• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2012

This study provides development information on Omni-Wheel Drive Rider Robot, futuristic electric scooters, with autonomous driving systems that are used for people including the disabled and senior. Also, it is meaningful in suggesting alternatives to replace motorized wheelchairs or electric scooters for the future. Prior to development of Omni-Wheel Drive Rider Robot with autonomous driving systems, it surveyed 49 people, including 18 people who own electric scooters and 31 senior people who have not. The summary of the survey is as follows. First, inconveniences during riding and exiting and short mileage due and safety driving to problems of recharging batteries are the most urgent task. For these problems, the study shows that charging time of batteries, mileage, armrests, footrests, angle of a seat are the primary considerations. Second, drivers prefer joystick over steering wheels because of convenience in one-handed driving against dangers from footrest and carriageways sloping roads, paving blocks. One-handed driving can reduce driving fatigues with automatic stop systems. Moreover, the study suggests many design factors related to navigation systems, obstacle avoidance systems, omni-wheels, automatic cover-opening systems in rainy.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2014

Li-air cell is an exotic type of energy storage and conversion device considered to be half battery and half fuel cell. Its successful commercialization highly depends on the timely development of key components. Among these key components, the catalyst (i.e., the core portion of the air electrode) is of critical importance and of the upmost priority. Indeed, it is expected that these catalysts will have a direct and dramatic impact on the Li-air cell's performance by reducing overpotentials, as well as by enhancing the overall capacity and cycle life of Li-air cells. Unfortunately, the technological advancement related to catalysts is sluggish at present. Based on the insights gained from this review, this sluggishness is due to challenges in both the commercialization of the catalyst, and the fundamental studies pertaining to its development. Challenges in the commercialization of the catalyst can be summarized as 1) the identification of superior materials for Li-air cell catalysts, 2) the development of fundamental, material-based assessments for potential catalyst materials, 3) the achievement of a reduction in both cost and time concerning the design of the Li-air cell catalysts. As for the challenges concerning the fundamental studies of Li-air cell catalysts, they are 1) the development of experimental techniques for determining both the nano and micro structure of catalysts, 2) the attainment of both repeatable and verifiable experimental characteristics of catalyst degradation, 3) the development of the predictive capability pertaining to the performance of the catalyst using fundamental material properties. Therefore, under the current circumstances, it is going to be an extremely daunting task to develop appropriate catalysts for the commercialization of Li-air batteries; at least within the foreseeable future. Regardless, nano materials are expected to play a crucial role in this field.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.210-214
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• 2012

Mass production-capable $Li_2MnSiO_4$ powder was synthesized for use as cathode material in state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are main powder sources for high tech-end digital electronic equipments and electric vehicles in the near future and they must possess high specific capacity and durable charge-discharge characteristics. Amorphous silicone was quite superior to crystalline one as starting material to fabricate silicone oxide with high reactivity between precursors of sol-gel type reaction intermediates. The amorphous silicone starting material also has beneficial effect of efficiently controlling secondary phases, most notably $Li_xSiO_x$. Lastly, carbon was coated on $Li_2MnSiO_4$ powders by using sucrose to afford some improved electrical conductivity. The carbon-coated $Li_2MnSiO_4$ cathode material was further characterized using SEM, XRD, and galvanostatic charge/discharge test method for morphological and electrochemical examinations. Coin cell was subject to 1.5-4.8 V at C/20, where 74 mAh/g was observed during primary discharge cycle.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.277-277
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• 2010

The capacity of the carbonaceous materials reached ca. $350\;mAhg^{-1}$ which is close to theorestical value of the carbon intercalation composition $LiC_6$, resulting in a relatively low volumetric Li capacity. Notwithstanding the capacities of carbon, it will not adjust well to the need so future devices. Silicon shows the highest gravimetric capacities (up to $4000\;mAhg^{-1}$ for $Li_{21}Si_5$). Although Si is the most promising of the next generation anodes, it undergoes a large volume change during lithium insertion and extraction. It results in pulverization of the Si and loss of electrical contact between the Si and the current collector during the lithiation and delithiation. Thus, its capacity fades rapidly during cycling. We focused on electrode materials in the multiphase form which were composed of two metal compounds to reduce the volume change in material design. A combination of electrochemically amorphous active material in an inert matrix (Si-M) has been investigated for use as negative electrode materials in lithium ion batteries. The matrix composited of Si-M alloys system that; active material (Si)-inactive material (M) with Li; M is a transition metal that does not alloy with Li with Li such as Ti, V or Mo. We fabricated and tested a broad range of Si-M compositions. The electrodes were sputter-deposited on rough Cu foil. Electrochemical, structural, and compositional characterization was performed using various techniques. The structure of Si-M alloys was investigated using X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Surface morphologies of the electrodes are observed using a field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The electrochemical properties of the electrodes are studied using the cycling test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It is found that the capacity is strongly dependent on Si content and cycle retention is also changed according to M contents. It may be beneficial to find materials with high capacity, low irreversible capacity and that do not pulverize, and that combine Si-M to improve capacity retention.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.68-74
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• 2021

