• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.12
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• pp.2760-2770
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• 2020

A model for calculation of fuel temperature profile using binary gas mixture of Helium and Xenon for gap gas conductance is proposed here. In this model, the temperature profile of a fuel pencil from fuel centreline to fuel surface has been calculated by taking into account the dilution of Helium gas filled during fuel manufacturing due to accumulation of fission gas Xenon. In this model an explicit calculation of gap gas conductance of binary gas mixture of Helium and Xenon has been carried out. A computer code Fuel Characteristics Calculator (FCCAL) is developed for the model. The phenomena modelled by FCCAL takes into account heat conduction through the fuel pellet, heat transfer from pellet surface to the cladding through the gap gas and heat transfer from cladding to coolant. The binary noble gas mixture model used in FCCAL is an improvement over the parametric model of Lassmann and Pazdera. The results obtained from the code FCCAL is used for fuel temperature calculation in 3-D neutron diffusion solver for the coolant outlet temperature of the core at steady operation at full power. It is found that there is an improvement in calculation time without compromising accuracy with FCCAL.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.39-46
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• 2006

The fuel cell is one of promising environment-friendly energy sources for the next generation. The bipolar plate is a major component of the PEM fuel cell stack, which takes a large portion of stack cost. In this study, as alternative materials for bipolar plate of PEM fuel cells, graphite composites were fabricated by compression molding. Graphite particles mixed with epoxy resin were used as the main substance to provide electric conductivity To achieve desired electrical properties, specimens made with different mixing ratio, processing pressure and temperature were tested. To increase mechanical strength, one or two layers of woven carbon fabric were added to the graphite and resin composite. Thus, the composite material was consisted of three phases: graphite particles, carbon fabric, and epoxy resin. By increasing mixing ratio of graphite, fabricated pressure and process temperature, the electric conductivity of the composite was improved. The results of tensile test showed that the tensile strength of the two-phase graphite composite was about 4MPa, and that of three-phase composite was increased to 57MPa. As surface properties, contact an91e and surface roughness were tested. Graphite composites showed contact angles higher than $90^{\circ}$, which mean low surface energy. The average surface roughness of the composite specimens was $0.96{\mu}m$.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.343-349
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• 2014

Currently, in order to resist the scratching of the fuel rod surface while fabricating the fuel assembly of the light-water nuclear reactor, we use a solution of nitrocellulose, an explosive material, as a dry lubricant along with its solvent. However, the demand for developing safe and harmless aqueous alternative materials for environment-conservation and field-worker safety has increased. In this study, we demonstrate the preparation of a novel aqueous resin composite using a formulation of aqueous polymeric resin, alcoholic solvent, and water. Subsequently, we characterize this composite on the basis of hardness, adhesive property, and water solubility using plates similar to the fuel rod material. The insertion test of a fuel rod coated with the YS-3 composite shows load values of $18.8-20.5kg/cm^2$, which is comparable with $18.8-20.5kg/cm^2$ of the nitrocellulose coating agent. In addition, the depth and width of longitudinal scratches caused by the YS-3 composite test are 50% higher than those of the standard. We can develop a harmless and safe aqueous dry lubricant to replace the existing NC products through field testing of 264 pieces of fuel rods, after producing 350 kg of the YS-3 prototype. The scratch test for the rod surface showed that weight of chip of YS-3 prototype was smaller than that of NC before and after solvent treatment, indicating the properties of YS-3 prototype was comparable to the counterpart.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.199-205
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• 2011

Stainless steel 304 and 316 plates were deposited with the multi-layered coatings of titanium film (0.1 um) and gold film (1-2 um) by an electron beam evaporation method. The XRD patterns of the stainless steel plates modified with the multi-layered coatings showed the crystalline phases of the external gold film and the stainless steel substrate. Surface microstructural morphologies of the stainless steel bipolar plates modified with multi-layered coatings were observed by AFM and FE-SEM images. The external gold films formed on the stainless steel plates showed micro structure of grains of about 100 nm diameter. The grain size of the external surface of the stainless steel plates increased with the gold film thickness. The electrical resistance and water contact angle of the stainless steel bipolar plates covered with multi-layered coatings were examined with the thickness of the external gold film.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.324-329
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• 2010

