• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.175-181
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• 2016

This study investigates the dispersibility of carbon in carbon contained ammonium diuranate (C-ADU) gel particles and the characteristics of C-ADU gel liquid droplets produced by the vibrating nozzle and integrated aging-washing-drying equipment. It was noted that the excellent stability of carbon dispersion was only observed in the C-ADU gel particle that contained carbon black named CB 10. ADU gel liquid droplets containing carbon particles with the excellent sphericity of approximately 1,950 mm were then obtained using an 80-100-Hz vibrating nozzle system. Dried C-ADU gel particles obtained by the aging-washing-drying equipment were thermal decomposed until $500^{\circ}C$ at a rate of $1^{\circ}C/min$ in an air or in 4% $H_2$ gas atmosphere. The thermally decomposed C-ADU gel particles showed 24% weight loss and a more complicated profile than that of ADU gel particles.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.398-404
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• 2012

This paper describes the spherical ammonium diuranate gel particles which are the intermediated material of the $UO_2$ microsphere for an VHTR(very high temperature reactor) nuclear fuel. The characteristics of the intermediate-ADU gel particles prepared by AWD(ageing, washing, and drying) and FB(fluidized-bed) apparatus were examined and compared in a sol-gel fabrication process. The electrical conductivity of washing filtrate from the FB treating and the surface area of dried-ADU gel particles were higher than those of AWD treating. Also, an internal pore volume in dried-ADU gel particles showed a more decrease in AWD treatment than FB treatment because of decomposition of PVA affected by the washing time. However, the internal microstructures of ADU gel particles were similar regardless of the process variation.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.574-582
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• 2009

$UO_2$ microsphere particles, core material of HTGR(High Temperature Gas Reactor) nuclear fuel, were prepared using by the GSP(Gel Supported Precipitation) method which is a modified-method of the wet sol-gel process. The spherical shape of initial liquid ADU droplets from the vibration nozzle system was continuously kept till the conversion to the final $UO_2$ microsphere. But the size of a final $UO_2$ microsphere was shrunken to about 25% of an initial ADU droplet size. Also, we found that the composition of dried-ADU gel particles was constituted of the very complicated phases, coexisted the U=O, C-H, N-H, N-O, and O-H functional groups by FT-IR. The important factors for obtain the no-crack $UO_2$ microsphere during the thermal treatment processes must perfectly wash out the remained-$NH_4NO_3$ within the ADU gel particle in washing process and the selections of an appropriate heating rate at a suitable gas atmosphere, during the calcining of ADU gel particles, the reducing of $UO_3$ particles, and the sintering of $UO_2$ particles, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.44 no.2 s.297
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• pp.124-131
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• 2007

In this study, first the ADU gel particle, an intermediate for final $UO_2$ kernel of a HTGR nuclear fuel, was prepared from sol-gel method using the broth solution which was made by mixing of the uranyl nitrate, poly vinyl alcohol and tetra-hydrofurfuryl alcohol. The prepared dried-ADU gel particles were converted to the $UO_2\;via\;UO_3$ from thermal treatment with the 4% $H_2$ atmosphere. The sizes of the spherical liquid droplets appeared $1900{\sim}2100{\mu}m$, and the harmony between the flow rate of the broth solution and the frequency and the amplitude of a vibrating system are important factors for the spherical ADU gel particles via the mono size spherical droplets. From the XRD and FT-IR analyses, the prepared ADU gel particles were judged to be a $UO_3{\cdot}xNH_3{\cdot}yH_2O$ form, and the most important factor during the thermal treatment of the dried-ADU gel particle must be avoided a rapidly heating rate in the range of $180{\sim}400^{\circ}C$, and the heating rate should be kept below $5^{\circ}C/min$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.135-140
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• 2010

The high specific impulse of the ramjet engine, combined with the ability of a gel to carry metal particles, make the Gel Fuel Ramjet a most adequate solution for a mid-high range sustainer. The goal of the present study is to verify experimentally the feasibility of such a concept. A test facility and a lab-scale motor have been designed and built to investigate atomization, ignition and firing processes of a gel hydrocarbon fuel, with and without metal additives, as well as to check the ramjet operation as a whole. The present paper presents the experimental system in detail as well as qualitative results of a few firing tests.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2021

