• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.389-394
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• 2016

The operation method of nuclear power plants is currently changing to high burn-up and long period that can enhance economics and efficiency of the plant. Since nuclear plant operation environment has been becoming severe, the amount of absorbed hydrogen also has increased. Absorbed hydrogen can be fatal securing safety of nuclear fuel cladding in case of Loss of Coolant Accidents(LOCA). In order to examine the impact of hydride on high-temperature oxidation, high-temperature oxidation experiment was performed on normal Zry-4 cladding and on Zry-4 cladding where hydrogen is charged in air pressure steam atmosphere under the $950^{\circ}C$ and $1000^{\circ}C$. According to the results, while oxidation acceleration due to charged hydrogen was not observed prior to breakaway oxidation creation, oxidation began to accelerate in cladding where hydrogens charged as soon as the breakaway oxidation started. If so much hydrogen are charged in the cladding, equiaxial monoclinic phase to unstable of stress is formed and it is presumed that oxidation is accelerated because nearby stress caused a crack in equiaxial phase, and that makes corrosion resistance decline sharply.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2125-2138
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• 2023

The printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) with airfoil fins has the benefits of high compactness, high efficiency and superior heat transfer performance. A novel multi-objective optimization approach is presented to design the airfoil fin PCHE in this paper. Three optimization design variables (the vertical number, the horizontal number and the staggered number) are obtained by means of dimensionless airfoil fin arrangement parameters. And the optimization objective is to maximize the Nusselt number (Nu) and minimize the Fanning friction factor (f). Firstly, in order to investigate the impact of design variables on the thermal-hydraulic performance, a parametric study via the design of experiments is proposed. Subsequently, the relationships between three optimization design variables and two objective functions (Nu and f) are characterized by an improved particle swarm optimization-backpropagation artificial neural network. Finally, a multi-objective optimization is used to construct the Pareto optimal front, in which the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II is used. The comprehensive performance is found to be the best when the airfoil fins are completely staggered arrangement. And the best compromise solution based on the TOPSIS method is identified as the optimal solution, which can achieve the requirement of high heat transfer performance and low flow resistance.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.465-477
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• 2023

In proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), proper thermal management of the stack and moisture generation by electrochemical reactions significantly affect fuel cell performance. In this study, the PEMFC dynamic characteristic model was developed through Simcenter AMESim, a development program. In addition, the developed model aims to understand the thermal resin balance of the stack and performance characteristics for input loads. The developed model applies the thermal management model of the stack and the moisture content and permeability model to simulate voltage loss and stack thermal behavior precisely. This study extended the C based AMESet (adaptive modeling environment submodeling tool) to simulate electrochemical reactions inside the stack. Fuel cell model of AMESet was liberalized with AMESim and then integrated with the balance of plant (BOP) model and analyzed. And It is intended to be used in component design through BOP analysis. The resistance loss of the stack and thermal behavior characteristics were predicted, and the impact of stack performance and efficiency was evaluated.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.1007-1016
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• 2018

USA beef production is characterized by a diversity of climates, environmental conditions, animal phenotypes, management systems, and a multiplicity of nutritional inputs. The USA beef herd consists of more than 80 breeds of cattle and crosses thereof, and the industry is divided into distinct, but ofttimes overlapping sectors, including seedstock production, cow-calf production, stocker/backgrounding, and feedlot. Exception for male dairy calves, production is predominantly pastoral-based, with young stock spending relatively brief portions of their life in feedlots. The beef industry is very technology driven, utilizing reproductive management strategies, genetic improvement technologies, exogenous growth promoting compounds, vaccines, antibiotics, and feed processing strategies, focusing on improvements in efficiency and cost of production. Young steers and heifers are grain-based diets fed for an average of 5 months, mostly in feedlots of 1,000 head capacity or more, and typically are slaughtered at 15 to 28 months of age to produce tender, well-marbled beef. Per capita beef consumption is nearly 26 kg annually, over half of which is consumed in the form of ground products. Beef exports, which are increasingly important, consist primarily of high value cuts and variety meats, depending on destination. In recent years, adverse climatic conditions (i.e., draught), a shrinking agricultural workforce, emergence of food-borne pathogens, concerns over development of antimicrobial resistance, animal welfare/well-being, environmental impact, consumer perceptions of healthfulness of beef, consumer perceptions of food animal production practices, and alternative uses of traditional feed grains have become increasingly important with respect to their impact on both beef production and demand for beef products. Similarly, changing consumer demographics and globalization of beef markets have dictated changes in the types of products demanded by consumers of USA beef, both domestically and abroad. The industry is highly adaptive, however, and responds quickly to evolving economic signals.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.201-207
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• 2016

