• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.4268-4289
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• 2020

Advanced traffic signal timing method plays very important role in reducing road congestion and air pollution. Reinforcement learning is considered as superior approach to build traffic light timing scheme by many recent studies. It fulfills real adaptive control by the means of taking real-time traffic information as state, and adjusting traffic light scheme as action. However, existing works behave inefficient in complex intersections and they are lack of feasibility because most of them adopt traffic light scheme whose phase sequence is flexible. To address these issues, a novel adaptive traffic signal timing scheme is proposed. It's based on actor-critic reinforcement learning algorithm, and advanced techniques proximal policy optimization and generalized advantage estimation are integrated. In particular, a new kind of reward function and a simplified form of state representation are carefully defined, and they facilitate to improve the learning efficiency and reduce the computational complexity, respectively. Meanwhile, a fixed phase sequence signal scheme is derived, and constraint on the variations of successive phase durations is introduced, which enhances its feasibility and robustness in field applications. The proposed scheme is verified through field-data-based experiments in both medium and high traffic density scenarios. Simulation results exhibit remarkable improvement in traffic performance as well as the learning efficiency comparing with the existing reinforcement learning-based methods such as 3DQN and DDQN.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.61-75
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• 2021

Roadside greenery in the city is not only a means of reducing fine dust, but also an indispensable element of the city in various aspects such as improvement of urban thermal environment, noise reduction, ecosystem connectivity, and aesthetics. However, in studies dealing with the effect of reducing fine dust through trees in existing urban spaces, microscopic aspects such as the adsorption effect of plants were dealt with, structural changes such as the width of urban buildings and streets, and the presence or absence of trees, Impact studies that reflect the actual form of In this study, the effect of greenery composition applicable to urban space on PM2.5 was simulated through the microclimate epidemiologic model ENVI-met, and field measurements were performed in parallel to verify the results. In addition, by analyzing the results of fine dust background concentration, wind speed, and leaf area index, the sensitivity to major influencing variables was tested. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the fine dust reduction effect was the highest in the case with a high planting amount, and the reduction effect was the greatest at a low background concentration. Based on this, the cost of planting street green areas and the effect of reducing PM2.5 were compared. The results of this study can contribute as a basis for considering the effect of pedestrian space on air quality when planning and designing street green spaces.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.95-100
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• 2022

Solar cell is a device that converts photon energy into electrical energy. Therefore, absorption of solar spectrum light is one of the most important characteristics to design the solar cell structures. Various methods have emerged to reduce optical losses, such as textured surfaces, back contact solar cells, anti-reflection layers. Here, the anti-reflection coating (ARC) layer is typically utilized whose refractive index value is between air (~1) and silicon (~4) such as SiN_x layer (~1.9). This research is to print a material called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to form a double anti-reflection layer. Light with wavelength in the range of 0.3 to 1.2 micrometers does not share a wavelength with solar cells. It is confirmed that the refractive index of PDMS (~1.4) is an ARC layer which decreases the reflectance of light absorption region on typical p-type solar cells with SiN_x layer surface. Optimized PDMS printing with analyzing optical property for cell structure can be the effective way against outer effects by encapsulation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.25 no.4_2
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• pp.655-662
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• 2022

Recently, with the increase in the use of UAV(unmanned aerial vehicles), research on horizontal maintenance stations that can take off and land in various environments has been actively conducted. These stations can safely land UAV through multiple DOF(degrees of freedom) or at least 2-DOF-based actuator actuation. Among them, many researchers are dealing with the multi-DOF stewart platform due to its high safety. However, the stewart platform requires high-precision control technology because it requires a lot of torque to actuate according to the load action. Therefore, in this paper, to solve the mentioned problem, a bevel gear-based 2-DOF horizontal maintenance station system is proposed. The proposed system is configured to prevent damage due to air resistance when maintaining ships and to install it in a small space. Also, in terms of system configuration, the bevel gear-based horizontal maintenance system has the main advantage of being able to take off and land UAVs of various sizes through the replacement of station pads. The driving of the system consists of a simple form that can control the motor by adjusting the rotation speed of the motor according to the sea waveform.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.120-127
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• 2022

Nitrogen oxide(NOx) is a major cause of air pollution, exists in the form of nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, and is harmful to the human body. Recently, a number of studies to reduce NOx in the atmosphere have been conducted, and these efforts have been the same in the field of construction materials. It is known that NOx can be efficiently removed by using a photocatalytic reaction. In this study, the NOx removal performance of the foam composite using activated carbon(AC) and titanium dioxide(TiO₂) was investigated. AC was used to enhance the photocatalytic reaction of TiO₂ by increasing the internal specific surface area of the foam composite. In this study, foam composites were prepared using the substitution rate of AC as the main variable. The NOx removal performance of specimen was evaluated according to the test method presented in ISO-22197-1. The specific surface area of the foam composite showed a tendency to increase according to the AC content, but decreased at 15% or more. Also, when the AC substitution rate was 15%, the NOx removal efficiency was the highest.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2022

Molten salt consisting primarily of eutectic LiCl-KCl is currently being used in electrorefiners in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Idaho National Laboratory. Options are currently being evaluated for storing this salt outside of the argon atmosphere hot cell. The hygroscopic nature of eutectic LiCl-KCl makes is susceptible to deliquescence in air followed by extreme corrosion of metallic cannisters. In this study, the effect of occluding the salt into a zeolite on water sorption/desorption was tested. Two zeolites were investigated: Na-Y and zeolite 4A. Na-Y was ineffective at occluding a high percentage of the salt at either 10 or 20wt% loading. Zeolite-4A was effective at occluding the salt with high efficiency at both loading levels. Weight gain in salt occluded zeolite-4A (SOZ) from water sorption at 20% relative humidity and 40℃ was 17wt% for 10% SOZ and 10wt% for 20% SOZ. In both cases, neither deliquescence nor corrosion occurred over a period of 31 days. After hydration, most of the water could be driven off by heating the hydrated salt occluded zeolite to 530℃. However, some HCl forms during dehydration due to salt hydrolysis. Over a wide range of temperatures (320-700℃) and ramp rates (5, 10, and 20℃ min^-1), HCl formation was no more than 0.6% of the Cl^- in the original salt.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.21-28
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• 2022

