• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.141-149
• /
• 1999

Recently the Ni/MH secondary battery has been studied extensively to achieve higher energy density, longer cycle life and faster charging-discharging rate etc. In this work, the electrode properties of $(LM)Ni_{4.49}Co_{0.1}Mn_{0.205}Al_{0.205}$ alloy and $Ti_{0.6}Zr_{0.4}V_{0.6}Ni_{1.4}$ alloy with addition of Pd were investigated. These alloys did not show any change in XRD pattern by Pd addition. As Pd was added as alloy element, the activation behavior was not affected significantly in both $AB_2$ type and $AB_5$ type electrodes and, On charging and discharging in high current density, Discharge capacity with increasing of Pd content was more decreased. But cycle life was showed increasing. Especially the electrode of $Ti_{0.6}Zr_{0.4}V_{0.6}Ni_{1.4}+0.5wt%$ Pd alloy was not almost decreased discharge capacity for 400cycles.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.642-650
• /
• 2016

One of the most feasible solution for reducing the excessive energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission is usage of more efficient fuel such as hydrogen. As is well known, there are three viable technologies for storing hydrogen fuel: compressed gas, metal hydride absorption, and cryogenic liquid. In these technologies, the storage for liquid hydrogen has better energy density by weight than other storage methods. However, the cryogenic liquid storage has a significant disadvantage of boiling losses. That is, high performance of thermal insulation systems must be studied for reducing the boiling losses. This paper presents an experimental study on the effective thermal conductivities of the composite layered insulation with aerogel blankets($Cryogel^{(R)}$ Z and $Pyrogel^{(R)}$ XT-E) and Multi-layer insulation(MLI). The aerogel blankets are known as high porous materials and the good insulators within a soft vacuum range($10^{-3}{\sim}1$ Torr). Also, MLI is known as the best insulator within a high vacuum range(<$10^{-6}{\sim}10^{-3}$ Torr). A vertical axial cryogenic experimental apparatus was designed to investigate the thermal performance of the composite layered insulators under cryogenic conditions as well as consist of a cold mass tank, a heat absorber, annular vacuum space, and an insulators space. The composite insulators were laminated in the insulator space that height was 50 mm. In this study, the effective thermal conductivities of the materials were evaluated by measuring boil-off rate of liquid nitrogen and liquid argon in the cold mass tank.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.155-169
• /
• 2007

A transport container for a 500 kCi tritium storage vessel was developed, which could be used for the transport of metal tritide from Wolsong TRF facility to a disposal site. The structural, thermal, shielding, and confinement analyses were performed for the container in a view of Type B. As a result of structural analysis, the developed container sustained its integrity under normal and accidental conditions. The maximum temperature increase of the inner storage vessel by radiation was evaluated at $134.8^{\circ}C at room temperature. In $800^{\circ}C$ fire test, The thermal barrier of container sustained the inner vessel at $405^{\circ}C after 30 min, which temperature was allowable for the container integrity since maximum design temperature of inner vessel was $550^{\circ}C. In the evaluation of the shielding, the activity of radiation was nearly zero on the outer surface of inner vessel. Consequently the transport container for a 500 kCi tritium was evaluated to pass all the safety tests including accidental condition, so it was concluded that the designed transport container is proper to be used.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.31-38
• /
• 2006

There are two types of metal hydride electrodes as a negative electrode in a Ni-MH battery, $AB_2$ Zr-based Laves phases and $AB_5$ LM(La-rich mischmetal)-based alloys. The $AB_5$ alloy electrodes have characteristic properties such as a large discharge capacity per volume, easiness in activation, long cycle life and a low cost of alloy. However they have a relatively small discharge capacity per weight. The $AB_2$alloy electrodes have a much higher discharge capacity per weight than $AB_5$ alloy electrodes, however they have some disadvantages of poor activation behavior and cycle life. Therefore, in order to improve the discharge capacity of the $AB_5$ alloy electrode the Zr, Ti and V which are the alloying elements of the $AB_2$ alloys were added to the $LaNi_{3.6}Ai_{0.4}Co_{0.7}Mn_{0.3}$ alloy which was chosen as a $AB_5$ alloy with a high capacity. The addition of Zr, Ti and V to $LaNi_{3.6}Ai_{0.4}Co_{0.7}Mn_{0.3}$ alloy improved the activation to be completed in two cycles. The discharge capacities of Zr 0.02, Ti 0.02 and V 0.1 alloys in $LaNi_{3.6}Ai_{0.4}Co_{0.7}Mn_{0.3}M_y$ (M = Zr, Ti, V) were respectively 346, 348 and 366 mAh/g alloy. The alloy electrodes, Zr 0.02, Ti 0.05 and V 0.1 in $LaNi_{3.6}Ai_{0.4}Co_{0.7}Mn_{0.3}M_y$ (M = Zr, Ti, V), have shown good cycle property after 200 cycles. The rate capability of the $LaNi_{3.6}Ai_{0.4}Co_{0.7}Mn_{0.3}M_y$ (M = Zr, Ti, V) alloy electrodes were very good until 0.6 C rate and the alloys, Zr 0.02, Ti 0.05 and V 0.1, have shown the best result as 92 % at 2.4 C rate. The charge retention property of the $LaNi_{3.6}Ai_{0.4}Co_{0.7}Mn_{0.3}M_y$ (M = Zr, Ti, V) alloys was not good and the alloys with M content from 0.02 to 0.05 showed better charge retention properties.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.72-78
• /
• 1992

