• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.323-330
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• 2002

Various types of compounds were tested with the aspects of decomposition and formation of residue in a $CO_2$ or 7H$_2$+93$N_2$ atmosphere. The evaporation temperature range of each compound was determined from thermogravimetric curve. Decomposition of dicarbon amide, stearic acid, acrowax and zinc stearate was studied by thermogravimetry in $CO_2$ or in 7H$_2$+93$N_2$ atmosphere. All compounds were decomposed in $CO_2$ atmosphere at lower than 40$0^{\circ}C$, but the residue, ZnO remained for zinc stearate. ZnO did not decompose in $CO_2$ atmosphere up to 130$0^{\circ}C$, but reduced into Zn metal and disappeared in the temperature range of $600^{\circ}C$ to 120$0^{\circ}C$ in 7H$_2$+93$N_2$ atmosphere. The effect of residue, which trapped in closed pores of sintered pellet, on the thermal stability was studied using the resintering test at 1$700^{\circ}C$ in 7H$_2$+93$N_2$ atmosphere. In the case of oxidative sintered pellet with admixing zinc stearate, the cavity formation accompanied with a density drop after resintering is due to the pressure of the Zn gases trapped in the isolated pores.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.60-67
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• 2002

The effects of ball-milling time(0 ~4 hrs) have been investigated on the change of powder characteristics, compaction behavior (compaction pressure range : 200 ~400MPa) and sinterability (1700'c in Ha atmosphere) of two different UO$_2$ powders (ex-ADU and ex-AUC) prepared by the wet process. It is observed that, while the ex-ADU UO$_2$ was little affected, the ex-AUC UO$_2$ was largely affected by the ball-milling treatment. This may be attributed to the characteristics of particle size formed during the preparation step, i.e.., the former has a small average size of about 1.0${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$, while the latter has a relatively large average size of about 301n. It appeared that the effective size reduction by ball-milling treatment is limited to the particle size larger than l${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$, and to the extent of maximum decrease in size of about 0.5tn. In the case of ex-AUC UO$_2$, it is observed that the particle size decreased with ball-milling time and green density and sintered density of the pellets prepared from ball-milled powder increased compared with those of pellets prepared from the as-received powder under the same conditions. This may be attributed mainly to the fine particles formed during the ball-milling treatment.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.302-307
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• 2017

In this study, Fe-Cu-C alloy is sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The sintering conditions are 60 MPa pressure with heating rates of 30, 60 and $9^{\circ}C/min$ to determine the influence of heating rate on the mechanical and microstructure properties of the sintered alloys. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the sintered Fe-Cu-C alloy is investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The temperature of shrinkage displacement is changed at $450^{\circ}C$ with heating rates 30, 60, and $90^{\circ}C/min$. The temperature of the shrinkage displacement is finished at $650^{\circ}C$ when heating rate $30^{\circ}C/min$, at $700^{\circ}C$ when heating rate $60^{\circ}C/min$ and at $800^{\circ}C$ when heating rate $90^{\circ}C/min$. For the sintered alloy at heating rates of 30, 60, and $90^{\circ}C/min$, the apparent porosity is calculated to be 3.7%, 5.2%, and 7.7%, respectively. The hardness of the sintered alloys is investigated using Rockwell hardness measurements. The objective of this study is to investigate the densification behavior, porosity, and mechanical properties of the sintered Fe-Cu-C alloys depending on the heating rate.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.21-24
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• 2002

Two kinds of $Nd_{1+X}Ba_{2-X}Cu_3O_{7-{\delta}}$, the sintering samples and zone melting samples, were heat-treated under pure Ar at 950$^{circ}C$. The substitution of Nd ion for Ba ion in the $Nd_{1+X}Ba_{2-X}Cu_3O_{7-{\delta}}$ before and after the heat treatment was investigated by XRD. In order to confirm the effects of the heat treatment, the Tc and Jc of samples with/without the heat treatment under Ar were comparatively studied. $Nd_{1+X}Ba_{2-X}Cu_3O_{7-{\delta}}$ samples were oxygenated under pure oxygen at $300^{circ}C$. From the XRD pattern it was found that the sample with x<0.4 was transferred from tetragonal phase to orthorhombic phase after the oxygenation, while the sample with x>0.4 did not show the phase transition even after a long time oxygenation. Therefore, the low oxygen partial pressure (Ar+1 % O$_2$) was used for the ambient atmosphere of the zone-melting samples, which could reduce the melting temperature and depress the substitution of Nd for Ba. After the improvement in the zone-melting process, the Jc value was increased to 2 x $10^4$A/$cm^2$ (0 T, 78 K). The particle orientation and the structure of zone-melted NdBaCuO were studied by the XRD and SEM analysis.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.197-202
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• 2023