In LID facilities treating stormwater runoff, various kinds of plants are applied for water circulation recovery and pollutant reduction. However, rapid changes of soil moisture due to the use of porous media and spread of deicing material during winter season cause slow plant growth that detrimentally leads to many problems including death of plants. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the salt resistance of plants, its effects on pollutants removal, and water circulation recovery. Eight different kinds of plants applicable to an LID facility were selected for the experiment, which were Bridal wreath (Spiraea japonica, S.J), Azalea (Rhododendron indicum, R.I), Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides, M.G), Sweet flag (Acorus calamus A.C), Dwarf fan-shape columbine(Aquilegia flabellata, A.F), Pink (Dianthus chinensis, D.C), Pratia pedunculata (Pratia pedunculata, P.B) and Marigold (Tagetes patula, T.P). Woody plants such as S.P, R.I, and M.G appear to have less salt resistance compared to the other herbaceous plants. Specifically, M.G achieved the highest salt resistance among the other woody plants being followed by S.P, and R.I, respectively. For herbaceous plants, T.L and D.C have the higher salt resistances than that of A.C, P.B, and A.F, respectively. Regardless of the influence of salt to most of the plants, TN and TP were reduced more than 60% and the study suggests the M.G showed high pollutant removal efficiency and provided better water circulation by means of active photosynthesis and respiration due to higher growth.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.23-30
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• 2016

The conventional natural gas engine realized lean combustion for the improved efficiency. However, in order to cope with exhaust gas regulations enforced gradually, the interest has shifted at the stoichiometric mixture combustion system. The stoichiometric mixture combustion method has the advantage of a three-way catalyst utilization whose purification efficiency is high, but the problem of thermal durability and the fuel economy remains as a challenge. Hydrogen-natural gas blend fuel (HCNG) can increase the rate of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) because the hydrogen increases burning speed and lean flammability limit. The increase in the EGR rate can have a positive impact on heat resistance of the engine due to the decreased combustion temperature, and further can increase the compression ratio for efficient combustion. In this study, to minimize the exhaust emission developed HCNG engine with stoichiometric combustion method, developed three-way catalyst was applied to evaluate the conversion characteristics. The tests were carried out during the steady state and transient operating conditions, and the results were compared for both the conventional and proto-three-way catalyst of HCNG engine for city buses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.419-426
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• 2017

Recently, the transportation of dangerous explosive goods is increasing, which makes vehicle blasting accidents a potential threat for the safety of bridge structures. In addition, blasting accidents happen more easily when earthquake occurs. Excessive dynamic response of bridges under extreme loads may cause local member damage, serviceability issues, or even failure of the whole structure. In this paper, a new explosion-proof and aseismic system is proposed including cable support damping bearing and steel-fiber reinforced concrete based on the existing researches. Then, considering one 40m-span simply supported concrete T-bridge as the prototype, through scale model test and numerical simulation, the dynamic response of the bridge under three conditions including only earthquake, only blast load and the combination of the two extreme loads is obtained and the applicability of this explosion-proof and aseismic system is explored. Results of the study show that this explosion-proof and aseismic system has good adaptability to seism and blast load at different level. The reducing vibration isolation efficiency of cable support damping bearing is pretty high. Increasing cables does not affect the good shock-absorption performance of the original bearing. The new system is good at shock absorption and displacement limitation. It works well in reducing the vertical dynamic response of beam body, and could limit the relative displacement between main girder and capping beam in different orientation so as to solve the problem of beam falling. The study also shows that the enhancement of steel fibers in concrete could significantly improve the blast resistance of main beam. Results of this paper can be used in the process of antiknock design, and provide strong theoretical basis for comprehensive protection and support of girder bridges.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5191-5197
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• 2015