Focusing on the creation of a new han ok, especially a mid-rise hybrid-structured Han-ok, this study proposes a middle-rise (four-story) Han-ok on one and two lots located in Seoun-dong, the existing Han-ok intensive housing site in downtown Cheongju. 1) In terms of layout and function, according to the existing L-shaped Han-ok corresponding to the road and the direction, the parking lots and shops on the 1st floor, the business facility on the 2nd floor, the Han-ok on the 3rd and 4th floors are placed. There are yards, open roof yards, and semi-open Daecheong(大廳, main hall), which can be shared by residents. 2) In terms of structure and form, one or two floors (some 3 floors) are 5.4m square and 5.4×6.6m modules of the RC(Reinforced Concrete) group, and the upper floor reflects the 2.7m module, size and shape of the existing Han-ok. By extending the outer wall of the RC group in the lower floors (1st to 3rd floors) to the wooden exterior of the upper floors (2nd to 4th floors), it is attempted to avoid the awkward appearance of the RC group being exposed to wooden structures. And it is also attempted to reflect the wooden shape and design elements through the elevation elements such as horizontal windows, corner windows, picture frames, and vertical slits. 3) In environmental control and facilities, it is attempted to smooth the ventilation of the building by forming a vertical upward airflow from the dark space of the low floor to the positive of the upper floor. This doubles the effect through a vertical rise of cold air generated in a narrow alleyway, piloti parking lot, and the various voids. In addition to the Daecheong and Numaru(loft) of Han ok, the rooftop yard, the terrace, and the balcony, horizontal natural ventilation is generated through divided doors and transom windows.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.947-971
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• 2010

Anna Letitia Barbauld's poem "Washing-Day" (1797) has sparked a variety of feminist critical endeavors over the past two decades. While many feminist literary critics try to salvage the poem as a successful tongue-in-cheek riposte directed at the male dominant literary world, more rigorous Marxist feminists accuse Barbauld of being limited by her own middle-class woman's view on women's domestic labor. Legitimate as they may be, these readings fail to elucidate Barbauld's place in a larger literary and intellectual discourse during the eighteenth century. In this paper I read "Washing-Day" as a woman's georgic, a genre or mode concerned with agricultural labor, the public value of which was highly recognized in eighteenth-century England. Alluding to canonical texts by writers like Shakespeare, Milton, and Pope, Barbauld's "loaded lines" in mock-heroic form create a space in which the women's domestic labor of washing interrupts men's daily routines and disrupts their poetic assumptions. While she makes women's work visible, Barbauld also addresses its quintessential nature. Women's work is affective labor; women have to labor physically and mentally to produce the desired domestic comfort. By allowing the image of the soap "bubble" to echo with many "bubbles" in other writers' texts, from the soap bubbles the narrator used to play with as a child to the hot-air balloon "bubble" of the Montgolfier brothers, Barbauld pleasantly equates work and day-dreaming, men's toil and children's play, and finally public, scientific, and recognized labor and private, domestic, and imaginative activities.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.402-407
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• 2023

Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) are fibrous form of activated carbon (AC) with higher mechanical strength and flexibility, which make them suitable for building modules for applications including directional gas flow such as air and gas purification. Similarly, ACFs are anticipated to excel in the efficient capture of CO₂. However, due to the difficulties in fabricating monofilament carbon fibers at a laboratory scale, most of the studies regarding ACFs for CO₂ capture have relied on electrospun carbon fibers. In this study, we fabricated monofilament carbon fibers from PAN-based monofilament precursors by stabilization and carbonization. Then, ACFs were successfully prepared by chemical activation using KOH. Different weight ratios ranging from 1:1 to 1:4 were employed in the fabrication of ACFs, and the samples were designated as ACF-1 to ACF-4, respectively. As a function of KOH ratio, increase in surface area could be observed. However, the CO₂ adsorption trend did not follow the surface area trend, and the ACF-3 with second largest surface area exhibited the highest CO₂ adsorption capacity. To understand the phenomena, nitrogen content and ultramicropore distribution, which are important factors determining CO₂ adsorption capacity, were considered. As a result, while nitrogen content could not explain the phenomena, ultramicropore distribution could provide a reasoning that the excessive etching led ACF-4 to develop micropore structure with a broader distribution, resulting in high surface area yet deteriorated CO₂ adsorption.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.383-394
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• 2008

We analyzed the description of diffusion phenomena in a 7th-grade textbook, and investigated teachers' understanding and teaching methods on diffusion concepts. The data were collected from textbook analysis and questionnaires from 46 science teachers and interviews with 5 teachers. Based on texts' analysis by definition, example, and representation of the diffusion, we found that most of the representations were macroscopically explained by observing the movement of ink in water and smelling the fragrance of perfume in the air. The analysis of questionnaire and interviews also revealed that the definition and the explanation of the diffusion were too abstract for teachers to understand and teach the concept without further information about the microscopic concept of collision of the matter with the medium. Such examples and models lead science teachers to form indistinctive concepts such as dissolution, effusion, and evaporation. Furthermore, the analytical data showed that teachers' understanding of the diffusion concept has been heavily dependent upon the textbook and the level of the understanding was very similar with that of textual description.