• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.919-926
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• 2023

To analyze the cause of the destruction of thin, carbon-backed lithium fluoride targets during a measurement of the fusion of ⁷Li and ¹⁷O, we estimate theoretically the lifetimes of carbon and LiF films due to sputtering, thermal evaporation, and lattice damage and compare them with the lifetime observed in the experiment. Sputtering yields and thermal evaporation rates in carbon and LiF films are too low to play significant roles in the destruction of the targets. We estimate the lifetime of the target due to lattice damage of the carbon backing and the LiF film using a previously reported model. In the experiment, elastically scattered target and beam ions were detected by surface silicon barrier (SSB) detectors so that the product of the beam flux and the target density could be monitored during the experiment. The areas of the targets exposed to different beam intensities and fluences were degraded and then perforated, forming holes with a diameter around the beam spot size. Overall, the target thickness tends to decrease linearly as a function of the beam fluence. However, the thickness also exhibits an increasing interval after SSB counts per beam ion decreases linearly, extending the target lifetime. The lifetime of thin LiF film as determined by lattice damage is calculated for the first time using a lattice damage model, and the calculated lifetime agrees well with the observed target lifetime during the experiment. In experiments using a thin LiF target to induce nuclear reactions, this study suggests methods to predict the lifetime of the LiF film and arrange the experimental plan for maximum efficiency.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2158-2165
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• 2023

Marine radioactivity monitoring is critical for taking immediate action in case of unexpected nuclear accidents at nuclear facilities located near coastal areas. Especially when the level of contamination is not predictable, mobile monitoring systems will be useful for wide-area ocean radiation survey and for determination of the level of radioactivity. Here, we used a silicon photomultiplier and a high-efficiency GAGG crystal to fabricate a compact, battery-powered gamma spectroscopy that can be used in an ocean environment. The developed spectroscopy has compact dimensions of 6.5 × 6.5× 8 cm³ and weighs 560 g. We used LoRa, a low-power wireless protocol for communication. Successful data transmission was achieved within 1.4 m water depth. The developed gamma spectroscopy was able to detect radioactivity from a ¹³⁷Cs point source (3.7 kBq) at a distance of 20 cm in water. Moreover, we demonstrated an unmanned radioactivity monitoring system in a real sea by combining unmanned surface vehicle with the developed gamma spectroscopy. A hidden ¹³⁷Cs source (3.07 MBq) was detected by the unmanned system at a distance of 3 m. After successfully testing the developed mobile spectroscopy in an ocean environment, we believe that our proposed system will be an effective solution for mobile real-time marine radioactivity monitoring.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1763-1774
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• 2023

In this study, a series of flexible neutron/gamma shielding composites are fabricated through the doping of Gd₂O₃ into the matrix of SEBS with (M_Gd2O3: M_SEBS) % from 5% to 100%. Neutron transmittance test shows an exponential attenuation with the increase of areal density of Gd, in which the transmittance T ranges from 59.1440% to 35.3026%, with standard deviation less than 2.2743%, mass attenuation coefficient 𝜇_m from 0.3194 cm²/g to 0.4999 cm²/g, and half value layer-HVL value from 2.4530 mm to 1.1313 mm. Shielding efficiency of the Gd₂O₃/SEBS composites is basically improved in comparison with that of B₄C/SEBS. The transmittance T, mass/linear attenuation coefficient 𝜇_m and 𝜇, HVL and effective atomic number Z_eff for the shielding of γ rays (39 keV, 59 keV and 122 keV) are measured and calculated with XCOM as well as MCX programs. Finally, plots of the three dimensional relationships between transmittance, doping amount and thickness are provided to the guidance for engineering shielding design. In summary, the Gd₂O₃/SEBS composite is proved to be an effective flexible neutron/low energy γ rays shielding material, which could be of potential applications in the field of nuclear technology and nuclear engineering.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.457-457
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• 2022

