• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.62-69
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• 2014

A huge number of carbon steel piping components installed in the secondary system of nuclear power plants are exposed to aging mechanisms such as FAC (Flow-Accelerated Corrosion), Cavitation, Flashing, and LDIE (Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion). Those aging mechanisms can lead to thinning of the piping components. To manage the wall thinning degradation, most of utilities in the world predict the wall thinning rate based on the computational program such as CHECWORKS, COMSY, and BRT-CICERO, evaluate the UT (Ultrasonic Test) data, and determine next inspection timing, repair or replacement, if needed. There are several evaluation methods, such as band, blanket, and strip methods, commonly used for determining the wear of piping components from single UT inspection data. It has been identified that those single UT evaluation methods not only do not consider the manufacturing features of pipes, but also may exclude the data of the most thinned point when determining the representative wear rate of piping components. This paper describes a newly developed single UT evaluation method, E-Cross method, for solving above problems and introduces application examples for several pipes and elbows. It was identified that the E-Cross method using the length and width of UT data excluded the most thinned points appropriate as the single UT evaluation method for thinned piping components.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.820-830
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• 2016

Pipe wall thinning by flow-accelerated corrosion and various types of erosion is a significant and costly damage phenomenon in secondary piping systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Most NPPs have management programs to ensure pipe integrity due to wall thinning that includes periodic measurements for pipe wall thicknesses using nondestructive evaluation techniques. Numerous measurements using ultrasonic tests (UTs; one of the nondestructive evaluation technologies) have been performed during scheduled outages in NPPs. Using the thickness measurement data, wall thinning rates of each component are determined conservatively according to several evaluation methods developed by the United States Electric Power Research Institute. However, little is known about the conservativeness or reliability of the evaluation methods because of a lack of understanding of the measurement error. In this study, quantitative models for UT thickness measurement deviations of nuclear pipes and fittings were developed as the first step for establishing an optimized thinning evaluation procedure considering measurement error. In order to understand the characteristics of UT thickness measurement errors of nuclear pipes and fittings, round robin test results, which were obtained by previous researchers under laboratory conditions, were analyzed. Then, based on a large dataset of actual plant data from four NPPs, a quantitative model for UT thickness measurement deviation is proposed for plant conditions.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.142-148
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• 2013

Safety is a major concern in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Piping systems in NPPs are very complex and composed of many components such as tees, elbows, expanders and straight pipes. The high pressure and high temperature water flows inside piping components. As high speed water flows inside piping, the pipe wall thinning occurs in various reasons such as FAC (Flow Accelerated Corrosion), LDIE (Liquid Droplet Impingement Erosion) and Flashing. To inspect the wall thinning phenomenon and protect the piping from damages, piping components are checked by UT measurement in every overhaul. During every overhaul, approximately 200~300 components (40,000~60,000 UT data) are examined in NPPs. There are some methods from EPRI for evaluating wear rate of components. However, only few studies have been conducted to find out the raw data reliability for the wear rate evaluation. Securing the reliable raw data is the key factor for a reasonable evaluation. This paper suggests the reliability analysis method for the repeatedly measured data for wear rate evaluation.

• The Transactions of the Korea Information Processing Society
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• v.2 no.5
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• pp.701-710
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• 1995

A thinning algorithm is a very important procedure in order to increase recognition rate in the character recognition. This paper is the study of a parallel thinning algorithm available for the recognition of various characters, and it proposes the parallel thinning algorithm using the 8-neighbors connectivity value. Characteristics of the proposed algorithm are easiness of implementation of parallelism, the result of thinning is perfectly-8 connectivity and represented by numeric information. The proposed algorithm is very suitable for characters having many curve segments such as English, Japanese etc. Performance evaluation was performed by the measure of similarity to reference skeleton.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.193-203
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• 1999

