• Clean Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.264-271
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• 2013

In this study, we optimized the removal condition of contaminants attached on the scrap surface to recycle the scrap generated from the Zr alloy tube manufacturing process back to the nuclear grade. The main contaminant is remnant of watersoluble cooling lubricant that is used in the pilgering manufacture during the tube production, and it is assumed to be compressed and carbonized on the surface of tube. Zirlo alloy tube of ${\phi}9.50mm$, which has high occurrence frequency of scrap, was selected as the object to be cleaned, and cleaning abilities of reagents were evaluated by measuring the characteristics of contaminants remained and by analyzing the surface of the tube after cleaning process. For evaluation of each cleaning agent, we selected two types of sodium hydroxide series and three types of potassium hydroxide series. Furthermore, to confirm dependence on tempe-rature and ultrasonic intensities, cleaning at the room temperature, $40^{\circ}C$, and $60^{\circ}C$ was conducted, and results showed that higher the cleaning temperature and higher the ultrasonic intensity, better the cleaning effect. As a result of the bare-eye inspection, while the use of sodium hydroxide provided satisfactory condition on the tube surface, the use of potassium hydroxide series provided satisfactory condition on the tube surface only when the ultrasonic intensity was over 120 W. In the cleaning effect analysis using the gravimetric method, cleaning efficiency of sodium hydroxide series was as high as 97.6% ($60^{\circ}C$, 120 W), but since the tube surface condition was poor after the use of potassium hydroxide, the gravimetric method was not appropriate. In the analytical result of surface contaminants on the tube surface, C, O, Ca, and Zr were detected, and mainly C and O dominated the proportion of contaminants. It was also found that the degree of cleaning on the tube affected the componential ratio of C and O; if the degree of cleaning is high, or if cleaning is well-conducted, the proportion of C is decreased, and the proportion of O is increased. Based on these results, optimal cleaning for application in the industry can be expected by categorizing cleaning process into three steps of Alkali cleaning, Rinsing, and Drying and by adjusting cleaning parameters in each step.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.682-692
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• 2007

This study presents an automatic system to predict parturition time in the crated sows. The system relies on ultrasonic transducers mounted from above along the length of the crate. Using a 40 kHz time of flight (TOF) single envelope wave, the momentary distances between the sensors are measured. Therefore, the local momentary height of the sow and the momentary posture, i.e. standing posture (SDP), kneeling posture (KP), sitting posture (STP) and lateral lying posture (LLP) are determined. Crated sows change their postures from standing to lying and vice versa which follows a characteristic pattern. As parturition approaches, sows exhibit uneasiness, restlessness and the stand up sequence (SUS, the posture transition from LLP to SDP) rate increases because of labor pains. In time series, the SUS rate demonstrates a peak and it happens approximately 0-12 h before parturition. In this paper, the basic parturition threshold value method (BPTVM) and the same hour method (SHM) are proposed for predicting parturition, both of which are based on the SUS rate. The BPTVM mainly detects the peak of the SUS rate. As the SUS rate exceeds the threshold value, the parturition becomes predictable. Moreover, the SHM calculates the difference in the SUS rates between a particular time of day and the corresponding time of the preceding day. Compared to the BPTVM, the SHM can eliminate the circadian rhythm of the SUS rate influenced by feeding behavior. Using the SHM the parturition can be approximately predicted within hours. In an attempt to define the threshold parameters of predicting parturition, a data set with 32 sows of the SUS rate are used to estimate assumable predicting probability. The results show the assumable probability of the parturition prediction within 9 h is 96.9% for the SHM and 84.4% for the BPTVM. Moreover, the SHM can even reach a 75% probability of prediction within three hours of parturition. We conclude that the SHM is more accurate and is more useful for parturition time prediction. When parturition is detected, the proposed algorithm generates a warning signal which can inform human personnel to protect the mother and newborn piglets.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.542-547
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• 2017

Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) has attracted growing interest, as it is an effective method for the rapid extraction of bioactive compounds from plants with a high extraction efficiency comparable to the conventional extraction. In this study, UAE was used for the extraction of polyphenols from lipid extracted microalgae (Tetraselmis KCTC 12236BP) and the effects of five extraction variables on the total phenolic compounds (TPC) were studied. For the optimization of extraction parameters, particle size, solid-to-liquid (L/S) ratio, ethanol concentration, extraction temperature and extraction time have been examined as independent variables. All variables exhibited the significant effects on the extraction of TPC and extraction temperature showed the most significant effect among five variables. The optimal extraction conditions were the extraction using mixed particle, S/L ratio of 10%, ethanol concentration of 60%, extraction temperature of $100^{\circ}C$ and extraction time of 30 min, which gave the 8.7 mg GAE/g DW for TPC. Compared with conventional hot-water extraction, TPC extraction under UAE was increased by up to 1.8 fold with same extraction condition. This study showed that UAE under low temperature and short extraction time was proven to be an effective extraction process for TPC production from LEA compared to conventional hot-water extraction process.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.412-421
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• 2023

Ultrasound brain stimulation is spot-lighted by its capability of inducing brain cell activation in a localized deep brain region and ultimately treating impaired brain function while the efficiency and directivity of neural modulation are highly dependent on types of stimulus waveforms. Therefore, to optimize the types of stimulation parameters, we propose a cell-cultivable ultrasonic transducer having a series stack of a spin-coated polymer piezoelectric element (Poly-vinylidene fluoride-trifluorethylene, PVDF-TrFE) and a parylene insulating layer enhancing output acoustic pressure on a glass-coverslip which is commonly used in culturing cells. Due to the uniformity and high accuracy of stimulus waveform, tens of neuronal cell responses located on the transducer surface can be recorded simultaneously with fluorescence microscopy. By averaging the cell response traces from tens of cells, small changes to the low intensity ultrasound stimulations can be identified. In addition, the reduction of stimulus distortions made by standing wave generated from reflections between the transducers and other strong reflectors can be achieved by placing acoustic absorbers. Through the proposed ultrasound transducer, we could successfully observe the calcium responses induced by low-intensity ultrasound stimulation of 6 MHz, 0.2 MPa in astrocytes cultured on the transducer surface.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.473-479
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• 2021

The diagnostic criteria for diffuse thyroid disease are ambiguous and there are many errors due to the subjective diagnosis of experts. Also, studies on ultrasound imaging of thyroid nodules have been actively conducted, but studies on diffuse thyroid disease are insufficient. In this study, features were extracted by applying the GLCM algorithm to ultrasound images of normal and diffuse thyroid disease, and quantitative analysis was performed using the extracted feature values. Using the GLCM algorithm for thyroid ultrasound images of patients diagnosed at W hospital, 199 normal cases, 132 mild cases, and 99 moderate cases, a region of interest (50×50 pixel) was set for a total of 430 images, and Autocorrelation, Sum of squares, sum average, sum variance, cluster prominence, and energy were analyzed using six parameters. As a result, in autocorrelation, sum of squares, sum average, and sum variance four parameters, Normal, Mild, and Moderate were distinguished with a high recognition rate of over 90%. This study is valuable as a criterion for classifying the severity of diffuse thyroid disease in ultrasound images using the GLCM algorithm. By applying these parameters, it is expected that errors due to visual reading can be reduced in the diagnosis of thyroid disease and can be utilized as a secondary means of diagnosing diffuse thyroid disease.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.60 no.12
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• pp.2352-2360
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• 2011

