• Proceedings of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society Conference
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• 2002.08a
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• pp.72-72
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• 2002

In most traditional sorption study in environmental conditions, experimental sorption data have been measured and interpreted by empirical ways such as partition coefficient and sorption isotherms. A mechanistic understanding of heavy metal interactions with various minerals (metal oxides, clay minerals) in aqueous medium is required to describe the behavior of radioactive metal ions in the environment. Various spectroscopic methods provide direct or indirect information on sorption mechanisms involved. We applied EPR (Electron Paramagnetic Resonance) spectroscopy to investigate the nature of metal ion sorption at water/mineral interfaces using Cu(II) as a spin probe. The major sorbed species and their motional state was identified by their EPR spectra. They showed distinct signals due to their strength of binding, local structure and motional state. The EPR results together with macroscopic sorption data show that sorption involved at least three different mechanisms depending on chemical environments (1).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.311-318
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• 2008

In modem power reactors, nuclear fuels have recently reached 55,000 MWd/MtU from the initial average burnup of 35,000 MWd/MtU to reduce the fuel cycle cost and waste volume. At such high burnups, a fuel pellet produces fission products proportional to the burnup and creates a typical high burnup structure around the periphery region of the pellet, producing the so called 'rim effect'. This rim region of a highly burnt fuel is known to be ca. $200\;{\mu}m$ in width and is known to affect the fuel integrity. To characterize the local burnup in the rim region, solid sampling in the micro meter region by laser ablation is needed so that the distribution of isotopes can be determined by ICP-MS. For this procedure, special radiation shielding is required for personnel safety. In this study, we installed a radiation shielded laser ablation ICP-MS system, and a performance test of the developed system was conducted to evaluate the safe operation of instruments.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.56-60
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• 2019

Study on the structure and dynamics of molecules at the atomic level is of great significance for understanding their function and stability as well as roles for various chemico-physical and biological processes. $^{17}O$ NMR spectroscopy has appeared as an elegant technique for investigating of the physicochemical and structural properties of oxygen-containing compounds such as metal organic frameworks and nanosized oxides. This method has drawn much attention as it provides unique insights into the properties of targets based on atomistic information of local oxygen environments which is otherwise difficult to obtain using other methods. In this mini review, we introduce and discuss the recent study and developments of $^{17}O$ NMR techniques which are tailored for the investigation on the structure and dynamics of water and inorganic materials.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.92-115
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• 2016

This paper presents how Korea succeeded in developing an indigenous nuclear power plant model over fifty years. Long-lasting national R&D for technical progress and the Korean government for managerial process were the two pillars in the build-up of indigenous Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) technological capabilities. The concept of technological capabilities is used to examine its evolutionary process with a qualitative and longitudinal approach. The government had a developing country ambition to formulate a strategic plan for technical self-reliance on nuclear power plant while establishing the country’s institutions and organization structure for the plan. Under the government leadership, it was national R&D that led to the resolution of a good number of technological problems, efficiently, by absorbing imported technologies and effectively adapting them to local circumstances.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.74-80
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• 2008

The local structure of defects in undoped, Si-doped, and neutron irradiated free standing GaN bulk crystals, grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy, has been investigated by employing electron magnetic resonance(EMR), Raman scattering and cathodoluminescence. The GaN samples were irradiated to a dose of $2{\times}10^{17}$ neutrons in an atomic reactor at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. There was no appreciable change in the Raman spectra for undoped GaN samples before and after neutron irradiation. However, a forbidden transition, $A_1$(TO) mode, appeared for a neutron irradiated Si-doped GaN crystal. Cathodoluminescence spectrum for the neutron irradiated Si-doped GaN crystal became much broader or was much more broadened than that for the unirradiated one. The observed EMR center with the g value of 1.952 in a neutron irradiated Si-doped GaN may be assigned to a Si-related complex donor.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.66-79
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• 2021

Background: The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is specified in the Disaster Counter-measures Basic Act as a designated public corporation for dealing with nuclear disasters. Materials and Methods: The Nuclear Emergency Assistance and Training Center (NEAT) was established in 2002 as the activity base providing technical assistance to both national and local governments during nuclear emergencies. The NEAT has a robust structure and utilities and special installations, and it organizes training and exercises. Results and Discussion: Due to an offshore earthquake that caused a devastating tsunami in March 2011, a nuclear accident occurred at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The NEAT responded by conducting off-site environmental radiation monitoring and contamination screening, dispatching special vehicles, offering telephone consultations, and calculating the dispersion of radioactive materials. An examination of the emergency response activities revealed that the organization was prepared for these types of disasters and was able to plan long-term response. Conclusion: As a designated public corporation, the JAEA technically supports the national government, the Fukushima prefectural government, and the Ibaraki prefectural government, all of which responded to the off-site emergencies resulting from the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.293-298
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• 2005

