• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.45 no.11
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• pp.651-657
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• 2008

In this study, CNT/$TiO_2$ composites were prepared using surface modified Multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and titanium n-butoxide (TNB) with benzene. The composites were characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), FT-IR spectra, and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The UV radiation induced photoactivity of the CNT/$TiO_2$ composites was tested using a fixed concentration of methylene blue (MB, $C_{16}H_{18}N_3S{\cdot}Cl{\cdot}3H_2O$) in an aqueous solution. Finally, it can be considered that the MB removal effect of the CNT/$TiO_2$ composites is not only due to the adsorption effect of MWCNT and photocatalytic degradation of $TiO_2$, but also to electron transfer between MWCNT and $TiO_2$.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.447-456
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• 1996

Fracture surfaces of materials contain useful information ranging from crack path to the mechanism of fracture. Since limitation of electron transparency requires a sample in the form of thin foil for TEM observations, it is impossible to extract such information directly from the fracture surfaces. In this study, the method of surface replication from the ceramic fracture surface is employed to characterize the process of crack propagation in ceramic matrix composites using TEM analysis. The surface replica from the fracture surface in ceramic materials provides detailed surface morphology and more importantly, loosened particles on the fracture surface are collected. Electron diffraction and chemical composition analyses of these particles reveal crack path in the specimen. Furthermore, one can determine the mode of fracture by observing the fracture surface morphology from the image of replica. Two examples are given to illustrate the potential of the surface replication technique. In the first example, apparent toughness increase in $B_{4}C-Al$ composites at high strain rate is investigated by surface replication to elucidate the mechanism of fracture at different strain rates. The polytypes of SiC formed during the sintering of SiC-AlN composite and their effect on the fracture behavior of SiC-AlN composite are analyzed in the second example.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.617-623
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• 2015

$ZrO_2$-based composites reinforced with 6.5 vol.% of carbon foam, carbon fiber, and graphite were fabricated using spark plasma sintering, and characterized using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Their thermal properties were also investigated. The microstructures of the reinforced composites showed that carbon fiber fully reacted with $ZrO_2$, whereas carbon foam and graphite did not. The carbothermal reaction of carbon fiber had a negative effect on the thermal properties of the reinforced $ZrO_2$ composites because of the formation of zirconium oxycarbide. Meanwhile, the addition of carbon foam had a positive effect, increasing the thermal conductivity from 2.86 to $3.38Wm^{-1}K^{-1}$ at $1,100^{\circ}C$. These findings suggest that the homogenous distribution and chemical stability of reinforcement material affect the thermal properties of $ZrO_2$-based composites.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.149-153
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• 2013

Delamination crack detection is very important for improving the structural reliability of laminated composite structures. This requires real-time delamination detection technologies. For composite laminates that are reinforced with carbon fiber, an electrical potential method uses carbon fiber for reinforcements and sensors at the same time. The use of carbon fiber for sensors does not need to consider the strength reduction of smart structures induced by imbedding sensors into the structures. With carbon fiber reinforced (CF/) epoxy matrix composites, it had been proved that the delamination crack was detected experimentally. In the present study, therefore, similar experiments were conducted to prove the applicability of the method for delamination crack detection of CF/polyetherethereketone matrix composite laminates. Mode I and mode II delamination tests with artificial cracks were conducted, and three point bending tests without artificial cracks were conducted. This study experimentally proves the applicability of the method for detection of delamination cracks. CF/polyetherethereketone material has strong electric resistance anisotropy. For CF/polyetherethereketone matrix composites, a carbon fiber network is constructed, and the network is broken by propagation of delamination cracks. This causes a change in the electric resistance of CF/polyetherethereketone matrix composites. Using three point bending specimens, delamination cracks generated without artificial initial cracks is proved to be detectable using the electric potential method: This method successfully detected delamination cracks.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2014

