• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.620-635
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• 2010

In this paper we describe current activities on the project Multi-Scale Modeling and Analysis of convective boiling (MSMA), conducted jointly by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and the Swiss Nuclear Utilities (Swissnuclear). The long-term aim of the MSMA project is to formulate improved closure laws for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for prediction of convective boiling and eventually of the Critical Heat Flux (CHF). As boiling is controlled by the competition of numerous phenomena at various length and time scales, a multi-scale approach is employed to tackle the problem at different scales. In the MSMA project, the scales on which we focus range from the CFD scale (macro-scale), bubble size scale (meso-scale), liquid micro-layer and triple interline scale (micro-scale), and molecular scale (nano-scale). The current focus of the project is on micro- and meso-scales modeling. The numerical framework comprises a highly efficient, parallel DNS solver, the PSI-BOIL code. The code has incorporated an Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) to tackle complex geometries. For simulation of meso-scales (bubbles), we use the Constrained Interpolation Profile method: Conservative Semi-Lagrangian $2^{nd}$ order (CIP-CSL2). The phase change is described either by applying conventional jump conditions at the interface, or by using the Phase Field (PF) approach. In this work, we present selected results for flows in complex geometry using the IBM, selected bubbly flow simulations using the CIP-CSL2 method and results for phase change using the PF approach. In the subsequent stage of the project, the importance of effects of nano-scale processes on the global boiling heat transfer will be evaluated. To validate the models, more experimental information will be needed in the future, so it is expected that the MSMA project will become the seed for a long-term, combined theoretical and experimental program.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.96 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 2007

Establishments of the seedlings inside the natural forest from adjacent artificial forests would be an important factor in forest stand dynamics. This study was conducted to see the invasion of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) seedlings which is not native in this region, into the natural deciduous broad-leaved forest in Gwangneung, Korea. There is no mother tree at the I ha study site while the number of naturally regenerated P. koraiensis seedlings was 345 trees and 56% of them were clumped with more than two seedlings at each point. Applying the image segmentation method to IKONOS satellite image of January, 2003, the distance from the center of 1 ha study site to the nearest mother tree and plantation of Korean pine were 200 m and 270 m, respectively. The average height and root-collar diameter of the seedlings were 34 em and 7 mm, respectively and the age of 207 seedlings (60%) were below 5 years old. Most abundant range of soil moisture gradient and LAl (leaf area index) were from 16 to 20% and those of LAI were from 3.1 to 3.5. To understand the dynamics and seed dispersal pattern of Korean pine in the Gwangneung natural deciduous broad-leaved forests, additional studies not only long-term monitoring of growth and mortality of naturally regenerated Korean pine seedlings but also application of stable isotope analysis and molecular genetic techniques was recommended.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.42-53
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• 2009

Gas turbine engine simulation program has been developed. In compressor and turbine, 2-D NS implicit code is used with k-$\omega$ SST turbulent model. In combustor, 0-D lumped method chemical equilibrium code is adopted under the limitations, the products are only 10 species of molecular and air-fuel is perfectly mixed state with 100% combustion efficiency at constant pressure. Fluid properties are shared on interfaces between engine components. The outlet conditions of compressor have been used as the inlet condition of combustor. The inlet condition of turbine comes from the compressor The back pressure in compressor outlet is transferred by the inlet pressure of turbine. Unsteady phenomena at rotor-stator in compressor and turbine is covered by mixing-plane method. The state of engine can be determined only by given inlet condition of compressor, outlet condition of turbine, equivalence ratio and rotating speed.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.315-321
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• 2012

In this study, a sequential multiscale homogenization method to characterize the effective thermal conductivity of nano particulate polymer nanocomposites is proposed through a molecular dynamics(MD) simulations and a finite element-based homogenization method. The thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites embedding different-sized nanoparticles at a fixed volume fraction of 5.8% are obtained from MD simulations. Due to the Kapitza thermal resistance, the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites decreases as the size of the embedded nanoparticle decreases. In order to describe the nanoparticle size effect using the homogenization method with accuracy, the Kapitza interface in which the temperature discontinuity condition appears and the effective interphase zone formed by highly densified matrix polymer are modeled as independent phases that constitutes the nanocomposites microstructure, thus, the overall nanocomposites domain is modeled as a four-phase structure consists of the nanoparticle, Kapitza interface, effective interphase, and polymer matrix. The thermal conductivity of the effective interphase is inversely predicted from the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites through the multiscale homogenization method, then, exponentially fitted to a function of the particle radius. Using the multiscale homogenization method, the thermal conductivities of the nanocomposites at various particle radii and volume fractions are obtained, and parametric studies are conducted to examine the effect of the effective interphase on the overall thermal conductivity of the nanocomposites.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.475-483
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• 2019