In order to investigate systematically the steady shear flow properties of aqueous po1y(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions having various molecular weights and concentrations, the steady flow viscosity has been measured with a Rheometrics Fluids Spectrometer (RFS II) over a wide range of shear rates. The effects of shear rate, concentration, and molecular weight on the steady shear flow properties were reported in detail from the experimentally measured data, and then the results were interpreted using the concept of a material characteristic time. In addition, some flow models describing the non-Newtonian behavior (shear-thinning characteristics) of polymeric liquids were employed to make a quantitative evaluation of the steady flow behavior, and the applicability of these models was examined by calculating the various material parameters. Main results obtained from this study can be summarized as follows: (1) At low shear rates, aqueous PEO solutions show a Newtonian viscous behavior which is independent of shear rate. At shear rate region higher than a critical shear rate, however, they exhibit a shear-thinning behavior, demonstrating a decrease in steady flow viscosity with increasing shear rate. (2) As an increase in concentration and/or molecular weight, the zero-shear viscosity is increased while the Newtonian viscous region becomes narrower. Moreover, the critical shear rate at which the transition from the Newtonian to shear-thinning behavior occurs is decreased, and the shear-thinning nature becomes more remarkable. (3) Aqueous PEO solutions show a Newtonian viscous behavior at shear rate range lower than the inverse value of a characteristic time $1/{\lambda}_E$, while they exhibit a shear-thinning behavior at shear rate range higher than $1/{\lambda}_E$. For aqueous PEO solutions having a broad molecular weight distribution, the inverse value of a characteristic time is not quantitatively equivalent to the critical shear rate, but the power-law relationship holds between the two quantities. (4) The Cross, Carreau, and Carreau-Yasuda models are all applicable to describe the steady flow behavior of aqueous PEO solutions. Among these models, the Carreau-Yasuda model has the best validity.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2008

Tube hydroforming process is generally consisted with pre-bending, preforming and hydroforming processes. Among forming defects which may occur in tube hydroforming such as buckling, wrinkling and bursting, the wrinkling and bursting by local instability under excessive tensile stress mode were mainly caused by thinning phenomenon in the manufacturing process. Thus the accurate prediction and suitable evaluation of the thinning phenomenon play an important role in designing and producing the successfully hydroformed parts without any failures. In this work, the formability on hydroformed part for automobile, i.e. engine cradle, was evaluated using finite element analysis. The initial tube radius, loading path with axial feeding force and internal pressure, and preformed configuration after preforming process were considered as the dominant process parameters in total tube hydroforming process. The effects on these process parameters could be confirmed through the numerical experiments with respect to several kinds of finite element simulation conditions. The degree of enhancement on formability with each process parameters such as initial tube radius, loading path and preform configuration were also compared. Therefore, it is noted that the evaluation approach of the formability on hydroformed parts for lots of industrial fields proposed in this study will provide one of feasible methods to satisfy the increasing practical demands for the improvement of the formability in tube hydroforming processes.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.218-224
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• 2012

Liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE) known to be generated in aircraft and turbine blades is recently appeared in nuclear piping. UT thickness measurements with both A-scan and B-scan UT inspection equipments were performed for a component estimated as susceptible to LDIE in feedwater heater vent system. The thickness data measured with B-Scan equipment were compared with those of A-Scan. Thermal hydraulic analysis based on ANSYS FLUENT code was performed to analyze the behavior of liquid droplets inside piping. The wall thinning rate and residual lifetime based on both existing Sanchez-Caldera equation and measuring data were also calculated to identify the applicability of the existing equation to the LDIE management of nuclear piping. Because Sanchez-Caldera equation do not consider the feature of magnetite formed inside piping, droplet size, colliding frequency, the development of new evaluation method urgently needs to manage the pipe wall thinning caused by LDIE.

• The Korean Journal of Rheology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.143-152
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• 1999

