• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권6호
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• pp.2258-2265
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• 2024

The present investigation aims to study the role of Pr₂O₃ on the structural, physical, and radiation shielding properties of a dense cadmium lead borate glass. The XRD was used to affirm the glassy amorphous structure of fabricated sample materials. Moreover, the FTIR was used to record the change in the FT-IR spectra due to the addition of Pr₂O₃ in the wavenumber interval between 400 and 4000 cm^-1. The features of glass surfaces and the elemental analyses for the synthesized Pr₂O₃-reinforced cadmium lead borate glasses were performed using a SEM, supported by an energy-dispersive spectrometer. The γ-ray protection capacity was evaluated using the Monte Carlo method in a wide energy interval ranging between 0.015 and 15 MeV. The linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) at 1 MeV was reduced by a factor of 10 % from 0.372 cm^-1 to 0.340 cm^-1. The decrease in the LAC values negatively affected the other shielding properties such as half-value thickness and the transmission factor. Although the linear attenuation coefficient is decreased slightly with the partial substitution of CdO by Pr₂O₃ compound, the fabricated glass samples still have a high shielding capacity compared to the traditional commercial glasses as well as previous similar reported glasses.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권8호
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• pp.2879-2888
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• 2023

In fusion environments, large scales of helium (He) atoms are produced by a radical transformation along with structural damage in structural materials, resulting in material swelling and degradation of physical properties. To understand its irradiation effects, this paper investigates the stability, electronic structure, energetics, charge density distribution, PDOS and TDOS, and diffusion processes of He impurities in 6HSiC materials. The formation energy indicates that a stable, favorable position for interstitial He is the HR site with the lowest energy of 2.40 eV. In terms of vacancy, the He atom initially prefers to substitute at pre-existing Si vacancy than C vacancy due to lower substitution energy. The minimum energy paths (MEPs) with migration energy barriers are also calculated for He impurity by interstitial and vacancy-mediated diffusion. Based on its calculated energy barriers, the most possible diffusion path includes the exchange of interstitial and vacancy sites with effective migration energies ranging from 0.101 eV to 1.0 eV. Our calculation provides a better understanding of the stabilization and diffusion behaviors of He impurities in 6H-SiC materials.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권9호
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• pp.3121-3125
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• 2023

Neutron conversion detectors that use ¹⁰B-enriched boron carbide are feasible alternatives to ³He-based detectors. We prepared boron carbide films at micron-scale thickness using direct-current magnetron sputtering. The structural characteristics of natural B₄C films, including density, roughness, crystallization, and purity, were analyzed using grazing incidence X-ray reflectivity, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy. A beam profile test was conducted to verify the practicality of the ¹⁰B-enriched B₄C neutron conversion layer. A clear profile indicated the high quality of the neutron conversion of the boron carbide layer.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제45권2호
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• pp.249-256
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• 2013

In accordance with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC), Regulatory Guide 1.20, the reactor vessel internals comprehensive vibration assessment program (RVI CVAP) has been developed for an Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400). The purpose of the RVI CVAP is to verify the structural integrity of the reactor internals to flow-induced loads prior to commercial operation. The APR1400 RVI CVAP consists of four programs (analysis, measurement, inspection, and assessment). Thoughtful preparation is essential to the measurement program, because data acquisition must be performed only once. The optimized design of a vibration and stress measurement system for the RVI CVAP is essential to verify the integrity of the APR1400 RVI. We successfully designed a vibration and stress measurement system for the APR1400 RVI CVAP based on the design materials, the hydraulic and structural analysis results, and performance tests of transducers in an extreme environment. The measurement system designed in this paper will be utilized for the APR1400 RVI CVAP as part of the first construction project in Korea.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제43권7호
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• pp.439-444
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• 2006

Artificial graphite generally manufactured by carbonization sintering of shape-body of kneaded mixture using granular cokes as filler and pitch as binder, going through pitch impregnation process if necessary and finally applying graphitization heat treatment. Graphite materials are used for core internal structural components of the High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGR) because of their excellent heat resistibility and resistance of crack progress. The HTGR has a core consisting of an array of stacked graphite fuel blocks are machined from IG-110, a high-strength, fine-grained isotropic graphite. In this study, crack stabilization and micro-structures were measured by bend strength and fracture toughness of isotropic graphite grade IG-110. It is important to the reactor designer as they may govern the life of the graphite components and hence the life of the reactor. It was resulted crack propagation, bend strength, compressive strength and micro-structures of IG-110 graphite by scanning electron microscope and universal test machine.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.60-64
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• 2011