최근 기후변화로 인한 위기가 인류의 생존을 위협하면서 전 지구적으로 기후변화에 대응하기 위한 탄소 중립 대책을 모색하고 있으며, 지속가능한 신재생에너지에 대해 주목하고 있다. 산업통상자원부는 2034년까지 총 발전량 중 신재생에너지의 비율을 25.8%까지 증가시키는 것을 목표로 신재생에너지의 발전 비율을 증가시키기 위한 다양한 노력을 기울이고 있다. 특히, 신재생에너지 중 가장 많은 비중을 차지하고 있는 태양광 발전은 비교적 광범위한 부지를 필요로 하고 있으며, 환경 및 지형적 영향이 크게 작용하는 만큼 발전 시설 부지 선정 및 운용 계획을 위한 면밀한 분석이 필수적이다. 그러나, 태양광 발전 활용 계획을 수립하기 위해 고려할 수 있는 지상 관측 일사량 및 일조량 데이터는 상당히 제한적이며 관측 밀도가 조밀하지 않다는 한계점이 있다. 본 연구에서는 천리안위성의 후속으로 발사된 천리안2위성의 산출물인 일사량 데이터를 활용하여 한반도 영역에서의 일사량에 대한 시·공간적 분석을 수행하였으며, 이를 기반으로 각 지역적 특성을 파악하고, 토지 피복 유형에 따른 태양광 발전의 효율 정도를 분석·평가하였다. 본 연구의 결과는 계측 지역 및 미계측 지역에서의 시공간적인 태양광 에너지의 효율성에 대한 정보를 제공함에 따라 태양광 발전을 위한 관련 시설물들의 최적 설치 위치 및 규모 등에 대한 설계 기준 마련에 활용될 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.

• Journal of Internet of Things and Convergence
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.125-130
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• 2024

With the rapid growth of mobility technology, the industrial sector is demanding storage devices that can reliably process data from various equipment and sensors in vehicles. NAND flash memory is being utilized as a storage device in mobility environments because it has the advantages of low power and fast data processing speed as well as strong external shock resistance. However, flash memory is characterized by data corruption due to long-term exposure to high temperatures. Therefore, a dedicated system for temperature management is required in mobility environments where high temperature exposure due to weather or external heat sources such as solar radiation is frequent. This paper designs a dedicated temperature management system for managing storage device temperature in a mobility environment. The designed temperature management system is a hybrid of traditional air cooling and water cooling technologies. The cooling method is designed to operate adaptively according to the temperature of the storage device, and it is designed not to operate when the temperature step is low to improve energy efficiency. Finally, experiments were conducted to analyze the temperature difference between each cooling method and different heat dissipation materials, proving that the temperature management policy is effective in maintaining performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.147-159
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• 2024

Plutonium-238 has always been considered as the one of the promising radioisotopes for space nuclear power supply, which has long half-life, low radiation protection level, high power density, and stable fuel form at high temperatures. The industrial-scale production of ²³⁸Pu mainly depends on irradiating solid ²³⁷NpO₂ target in high flux reactors, however the production process faces problems such as large fission loss and high requirements for product quality control. In this paper, a conceptual design study of producing ²³⁸Pu in a multi-purpose high flux reactor was evaluated and analyzed, which includes a sensitivity analysis on ²³⁸Pu production and a further study on the irradiation scheme. It demonstrated that the target structure and its location in the reactor, as well as the operation scheme has an impact on ²³⁸Pu amount and product quality. Furthermore, the production efficiency could be improved by optimizing target material concentration, target locations in the core and reflector. This work provides technical support for irradiation production of ²³⁸Pu in high flux reactors.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.230-236
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• 2024

This study aimed to analyze the environmental factors affecting tomato growth by examining the correlation between weather and growth environment sensor data from P Smart Farm located in Gwangseok-myeon, Nonsan-si, Chungcheongnam-do. Key environmental variables such as the temperature, humidity, sunlight hours, solar radiation, and daily light integral (DLI) significantly affect tomato growth. The optimal temperature and DLI conditions play crucial roles in enhancing tomato growth and the photosynthetic efficiency. In this study, we developed a model to correct and predict the time-series variations in internal environmental sensor data using external weather sensor data. A linear regression analysis model was employed to estimate the external temperature variations and internal DLI values of P Smart Farm. Then, regression equations were derived based on these data. The analysis verified that the estimated variations in external temperature and internal DLI are explained effectively by the regression models. In this research, we analyzed and monitored smart-farm growth environment data based on weather sensor data. Thereby, we obtained an optimized model for the temperature and light conditions crucial for tomato growth. Additionally, the study emphasizes the importance of sensor-based data analysis in dynamically adjusting the tomato growth environment according to the variations in weather and growth conditions. The observations of this study indicate that analytical solutions using public weather data can provide data-driven operational experiences and productivity improvements for small- and medium-sized facility farms that cannot afford expensive sensors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.2740-2747
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• 2024