Recently, research on experimental and analytical techniques utilizing microfluidic devices has been pursued. For example, lab-on-a-chip devices that integrate micro-devices onto a single chip for processing small sample quantities have gained significant attention. However, during sample preparation, unnecessary gases can be introduced into the internal channels, thus, impeding device flow and compromising specific function efficiency, including that of analysis and separation. Several methods have been proposed to mitigate this issue, however, many involve cumbersome procedures or suffer from complexities owing to intricate structures. Recently, some approaches have been introduced that utilize hydrophobic device structures to remove gases within channels. In such cases, the permeability of gases passing through the structure becomes a crucial performance factor. In this study, a method involving the deposition and sintering of diluted Ag-ink onto a silicon wafer surface is presented. This is followed by unstructured nano-pattern creation using a Metal Assisted Chemical Etching (MACE) process, which yields a nanostructured surface with unstructured pillar shapes. Subsequently, gas permeability in the spaces formed by these surface structures is investigated. This is achieved by experiments conducted to incorporate a pressure chamber and measure gas permeability. Trends are subsequently analyzed by comparing the results with existing theories. Finally, it can be confirmed that the significance of this study primarily lies in its capability to effectively evaluate gas permeability through unstructured pillar-like nanostructures, thus, providing quantitative values for the appropriate driving pressure and expected gas removal time in practical device operation.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.124-131
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• 2006

For commercialization of molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), it has some problems to be overcome such as decrease of porosity and thickness of the anode under the operating condition (at $650^{\circ}C$ and working pressure of more than 2 $kg_f/cm^2$). Recently, Ni-Al alloy anode has been proposed to replace the conventional Ni-Cr anode as an alternative material to resist a creep and inhibit the sintering. The objective of this research is to sinter the green sheet of Ni-Al alloy anode during single cell pre-treatment process, which has several advantages like cost down and simplification of manufacturing process. However, the Ni-Al alloy anode prepared with a conventional pre-treatment process showed the phase separation of Ni-Al alloy and formation of micropore(${\leqq}0.4{\mu}m$), resulting in low creep resistance and high electrolyte re-distribution. In order to prevent the Ni-Al alloy anode from phase-separating, nitrogen gas was used in the process of pre-treatment. Introducing the nitrogen, the phase separation from Ni-Al alloy into nickel and alumina was minimized and increased creep resistance. However, there was some micropore formation on the surface of Ni-Al alloy anode during the cell operation due to creation of lithium aluminate. Addition of more amount of electrolyte into a cell, especially at cathode, made the cell performance stable for 2,000 hrs. Consequently, it was possible to make the Ni-Al alloy anode with good creep resistance by the modified in-situ sintering technique.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.331-337
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• 2010

A highly porous Biphasic Calcium Phosphate (BCP) scaffold was fabricated by the sponge replica method with a microwave sintering technique. The BCP scaffold had interconnected pores ranging from $80\;{\mu}m$ to $1000\;{\mu}m$, which were similar to natural cancellous bone. To enhance the mechanical properties of the porous scaffold, infiltration of polycaprolactone (PCL) was employed. The microstructure of the BCP scaffold was optimized using various volume percentages of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) for the infiltration process. PCL successfully infiltrated into the hollow space of the strut formed after the removal of the polymer sponge throughout the degassing and high pressure steps. The microstructure and material properties of the BCP scaffold (i.e., pore size, morphology of infiltrated and coated PCL, compressive strength, and porosity) were evaluated. When a 30 vol% of PMMA was used, the PCL-BCP scaffold showed the highest compressive strength. The compressive strength values of the BCP and PCL-BCP scaffolds were approximately 1.3 and 2MPa, respectively. After the PCL infiltration process, the porosity of the PCL-BCP scaffold decreased slightly to 86%, whereas that of the BCP scaffold was 86%. The number of pores in the $10\;{\mu}m$ to $20\;{\mu}m$ rage, which represent the pore channel inside of the strut, significantly decreased. The in-vitro study confirmed that the PCL-infiltrated BCP scaffold showed comparable cell viability without any cytotoxic behavior.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09b
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• pp.1018-1021
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• 2006

