• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.498-503
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• 2018

Using the thermal ablation method, the oxidation behavior of $SiC_f/SiC$ composites was investigated in air and in the temperature range of $1,300^{\circ}C$ to $2,000^{\circ}C$. At the relatively low temperature of $1,300^{\circ}C$, passive oxidation, which formed amorphous phase, predominantly occurred in the thermal ablation test. When the oxidation temperature increased, SiO (g) and CO (g) were formed by active oxidation and the dense oxide layer changed to a porous one by vaporization of gas phases. In the higher temperature oxidation test, both active oxidation due to $SiO_2$ decomposition on the surface of the oxide layer and active/passive oxidation transition due to interfacial reaction between oxide and base materials such as SiC fiber and matrix phase simultaneously occurred. This was another cause of high temperature degradation of $SiC_f/SiC$ composites.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.1167-1174
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• 2022

Cast austenitic stainless steels (CASSs) are widely used as structural materials in the nuclear industry. The main drawback of CASSs is the reduction in fracture toughness due to long-term exposure to operating environment. Even though ultrasonic non-destructive testing has been conducted in major nuclear components and pipes, the detection of cracks is difficult due to the scattering and attenuation of ultrasonic waves by the coarse grains and the inhomogeneity of CASS materials. In this study, the ultrasonic signals measured in thermally aged CASS were discriminated for the first time with the simple ultrasonic technique (UT) and machine learning (ML) models. Several different ML models, specifically the K-nearest neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) models, were used to classify the ultrasonic signals as thermal aging condition of CASS specimens. We identified that the ML models can predict the category of ultrasonic signals effectively according to the aging condition.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.589-595
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• 2011

Laminated glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites were applied to an insulating structure of a magnet system for a nuclear fusion device. Decreased inter-laminar strength by a strong repulsive force between coils which is induced a problem of structural integrity in laminated GFRPs. Therefore, it is important to investigate the inter-laminar characteristics of laminated GFRP composites in order to assure more reliable design and better structural integrity. Three types of the laminated GFRP composites using a high voltage insulating materials were fabricated according to each molding process. To evaluate the grade of the fabricated composites, mechanical tests, such as hardness, tensile and compressive tests,were carried out. The autoclave molding composites satisfied almost of the mechanical properties reguested at the G10 class standard, but the vacuum impregnation (VPI) and Prepreg composites did not.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Plant Pathology Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.72.1-72
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• 2003

Generally, plants defend themselves against pathogens by structural and biochemical reactions. Defense structures act as physical barriers and inhibit the pathogen from gaining entrance and spreading through the plant. Xanthomonas axonopodis pv glycines, the causal pathogen of bacterial pustule of soybean, causes hypersensitive response (HR). When pepper fruits were inoculated with X. axonopodis pv. glycines, in situ, time-series defense-related structural changes occurred in the inoculated sites. Early responses were programmed cell death (PCD), characterized by condensation and vacuolization of the cytoplasm, condensation of nuclear materials, and fragmentation of the nuclear DNA, which were observed by transmission electron microscopy. Nuclear fragmentation was proven by TUNEL method under confocal laser scanning microscopy and DNA laddering through eletrophoresis. At later stages, plant responses were cell elongation and cell division, forming a periderm-like boundary layer that demarcated healthy tissues from the inoculation sites. Using several stains such as toluidine blue, sudan IV, annexin V, and phloroglucinol-HCl, defense-related materials and structural changes were also examined.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.323-331
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• 2015

Zirconium alloys are widely used in nuclear reactors as structural materials. During the operation, they are exposed to fast neutrons. Ion irradiation is used to simulate the damage introduced by neutron irradiation. In this article, we briefly review the neutron irradiation damage of zirconium alloys, then summarize the effect of ion irradiation on microstructural evolution, mechanical and corrosion properties, and their relationships. The microstructure components consist of dislocation loops, second phase precipitates, and gas bubbles. The microstructure parameters are also included such as domain size and microstrain determined by X-ray diffraction and the S-parameter determined by positron annihilation. Understanding the relationships of microstructure and properties is necessary for developing new advanced materials with higher irradiation tolerance.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.67-74
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• 2017

Recently there have been many concerns on structural integrity of nuclear piping under seismic loadings. In terms of failure of nuclear piping due to seismic loadings, an important failure mechanism is low cycle fatigue with large cyclic displacements. To investigate the effects of seismic loading on low cycle fatigue behavior of nuclear piping, the cyclic behavior of materials and nuclear piping needs to be accurately estimated. In this paper, the non-linear finite element (FE) analyses have been carried out to evaluate the effects of three different cyclic hardening models on cyclic behavior of materials and nuclear piping, such as isotropic hardening, kinematic hardening and combined hardening.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.3039-3045
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• 2023

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are considered suitable candidates for structural materials of spacecrafts due to their excellent properties of high strength, light weight, and corrosion resistance. An online health monitoring method for FRP composites must be applied to space structures. However, the application of existing health monitoring methods to space structures is limited due to the harsh space environment. Here, carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites embedded with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were prepared to explore the feasibility of strain monitoring using embedded FBG sensors in γ-radiation environment. The analysis of the influence of radiation on the strain monitoring demonstrated that the embedded FBG can be successfully applied to the health monitoring of FRP composites in radiation environment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.49-50
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• 2005

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.1275-1284
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• 2009

A directly heated $SO_3$ decomposer for the sulfur-iodine and hybrid-sulfur processes has been introduced and analyzed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code CFX 11. The use of a directly heated decomposition reactor in conjunction with a very high temperature reactor (VHTR) allows for higher decomposition reactor operating temperatures. However, the high temperatures and strongly corrosive operating conditions associated with $SO_3$ decomposition present challenges for the structural materials of decomposition reactors. In order to resolve these problems, we have designed a directly heated $SO_3$ decomposer using RA330 alloy as a structural material and have performed a CFD analysis of the design based on the finite rate chemistry model. The CFD results show the maximum temperature of the structural material could be maintained sufficiently below 1073 K, which is considered the target temperature for RA 330. The CFD simulations also indicated good performance in terms of $SO_3$ decomposition for the design parameters of the present study.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2324-2331
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• 2024

The current study investigated Saudi Arabian oil fly ash impacts on Egyptian clay bricks' structural and radiation shielding properties. To produce the required bricks, crushed clay minerals from the Hafafit area were mixed with 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 % wt.% Saudi Arabian oil fly ash and pressed at a pressure rate of 68.55 MPa. Identification of the minerals in the chosen clay was achieved via X-ray diffraction. Additionally, the material's morphology and chemical composition were determined through scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray. The fabricated bricks' density was reduced by 36.3 % through increasing the concentration of fly ash from 0 to 40 wt%. Then, the fly ash addition's influence on the fabricated clay bricks' γ-ray shielding properties was investigated by Monte Carlo simulation, which found a reduction in the fabricated bricks' linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) by 41.2, 36.0, 33.8, and 33.8 % at the 0.059, 0.103, 0.662, and 1.252 MeV γ-ray energies, respectively. The LAC reduction caused an increase in the fabricated bricks' half-value thickness, transmission factor, and the equivalent thickness of the lead. Moreover, the thicker fabricated sample thicknesses were found to have high γ-ray shielding capacity and can thus be used in radiation shielding applications.