• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.759-769
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• 2021

For aerospace propulsion systems, Titanium Hydride Potassium Perchlorate (THPP) is a material commonly used as a pyrotechnic initiator that generates gas when energy is supplied or as a supplement charge for NASA standard initiator (NSI). However, when the energetic materials are stored for a long time, it faces the problem of 'aging'. In this study, changes in thermodynamic properties of THPP aged under various humidity environments were identified through thermal analysis and surface analysis. First, a considerable amount of cracks on the surface of the oxidant was found in the aged THPPs. Particularly, when the humidity level increased, the number and length of the cracks rapidly increased. Also, the deterioration of Viton was found only in the thermally aged sample whereas the oxidation of the fuel was more pronounced in the hygrothermally aged samples. The extracted kinetic parameters of THPP on the reaction progress vary greatly by the humidity level, indicating that moisture significantly changes the performance and combustion reaction of THPP, which may eventually result in a reduced lifespan.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.1-11
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• 2021

The cavity inside the combustor increases the mixing efficiency of fuel and air by inducing a oscillation of the flow and the recirculation area with a low speed, and enables continuous combustion by maintaining the flame. In this study, the characteristics of the internal flow by change in the shape parameters of the cavity were analyzed through experiments and two-dimensional computational analysis. It was observed that the flow in the supersonic combustor was greatly influenced by various shape parameters of cavity besides L/D. Even with the same L/D, it was confirmed that the flow type varies depending on the depth of the cavity, either open or closed type, and the aft ramp angle of the cavity and the height of the combustor also affect the flow characteristics. As a result, the change in the shape parameters of the cavity had a great influence on the total pressure loss.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.603-610
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• 2021

The major drawback of zirconia-based materials, in view of their applications as targets for minor actinide transmutation, is their poor thermal conductivity. The addition of MgO, which has high thermal conductivity, to zirconia-based materials is expected to improve their thermal conductivity. On these grounds, the present study aims at phase characterization and thermophysical property evaluation of neodymium-substituted zirconia (Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9; using Nd₂O₃ as a surrogate for Am₂O₃) and its composites with MgO. The composite was prepared by a solid-state reaction of Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9 (synthesized by gel combustion) and commercial MgO powders at 1773 K. Phase characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction and the microstructural investigation was performed using a scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The linear thermal expansion coefficient of Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9 increases upon composite formation with MgO, which is attributed to a higher thermal expansivity of MgO. Similarly, specific heat also increases with the addition of MgO to Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9. Thermal conductivity was calculated from measured thermal diffusivity, temperature-dependent density and specific heat values. Thermal conductivity of Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9-MgO (50 wt%) composite is more than that of typical UO₂ fuel, supporting the potential of Zr_0.8Nd_0.2O_1.9-MgO composites as target materials for minor actinides transmutation.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.33-39
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• 2022

In this study, analytical thermochemical modeling factors that contribute to maintaining a specific temperature range during vanadium roasting as a pretreatment using a rotary kiln are investigated. The model-related mechanisms include thermochemical reaction rates, heat balance, and heat transfer, through which the resultant temperature can be estimated intuitively. Ultimately, by optimizing these parameters, the ideal roasting temperature in the kiln is ≈1000 ℃ (or ≈1273 K) for long-term operation. Therefore, the heat generated from hydrocarbon (natural gas) fuel combustion and ore oxidation reactions, as well as the radiant heat transferred to ores, are assessed. In addition, thermochemical methods for relieving the temperature gradient in order to maintain the optimum temperature range of the rotary kiln are suggested.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.391-399
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• 2022

Hydrogen is one of the energy carriers and has high energy efficiency relative to mass. It is an eco-friendly fuel that makes only water (H₂O) as a by-product after use. In order to use hydrogen conveniently and safely, development of production, storage and transfer technologies is required and attempts are being made to apply hydrogen as an energy source in various fields through the development of the technology. For transporting and storing hydrogen include high-pressure hydrogen gas storage, a type of storage technologies consist of cryogenic hydrogen liquid storage, hydrogen storage alloy, chemical storage by adsorbents and high-pressure hydrogen storage containers have been developed in a total of four stages. The biggest issue in charging high-pressure hydrogen gas which is a combustible gas is safety and the backfire prevention device is that prevents external flames from entering the tank and prevents explosion and is essential to use hydrogen safely. This study conducted a numerical analysis to analyze the performance of suppressing flame propagation of 2, 3 inch flame arrestor. As a result, it is determined that, where the flame arrestor is attached, the temperature would be lowered below the temperature of spontaneous combustion of hydrogen to suppress flame propagation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.58-67
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• 2023

