• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.511-518
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• 1998

In order to develop the aerosol bolus technique which is thought to be a potential tool for probing geometries or abnormalities of small airways, an experimental system of measuring fast time variations of particle concentration in the inhaled and exhaled breathing air was developed. The system generates monodisperse sebacic acrid particles of 1 micron size and 1.2 of geometric standard deviation in high concentration of $10^8$ particles/cc, delivers a short pulse of particles at the controlled instant during inhalation using a solenoid valve, and measures the fast change of particle concentration in using the laser light scattering. Successful operation of the generator and the measuring system was confirmed by smooth concentration profiles in inhalation. It was also confirmed that maintaining a constant breathing rate is essential to stable outputs and any disturbance in flow rate near the mode (maximum concentration) induces a large number of spurious peaks in the exhalation. Experimental data without strict control of breathing flow rate showed a substantial amount of scatter. The measured results showed an improvement in scatter over the existing results. When compared with theoretical predictions from 1-D convective diffusion equation and other experiments, general characteristics of dispersion for several penetration depths showed a good agreement, but there exists some difference in absolute values, which is attributed to the difference in body conditions. Improvements are needed in the theory, especially in relation to correcting for the effect of breathing flow rate.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.350-357
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• 2017

Purpose: In-situ monitoring of water quality is fundamental to most environmental applications. The high cost and long delays of conventional laboratory methods used to determine water quality, including on-site sampling and chemical analysis, have limited their use in efficiently managing water sources while preventing environmental pollution. The objective of this study was to develop an on-site water monitoring system consisting mainly of an Arduino board and a sensor array of multiple ion selective electrodes (ISEs) to measure the concentration of $NO_3$ ions. Methods: The developed system includes a combination of three ISEs, double-junction reference electrode, solution container, sampling system consisting of three pumps and solenoid valves, signal processing circuit, and an Arduino board for data acquisition and system control. Prior to each sample measurement, a two-point normalization method was applied for a sensitivity adjustment followed by an offset adjustment to minimize the potential drift that could occur during continuous measurement and standardize the response of multiple electrodes. To investigate its utility in on-site nitrate monitoring, the prototype was tested in a facility where drinking water was collected from a water supply source. Results: Differences in the electric potentials of the $NO_3$ ISEs between 10 and $100mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ $NO_3$ concentration levels were nearly constant with negative sensitivities of 58 to 62 mV during the period of sample measurement, which is representative of a stable electrode response. The $NO_3$ concentrations determined by the ISEs were almost comparable to those obtained with standard instruments within 15% relative errors. Conclusions: The use of the developed on-site nitrate monitoring system based on automatic sampling and two-point normalization was feasible for detecting abrupt changes in nitrate concentration at various water supply sites, showing a maximum difference of $4.2mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ from an actual concentration of $14mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.263-268
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• 2004

Two field cooling tests were conducted to evaluate the cooling characteristic of paddy with a prototype grain cooler. The first test was carried out during summer season in a steel bin with 180.3ton of paddy at Sunchon. And the second test was carried out during harvesting season in a steel bin with 272.2ton of paddy at Ulsan. At the first test, initial paddy temperature of 23.6$^{\circ}C$ was dropped to 14$^{\circ}C$, and initial moisture content of 19.9% was dropped to 19.3% after 52.5 hours of cooling. At the second test, initial paddy temperature of 16.1$^{\circ}C$ dropped to 5.5$^{\circ}C$ after 78.0 hours of cooling. And, at the first test, the average air flow rates of chilled air leaving the grain cooler and penetrating the grain layer were 77.5 ㎥/min and 42.5 ㎥/min, respectively. To prevent leakage of chilled air from plenum chamber of steel bin, which was about 45% of the average air flow rates of chilled air leaving the grain cooler, a proper method was required. The average total power consumption at the first test during summer was 22.1 ㎾ with control of fan damper. At the second test, it was 17.4 ㎾ due to controlling the capacity of compressor with unloading solenoid valve and changing the flow rates of hot refrigerant gas flowing into evaporator and reheater from compressor, resulting in 27% reduction of energy consumption.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.9
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• pp.175-181
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• 2019

In the case of a conventional single stage decompression regulator used for large depressurization in the hydrogen fuel cell system of a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), problems can arise, such as pulsation, slow response, hydrogen brittleness, leakage, high weight, and high cost due to high decompression. Most of these problems can be overcome easily using two decompression mechanisms (two-stage structures). In addition, a wide outlet-pressure control range can be secured if an electronic solenoid is applied to the second decompression. Accordingly, it is necessary to improve the precision of the outlet pressure of a two-stage pressure-reducing regulator and develop techniques, such as leakage prevention, durability, light weight, and price reduction. Therefore, to improve the outlet pressure accuracy and prevent leakage, the structural part before and after decompression to improve the air tightness were divided and the analysis was carried out assuming that the valve part was closed (open ratio: 0%) after each initial internal pressure application.

• Journal of Appropriate Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.136-145
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• 2020

Agriculture is the backbone of the economy of most developing countries. In these countries, agriculture or farming is mostly done manually with little integration of machinery, intelligent systems and data monitoring. Irrigation is an essential process that directly influences crop production. The fluctuating amount of rainfall per year has led to the adoption of irrigation systems in most farms. The absence of smart sensors, monitoring methods and control, has led to low harvests and draining water sources. In this research paper, we introduce a 433 MHz Radio Frequency and 2G based Smart Irrigation Meter System and a water prepayment system for rural areas of Tanzania with no reliable internet coverage. Specifically, Ngurudoto area in Arusha region where it will be used as a case study for data collection. The proposed system is hybrid, comprising of both weather data (evapotranspiration) and soil moisture data. The architecture of the system has on-site weather measurement controllers, soil moisture sensors buried on the ground, water flow sensors, a solenoid valve, and a prepayment system. To achieve high precision in linear and nonlinear regression and to improve classification and prediction, this work cascades a Dynamic Regression Algorithm and Naïve Bayes algorithm.