• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1149-1157
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• 2015

As a key part in the wind turbine system, the power electronic converter is proven to have high failure rates. At the same time, the failure of the wind power converter is becoming more unacceptable because of the quick growth in capacity, remote locations to reach, and strong impact to the power grid. As a result, the correct assessment of reliable performance for power electronics is a crucial and emerging need; the assessment is essential for design improvement, as well as for the extension of converter lifetime and reduction of energy cost. Unfortunately, there still exists a lack of suitable physic-of-failure based evaluation tools for a reliability assessment in power electronics. In this paper, an advanced tool structure which can acquire various reliability metrics of wind power converter is proposed. The tool is based on failure mechanisms in critical components of the system and mission profiles in wind turbines. Potential methodologies, challenges, and technology trends involved in this tool structure are also discussed. Finally, a simplified version of the tool is demonstrated on a wind power converter based on Double Fed Induction Generator system. With the proposed tool structure, more detailed information of reliability performances in a wind power converter can be obtained before the converter can actually fail in the field and many potential research topics can also be initiated.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers P
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.236-241
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• 2017

This paper presents a single-phase grid connected voltage-ed inverter with a power decoupling circuit. In the single-phase grid connected voltage-ed inverter, it is well known that a power pulsation with twice the grid frequency is contained in the input power. In a conventional voltage type inverter, electrolytic capacitors with large capacitance have been used in order to smooth the DC voltage. However, lifetime of those capacitors is shortened by the power pulsation with twice grid frequency. The authors have been studied a active power decoupling(APD) method that reduce the pulsating power on the input DC bus line, this enables to transfer the ripple energy appeared on the input DC capacitors into the energy in a small film capacitor on the additional circuit. Hence, extension of the lifetime of the inverter can be expected because the small film capacitor substitutes for the large electrolytic capacitors. Finally, simulation and experimental results are discussed.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.514-523
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• 2017

In this paper, we propose Adaptive Writeback-aware Cache management (AWC) to prolong the lifetime of non-volatile main memory systems by reducing the number of writebacks. The last-level cache in AWC is partitioned into Least Recently Used (LRU) segment and LRU using Dirty block Precedence (DP-LRU) segment. The DP-LRU segment evicts clean blocks first for giving reuse opportunity to dirty blocks. AWC can also determine the efficient size of DP-LRU segment for reducing the number of writebacks according to memory access patterns of programs. In the performance evaluation, we showed that AWC reduced the number of writebacks up to 29% and 46%, and saved the energy of a main memory system up to 23% and 49% in a single-core and multi-core, respectively. AWC also reduced the runtime by 1.5% and 3.2% on average compared to previous cache managements for non-volatile main memory systems, in a single-core and a multi-core, respectively.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.43-49
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• 2010

In the present study, optimization of throttle margin for high pressure turbine to be retrofitted or partially modified for power uprating or life extension in nuclear power plant, has been performed to increase the electrical output. Throttle margin for high pressure turbine is required to maintain all the time the rated power by opening more of governor valves whenever inlet pressure is decreased due to the tube plugging of steam generator. If throttle margin of high pressure turbine is too much compared to remaining lifetime, loss of electrical output due to pressure drop of governor valves is inevitable. On the contrary, if it is too little, the rated power operation can not be accomplished when inlet pressure of high pressure turbine is dropped after many years operation. So, throttle margin for high pressure turbine in nuclear power plant is compromised considering for the degradation of steam generator, governor valve capacity, manufacturing tolerance of high pressure turbine, future plan of power uprating, and remaining lifetime of power plant.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.235-242
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• 2013

Recently, the number of automotive electrical and electronic system has been increased because the requirements for the convenience and safety of the drivers and passengers are raised. In most cases, the data for controlling the various sensors and automotive electrical and electronic system used in runtime should be stored on the internal or external non-volatile memory of the ECU(Electronic Control Units). However, the non-volatile memory has a constraint with write limitation due to the hardware characteristics. The limitation causes fatal accidents or unexpected results if the non-volatile memory is not managed. In this paper, we propose a management scheme for using non-volatile memory to prolong the writing times based on AUTOSAR(AUTOmotive Open System Architecture) platform. Our proposal is implemented on the CDD(Complex Device Driver) and uses an algorithm which swaps a frequently modified block for a least modified block. Through the development of the prototype, the proposed scheme extends the lifetime of non-volatile memory about 1.08 to 2.48 times than simply using the AUTOSAR standard.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.269-276
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• 2008

Operational license of WWER-440/213 units at Paks NPP, Hungary is limited to the design lifetime of 30 years. Prolongation by additional 20 years of the operational lifetime is feasible. Moreover, enhancement of the reactor thermal power by 8% will increase both the net power output and the competitiveness of the plant. Paks NPP is a pioneer considering the power up-rate and preparation of long-term operation of WWER-440/213 design. Systematic preparatory work for long-term operation of Paks NPP has been started in 2000. A regulatory framework and a comprehensive engineering practice have been developed. According to the authors view, creation of a gapless engineering system via consequent application of best practices, and feed-back of experiences together with proper consideration of WWER-440/V213 features are the decisive elements of ensuring the safety of long-term operation. That systematic engineering approach is in the focus of recent paper. Key elements of justification and measures for ensuring the safety of long-term operation of Paks NPP WWER-440/213 units are identified and discussed. These are the assessment of plant condition and review of adequacy of ageing management programmes, also the review, validation and reconstitution of time limited ageing analyses as core tasks of licence renewal.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.261-286
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• 2018

