• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.423-429
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• 2021

The investigation of the utilization of enriched ²⁰⁸Pb as a coolant to enhance the performance of a long-life fast reactor with a Modified CANDLE (Constant Axial shape of Neutron flux, nuclide densities, and power shape During Life of Energy production) burnup scheme has performed. The analyzes were performed on a reactor with thermal power of 800 MegaWatt Thermal (MWTh) with a refueling process every 15 years. Uranium Nitride (enriched ¹⁵N), ²⁰⁸Pb, and High-Cr martensitic steel HT-9 were employed as fuel, coolant, and cladding materials, respectively. One of the Pb-nat isotopes, ²⁰⁸Pb, has the smallest neutron capture cross-section (0.23 mb) among other liquid metal coolants. Furthermore, the neutron-producing cross-section (n, 2n) of ²⁰⁸Pb is larger than sodium (Na). On the other hand, the inelastic scattering energy threshold of ²⁰⁸Pb is the highest among Na, ^natPb, and Bi. The small inelastic scattering cross-section of ²⁰⁸Pb can harden the neutron energy spectrum. Therefore, ²⁰⁸Pb is a better neutron multiplier than any other liquid metal coolant. The excess neutrons cause more production than consumption of ²³⁹Pu. Hence, it can reduce the initial fuel loading of the reactor. The selective photoreaction process was developing to obtain enriched ²⁰⁸Pb. The neutronic was calculated using SRAC and JENDL 4.0 as a nuclear data library. We obtained that the modified CANDLE reactor with enriched ²⁰⁸Pb as coolant and reflector has the highest k-eff among all reactors. Meanwhile, the ^natPb cooled reactor has the lowest k-eff. Thus, the utilization of the enriched ²⁰⁸Pb as the coolant can reduce reactor initial fuel loading. Moreover, the enriched ²⁰⁸Pb-cooled reactor has the smallest power peaking factor among all reactors. Therefore, the enriched ²⁰⁸Pb can enhance the performance of a long-life Modified CANDLE fast reactor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.237-245
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• 2018

Potential air ingress scenarios during accidents in nuclear reactors or spent fuel pools have raised the question of the influence of air, especially of nitrogen, on the oxidation of zirconium alloys, which are used as fuel cladding tubes and other structure materials. In this context, the reaction of zirconium with nitrogen-containing atmospheres and the formation of zirconium nitride play an important role in understanding the oxidation mechanism. This article presents the results of analysis of the interaction of the oxygen-preloaded niobium-bearing alloy $M5^{(R)}$ with nitrogen over a wide range of temperatures ($800-1400^{\circ}C$) and oxygen contents in the metal alloy (1-7 wt.%). A strongly increasing nitriding rate with rising oxygen content in the metal was found. The highest reaction rates were measured for the saturated ${\alpha}-Zr(O)$, as it exists at the metal-oxide interface, at $1300^{\circ}C$. The temperature maximum of the reaction rate was approximately 100 K higher than for Zircaloy-4, already investigated in a previous study. The article presents results of thermogravimetric experiments as well as posttest examinations by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and microprobe elemental analyses. Furthermore, a comparison with results obtained with Zircaloy-4 will be made.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.11
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• pp.722-727
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• 2009

The bipolar plates are not only the major part of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack in weight and volume, but also a significant contributor to the stack costs. Stainless steels are considered to be good candidates for bipolar plate materials of the PEMFC due to their low cost, high strength and easy machining, as well as corrosion resistance. In this paper, 316L stainless steel with and without nitrogen ion implantation were tested in simulated PEMFC environments for application as bipolar plates. The results showed that the nitride formed by nitrogen ion implantation contributed the decrease of the interfacial contact resistance without degradation of corrosion property. The combination of excellent properties indicated that nitrogen ion implanted stainless steel could be potential candidate materials as bipolar plates in PEMFC. Current efforts have focused on optimizing the condition of ion implantation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.653-660
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• 2022

The interaction between UN and CdCl₂ in the LiCl-KCl molten eutectic was studied at 1023 K. The chlorination was monitored by sampling and recording the redox potential of the medium. At 1023 K the chlorination of UN with cadmium chloride in the molten LiCl-KCl eutectic proceeds completely and results in the formation of uranium chlorides. The melts of the LiCl-KCl-UCl₃ or LiCl-KCl-UCl₄ compositions can be obtained by the end of experiment depending on the presence of metallic cadmium in the reaction zone. The higher the concentration of the chlorinating agent, the faster the reaction rate. At [CdCl₂]/[UN] = 1.65 (10% excess) the reaction proceeds to completion in about 7.5 h. At [CdCl₂]/[UN] = 7 the complete chlorination takes 2.5-3 h.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.123-134
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• 2020

The interaction between UN and CdCl₂ in the LiCl-KCl molten eutectic was studied at 773 K. The reaction was controlled by sampling the melt, as well as by analysis of the resulting precipitate. The process was shown to proceed according to several parallel reactions. The summary reaction was determined to have two stages: a fast one and a slow one. The 19-53% UN → UCl₃ conversion was obtained for the molar ratio of CdCl₂/UN = 1.22-14.9. The rest of UN converts into the precipitate of complex composition (UNCl + U₂N₃ + U₄N₇ + UN₂). The increase in the CdCl₂/UN molar ratio from 1.22 to 14.9 resulted in the decrease in duration of the first "fast" stage of the process from 18 h to 1 h.

