• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.323-331
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• 2015

Zirconium alloys are widely used in nuclear reactors as structural materials. During the operation, they are exposed to fast neutrons. Ion irradiation is used to simulate the damage introduced by neutron irradiation. In this article, we briefly review the neutron irradiation damage of zirconium alloys, then summarize the effect of ion irradiation on microstructural evolution, mechanical and corrosion properties, and their relationships. The microstructure components consist of dislocation loops, second phase precipitates, and gas bubbles. The microstructure parameters are also included such as domain size and microstrain determined by X-ray diffraction and the S-parameter determined by positron annihilation. Understanding the relationships of microstructure and properties is necessary for developing new advanced materials with higher irradiation tolerance.

• 폴리머
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• 제38권5호
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• pp.613-619
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• 2014

The polypropylene/polyamide elastomer (PP/PAE) blends were prepared by melt mixing. PP and PAE in PP/ PAE were immiscible completely. The size of PAE domains was large and the clear gap in the interface between PP and PAE existed, which did not meet the conditions enhancing toughness of polymers by elastomer. Therefore, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MP) was used to improve the miscibility between PP and PAE. The miscibility between PP and PAE was improved and the size of dispersed phase PAE decreased by introducing MP. The crystallization of PP became easier by introducing PAE as a nucleating agent. With the increase of PAE content, the melt-crystallization temperatures of PP components in PP/PAE/MP blends increased gradually. The melt-crystallization of the polytetramethylene oxide segment of PAE component in PP/PAE blends were hampered by PP component. In addition, PAE can enhance significantly the toughness of PP, and the tensile strength and modulus did not decrease.

• ETRI Journal
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.258-271
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• 2020

A correlation exists between luminance samples and chrominance samples of a color image. It is beneficial to exploit such interchannel redundancy for color image compression. We propose an algorithm that predicts chrominance components Cb and Cr from the luminance component Y. The prediction model is trained by supervised learning with Laplacian-regularized least squares to minimize the total prediction error. Kernel principal component analysis mapping, which reduces computational complexity, is implemented on the same point set at both the encoder and decoder to ensure that predictions are identical at both the ends without signaling extra location information. In addition, chrominance subsampling and entropy coding for model parameters are adopted to further reduce the bit rate. Finally, luminance information and model parameters are stored for image reconstruction. Experimental results show the performance superiority of the proposed algorithm over its predecessor and JPEG, and even over JPEG-XR. The compensation version with the chrominance difference of the proposed algorithm performs close to and even better than JPEG2000 in some cases.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.1-20
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• 2016

The strength and stiffness of the steel beams to concrete-filled tubular columns connections are significantly reduced if the thick-walled components are used. However, the thick-walled tubes used for columns can largely reduce the demand for space and increase the strength-to-weight ratio. This paper describes the cyclic performance of extended through-diaphragm connections between steel beams and thick-walled concrete-filled tubular columns improved with fillets around the diaphragm corners. Test on one full-scale connection was conducted to assess the seismic behavior of the connection in terms of strength, stiffness, ductility, deformation, energy dissipation, and strain distribution. It is shown that the fillets and extended through-diaphragm can alleviate the stress concentration in the connection and thus improve the seismic performance. The test results demonstrate that the through-diaphragm connections with thick-walled concrete-filled tubular columns can offer sufficient energy dissipation capacity and ductility appropriate for its potential application in seismic design.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.934-943
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• 2019

A current balance problem exists in multi-phase LLC converters due to the resonant parameter tolerance. This paper presents a current balancing method for interleaved three-phase half bridge LLC converters. This method regulates the phase shift angle of the driving signals between the three phases based on a converter with a floating Y-connection. The floating midpoint voltage has different influences on each phase current and makes the three-phase current balance performance better than midpoint non-floating systems. Phase shift control between modules can further regulate the midpoint voltage. Then three phase current sharing is realized without adding extra components. The current distributions in a midpoint non-floating system and a midpoint floating system are compared. Then the principle and implementation of the proposed control strategy are analyzed in detail. A 3kW prototype is built to verify the validity and feasibility of the proposed method.

