• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.77-84
• /
• 2008

Based upon the good compatibility to neutron irradiation and high temperature water environment, austenitic stainless steels are widely used for core internal structural materials of light water reactors. But, recently, intergranular cracking was detected in the stainless steels for the core applications in some commercial PWR plants. Authors studied on the root cause of the intergranular cracking and developed the countermeasure including the alternative materials for these core applications. The intergranular cracking in these core applications are defined as an irradiation assisted mechanical cracking and irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking. In this paper, the root cause of the intergranular cracking and its countermeasure are summarized and discussed.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.23-28
• /
• 1997

Physicohemical properties of corn starches isolated from non-glutinous and corn grains fol-lowing γ-irradiation up to 10kGy were investigated. Blue value, water binding capacity and swelling power decreased, while alkali number ad solubility increased by γ-irradiation , which was more pronounced in glu-tinous corn starch than in non-glutinous corn starch. The optical transmittance increased with an increment of heating temperature and applied irradiation doses. No significant difference was observed in Hunter's color value between both starches isolated from non- irradiated and irradiated and irradiated corn grains. Amylograph viscosities decreased remarkably as dose levels increased. The overall effects of γ-irradiation was more distinguished in glutinous starch than in non-glutinous starch.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.175-179
• /
• 1999

To develop a production method for modified starches with less pollution, pH adjustment and gamma irradiation were applied to commerical corn starch. Blue values were significantly decreased , while alkali number, optical transmittance and solubility markedly increased when gamma irradiation was applied to pH 2 adjusted corn starch. Water binding capacity and swelling power at pH 5 were the highest among the samples. Gelatinization viscosity was considerably affected by gamma irradiation and pH of the starch. Gamma irradiation of pH 2 adjusted starch showed the lowest peak viscosity and the best cooling stability among the tested samples . Therefore, the production of modified starch with low viscosity as well as with sufficient viscosity stability seems feasible by controlling the pH of the starch and gamma irrdiation.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.339-343
• /
• 2005

Microbial hydrogel was prepared by ${\gamma}-irradiation$ of poly(${\gamma}-glutamic acid$) (PGA) which was produced from Bacillus subtilis BS 62 and it's physico-chemical characteristic was examined. The hydrogel, prepared from 10% PGA with the dose of 48 kGy, was swollen up to 1,370 times of specific water content as dry weight basis. The hydrogels obtained above the dose of 48 kGy appeared to have higher compressive strength but lower specific water content. The period to reach a swelling equilibrium for the hydrogel in deionized water at the temperature range of 4 to $45^{\circ}C$ was about 10 h. The swollen hydrogel was shrunk in ionic solutions with the increase of ionic strength, and the rate of shrinkage was greater in calcium chloride solution than in sodium chloride. Specific water content of the hydrogel was quickly decreased at $80^{\circ}C$, showing a thennally hydrodegradable property.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.2147-2157
• /
• 2023

The aggregate-forming minerals in concrete undergo volume swelling and microstructure change under neutron irradiation, leading to degradation of physical and mechanical properties of the aggregates and concrete. A comprehensive investigation of volume change and elastic property variation of major aggregate-forming minerals is still lacking, so molecular dynamics simulations have been employed in this paper to improve the understanding of the degradation mechanisms. The results demonstrated that the densities of the selected aggregate-forming minerals of similar atomic structure and chemical composition vary in a similar trend with deposited energy due to the similar amorphization mechanism. The elastic tensors of all silicate minerals are almost isotropic after saturated irradiation, while those of irradiated carbonate minerals remain anisotropic. Moreover, the elastic modulus ratio versus density ratio of irradiated minerals is roughly following the density-modulus scaling relationship. These findings could further provide basis for predicting the volume and elastic properties of irradiated concrete aggregates in nuclear facilities.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.53 no.3
• /
• pp.124-130
• /
• 2018

Recently, microwaves have been used for desulfurization because they can selectively dissociate C-S and S-S bonds present in vulcanized rubber. In this study, we investigated the changes in structural and physical properties of EPDM (Ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber by irradiating it with microwaves for different durations. The surface chemical composition of the irradiated EPDM rubber was analyzed by FT-IR, XPS, and EDS analyses. It was confirmed by XPS that C-S and S-S S2p peak heights greatly decreased when microwave irradiation was performed for more than 5 min. In the EPDM sample irradiated with microwaves for 10 min, the number of S-O bonds significantly increased owing to oxidation. As the microwave irradiation time was increased, SEM images showed cracks and voids on the EPDM surface. The 20% decomposition temperature of the EPDM rubber sample was investigated by TGA, and it was found to be about $435.23^{\circ}C$ for the EPDM rubber irradiated for 10 min. The crosslinking density of the EPDM rubber was determined by measuring the degree of swelling, and the highest value was observed for the E5 sample irradiated for 5 min. The degree of swelling of the E10 sample irradiated for 10 min was lower than that of the E5 sample. These results indicate that when irradiated with microwaves for more than a certain time, desulfurization occurs and the side chain of the EPDM rubber dissociates and forms additional crosslinking bonds.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.169-182
• /
• 2014