In order to clarify the effect of Nb addition on the ductile-brittle transition property of sintered TiC, TiC-10 mol% Nb composites were researched using a three-point bending test at temperatures from room temperature to 2020 K, and the fracture surface was observed by scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the Nb addition decreases the ductile-brittle transition temperature of sintered TiC by 300 K and increases the ductility. The room temperature bending strength was maintained at up to 1800 K, but drastically dropped at higher temperatures in pure TiC. The strength increased moderately to a value of 320MPa at 1600 K in TiC-10 mol% Nb composites, which is 40% of the room temperature strength. Pores were observed in both the grains and the grain boundaries. It can be seen that, as Nb was added, the size of the grain decreased. The ductile-brittle transition temperature in TiC-10 mol% Nb composites was determined to be 1550 K. Above 1970 K, yieldpoint behavior was observed. When the grain boundary and cleavage strengths exceed the yield strength, plastic deformation is observed at about the same stress level in bending as in compression. The effect of Nb addition is discussed from the viewpoint of ability for plastic deformation.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.119-124
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• 2015

This paper investigates the change of the percolation threshold in the carbon powder-filled polystyrene matrix composites based on the experimental results of changes in the resistivity and relative permittivity of the carbon powder filling, the electric field dependence of the current, and the critical exponent of conductivity. In this research, the percolation behavior, the critical exponent of resistivity, and electrical conduction mechanism of the carbon powder-filled polystyrene matrix composites are discussed based on a study of the overall change in the resistivity. It was found that the formation of infinite clusters is interrupted by a tunneling gap in the volume fraction of the carbon powder filling, where the change in the resistivity is extremely large. In addition, it was found that the critical exponent of conductivity for the universal law of conductivity is satisfied if the percolation threshold is estimated at the volume fraction of carbon powder where non-ohmic current behavior becomes ohmic. It was considered that the mechanism for changing the gaps between the carbon powder aggregates into ohmic contacts is identical to that of the connecting conducting phases above the percolation threshold in a random resister network system. The electric field dependence is discussed with a tunneling mechanism. It is concluded that the percolation threshold should be defined at this volume fraction (the second transition of resistivity for the carbon powder-filled polystyrene matrix composites) of carbon powder.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.715-718
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• 1998

In this work, bisphenol type vinyl ester was impregnated into the three-dimensional glass fabrics fabricated from different thickness changes. Their mechanical properties of the specimens have been investigated by three-point bending and flatwise compression tests. Also, interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) has been determined through short-beam test for the evaluation of interfacial adhesion at interfaces between fibers and matrix of the composites. The effect of thickness changes in three-dimensional glass fabric-reinforced composites have been described in this work.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.77-81
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• 2021

Due to the high specific strength and stiffness of the composite materials, the composite materials have been extensively used in various industries. In particular, carbon fiber reinforced composites are widely used in many mechanical structures. In addition, since carbon fiber reinforced composites have anisotropic properties, to understand the fatigue behavior of composites with different fiber orientation is very important for the efficient structural design. Therefore, in this paper, the effect fiber orientation on the fatigue life of composite materials was experimentally evaluated. For this purpose, tensile and fatigue tests were performed on the off-axis specimens (0°, 10°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°) of the composite materials. As a result of the fatigue tests, the fatigue strength of the composites decreased significantly as the fatigue strength slightly deviated from 0 degrees. On the other hand, the more deviated, the less decreased. This is because the role of supporting the load of fibers decreased as the stacking angle increased. In addition, the fatigue behavior was analyzed by introducing a fatigue strength ratio (Ψ) that eliminates the fiber orientation dependence of the off-axis fatigue behaviors on the unidirectional composites. The off-axis fatigue S-N lines can be reduced to a single line regardless of the fiber orientation by using the fatigue strength ratio (Ψ). Using the fatigue Ψ-N line, it is possible to extract back to any off-axis fatigue S-N lines of the composites with different fiber orientations.

• Composites Research
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.392-397
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• 2013

Functionally graded materials graded continuously and discretely, and are modeled using modified Mori- Tanaka and self-consistent methods. The proposed micromechanics model accounts for multi-phase heterogeneity and arbitrary number of layers. The influence of geometries and distinct elastic material properties of each constituent and voids on the effective elastic properties of FGM is investigated. Numerical examples of different functionally graded materials are presented. The predicted elastic properties obtained from the current model agree well with experimental results from the literature.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.1025-1025
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• 2006