• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.106-112
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• 2021

Catalyst poisoning by ionomers in membrane electrode assemblies of alkaline membrane fuel cells has been reported recently. We tried to improve the membrane electrode assembly's performance by controlling the solvent's ratio during electrode manufacturing. 4 Different mixing ratios of N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and ethylene glycol (EG) gave four different cathode electrodes with platinum and Fuma-Tech ionomers. The electrode with higher EG improved polarization performance by about 36% compared to the NMP-based commercial ionomer. The dependence of the ionomer's dispersibility on the solvent seems responsible for the difference, which means that the non-uniform distribution of ionomers improves the performance of the electrode. High-frequency resistance, internal resistance corrected polarization curve, Tafel slope, mass activity, and impedance spectroscopy characterized the electrode. We can find that the existence of poor solvent improves cathode electrode performance. It seems to be the result of reduced poisoning of the catalyst according to the particle size distribution of the ionomer.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.651-662
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• 2022

The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) method was used to evaluate the concrete deterioration process related to chloride-induced steel corrosion with various corrosion levels(initiation, rust propagation and acceleration periods). The impressed current technique, with four total current levels of 0C, 13C, 65C and 130C, was used to accelerate steel corrosion in concrete cylinder samples with w/c ratio of 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6, immersed in a 0.5M NaCl solution. A series of EIS measurements was performed to monitor concrete deterioration during the accelerated corrosion test in this study. Some critical parameters of the equivalent circuit were obtained through the EIS analysis. It was observed that the charge transfer resistance(R_c) dropped sharply as the impressed current increased from 0C to 13C, indicating a value of approximately 10kΩcm². However, the sensitivity of R_c significantly decreased when the impressed current was further increased from 13C to 130C after corrosion of steel had been initiated. Meanwhile, the double-layer capacitance value(C_dl) linearly increased from 50×10^-6μF/cm² to 250×10^-6μF/cm² as the impressed current in creased from 0C to 130C. The results in this study showed that monitoring C_dl is an effective measurement parameter for evaluating the progress of internal concrete damages(de-bonding between steel and concrete, micro-cracks, and surface-breaking cracks) induced by steel corrosion. The findings of this study provide a fundamental basis for developing an embedded sensor and signal interpretation method for monitoring concrete deterioration due to steel corrosion at various corrosion levels.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.784-795
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• 2007

In this thesis, the Multi element antenna with wideband and enhanced gain characteristic is proposed to operate at both frequency range from 824 MHz to 896 11Hz for the CDMA and frequency range from 908.5 MHz to 914 MHz for the RFID band. The proposed antenna has tile size of $35{\times}15{\times}5mm^3$ in order to put it in the A model of S company and each element of the proposed antenna is folded to obtain the minimum size. To obtain the antenna with wideband and high gain characteristic, the radiator of the antenna is divided into 4 elements. As a result, bandwidth of the proposed antenna become broader and lower center frequency is appeared due to increased and lengthened current path. Moreover, the enhanced gain characteristic is verified because divided element structure that induct uniform current distribution can get increased antenna efficiency. To attain more uniform current distribution, modified structure of the feeding point that can deliver currents directly is designed. The antenna that alters the feeding structure has higher gain value. Each element is folded to increase the current paths considering the current directions to attain the miniaturization of the antenna. To measure the handset antenna, the handset case must be considered. Even though antenna is designed for predicted characteristic, the resonance frequency is shifted and antenna gain is deteriorated at predicted frequency while antenna is set in the handset case. 1.08 GHz of the resonant frequency is determined after frequency shift from 150 MHz to 200 MHz is confirmed and the maximum gain is measured as 3.1 dBi while antenna is not set in the handset. In case handset case is considered, the experimental results show that the impedance bandwidth for VSWR<2 is from 0.824 GHz to 0.936 GHz(110 MHz). This result appears that the proposed antenna can cover both CDMA and RFID band at once. The measured gain is from -3.4 dBi to -0.5 dBi and it has omni-directional pattern practically.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.117-123
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• 2021

