• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.411-416
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• 2006

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is one of the world's premier test reactors for providing the capability for studying the effects of intense neutron and gamma radiation on reactor materials and fuels. The physical configuration of the ATR, a 4-leaf clover shape, allows the reactor to be operated at different power levels in the comer 'lobes' to allow for different testing conditions for multiple simultaneous experiments. The combination of high flux (maximum thermal neutron fluxes of 1E15 neutrons per square centimeter per second and maximum fast [E>1.0 MeV] neutron fluxes of 5E14 neutrons per square centimeter per second) and large test volumes (up to 122 cm long and 12.7 cm diameter) provide unique testing opportunities. The current experiments in the ATR are for a variety of test sponsors - US government, foreign governments, private researchers, and commercial companies needing neutron irradiation services. There are three basic types of test configurations in the ATR. The simplest configuration is the sealed static capsule, which places the capsule in direct contact with the primary coolant. The next level of experiment complexity is an instrumented lead experiment, which allows for active control of experiment conditions during the irradiation. The most complex experiment is the pressurized water loop, in which the test sample can be subjected to the exact environment of a pressurized water reactor. For future research, some ATR modifications and enhancements are currently planned. This paper provides more details on some of the ATR capabilities, key design features, experiments, and future plans.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.1182-1194
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• 2018

The Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP(DASH) is envisioned to evolve to meet an increasing demand on providing seamless video streaming services in the near future. The DASH performance heavily depends on the client's adaptive quality selection algorithm that is not included in the standard. The existing conventional algorithms are basically based on a procedural algorithm that is not easy to capture and reflect all variations of dynamic network and traffic conditions in a variety of network environments. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel quality selection mechanism based on the Deep Q-Network(DQN) model, the DQN-based DASH Adaptive Bitrate(ABR) mechanism. The proposed mechanism adopts a new reward calculation method based on five major performance metrics to reflect the current conditions of networks and devices in real time. In addition, the size of the consecutive video segment to be downloaded is also considered as a major learning metric to reflect a variety of video encodings. Experimental results show that the proposed mechanism quickly selects a suitable video quality even in high error rate environments, significantly reducing frequency of quality changes compared to the existing algorithm and simultaneously improving average video quality during video playback.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.452-464
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• 2015

This paper proposes a DC microgrid operational strategy and control method for improved service reliability. The objective is to supply power to as many non-critical loads as possible, while providing an uninterrupted power supply to critical loads. The DC bus signaling method, in which DC voltage is an information carrier, is employed to implement the operational strategy in a decentralized manner. During grid-connected operation, a grid-tied converter balances the power of the microgrid by controlling the DC voltage. All loads are connected to the microgrid, and operate normally. During islanded operation, distributed generators (DGs), a backup generator, or an energy storage system balances the power. However, some non-critical loads may be disconnected from the microgrid to ensure the uninterrupted power supply to critical loads. For enhanced service reliability, disconnected loads can be automatically reconnected if certain conditions are satisfied. Control rules are proposed for all devices, and detailed microgrid operational modes and transition conditions are then discussed. Additionally, methods to determine control parameter settings are proposed. PSCAD/EMTDC simulation results demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed operational strategy and control method.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.208-213
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• 2004

This paper is concerned with the theoretical estimation of the single-input single-output(SISO) positive position feedback(PPF) controller and the derivation of the stability conditions for the multi-input multi-output (MIMO) PPF controller. Although the stability condition for the SISO PPF controller was derived in the earlier works, the question regarding the performance estimation of the SISO PPF controller has never been studied theoretically. Hence, the SISO PPF controller for the single degree-of-freedom system was first investigated and then control parameters including gain, the filter frequency, and the damping factor of the PPF controller were analyzed in detail thus providing the design methodology for the SISO PPF controller. In the case of real structure. there are infinite number of natural modes so that some modes are to be controlled by a limited number of actuator and sensor. Based on the theoretical results on the SISO PPF controller, the stability condition for the multi-input multi-output PPF controller was derived when only the few number of modes are to be controlled. The control spillover problem is also discussed in detail.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.165-178
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• 2015

Friction coefficient of epoxy metal matrix composites were investigated. The main objective was to increase the friction coefficient through rubber sole sliding against the epoxy floor coating providing appropriate level of resistance. This was to avoid the excessive movement and slip accidents. Epoxy metal matrix composites were reinforced by different copper wire diameters. The epoxy metal matrix composites were experimentally conducted at different conditions namely dry, water and detergent wetted sliding, were the friction coefficient increased as the number of wires increased. When the wires were closer to the sliding surface, the friction coefficient was found to increase. The friction coefficient was found to increase with the increase of the copper wire diameter in epoxy metal matrix composites. This behavior was attributed to the fact that as the diameter and the number of wires increased, the intensity of the electric field, generated from electric static charge increased causing an adhesion increase between the two sliding surfaces. At water wetted sliding conditions, the effect of changing number of wires on friction coefficient was less than the effect of wire diameter. The presence of water and detergent on the sliding surfaces decreased friction coefficient compared to the dry sliding. When the surfaces were detergent wetted, the friction coefficient values were found to be lower than that observed when sliding in water or dry condition.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.288-295
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• 2015

