• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.67-81
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• 2006

Using a strain-controlled rheometer, the dynamic viscoelastic properties of aqueous xanthan gum solutions with different concentrations were measured over a wide range of strain amplitudes and then the linear viscoelastic behavior in small amplitude oscillatory shear flow fields was investigated over a broad range of angular frequencies. In this article, both the strain amplitude and concentration dependencies of dynamic viscoelastic behavior were reported at full length from the experimental data obtained from strain-sweep tests. In addition, the linear viscoelastic behavior was explained in detail and the effects of angular frequency and concentration on this behavior were discussed using the well-known power-law type equations. Finally, a fractional derivative model originally developed by Ma and Barbosa-Canovas (1996) was employed to make a quantitative description of a linear viscoelastic behavior and then the applicability of this model was examined with a brief comment on its limitations. Main findings obtained from this study can be summarized as follows: (1) At strain amplitude range larger than 10%, the storage modulus shows a nonlinear strain-thinning behavior, indicating a decrease in storage modulus as an increase in strain amplitude. (2) At strain amplitude range larger than 80%, the loss modulus exhibits an exceptional nonlinear strain-overshoot behavior, indicating that the loss modulus is first increased up to a certain strain amplitude(${\gamma}_0{\approx}150%$) beyond which followed by a decrease in loss modulus with an increase in strain amplitude. (3) At sufficiently large strain amplitude range (${\gamma}_0>200%$), a viscous behavior becomes superior to an elastic behavior. (4) An ability to flow without fracture at large strain amplitudes is one of the most important differences between typical strong gel systems and concentrated xanthan gum solutions. (5) The linear viscoelastic behavior of concentrated xanthan gum solutions is dominated by an elastic nature rather than a viscous nature and a gel-like structure is present in these systems. (6) As the polymer concentration is increased, xanthan gum solutions become more elastic and can be characterized by a slower relaxation mechanism. (7) Concentrated xanthan gum solutions do not form a chemically cross-linked stable (strong) gel but exhibit a weak gel-like behavior. (8) A fractional derivative model may be an attractive means for predicting a linear viscoelastic behavior of concentrated xanthan gum solutions but classified as a semi-empirical relationship because there exists no real physical meaning for the model parameters.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.318-327
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• 2016

In this study, alginate/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and chitosan/PEO solution are prepared by dissolving alginate and chitosan into specific solvent for electrospinning. Solutions are poured into 10 mL plastic syringes with a metal nozzle supplied a high voltage power. The solution of alginate and chitosan is controlled by polymer concentration, temperature, relative humidity, applied voltage, distance from nozzle and flow rate of solution. Morphologies of fabricated nanofiber are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Optimal conditions for electrospinning of alginate nanofiber membrane are 2 wt% of alginate, 2 wt% of PEO at $60^{\circ}C$, 15 cm from the nozzle, $8{\mu}m/min$ flow rate and 20~24 kV. The conditions for elctrospinning of chitosan nanofiber membrane are 2 wt% of chitosan, 2 wt% PEO at $25^{\circ}C$, 15 cm from the nozzle, $8{\mu}m/min$ flow rate and 24 kV. The fabrication conditions of complex nanofiber prepared with chitosan and alginate are 20 cm from the nozzle, $8{\mu}m/min$ flow rate and 26 kV.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.307-318
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• 2020

Conventional perfluorinated sulfonic acid membrane, Nafion is widely used for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). It is desired to prevent vanadium ion permeation through a membrane to retain the capacity, and to keep the cell efficiency of a VRFB. Highly proton conductive and chemically stable Nafion membranes, however, suffer from high vanadium permeation, which induce the reduction in charge and discharge capacity by side reactions of vanadium ions. In this study, to resolve the issue, silica nanoparticles, which are functionalized with 3-aminopropyl group (fS) are introduced to enhance the long-term performance of a VRFB by lowering vanadium permeation. It is expected that amine groups on silica nanoparticles are converted to positive ammonium ion, which could deteriorate positively charged vanadium ions' crossover by Gibbs-Donnan effect. There is reduction in proton conductivity may due to acid-base complexation between fS and Nafion side chains, but ion selectivity of proton to vanadium ion is enhanced by introducing fS to Nafion membranes. With the composite membranes of Nafion and fS, VRFBs maintain their discharge capacity up to 80% at a high current density of 150 mA/㎠ during 200 cycles.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2009

PES (polyethersulfone) membranes with highly enhanced their asymmetry were prepared by phase inversion process. The membranes were prepared by using PES/DMF (N,N-dimethylformamide)/TSA (p-toluenesulfonic acid)/PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone) casting solution and water coagulant. The pre-coagulation of membrane surface which was induced by an addition of TSA as a demixing agent and PVP as a swelling polymer in the PES solution and humid exposure time, played a crucial role in determining morphological properties and the PWP (pure water permeation) performance. The PES solution was coated on polyester film under condition of 80% humidity for a while ($72{\sim}144$ sec) before immersing in a coagulation bath. The characterization of membranes was carried out by a capillary flow porometer, a FE-SEM and a permeation test apparatus. As the thickness of the smallest pore size layer (SPL) decreased, the asymmetry of membrane increased under conditions of 20 wt% of TSA and 10 wt% of PVP in 11 wt% of PES solution during longer humid contact time. As a result, the membranes showed a remarkable increase of PWP.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.137-137
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• 2003