In this study, the composite was prepared by mixing SiOx, soft carbon, and carbon black and the electrochemical properties of lithium ion battery were investigated. The content of SiOx added to improve the capacity of the soft carbon anode material was varied to 0, 6, 8, 10, 20 wt%, and carbon black was added as a structural stabilizer for reducing the volume expansion of SiOx. The physical properties of prepared CB/SiOx/C composite were investigated through XRD, SEM, EDS and powder resistance analysis. In addition, the electrochemical properties of prepared composite were observed through the charge/discharge capacity, rate and impedance analysis of the lithium ion battery. The prepared CB/SiOx/C composite had an inner cavity capable of mitigating the volume expansion of SiOx by adding carbon black. The formed internal cavity showed a low initial efficiency when the SiOx content was less than 8 wt%, and low cycle stability when the content of SiOx was less than 20 wt%. The CB/SiOx/C composite containing 10 wt% of SiOx showed an initial discharge capacity of 537 mAh/g, a capacity retention rate of 88%, and a rate of 79 at 2C/0.1C. SiOx was added to improve the capacity of the soft carbon anode material, and carbon black was added as a structural stabilizer to buffer the volume change of SiOx. In order to use the CB/SiOx/C composite as a high-efficiency anode material, the mechanism of the optimal SiOx and the use of carbon black as a structural stabilizer was discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.196-213
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• 2001

A split beam ultrasonic transducer operating at a frequency of 70 kHz to use in the fish sizing echo sounder was developed and the acoustic radiation characteristics were experimentally analyzed. The amplitude shading method utilizing the properties of the Chebyshev polynomials was used to obtain side lobe levels below -20 dB and to optimize the relationship between main beam width and side lobe level of the transducer, and the amplitude shading coefficient to each of the elements was achieved by changing the amplitude contribution of elements with 4 weighting transformers embodied in the planar array transducer assembly. The planar array split beam transducer assembly was composed of 36 piezoelectric ceramics (NEPEC N-21, Tokin) of rod type of 10 mm in diameter and 18.7 mm in length of 70 kHz arranged in the rectangular configuration, and the 4 electrical inputs were supplied to the beamformer. A series of impedance measurements were conducted to check the uniformity of the individual quadrants, and also in the configurations of reception and transmission, resonant frequency, and the transmitting and receiving characteristics were measured in the water tank and analyzed, respectively. The results obtained are summarized as follows : 1. Average resonant and antiresonant frequencies of electrical impedance for four quadrants of the split beam transducer in water were 69.8 kHz and 83.0 kHz, respectively. Average electrical impedance for each individual transducer quadrant was 49.2$\Omega$ at resonant frequency and 704.7$\Omega$ at antiresonant frequency. 2. The resonance peak in the transmitting voltage response (TVR) for four quadrants of the split beam transducer was observed all at 70.0 kHz and the value of TVR was all about 165.5 dB re 1 $\mu$Pa/V at 1 m at 70.0 kHz with bandwidth of 10.0 kHz between -3 dB down points. The resonance peak in the receiving sensitivity (SRT) for four combined quadrants (quad LU+LL, quad RU+RL, quad LU+RU, quad LL+RL) of the split beam transducer was observed all at 75.0 kHz and the value of SRT was all about -177.7 dB re 1 V/$\mu$Pa at 75.0 kHz with bandwidth of 10.0 kHz between -3 dB down points. The sum beam transmitting voltage response and receiving senstivity was 175.0 dB re 1$\mu$Pa/V at 1 m at 75.0 kHz with bandwidth of 10.0 kHz, respectively. 3. The sum beam of split beam transducer was approximately circular with a half beam angle of $9.0^\circ$ at -3 dB points all in both axis of the horizontal plane and the vertical plane. The first measured side lobe levels for the sum beam of split beam transducer were -19.7 dB at $22^\circ$ and -19.4 dB at $-26^\circ$ in the horizontal plane, respectively and -20.1 dB at $22^\circ$ and -22.0 dB at $-26^\circ$ in the vertical plane, respectively. 4. The developed split beam transducer was tested to estimate the angular position of the target in the beam through split beam phase measurements, and the beam pattern loss for target strength corrections was measured and analyzed.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.181-188
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• 2008

