• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.135-144
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• 2003

Permeability of the preform is one of key factors in design of RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) mold, determination of processing conditions, and modeling of flow in the mold. According to previous studies, permeability measured in the unsaturated fiber mats are higher than that in the saturated fiber mats by about 20% because of the capillary pressure. In this study, permeabilities of several fiber preforms are measured for both saturated and unsaturated flows. A saturated experiment of radial flow has been adopted to measure the permeability of anisotropic fiber preforms with high fiber content, i.e., circular braided preforms. In this method, four pressure transducers are used to measure the pressure distribution. Permeabilities in different directions are determined and the experimental results show a good agreement with the theory. Since permeability is affected by the capillary effect, permeability should be measured in the unsaturated condition for the textile composites to be manufactured under lower pressure as in the Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM).

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.88-94
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• 2007

General criteria for the risering design of steel castings and commercial codes for the flow and solidification analysis were used to design the optimized risering in V-process. Three type of specimens were chosen including thin plates and a thick disc. Sided riser installed in the front of a plate casting was effective to prevent the shrinkage defects and to increase the casting yield ratio. Exothennic sleeve and chill were also effective. It was possible to apply the general criteria for the risering design of steel castings to V-process. Temperature of a mold surface was expected to rise over $1,000^{\circ}C$ in the temperature calculation considering radiation effect of molten metal in the mold. Since weakening temperature of the vinyl used in V-process is about $70^{\circ}C$, it should be emphasized that a proper coating of the vinyl film is necessary to prevent the possibility of burning out of the vinyl by the molten metal.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.287-287
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• 2010

We report a new direct patterning method, called liquid bridge-mediated nanotransfer molding (LB-nTM), for the formation of two- or three-dimensional structures with feature sizes between tens of nanometers and tens of micron over large areas. LB-nTM is based on the direct transfer of various materials from a mold to a substrate via a liquid bridge between them. This procedure can be adopted for automated direct printing machines that generate patterns of functional materials with a wide range of feature sizes on diverse substrates. Arrays of TIPS-PEN TFTs were fabricated on 4" polyethersulfone (PES) substrates by LB-nTM using PDMS molds. An inverted staggered structure was employed in the TFT device fabrication. A 150 nm-thick indium-tin oxide (ITO) gate electrode and a 200 nm-thick SiO2dielectric layer were formed on a PES substrate by sputter deposition. An array of TIPS-PEN patterns (thickness: 60 nm) as active channel layers was fabricated on the substrate by LB-nTM. The nominal channel length of the TIPS-PEN TFT was 10 mm, while the channel width was 135 mm. Finally, the source and drain electrodes of 200 nm-thick Ag were defined on the substrate by LB-nTM. The TIPS-PEN TFTs can endure strenuous bending and are also transparent in the visible range, and therefore potentially useful for flexible and invisible electronics.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.29-35
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• 2007

This research investigates the composites reinforced with fiberglass to wood and commercial particleboard using VARTM process to enhance the mechanical properties. Specimens were prepared from lumbers from thinning crop-trees and commercial particleboard. Matched specimen were reinforced on both sides with one layer of unidirectional fiberglass roving. Fiberglass reinforcement to wood and particleboard using VARTM process improved mechanical properties.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.277-299
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• 2008

High quality and expedient processing repair methods are necessary to enhance the service life of bridge structures. Deterioration of concrete can occur as a result of structural cracks, corrosion of reinforcement, and freeze.thaw cycles. Cost effective methods with potential for field implementation are necessary to address the issue of the vulnerability of bridge structures and how to repair them. Most infrastructure related applications of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRPs) use traditional hand lay-up technology. The hand lay-up is tedious, labor-intensive and relies upon personnel skill level. An alternative to traditional hand lay-up of FRP for infrastructure applications is Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM). VARTM uses single sided molding technology to infuse resin over fabrics wrapping large structures, such as bridge girders and columns. There is no work currently available in understanding the interface developed, when VARTM processing is adopted to wrap fibers such as carbon and/or glass over concrete structures. This paper investigates the interface formed by carbon fiber processed on to a concrete surface using the VARTM technique. Various surface treatments, including sandblasting, were performed to study the pull-off tensile test to find a potential prepared surface. A single-lap shear test was used to study the bond strength of CFRP fabric/epoxy composite adhered to concrete. Carbon fiber wraps incorporating Sikadur HEX 103C and low viscosity epoxy resin Sikadur 300 were considered in VARTM processing of concrete specimens.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2008

FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) sensors and optical fibers were embedded into CFRP dry preforms before resin impregnation in VaRTM (Vacuum-assisted Resin Transfer Molding). The embedding location was the interface between the skin and the stringer in a CFRP-stiffened panel. The reflection spectra of the FBG sensors monitored the strain and temperature changes during all the molding processes. The internal residual strains of the CFRP panel could be evaluated during both the curing time and the post-curing time. The temperature changes indicated the differences between the dry preform and the outside of the vacuum bagging. After the molding, four-point bending was applied to the panel for the verification of its structural integrity and the sensor capabilities. The optical fibers were then used for the newly-developed PPP-BOTDA (Pulse-PrePump Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis) system. The long-range distributed strain and temperature can be measured by this system, whose spatial resolution is 100 mm. The strain changes from the FBGs and the PPP-BOTDA agreed well with those from the conventional strain gages and FE analysis in the CFRP panel. Therefore, the fiber-optic sensors and its system were very effective for the evaluation of the VaRTM composite structures.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.88-95
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• 1999

The purpose of this study is to investigate the manufacturing feasibility of WC-Co milling inserts via Powder Injection Molding (PIM) process. WC-Co is used in a wide variety of cutting tools due to its high hardness, stiffness, compressive strength and wear resistance properties. WC-Co parts for a high stress application were conventionally produced by the press and sinter method, which were Iimited to 2 dimensional shapes. Manufacturing WC-Co parts for a high stress application by PIM implies that tool efficiency can be highly improved due to increased freedom is design. P30 grade WC powder (WC-Co-TiC-TaC system) was mixed with RIST-5B133 binder and injection molded into milling inserts (Taegu Tech. Model WCMX 06T 308). The mean grain size of the powder was about 0.8$\mu$m. Injection molded specimens were debound by solvent extraction and thermal degradation method at various conditions. The specimens were sintered at 140$0^{\circ}C$ for 1 hr in vacuum. Carbon content, weight loss, dimensional change, and macro defects of the specimen were carefully monitored at each stage of the PIM process. PIMed WC-Co milling inserts reached 100% full density after sinteing. Its mechanical properties and micro-structures were comparable with the press and sintered milling insert. Carbon content of the sintered WC-Co insert was mainly determained by the atmosphere of thermal debinding. By controlling powder loading and injection molding condition, dimensional accuracy could be obtained within 0.4%. We confirm that PIM can not only be an alternative manufacturing method for WC-Co parts economically but also provide a design freedom for more effieient cutting tools.

• Composites Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.21-31
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• 2002

To overcome the disadvantages of conventional excavation technology various trenchless (or excavation free, or no-dig) repair-reinforcement technologies have been developed and tried. But trenchless technologies so far developed have some drawbacks such as high cost and inconvenience of operation. In this study, a repairing-reinforcing process for underground pipes with glass fiber fabric polymer composites using VARTM (Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding) has been developed. The developed process requires shorter operation time and lower cost with smaller and simpler operating equipments than those of the conventional trenchless technologies. For the reliable operation of the developed method, a simple method to apply pressure and vacuum to the reinforcement was devised and flexible mold technology was tried. Also, resin filling and cure status during RTM process were monitored with a commercial dielectrometry cure monitoring system, LACOMCURE. From the investigation, it has been found that the developed repairing-reinforcing technology with appropriate process variables and on-line cure monitoring has many advantages over conventional methods.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers Conference
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• 2000.04a
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• pp.441-446
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• 2000

Although the net-shape molding of composites is generally recommended, molded composites frequently required cutting or grinding due to the dimensional inaccuracy for precision machine elements. During the composite machining operations such as cutting and grinding, the temperature at the grinding area may increase beyond the allowed limit due to the low thermal conductivity of composites, which might degrade the matrix of composite. Therefore, in this work, the temperature at the grinding point during surface grinding of carbon fiber epoxy composite was measured. The grinding temperature and surface roughness were also measured to investigate the surface grinding characteristics of the composited. The experiments were performed both under dry and wet grinding conditions with respect to cutting speed, feed speed, depth of cut and stacking angle. From the experimental investigation, the optimal conditions for the composite plain grinding were suggested.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.589-595
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• 2011

Laminated glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites were applied to an insulating structure of a magnet system for a nuclear fusion device. Decreased inter-laminar strength by a strong repulsive force between coils which is induced a problem of structural integrity in laminated GFRPs. Therefore, it is important to investigate the inter-laminar characteristics of laminated GFRP composites in order to assure more reliable design and better structural integrity. Three types of the laminated GFRP composites using a high voltage insulating materials were fabricated according to each molding process. To evaluate the grade of the fabricated composites, mechanical tests, such as hardness, tensile and compressive tests,were carried out. The autoclave molding composites satisfied almost of the mechanical properties reguested at the G10 class standard, but the vacuum impregnation (VPI) and Prepreg composites did not.