• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 2020

The present study examined the effect of the silica-based accelerating agents on the setting time and compressive strength gain of biomimetic glycocalix coating materials that has been developed for protecting the substrate of concrete exposed to chemical and microbiological attacks. The accelerating agent contents varied from 10mL/L to 40mL/L in the mixtures of glycocalix coating materials determined for shotcrete and lining techniques. Test results showed that the setting time of coating materials containing accelerating agents was affected by the contents of the bacteria carrier. When the accelerating agent content was 40mL/L, the final setting time was 80 minutes for shotcrete mixtures and 318 minutes for lining mixtures. Meanwhile, the compressive strength gain of coating materials with accelerating agents tended to be lower than that of counterpart materials without accelerating agents.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.217-221
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• 2011

Glass-ceramic materials, which consist of glass matrix phase containing crystalline ${\beta}-Ca_3(PO_4)_2$ and ${\beta}-Ca_2P_2O_7$, have been prepared by heating at $750-900^{\circ}C$ of calcium phosphate invert glasses in the silica-free $CaO-P_2O_5-TiO_2-Na_2O$, system. With increasing heating temperature from 750 to $900^{\circ}C$, the crystallite size of precipitated ${\beta}-Ca_3(PO_4)_2$ in glass with $55CaO{\cdot}35P_2O_5{\cdot}3TiO_2{\cdot}7Na_2O$ (mol%) composition increased from 48 to 91 nm. With the extension of the immersion time in dilute acetic acid solution (pH = 5) to ${\geq}$200 min, the degree of dissolution of $Ca^{2+}$ and $P^{5+}$ ions in the glass-ceramics was linearly increased and the solution was constantly maintained at pH = ~7. Biomimetic nanostructured (62-88 nm in average dia.), sphere-shaped hydroxyapatite was homogeneously formed on the surface of the glass-ceramics when socked for 7-14 days in a Hanks' solution, indicating bioactivity of the prepared glass-ceramics.

• Composites Research
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.378-393
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• 2022

As an emerging power generation technology, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have received increasing attention due to their boundless promise in energy harvesting and self-powered sensing applications. The recent rise of soft robotics has sparked widespread enthusiasm for developing flexible and soft sensors and actuators. TENGs have been regarded as promising power sources for driving actuators and self-powered sensors, providing a unique approach for the development of soft robots with soft sensors and actuators. In this review, TENG-based soft robots with different morphologies and different functions are introduced. Among them, the design of biomimetic soft robots that imitate the structure, surface morphology, material properties, and sensing/generating mechanisms of nature has greatly benefited in improving the performance of TENGs. In addition, various bionic soft robots have been well improved compared to previous driving methods due to the simple structure, self-powering characteristics, and tunable output of TENGs. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive review of various studies within specific areas of TENG-enabled soft robotics applications. We first explore various recently developed TENG-based soft robots and a comparative analysis of various device structures, surface morphologies, and nature-inspired materials, and the resulting improvements in TENG performance. Various ubiquitous sensing principles and generation mechanisms used in nature and their analogous artificial TENG designs are demonstrated. Finally, biomimetic applications of TENG enabled in tactile displays as well as in wearable devices, artificial electronic skin and other devices are discussed. System designs, challenges and prospects of TENGs-based sensing and actuation devices in the practical application of soft robotics are analyzed.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.81-93
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• 2014

An in vitro cell study evaluating cell adhesion to hydroxyapatite (HA) coated prosthetic Ti-6Al-4V alloy via laser treatment is presented in comparison with uncoated alloy. Based on our previous in vitro biocompatibility study, which demonstrated higher cell attachment and proliferation with MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cells, the present investigation aims to reveal the effect of laser coating Ti alloy with HA on the adhesion strength of bone-forming cells against centrifugal forces. Remaining cells on different substrates after centrifugation were visualized using fluorescent staining. Semi-quantifications on the numbers of cells were conducted based on fluorescent images, which demonstrated higher numbers of cells retained on HA laser treated substrates post centrifugation. The results indicate potential increase in the normalized maximum force required to displace cells from HA coated surfaces versus uncoated control surface. The possible mechanisms that govern the enhancing effect were discussed, including surface roughness, chemistry, wettability, and protein adsorption. The improvement in cell adhesion through laser treatment with a biomimetic coating could be useful in reducing tissue damage at the prosthetic to bone junction and minimizing the loosening of prosthetics over time.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.373-378
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• 2015