Lean duplex stainless steels have been developed in Korea for the purpose of being used in the seawater systems of industry. There are also many important seawater systems in nuclear power plants. These systems supply seawater to cooling water condenser tubes, heat exchanger tubes, related pipes and chlorine injection systems. The flow velocity of some part of seawater systems in nuclear power plants is high and damages of components from corrosion are severe. The considered lean duplex stainless steels are STS329LD (20.3Cr-2.2Ni-1.4Mo) and STS329J3L (22.4Cr-5.7Ni-3Mo) and PRENs of them are 29.4 and 37.3 respectively. Physical, mechanical and micro-structural properties of them are evaluated, and electrochemical corrosion resistance is measured quantitatively in NaCl solution. Critical Pitting Temperatures (CPT)s are measured on these alloys and pit depths are evaluated using laser microscope. Long period field tests on these alloys are now being performed, and some results are going to be presented in the following study.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제45권5호
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• pp.689-694
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• 2013

A duplex stainless steel sheet with 1 wt.% gadolinium was fabricated for a neutron absorbing material with high strength, excellent corrosion resistance, and low cost as well as high neutron absorption capability. The microstructure of the as-cast specimen has typical duplex phases including 31% ferrite and 69% austenite. Main alloy elements like chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and gadolinium (Gd) are relatively uniformly distributed in the matrix. Gadolinium rich precipitates were present in the grains and at the grain boundaries. The solution treatment at $1070^{\circ}$ for 50 minutes followed by the hot-rolling above $950^{\circ}$ after keeping the sheet at $1200^{\circ}$ for 1.5 hours are important points of the optimum condition to produce a 6 mm-thick plate without cracking.

• 대한방사성의약품학회지
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.119-128
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• 2022

2-Dimensional inorganic nanoparticles with high surface area and ion-exchangeable properties have been continuously growing based on nanotechnology in the field of nanomedicine. Among one of the 2-D nanoparticles, layered double hydroxide (LDH) has been intensively explored as drug delivery due to its low toxicity, enhanced cellular permeability, and high drug loading capacity. Moreover, controllable chemical composition makes possible varying isomorphic layered materials for therapy and imaging of diseases. In this review, specific structural characteristics of LDH were introduced, and its potential for application as a biocompatible therapeutic agent and diagnostic one was addressed in nuclear medicine, one of promising fields in nanomedicine.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.19-28
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• 2012

High-energy mechanical action applied to solid leads to destruction and diminution to the nanosize level. But on the other hand, it can induce structural changes at the nanoscale and at the atomic level which can result in novel materials properties. In this contribution, case studies will be presented concerned with the tailoring of magnetic properties of mechanically treated nanomaterials. Emphasis is placed on materials that have been synthesized by mechanochemical means and on an improved understanding of their nanomagnetism in general. The associated local structural changes of the iron containing magnetic materials discussed in the examples have been studied most suitably by $^{57}Fe$ Mossbauer nuclear probe spectroscopy whose results are supplemented by measurements of the magnetic properties of the mechanosynthesized nanomaterials.

• 대한금속재료학회지
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.275-280
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• 2011

This paper focuses on reliability prediction of long-term creep strength for Modified 9Cr-1Mo steel (Gr. 91) which is considered as one of the structural materials of next generation reactor systems. A "Z-parameter" method was introduced to describe the magnitude of standard deviation of creep rupture data to the master curve which can be plotted by log stress vs. The larson-Miller parameter (LMP). Statistical analysis showed that the scattering of the Z-parameter for the Gr. 91 steel well followed normal distribution. Using this normal distribution of the Z-parameter, the various reliability curves for creep strength design, such as stress-time temperature parameter reliability curves (${\sigma}$-TTP-R curves), stress-rupture time-reliability curves (${\sigma}-t_{r}-R$ curves), and allowable stress-temperature- reliability curves ([${\sigma}$]-T-R curves) were reasonably drawn, and their results are discussed.