Results of dry-run tests, cold-flow tests, and hot-firing tests performed to throttle a methane engine uni-element thrust chamber are covered in the paper. After installing flow control valves on the oxidizer and fuel supply lines of the methane engine combustion test facility, a number of dry-run tests were repeated so that the valves could reach set strokes quickly and stably. Then, cold-flow tests using liquid nitrogen and gaseous nitrogen were conducted to confirm the stable supply of the simulated propellants according to the valve control. Finally, using liquid oxygen and gaseous methane, hot-firing tests for fixed and continuous thrust control of 50% to 10% of the nominal thrust were successfully performed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.34-42
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• 2022

A correlation between propellant supply condition and chamber pressure in GCH₄-LOx small rocket engine was explored and hot-firing tests were conducted to analyze the engine performance characteristics according to the equivalence ratio variation at a constant chamber pressure. Correlation studies have shown that chamber pressure is linearly proportional to oxidizer supply pressure. As a result of the test, the thrust, specific impulse and characteristic velocity that are the main performance parameters of a rocket engine, were found to be enhanced as the equivalence ratio starting from a fuel-lean condition approached the stoichiometric ratio, but the efficiencies of characteristic velocity and specific impulse were on the contrary, in their dependency on the equivalence ratio.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.75-85
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• 2023

The potential sources and spatial distribution of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in the leaf plants of Al-Zubair city. A total of 14 samples of conocarpus lancifolius plant leaf were collected and analyzed for their heavy metals and PAHs content using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and a 7890 Agilent capillary gas chromatograph (GC) respectively. Bioaccumulation factor calculation revealed the highest pollution of heavy metals , due to the activity of a petrochemical in the area. The diagnostic ratio of Ant/(Phe+Ant), BaA/BaA+Chr), In/(In+BghiP), Flu/Pyr, FlA/FlA+Pyr), FlA/FlA+Pyr), ∑LMW/∑HMW are commonly used for determining the origin and source of PAHs in various environmental media. The diagnostic ratio indicated the anthropogenic origin. PAHs with five-to-six membered rings were dominant in the plant leaf, which likely results from anthropogenic activities. The leaves of C. lancifolius have a preponderance of high molecular weight PAHs compared to low molecular weight PAHs, indicating a combustion origin (car exhaust, petroleum emissions, and fossil fuel). C. lancifolius leaves are a reliable indication of atmospheric PAHs absorption. The background level of heavy metals in the city (or the near environment) is in the order of Fe > Cu > Ni > Cr. On the other hand, the bioaccumulation in plant leaves showed greater tendencies as follows: Co>Cd>Zn=As>Cu>Mn>Ni>Pb>Cr>Fe. Cobalt showed high bioaccumulation, indicating strong uptake of Co by plant leaves. These findings point to human activity and car emissions as the primary sources of roadside vegetation pollution in Al-Zubair city.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.26 no.2_2
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• pp.327-332
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• 2023

As interest in eco-friendly and fuel-efficient electric vehicles has increased globally, there has also been a growing interest in the efficiency, vibration, and noise of motors for electric vehicles Electric vehicles generally have significantly lower driving ranges per charge compared to the maximum driving range per fueling of internal combustion engine vehicles. Additionally, there are issues with various vibrations and noise generated by the motor that can cause discomfort for passengers. Therefore, research is necessary to reduce losses, vibration, and noise of the motor to improve the driving range of electric vehicles. IPMSM with a purchased design can obtain additional reluctance torque by utilizing the difference in inductance between the d and q axes. However, due to this reluctance torque, torque ripple occurs larger than other motors. The increase in torque ripple also increases noise and vibration. Since the reluctance torque, which is the main cause of torque ripple, is determined by the shape of the motor components, torque ripple can be reduced through shape optimization. In this paper, a rotor shape for reducing torque ripple and core loss that causes vibration, noise, and efficiency to decrease of IPMSM for electric vehicles was proposed. Optimization design was carried out by changing the shape of the q-axis path of the rotor to reduce the difference in inductance of the d and q-axis of the rotor. Finally, in order to verify the validity of the design variables derived through the optimal design, the original model and the improved model were compared through the FEM. Compared to the original model, the improved model's torque verifying ripple was reduced by about 62% and core loss was reduced by about 29%, the superiority of the improved model.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.120-129
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• 1995

Since the rate and completeness of combustion in direct injection engines were controlled by the characteristics of gas flow fields and sprays, an understanding of those was essential to the design of the direct injection engines. In this study the numerical simulations of swirl effects on the characteristics of gas flow fields and sprays were performed using the spray model that could predict the interactions between gas fields and spray droplets. The governing equations were discretized by the finite volume method and the modified k- e model which included the compressibility effects due to the compression/expansion of piston was used. The results of numerical calculation of the spray characteristics in the quiescent environment were compared with the experimental data. There were good agreements between the results of calculation and the experimental data, except in the early stages of spray. In the motoring condition, the results showed that a substantial air entrainment into the spray volume was emerged and hence the squish motion was relatively unimportant during fuel injection periods. As the swirl ratio increased, the evaporation rate was increased due to the wide dispersion of the spray droplets and the strong interaction between spray droplets and gas fields.