Fuel rods using in nuclear power plants consist of uranium dioxide pellets enclosed in zirconium alloy(zircaloy) tubes. It is vitally important for the pellet surface to remain free from pits, cracks and chipping defects after it is loaded into the tubes to prevent local hot spots during reactor operation. This paper investigates the feasibility study for detecting surface flaws of pellets contained within nuclear fuel rod through X-ray tomography simulation. Reconstructed images used by parallel and fan-beam filtered back projection method were presented and confirmed the accessibility between simulation data and MPS(missing pellet surface) image data.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.133-142
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• 2022

This paper reviews bipolar plate materials and coatings for polymer electrolyte fuel cell. First, six roles and 10 requirements of the bipolar plate are described in detail. Secondly, type of materials for the bipolar plate and their advantages and disadvantages are mentioned. Thirdly, different metallic materials are introduced in terms of electrical and thermal conductivities, corrosion resistance, weight, strength and cost. Finally, various types of coating materials and methods were briefly reviewed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.3704-3710
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• 2021

The characteristics of the external radiation on the surface of the casks for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage by dry method are investigated for the case when the spatial distribution of SNF in the basket changes due to the destruction of the fuel rod claddings. The surface areas are determined, where the changes in fluxes of neutrons, produced by ²⁴⁴Cm actinide, and γ-quanta, produced by long-lived isotopes, are maximum in the result of the decrease in the height of the SNF area. Concrete (VSC-24) and metal (SC-21) casks are considered as examples. The procedure of periodic measurement of the dose rate of neutrons or γ-quanta at the specified points of the cask surface is proposed for identifying the fuel rod cladding destruction. Under normal operation, the decrease in the dose rate produced by neutrons as the function of SNF storage duration is determined by the half-life of ²⁴⁴Cm, and for γ-quanta - by the half-lives of long-lived SNF isotopes. Consequently, a stepwise change in the dose rate of neutrons or γ-quanta, detected by the measurements, as compared to the previous one, would indicate the destruction of the fuel rod claddings.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.410-414
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• 2003

Characteristics of $UO_{2+x}$ powders oxidized at different temperatures were examined. Pellets were fabricated by adding these oxidation powders and their properties were also investigated. Particle size of the $UO_{2+x}$ powders decreased with increasing oxidation temperature while surface area increased. Only the powders oxidized at 35$0^{\circ}C$ enhanced the strength of green pellet. However, 35$0^{\circ}C$ oxidized powders added pellet had many surface defects. The difference of shrinkage rate between the oxidized and UO$_2$ powders was thought to be the cause of them.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.917-935
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• 2020

In this study, an automated sensor to measure forest fire surface fuel moistures was developed to predict changes in the moisture content and risk of forest fire surface fuel, which was indicators of forest fire occurrence and spread risk. This measurement sensor was a method of automatically calculating the moisture content of forest fire surface fuel by electric resistance. The proxy of forest fire surface fuel used in this sensor is pine (50 cm long, 1.5 cm in diameter), and the relationship between moisture content and electrical resistance, R(R:Electrical resistance)=2E(E:Exponent of 10)+13X(X:Moisture content)-9.705(R²=0.947) was developed. In addition, using this, the software and case of the automated measurement sensor for forest fire surface fuel moisture were designed to produce a prototype, and the suitability (R²=0.824) was confirmed by performing field monitoring verification in the forest. The results of this study would contribute to develop technologies that can predict the occurrence, spread and intensity of forest fires, and are expected to be used as basic data for advanced forest fire risk forecasting technologies.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.311-314
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• 2004

The housing of the fuel injector supports the rod, the niddle valve and the solenoid. Based on the procedure of process design, in this paper, the forming operation is designed by the rigid-plastic finite element method. The metal flow during the forming of the fuel injector housing is axisymmetric until the final forming process. The response surface method has been performed to reduce the under-fill and the maximum effective strain. From the results of RSM, the second order regression model of equation is calculated by the least square method and used to determine the optimal values of design variables by simultaneously considering the responses. It is noted that upper under-fill is affected by the design variables of the $2^{nd}$ forming process and lower under-fill is affected by the design variables of the 1st forming process.