• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2010

In the present work, an electrowinning process in the LiCl-KCl/Cd system is considered to model and analyze the electrotransport of the actinide and rare-earth elements. A simple dynamic modeling of this process was performed by taking into account the material balances and diffusion-controlled electrochemical reactions in a diffusion boundary layer at an electrode interface between the molten salt electrolyte and liquid cadmium cathode. The proposed modeling approach was based on the half-cell reduction reactions of metal chloride occurring on the cathode. This model demonstrated a capability for the prediction of the concentration behaviors, a faradic current of each element and an electrochemical potential as function of the time up to the corresponding electrotransport satisfying a given applied current based on a galvanostatic electrolysis. The results of selected case studies including five elements (U, Pu, Am, La, Nd) system are shown, and a preliminary simulation is carried out to show how the model can be used to understand the electrochemical characteristics and provide better information for developing an advanced electrowinner.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.127-137
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• 2019

Zr electrorefining is demonstrated herein using Zirlo tubes in a chloride-fluoride mixed molten salt in the presence of $AlF_3$. Cyclic voltammetry reveals a monotonic shift in the onset of metal reduction kinetics towards positive potential and an increase in intensity of the additional peaks associated with Zr-Al alloy formation with increasing $AlF_3$ concentration. Unlike the galvanostatic deposition mode, a radial plate-type Zr growth is evident at the top surface of the salt during Zr electrorefining at a constant potential of -1.2 V. The diameter of the plate-type Zr deposit gradually increases with increasing $AlF_3$ concentration. Scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses for the plate-type Zr deposit show that trace amount of Al is incorporated as Zr-Al alloys with different chemical compositions between the top and bottom surface of the deposit. Addition of $AlF_3$ is effective in lowering the residual salt content in the deposit and in improving the current efficiency for Zr recovery.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.302-309
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• 2023

In general, castings often have complex shapes and significant variations in thickness within a single product, making grid generation for simulations challenging. Casting flows involve multiphase flows, requiring the tracking of the boundary between air and molten metal. Additionally, considerable time is spent calculating pressure fields due to density differences in a numerical analysis. For these reasons, the Cartesian grid system has traditionally been used in mold filling simulations. However, orthogonal grids fail to represent shapes accurately, leading to a momentum loss caused by the stair-like grid patterns on curved and sloped surfaces. This can alter the flow of molten metals and result in incorrect casting process designs. To address this issue, simulations in the Cartesian grid system involve creating a large number of grids to represent shapes more accurately. Alternatively, the Cut Cell method can be applied to address the problems arising from the Cartesian grid system. In this study, analysis results based on the number of grid in the Cartesian grid system for a casting flow analysis were compared with results obtained using the Cut Cell method. Casting flow simulations of actual products during various casting processes were also conducted, and these results were analyzed with and without applying the Cut Cell method.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.61-68
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• 2018

The aluminum dross is oxide generated on the surface of the molten metal during the aluminum melting process and it is divided into white dross and black dross according to presence of the Salt flux. White dross has high metal content and is recycled via the melting process. Black dross is largely berried, because the it has a low metal content and difficulty in separating the components. Black dross contains a salt components such as NaCl and KCl, and inorganic materials such as $Al_2O_3$ and MgO, and it is necessary to study the technology to recover and recycle such valuable resources. In this study, a process for recycling aluminum black dross was proposed. The inorganic and soluble substances present in the black dross were separated through crushing-dissolution-solid/liquid separation-decompression evaporating. By controlling the ratio of water and black dross, the recovery condition of the separated product was optimized and we confirmed the highest Salt flux recovery efficiency 91 wt.% at black dross:water ratio 1:9. Finally, Through the synthesis of zeolite using recovered ceramic material, the materialization possibility of black dross was confirmed.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.504-509
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• 2004

The reaction of Cu metal with mixed alkali metal polyselenide flux ($KNaSe_x$) produced large plate-like crystals of $KCu_4Se_3$. The structure of $KCu_4Se_3$, determined with X-ray single crystal diffraction techniques, is tetragonal (P4/mmm, a=4.013(1))${\AA}$, c=9.712(1))${\AA}$, z=1, R=6.7%). The structure is composed $[Cu_4Se_3]_n^{n-}$double layers which are made of fused anti PbO-type Cu2Se2 layers. Temperature variable resistivity measurement on single crystal of $KCu_4Se_3$ shows metallic behavior ranging from $1.8{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ (at 300 K) to $1.0{\times}10^{-6}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ (at 20 K).

