• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.237-245
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• 2018

Potential air ingress scenarios during accidents in nuclear reactors or spent fuel pools have raised the question of the influence of air, especially of nitrogen, on the oxidation of zirconium alloys, which are used as fuel cladding tubes and other structure materials. In this context, the reaction of zirconium with nitrogen-containing atmospheres and the formation of zirconium nitride play an important role in understanding the oxidation mechanism. This article presents the results of analysis of the interaction of the oxygen-preloaded niobium-bearing alloy $M5^{(R)}$ with nitrogen over a wide range of temperatures ($800-1400^{\circ}C$) and oxygen contents in the metal alloy (1-7 wt.%). A strongly increasing nitriding rate with rising oxygen content in the metal was found. The highest reaction rates were measured for the saturated ${\alpha}-Zr(O)$, as it exists at the metal-oxide interface, at $1300^{\circ}C$. The temperature maximum of the reaction rate was approximately 100 K higher than for Zircaloy-4, already investigated in a previous study. The article presents results of thermogravimetric experiments as well as posttest examinations by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and microprobe elemental analyses. Furthermore, a comparison with results obtained with Zircaloy-4 will be made.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.406-413
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• 2000

The friction and wear behaviors of Magnetron Sputtered MoS$_2$films were investigated by using a pin on disk type tester which was designed and manufactured for this experiment. The experiment was conducted by using silicon nitride (Si$_3$N$_4$) as a pin material and Magnetron Sputtered MoS$_2$on bearing steel (STB2) as a disk material, under operating conditions that include different surface roughness (Polishing specimen, Grinding specimen)(2types), linear sliding velocities in the range of 22, 44, 66mm/sec (3types), normal loads vary from 9.8N, 19.6N, 29.4N(3types), corresponding to contact pressures of 1.9∼2.7GPa and atmospheric conditions of high vacuum( 1.3${\times}$10$\^$-4/Pa), medium vacuum( 1.3${\times}$10$\^$-l/Pa), ambient air(10$\^$5/Pa)(3types). We investigated fracture mechanism in magnetron sputtered MoS$_2$films with Magnetron Sputtering method in each experiment.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.77-90
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• 2019

This paper aims to investigate vibration frequency decrease (vibration period elongation) of reinforced concrete (RC) structure with unreinforced infill wall and reinforced infill wall exposed to progressively increased artificial earthquake load on shaking table. For this purpose, two shaking table experiments were selected as a case study. Shaking table experiments were carried on 1:1 scaled prototype one bay one storey RC structure with infill walls. The purpose of this shaking table experiment sequence is to assess local behavior and progressive collapse mechanism. Frequency decrease and eigen-vector evolution are directly related to in-plane and out-of-plane bearing capacities of infill wall enclosure with reinforced concrete frame. Firstly, frequency decrease-damage relationship was evaluated on the base of experiment results. Then, frequency decrease and stiffness degradation were evaluated with applied Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) by considering strength deterioration. Lastly, eigenvector evolution-local damage and eigenvector evolution-frequency decrease relationship was investigated. Five modes were considered while evaluating damage and frequency decrease of the tested specimens. The relationship between frequency decrease, stiffness degradation and damage level were presented while comparing with Unreinforced Brick Infill (URB) and Reinforced Infill wall with Bed Joint Reinforcement (BJR) on the base of natural vibration frequency.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.375-393
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• 2021

Percutaneous osteoplasty (POP) is defined as the injection of bone cement into various painful bony lesions, refractory to conventional therapy, as an extended technique of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). POP can be applied to benign osteochondral lesions and malignant metastatic lesions throughout the whole skeleton, whereas PVP is restricted to the vertebral body. Common spinal metastases occur in the thoracic (70%), lumbosacral (20%), and cervical (10%) vertebrae, in order of frequency. Extraspinal metastases into the ribs, scapulae, sternum, and humeral head commonly originate from lung and breast cancers; extraspinal metastases into the pelvis and femoral head come from prostate, urinary bladder, colon, and uterine cervical cancers. Pain is aggravated in the dependent (or weight bearing) position, or during movement (or respiration). The tenderness and imaging diagnosis should match. The supposed mechanism of pain relief in POP is the augmentation of damaged bones, thermal and chemical ablation of the nociceptive nerves, and local inhibition of tumor invasion. Adjacent (facet) joint injections may be needed prior to POP (PVP). The length and thickness of the applied needle should be chosen according to the targeted bone. Bone cement is also selected by its osteoconduction, osteoinduction, and osteogenesis. Needle route should be chosen as a shortcut to reach the target bony lesions, without damage to the nerves and vessels. POP is a promising minimally invasive procedure for immediate pain relief. This review provides a technical survey for POPs in painful bony lesions.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.641-652
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• 2021