A partial response or resistance to chemotherapeutic agents is considered as a main obstacle in treatment of patients with cancer, including breast cancer. Refining taxane-based treatment procedures using adjuvant or combination treatment is a novel strategy to increase the efficiency of chemotherapy. PPM1D is a molecule activated by reactive oxygen species. whose expression is reported to modulate the recruitment of DNA repair molecules. In this study we examined the impact of arsenic trioxide on efficacy of paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in paclitaxel-resistant MCF-7 cells. We also investigated the expression of PPM1D and TP53 genes in response to this combination treatment. Resistant cells were developed from the parent MCF-7 cell line by applying increasing concentrations of paclitaxel. MTT assays were applied to determine the rate of cell survival. DAPI staining using fluorescent microscopy was employed to study apoptotic bodies. Real-time RT-PCR analysis was also applied to determine PPM1D mRNA levels. Our results revealed that combination of arsenic trioxide and paclitaxel elevates the efficacy of the latter in induction of apoptosis in MCF-7/PAC resistant cells. Applying arsenic trioxide also caused significant decreases in PPM1D mRNA levels (p<0.05). Our findings suggest that arsenic trioxide increases paclitaxel-induced apoptosis by down regulation of PPM1D expression. PPM1D dependent signaling can be considered as a novel target to improve the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents in resistant breast cancer cells.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2021

The Commercial polymeric membranes like Polysulfone (PSF), Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) and Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) which are an integral part of water purification investigation were chosen for the shockwave (SW) exposure experiment. These membranes were prepared by blending polymer (wt. %) / DMF (solvent) followed by phase-inversion casting technique. Shockwaves are generated by using Reddy Tube lab module (Table-top Shocktube) with range of pressure (1.5, 2.5 and 5 bar). Understanding the changes in membrane before and after shock wave treatment by parameters, i.e., pure water flux (PWF), rejection (%), porosity, surface roughness (AFM), morphology (SEM) and contact angle which can significantly affect the membrane's performance. Flux values PSf membranes shows increase, 465 (pristine) to 524 (1.5wt%) LMH at 50 Psi pressure and similar enhancement was observed at 100Psi (625 to 696 LMH). Porosity also shows improvement from 73.6% to 76.84% for 15wt% PSf membranes. It was observed that membranes made of polymers such as PAN and PSF (of high w/w %) exhibits some resistance against shockwaves impact and are stable compared to other membranes. Shockwave pressure of up to 1.5 bar was sufficient enough to change properties which are crucial for performance. Membranes exposed to a maximum pressure of 5 bar completely scratched the surface and with minimum pressure of 1.5bar is optimum enough to improve the water flux and other parameters. Initial results proved that SW may be suitable alternative route to minimize/control membrane fouling and improve efficiency.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.89 no.5
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• pp.437-452
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• 2024

Functionally graded materials (FGMs) have gained substantial attention from researchers due to their exceptional strength and thermal resistance. Their utilization in the aviation and automobile industries has significantly improved the efficiency of various structural components. Moreover, stiffened panels find wide applications in aerospace and automobile structures and these panels are frequently exposed to extreme environments. It is from this perspective that our research is focused on analysing the vibroacoustic response of stiffened functionally graded panels subjected to external dynamic excitations in a thermal environment. In the present research work, a finite element model is developed to conduct the dynamic analysis of functionally graded stiffened panels using the first-order shear deformation theory. Subsequently, a boundary element based model is also developed and coupled with the finite element model to investigate the sound radiation behaviour of those panels in a thermal environment. The material properties of FG stiffened panels are considered as temperature dependent, while the thermal environment is assumed to be acting as linearly varying through the panel's thickness. The present investigation aim to compare the vibroacoustic responses of different panels due to stiffener orientations, material compositions, power law indices and plate thicknesses at various temperatures. The research findings highlight the significant impact of addition of stiffeners, its orientation and material compositions on the sound radiation characteristics of these panels under thermal environments. The present numerical model can easily be employed for analysing the sound radiation behaviour of other types of flat or curved stiffened panels having arbitrary geometry and boundary conditions.