Conducting PPy/PVA composite and pure PPy gas sensors were prepared by in-situ vaporstate polymerization method in a vaporization chamber under N2 condition, by exposing the pre-coated electrode with PVA/FeC13 to distilled pyrrole monomer. The various electrical sensing behaviors of both types of sensors were systematically investigated by a flow measuring system including mass flow controller (MFC) and bubbling bottle. The FT-Raman spectroscopy of vapor state polymerized PPy was identical to that of chemically polymerized PPy, confirming the same chemical structure. Both types of sensors had positive sensitivity when exposed to methanol gas. The sensitivity varied linearly with gas concentration in the range of 50ppm to 1059ppm. The detection limit of PPy/PVA sensor was believed to be as low as 10ppm. The sensitivity of PPy/PVA composite sensor was higher than that of pure PPy sensor. Both the response time and recovery time of PPy/PVA composite sensors were longer than those of pure PPy sensors. The thickness of the sensing film affected the sensitivity this way that the sensor having thinner film had higher sensitivity, indicating that the resistance of polymer film involved in the sensing behavior was bulk resistance rather than surface resistance. The reproducibility of PPy/PVA composite sensor was excellent during eight on-off cycles by switching between N2 and 3000ppm methanol gas. The sensitivity of PPy/PVA composite sensor was only maintained for two weeks, while the sensitivity of pure PPy sensor was maintained over two months.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.307-314
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• 1993

Plasma protein adsorption is the first event in the blood-material interaction and influenc- es subsequent platelet adhesion towards thlㅈombus formation. Thiㅈomboembolic events are strongly influenced by surface characteristics of materials and fluid dynamics inside the blood pump. In vitro flow visualizaion and an amimal experiment with the moving actuator type TAH were Performed in order to investigate fluid dynamic effects on the protein adsorption. The diffel'encl level, j of shear rate inside the ventricle Lvere determined by consid- ering the direction of the major opening of four healt valves in the implanted TAH and the visualized flow patterns as well. Each ventricle of the explanted TAH was sectionalized into 12 segments according to the shear rate level. The adsorbed protein on each segment was quantified using the ELISA method after soaking in 2% (wye)SDS/PBS for two days. Adsorbed protein layer thicknesses Itvere measured by the Immunogotd method under TEM. The SEM observation show that right ventricle (RV) , immobilized with albumin, displayed different degrees of platelet adhesion on each segment, whereas the left ventricle (LV), grafted by PEO-sulronate, indicated nearly , iame platelet adhesion behavior, regardless of shear rates. The surface concentrations of adsorbed proteins in the low shear rate region are hlghel'than those in the high region, which was confirmed statistically. A modified adsorption model of plasma protein onto polyurethane surface was suggested by considering the effect of the fluid dynamic characteristics.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.96-100
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• 1996

In order to improve the permeability of the homogenous membrane of poly(carbobenzoxy-L-lysin)(PCLL), which has very high selectivity of helium gas to nitrogen gas, asymmetric porous membranes of PCLL were prepared by casting from 20% solutions in dioxane and dimethylformamide(DMF), respectively. The membranes were characterized by measuring the number of the pores, the pore size distribution of the surface(the skin layer) and the thickness of the skin layer by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope. The mean pore size and the pore density were lower for the membrane cast from dioxane than that from DMF, which was explained by the mechanism of the formation of the pores in the asymmetric porous membrane. The permeability coefficient observed could be roughly explained by the viscous flow through the skin layer. However, the selectivity observed was against the theory of the viscous flow.

• Composites Research
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.53-64
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• 1999

Microstructural morphology and bending strengths of moulded composites of thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer(LCP) and polyamide 6 (PA6) have been studied as a function of epoxy fraction. Injection-moulding of a composite plaque at a temperature below the melting point of the LCP fibrils generated a multi-layered structure: the surface skin layer with thickness of $65\;-\;120{\mu\textrm{m}}$ exhibiting a transverse orientation; the sub-skin layer with an orientation in the flow direction; the core layer with arc-curved flow patterns. The plaques containing epoxy 4.8vol% exhibited superior bending strength and large fracture strain. With an increase of epoxy fraction equal to and beyond 4.8vol%, geometry of LCP domains was changed from fibrillar shape to lamella-like one, which caused a shear-mode fracture. An analysis of the bending strength of the composite plaques by using a symmetric layered model beam suggested that addition of epoxy component altered not only the microstructural geometry but also the elastic moduli and strengths of the respective layers.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.196-202
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• 2006

The self diffusion distributions of viscoelastic molten polyurethanes were determined from the relationship between the relaxation spectra and the distribution of self diffusion. The relaxation spectra of ester, PCL and PCL dyed type molten polyurethanes were obtained by applying the experimental stress relaxation curves to the theoretical equation of the Ree-Eyring and Maxwell non-Newtonian model(REM model) from computer calculation. The experiments were carried out at various temperatures using the physica rheometer with the temperature controller. The self diffusion and hole distance of amorphous region of polyurethane samples were investigated by experiments of stress relaxation. The diffusion coefficients and hole volumes were calculated from rheological parameters and crystallite size in order to study the diffusion of flow segments in amorphous region. It was observed that the relaxation spectra and self diffusions of these polymer samples are directly related to the distribution of molecular weights, viscosities, hole volumes and activation energies of flow segments.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.815-821
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• 2013

The efficiency and lifetime of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system is critically affected by the humidity of the incoming gas, which should be maintained properly under normal operating conditions. Typically, the incoming gas of a fuel cell is humidified by an external humidifier, but few studies have reported on the device characteristics. In this study, a laboratory-scale planar membrane humidifier is designed to investigate the characteristics of water transport through a hydrophilic membrane. The planar membrane humidifier is immersed in a constant temperature bath to isolate the humidifier from the effect of temperature variations. The mass transfer capability of the hydrophilic membrane is first examined under isothermal conditions. Then, the mass transfer capability is investigated under various conditions. The results show that water transport in the hydrophilic membrane is significantly affected by the flow rate, operating temperature, operating pressure, and flow arrangement.