• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.511-518
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• 2013

Steam Generator (SG) tube, as a barrier isolating the primary coolant system from the secondary side of nuclear power plants (NPP), must maintain the structural integrity for the public safety and their efficient power generation. So, SG tubes are subject to the periodic examination and the repairs if needed so that any defective tubes are not in service. Recently, corrosion related degradations were detected in the tubes of the domestic OPR-1000 NPP, as a form of axially oriented outer diameter stress corrosion cracking (ODSCC). According to the studies on the factors causing the heat fouling as well as developing corrosion cracking, densely scaled deposits on the secondary side of the SG tubes are mainly known to be problematic causing the adverse impacts against the soundness of the SG tubes [1]. Therefore, the processes of various cleaning methods efficiently to dissolve and remove the deposits have been applied as well as it is imperative to maintain the structural integrity of the tubes after exposing to the cleaning agent. So qualification test (QT) should be carried out to assess the perfection of the chemical cleaning and QT is to apply the processes and to do ECT. In this paper, the chemical cleaning processes to dissolve and remove the scaled deposits are introduced and results of ECT on the artificial crack specimens to determine the effectiveness of those processes are represented.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 1993

A cracking failure of a austenitic stainless steel elbow in a naphtha cracking line in a petrochenmical plant occurred, resulting in leakage of organic compound flowing inside the elbow. Due to the failure, emergency shutdown of the plant was enforced to repair the troubled part of the line. The repair cost as well as production loss during the unscheduled plant shutdown has cost the company a great amount of financial loss. In this studies, a failure analysis of the cracked elbow was performed using NDT, chemical analysis, microstructural analysis including optical microscopy as well as scanning electron microscopy with EPMA, mechanical testings such as tensile testing, hardness testing and Charphy impact test fractography. The results indicated that several problems such as a welding defect and presence of a detrimental phase which was found to be relate to improper postforming heat treatment process was identified and the failure was concluded to be due to a low temperature embrittlement of the defect-containing elbows.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.209-225
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• 2017

Development of high strength steel requires proper understanding of hydrogen behavior since the higher the steel strength the greater the susceptibility of hydrogen assisted cracking. This paper provides a brief but broad overview on hydrogen entry and transport behavior of high-strength ferritic steels. First of all, hydrogen absorption, diffusion and trapping mechanism of the steels are briefly introduced. Secondly, several experimental methods for analyzing the physical/chemical nature of hydrogen uptake and transport in the steels are reviewed. Among the methods, electrochemical permeation technique utilized widely for evaluating the hydrogen diffusion and trapping behavior in metals and alloys is mainly discussed. Moreover, a modified permeation technique accommodating the externally applied load and its application to a variety of steels are intensively explored. Indeed, successful utilization of the modified permeation technique equipped with a constant load testing device leads to significant academic progress on the hydrogen assisted cracking (HAC) phenomenon of the steels. In order to show how the external and/or residual stress affects mechanical instability of steel due to hydrogen ingress, the relationship among the microstructure, hydrogen permeation, and HAC susceptibility is briefly introduced.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.336-340
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• 2012

Residual stress in the injection molded part is originated from thermal shrinkage and shear stress during injection molding process. There are many measurement methods of residual stress in the plastic part. Residual stress in opaque products can be measured by chemical cracking test. This method enables the solvent and specimen to react and to cause cracks. Cracks developed according to the level of residual stress. Thus the stresses in plastic part can be quantitatively measured by counting the number of cracks or measuring the size of cracks. Relationship between stress and number of cracks in a plastic specimen has been investigated in this study. Bergen jig was used to give a strain in the specimens those were molded using PC/PBT and PC/ABS. Solvent for the chemical cracking test was prepared using tetrahydrofuran and methyl alcol with the ratio of 1 to 3. Stresses in the specimen can be calculated by strains those were imposed by Bergen jig. Cracks were developed for stress higher than certain level. The number of cracks increased by second order function for stress.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.5 no.2 s.14
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• pp.14-21
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• 2001

In order to investigate the damage mechanism of the coupler transferring LPG, microstructural observation and chemical analysis of the couplers operated for the long time in the LPG stations and virgin 6/4 forged-brass corrosion-tested were conducted. Their microstructure was consisted of two phases that bright $\beta$ precipitates were irregularly dispersed in $\alpha$ matrix. The chemical compositions of oxide layer on the surface of the used coupler were composed of S, C, O, Al, Si, etc. as well as Cu and Zn. In environmental corrosion tests of both $10\%$ HCl and Mattsson solutions, no apparent deviations in mechanical impact strength of forged-brass was observed. While, in U-bend stress corrosion cracking specimen, some microcracks were observed.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.86.2-86.2
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• 2010