The sintering process acquired ferromagnetic copper ferrite ceramic material with a small concentration of Ni ion at 1100 ℃ for 1 h. Previously, copper ferrite with Ni proportions powder was acquired by the wet chemical process according to the relation CuFe_2-xNi_xO₄ where x takes values 0.0, 0.015, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05. The role of Ni ion in the copper ferrite structure was investigated by X-ray analysis, Scanning electron microscope, EDX analysis, and density measurements. The gamma-ray shielding properties for the fabricated CuFeNiO ceramics samples were evaluated using the Monte Carlo simulation method. The obtained results show an enhancement in the linear attenuation coefficient for the fabricated ceramics with increasing the insertions of Ni ions within the fabricated samples, where increasing the Ni ions concentration between 0 and 1.19 wt% increases the linear attenuation by between 1.581 and 1.771 cm^-1 (at 0.103 MeV), 0.304-0.338 cm^-1 (at 0.662 MeV), and 0.160-0.178 cm^-1 (at 2.506 MeV), respectively. Simultaneously, the radiation protection efficiency for a 1 cm thickness of the fabricated samples increased between 14.8 and 16.3% with increasing the Ni ions between 0 and 1.19 wt%. Although the Ni doping concentration does not exceed 1.5 wt% of the total composition of the fabricated ceramics, the shielding capacity of the fabricated ceramics was enhanced by more than 11%, along the studied energy interval. Therefore, the fabricated samples can be used in gamma-ray shielding applications.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 2007

In recent years, mammography system is changed rapidly from conventional screen-film system to digital system for application to screening and diagnosis. Digital mammography system provides several advantages over screen-film mammography system. According to the information provided by the manufacturer, digital mammography system offers radiation dose reduction in comparison with screen-film mammography system, because of digital detector, particularly direct digital detector has higher x-ray absorption efficiency than screen-film combination or imaging plate(IP). We measured average glandular doses(AGD) in screen-film mammography(SFM) system with slow screen-film combination, computed mammography(CM) system, indirect digital mammography(IDM) system and direct digital mammography(DDM) system using brest tissue-equivalent phantom(glandularity 30%, 50% and 70%). The results were shown as follows : AGD values for DDM system were highest than those for other systems. Although automatic exposure control(AEC) mode was selected, the curve of the AGD values against thickness or glandularity increased significantly for the SFM system with the uniform target/filter(Mo/Mo) combination. Therefore, the AGD values for the high energy examinations were highest in the SFM system, and those for the low energy examinations were highest in the DDM system. But the curve of the AGD values against thickness and glandularity increased gently for CM system with the automatic selection of the target/filter combination (from Mo/Mo to Mo/Rh or from Mo/Rh to Rh/Rh), and the AGD values were lowest. Consequently, the parameters in mammography for each exposure besides detection efficiency play an important role in oder to estimate a patient radiation dose.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.183-189
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• 2006

Six japonica and three Tongil type cultivars that were released in different years and planted to a large area during different periods were grown at the experimental farm of Seoul National University in 2001 and compared for traits related to dry matter production and grain yield. The varieties chosen were Jodongji released in 1896, Paldal in 1944, Jinheung in 1962, Nagdong and Tongil (Tonsil type) in 1971, Milyang#23 (Tongil type) in 1976, Hwasung in 1986, Ilpum in 1991, and Dasan (Tonsil type) in 1996. The more recent cultivars tended to have lower canopy light extinction coefficients (K). The K value was 0.601 in the oldest cultivar, Jodongji, and decreased below 0.5 in the cultivars released since 1971. Radiation use efficiency (RUE) was significantly different among cultivars before heading stage, showing no consistent tendency with the year of release and not significantly different after heading. Leaf area duration (LAD) was significantly different among varieties, and LAD values tended to be higher in the more recent cultivars. In particular, this tendency was more obscure in Tongil type cultivars. LAD of whole growth period had a significantly positive correlation with dry matter yield at harvest $(r=0.776^*)$. Dry matters measured at heading and harvest tended to be higher in recently released cultivars, but not significantly. The grain yield of Jodongji was the lowest but there was no significant difference among the other varieties in japonica, while higher yield occurred in the more recent Tongil type. Grain yield was correlated with grain number per square meter, and the more recent Tongil type cultivars had the greater grain number per square meter, In conclusion, not only the dry matter and grain yield but also related traits except K value showed no clear changes when compared with the year of their release in japonica cultivars. However, the increased grain yield in the more recent Tonsil type cultivars might have resulted from the enhanced LAD that lead to the higher dry matter production and in turn to the enlarged sink size.