• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.15-15
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• 2011

As you know, boron compounds, borax ($Na_2B_4O_5(OH)_4{\cdot}8H_2O$) etc. were known thousands of years ago. As for natural boron, it has two naturally occurring and stable isotopes, boron 11 ($^{11}B$) and boron 10 ($^{10}B$). The neutron absorption $^{10}B$ is included about 19~20% with 80~81% $^{11}B$. Boron is similar to carbon in its capability to form stable covalently bonded molecular networks. The mass difference results in a wide range of ${\beta}$ values between the $^{11}B$ and $^{10}B$. The $^{10}B$ isotope, stable with 5 neutrons is excellent at capturing thermal neutrons. For example, it is possible to decrease a thermal neutron required for the nuclear reaction of uranium 235 ($^{235}U$). If $^{10}B$ absorbs a neutron ($^1n$), it will change to $^7Li+^1{\alpha}$ (${\alpha}$ ray, like $^4He$) with prompt ${\gamma}$ ray from $^{11}B$ $^{11}B$ (equation 1). $$^{10}B+^1n\;{\rightarrow}\;^{11}B\;{\rightarrow}\; prompt \;{\gamma}\;ray (478 keV), \;^7Li+4{\alpha}\;(4He)\;\;\;\;{\cdots}\; (1)$$ If about 1% boron is added to stainless steel, it is known that a neutron shielding effect will be 3 times the boron free steel. Enriched boron or $^{10}B$ is used in both radiation shielding and in boron neutron capture therapy. Then, $^{10}B$ is used for reactivity control and in emergency shutdown systems in nuclear reactors. Furthermore, boron carbide, $B_4C$, is used as the charge of a nuclear fission reaction control rod material and neutron cover material for nuclear reactors. The $B_4C$ powder of natural B composition is used as a charge of a control material of a boiling water reactor (BWR) which occupies commercial power reactors in nuclear power generation. The $B_4C$ sintered body which adjusted $^{10}B$ concentration is used as a charge of a control material of the fast breeder reactor (FBR) currently developed aiming at establishment of a nuclear fuel cycle. In this study for new boron compound, silicon boride ceramics for capturing thermal neutrons, preparation and characterization of both silicon tetraboride ($SiB_4$) and silicon hexaboride ($SiB_6$) and ceramics produced by sintering were investigated in order to determine the suitability of this material for nuclear power generation. The relative density increased with increasing sintering temperature. With a sintering temperature of 1,923 K, a sintered body having a relative density of more than 99% was obtained. The Vickers hardness increased with increasing sintering temperature. The best result was a Vickers hardness of 28 GPa for the $SiB_6$ sintered at 1,923K for 1 h. The high temperature Vickers hardness of the $SiB_6$ sintered body changed from 28 to 12 GPa in the temperature range of room temperature to 1,273 K. The thermal conductivity of the SiB6 sintered body changed from 9.1 to 2.4 W/mK in the range of room temperature to 1,273 K.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.139-150
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• 2010

Reinforced-concrete (RC) columns are frequently designed and constructed. other types of columns includes composite types such as concrete-filled tube columns (CFT). Hollow RC columns may be effective in reducing both the self weight of columns and total amount of materials used. This is due to the fact that a hollow RC column possesses larger moment of inertia than that of solid RC columns of same cross sectional area. Despite the effectiveness the hollow RC column has not been popular because of its poor ductility performance. While the transverse reinforcements are effective in controlling the brittle failure of the outside concrete, they are not capable of resisting the failure of concrete of inner face which is in unconfined state of stress. To overcome these drawbacks, the internally confined hollow reinforced concrete (ICH RC), a new column type, was proposed in the previous researches. In this study, the fire resistance performance of the ICH RC columns was analyzed through a series of extensive heat transfer analyses using the nonlinear-material model program. Also, effect of factors such as the hollowness ratio, thickness of the concrete, and thickness of the internal tube on the fire resistance performance were extensively studied. Then the factors that enhance the fire-resistant performance of ICH RC were presented and analyzed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2009

