• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1268-1274
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• 2018

We have investigated the effects of chemical rounding (CR) on the surface passivation and/or antireflection performance of $AlO_{x^-}$ and $AlO_x/SiN_x:H$ stack-passivated pyramid textured $p^+$-emitters with two different boron doping concentrations, and on the performance of bifacial n-PERT Si solar cells with a front pyramid textured $p^+$-emitter. From experimental results, we found that chemical rounding markedly enhances the passivation performance of $AlO_x$ layers on pyramid textured $p^+$-emitters, and the level of performance enhancement strongly depends on boron doping concentration. Meanwhile, chemical rounding increases solar-weighted reflectance ($R_{SW}$) from ~2.5 to ~3.7% for the $AlO_x/SiN_x:H$ stack-passivated pyramid textured $p^+$-emitters after 200-sec chemical rounding. Consequently, compared to non-rounded bifacial n-PERT Si cells, the short circuit current density Jsc of 200-sec-rounded bifacial n-PERT Si cells with ~60 and ${\sim}100{\Omega}/sq$ $p^+$-emitters is reduced by 0.8 and $0.6mA/cm^2$, respectively under front $p^+$-emitter side illumination. However, the loss in the short circuit current density Jsc is fully offset by the increased fill factor FF by 0.8 and 1.5% for the 200-sec-rounded cells with ~60 and ${\im}100{\Omega}/sq$ $p^+$-emitters, respectively. In particular, the cell efficiency of the 200-sec-rounded cells with a ${\sim}100{\Omega}/sq$ $p^+$-emitter is enhanced as a result, compared to that of the non-rounded cells. Based on our results, it could be expected that the cell efficiency of bifacial n-PERT Si cells would be improved without additional complicated and costly processes if chemical rounding and boron doping processes can be properly optimized.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.596-602
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• 2020

Blending process of adhesive production has a cooling process to cool down the temperature of the solution which was heated up to 76 ℃ with a mineral insulated (MI) cable by 30 ℃ at room temperature. Using a MI cable in the adhesive production process makes the production inefficient because it takes about 10 h for the cooling process. If a jacketed vessel is used instead of the MI cable, it would shorten the cooling downtime without any additional cooling system by using cold water. However, there are various types of jacketed vessels, and thus the most suitable type should be found before set up. In this study, we designed the optimized jacketed vessel for the adhesive production process by calculating the cooling downtime, which impacts production efficiency, as a function of the jacket types using computational fluid dynamics. As a result, the cooling performance of the plain jacket was 32.7% superior to that of the half-pipe coil jacket with the same height. In addition, the plain jacket with 60% spiral baffle reduced the cooling downtime and operating time by 80.4% and 25.1%, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.842-848
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• 2022

Parametric studies of heat transfer and fluid flow are very important research of interest because the design and operation of fluid flow and heat transfer systems are guided by these parametric studies. The safety of the system operation and system optimization can be determined by decreasing or increasing particular fluid flow and heat transfer parameter while keeping other parameters constant. The parameters that can be varied in order to determine safe and optimized system include system pressure, mass flow rate, heat flux and coolant inlet temperature among other parameters. The fluid flow and heat transfer systems can also be enhanced by the presence of or without the presence of particular effects including gravity effect among others. The advanced Generation IV reactors to be deployed for large electricity production, have proven to be more thermally efficient (approximately 45% thermal efficiency) than the current light water reactors with a thermal efficiency of approximately 33 ℃. SCWR is one of the Generation IV reactors intended for electricity generation. High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR) is a SCWR type which is under consideration in this study. One-eighth of a proposed fuel assembly design for HPLWR consisting of 7 fuel/rod bundles with 9 coolant sub-channels was the geometry considered in this study to examine the effects of system pressure and mass flow rate on wall and fluid temperatures. Gravity effect on wall and fluid temperatures were also examined on this one-eighth fuel assembly geometry. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code, STAR-CCM+, was used to obtain the results of the numerical simulations. Based on the parametric analysis carried out, sub-channel 4 performed better in terms of heat transfer because temperatures predicted in sub-channel 9 (corner subchannel) were higher than the ones obtained in sub-channel 4 (central sub-channel). The influence of system mass flow rate, pressure and gravity seem similar in both sub-channels 4 and 9 with temperature distributions higher in sub-channel 9 than in sub-channel 4. In most of the cases considered, temperature distributions (for both fluid and wall) obtained at 25 MPa are higher than those obtained at 23 MPa, temperature distributions obtained at 601.2 kg/h are higher than those obtained at 561.2 kg/h, and temperature distributions obtained without gravity effect are higher than those obtained with gravity effect. The results show that effects of system pressure, mass flowrate and gravity on fluid flow and heat transfer are significant and therefore parametric studies need to be performed to determine safe and optimum operating conditions of fluid flow and heat transfer systems.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.733-740
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• 2016

$Al_2O_3$ nanosol dispersed under ethanol or N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone(NMP) was studied and optimized with various dispersion factors and by utilizing the silane modification method. The two kinds of $Al_2O_3$ powders used were prepared by thermal decomposition method from aluminum ammonium sulfate$(AlNH_4(SO_4)_2)$ while controlling the calcination temperature. $Al_2O_3$ sol was prepared under ethanol solvent by using a batch-type bead mill. The dispersion properties of the $Al_2O_3$ sol have a close relationship to the dispersion factors such as the pH, the amount of acid additive(nitric acid, acetic acid), the milling time, and the size and combination of zirconia beads. Especially, $Al_2O_3$ sol added 4 wt% acetic acid was found to maintain the dispersion stability while its solid concentration increased to 15 wt%, this stability maintenance was the result of the electrostatic and steric repulsion of acetic acid molecules adsorbed on the surface of the $Al_2O_3$ particles. In order to observe the dispersion property of $Al_2O_3$ sol under NMP solvent, $Al_2O_3$ sol dispersed under ethanol solvent was modified and solvent-exchanged with N-Phenyl-(3-aminopropyl)trimethoxy silane(APTMS) through a binary solvent system. Characterization of the $Al_2O_3$ powder and the nanosol was observed by XRD, SEM, ICP, FT-IR, TGA, Particles size analysis, etc.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2008

