• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.448-454
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• 2007

This study was conducted to develop a 100 kPa soil tensiometer mainly consisted of a porous ceramic cup, water-holding tube, and a digital vacuum gauge, through theoretical design analysis and experimental performance evaluation. Major findings were as follows. 1. Theoretical analysis showed that air entry value of a porous media decreased as the maximum effective size of the pore increased, and the maximum diameter of the pores was $2.9\;{\mu}m$ for measuring up a 100 kPa of soil-water tension. 2. Property analysis of tensiometer porous cups supplied in Korean domestic market indicated that main components were $SiO_2$ and $Al_2O_3$ with a porosity range of $33.8{\sim}49.3%$. 3. The porous cup selected through sample fabrication and air-permeability tests showed weight ratios of 87% and 11% for $Al_2O_3$ and $SiO_2$. The analysis of SEM (scanning electron microscope) images showed that the sample was sintered at temperatures of about $1150^{\circ}C$, which consisted of pores with sizes of up to 25% of those for commercial porous cups. 4. The prototype soil tensiometer was fabricated using the developed porous cup and a digital vacuum gauge that could measure water tension with a pressure of 85 kPa in air tests. 5. In-soil tests of the prototype conducted during a period of 25-day drying showed that soil-water tension values measured with the prototype and commercial units were not significantly different, and soil-water characteristic curves could be established for different soils, confirming accuracy and stability of the prototype.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.17-24
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• 2002

An unsteady-state moisture diffusion through cellulosic fibers in paper was characterized from the moisture sorption experiment and the mathematical modeling. The sorption experiment was conducted by exposing thin dry paper specimens to a constant temperature-humidity environment. Oven dried blotting papers and filter papers were used as test samples and the gains of their weights were constantly monitored and recorded as a function of sorption time. For a mathematical approach, the moisture transport was assumed to be an one-dimensional diffusion in thickness direction through the geometrically symmetric structure of paper. The model was asymptotically simplified with a short-term approximation. It gave us a new insight into the moisture uptake phenomena as a function of square root of sorption time. The fiber-phase moisture diffusivities(FPMD) of paper samples were then determined by correlating the experimental data with the unsteady-state diffusion model obtained. Their values were found to be on the order of magnitude of $10^{-6}-10^{-7}cm^2$/min., which were equivalent to the hypothetical effective diffusion coefficients at the limit of zero porosity. The moisture sorption curve predicted from the model fairly agreed with that obtained from the experiment at some limited initial stages of the moisture uptake process. The FPMD value of paper significantly varied depending upon the current moisture content of paper. The mean FPMD was about 0.7-0.8 times as large as the short-term approximated FPMD.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.491-497
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• 2017

In recent years, 3D printing has received increasing attention due to its potential for direct fabrication beyond the traditional rapid prototyping. 3D printing has the advantage of being able to manufacture complicated shapes that were thought impossible to produce by traditional manufacturing processes. This advantage has driven applications of 3D printing to direct manufacturing of functional parts, such as lightweight structures and component integration. In this study, a porous shell structure is designed for the purpose of weight reduction and ventilation. Finite element (FE) analyses are performed to compare the effective stiffness of the porous structure with the conventional solid structure. Structural reinforcements are also considered in order to make up the stiffness reduction due to the porosity, and the relevant FE analyses are performed to investigate the effect of the reinforcement design on the bending stiffness. The optimized reinforced structure is then proposed through response surface analysis.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.57.2-57.2
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• 2011

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) have recently been developed as a cost-effective photovoltaic system due to their low-cost materials and facile processing. The production of DSSC involves chemical and thermal processes but no vacuum is involved. Therefore, DSSC can be fabricated without using expensive equipment. The use of dyes and nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ is one of the most promising approaches to realize both high performance and low cost. The efficiency of the DSSC changes consequently in the particle size, morphology, crystallization and surface state of the $TiO_2$. Nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ materials have been widely used as a photo catalyst and an electron collector in DSSC. Front electrode in DSSC are required to have an extremely high porosity and surface area such that the dyes can be sufficiently adsorbed and be electronically interconnected, resulting in the efficient generation of photocurrent within cells. In this study, DSSC were fabricated by an screen printing for the $TiO_2$ thin film. $TiO_2$ nanoparticles characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and scanning auger microscopy (SAM) and zeta potential and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS).In addition, DSSC module was modeled and simulated using the SILVACO TCAD software program. Improve the efficiency of DSSC, the effect of $TiO_2$ thin film thickness and $TiO_2$ nanoparticle size was investigated by SILVACO TCAD software program.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2010

The interaction of oblique incident waves with a porous dual semi-cylindrical structure is investigated under the assumption of linear potential theory. The porous dual semi-cylindrical structure consists of two concentric bottom-mounted cylindrical structures that are porous in front half and transparent in back half. By changing porosity, gap, and wave characteristics(wave frequencies, incidence angle), the wave blocking performance as well as the wave loads and the wave run-up are obtained. As a convenient measure of overall wave blocking performance, the root mean square(R.M.S.) of the wave elevation in a sheltered region is used. It is found that the porous semi-cylindrical structure may significantly reduce the wave response in a sheltered region and the wave forces decrease largely compared to the impermeable structure. The dual structure is more effective in reducing the wave response in a sheltered region than the mono type in the region of high frequencies.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.552-558
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• 2006