The Earth outer core accomodates moderately considerable amount of lighter elements than pure iron itself. Hydrogen is one of the possible candidates of minor constituents in the outer core. It would be worth while to extend for the pressure effect on the solubility of hydrogen in the metal-hydrides including iron hydride. In view of hydrogen being one of the potential substitutes for petroleum, searching a more efficient way for storing hydrogen in the form of hydrides is of considerable value. For two purposes, $TiH_2$was selected among lot of hydrides for its characteristics under pressure and temperature. There have been two kinds of experiment carried out on $TiH_2$ under different experimental conditions. As one of these attempts, polycrystalline $TiH_2$ was loaded up to 15 GPa stepwise at the constant temperature 500${\circ}$ using a piston-cylinder diamond anvil cell equipped with a miniature furnace of an electric power supply. The X-ra diffraction technique was employed on the quenched samples after the simultaneous high pressure and temperature treatments. During these high pressure-temperature runs, and irreversible phase of $TiH_2$ has been observed at the pressures higher than 11.3 GPa, which would be assigned to the orthorhombic crystal system as one of the new phase(s) of $TiH_2$. Molar volume change on this phase transition is ∼10%.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.346-355
• /
• 2012

Recent in the world environmental issues and energy depletion problems have been received attention. One way to solve these problems is to use hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Therefore, the interest in HEV technology is higher than ever before. Viable candidates for the energy-storage systems in HEV applications may be absorbent glass mat (AGM) lead-acid, nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-MH) and rechargeable lithium batteries. The AGM battery has advantages in terms of relatively low cost, high charge efficiency, low self-discharge, low maintenance requirements and safety as compared to the other batteries. In order to implement HEV system in required more electric power commercial vehicles AGM batteries was connected to 2 series-2 parallels (2S2P). In this study, a one-dimensional modeling is carried-out to predict the behaviors of 2S2P AGM batteries system during charge and discharge. The model accounts for electrochemical reaction rates, charge conservation and mass transport. In order to validate the model, modeling results are compared with the experimentally measured data in various conditions.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.45-54
• /
• 1996

Electrochemical oxidation of hydrogen on PdOx and Pd electrodes were investigated in aqueous 30% KOH solution at different temperatures and hydrogen concentrations(partial pressures). Anodic reaction by hydrogen on PdOx electrode was mainly due to the oxidation of adsorbed hydrogen at -0.8V~-0.5V(vs. Hg/HgO). For Pd electrode, the anodic reaction was participated by the adsorbed hydrogen on surface, as well as by the metal hydride formed from direct reaction between Pd and hydrogen at -0.5V~0.0V(vs. Hg/HgO). With the increase of hydrogen concentration the charge transfer resistance decreased and the exchange current increased. The transfer coefficient of PdOx and Pd electrodes were found to be 0.78 and 0.72 respectively, which shows the superior reactivity of Pd electrode. The activation energies of PdOx and Pd electrodes decreased with the increase of overpotential and were found to be 23.9~20.3 kJ/mole and 7.2~3.0kJ/mole, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2012.05a
• /
• pp.72-72
• /
• 2012

Lithium rechargeable batteries have been widely used as key power sources for portable devices for the last couple of decades. Their high energy density and power have allowed the proliferation of ever more complex portable devices such as cellular phones, laptops and PDA's. For larger scale applications, such as batteries in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) or power tools, higher standards of the battery, especially in term of the rate (power) capability and energy density, are required. In PHEV, the materials in the rechargeable battery must be able to charge and discharge (power capability) with sufficient speed to take advantage of regenerative braking and give the desirable power to accelerate the car. The driving mileage of the electric car is simply a function of the energy density of the batteries. Since the successful launch of recent Ni-MH (Nickel Metal Hydride)-based HEVs (Hybrid Electric Vehicles) in the market, there has been intense demand for the high power-capable Li battery with higher energy density and reduced cost to make HEV vehicles more efficient and reduce emissions. However, current Li rechargeable battery technology has to improve significantly to meet the requirements for HEV applications not to mention PHEV. In an effort to design and develop an advanced electrode material with high power and energy for Li rechargeable batteries, we approached to this in two different length scales - Atomic and Nano engineering of materials. In the atomic design of electrode materials, we have combined theoretical investigation using ab initio calculations with experimental realization. Based on fundamental understanding on Li diffusion, polaronic conduction, operating potential, electronic structure and atomic bonding nature of electrode materials by theoretical calculations, we could identify and define the problems of existing electrode materials, suggest possible strategy and experimentally improve the electrochemical property. This approach often leads to a design of completely new compounds with new crystal structures. In this seminar, I will talk about two examples of electrode material study under this approach; $LiNi_{0.5}Mn_{0.5}O_2$ based layered materials and olivine based multi-component systems. In the other scale of approach; nano engineering; the morphology of electrode materials are controlled in nano scales to explore new electrochemical properties arising from the limited length scales and nano scale electrode architecture. Power, energy and cycle stability are demonstrated to be sensitively affected by electrode architecture in nano scales. This part of story will be only given summarized in the talk.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.181-189
• /
• 2002