Failure modes result in fracture or tearing, which may cause deterioration of resistance and reduction of inelastic deformation capacity. The potential failure modes for Special Concentrically Braced Frames (SCBFs) include fracture or tearing of the brace, net section fracture of the brace or gusset plate, fracture of the gusset plate welds, shear fracture of the bolts, block shear, excessive bolt bearing deformation, and buckling of the gusset plate. HSS tubular braces are commonly used in SCBFs, and net section fracture of the tubular brace may also occur through the brace net section at the end of the slot cut into the tube to slip over the gusset plate. This failure mode is categorized as a tension failure mode, and may cause dramatic loss of resistance and brittle behavior. Net section reinforcement is required according to AISC design specifications (AISC 2001). In this paper, the need to reinforce the net section area was discussed. Initially, the results of the net section fracture tests done by the University of California in Berkeley were presented with the modeling of these tests using FE models. To investigate the possibility of net section fracture in an actual frame, the slot end hole model was adapted to the frame FE model, and alternate near-fault histories were applied with tension-dominated cycles, since previous analyses showed that loading history was the most critical factor in net section fracture. The need for this reinforcement (cover plate) and the tension-dominated near-fault history were investigated.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.199-208
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• 2010

In order to substitute FRP bar for steel bar in new structures, it is necessary to establish a reliable design code. But relatively little research has been conducted on the material in Korea. So, a total of 22 beam specimens (18 GFRP reinforced concrete and 4 conventional steel reinforced concrete) were constructed and tested. In the first phase of the experiment, it was carried out to observe flexural behavior, and collect deflection and crack data. In order to eliminate of the uncertainty by the shear reinforcements and induce flexural failure mode, any stirrup were not used and only shear span-depth ratio were adjusted. However, almost beams were broken by shear and the ACI 440.1R, CSA S806, which were used to design test beams, showed considerable deviation between prediction and test results of shear strengths. Therefore in the second phase of the study, shear failure modes and behavior were observed. A standard specimen had dimensions of 3,300 mm long ${\times}$ 800 mm wide ${\times}$ 200 mm effective depth. Clear span and shear span were 2,800 mm, 1,200 mm respectively. Control shear span-depth ratio was 6.0. Four-point bending test over simple support was conducted. Variables of the specimens were concrete compressive strength, type and elastic modulus of reinforcement, shear span-depth ratio, effective reinforcement ratio, the effect of bundle placing method and cover thickness.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.109-116
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• 2017

The present study concerns quantitative assessment of chloride extraction, repassivation and structural behavior of concrete. Concrete specimen ($160{\times}160{\times}1000mm$) was fabricated with 3 steel bar located in the middle with 20 mm of the cover depth, containing 5.0% of chloride to accelerate corrosion process, then to be subjected to electrochemical treatment. The current density accounted for $750mA/m^2$ at 2, 4 and 8 weeks. As a result, it was found that an increase in the duration of the treatment resulted in an increase in the chloride extraction, accounting for 64.7-83.7% for the specimen at 8 weeks treatment. It implies that a portion of bound chlorides would turn free to be removed, considering the binding capacity of cement about 50-60% to total ones. Even after the treatment, the corrosion was still active; the corrosion rate was $6.5mA/m^2$ and 330 mV vs. SCE in the potential. For structural behavior, the maximum load was increased by corrosion on the steel bars, which was subsequently lowered by the treatment, but still higher than for control.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.81-88
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• 2022

In the NRC (New paradigm Reinforced Concrete) beam, steel forms, main angles used as main reinforcements, and shear angles used as basic shear reinforcements are welded and assembled in the form of vierendeel truss structures in a steel factory. After the NRC truss frame is installed at the site, additional main reinforcement and shear reinforcement are distributed. In this study, the shear performance evaluation of the NRC beam was conducted through shear tests in accordance with the type of shear reinforcement of the NRC beam (shear angle, inclined shear reinforcing bar, and U-type cover bar). As a result of the test, the initial stiffness was similar before the initial cracking of each specimen, and all specimens were shear fractured.The shear reinforcements of the specimens exhibited a yielding behavior at the time of the maximum sheat force, and the shear strengths of the specimens increased as the amount of reinforcement of the shear reinforcement increased. These results show that NRC shear reinforcements exhibit shear performance corresponding to their shear strength contribution. As a result of calculating the nominal shear strengths according to KDS 14 20 22, the experimental shear strengths of the NRC beam specimens with shear reinforcement was 37~146% larger than the nominal shear strengths, so It was evaluated as a safety side.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.577-596
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• 2016

