a strategy for designing the gap block of the carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) double roller to minimize defects (e.g., sagging and wrinkling), which can be raised during the product conveying process, with the pursue of the lightweight design. In the suggested strategy, analysis cases are first selected by considering main design parameters and engineering tolerances of the gap block, and then deformation behaviors of these selected cases are extracted using the finite element method (FEM). Here, to obtain the optimal gap block parameters that satisfy the purpose of this study, deformation deviations in the contact area are calculated and compared using the extracted deformation behaviors. Note that the contact area in this work is located between the product and the roller. As a result, through the design method of the gap block proposed in this work, it is possible to construct the CFRP double roller that can significantly decrease the defects without changing the overall sizes of the roller. A detailed method is suggested herein, and the results are evaluated in a numerical way.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2024

Fuel gases such as methane and propane are used in explosion hazardous area of domestic plants and can form non-uniform mixtures with the influence of process conditions due to leakage. The fire-explosion risk assessment using literature data measured under uniform mixtures, damage prediction can be obtained the different results from actual explosion accidents by gas leaks. An explosion characteristics such as explosion pressure and flame velocity of non-uniform gas mixtures with concentration change similar to that of facility leak were examined. The experiments were conducted in a closed 0.82 m long stainless steel duct with observation recorded by color high speed camera and piezo pressure sensor. Also we proposed the quantification method of non-uniform mixtures from a regression analysis model on the change of concentration difference with time in explosion duct. For the non-uniform condition of this study, the area of flame surface enlarged with increasing the concentration non-uniform in the flame propagation of methane and was similar to the wrinkled flame structure existing in a turbulent flame. The time to peak pressure of methane decreased as the non-uniform increased and the explosion pressure increased with increasing the non-uniform. The ranges of K_G (Deflagration index) of methane with the concentration non-uniform were 1.30 to 1.58 [MPa·m/s] and the increase rate of K_G was 17.7% in methane with changing from uniform to non-uniform.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.58-64
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• 2024

Approximately 250 marine oil spill accidents have occurred in Korea, with profound impact on local communities and the environment. The restoration process necessitates significant resources and costs to return affected areas to their pre-accident state. In accordance with the polluter pays principle, compensation is demanded from polluter, as stipulated in both international conventions and national laws. Consequently, investigations are conducted to determine civil and criminal liability. As the importance of investigation actors in oil spill accidents increases, standards such as CEN 15522-2 and ASTM D 3248 are employed to determine the similarity between the spilled oil and the oil of the suspected ship. Among these standards, CEN 15522-2, the most actively used European standard, underwent its third revision and is now known as EN 15522-2, as of 2023. This study used EN 15522-2 to analyze samples from marine oil spill accidents that occurred in Korea. The results indicated that, considering the characteristics of domestic spills where light fuel oil spills account for more than 40%, the application of EN 15522-2, which includes low-boiling point substances such as Adamantanes, was confirmed to be highly effective.