We have performed the density functional theory calculations of $UO_2$ using the spin-polarized generalized gradient approximation (SP-GGA) and the SP-GGA+U approach. The SP-GGA+U approach correctly predicts the insulating electronic structure with antiferromagnetic ordering, but the SP-GGA calculations predict metallic behavior. The cohesive properties obtained from the SP-GGA+U calculations are in good agreement with the available experimental results and previous calculations. The spin-polarized local density of states shows that the antiferromagnetic ordering of $UO_2$ is governed by 5f orbitals of uranium ion. Our calculations demonstrate that the strong correlation of U 5f electrons should be taken into account for a reliable description of $UO_2$ physics.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.84-93
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• 2022

To implement carbon-neutrality in transportation sectors until 2050, hydrogen is considered a promising fuel for internal combustion engines because hydrogen does not contain carbon itself. Although hydrogen does not emit CO₂ emission from its combustion process, the low energy density in a volume unit hinders the adoption of hydrogen. Therefore, the understanding of hydrogen jet behavior and measurement of equivalence ratio must be conducted to completely implement the high-pressure hydrogen direct injection. The main objective of this research is feasibility test of hydrogen local equivalence ratio measurement by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBs). To visualize the macroscopic structure of hydrogen jet, high-speed schlieren imaging was conducted. Moreover, LIBs has been adopted to validate the feasibility of hydrogen local equivalence ratio measurement. The hydrogen injection pressure was varied from 4 MPa to 8 MPa and injected in a constant volume chamber where the ambient pressure was 0.5 MPa. The increased injection pressure extends the vertical penetration of hydrogen jet. Due to the higher momentum supply when the injection pressure is high, the hydrogen has easily diffused in all directions. As the laser trigger timing has delayed, the low hydrogen atomic emission was detected due to the longer mixture formation time. Based on equivalence ratio measurement results, LIBs could be applied as a methodology for hydrogen local equivalence ratio measurement.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2020

The atomic structures of silicate liquids at high pressure provide insights into the transport properties including thermal conductivities or elemental partitioning behavior between rocks and magmas in Earth's interior. Whereas the local electronic structure around silicon may vary with the arrangement of the nearby oxygens, the detailed nature of such relationship remains to be established. Here, we explored the atomic origin of the pressure-induced changes in the electronic structure around silicon by calculating the partial electronic density of states and L₃-edge X-ray absorption spectra of SiO₂ polymorphs. The result showed that the Si PDOS at the conduction band varies with the crystal structure and local atomic environments. Particularly, d-orbital showed the distinct features at 108 and 130 eV upon the changes in the coordination number of Si. Calculated Si XAS spectra showed features due to the s,d-orbitals at the conduction band and varied similarly with those observed in s,d-orbitals upon changes in the crystal structures. The calculated Si XAS spectrum for α-quartz was analogous to the experimental Si XRS spectrum for SiO₂ glass, implying the overall similarities in the local atomic environments around the Si. The edge energies at the center of gravity of XAS spectra were closely related to the Si-O distance, thus showing the systematic changes upon densification. Current results suggest that the Si L_2,3-edge XRS, sensitive probe of the Si-O distance, would be useful in unveiling the densification mechanism of silicate glasses and melts at high pressure.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.889-899
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• 2018

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are highly unorthodox proteins that do not form three-dimensional structures under physiological conditions. The discovery of IDPs has destroyed the classical structure-function paradigm in protein science, 3-D structure = function, because IDPs even without well-folded 3-D structures are still capable of performing important biological functions and furthermore are associated with fatal diseases such as cancers, neurodegenerative diseases and viral pandemics. Pre-structured motifs (PreSMos) refer to transient local secondary structural elements present in the target-unbound state of IDPs. During the last two decades PreSMos have been steadily acknowledged as the critical determinants for target binding in dozens of IDPs. To date, the PreSMo concept provides the most convincing structural rationale explaining the IDP-target binding behavior at an atomic resolution. Here we present a brief developmental history of PreSMos and describe their common characteristics. We also provide a list of newly discovered PreSMos along with their functional relevance.