In this paper, we introduce a comprehensive design methodology of Radial Basis Function Neural Networks (RBFNN) that is based on mechanism of clustering and optimization algorithm. We can divide some clusters based on similarity of input dataset by using clustering algorithm. As a result, the number of clusters is equal to the number of nodes in the hidden layer. Moreover, the centers of each cluster are used into the centers of each receptive field in the hidden layer. In this study, we have applied Fuzzy-C Means(FCM) and K-Means(KM) clustering algorithm, respectively and compared between them. The weight connections of model are expanded into the type of polynomial functions such as linear and quadratic. In this reason, the output of model consists of relation between input and output. In order to get the optimal structure and better performance, Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO) is used. We can obtain optimized parameters such as both the number of clusters and the polynomial order of weights connection through structural optimization as well as the widths of receptive fields through parametric optimization. To evaluate the performance of proposed model, NXT equipment offered by National Instrument(NI) is exploited. The situation awareness system-related intelligent model was built up by the experimental dataset of distance information measured between object and diverse sensor such as sound sensor, light sensor, and ultrasonic sensor of NXT equipment.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.361-369
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• 2017

Setting time of cement-based materials can represent a developing strength in early-age mixture, and it can be used a significant parameter of high-performance concrete having various mix-proportions. Generally, initial and final setting time of concrete is measured by penetration resistance method that used a wet-sieving mortar mixture, therefore, it hardly represents the setting time of sound concrete including coarse aggregate. Recently, several nondestructive methods, such as ultrasonic velocity and impendence measurement, are proposed to evaluate the setting time of fresh concrete. This study attempts to measure an electrical resistivity using four-electrode method for evaluation of setting time in early-age cement-based materials. For this purpose, total 10 mixtures are prepared as different mix-proportions including chemical admixture. Based on the experimental results, two electrical parameters, such as initial electrical resistivity and rising time, are proposed to reflect a microstructure development by hydration of cement-based materials. As a result, proposed parameter is also discussed with the measured setting time by penetration resistance method.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.41-52
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• 2015

Volcanic rocks in Jeju Island have vesicular structure caused by various environmental factors, and indicate the differences in geological and mechanical characteristics from region to region. In addition, the bedrock of Jeju Island shows stratified structure, that is, soft layers composed of pyroclastic rocks or cavities are irregularly developed between the basalt layers by several times of volcanic activity. In this study, various physical tests and unconfined compressive strength test were conducted for intact rocks sampled in northwestern onshore and offshore of Jeju Island. The results obtained in the tests were compared with the physical and mechanical characteristics of intact rocks sampled in southeastern offshore of Jeju Island. As a results, it was confirmed that the physical and mechanical characteristics of basalts sampled in northwestern Jeju Island were similar to those of basalts sampled in southeastern offshore of Jeju Island. In addition, it was possible to estimate approximate design parameters from the correlation of mechanical properties with physical properties of basalts in Jeju Island.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.431-440
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• 2011

Concrete structures exposed to fire produce changes in their internal structure, resulting in their service life reduction due to the deterioration of its strength and performance capacity. The deterioration level are dependent on the temperature, exposure time, concrete mix proportions, aggregate property, and material properties. This study was performed to evaluate the thermal behavior of ultra-high strength concrete for the parameters of water to cement ratio (compressive strength), fine to total aggregate ratio, and maximum coarse aggregate size. At room temperature and $500^{\circ}C$, tests of ultrasonic pulse velocity, resonance frequency, static modulus of elasticity, and compressive strength are performed using ${\varnothing}100{\times}200\;mm$ cylindrical concrete specimens. The results showed that the residual mechanical properties of ultra-high strength concrete heated to $500^{\circ}C$ is influenced by variation of a water to binder ratio, fine to total aggregate ratio, and maximum coarse aggregate size.

• Clean Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.90-94
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• 2017

These days much efforts are being dedicated to wind power as a potential source of renewable energy. To maintain effective and uniform generation of energy, defect preservation of turbine blade is essential because it directly takes effects on the efficiency of power generation. For the effective maintenance, early measurements of blade defects are very important. However, current technologies such as ultrasonic waves and thermal imaging inspection methods are not suitable because of long inspection time and non-real time inspection. To supplement the problems, the study introduced a method for real time defect monitoring of a blade surface based on surface wave technology. We examined the effect of various parameters such as micro-cracks and peelings on the propagation of surface wave.