Special chemical warfare agents are lethal gases that attack the human respiratory system. One of such gases are blood agents that react with the irons present in the electron transfer system of the human body. This reaction stops internal respiration and eventually causes death. The molecular sizes of these agents are smaller than the pores of an activated carbon, making chemical adsorption the only alternative method for removing them. In this study, we carried out a Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation by passing a blood agent: cyanogen chloride gas through an SG-1 gas mask canister developed by SG Safety Corporation. The adsorption bed consisted of a Silver-Zinc-Molybdenum-Triethylenediamine activated carbon impregnated with copper, silver, zinc and molybdenum ions. The kinetic analysis of the chemical adsorption was performed in accordance with the test procedure for the gas mask canister and was validated by the kinetic data obtained from experimental results. We predicted the dynamic behaviors of the main variables such as the pressure drop inside the canister and the amount of gas adsorbed by chemisorption. By using a granular packed bed instead of the Ergun equation that is used to model porous materials in Computational Fluid Dynamics, applicable results of the activated carbon were obtained. Dynamic simulations and flow analyses of the chemical adsorption with varying gas flow rates were also executed.

• International Journal of Molecular Medicine
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.2409-2419
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• 2019

The use of finasteride for alleviating hair loss has been investigated, and it has been applied as an oral dose medication. However, due to the inconvenience of daily drug administration over long period of time, novel controllable finasteride delivery has been actively investigated. As a novel method of finasteride delivery, the development of finasteride-loaded microspheres for subcutaneous administration is becoming increasingly pharmaceutically important. Therefore, the present study aimed to use finasteride-loaded microspheres in a controlled manner in an attempt to overcome the limitations of the oral administration of finasteride and to cause fewer adverse effects. Finasteride-loaded microspheres containing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and finasteride at a ratio of 4:1 were prepared, and a testosterone-induced androgenic alopecia mouse model was used. Following observation for 10 weeks, the percentage hair growth was 86.7% (total hair growth 60%, partial hair growth 26.7%) in the orally-applied finasteride-treated group as a positive control, and 93.3% (total hair growth 60%, partial hair growth 33.3%) in the finasteride-loaded microspheres-treated group. Serum dihydrotestosterone levels began to decrease at week 6 in the orally-applied finasteride- and finasteride-loaded microsphere-treated groups. In addition, the finasteride-loaded microspheres-treated group exhibited similar follicular number, follicular length, anagen/telogen ratio and hair bulb diameter values to those of the orally-applied finasteride-treated group. Furthermore, the finasteride-loaded microspheres increased the activities of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B and Wnt/β-catenin in relation to hair follicle cell growth signaling in mouse skin, and suppressed the apoptosis of hair follicle cells by reducing the expression of transforming growth factor-β2 and caspase-3, which are indicators of apoptosis. In conclusion, the administration of a single injection of finasteride-loaded microspheres was effective in treating testosterone-induced alopecia. Furthermore, it led to equivalent hair growth effects when compared with orally-applied finasteride, thus revealing the possibility of effective treatment via different routes of administration.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.139-159
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• 2018

Green Leaf Volatiles (GLVs) is a class of biogenically emitted oxygenated hydrocarbons that have been identified as a potential source of Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA) via aqueous oxidation. The physico-chemical properties of GLVs are vital to understanding their fate and transport in the atmosphere via fog processing, but few experimental data are available. We studied the aqueous solubility, 1-octanol/water partition coefficient, and Henry's law constant ($K_H$) of five GLVs at $25^{\circ}C$: methyl jasmonate, methyl salicylate, 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, and cis-3-hexenyl acetate. Henry's law constant was also measured at temperatures and ionic strengths typical of fog. Experimental values are compared to scarcely-available literature values, as well as estimations using group and bond contribution methods, property-specific correlations and molecular dynamics simulations. From these values, the partition coefficients to the air-water interface were also calculated. The large Henry's law constant of methyl jasmonate ($8091{\pm}1121M{\cdot}atm^{-1}$) made it the most significant GLV for aqueous phase photochemistry. The HENRYWIN program's bond contribution method from the Estimation Programs Interface Suite (EPI Suite) produced the best estimate of the Henry's constant for GLVs. Estimations of 1-octanol/water partition coefficient and solubility are best when correlating an experimental value of one to find the other. Finally, the scavenging efficiency was calculated for each GLV indicating aqueous phase processing will be most important for methyl jasmonate.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.268-274
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• 1999

