• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.15-15
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• 2011

As you know, boron compounds, borax ($Na_2B_4O_5(OH)_4{\cdot}8H_2O$) etc. were known thousands of years ago. As for natural boron, it has two naturally occurring and stable isotopes, boron 11 ($^{11}B$) and boron 10 ($^{10}B$). The neutron absorption $^{10}B$ is included about 19~20% with 80~81% $^{11}B$. Boron is similar to carbon in its capability to form stable covalently bonded molecular networks. The mass difference results in a wide range of ${\beta}$ values between the $^{11}B$ and $^{10}B$. The $^{10}B$ isotope, stable with 5 neutrons is excellent at capturing thermal neutrons. For example, it is possible to decrease a thermal neutron required for the nuclear reaction of uranium 235 ($^{235}U$). If $^{10}B$ absorbs a neutron ($^1n$), it will change to $^7Li+^1{\alpha}$ (${\alpha}$ ray, like $^4He$) with prompt ${\gamma}$ ray from $^{11}B$ $^{11}B$ (equation 1). $$^{10}B+^1n\;{\rightarrow}\;^{11}B\;{\rightarrow}\; prompt \;{\gamma}\;ray (478 keV), \;^7Li+4{\alpha}\;(4He)\;\;\;\;{\cdots}\; (1)$$ If about 1% boron is added to stainless steel, it is known that a neutron shielding effect will be 3 times the boron free steel. Enriched boron or $^{10}B$ is used in both radiation shielding and in boron neutron capture therapy. Then, $^{10}B$ is used for reactivity control and in emergency shutdown systems in nuclear reactors. Furthermore, boron carbide, $B_4C$, is used as the charge of a nuclear fission reaction control rod material and neutron cover material for nuclear reactors. The $B_4C$ powder of natural B composition is used as a charge of a control material of a boiling water reactor (BWR) which occupies commercial power reactors in nuclear power generation. The $B_4C$ sintered body which adjusted $^{10}B$ concentration is used as a charge of a control material of the fast breeder reactor (FBR) currently developed aiming at establishment of a nuclear fuel cycle. In this study for new boron compound, silicon boride ceramics for capturing thermal neutrons, preparation and characterization of both silicon tetraboride ($SiB_4$) and silicon hexaboride ($SiB_6$) and ceramics produced by sintering were investigated in order to determine the suitability of this material for nuclear power generation. The relative density increased with increasing sintering temperature. With a sintering temperature of 1,923 K, a sintered body having a relative density of more than 99% was obtained. The Vickers hardness increased with increasing sintering temperature. The best result was a Vickers hardness of 28 GPa for the $SiB_6$ sintered at 1,923K for 1 h. The high temperature Vickers hardness of the $SiB_6$ sintered body changed from 28 to 12 GPa in the temperature range of room temperature to 1,273 K. The thermal conductivity of the SiB6 sintered body changed from 9.1 to 2.4 W/mK in the range of room temperature to 1,273 K.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.233-242
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• 2018

To overcome the low mechanical strength and corrosion behavior of a carbon steel canister at high temperature condition of a deep borehole, SiC ceramics were studied as an alternative material for the disposal canister. In this paper, a design concept for a SiC canister, along with an outer stainless steel container, was proposed, and its manufacturing feasibility was tested by fabricating several 1/3 scale canisters. The proposed canister can contain one PWR assembly. The outer container was also prepared for the string formation of SiC canisters. Thermal conductivity was measured for the SiC canister. The canister had a good thermal conductivity of above $70W{\cdot}m^{-1}{\cdot}K^{-1}$ at $100^{\circ}C$. The structural stability was checked under KURT environment, and it was found that the SiC ceramics did not exhibit any change for the 3 year corrosion test at $70^{\circ}C$. Therefore, it was concluded that SiC ceramics could be a good alternative to carbon steel in application to deep borehole disposal canisters.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.56 no.9
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• pp.1561-1565
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• 2007