• Clean Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2024

Efforts are actively underway to address the issues related to the high cost of Pt-based catalysts for oxygen reduction reactions by designing high-performance Pt-based alloys through the control of their nanostructures. In this study, a method was proposed to control the nanostructure of Pt-based alloys, either hollow or core-shell, by adjusting the pH of the solution during the galvanic replacement reaction between the carbon-supported nickel-nickel nitride composite and the Pt ions. The physical characteristics, including the state, quantity, and morphology of the metal particles under different preparation conditions, were evaluated through X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma. When the prepared catalysts were employed for the oxygen reduction reaction, they exhibited an improvement in area specific-activity compared to a commercial Pt/C, with a 1.7 and 1.9-fold enhancement for the hollow and core-shell structured catalysts, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.223-228
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• 2017

Aluminum nitride (AlN) powder was successfully synthesized at low temperature via carbothermal reduction and nitridation (CRN) assisted by microwave heating. The synthesis processes of AlN powder were investigated with X-ray diffraction, FE-SEM, FT-IR and TGA/DSC. Aluminum nitrate was used as an oxidizer and aluminum source, urea as fuel, and glucose as carbon source. These starting materials were mixed with D.I water and reacted in a flask at $100^{\circ}C$ for 20 minutes. After the reaction was finished, black foamy intermediate product was formed, which was considered to be an amorphous $Al_2O_3$ particles through intermediate product obtained by solution combustion synthesis (SCS) at the results of X-ray diffraction patterns and FT-IR. This intermediate product was nitridated at temperatures of $1300^{\circ}C$ and $1400^{\circ}C$ in $N_2$ atmosphere by a microwave heating furnace and then decarbonated at $600^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours in air. It should be noticed from FE-SEM images that as nitridated particles, identified as AlN from X-ray diffraction patterns, are covered with carbon residues. After decarbonating the nitridated powders, the spherical pure AlN powders were obtained without alumina and their particle sizes were dependent on the nitridating temperature with high temperature of $1400^{\circ}C$ giving large particles of around 70~100 nm.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 1995.06a
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• pp.151-151
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• 1995

Nitrogen implantation process has been applied for improvement of wear resistance of Z Zircaloy-4 fuel cladding materials. Nitrogen was implanted at 120 ke V to a total do range of 1xHP ions/cm2 to 8xlO17 ions/cm2 at various temperatures of 298"C to 676"C. The m microstructure changes by nitrogen implantation were analyzed by using TEM, XRD 뻐d A AES, cmd then wear behavior was evaluated by ball-on-disc wear testings at various loads a and sliding velocity under unlubricated condition. Nitrogen implantation produced ZrNx nitride above 4.37x1017 ions!cm2 as well as heavy d dislocations, which enhanced microhardness of the implanted surface of up to 900 Hk from 2 200 Hk of unimplanted substrate. Hardness was also found to be increased with increasing i implantation temperature and enhanced up to OOOHk at 620 "C. the wear resistance was g greatly improved with increasing total ion do않 as well as implantation temperature. The effective enhancement of wear resistance at high dose and tem야ratures is believed d due to significant hardening associated with high degree of precipitation of Zr nitrides and g generation of prismatic dislocation I$\infty$ps.infty$ps.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.4 no.S2
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• pp.100-105
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• 1995

Nitrogen implantation process has been applied for improvement of wear resistance of Zircaloy-4 fuel cladding materials. Nitrogen was implanted at 120keV to a total dose range of $1\times 10^{17}$ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$ to $1\times 10^{18}$ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$ at various temperatures between $270^{\circ}C$ and $671^{\circ}C$. The microstructure changes by nitrogen implantation were analyzed by XRD and AES and wear behavior was evaluated by performing ball-on-disc type wear testing at various loads and sliding velocities under unlubricated condition. Nitrogen implantation produced ZrNx nitride above $3\times 10^{17}$ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$ as well as heavy dislocations, which resluted in an increase in microhardness of the implanted surface of up to 1400 $H_k$ from 200 $H_k$ of unimplanted substrate. Hardness was also found to be increased with increasing implantation temperature up to 1760 $H_k$ at $620^{\circ}C$. The wear resistance was greatly improved as total ion dose and implantation temperature increased. The effective enhancement of wear resistance at high dose and temperature is believed to be due to the significant hardening associated with high degree of precipitation of Zr nitrides and generation of prismatic dislocation loops.

• Composites Research
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.435-440
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• 2023

This study aimed to enhance the thermal conductivity of B₄C/Al composite materials, commonly used in transport/storage containers for spent nuclear fuel, by incorporating both boron carbide (B₄C) and cubic boron nitride(cBN) as reinforcing agents in an aluminum (Al) matrix. The composite materials were successfully manufactured through a stir casting process and practical neutron-absorbing materials were obtained by rolling the fabricated composite ingot. The evaluation of the thermal conductivity of the fabricated composites was carried out because thermal conductivity is critical for neutron absorbing materials. The thermal conductivity measurement results indicated an approximately 3% increase in thermal conductivity under the same volume fraction when compared to composite materials using only B₄C particles. Through neutron absorption cross-sectional area calculations, it was confirmed that the neutron absorption capability decreased to a negligible level. Based on the findings of this study, new design approaches for neutron absorption materials are proposed, contributing to the development of high-performance transport/storage containers.