A series of multicomponent $Zr_{0.8}Ti_{0.2}Mn_{0.4}V_{0.6}Ni_{1-x}Fe_{x}$ (x=0.00, 0.08, 0.15, 0.22, and 0.30) alloys are prepared and their oystal structure and P-C-T curves are examined. The electrochemical properties of these allqys such as activation conditions, discharge capacity, cycling performance are also investigated. $Zr_{0.8}Ti_{0.2}Mn_{0.4}V_{0.6}Ni_{1-x}Fe_{x}$ (x=0.00, 0.08, 0.15, 0.22 and 0.30) have the C14 Laves phase hexagonal structure. The electrode was activated by the hot-charging treatment. The best activation conditions were the current density 120 mA/g and the hot-charging time 12h at $80^{\circ}C$ in the case of the alloy with x=0.00. The discharge capacity increased rapidly until the fourth cycle and then decreased. The discharge capacity increased again from the 13th cycle, arriving at 234 mAh/g at the 50th cycle. The discharge capacily just after activation decreases with the increase in the amount of the substituted Fe but the cycling performance is improved. The discharge capacity after activation of the alloy with x=0.00 is 157 mAh/g at the current density 120 mA/g. $Zr_{0.8}Ti_{0.2}Mn_{0.4}V_{0.6}Ni_{0.85}Fe_{0.15}$ is a good composition with a medium quantity of discharge capacities and a good cycling performance. The ICP analysis of the electrolyte for these electrodes after 50 charge-discharge cycles shows that the concentrations of V and Zr are relatively high. Another series of multicomponent $Zr_{0.8}Ti_{0.2}Mn_{0.4}V_{0.6}Ni_{0.85}M_{0.15}$ (M = Fe, Co, Cu, Mo and Al) alloys are prepared. They also have the C14 Laves phase hexagonal structure. The alloys with M = Co and Fe have relatively larger hydrogen storage capacities. The discharge capacities just after activation are relatively large in the case of the alloys with M = Al and Cu. They are 212 and 170 mAh/g, respectivety, at the current density 120mA/g. The $Zr_{0.8}Ti_{0.2}Mn_{0.4}V_{0.6}Ni_{0.85}Co_{0.15}$ alloy is the best one with a relatively large discharge capacity and a good cycling performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.47 no.6
• /
• pp.678-699
• /
• 2015

Although the harsh space environment imposes many severe challenges to space pioneers, space exploration is a realistic and profitable goal for long-term humanity survival. One of the viable and promising options to overcome the harsh environment of space is nuclear propulsion. Particularly, the Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) is a leading candidate for nearterm human missions to Mars and beyond due to its relatively high thrust and efficiency. Traditional NTR designs use typically high power reactors with fast or epithermal neutron spectrums to simplify core design and to maximize thrust. In parallel there are a series of new NTR designs with lower thrust and higher efficiency, designed to enhance mission versatility and safety through the use of redundant engines (when used in a clustered engine arrangement) for future commercialization. This paper proposes a new NTR design of the second design philosophy, Korea Advanced NUclear Thermal Engine Rocket (KANUTER), for future space applications. The KANUTER consists of an Extremely High Temperature Gas cooled Reactor (EHTGR) utilizing hydrogen propellant, a propulsion system, and an optional electricity generation system to provide propulsion as well as electricity generation. The innovatively small engine has the characteristics of high efficiency, being compact and lightweight, and bimodal capability. The notable characteristics result from the moderated EHTGR design, uniquely utilizing the integrated fuel element with an ultra heat-resistant carbide fuel, an efficient metal hydride moderator, protectively cooling channels and an individual pressure tube in an all-in-one package. The EHTGR can be bimodally operated in a propulsion mode of $100MW_{th}$ and an electricity generation mode of $100MW_{th}$, equipped with a dynamic energy conversion system. To investigate the design features of the new reactor and to estimate referential engine performance, a preliminary design study in terms of neutronics and thermohydraulics was carried out. The result indicates that the innovative design has great potential for high propellant efficiency and thrust-to-weight of engine ratio, compared with the existing NTR designs. However, the build-up of fission products in fuel has a significant impact on the bimodal operation of the moderated reactor such as xenon-induced dead time. This issue can be overcome by building in excess reactivity and control margin for the reactor design.