FRP-concrete interfacial mechanical properties determine the strengthening effect of RC beams strengthened with FRP. In this paper, the model experiments were carried out with eight specimens to study the failure modes and the strengthening effect of RC beams strengthened with FRP. Then a theoretical model based on interfacial performances was proposed and interfacial mechanical behaviors were studied. Finite element analysis confirmed the theoretical results. The results showed that RC beams strengthened with FRP had three loading stages and that the FRP strengthening effects were mainly exerted in the Stage III after the yielding of steel bars, including the improvement of the bearing capacity, the decreased ultimate deformation due to the sudden failure of FRP and the improvement of stiffness in this stage. The mechanical formulae of the interfacial shear stress and FRP stress were established and the key influence factors included FRP length, interfacial bond-slip parameter, FRP thickness, etc. According to the theoretical analysis and experimental data, the calculation methods of interfacial shear stress at FRP end and FRP strain at midspan were proposed. When FRP bonding length was shorter, interfacial shear stress at FRP end was larger that led to concrete cover peeling failure. When FRP was longer, FRP reached the ultimate strain and the fracture failure of FRP occurred. The theoretical results were well consistent with the experimental data.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.24-28
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• 2014

With ever rising concerns about saving of fossil fuel resource, there have been an increasing demand for use of energy more efficiently. The electric motor driven inverters can be a great help to improve energy efficiency. They are also used to control the motor speed to the actual need. Therefore the use of them can lead to reduce energy consumption. In particular, the medium voltage(MV) drive systems used for pumps, fans, steel rolling mills and tractions have widespread applications in the industry. They cover power ratings from 0.4MW to 40MW at the MV level of 2.3kV to 13.8kV. The majority of the installed MV drive systems however, are in the 1MW to 4MW range with voltage rating from 3.3kV to 6.6kV. But they are required to reduce size and weight like other power electronic equipments. In this paper, we studied on the 3.3kV(105A) compact rack type inverter system for improving the cooling efficiency. At first, we confirmed the tendency of temperature with computational simulation using ANSYS ICEPAK and actual experimental tests. And then we researched thermal performance improvement designs in order to reduce temperature of the transformer for the safe operation. It can reduce temperature of transformer that using pipe type flow guide in the system. As a result, we found out more efficient solution by thermal-fluid analysis.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.41-56
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• 2017

Recently, the necessity of deep and double-deck tunnels has been grown day by day due to the increase of traffic volume at metropolitans and thus the study on the divergence of those tunnels becomes required. Therefore sensitivity analyses were conducted with FLAC 2D program by selecting ground condition, coefficient of lateral pressure, support pattern, and depth of rock cover as parameters. Ultimately, this study is to find the optimal shape and support method of a diverged section. As the results of this study, it turned out that the box type gave higher stability of the section than arch type unlike the general thought. It can be explained that the arch type has about 30% bigger excavation area than the box type. When the ground conditions are poor, steel pipe grouting reinforcement gives higher stability than rockbolt reinforcement, but its thickness and range do not give a great influence on the stability of the enlarged section.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.50-58
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• 2018

The verification of serviceability of concrete structures requires more informations on the composite behaviors between concrete and reinforcement. Among them, the investigation of crack widths and spacings is based on the tension stiffening effects. In this paper, the tension stiffening effects of high strength concrete members with compressive strength of 80 and 100MPa are investigated experimentally. It was found that the current design code which is based on the tests of normal strength concrete may not describe the tension stiffening effects in high strength concrete correctly. The coefficient that can appropriately reflect the tension stiffening effects in the high strength concrete was proposed. Also, the crack spacing was investigated through the cracking behaviors and the crack width according to the difference of the strains in steel and concrete was estimated. The results of this paper may be used to examine the tension stiffening effects of high strength concrete members.