The extraction conditions for resveratrol production from grape fruit stem, which is a by-product of grape processing, were optimized to develop high-functional grape-based products. Additionally, the bioefficacy of grape fruit stem extract (GFSE) as an antioxidant agent was evaluated. Resveratrol was extracted using various experimental conditions such as extractant type, extractant concentration, raw material-extractant ratio, extraction time and temperature, and the results were analyzed using a statistical program (SPSS). The resveratrol yield was the highest when 80% ethanol with a raw-material-extractant ratio of 1:10 (w/v) was used. In addition, the optimal temperature and time were selected as $60^{\circ}C$ and 90 min, respectively. When the antioxidant activity was analyzed and expressed as DPPH radical scavenging activity and SOD-like activity, the antioxidant activity of GFSE was higher than that of BHT, BHA and L-ascorbic acid. Finally, it was found that GFSE could be used as a raw material for the production of high antioxidant agents.

• 한국유가공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.59-60
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• 2002

Edible films such as wax coatings, sugar and chocolate covers, and sausage casings, have been used in food applications for years$^{(1)}$ However, interest in edible films and biodegradable polymers has been renewed due to concerns about the environment, a need to reduce the quantity of disposable packaging, and demand by the consumer for higher quality food products. Edible films can function as secondary packaging materials to enhance food quality and reduce the amount of traditional packaging needed. For example, edible films can serve to enhance food quality by acting as moisture and gas barriers, thus, providing protection to a food product after the primary packaging is opened. Edible films are not meant to replace synthetic packaging materials; instead, they provide the potential as food packagings where traditional synthetic or biodegradable plastics cannot function. For instance, edible films can be used as convenient soluble pouches containing single-servings for products such as instant noodles and soup/seasoning combination. In the food industry, they can be used as ingredient delivery systems for delivering pre-measured ingredients during processing. Edible films also can provide the food processors with a variety of new opportunities for product development and processing. Depends on materials of edible films, they also can be sources of nutritional supplements. Especially, whey proteins have excellent amino acid balance while some edible films resources lack adequate amount of certain amino acids, for example, soy protein is low in methionine and wheat flour is low in lysine$^{(2)}$. Whey proteins have a surplus of the essential amino acid lysine, threonine, methionine and isoleucine. Thus, the idea of using whey protein-based films to individually pack cereal products, which often deficient in these amino acids, become very attractive$^{(3)}$. Whey is a by-product of cheese manufacturing and much of annual production is not utilized$^{(4)}$. Development of edible films from whey protein is one of the ways to recover whey from dairy industry waste. Whey proteins as raw materials of film production can be obtained at inexpensive cost. I hypothesize that it is possible to make whey protein-based edible films with improved moisture barrier properties without significantly altering other properties by producing whey protein/lipid emulsion films and these films will be suitable far food applications. The fellowing are the specific otjectives of this research: 1. Develop whey protein/lipid emulsion edible films and determine their microstructures, barrier (moisture and oxygen) and mechanical (tensile strength and elongation) properties. 2. Study the nature of interactions involved in the formation and stability of the films. 3. Investigate thermal properties, heat sealability, and sealing properties of the films. 4. Demonstrate suitability of their application in foods as packaging materials. Methodologies were developed to produce edible films from whey protein isolate (WPI) and concentrate (WPC), and film-forming procedure was optimized. Lipids, butter fat (BF) and candelilla wax (CW), were added into film-forming solutions to produce whey protein/lipid emulsion edible films. Significant reduction in water vapor and oxygen permeabilities of the films could be achieved upon addition of BF and CW. Mechanical properties were also influenced by the lipid type. Microstructures of the films accounted for the differences in their barrier and mechanical properties. Studies with bond-dissociating agents indicated that disulfide and hydrogen bonds, cooperatively, were the primary forces involved in the formation and stability of whey protein/lipid emulsion films. Contribution of hydrophobic interactions was secondary. Thermal properties of the films were studied using differential scanning calorimetry, and the results were used to optimize heat-sealing conditions for the films. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) was used to study the nature of the interfacial interaction of sealed films. All films were heat sealable and showed good seal strengths while the plasticizer type influenced optimum heat-sealing temperatures of the films, 130$^{\circ}$C for sorbitol-plasticized WPI films and 110$^{\circ}$C for glycerol-plasticized WPI films. ESCA spectra showed that the main interactions responsible for the heat-sealed joint of whey protein-based edible films were hydrogen bonds and covalent bonds involving C-0-H and N-C components. Finally, solubility in water, moisture contents, moisture sorption isotherms and sensory attributes (using a trained sensory panel) of the films were determined. Solubility was influenced primarily by the plasticizer in the films, and the higher the plasticizer content, the greater was the solubility of the films in water. Moisture contents of the films showed a strong relationship with moisture sorption isotherm properties of the films. Lower moisture content of the films resulted in lower equilibrium moisture contents at all aw levels. Sensory evaluation of the films revealed that no distinctive odor existed in WPI films. All films tested showed slight sweetness and adhesiveness. Films with lipids were scored as being opaque while films without lipids were scored to be clear. Whey protein/lipid emulsion edible films may be suitable for packaging of powder mix and should be suitable for packaging of non-hygroscopic foods$^{(5,6,7,8,)}$.