• Resources Recycling
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.43-55
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• 2005

As world population increases and the world economy expalds, so does the demand for natural resources especially strategic metals such as cobalt. An accurate assesment of the nation's minerals must include not only the resources available in the ground but also those that become available through recycling. In this paper, data on domestic and international supply of cobalt and its applications by end-user were analyzed for stable security of cobalt resources and effective recycling of cobalt scraps. Also, an initial evaluation of the flow of cobalt-containing materials in the United States was prepared. In 2003, 8,000 metric tons of cobalt were consumed in the United States and an estimated 28% of U.S. cobalt supply was derived from scrap. The superalloy industry and catalyst industries have well-established recycling or cobalt recovery practices. Recycling rates of cobalt scraps from magnet alloy and cemented carbide were relatively low.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.82-84
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• 2002

Dimensionally stable anode(DSA) can be used for the electrowinning of non-ferrous metal like as a Zn, and electrolysis of sea water. $MnO_2$ electrode satisfies the requirements of DSA, and has a good cycle life and a low overpotential for oxygen evolution. $MnO_2$ electrodes coated with DMF and PVDF based on Pb alloy produced at several compositions and dry temperatures. The viscosity of solvent used as a binder of $MnO_2$ powder increased with the increasing PVDF contents. When the ratio of PVDF to BMF with the 5 times dipping at the solution mixed with PVDF and DMF was 1/9, the coating thickness was $150{\mu}m$. When the ratio of PVDF to $MnO_2$ was lower than 1/6, the electrode didn't show any reaction irrespective of the concentrations of DMF. However, When the ratio of PVDF to $MnO_2$ was higher than 1/6, the electrode showed a constant current reactions and homogeneous cyclic voltammetry even though at a high cycle. The reason for the high current and homogeneous cyclic voltammetry is the good catalytic reactions of $MnO_2$ powder in electrode. The reactions of Pb electrode coated with $MnO_2$ and PVDF based on the pure Pb electrode.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.416-424
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• 2018

Microstructure of oxide formed on Zr-Nb-Sn tube sample was intensively examined by scanning transmission electron microscopy after exposure to simulated primary water chemistry conditions of various concentrations of Zn (0 or 30 ppb) and dissolved hydrogen ($H_2$) (30 or 50 cc/kg) for various durations without applying desirable heat flux. Microstructural analysis indicated that there was no noticeable change in the microstructure of the oxide corresponding to water chemistry changes within the test duration of 100 days (pretransition stage) and no significant difference in the overall thickness of the oxide layer. Equiaxed grains with nano-size pores along the grain boundaries and microcracks were dominant near the water/oxide interface, regardless of water chemistry conditions. As the metal/oxide interface was approached, the number of pores tended to decrease. However, there was no significant effect of $H_2$ concentration between 30 cc/kg and 50 cc/kg on the corrosion of the oxide after free immersion in water at $360^{\circ}C$. The adsorption of Zn on the cladding surface was observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and detected as ZnO on the outer oxide surface. From the perspective of $OH^-$ ion diffusion and porosity formation, the absence of noticeable effects was discussed further.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.229-236
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• 2018

Accident-tolerant fuels (ATFs) are currently of high interest to researchers in the nuclear industry and in governmental and international organizations. One widely studied accident-tolerant fuel concept is multilayer cladding (also known as coated cladding). This concept is based on a traditional Zr-based alloy (Zircaloy-4, M5, E110, ZIRLO etc.) serving as a substrate. Different protective materials are applied to the substrate surface by various techniques, thus enhancing the accident tolerance of the fuel. This study focuses on the results of testing of Zircaloy-4 coated with pure chromium metal using the cold spray (CS) technique. In comparison with other deposition methods, e.g., Physical vapor deposition (PVD), laser coating, or Chemical vapor deposition techniques (CVD), the CS technique is more cost efficient due to lower energy consumption and high deposition rates, making it more suitable for industry-scale production. The Cr-coated samples were tested at different conditions ($500^{\circ}C$ steam, $1200^{\circ}C$ steam, and Pressurized water reactor (PWR) pressurization test) and were precharacterized and postcharacterized by various techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), or nanoindentation; results are discussed. Results of the steady-state fuel performance simulations using the Bison code predicted the concept's feasibility. It is concluded that CS Cr coating has high potential benefits but requires further optimization and out-of-pile and in-pile testing.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.422-428
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• 2004

At present, the design of extrusion dies and operation in extrusion companies are primarily based on trial and error. The experience of the die designer, the press operator and the die corrector determine the performance of the extrusion die and the efficiency of the process. In order to produce defect-free products of desirable quality in terms of strength, surface quality and geometrical dimensions, it is important to obtain more knowledge of the processes that occur during extrusion. Recently, to reduce the costs of designing and manufacturing of extrusion dies, and to ensure the quality of the extruded products, numerical simulation for extrusion processes such as FEM (finite element method) is applied increasingly and becomes a very important tool for the design and development of new products. However, most of the studies about FE simulation have been accomplished for simple geometry and low extrusion ratio in the filed of steady metal flow conditions. The extruded products of AI alloy in industrial practice involve complicated sectional geometry. This study was designed to reduce the time of die design and manufacturing in the extrusion process using FEM simulation. FEM simulations of extrusion process were performed in non-steady states conditions by changing weld plate included in extrusion die set. Product which was employed in this study is heat sink that has been used in the parts of heat exchanger of electric circuits. It is generally applied for aluminum or its alloys due to heat efficiency and easy production of complicated shapes, and manufactured by extrusion process. The simulated results showed that weld plate shape in extrusion dies influences meta] flow and dimensional accuracy of products.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.263-269
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• 2019

