• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.481-496
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• 2020

After nuclear power plants are permanently shut down and decommissioned, the remaining irradiated metal components such as stainless steel, carbon steel, and Inconel can be used as neutron absorber. This study investigates the possibility of reusing these metal components as neutron absorber materials, that is burnable poison. The absorption cross section of the irradiated metals did not lose their chemical properties and performance even if they were irradiated over 40-50 years in the NPPs. To examine the absorption capability of the waste metals, the lattice calculations of WH 17×17 fuel assembly were analyzed. From the results, Inconel-718 significantly hold-down fuel assembly excess reactivity compared to stainless steel 304 and carbon steel because Inconel-718 contains a small amount of boron nuclide. From the results, a 20wt% impurity of boron in irradiated Inconel-718 enhances the excess reactivity suppression. The application of irradiated Inconel-718 as a burnable absorber for SMR core was investigated. The irradiated Inconel-718 impurity with 20wt% of boron content can maintain and suppress the whole core reactivity. We emphasize that the irradiated metal components can be used as burnable absorber materials to control the reactivity of commercial reactor power and small modular reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.942-948
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• 2021

The aim of this work is to help inform the decision for choosing a convenient material for the PGAA (Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis) collimator plug to be installed at the tangential channel of the Moroccan Triga Mark II Research Reactor. Two families of materials are usually used for collimator construction: a mixture of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with boron, which is commonly used to moderate and absorb neutrons, and heavy materials, either for gamma absorption or for fast neutron absorption. An investigation of two different collimator designs was performed using N-Particle Monte Carlo MCNP6.2 code with the ENDF/B-VII.1 and MCLIP84 libraries. For each design, carbon steel and lead materials were used separately as collimator heavy materials. The performed study focused on both the impact on neutron beam quality and the neutron-gamma background at the exit of the collimator beam tube. An analysis and assessment of the principal findings is presented in this paper, as well as recommendations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2020.06a
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• pp.126-127
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• 2020

Recently, as interest in environmental issues increases, minimizing carbon dioxide generated during cement manufacturing is a problem to be solved. In order to solve such a problem, it is required to use an industrial by-product of recycled aggregate, blast furnace slag, and circulating fluidized bed boiler fly ash to replace it on the basis of geopolymer(=cementless). This study examines the characteristics of eco-friendly artificial stone according to the mixing ratio of geopolymer-based recycled aggregate. As a result of the experiment, when the addition rate of the alkali stimulant was 15% and the mixing ratio of the circulating aggregate was 70%, the flexural strength and compressive strength were the highest. Density and water absorption decreased as density of circulating aggregates increased and water absorption increased. However, when the mixing ratio of the circulating aggregate exceeded 70%, the flexural strength and compressive strength decreased. Therefore, in order to obtain strengths meeting the KS standards, the mixing ratio of recycled aggregate was set to 70%, and artificial stone was manufactured using industrial by-products.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.344-350
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• 2010

The improved photocatalytic performance of a carbon/$TiO_2$ composite was studied for the Bisphenol A (BPA) decomposition. Titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and a rice husk from Korea were heterogeneously mixed as the titanium and carbon sources, respectively, for 3 h at room temperature, and then thermally treated at $600^{\circ}C$ for 1 h in $H_2$ gas. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed that the bulk carbon partially covered the $TiO_2$ particles, and the amount that was covered increased with the addition of the rice husk. The acquired carbon/$TiO_2$ composite exhibited an anatase structure and a novel peak at $2{\theta}=32^{\circ}$, which was assigned to bulk carbon. The specific surface area was significantly enhanced to 123~164 $m^2/g$ in the carbon/$TiO_2$ composite, compared to $32.43m^2/g$ for the pure $TiO_2$. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results showed that the Ti-O bond was weaker in the carbon/$TiO_2$ composite than in the pure $TiO_2$, resulting in an easier electron transition from the Ti valence band to the conduction band. The carbon/$TiO_2$ composite absorbed over the whole UV-visible range, whereas the absorption band in the pure$TiO_2$ was only observed in the UV range. These results agreed well with an electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) study that showed that the electrons were rapidly transferred to the surface of the carbon/$TiO_2$ composite compared to the pure $TiO_2$. The photocatalytic performance of the BPA removal was optimized at a Ti:C ratio of 9.5:0.5, and this photocatalytic composite completely decomposed 10.0 ppm BPA after 210 min, whereas the pure $TiO_2$ achieved no more than 50% decomposition under any conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.238.2-238.2
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• 2015