The chitosan solution was prepared by dissolving chitosan into 2 wt % aqueous acetic acid solution and then chitosan beads were made by sol-gel method. The average molecular weight and the degree of deacetylation of the chitosan used here were determined to be $8.2{\times}10^5$ and 85%, respectively. chitosan beads were highly porous which was confirmed by SEM photography and BET. Adsorption equilibrium of $Cu^{2+}$ on porous chitosan beads could be represented by Sips equation. The diffusion of cupric ions in the chitosan beads could be explained by pore and surface diffusion mechanisms. Adsorption dynamics of $Cu^{2+}$ in fixed-bed could be simulated by linear driving force approximation (LDFA). It was proven that porous chitosan beads manufactured in this work are good adsorbents for the removal of $Cu^{2+}$.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.577-582
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• 2016

In this study, a multiscale method for solving a thermoelasticity problem for interphase in the polymeric nanocomposites is developed. Molecular dynamics simulation and finite element analysis were numerically combined to describe the geometrical boundaries and the local mechanical response of the interfacial region where the polymer networks were highly interacted with the nanoparticle surface. Also, the micrmechanical thermoelasticity equations were applied to the obtained equivalent continuum unit to compute the growth of interphase thickness according to the size of nanoparticles, as well as the thermal phase transition behavior at a wide range of temperatures. Accordingly, the equivalent continuum model obtained from the multiscale analysis provides a meaningful description of the thermoelastic behavior of interphase as well as its nanoparticle size effect on thermoelasticity at both below and above the glass transition temperature.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.407-408
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• 2011

Natural boron consists of two stable isotopes 10B and 11B with natural abundance of 18.8 atom percent of 10B and 81.2 atom percent of 11B. The thermal neutron absorption cross-section for 10B and 11B are 3837 barn and 0.005 barn respectively. 10B enriched specific compounds are used for control rods and as a reactor coolant additives. In this work 2 methods for boron enrichment were analysed: 1) Gas irradiation in static conditions. Dissociation occurs due to multiphoton absorption by specific isotopes in appropriately tuned laser field. IR shifted laser pulses are usually used in combination with increasing the laser intensity also improves selectivity up to some degree. In order to prevent recombination of dissociated molecules BCl3 is mixed with H2S 2) SILARC method. Advantages of this method: a) Gas cooling is helpful to split and shrink boron isotopes absorption bands. In order to achieve better selectivity BCl3 gas has to be substantially rarefied (~0.01%-5%) in mixture with carrier gas. b) Laser intensity is lower than in the first method. Some preliminary calculations of dissociation and recombination with carrier gas molecules energetics for both methods will be demonstrated Boron separation in SILARC method can be represented as multistage process: 1) Mixture of BCl3 with carrier gas is putted in reservoir 2) Gas overcooling due to expansion through Laval nozzle 3) IR multiphoton absorption by gas irradiated by specifically tuned laser field with subsequent gradual gas condensation in outlet chamber It is planned to develop software which includes these stages. This software will rely on the following available software based on quantum molecular dynamics in external quantized field: 1) WavePacket: Each particle is treated semiclassicaly based on Wigner transform method 2) Turbomole: It is based on local density methods like density of functional methods (DFT) and its improvement- coupled clusters approach (CC) to take into account quantum correlation. These models will be used to extract information concerning kinetic coefficients, and their dependence on applied external field. Information on radiative corrections to equation of state induced by laser field which take into account possible phase transition (or crossover?) can be also revealed. This mixed phase equation of state with quantum corrections will be further used in hydrodynamical simulations. Moreover results of these hydrodynamical simulations can be compared with results of CFD calculations. The first reasonable question to ask before starting the CFD simulations is whether turbulent effects are significant or not, and how to model turbulence? The questions of laser beam parameters and outlet chamber geometry which are most optimal to make all gas volume irradiated is also discussed. Relationship between enrichment factor and stagnation pressure and temperature based on experimental data is also reported.