• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.1805-1815
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• 2019

While nickel-based alloys have been widely used for power plants due to corrosion resistance and good mechanical properties, during the last couple of decades, failures of nuclear components increased gradually. One of main degradation mechanisms was primary water stress corrosion cracking at dissimilar metal welds of piping and reactor head penetrations. In this context, precise estimation of welding effects became an important issue for ensuring reliability of them. The present study deals with a series of finite element analyses and crack growth rate evaluation of Alloys 690/152. Firstly, variation of residual stresses and equivalent plastic strains was simulated taking into account welding of a cylindrical block. Subsequently, extraction and pre-cracking of compact tension (CT) specimens were considered from different locations of the block. Finally, crack growth curves of the alloys and heat affected zone were developed based on analyses results combined with experimental data in references. Characteristics of crack growth behaviors were also discussed in relation to mechanical and fracture parameters.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.193-206
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• 2022

Several algorithms for nuclear power plant (NPP) break event detection, isolation, localization, and size estimation are proposed. A break event can be promptly detected and isolated after its occurrence by simultaneously monitoring changes in the sensing readings and by employing an interquartile range-based isolation scheme. By considering the multi-sensor data block of a break to be rank-one, it can be located as the position whose lead field vector is most orthogonal to the noise subspace of that data block using the Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm. Owing to the flexibility of deep neural networks in selecting the best regression model for the available data, we can estimate the break size using multiple-sensor recordings of the break regardless of the sensor types. The efficacy of the proposed algorithms was evaluated using the data generated by Maanshan NPP simulator. The experimental results demonstrated that the MUSIC method could distinguish two near breaks. However, if the two breaks were close and of small sizes, the MUSIC method might wrongly locate them. The break sizes estimated by the proposed deep learning model were close to their actual values, but relative errors of more than 8% were seen while estimating small breaks' sizes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.452-452
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• 2013

ZnO is one of the most attractive transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films because of low toxicity, a wide band gap material and relatively low cost. However, the electrical conductivity of un-doped ZnO is too high to use it as TCO films in practical application. To improve electrical properties of undoped ZnO, transition metal (TM) doped ZnO films such as Al doped ZnO or Ti doped ZnO have been extensively studied. Here, we prepared Ti doped ZnO thin films by atomic layer deposition (ALD) for the application of TCO films. ALD was used to prepare Ti-doped ZnO thin films due to its inherent merits such as large area uniformity, precise composition control in multicomponent thin films, and digital thickness controllability. Also, we demonstrated that ALD method can be utilized for fabricating highly ordered freestanding nanostructures of Ti-doped ZnO thin films by combining with BCP templates, which can potentially used in the photovoltaic applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.423-431
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• 1999

A radiotracer technique has been developed to monitor the rotational movement of two piston rings in one cylinder during engine operation. The rings were labeled with two different kinds of radioisotopes, i.e. $^{60}$ Co and $^{192}$ Ir, for identification of the top ring from the second ring. The radiotracers were implanted in a small hole bored on the inner side of each piston ring. The rings were installed in a single cylinder hydrogen engine and three Nal scintillation detectors were mounted around the engine block to measure the gamma radiation. The angle of ring-gap orientation was determined from the radiation counts measured with the three detectors during engine operation. Two windows (upper window for $^{60}$ Co and lower window for $^{192}$ Ir) were set on each ratemeter to count radiation from the two isotopes separately. Procedure to convert the radiation counts to the position of the ring gap was established. With the software programmed with MS-Visualbasic, radiation counts were compared with the reference responses that were measured at angular intervals of 10$^{\circ}$for each piston ring in advance of the experiment. The result was used for the evaluation of the relationship between the orientation of ring-gaps and oil consumption. It was found that an increase in the oil consumption rate of a specific operation condition was closely related to the relative phase angle of the two piston rings.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.91-91
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• 2012

We aim in synthesizing various functional thin films thinner than ~ 10 nm for environmental applications and photovoltaic devices. Atomic layer deposition is used for synthesizing inorganic thin films with a precise control of the film thickness. Several examples about application of our thin films for removing volatile organic compounds (VOC) will be highlighted, which are summarized in the below. 1) $TiO_2$ thin films prepared by ALD at low temperature ($<100^{\circ}C$) show high adsorption capacity for toluene. In combination with nanostructured templates, $TiO_2$ thin films can be used as building-block of high-performing VOC filter. 2) $TiO_2$ thin films on carbon fibers and nanodiamonds annealed at high temperatures are active for photocatalytic oxidation of VOCs, i.e. photocatalytic filter can be created by atomic layer deposition. 3) NiO can catalyze oxidation of toluene to $CO_2$ and $H_2O$ at $<300^{\circ}C$. $TiO_2$ thin films on NiO can reduce poisoning of NiO surfaces by reaction intermediates below $200^{\circ}C$. We also fabricated inverted organic solar cell based on ZnO electron collecting layers on ITO. $TiO_2$ thin films with a mean diameter less than 3 nm on ZnO can enhance photovoltaic performance by reducing electron-hole recombination on ZnO surfaces.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 2002