• 국제초고층학회논문집
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.137-154
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• 2019

Singapore has seen a phenomenal and an unprecedented transformation from a swampland to a high density urban environment since its independence in 1965, made possible largely and single-handedly by the sustained efforts of its government. Indeed, urban space is a key vehicle for achieving urban social, environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability. The dense urban context in Singapore has seen an emergence and increase in elevated spaces in the form of sky-gardens, sky-bridges and sky-courts in a range of building types, seemingly seeking to tie together the different horizontal and vertical components of the city. This paper, therefore, examines the effectiveness of elevated urban spaces and pedestrian networks in Singapore and their ability to contribute to the horizontal to vertical transitions, and consequently to the urban vitality and accessibility. It does this through the analysis of two key developments: Marina Bay Sands and the Jurong Gateway. In particular, it considers the implications of certain constraints placed on urban spaces by their inherent location at height, in addition to the familiar privatization of public spaces, over-management of spaces, and their somewhat utilitarian characteristics. The paper argues that some of these issues may pose detrimental effects on the publicness of these spaces that in turn may lead to such spaces being underused and therefore adding redundancies and further stress to Singapore's urban land. Finally, the paper outlines key strategies that may help overcome the aforementioned issues, including the disjuncture associated with elevated spaces such that they may become a seamless extension of the urban spaces on ground.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.615-626
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• 2022

The soft clays are widely distributed, and one of the prominent engineering problems is the creep behavior. In order to predict the creep deformation of soft clays in an easier and more acceptable way, a simple creep constitutive model has been proposed in this paper. Firstly, the triaxial creep test data indicated that, the strain-time (𝜀-t) curve showing in the 𝜀-lgt space can be divided into two lines with different slopes, and the time referring to the demarcation point is named as t_EOP. Thereafter, the strain increments occurred after the time t_EOP are totally assumed to be the creep components, and the elastic and plastic strains had occurred before t_EOP. A hyperbolic equation expressing the relationship between creep volumetric strain, stress and time is proposed, with several triaxial creep test data of soft clays verifying the applicability. Additionally, the creep flow law is suggested to be similar with the plastic flow law of the modified Cam-Clay model, and the proposed volumetric strain equation is used to deduced the scaling factor for creep strains. Therefore, a creep constitutive model is thereby established, and verified by successfully predicting the creep principal strains of triaxial specimens.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제61권1호
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• pp.74-79
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• 2023

수소 수요가 증가함에 따라 수소를 저장하기 위한 설비의 중요성이 대두되었으며, 국내에서는 다양한 법으로 수소 취급 설비를 규제하고 있다. 산업안전보건법에 따르면 저장량 5톤 이상의 액화수소를 취급하는 경우 공정안전관리 제도를 운용해야 한다. 하지만 현행 산업안전보건법에는 인화성을 띠는 저온액화 물질에 적용하기엔 적절하지 않은 기준이 있다. 본 연구에서는 산업안전보건법과 KOSHA Guide를 바탕으로 PSM 구성요소 중 공정안전자료와 안전운전 계획에서 수소취급 설비를 위해 개선되야 할 7개 주요 항목에 대해서 제시하였으며, 과학적인 분석을 통해 제시된 7개 항목이 어떤 방향으로 개선되어야 하는지 도출하였다.

• 국제초고층학회논문집
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.203-208
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• 2023

The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) design for tall building structures is an essential solution for addressing critical challenges in the current structural design industry. Generative AI technology is a crucial technical aid because it can acquire knowledge of design principles from multiple sources, such as architectural and structural design data, empirical knowledge, and mechanical principles. This paper presents a set of AI design techniques for building structures based on two types of generative AI: generative adversarial networks and graph neural networks. Specifically, these techniques effectively master the design of vertical and horizontal component layouts as well as the cross-sectional size of components in reinforced concrete shear walls and frame structures of tall buildings. Consequently, these approaches enable the development of high-quality and high-efficiency AI designs for building structures.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.7.1-7.27
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• 2023

The mammalian intestines harbor trillions of commensal microorganisms composed of thousands of species that are collectively called gut microbiota. Among the microbiota, bacteria are the predominant microorganism, with viruses, protozoa, and fungi (mycobiota) making up a relatively smaller population. The microbial communities play fundamental roles in the maturation and orchestration of the immune landscape in health and disease. Primarily, the gut microbiota modulates the immune system to maintain homeostasis and plays a crucial role in regulating the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of inflammatory, neuronal, and metabolic disorders. The microbiota modulates the host immune system through direct interactions with immune cells or indirect mechanisms such as producing short-chain acids and diverse metabolites. Numerous researchers have put extensive efforts into investigating the role of microbes in immune regulation, discovering novel immunomodulatory microbial species, identifying key effector molecules, and demonstrating how microbes and their key effector molecules mechanistically impact the host immune system. Consequently, recent studies suggest that several microbial species and their immunomodulatory molecules have therapeutic applicability in preclinical settings of multiple disorders. Nonetheless, it is still unclear why and how a handful of microorganisms and their key molecules affect the host immunity in diverse diseases. This review mainly discusses the role of microbes and their metabolites in T helper cell differentiation, immunomodulatory function, and their modes of action.