Zinc-ion Batteris (ZIBs) are recently being considered as energy storage devices due to their high specific capacity and high safety, and the abundance of zinc sources. Especially, ZIBs can overcome the drawbacks of conventional lithium ion batteris (LIBs), such as cost and safety issues. However, in spite of their advantages, the cathode materials under development are required to improve performance of ZIBs, because the capacity and cycling stability of ZIBs are mainly influenced by the cathode materials. To design optimized cathode materials for high performance ZIBs, a novel manganese oxide (MnO2) coated graphite sheet is suggested herein with improved zinc-ion diffusion capability thanks to the uniformly decorated MnO2 on the graphite sheet surface. Especially, to optimize MnO2 on the graphite sheet surface, amounts of percursors are regulated. The optimized MnO2 coated graphite sheet shows a superior zinc-ion diffusion ability and good electrochemical performance, including high specific capacity of 330.8 mAh g-1 at current density of 0.1 A g-1, high-rate performance with 109.4 mAh g-1 at a current density of 2.0 A g-1, and remarkable cycling stability (82.2 % after 200 cycles at a current density of 1.0 A g-1). The excellent electrochemical performance is due to the uniformly decorated MnO2 on the graphite sheet surface, which leads to excellent zinc-ion diffusion ability. Thus, our study can provide a promising strategy for high performance next-generation ZIBs in the near future.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.27-39
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• 2022

The global demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been continuously increasing since the 1990s along with the growth of the portable electronic device market. Of late, the rapid growth of the electric vehicle market has further accelerated the demand for LIBs. The demand for the LIBs is expected to surpass the supply of lithium from natural resources in the near future, posing a risk to the global lithium supply chain. Moreover, the continuous accumulation of end-of-life LIBs is expected to cause serious environmental problems. To solve these problems, recycling the spent LIBs must be viewed as a critical technological challenge that must be urgently addressed. In this study, recycling LIBs using pyrometallurgical processes and post-processes for efficient lithium recovery are briefly reviewed along with the major accomplishments in the field and current challenges.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2024

The demand for electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries is continuously increasing. Recovery of valuable metals from waste lithium-ion batteries will be necessary in the future. This research investigated the effect of reaction temperature on the lithium recovery ratio from hydrogen reduction followed by water leaching from lithium-ion battery NCM-based cathode materials. As the reaction temperature increased, the weight loss ratio observed after initiation increased rapidly owing to hydrogen reduction of NiO and CoO; at the same time, the H₂O amount generated increased. Above 602 ℃, the anode materials Ni and Co were reduced and existed in the metallic phases. As the hydrogen reduction temperature was increased, the Li recovery ratio also increased; at 704 ℃ and above, the Li recovery ratio reached a maximum of approximately 92%. Therefore, it is expected that Li can be selectively recovered by hydrogen reduction as a waste lithium-ion battery pretreatment, and the residue can be reprocessed to efficiently separate and recover valuable metals.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.310-317
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• 2013

To reduce vehicle fuel consumption due to not only driving but also air conditioning, battery-operated non-starting conditioning systems with thermoelectric modules and without mechanical elements like compressors are being manufactured for use by hybrid heavy trucks in the near future. In this study, the voltage and current consumed by a thermoelectric module were measured to determine the required battery power, and the performance of the conditioning system with air temperature, and humidity of the inlet/outlet modules and inside/outside the cabin for a truck, was evaluated using experimental apparatus under actual conditions. The results showed that, the thermoelectric module can be continously operated for about 1.5 h using existing 24 V batteries. The coefficent of performance(COP) of the cooling and heating modes was calculated to be an average 0.8-1.32. As expected, the heating performance was 30% more efficient than the cooling performance, which is general characteristic of thermoelectric modules.

• Proceedings of the Korean Operations and Management Science Society Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.38-50
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• 2005

The current Air defense missile, Nike, will be replaced by the Patriot missile in the near future. In this paper, we developed an optimal allocation model for the Patriot missile. In order to formulate the model, we applied a set covering and If model. This model considers not only weapon's characteristics and performances but also the threat of enemy aircrafts and SCUD missiles. When we apply this model, we can find the optimal location of Patriot batteries which maximizes the kill probability of enemy aircrafts and SCUD missiles attacking vital area of our forces. This model can directly be used to the decision making for the optimal military facility allocation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.305-308
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• 2009

In this paper, we present the status and prospect for PAV propulsion system. Reciprocating engines are suitable for current PAV because of its efficiency and price advantages. However, fuel cells and batteries may replace conventional engines in the near future.