• Composites Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.75-84
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to investigate the wear properties of Saffil/Al, Saffil/A12O3/Al and Saffil/SiC/Al hybrid metal matrix composites fabricated by squeeze casting method. Wear tests were done on a pin-on-disk friction and wear tester under both dry and lubricated conditions. The wear properties of the three composites were evaluated in many respects. The effects of Saffil fibers, $\textrm{Al}_2\textrm{O}_3$ particles and SiC particles on the wear behavior of the composites were investigated. Wear mechanisms were analyzed by observing the worn surfaces of the composites. The variation of coefficient of friction(COF) during the wear process was recorded by using a computer. Under dry sliding condition, Saffil/SiC/Al showed the best wear resistance under high temperature and high load, while the wear resistances of Saffil/Al and Saffi1/$\textrm{Al}_2\textrm{O}_3$/Al were very similar. Under dry sliding condition, the dominant wear mechanism was abrasive wear under mild load and room temperature, and the dominant wear mechanism changed to adhesive wear as load or temperature increased. Molten wear occurred at high temperature. Compared with the dry sliding condition, all three composites showed excellent wear resistance when lubricated by liquid paraffin. Under lubricated condition, Saffil/Al showed the best wear resistance among them, and its COF value was the smallest. The dominant wear mechanism of the composites under lubricated condition was microploughing, but microcracking also occurred to them to different extents.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.171-178
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• 2008

Metal filter elements were newly introduced to the high temperature filter(HTF) system in the low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste vitrification plant. In order to evaluate the performance of various metal materials as filter media, elements made of AISI 316L, AISI 904L, and Inconel 600 were included to the test set of filter elements. At the visual inspection to the elements performed after completion of each test, a few dark spots were observed on the surface of some elements. Especially they were found much more at the AISI 316L elements than others. To check the dark spots are the corrosion phenomena or not, two kinds of analyses were performed to the tested filter elements. Firstly, the surfaces or the cross sections of filter specimens cut out from both normal area and dark spot area of elements were analyzed by SEM/EDS. The results showed that the dark spots were not evidences of corrosion but the deposition of sodium, sulfur and silica compounds volatilized from waste or molten glass. Secondly, the ring tensile strength were analyzed for the ring-shape filter specimens cut out from each kind of element. The result obtained from the strength tested showed no evidence of corrosion as well. Conclusionally, depending on the two kinds of analysis, no evidences of corrosion were found at the tested metal filter elements. But the dark spots formed on the surface could reduce the effective filtering area and increase the overall pressure drop of HTF system. Thus, continuous heating inside filter housing up to dew point will be required normally. And a few long-period test should be followed for the exact evaluation of corrosion of the metal filter elements.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.121-129
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• 2015

The platinum anode for the electrolytic reduction process is generally surrounded by a nonporous ceramic shroud with an open bottom to offer a path for $O_2$ gas produced on the anode surface and prevent the corrosion of the electrolytic reducer. However, the $O^{2-}$ ions generated from the cathode are transported only in a limited fashion through the open bottom of the anode shroud because the nonporous shroud hinders the transport of the $O^{2-}$ ions to the anode surface, which leads to a decrease in the current density and an increase in the operation time of the process. In the present study, we demonstrate the electrolytic reduction of 1 kg-uranium oxide ($UO_2$) using the porous shroud to investigate its long-term stability. The $UO_2$ with the size of 1~4mm and the density of $10.30{\sim}10.41g/cm^3$ was used for the cathode. The platinum and 5-layer STS mesh were used for the anode and its shroud, respectively. After the termination of the electrolytic reduction run in 1.5 wt.% $Li_2O-LiCl$ molten salt, it was revealed that the U metal was successfully converted from the $UO_2$ and the anode and its shroud were used without any significant damage.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.55-61
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• 2011

In order to develop economical production process from metallurgical grade silicon(MG-Si) to solar grade(SOG-Si), removal of boron by slag treatment was investigated at 1823 K using CaO-$SiO_2$ based slags. In the present study boron removal ratio in CaO-$SiO_2$ stags and $CaCO_3-SiO_2$ slags were increased to 63% and 73% respectively with slag basicity (%CaO/$%SiO_2$). However, bubbling time with Ar gas of slag and metal was not affected on removal ratio of boron. The addition of $Na_2CO_3$ to CaO-$SiO_2$ slags did not improve the removal ratio of boron from molten silicon. Boron contend was decreased from 20.6 ppm to 1.03 ppm by three times treatment using $CaCO_3-SiO_2$ slag (basicity=1.2).

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.506-511
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• 2006

Silver is one of the most appropriate Jewelry materials for Jewelry casting and bench working. The technique known as 'Mokumegane' is good for making silver jewelry with natural patterns, such as wood grain patterns, but the process is not easy for silversmithing because it requires complicated and heavy labour. Instead of using conventional Mokumegane technique, we propose a new modified silver-copper casting process that enables a similar surface effect with good metal bonding strength between silver and copper. Simply pouring the molten silver into pre-aligned copper granules or 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm-thick copper sheets leads to well embedded copper silver ingots. The rolled silver plates from those ingots show excellent bonding interface even after the silver plate rolled ten times. We successfully fabricated prototype rings with copper embedded silver plates. Our result implies that our newly proposed process nay be a simpler way to fabricate silver jewelry with a pseudo-Mokumegane effect.