• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.171-178
• /
• 2013

In a polymer membrane fuel cell stack, the bipolar plate is a key element because it accounts for over 50% of total costs of the stack. In order to lower the cost of bipolar plates, 316L stainless steels coated with nitrides such as TiN and CrN by physical vapor deposition were investigated as alternative materials for the replacement of traditional brittle graphite bipolar-plates. For this purpose, interfacial contact resistances were measured and electrochemical corrosion tests were conducted. The results showed that although both TiN and CrN coatings decreased the interfacial contact resistances to less than $10m{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$, they did not significantly improve the corrosion resistance in simulated polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell environments. A CrN coating on 316L stainless steel showed better corrosion resistance than a TiN coating did, indicating the possibility of using modified CrN coated metallic bipolar plates to replace graphite bipolar plates.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.11-15
• /
• 2010

Our environment is faced with serious problems related to the air pollution from automobiles in these days. In particular, the exhaust emissions from the diesel engines are recognized as main cause which has a great influence on environment. In this study, the potential of biodiesel fuel and oxygenated fuel(ethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether; EGBE) was investigated as an effective method of decreasing the smoke emission. The smoke emission of blending fuel(EGBE 0~20 vol-%) was reduced in comparison with diesel fuel and it was reduced approximately 64% at 2000 rpm, full load in the 20% of blending rate. On the contrary NOx emissions from biodiesel fuel and EGBE blended fuel were increased compared with diesel fuel. Torque and brake specific energy consumption(BSEC) didn't have large differences.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.106-112
• /
• 2014

The diesel engine, which has high compression ratio than other heat engines, has been using as the main power source of marine transport. Especially, since marine diesel engines offer better specific fuel consumption (SFC), it is environment-friendly compared to those used in other industries. However, attentio should be focused on emissions such as nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) which is generated from combustion of low-grade fuels. Because $N_2O$ in the atmosphere is very stable, the global warming potential (GWP) of $N_2O$ is 310 times as large as that of $CO_2$, and it becomes a source of secondary contamination after photo-degradation in the stratosphere. It has been hitherto noted on the $N_2O$ exhaust characteristics from stationary power plants and land transportations, but reports on $N_2O$ emission from the marine diesel engine are very limited. In this experimental study, a author investigated $N_2O$ emission characteristics by using changed diesel fuel components of nitrogen and sulfur concentration, assessed on the factors which affect $N_2O$ generation in combustion. The experimental results showed that $N_2O$ emission exhibited increasement with increasing of sulfur concentration in fuel. However, all kinds of nitrogen component additives used in experiment could not change $N_2O$ emission.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 2005.10a
• /
• pp.270-271
• /
• 2005

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.38 no.9
• /
• pp.1045-1050
• /
• 2014

$N_2O$(Nitrous Oxide) is known as the third major GHG(Green House Gas) following $CO_2$(Carbon Oxide) and $CH_4$(Methane). The GWP(Global Warming Potential) factor of $N_2O$ is 310 times as large as that of $CO_2$ because $N_2O$ in the atmosphere is very stable, and it becomes a source of secondary contamination after photo-degradation in the stratosphere. Investigation on the cause of the $N_2O$ formation have been continuously reported by several researchers on power sources with continuous combustion form, such as a boiler. However, in the diesel engine, research on $N_2O$ generation which has effected from fuel components has not been conducted. Therefore, in this research, author has investigated about $N_2O$ emission rates which was changed by nitrogen and sulfur concentration in fuel on the diesel engine. The test engine was a 4-stroke direct injection diesel engine with maximum output of 12 kW at 2600rpm, and operating condition of that was set up at a 75% load. Nitrogen and sulfur concentrations in fuel were raised by using six additives : nitrogen additives were Pyridine, Indole, Quinoline, Pyrrol and Propionitrile and sulfur additive was Di-tert-butyl-disulfide. In conclusion, diesel fuels containing nitrogen elements less than 0.5% did not affect $N_2O$ emissions in the all concentrations and kinds of the additive agent in the fuel. However, increasing of the sulfur additive in fuel increased $N_2O$ emission in exhaust gas.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.167-179
• /
• 2024