The present work addresses crevice and galvanic corrosion processes occurring at the cylinder head gasket/cylinder head interface and cylinder head gasket/cylinder liner interface of four-stroke medium-speed diesel engines for marine applications. The contact between these systems and the marine environment can promote formation of demanding corrosion conditions, therefore influencing the lifetime of the engine components. The electrochemical behavior of various metals and alloys used as head gasket materials (both ferrous alloys and copper alloys) was investigated. The efficacy of corrosion inhibitors was determined by comparing electrochemical behavior with and without inhibitors. In particular, crevice corrosion has been investigated by electrochemical tests using an experimental set-up developed starting from the requirements of the ASTM G-192-08, with adaptation of the test to the conditions peculiar to this application. In addition to the crevice corrosion resistance, the possible problems of galvanic coupling, as well as corrosive reactivity, were evaluated using electrochemical tests, such as potentiodynamic measurements. It was possible to quantify, in several cases, the corrosion resistance of the various coupled materials, and in particular the resistance to crevice corrosion, providing a basis for the selection of materials for this specific application.

• International Journal of Ocean System Engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.37-49
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• 2012

An analysis of potential flooding by storm surge and wave run-up and overtopping can be used to evaluate protection afforded by the existing storm protection system. The analysis procedure can also be used to evaluate various protection alternatives for providing typhoon flood protection. To determine risk, the storm surges for both historical and hypothetical are compiled with tide conditions to represent high, slack and low water for neap, spring and mid range tides to use with the statistical procedure known as the Empirical Simulations Technique (EST). The EST uses the historic and hypothetical events to generate a large population of life-cycle databases that are used to compute mean value maximum storm surge elevation frequency relationships. The frequency-of-occurrence relationship is determined for all relevant locations along the shoreline at appropriate locations to identify the effect using the Empirical Storm Simulation (EST). To assist with understanding the process, an example is presented for a study of storm surge analysis for Freeport, Texas. This location is in the Gulf of Mexico and is subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms that approach from the Atlantic Ocean.

• Journal of Advanced Research in Ocean Engineering
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.47-52
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• 2018

The Korea Offshore Wind Power (KOWP) is planning to construct offshore wind energy farms with an overall rated power of 2.5 GW in the south-western coast of the country until 2019. Various types of support structures for offshore wind turbines have been proposed in the past. Nevertheless, in South Korea, jacket structures have in general, been applied as support structures for offshore wind turbines owing to the many accumulated experiences and know-how regarding this kind of support structure. The choice of offshore structure is mainly influenced by site conditions such as seabed soil type and sea environment during installation. In installing jacket sets on the seabed, the mudmat is necessary to maintain the equilibrium of the jacket without the aid of additional devices. Hence, this study proposes the installation of skirt plates underneath the bottom frame of jackets in order to improve the installation stability of jacket structures under rougher sea conditions. To confirm the effect of skirt plates, installation stability analyses considering overturning, sliding and bearing capacity have been performed. From the results, it is shown that jacket structures with skirt plates can contribute to improving the sliding stability of the structures of new wind power farms, while providing economic benefits.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 2014

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to develop a workstation computer that allowed intraoperative touchless control of diagnostic and surgical images by a surgeon, and to report the preliminary experience with the use of the system in a series of cases in which dental surgery was performed. Materials and Methods: A custom workstation with a new motion sensing input device (Leap Motion) was set up in order to use a natural user interface (NUI) to manipulate the imaging software by hand gestures. The system allowed intraoperative touchless control of the surgical images. Results: For the first time in the literature, an NUI system was used for a pilot study during 11 dental surgery procedures including tooth extractions, dental implant placements, and guided bone regeneration. No complications were reported. The system performed very well and was very useful. Conclusion: The proposed system fulfilled the objective of providing touchless access and control of the system of images and a three-dimensional surgical plan, thus allowing the maintenance of sterile conditions. The interaction between surgical staff, under sterile conditions, and computer equipment has been a key issue. The solution with an NUI with touchless control of the images seems to be closer to an ideal. The cost of the sensor system is quite low; this could facilitate its incorporation into the practice of routine dental surgery. This technology has enormous potential in dental surgery and other healthcare specialties.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.123-141
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• 2006

Mobile games have emerged as the most innovative entertainment technology, adding new revenue streams, taking advantage of the potential of wireless applications and service offerings. Mobile games, as well as PC games, Video games and online games, offer a unique value for users in providing an exciting digital experience in virtual worlds. The overall trend for mobile games is towards bigger, more colorful, more involving and exciting contents, which might build upon the developing capabilities of mobile phones and networks, in order to bring new styles, concepts and experiences of game play to the users. In this paper, we investigate the factors influencing the usage and acceptance of the mobile games, based on the extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Based on data collected from online survey, we show that perceived usefulness, ease of use are the major determinants for mobile game users to play games. Four factors, including ease of use, self-expressiveness, visibility, and innovativeness are empirically shown to determine the level of perceived usefulness; additionally, innovativeness and facilitating conditions are shown to directly affect ease of use. Based upon the statistical results, some useful guidelines for game development and market penetration strategies are also provided.