The structure of the human ear is divided into the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The inner ear includes the cochlea that plays a very important role in hearing. Recently, the development of an artificial cochlear device for the hearing impaired with cochlear damage has been actively researched. Research has been carried out on the biomimetic piezoelectric thin film ABM (Artificial Basilar Membrane) in particular. In an effort to improve the frequency separation performance of the existing piezoelectric thin film ABM, this paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of the production and performance of a partially etched-type ABM material. $O_2$ plasma etching equipment was used to partially etch a piezoelectric thin film ABM to make it more flexible. The mechanical-behavior characterization of the manufactured partially etched-type ABM showed that the overall separation frequency range shifted to a lower frequency range more suitable for audible frequency bandwidths and it displayed an improved frequency separation performance. In addition, the maximum magnitude of the vibration displacement at the first local resonant frequency was enhanced by three times from 38 nm to 112 nm. It is expected that the newly designed, partially etched-type ABM will improve the issue of cross-talk between nearby electrodes and that the manufactured partially etched-type ABM will be utilized for next-generation ABM research.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.98-105
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• 2009

The cochlea of the inner ear has two core components, basilar membrane and hair cells. The basilar membrane disperses incoming sound waves by their frequencies. The hair cells are on the basilar membrane, and they are the sensory receptors generating bioelectric signals. In this paper, a biomimetic technology using ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillar was studied as the part of developing process for artificial cochlea and novel artificial mechanosensory system mimicking human auditory senses. In particular, ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillar was fabricated by both low and high temperature growth methods. ZnO piezoelectric nano-pillars were grown on solid (high temperature growth) and flexible (low temperature growth) substrates. The substrates were patterned prior to ZnO nano-pillar growth so that we can selectively grow ZnO nano-pillar on the substrates. A multi-physical simulation was also conducted to understand the behavior of ZnO nano-pillar. The simulation results show electric potential, von Mises stress, and deformation in the ZnO nano-pillar. Both the experimental and computational works help characterize and optimize ZnO nano-pillar.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.575-580
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• 2010

Effects of the surface modification on the deposition behaviors of apatite crystals in Zr-1Nb plates were studied. Zr-1Nb alloy plates were polished with abrasive papers to have different roughness and some of them were treated in NaOH or coated with collagen before deposition of apatites in the simulated body fluid (SBF). The weight gain due to the deposition of apatite crystals increased as the surface roughness increased in Zr-1Nb. The size of granular apatite crystals were found to be smaller in Zr-1Nb roughened by $162{\mu}m$ abrasive paper than in Zr-1Nb roughened by $8.4{\mu}m$ paper, suggesting the nucleation rate increased with increase of surface roughness. After, 10 days immersion in a SBF, NaOH-treated Zr-1Nb was completely coated with apatite with the deposited apatite weight comparable to that in Ti-6Al-4V. The deposition rate of Zr-1Nb was not appreciably influenced by NaOH treatment unlike the significant influence of NaOHtreatment on the deposition rate of apatite in Ti-6Al-4V. One significant observation in this study is an appreciable increase of the apatite deposition rate after collagen coating both on Zr-1Nb and Ti-6Al-4V plate, which may be caused by the interaction between collagen and $Ca^{+2}$ ions.

• Composites Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.78-88
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• 2000

Tribological properties of fiber composite materials were measured and wear resistant hybrid structure was proposed based upon the understanding of tribological behavior of the composite materials. Unidirectional composites with glass fibers, carbon fibers, and aramid fibers were tested for tribological properties in order to propose a wear resistant hybrid structure. Hybrid composites which contain carbon and aramid fibers were prepared, the specimens were sliced by a water-jet cutter, and friction and wear properties were measured. An experimental set-up was designed and built for the friction and wear test of the composite specimens. Unidirectional fiber composite and hybrid composite specimens were tested to evaluated the tribological behavior for biomimetic applications. It is observed that the friction and wear behavior of fiber composites depends upon fiber orientation, sliding speed, and type of reinforcing fibers.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.106-111
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• 2009

Tissue engineering is a research field for artificial substitutes to improve or replace biological functions. Scaffolds play a important role in tissue engineering. Scaffold porosity and pore size provide adequate space, nutrient transportation and cell penetration throughout the scaffold structure. Scaffold structure is directly related to fabrication methods. This review will introduce the current technique of 3D scaffold fabrication for tissue engineering. The conventional technique for scaffold fabrication includes salt leaching, gas foaming, fiber bonding, phase seperation, melt moulding, and freeze drying. These conventional scaffold fabrication has the limitations of cell penetration and interconnectivity. In this paper, we will present the solid freeform fabrication (SFF) such as stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), and fused deposition modeling (FDM), and 3D printing (3DP).

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.110-115
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• 2019

Graphene oxide has been gathering interests as a way to exfoliate graphene. Since the oxidation group of graphene oxide can hydrogen bond with various functional groups, tremendous efforts have been actively conducted to apply various applications. However, graphene oxide alone cannot substantially possess the mechanical properties required for the practical application. Therefore, in this study, polydopamine, which is a bio-mimetic mussel protein-inspired material, was combined with graphene oxide to form a large-area composite membrane at the liquid-gas interface. In addition, the morphology of the polydopamine-graphene oxide composite thin film was also controlled to obtain a composite membrane having a nano-wrinkle structure. It can be expected to be used in the next generation seawater desalination membranes or carbon composites because it can form mechanically superior and sophisticated nanostructures.