The mechanism of microstructure and hardness changes during mill annealing of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was investigated. The annealing heat treatments were performed at $675{\sim}795^{\circ}C$ in vacuum for 2 hours, followed by air cooling. The microstructure was observed by using an optical microscope and X-ray diffraction, and hardness was measured by using a Rockwell hardness tester and micro Vickers hardness tester. The average grain size becomes smaller at $675^{\circ}C$ to $735^{\circ}C$ due to the formation of new grains rather than grain growth, but becomes larger at $735^{\circ}C$ to $795^{\circ}C$ due to growth of the already-formed grains rather than formation of new grains. The mill annealing temperature becomes higher, the ${\beta}$ phase fraction decreases and ${\alpha}$ phase fraction increases at room temperature. This is because the higher annealing temperature, the smaller amount of V present in the ${\beta}$ phase, and thus the ${\beta}$ to ${\alpha}$ transformation occurs more easily when cooled to room temperature. As the mill annealing temperature increases, the hardness value tends to decrease, mainly due to resolution of defects such as dislocations from $675^{\circ}C$ to $735^{\circ}C$ and due to grain growth from $735^{\circ}C$ to $795^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.135-141
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• 2021

As a trend of lightening automobiles and electronic products, several studies are currently underway to replace parts of metals with resins. In particular, heterojunctions between metals and resins are now under the spotlight. This study aims to evaluate the variation in bonding strength with process conditions when the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) polymer is bonded to a specimen of the lightweight 6061 aluminum alloy (AL6061). Conditions of the bonding surface of the AL6061 specimen, the temperature of the injection mold, and the content of the glass fiber were considered to be process variables. Bonded specimens were manufactured for different values of these variables. Bonding strength tests were then performed on these specimens and variations were analyzed in their characteristics corresponding to those of the process conditions. Fractures in these specimens were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to assess the fracture surface. This was then used to analyze the fracture shape and determine whether anodizing the specimen led to the development of cracks on the joint surface. Results of the above test indicated that while the surface condition of the specimen and the temperature of the injection mold significantly influenced the strength of bonding, the content of the glass fiber did not.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.220-226
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• 2019

Magnesium hydride has a high hydrogen storage capacity (7.6 wt.%), and is cheap and lightweight, thus advantageous as a hydrogen storage alloy. However, Mg-based hydrides undergo hydrogenation/dehydrogenation at high temperature and pressure due to their thermodynamic stability and high oxidation reactivity. MWCNTs exhibit prominent catalytic effect on the hydrogen storage properties of $MgH_2$, weakening the interaction between Mg and H atoms and reducing the activation energy for nucleation of the metal phase by co-milling Mg with carbon nanotubes. Therefore, it is suggested that combining transition metals with carbon nanotubes as mixed dopants has a significant catalytic effect on the hydrogen storage properties of $MgH_2$. In this study, Material life cycle evaluation was performed to analyze the environmental impact characteristics of Mg-CaO-10 wt.% MWCNTs composites manufacturing process. The software of material life cycle assessment (MLCA) was Gabi 6. Through this, environmental impact assessment was performed for each process.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.56 no.12
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• pp.910-914
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• 2018

Since catalyst technology is one of the promising technologies to improve the working performance of next generation energy and electronic devices, many efforts have been made to develop various catalysts with high efficiency at a low cost. However, there are remaining challenges to be resolved in order to use the suggested catalytic materials, such as platinum (Pt), gold (Au), and palladium (Pd), due to their poor cost-effectiveness for device applications. In this study, to overcome these challenges, we suggest a useful method to increase the surface area of a noble metal catalyst material, resulting in a reduction of the total amount of catalyst usage. By employing block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly and nano-transfer printing (n-TP) processes, we successfully fabricated sub-20 nm Pt line and cross-bar patterns. Furthermore, we obtained a highly ordered Pt cross-bar pattern on a Ni thin film and a Pt-embedded Ni thin film, which can be used as hetero hybrid alloy catalyst structure. For a detailed analysis of the hybrid catalytic material, we used scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), which revealed a well-defined nanoporous Pt nanostructure on the Ni thin film. Based on these results, we expect that the successful hybridization of various catalytic nanostructures can be extended to other material systems and devices in the near future.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.213-218
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• 2022

This study investigates the interfacial reaction between powder-metallurgy high-entropy alloys (HEAs) and cast aluminum. HEA pellets are produced by the spark plasma sintering of Al_0.5CoCrCu_0.5FeNi HEA powder. These sintered pellets are then placed in molten Al, and the phases formed at the interface between the HEA pellets and cast Al are analyzed. First, Kirkendall voids are observed due to the difference in the diffusion rates between the liquid Al and solid HEA phases. In addition, although Co, Fe, and Ni atoms, which have low mixing enthalpies with Al, diffuse toward Al, Cu atoms, which have a high mixing enthalpy with Al, tend to form Al-Cu intermetallic compounds. These results provide guidelines for designing Al matrix composites containing high-entropy phases.