Powdered metal parts and components may be carburized successfully in a vacuum furnace by combining carburizing technology $VacCarb^{TM}$ with a hi-tech control system. This approach is different from traditional carburizing methods, because vacuum carburizing is a non-equilibrium process. It is not possible to set the carbon potential as in a traditional carburizing atmosphere and control its composition in order to obtain a desired carburized case. This paper presents test results that demonstrate that vacuum carburizing system $VacCarb^{TM}$ carburized P.M. materials faster than traditional steel with acceptable results. In the experiments conducted, PM samples with the lowest density and open porosity showed a dramatic increase in the surface carbon content up to 2.5%C and a 3 times deeper case. Currently the boost-diffusion technique is applied to control the surface carbon content and distribution in the case. In the first boost step, the flow of the carburizing gas has to be sufficient to saturate the austenite, while avoiding soot deposition and formation of massive carbides. To accomplish this goal, the proper gas flow rate has to be calculated. In the case of P.M. parts, more carbon can be absorbed by the part's surface because of the additional internal surface area created by pores present in the carburized case. This amount will depend on the density of the part, the densification grade of the surface layer and the stage of the surface. "as machined" or "as sintered". It is believed that enhanced gas diffusion after initial evacuation of the P.M. parts leads to faster carburization from within the pores, especially when pores are open . surface "as sintered" and interconnected . low density. A serious problem with vacuum carburizing is delivery of the carbon in a uniform manner to the work pieces. This led to the development of the different methods of carburizing gas circulation such as the pulse/pump method or the pulse/pause technique applied in SECO/WARWICK's $VacCarb^{TM}$ Technology. In both cases, each pressure change may deliver fresh carburizing atmosphere into the pores and leads to faster carburization from within the pores. Since today's control of vacuum carburizing is based largely on empirical results, presented experiments may lead to better understanding and improved control of the process.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.107-114
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• 2017

A turbocharger is an engine supercharger that is driven by exhaust gas. It improves the output and fuel efficiency by increasing the charging efficiency of the mixture gas, which is achieved by changing the rotatory power of the turbine connected to the exhaust passage. It is important to control the supercharging for this purpose. A nozzle slide joint is one of the core parts. Austenitic stainless steel is currently used as the material for this part, and its excellent mechanical properties include high heat resistance and corrosion resistance. However, because of its poor machinability, there are many difficulties in producing products with complicated shapes. Machining is used in the production of nozzle slide joints for high dimensional accuracy after metal powder injection molding. As design variables in this study, we investigated the sintering temperature, product stress, deformation rate, radius of curvature of the punch, and angle of the chamfer punch, which are related to the strain and shapes. The goal is to suggest a forming process using Nitronic 60 that does not require machining to manufacture a nozzle slide joint for a turbocharger. Accordingly, we determined the best process environment using finite-element analysis, the signal-noise ratio, and the Taguchi method for experiment design. The relative density and hydrostatic pressure of the final product were in accordance with the results of the finite element analysis. Therefore, we conclude that the Taguchi method can be applied to the design process of metal powder injection molding.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.268-273
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• 2014

$Y_2O_3$ ceramic specimens were fabricated from the granular powder, obtained by spray drying process from the slurry. The slurry was prepared by mixing PVA binder, NaOH for Ph control, PEG and $Y_2O_3$ powder. The $Y_2O_3$ specimen was shaped in size of ${\phi}14mm$ and then sintered at $1650^{\circ}C$. The characteristics, microstructure, densities and plasma resistance of the $Y_2O_3$ specimens were investigated with the function of forming pressure and sintering time. $Y_2O_3$ specimens were exposed under the $CHF_3/O_2/Ar$ plasma, the dry etching treatment of specimens was carried out by the physical reaction etching of $Ar^+$ ion beam and the chemical reaction etching of $F^-$ ion decomposed from $CHF_3$. With increasing sintering time, $Y_2O_3$ specimens showed relatively high density and strong resistance in plasma etching test.