Using a Rheometrics Fluids Spectrometer(RFS II), the steady shear flow and the small-amplitude dynamic viscoelastic properties of three kinds of semi-solid food materials(mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, and wasabi) have been measured over a wide range of shear rates and angular frequencies. The shear rate dependence of steady flow behavior and the angular frequency dependence of dynamic viscoelastic behavior were reported from the experimentally measured data. In addition, some viscoplastic flow models with a yield stress term were employed to make a quantitative evaluation of the steady flow behavior, and the applicability of these models was also examined in detail. Furthermore, the correlations between steady shear flow(nonlinear behavior) and dynamic viscoelastic(linear behavior)properties were discussed using the modified power-law flow equations. Main results obtained from this study can be summarized as follows : (1) Semi-solid food materials are regarded as viscoplastic fluids having a finite magnitude of yield stress, and their flow behavior shows shear-thinning characteristics, exhibiting a decrease in steady flow viscosity with increasing shear rate. (2) The Herschel-Bulkley, Mizrahi-Berk, and Heinz-Casson models are all applicable to describe the steady flow behavior of semi-solid food materials. Among these models, the Heinz-Casson model has the best validity. (3) Semi-solid food materials show a stronger shear-thinning behavior at shear rate region higher than a critical shear rate where a more progressive structure breakdown takes place. (4) Both the storage and loss moduli are increased with increasing angular frequency, but they have a slight dependence on angular frequency. The elastic behavior is dominant to the viscous behavior over a wide range of angular frequencies. (5) All of the steady flow, dynamic, and complex viscosities are well satisfied with the power-law model behavior. The relationships between steady shear flow and dynamic viscoelastic properties can well be described by the modified forms of the power-law flow equations.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.103-111
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• 2015

In general, no particularly well-established standards have been in place so far, for the method of evaluating the deteriorated level of pipes and ducts of industrial facilities. For that reason, the evaluation depends upon various studies which are based on the analysis of the residual life, thickness thinning, closure rate, and scale thickness that measure a few specific positions of pipes. It also depends upon the expertise in business operation and the specific techniques conducted by the inspection companies and institutions. This research introduces the concept of measuring units per section and the selection method of measurement points per section. Furthermore, specific methodologies were developed to plan and analyze deterioration level of industrial pipes and ducts by engineers and managers using a section map. Consequently, applying the outcomes from this study to the plant equipment of the incineration facility resulted in saving 42% of the repairing and remodeling cost.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.185-199
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• 2009

Using a strain-controlled rheometer [Advanced Rheometric Expansion System (ARES)], the steady shear flow properties and the dynamic viscoelastic properties of $Antiphlamine-S^{(R)}$ lotion have been measured at $20^{\circ}C$ (storage temperature) and $37^{\circ}C$ (body temperature). In this article, the temperature dependence of the linear viscoelastic behavior was firstly reported from the experimental data obtained from a temperature-sweep test. The steady shear flow behavior was secondly reported and then the effect of shear rate on this behavior was discussed in detail. In addition, several inelastic-viscoplastic flow models including a yield stress parameter were employed to make a quantitative evaluation of the steady shear flow behavior, and then the applicability of these models was examined by calculating the various material parameters. The angular frequency dependence of the linear viscoelastic behavior was nextly explained and quantitatively predicted using a fractional derivative model. Finally, the strain amplitude dependence of the dynamic viscoelastic behavior was discussed in full to elucidate a nonlinear rheological behavior in large amplitude oscillatory shear flow fields. Main findings obtained from this study can be summarized as follows : (1) The linear viscoelastic behavior is almostly independent of temperature over a temperature range of $15{\sim}40^{circ}C$. (2) The steady shear viscosity is sharply decreased as an increase in shear rate, demonstrating a pronounced Non-Newtonian shear-thinning flow behavior. (3) The shear stress tends to approach a limiting constant value as a decrease in shear rate, exhibiting an existence of a yield stress. (4) The Herschel-Bulkley, Mizrahi-Berk and Heinz-Casson models are all applicable and have an equivalent validity to quantitatively describe the steady shear flow behavior of $Antiphlamine-S^{(R)}$ lotion whereas both the Bingham and Casson models do not give a good applicability. (5) In small amplitude oscillatory shear flow fields, the storage modulus is always greater than the loss modulus over an entire range of angular frequencies tested and both moduli show a slight dependence on angular frequency. This means that the linear viscoelastic behavior of $Antiphlamine-S^{(R)}$ lotion is dominated by an elastic nature rather than a viscous feature and that a gel-like structure is present in this system. (6) In large amplitude oscillatory shear flow fields, the storage modulus shows a nonlinear strain-thinning behavior at strain amplitude range larger than 10 % while the loss modulus exhibits a weak strain-overshoot behavior up to a strain amplitude of 50 % beyond which followed by a decrease in loss modulus with an increase in strain amplitude. (7) At sufficiently large strain amplitude range (${\gamma}_0$>100 %), the loss modulus is found to be greater than the storage modulus, indicating that a viscous property becomes superior to an elastic character in large shear deformations.