Biodegradable nanofibrous poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffold was prepared by an electrospinning process for use in tissue regeneration. The nanofiber scaffold was treated with oxygen plasma and then simultaneously in situ grafted with hydrophilic acrylic acid (AA) to obtain PLLA-g-PAA. The fiber diameter, pore size, and porosity of the electrospun nanofibrous PLLA scaffold were estimated as $250\sim750nm,\;\sim30{\mu}m$, and 95%, respectively. The ultimate tensile strength was 1.7 MPa and the percent elongation at break was 120%. Although the physical and mechanical properties of the PLLA-g-PAA scaffold were comparable to those of the PLLA control, a significantly lower contact angle and significantly higher ratio of oxygen to carbon were notable on the PLLA-g-PAA surface. After the fibroblasts were cultured for up to 6 days, cell adhesion and proliferation were much improved on the nanofibrous PLLA-g-PAA scaffold than on either PLLA film or unmodified nanofibrous PLLA scaffold. The present work demonstrated that the applications of plasma treatment and hydrophilic AA grafting were effective to modify the surface of electrospun nanofibrous polymer scaffolds and that the altered surface characteristics significantly improved cell adhesion and proliferation.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2016

Magnesium potassium phosphate cement (MKPC) is an effective agent for solidification/stabilization (S/S) technology. To further explore the mechanism of the S/S by MKPC, two kinds of Cd including $Cd(NO_3)_2$ solution (L-Cd) and municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWI FA) adsorbed Cd (S-Cd), were used to compare the effects of the form of heavy metal on S/S. The results showed that all the MKPC pastes had a high unconfined compressive strength (UCS) above 11 MPa. For L-Cd pastes, Cd leaching concentration increased with the increase of Cd content, and decreased with the increase of curing time. With the percentage of MSWI FA below 20%, S-Cd pastes exhibited similar Cd leaching concentrations as those of L-Cd pastes, while when the content of MSWI FA come up to 30%, the Cd leaching concentration increased significantly. To meet the standard GB5085.3-2007, the highest addition of S-Cd was 30% MSWI FA (6% Cd contained), with the Cd leaching concentration of 0.817 mg/L. The S/S of L-Cd is mainly due to chemical fixation, and the hydration compound of Cd was $NaCdPO_4$, while the S/S of S-Cd is due to physical encapsulation, which is dependent on the pore/crack size and porosity of the MKPC pastes.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.107-113
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• 1999

A new biological nutrient removal system combining $A^2/O$ process with fixed film was developed in this work and the characteristics of denitrification were especially investigated in the combined fixed film reactor(CFFR). Media was added in the anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic reactors, respectively. Tests were made to establish the effluent level of $NO_x-N$, COD, DO and nitrite effects on $NO_x-N$ removal in the CFFR by decreasing hydraulic retention time (HRT) from 10.0 to 3.5 hours and by increasing internal recycle ratio form 0% to 200%. The influent was synthesized to levels similar to the average influent of municipal wastewater treatment plants in Korea. SARAN media with a porosity of 96.3% was packed 40% / 130% / 25% based on its reactor volume, respectively. It was found that COD rarely limited dentrification in the anoxic reactor because of high $C/NO_x/-N$ ratio in the anoxic reactor, while DO concentration in the anoxic reactor and $NO_2-N/NO_x/-N$ from the aerobic effluent inhibited denitrification in the anoxic reactor. It was proved that the critical points of DO concentration in the anoxic reactor and $NO_2-N/NO_x/-N$ from the aerobic effluent were 0.15mg/L and 10%, respectively. As the internal recycle ratio increased, DO concentration in the anoxic reactor and $NO_2-N/NO_x/-N$ from the aerobic effluent increased. Especially, at the condition of internal recycle ratio, 200%, DO concentration in the anoxic reactor and $NO_2-N/NO_x/-N$ from the aerobic effluent exceeded the critical points of 0.15mg/L and 10%, respectively. Then, denitrification efficiency considerably decreased. Consequently, it was represented that the control of DO concentration in the anoxic reactor and $NO_2-N/NO_x/-N$ from the aerobic effluent can assure effective denitrification.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.314-319
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• 2011

Melt foaming method is one of cost-effective methods to make metal foam and it has been successfully applied to fabricate Mg foams. In this research, AZ31 Mg alloy ingot was used as a metal matrix, using AlCa granular as thickening agent and $CaCO_3$ powder as foaming agent, AZ31 Mg alloy foams were fabricated by melt-foaming method at different foaming temperatures. The porosity was above 41.2%~73.3%, pore size was between 0.38~1.52 mm, and homogenous pore structures were obtained. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the AZ31 Mg alloy foams were investigated by optical microscopy, SEM and UTM. The results showed that pore structure and pore distribution were much better than those fabricated at lower temperatures. The compression behavior of the AZ31 Mg alloy foam behaved as typical porous materials. As the foaming temperature increased from $660^{\circ}C$ to $750^{\circ}C$, the compressed strength also increased. The AZ31 Mg alloy foam with a foaming temperature of $720^{\circ}C$ had the best energy absorption. The energy absorption value of Mg foam was 15.52 $MJ/m^3$ at a densification strain of 52%. Furthermore, the high energy absorption efficiencies of the AZ31 Mg alloy foam kept at about 0.85 in the plastic plateau region, which indicates that composite foam possess a high energy absorption characteristic, and the Vickers hardness of AZ31 Mg alloy foam decreased as the foaming temperature increased.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.24-29
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• 2018

The properties of concrete with addition of microgel - containing hydrogel support were investigated. As a result of measuring the slump of the self - healing concrete, the target slump was satisfied in all the mixing conditions, but the slump was decreased as the mixing amount of the hydrogel support increased. The change of porosity due to incorporation of hydrogel support was minimal. As a result of the evaluation of the compressive strength of the self - healing concrete, the incorporation of the hydrogel support did not affect the strength. However, under the same mixing condition, the dispersion value of the specimens tended to increase with increasing hydrogel support contents. As a result of the permeability test of self-healing concrete according to the incorporation of hydrogel support, it was confirmed that the mixing ratio of hydrogel support was effective to decrease the permeability coefficient.