• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.86-92
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• 2022

Recently, the bio-healthcare market is enlarging worldwide due to various reasons such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them, biometric measurement and analysis technology are expected to bring about future technological innovation and socio-economic ripple effect. Existing systems require a large-capacity battery to drive signal processing, wireless transmission part, and an operating system in the process. However, due to the limitation of the battery capacity, it causes a spatio-temporal limitation on the use of the device. This limitation can act as a cause for the disconnection of data required for the user's health care monitoring, so it is one of the major obstacles of the health care device. In this study, we report the concept of a standalone healthcare monitoring module, which is based on both triboelectric effects and electromagnetic effects, by converting biomechanical energy into suitable electric energy. The proposed system can be operated independently without an external power source. In particular, the wireless foot pressure measurement monitoring system, which is rationally designed triboelectric sensor (TES), can recognize the user's walking habits through foot pressure measurement. By applying the triboelectric effects to the contact-separation behavior that occurs during walking, an effective foot pressure sensor was made, the performance of the sensor was verified through an electrical output signal according to the pressure, and its dynamic behavior is measured through a signal processing circuit using a capacitor. In addition, the biomechanical energy dissipated during walking is harvested as electrical energy by using the electromagnetic induction effect to be used as a power source for wireless transmission and signal processing. Therefore, the proposed system has a great potential to reduce the inconvenience of charging caused by limited battery capacity and to overcome the problem of data disconnection.

• Composites Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.248-254
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• 2022

In this study, TiB₂-steel composite with high-fractional TiB₂ reinforcement was fabricated by gas pressure infiltration process and the microstructure analysis and compressive strength and hardness were evaluated. To elucidate the correlation between microstructure and mechanical properties for fabricated composite, after the compression test of TiB₂-steel composite, the fracture surface was analyzed and the fracture behavior on compression test was predicted. As a result of the compression fracture surface analysis, interfacial failure trace between the steel matrix and the reinforcement was observed, and the interface between the steel matrix and the reinforcement was analyzed using TEM. From the result of microstructure analysis on the fabricated composite, it was confirmed that, in addition to TiB₂ reinforcement and steel matrix, TiC phase and coarse (Fe,M)₂B (M=Cr,Mn) phase were formed. Throughout the thermodynamic calculation, it was confirmed that TiC and (Fe,M)₂B can be formed as a stable phase under the process condition. The fabricated TiB₂-steel composite had a significantly increased hardness, and the compressive strength and Young's modulus were improved by 3.07 times and 1.95 times, respectively, compared to steel matrix. It seems that the coarse (Fe,M)₂B (M=Cr,Mn) phase formed throughout the composite causes the deterioration of mechanical properties, and by controlling the formation of the (Fe,M)₂B (M=Cr,Mn) phase, it is judged that the mechanical properties of the TiB₂-steel composite can be further improved.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.48-56
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• 2023

High-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps have been widely used as a useful supplemental light source to emit sufficient photosynthetically active radiation and provide a radiant heat, which contribute the heat requirement in greenhouses. The objective of this study to analyze the thermal characteristics of HPS lamp and thermal behavior in supplemented greenhouse, and evaluate the performance of a horizontal leaf temperature of sweet pepper plants using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. We simulated horizontal leaf temperature on upper canopy according to three growth stage scenarios, which represented 1.0, 1.6, and 2.2 plant height, respectively. We also measured vertical leaf and air temperature accompanied by heat generation of HPS lamps. There was large leaf to air temperature differential due to non-uniformity in temperature. In our numerical calculation, thermal energy of HPS lamps contributed of 50.1% the total heat requirement on Dec. 2022. The CFD model was validated by comparing measured and simulated data at the same operating condition. Mean absolute error and root mean square error were below 0.5, which means the CFD simulation values were highly accurate. Our result about vertical leaf and air temperature can be used in decision making for efficient thermal energy management and crop growth.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.289-302
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• 2023

The study area was Gangnim-myeon, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do, composed of the Chiaksan gneiss complex, and it was revealed that the concentrations of uranium (U) and thorium (Th) within the groundwater of the study area exceeded their water quality standards. Hence, artificial weathering experiments were conducted to elucidate mineralogically the mechanisms of their leaching using drilling cores obtained from the corresponding groundwater aquifers. First of all, the mineralogical compositions of core samples were observed, and the results indicated that the content of clinochlore, a member of the chlorite group of minerals that can form through low- and intermediate-temperature metamorphisms, was relatively higher. In addition, the Th concentration was measured ten times higher than that of U. The results of artificial weathering experiments suggested that the Th concentrations gradually increased through the dissolution of radioactive-element-bearing minerals up to the first day, and then they tended to decrease. It could be attributed to the fact that Th was leached with the dissolution of thorite, which might be a secondary mineral, and then dissolved Th was re-precipitated as the various forms of salt, such as sulfate. Even though the U content was lower than that of Th in the core samples, the U concentration was one hundred times higher than that of Th after the weathering experiments. It is likely caused by the gradual dissolution and desorption of U included in intensively weathered thorite or adsorbed as a form of UO₂²⁺ on the mineral surface. In addition, the leaching tendency of U and Th was positively correlated with the bicarbonate concentration. However, the concentrations between U and Th in groundwater exhibited a relatively lower correlation, which might result from the fact that they occurred from different sources, as aforementioned. Among various kinetic models, the parabolic diffusion and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were confirmed to best fit the dissolution kinetics of both elements. The period that would be taken for the U concentration to exceed its drinking-water standard was inferred using the regressed parameters of the best-fitted models, and the duration of 29.4 years was predicted in the neutral-pH aquifers with relatively higher concentrations of HCO₃, indicating that U could be relatively quickly leached out into groundwater.