Evaporation characteristics of single butanol gel fuel were investigated in different mass ratios of gellant and ambient temperatures. Gel fuel was made by adding the pure water and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) into the 1-butanol. Increase of viscosity was observed when the loading of HPMC increased. The evaporation process of gel droplet could be divided into three stages: droplet heating, micro-explosion and crust formation. Elevation of ambient temperature helped boost the evaporation in all experimental cases, but the effect was mitigated when the mass ratio of HPMC increased. Increase of HPMC weight ratio reduced the evaporation rate.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.120-126
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• 2021

Combustion characteristics of a 1-butanol gel fuel were studied in atmospheric pressure condition. The butanol gel fuel was manufactured by adding hydroxypropyl-methyl cellulose (HPMC) as a gellant and the effect of the gellant concentration was observed. The combustion process of a single butanol gel droplet was divided into 3 stages including droplet heating, microexplosion, and gellant combustion. The flame was distorted compared to butanol + water mixture because of micro-explosion during the combustion. Increase of gellant concentration delayed the droplet ignition, but the combustion rate was improved due to the mass ejection during the micro-explosion.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.533-541
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• 2020

UO₂ kernels, a key component of fuel elements for high temperature gas cooled reactors, have usually been prepared by sol-gel methods. Sol-gel processes have a number of advantages, such as simple processes and facilities, and higher sphericity and density. In this study, to produce 900 ㎛-sized UO₂ particles using an external gelation process, contact length extension of the NH₃ gas of the broth droplets pass and the improvement of the gelation device capable of spraying 14 M-NH₄OH solution are used to form 3,000 ㎛-sized liquid droplets. To produce high-sphericity and high-density UO₂ particles, HMTA, which promotes the gelation reaction in the uranium broth solution, is added to diffuse ammonium ions from the outside of the gelation solution during the aging process and generate ammonium ions from the inside of the ADU gel particles. Sufficient gelation inside of ADU gel particles is achieved, and the density of the UO₂ spheres that undergo the subsequent treatment is 10.78 g/㎤; the sphericity is analyzed and found to be 0.948, indicating good experimental results.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.44 no.12
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• pp.727-732
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• 2007

In order to fabricate a highly performing cathode for low-temperature type solid oxide fuel cells working at below $700^{\circ}C$, electrode microstructure control and electrode polarization measurement were performed with an electronic conductor, $La_{0.8}Sr_{0.2}MnO_3$ (LSM) and a mixed conductor, $La_{0.6}Sr_{0.4}Co_{0.2}Fe_{0.8}O_3$(LSCF). For both cathode materials, when $Sm_{0.2}Ce_{0.8}O_2$ (SDC) buffer layer was formed between the cathode and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte, interfacial reaction products were effectively prevented at the high temperature of cathode sintering and the electrode polarization was also reduced. Moreover, cathode polarization was greatly reduced by applying the SDC sol-gel coating on the cathode pore surface, which can increase triple phase boundary from the electrolyte interface to the electrode surface. For the LSCF cathode with the SDC buffer layer and modified by the SDC sol-gel coating on the cathode pore surface, the cathode resistance was as low as 0.11 ${\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$ measured at $700^{\circ}C$ in air atmosphere.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.42 no.11 s.282
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• pp.729-736
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• 2005

HTGR (High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor) is spotlighted to next generation nuclear power plant for producing the clean hydrogen gas and the electricity. In this study, the spherical $UO_3$ gel particles were prepared by the external gelation process, and the characteristics of these particles were analyzed the particle shape, composition of precipitate, and thermal decomposition characteristics with the Streoscope, FT-IR, and X-ray diffractometer. Raw material of the ADUN (Acid Deficient Uranyl Nitrate) solution, which has [$NO_3$]/[U] mole ratio = 1.75, was obtained from dissolution of the $U_{3}O_{8}$ powder with concentrated $HNO_3$, and its concentration is 3.5 M-U/l. The broth solution is prepared with the ADUN, urea, PVA, and THFA solution. The droplets of the broth solution was made through a nozzle system. From this study, we obtained the following results; 1) an externel chemical gelation process is a suitable method in the spherical $UO_3$ particle production, 2) the particle shape are changed by an urea mixing time, THFA volume, and the viscosity of the broth solution, 3) the amorphous $UO_3$ particles obtained from these experiments was converted to $U_{3}O_{8}$ and then $UO_2$ by heat treatment in hydrogen atmosphere at $600^{\circ}C$.