This study explores the feasibility of employing (U, Th)-based accident tolerant fuels (ATFs), specifically (_0.8UO₂, _0.2ThO₂), (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN), and (_0.8UC, _0.2ThC). The investigation assesses the overall performance of these proposed fuel materials in comparison to the conventional UO₂, focusing on deep neutronic and thermal-hydraulic (Th) analyses. Neutronic analysis utilized the MCNPX code, while COMSOL Multiphysics was employed for thermal-hydraulic analysis. The primary objective of this research is to overcome the limitations associated with traditional UO₂ fuel by exploring alternative fuel materials that offer advantages in terms of abundance and potential improvements in performance and safety. Given the limited abundance of UO₂, long-term sustainable nuclear energy production faces challenges. From a neutronic standpoint, the U-Th based fuels demonstrated remarkable fuel cycle lengths, except (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN), which exhibited the minimum fuel cycle length and, consequently, the lowest fuel burn-up. Regarding thermal-hydraulic performance, (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN) exhibited outstanding performance with significant margins against fuel melting compared to the other materials. Overall, when considering the integrated performance, the most favourable results were obtained with the use of the (_0.8UC, _0.2ThC) fuel configurations. This study contributes valuable insights into the potential benefits of (U, Th)-based ATFs as a promising avenue for enhanced nuclear fuel performance.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.79-86
• /
• 2003

In this paper, the effect of oxygen component in fuel on the exhaust emissions has been investigated fur direct injection diesel engine. It was tested to estimate change of engine performance and exhaust emission characteristics for the commercial diesel fuel and oxygenated blended fuel which has seven kinds of mixed ratio. And, the effects of exhaust gas recirculation(EGR) on the characteristics of NOx emission have been investigated. Ethylene glycol mono-n-butyl ether(EGBE) contains oxygen component 27% in itself, and it is a kind of effective oxygenated fuel of mono-ether group that the smoke emission and unburned hydrocarbons of EGBE is reduced remarkably compared with commercial diesel fuel, that is, it can supply oxygen component sufficiently at higher loads and speeds in diesel engine. It was found that simultaneous reduction of smoke and NOx was achieved with oxygenated fuel and cooled EGR method.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.82-89
• /
• 2011

Ultra lean combustion with stratified air-fuel mixture is one of the methods that can improve fuel economy of gasoline engines. The aim of this study is to show that how much fuel economy is improved and what are differences in engine control of the ultra lean combustion compared with stoichiometric combustion. In this study, the BMW N53 GDI engine, which is one of ultra lean combustion GDI engines introduced in the market recently, was tested at various engine operating conditions. Results indicated that fuel consumption rates were improved by 11.9~25.8% by the ultra lean combustion compared with stoichiometric combustion. It was also found that multiple fuel injection, multiple spark, early intake valve opening, and large vlave overlap duration were the features of the ultra lean combustion for combustion stability and emission improvement.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.5
• /
• pp.724-730
• /
• 2018

Chromium and chromium nitride were selected as potential barriers to prevent fuel-clad chemical interaction (FCCI) between the cladding and the fuel material. In this study, ferritic/martensitic HT-9 steel and misch metal were used to simulate the reaction between the cladding and fuel fission product, respectively. Radio frequency magnetron sputtering was used to deposit Cr and CrN films onto the cladding, and the gas flow rates of argon and nitrogen were fixed at certain values for each sample to control the deposition rate and the crystal structure of the films. The samples were heated for 24 h at 933 K through the diffusion couple test, and considerable amount of interdiffusion (max. thickness: $550{\mu}m$) occurred at the interface between HT-9 and misch metal when the argon and nitrogen were used individually. The elemental contents of misch metal were detected at the HT-9 through energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy due to the interdiffusion. However, the specimens that were sputtered by mixed gases (Ar and $N_2$) exhibited excellent resistance to FCCI. The thickness of these CrN films were only $4{\mu}m$, but these films effectively prevented the FCCI due to their high adhesion strength (frictional force ${\geq}1,200{\mu}m$) and dense columnar microstructures.

• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.453-458
• /
• 2001

The fretting wear of a nuclear fuel rod it a dangerous phenomenon. In this study, TiN coating was used to reduce the fretting wear of Zircaloy-4 tube, a nuclear fuel rod cladding material. TiN coating is probably one of the molt frequently and successfully used PVD coatings for the mitigation of fretting wear. The fretting tester was designed and manufactured for this experiment. The number of cycles, slip amplitude and normal load were selected as main factors of fretting wear. The results of this research showed that wear volume was improved 1.3∼3.2 times with TiN coating. The worn surfaces were observed by SEM. Wear mechanism at lower slip amplitude was the brittle cracks and rupture of TiN coating. However, adhesive and abrasive wear were mainly observed on most surfaces at higher slip amplitude.