Surface modification of vertically-aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) is essential in order to meet specific demands for particular applications such as field emission displays, heat dissipation device and potential sun energy conversion due to their superior electrical and thermal conductivity and strong light absorption. In this study, we observe the effect of exposure to water vapor on a different lengths of the surfaces of VACNT. The study was conducted on three different lengths of the VACNT: short length around $200{\mu}m$, medium-length around $500{\mu}m$, and high length around 1 mm. Water exposure time ranges between 2-10 min and temperature of the water ranges from 60 to 120 oC. The result of water vapor exposure mainly show that increasing the exposure time and water temperature give rise to increase of the speed of change on the surface of the VACNT. Especially, the shorter VACNT change their surface morphology most rapidly.

• Carbon letters
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.219-221
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• 2015

In order to study the impact of atmosphere during electron beam irradiation (EBI) of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor fibers, the latter were stabilized by EBI in both air and oxygen atmospheres. Gel-fraction determination indicated that EBI-stabilization under an oxygen atmosphere leads to an enhanced cyclization in the PAN fibers. In the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, the PAN fibers stabilized by EBI under an oxygen atmosphere exhibited a greater decrease in the peak intensity at 2244 cm⁻¹ (C≡N vibration) and a greater increase in the peak intensity at 1628 cm⁻¹ (C=N absorption) than the corresponding PAN fibers stabilized under an air atmosphere. From the X-ray diffraction analysis it was found that oxygen uptake in PAN fibers leads to an increase in the amorphous region, produced by cyclization.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.03b
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• pp.20-20
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• 2010

We present a simple process for the fabrication of high performance transparent conducting films that contain single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) noncovalently coated with an ultrathin titania layer. The hydrophobic interactions between nanotube surfaces and the acetylacetone (acac) ligands used to stabilize the $TiO_2$ precursor provide an interesting alternative method for noncovalently coating the SWCNTs with a titania layer. The ultrathin titania layer on SWCNTs prevented the oxidation of functionalized SWCNTs at high temperatures, and protected against water molecule absorption.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.279-279
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• 2010

We present a simple process for the fabrication of high performance transparent conducting films that contain single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) noncovalently coated with an ultrathin titania layer. The hydrophobic interactions between nanotube surfaces and the acetylacetone (acac) ligands used to stabilize the $TiO_2$ precursor provide an interesting alternative method for noncovalently coating the SWCNTs with a titania layer. The ultrathin titania layer on SWCNTs prevented the oxidation of functionalized SWCNTs at high temperatures, and protected against water molecule absorption.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.370-377
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• 1971

The Carbon-14 content in surface air at Seoul, Korea, was measured from February 1970 to August 1971 and a Larix Leptolepis, Gordon tree (Ip-Gal Namu) grown at Kwang-Nung, Kyunggi-Do, Korea, having 37 growth rings, was assayde for $^{14}C$. From the results of the surface air study, it was calculated that during the above period the inventory of excess $^{14}C$ in the atmosphere decreased with a half-time of 4.6 years. The overall yearly decrease was also checked. The tree-ring study showed that the tree's atmosphere was affected by $^{14}C$ from nuclear tests after 1956. In one study, atmospheric $CO^2$ samples were collected bi-monthly by the absorption of $CO^2$ in alkaline hydroxide solution. In the other, 5 year annual growth rings were assayed for radiocarbon. For the radioactivity measurement, carbon atoms in samples were converted to carbon atoms of benzene. The resulting benzene was taken as primary solvent for liquid scintillation counting.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.131-137
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• 2012

This article is about using the fuel mixed with 10% and 20% bio-ethanol to gasoline for the engine as a way to reduce carbon emission before commercializing future automobiles like fuel cell cars. The fuel mixed with 10% and 20% bio-ethanol showed output equivalent to that of the previous gasoline fuel. CO and $CO_2$ emission was somewhat reduced, but the difference was not significant. And the consumption of the fuel increased slightly. However, bio-ethanol is produced from bio mass growing with the absorption of carbon dioxide, so the total amount of carbon dioxide did not increase according to the result. In NOx, as the use of ethanol increases, the effect of reduction gets greater, and the emission of oxygen showed almost no change compared with gasoline.