A.C. impedance properties of HA/Ti compound layer coated Ti-30Ta-($3{\sim}15$)Nb alloys have been studied by electrochemical method. Ti-30Ta binary alloys contained 3, 7, 10 and 15 wt% Nb were manufactured by the vacuum furnace system. And then specimen was homogenized at $1000^{\circ}C$ for 24 hrs. The sample was cut and polished for corrosion test and coating. It was coated with HA/Ti compound layer by magnetron sputter. The non-coated and coated morphology of Ti alloy were analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), energy X-ray dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) and filed emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). The corrosion behaviors were investigated using A.C. impedance test (PARSTAT 2273, USA) in 0.9% NaCl solution at $36.5{\pm}1^{\circ}C$. Ti-30Ta-($3{\sim}15\;wt%$)Nb alloys showed the ${\alpha}+{\beta}$ phase, and $\beta$ phase peak was predominantly appeared in the case of increasingly Nb contents. The microstructures of Ti alloy were transformed from needle-like structure to equiaxed structure as Nb content increased. From the analysis of coating surface, HA/Ti composite surface uniformed coating layer with 750 nm thickness. The growth directions of film were (211), (112), (300) and (202) for HA/Ti composite coating on the surface after heat treatment at $550^{\circ}C$, whereas, the growth direction of film was (110) for Ti coating. The polarization resistance ($R_p$) of HA/Ti composite coated Ti-alloys were higher than those of the Ti and HA coated samples in 0.9% NaCl solution at $36.5{\pm}1^{\circ}C$. Especially, corrosion resistance of Ti-Ta-Nb system increased as Nb content increased.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.219-232
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• 2013

This paper presents a microstrip antenna which recovers its resonant frequency and impedance shifted automatically by the approach of other objects such as hands. This can be used for telemetry sensor applications in the ultrahigh frequency(UHF) industrial, scientific, and medical(ISM) band. It is the key element that an frequency-reconfigurable antenna could be electrically controlled. This antenna is miniaturized by loading the folded plates at both radiating edges, and varactor diodes are installed between the radiating edges and the ground plane to control the resonant frequency by adjusting the DC bias asymmetrically. Using this voltage-controlled antenna and the micro controller peripheral circuits of reading the returned level, the antenna is designed and fabricated which recovers its resonant frequency and impedance automatically. Designed frequency auto recovering antenna is conformed to be recovered within a few seconds when the resonant frequency and impedance are shifted by the approach of other objects such as hand, metal plate, dielectric and so on.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.86-93
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• 2014

Mesoporous tin oxide (meso-$SnO_2$) with 5 nm mesopore and well-aligned $SnO_2$ nanowire-bundles with 5~7 nm diameters were prepared by template synthesis method. In addition to meso-$SnO_2$, meso-$SnO_2$/$SiO_2$, which has almost the same structure as meso-$SnO_2$ including $SiO_2$ used as the template were prepared by the modification of template synthesis. X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, transmission electron microscopy observed structures of meso-$SnO_2$ and meso-$SnO_2$/$SiO_2$. Although the meso-$SnO_2$/$SiO_2$ showed some positive evidences to suppress the volume change of meso-$SnO_2$ through cyclic voltammogram, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and voltage profiles during cycling, its cycle life was not improved highly to address modified structural effects. Thus, further study might be done to control the nanostructure of meso-$SnO_2$/$SiO_2$ for enhanced cycle performance.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1055-1063
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• 2013

Low noise amplifiers(LNAs) are an integral component of RF receivers and are frequently required to operate at wide frequency bands for various wireless systems. For wideband operation, important performance metrics such as voltage gain, return loss, noise figures and linearity have been carefully investigated and characterized for the proposed LNA. An inductive shunt feedback configuration is successfully employed in the input stage of the proposed LNA which incorporates cascaded networks with a peaking inductor in the buffer stage. Design equations for obtaining low and high input matching frequencies are easily derived, leading to a relatively simple method for circuit implementation. Careful theoretical analysis explains that poles and zeros are characterized and utilized for realizing the wideband response. Linearity is significantly improved because the inductor between gate and drain decreases the third-order harmonics at the output. Fabricated in $0.18{\mu}m$ CMOS process, the chip area of this LNA is $0.202mm^2$, including pads. Measurement results illustrate that input return loss shows less than -7 dB, voltage gain greater than 8 dB, and a little high noise figure around 7~8 dB over 1.5~13 GHz. In addition, good linearity(IIP3) of 2.5 dBm is achieved at 8 GHz and 14 mA of current is consumed from a 1.8 V supply.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.593-598
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• 2016

We report on the preparation of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) electrodes deposited onto flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) via spray coating technique. The highest capacitance value of the unbent rGO/SWNTs electrode was $82Fg^{-1}$ in 1 M $H_2SO_4$ at $100mVs^{-1}$, which decreased to $38Fg^{-1}$ after 500 bending cycle. Further characterization, including galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), showed that the rGO/SWNTs electrode retained a well-defined capacitive response after repetitive bending cycle. Overall, the rGO/SWNTs composite electrode showed reasonable electrochemical properties even prolonged bending cycle. Approximately 50% of the initial capacitance for the rGO/SWNTs composite electrode is remained after 500 bending cycle, making the electrode a potential option for flexible energy storage applications.