A FEM model of the remote-field eddy current effect is presented for zirconium-2.5 percent niobium(Zr-2.5%Nb) nuclear reactor pressure tubes to demonstrate the important electromagnetic field phenomena. This model is applied to evaluate the optimal operating frequency and detector position. There are many ambiguous experimental results connected with this technique. Finite element calculations can be used in the interpretation of these experimental results even though the electromagnetic fields measured in the remote-field technique are very small.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.85-85
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• 2010

Graphene, the building block of graphite, is one of the most promising materials due to their fascinating electronic transport properties. The pseudo-two-dimensional sp2 bonding in graphene layers yields one of the most effective solid lubricants. In this poster, we present the correlation between electrical and nanomechanical properties of graphene layer grown on Cu/Ni substrate with CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method. The electrical (current and conductance) and nanomechanical (adhesion and friction) properties have been investigated by the combined apparatus of friction force microscopy/conductive probe atomic force microscopy (AFM). The experiment was carried out in a RHK AFM operating in ultrahigh vacuum using cantilevers with a conductive TiN coating. The current was measured as a function of the applied load between the AFM tip and the graphene layer. The contact area has been obtained with the continuum mechanical models. We will discuss the influence of mechanical deformation on the electrical transport mechanism on graphene layers.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.284-292
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• 2019

For the continuous operation of a nuclear reactor, burnt fuel needs to be replaced with fresh fuel, where appropriate (ex-vessel) fuel handling is required. Particularly for the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) refueling, its process has unique challenges due to liquid sodium coolant. The ex-vessel spent fuel transportation should concern several design features such as the radiation shielding, decay-heat removal, and inert space separated from air. This paper proposes a new design optimization methodology of cask shielding to transport the spent fuel assembly in a prototype SFR for the first time. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm had been applied to design trade-offs between shielding and cask weight. The cask is designed as a double-cylinder structure to block an inert sodium region from the air-cooling space. The PSO process yielded the optimum shielding thickness of 26 cm, considering the weight as well. To confirm the shielding performance, the radiation dose of spent fuel removed at its peak burnup and after 1-year cooling was calculated. Two different fuel positions located during transportation were also investigated to consider a functional disorder in a cask drive system. This study concludes the current cask design in normal operations is satisfactory in accordance with regulatory rules.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.332-341
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• 2013

H-shaped amphiphilic pentablock copolymers $(PSt)_2-b-PCL-b-PEO-b-PCL-b-(PSt)_2$ was synthesized via chemoenzymatic method by combining enzyme-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization (eROP) of ${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone (${\varepsilon}$-CL) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene. By this process, we obtained copolymers with controlled molecular weight and low polydispersity. The structure and composition of the obtained copolymers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and infrared spectroscopy analysis (IR). The crystallization behavior of the copolymers was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystallization behavior of the H-shaped block copolymers demonstrated a PCL dominate crystallization. The self-assembly behavior of the copolymers was investigated in aqueous media. The hydrodynamic diameters of the copolymer micelles in aqueous solution were measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The morphology of the copolymer micelles was observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hydrodynamic diameters of spherical micelles declined gradually with the increase of the hydrophobic chain lengths of the copolymers. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) values were determined from fluorescence emission, and it was found that the CMCs decreased with an increase of PSt hydrophobic block lengths.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.239-244
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• 2009

We fabricated nano-templates by low temperature BCP(block copolymer) process at 180 $^{\circ}C$, then we deposited 10 nm-thick $TiO_2$ layers with ALD(atomic layer deposition) at low temperature of 150 $^{\circ}C$. Through FE-SEM analysis, we confirmed the successful formation of the groove-type(width of crest : 30 nm, width of trough : 18 nm) and the cylinder-type(diameter : 10 nm, distance between hole : 25 nm) templates. Moreover, after $TiO_2$-ALD processing, we confirmed the deposition of the uniform nano layers of $TiO_2$ on the nano-templates. Through AFM analysis, the pitches of the crest-through(in groove-type) and hole-hole(in cylinder-type) were the same before and after $TiO_2$-ALD processing. In addition, we indirectly determined the existence of the uniform $TiO_2$ layers on nano-templates as the surface roughness decreased drastically. We successfully fabricated nano-template at low temperature and confirmed that the three-dimensional nano-structure for sensor application could be achieved by $TiO_2$-ALD processing at extremely low temperature of 150 $^{\circ}C$.