According to thermal degradation on power transformers, it is known that electrical, mechanical and chemical characteristics for power transformer's oil-paper are changed. In the chemical property, especially, when the kraft paper is aged, the cellulose polymer chains break down into shorter lengths. It causes decrease in both tensile strength and degree of polymerization of paper insulation. Also the paper breakdown is accompanied by an increase in the content of various furanic compounds within the dielectric liquid. It is known that furanic components in transformer oil come only from the decomposition of insulating paper rather than from the oil itself. Therefore the analysis of furanic degradation products provides a complementary technique to dissolved gas analysis for monitoring transformers when we evaluate the aging of insulating paper by the total concentration of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide dissolved in oil only. Recently, the analysis of furanic compounds by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) using IEC 61198 method for estimating degradation of paper insulation in power transformers has been used more conveniently for assessment of oil-paper. It is know that the main products which is produced by aging are 2-furfuryl alcohol, 2-furaldehyde(furfural), 2-furoic acid, 2-acetylfuran, 5-methyl-2-furaldehyde, and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde. For investigating the accelerated aging process of oil-paper samples we manufactured accelerating aging equipment and we estimated variation of insulations at $140^{\circ}C$ temp. during 500 hours. Typical transformer proportions of copper, silicon steel and iron have been added to oil-paper insulation during the aging process. The oil-paper insulation samples have been measured at intervals of 100 hours. Finally we have analyzed that 2-furoic acid and 2-acetylfuran products of furanic compounds were detected by HPLC, and their concentrations were increased with accelerated aging time.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.334-340
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• 2011

Saw wires have been widely used in industries to slice silicon (Si) ingots into thin wafers for semiconductor fabrication. This study investigated the microstructural and mechanical properties, such as abrasive wear and tensile properties, of a saw wire sample of 0.84 wt.% carbon steel with a 120 ${\mu}M$ diameter. The samples were subjected to heat treatment at different linear velocities of the wire during the patenting process and two different wear tests were performed, 2-body abrasive wear (grinding) and 3-body abrasive wear (rolling wear) tests. With an increasing linear velocity of the wire, the tensile strength and microhardness of the samples increased, whereas the interlamellar spacing in a pearlite structure decreased. The wear properties from the grinding and rolling wear tests exhibited an opposite tendency. The weight loss resulting from grinding was mainly affected by the tensile strength and microhardness, while the diameter loss obtained from rolling wear was affected by elongation or ductility of the samples. This result demonstrates that the wear mechanism in the 3-body wear test is much different from that for the 2-body abrasive wear test. The ultra-high tensile strength of the saw wire produced by the drawing process was attributed to the pearlite microstructure with very small interlamellar spacing as well as the high density of dislocation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.288-288
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• 2013

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) is one of the most important rechargeable battery and portable energy storage for the electric digital devices. In particular, study about the higher energy capacity and longer cycle life is intensively studied because of applications in mobile electronics and electric vehicles. Generally, the LIB's capacity can be improved by replacing anode materials with high capacitance. The graphite, common anode materials, has a good cyclability but shows limitations of capacity (~374 mAh/g). On the contrary, silicon (Si) and germanium(Ge), which is same group elements, are promising candidate for high-performance LIB electrodes because it has a higher theoretical specific capacity. (Si:4200 mAh/g, Ge:1600 mAh/g) However, it is well known that Si volume change by 400% upon full lithiation (lithium insertion into Si), which result in a mechanical pulverization and poor capacity retention during cycling. Therefore, variety of nanostructure group IV elements, including nanoparticles, nanowires, and hollow nanospheres, can be promising solution about the critical issues associated with the large volume change. However, the fundamental research about correlation between the composition and structure for LIB anode is not studied yet. Herein, we successfully synthesized various structure of nanowire such as Si-Ge, Ge-Carbon and Si-graphene core-shell types and analyzed the properties of LIB. Nanowires (NWs) were grown on stainless steel substrates using Au catalyst via VLS (Vapor Liquid Solid) mechanism. And, core-shell NWs were grown by VS (Vapor-Solid) process on the surface of NWs. In order to characterize it, we used FE-SEM, HR-TEM, and Raman spectroscopy. We measured battery property of various nanostructures for checking the capacity and cyclability by cell-tester.