In order to improve polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) durability, the durability of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), in which the electrochemical reactions actually occur, is one of the vital issues. Many articles have dealt with catalyst layer degradation of the durability-related factors on MEAs in relation to loss of catalyst surface area caused by agglomeration, dissolution, migration, formation of metal complexes and oxides, and/or instability of the carbon support. Degradation of catalyst layer during long-term operation includes cracking or delamination of the layer which result either from change in the catalyst microstructure or loss of electronic or ionic contact with the active surface, can result in apparent activity loss in the catalyst layer. Membrane degradation of the durability-related factors on MEAs can be caused by mechanical or thermal stress resulting in formation of pinholes and tears and/or by chemical attack of hydrogen peroxide radicals formed during the electrochemical reactions. All of these effects, the mechanical damage of membrane and degradation of catalyst layers are more facilitated by uneven stress or improper MEA fabrication process. In order to improve the PEMFC durability, therefore, it is most important to minimize the uneven stress or improper MEA fabrication process in the course of the fabrication of MEA. We analyzed the effects of the MEA fabrication condition on the PEMFC durability with MEA produced using CCM (catalyst coated membrane) method. This paper also investigated the effects of MEA fabrication condition on the PEMFC durability by adding additional treatment process, hot pressing and pressing, on the MEA produced using CCM method.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.127-133
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• 2017

In order to characterize the adhesive properties and failure mechanisms of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films of two different thicknesses (130 nm and $1.2{\mu}m$), deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition on a Si substrate, scratch testing with a micro-indenter ($12.5{\mu}m$ tip radius) was performed under a linearly increasing load. These scratch tests were conducted under the same test conditions for both films. The critical load of each film was estimated from the scratch test results, based on a sharp increase in the coefficient of friction and a clear distinction of failure modes. The critical load was the basis for evaluating the adhesion strength of the films, and the $1.2{\mu}m-thick$ DLC film had superior adhesion strength. For better understanding of the failure modes, the following analyses were conducted: friction behavior and scratch tracks analysis using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and 3-D profilometry. The scratch test results showed that failure modes were related to the thickness of the films. The 130 nm-thick DLC film underwent cohesive failure modes (cracks and chipping) before reaching to a gross failure stage. On the other hand, the thicker DLC film ($1.2{\mu}m-thick$) did not exhibit micro cracks before a sudden gross failure of the film together with the evidence of cracking and chipping of the Si substrate.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.259-271
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• 2006

This paper aims to predict the corrosion of a fully cement-grouted rockbolt induced by chloride diffusion in a cement mortar grout. From the viewpoint of the long-term durability, a rockbolt may be deteriorated by chemical components, such as sulphate and chloride, in groundwater. Especially, the steel rod of a rockbolt is corroded mainly by chloride. The rockbolt corrosion results in the volume expansion of a rod and then the cracking of a cement grout. In this study, the chloride diffusion coefficient of a cement mortar grout was used to evaluate the possibility of rockbolt corrosion by chloride, and to predict the long-term durability of a rockbolt. The electric acceleration test method was adopted to measure the chloride diffusion coefficient. In addition, a simple pullout testing system was newly proposed to measure the pullout capacity of a rockbolt more easily in a laboratory condition. From the experiments, it was showed that the chloride could diffuse in the cement grout more easily than in ordinary concrete materials. As a result, it was considered that a rockbolt might be easily corroded in a short term by the diffusion of chemical components with high concentration, although it was fully grouted.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.77-81
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• 2020

Commercialization of flexible OLED displays, such as rollable and foldable displays, has attracted tremendous interest in next-generation display markets. However, during bending deformation, cracking and delamination of thin films in the flexible display panels are the critical bottleneck for the commercialization. Therefore, measuring mechanical properties of the fragile thin films in the flexible display panels is essential to prevent mechanical failures of the devices. In this study, tensile properties of the metal and ceramic nano-thin films were quantitatively measured by using a direct tensile testing method on the water surface. Elastic modulus, tensile strength, and elongation of the sputtered Mo, MoTi thin films, and PECVD deposited SiN_x thin films were successfully measured. As a result, the tensile properties were varied depending on the deposition conditions and the film thickness. The measured tensile property values can be applied to stress analysis modeling for mechanically robust flexible displays.