This paper evaluated the economic feasibility of the life extension of Kori unit 1 and Wolsong unit 1 according to the types of the nuclear power plants (NPPs) and the life extension period comparing to the levelized costs of energy (LCOE) of the new NPPs, coal-fired plants (CFPs), and combined cycle gas turbine (CCGTs) which proposed in the $7^{th}$ Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand. The economic feasibility of the life extension of NPPs using LCOE method is affected by the types of NPPs, lifetime extension periods, discount rate, and capacity factor. According to the analysis results, the pressurized light water reactor (PWR) is more economical than the pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR). Comparing the economical efficiency between the life extension of NPPs and other alternatives, the operation of the PWR for 20 years is more economical than the one of new NPPs and CFPs. However, 20 years of life extension of PHWR is more economical than the CCGTs, but less economical than new NPPs and CFPs. In summary, the 20 years of life extension of the NPPs seems to be more, especially for the PWR, which is more cost effective than other generation alternatives. Therefore, the government policy of the life extension of NPPs need to be a selective approach that simultaneously considers both safety and economics rather than closing all NPPs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.552-560
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• 2017

Quorum quenching (QQ) bacteria entrapped in a polymeric composite hydrogel (QQ medium) have been successfully applied in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) for effective biofouling control. However, in order to bring QQ technology closer to practice, the physical strength and lifetime of QQ media should be improved. In this study, enforcement of physical strength, as well as an extension of the lifetime of a previously reported QQ bacteria entrapping hollow cylinder (QQ-HC), was sought by adding a dehydration procedure following the cross-linking of the polymeric hydrogel by inorganic compounds like $Ca^{2+}$ and boric acid. Such prepared medium demonstrated enhanced physical strength possibly through an increased degree of physical cross-linking. As a result, a longer lifetime of QQ-HCs was confirmed, which led to improved biofouling mitigation performance of QQ-HC in an MBR. Furthermore, QQ-HCs stored under dehydrated condition showed higher QQ activity when the storage time lasted more than 90 days owing to enhanced cell viability. In addition, the dormant QQ activity after the dehydration step could be easily restored through reactivation with real wastewater, and the reduced weight of the dehydrated media is expected to make handling and transportation of QQ media highly convenient and economical in practice.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.245-261
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• 2018

Attempts have been made to define new classes of distributions that provide more flexibility for modelling skewed data in practice. In this work we define a new extension of the generalized gamma distribution (Stacy, The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 33, 1187-1192, 1962) for Marshall-Olkin generalized gamma (MOGG) distribution, based on the generator pioneered by Marshall and Olkin (Biometrika, 84, 641-652, 1997). This new lifetime model is very flexible including twenty one special models. The main advantage of the new family relies on the fact that practitioners will have a quite flexible distribution to fit real data from several fields, such as engineering, hydrology and survival analysis. Further, we also define a MOGG mixture model, a modification of the MOGG distribution for analyzing lifetime data in presence of cure fraction. This proposed model can be seen as a model of competing causes, where the parameter associated with the Marshall-Olkin distribution controls the activation mechanism of the latent risks (Cooner et al., Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 15, 307-324, 2006). The asymptotic properties of the maximum likelihood estimation approach of the parameters of the model are evaluated by means of simulation studies. The proposed distribution is fitted to two real data sets, one arising from measuring the strength of fibers and the other on melanoma data.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.351-362
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• 2002

In this paper, we introduce a new approach to the minimum energy routing (MER) for next generation (NG) multihop wireless networks. We remove the widely used assumption of deterministic, distance-based channel model is removed, and analyze the potentials of MER within the context of the realistic channel model, accounting for shadowing and fading. Rather than adopting the conventional unrealistic assumption of perfect power control in a distributed multihop environment, we propose to exploit inherent spatial diversity of mobile terminals (MT) in NG multihop networks and to combat fading using transmit diversity. We propose the cooperation among MTs, whereby couples of MTs cooperate with each other in order to transmit the signal using two MTs as two transmit antennas. We provide the analytical framework for the performance analysis of this scheme in terms of the feasibility and achievable transmit power reduction. Our simulation result indicate that significant gains can be achieved in terms of the reduction of total transmit power and extension of network lifetime. These gains are in the range of 20-100% for the total transmit power, and 25-90% for the network lifetime, depending on the desired error probability. We show that our analytical results provide excellent match with our simulation results. The messaging load generated by our scheme is moderate, and can be further optimized. Our approach opens the way to a new family of channel-aware routing schemes for multihopNG wireless networks in fading channels. It is particularly suitable for delivering multicast/ geocast services in these networks.