High-performance research reactors require fuel that operates at high specific power to high fission density, but at relatively low temperatures. Research reactor fuels are designed for efficient heat rejection, and are composed of assemblies of thin-plates clad in aluminum alloy. The development of low-enriched fuels to replace high-enriched fuels for these reactors requires a substantially increased uranium density in the fuel to offset the decrease in enrichment. Very few fuel phases have been identified that have the required combination of very-high uranium density and stable fuel behavior at high burnup. U-Mo alloys represent the best known tradeoff in these properties. Testing of aluminum matrix U-Mo aluminum matrix dispersion fuel revealed a pattern of breakaway swelling behavior at intermediate burnup, related to the formation of a molybdenum stabilized high aluminum intermetallic phase that forms during irradiation. In the case of monolithic fuel, this issue was addressed by eliminating, as much as possible, the interfacial area between U-Mo and aluminum. Based on scoping irradiation test data, a fuel plate system composed of solid U-10Mo fuel meat, a zirconium diffusion barrier, and Al6061 cladding was selected for development. Developmental testing of this fuel system indicates that it meets core criteria for fuel qualification, including stable and predictable swelling behavior, mechanical integrity to high burnup, and geometric stability. In addition, the fuel exhibits robust behavior during power-cooling mismatch events under irradiation at high power.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.587-592
• /
• 2008

High molecular weight poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel to be expected as a candidate material for the wound-dressing was successfully prepared by electron beam (EB) irradiation. To produce PVA hydrogels with various gel fractions, degrees of swelling in water, gel strengths, and elongations, two different number-average degrees of polymerization [($P_n$)s] of PVA were adapted such as 1700 and 4000, and the PVA solution concentration and irradiation dose of EB were controlled to range of 5 $\sim$ 20% and 30 $\sim$ 100 kGy, respectively. The gel fraction and strength of PV A hydrogel were increased with increasing molecular weight of PVA, solution concentration, and irradiation dose of EB. On the contrary, the degree of swelling and elongation of PVA hydrogel were decreased. The thermal property and crystallinity related to degree of crosslinking of PVA hydrogel were examined by the analyses of differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.50-55
• /
• 2011

Using ultrasonic irradiation, the separation and recovery of PV cell, made of silicon wafer, from PV module was carried out through selective decomposition of EVA used as an interlaminated binder. The ultrasonic cleaner of bath-type (Output: 130 W, Frequency: 40 kHz) was used as an ultrasonic apparatus in this research. With the fixed distance of 2 cm, from ultrasonic generator to PV cell, the experiment of EVA decomposition was performed in various organic solvents such as Toluene, Trichloroethylene, O-dichlorobenzene, Benzene. And also their concentrations and temperature was changed to survey the optimum conditions. However EVA can be decomposed perfectly at $55^{\circ}C$ within 160 min in 5 M of all kinds of solvent, PV cell may be recovered with being damaged or broken severely. This damage may be resulted from the swelling of EVA in the process of decomposition. Whereas, at the condition of 5 M at $65^{\circ}C$, PV cell can be recovered with the state of minor damage or crack. This implies that the decomposition rate of EVA increases with an increase of temperature, thereby EVA can be decomposed before the swelling of EVA layer. Conclusively, it is possible for PV cell to be recovered within 40 min, at $65^{\circ}C$ in 5 M, with less damage.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.137-147
• /
• 1988

This study was designed to investigate the effects of irradiation on the salivary ductal cells, especially on the intercalated ductal cells of the rat parotid glands. For this study, 36 Sprague-Dawley strain rats were irradiated on the head and neck region with absorbed dose of 15Gy by Co-60 teletherapy unit, Picker's model 4M60. The conditions irradiated were that field size, SSD, dose rate and depth were 12×5㎝m, 50㎝, 222 Gy/min. and 1㎝. respectively. The experimental animals were sacrificed 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 hours and 1, 3, 7 days after the irradiation and the changes of the irradiated intercalated duct cells of the parotid glands were examined under the light and electron microscope. The results were as follows: 1. Under the light and electron microscope, the nucleus, mitochondria and secretory granules showed severe changes in the early stage after irradiation and the most severe cellular de- generations were observed 2 hours after irradiation, but the repair processes began from 6 hours after irradiation. 2. Under the electron microscope, loss of the nuclear membranes, derrangement of the chromosomes, swelling and destruction of the secretory granules, and widening of the intercellular spaces were observed after irradiation. 3. Under the light microscope, atrophy and irregular proliferation of the ductal cells, cuboidal metaplasia, hyperchromatism, and the construction or obstruction of the lumen were observed after irradiation.