Digging well foundation has been widely used in railway bridges due to its good economy and reliability. In other instances, bridges with digging well foundation still have damage risks during earthquakes. In this study, a new type of digging well foundation with prefabricated roots was proposed to reduce earthquake damage of these bridges. Quasi-static tests were conducted to investigate the failure mechanism of the root digging well foundation, and then to analyze seismic behaviors of the new type well foundation. The testing results indicated that these prefabricated roots could effectively limit the rotation and uplift of the digging well foundation and increase the lateral bearing capacity of the digging well foundation. The elastic critical load and ultimate load can be increased by 69% and 36% if prefabricated roots were added in the digging well foundation. The prefabricated roots drived more soil around the foundation to participate in working, the stiffness of the bridge pier with root digging well foundation was improved. Moreover, the root participation could improve the energy dissipation capacity of soil-foundation-pier interaction system. The conclusions obtained in this paper had important guiding significance for the popularization and application of the digging well foundation with prefabricated roots in earthquake-prone zones.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2023

Pumilio (Pum) is an RNA-binding protein and translational repressor important to diverse biological processes. In the Drosophila ovary, Pum is expressed in female germline stem cells (GSCs), wherein it acts as an intrinsic stem cell maintenance factor via repressing target mRNAs that are as yet mostly unknown. Pum recognizes the Pum binding sequence (PBS) in the mRNA 3'UTR through its C-terminus Puf domain. Translational repression is mediated through its N-terminal domain, but the molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. We previously showed that Bag-of-marbles, a critical differentiation-promoting factor of female GSCs, physically interacts with the N-terminus of Pum. We further showed that this interaction is critical to Bam inhibition of Pum repressive action in cultured cells, but the physiological relevance was not addressed. Here we design an in vivo GFP translational reporter bearing the PBS in its 3'UTR and show that GFP expression is reduced in cells wherein Pum is known to be active. Furthermore, we demonstrate in pum mutant ovary that this GFP repression requires Pum, and also that the sensor faithfully monitors Pum activity. Finally, we show that forced expression of Bam inhibits Pum-mediated repression, validating that Bam inhibits Pum activity in vivo.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.5-20
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• 2006

This paper concerns the finite element (FE) modeling approach for NATM tunneling in water bearing ground within the framework of stress-pore pressure coupled analysis. Fundamental interaction mechanism of ground and groundwater lowering was first examined and a number of influencing factors on the results of coupled FE analysis were identified. A parametric study was then conducted on the influencing factors such as soil-water characteristics, location of hydraulic boundary conditions, the way of modeling drainage flow, among others. The results indicate that the soil-water characteristics play the most important role in the tunneling-induced settlement characteristics. Based on the results, modeling guidelines were suggested for stress-pore pressure coupled finite element modeling of NATM tunneling.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.171-180
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• 2023

This study proposed a seismic reinforcement of RC columns with non-seismic details, a fiber reinforcement method of aramid sheets and MLCP (high elasticity aromatic polyester fiber material) with different characteristics, and 4 full-size column specimens and conducted experiments. The results show that a non-seismic specimen (RC-Orig) rapidly lost its load-bearing capacity after reaching the maximum load, and shear failure occurred. The RC column reinforced with three types of aramid did not show an apparent increase in strength compared to the unreinforced specimen but showed a ductile behavior supporting the load while receiving a lateral displacement at least 1.57 to 1.95 times higher than the unreinforced specimen. The fracture mode of the specimen, according to the application of lateral load, also changed from shear to ductile fracture through aramid-based reinforcement. In addition, when examining the energy dissipation ability of the reinforced specimens, a ductile behavior dissipating seismic energy performed 4 times greater and more stably than the existing specimens.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.415-428
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• 2023

Low-cost techniques with seismic isolation performance and excellent resilience need to be explored in the case of rural low-rise buildings because of the limited buying power of rural residents. As an inexpensive and eco-friendly isolation bearing, scrap tire pads (STPs) have the issue of poor resilience. Thus, a seismic isolation system under a column (SISC) integrated with STP needs to be designed for the seismic protection of low-rise rural buildings. The SISC, which is based on a simple exterior design, maintains excellent seismic performance, while the mechanical behavior of the internal STP provides elastic resilience. The horizontal behaviors of the SISC are studied through load tests, and its mechanical properties and the intrinsic mechanism of the reset ability are discussed. Results indicate that the average residual displacement ratio was 24.59%, and the reset capability was enhanced. Comparative experimental and finite element analysis results also show that the load-displacement relationship of the SISC was essentially consistent. The dynamic characteristics of isolated and fixed-base buildings were compared by numerical assessment of the response control effects, and the SISC was found to have great seismic isolation performance. SISC can be used as a low-cost base isolation device for rural buildings in developing countries.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.679-691
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• 2023

The application of short, fiber-reinforced polymer composite pipes has been increasing rapidly. A comprehensive review of the prior research reveals that the majority of the previously-reported studies have been conducted on the filament-wound composite pipes, and fewer studies have been reported on the mechanical behavior of short, randomly-oriented fiber composite pipes. On this basis, the main objective of this research endeavor is to investigate the mechanical behavior and failure modes of short, randomly-oriented glass-fiber composite pipes under three-point bending tests. To this end, an experimental study is performed in order to explore the load-bearing capacity, failure mechanism, and deformation performance of such pipes. Fourteen properly-instrumented composite pipe specimens with different diameters, thicknesses, lengths, and nominal pressures have been tested and also simulated using the finite element approach for verification purposes. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the diameter-to-thickness ratio, length-to-diameter ratio, and nominal pressure on the mechanical behavior and deformation performance of short, randomly-oriented glass-fiber composite pipes.