• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.7
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• pp.1463-1471
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• 2017

In order to monitor the pipe thinning caused by flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC) that occurs in coolant piping systems, a shear horizontal ultrasonic pitch-catch waveguide technique was developed for accurate pipe wall thickness monitoring. A clamping device for dry coupling contact between the end of the waveguide and pipe surface was designed and fabricated. A computer program for multi-channel on-line monitoring of the pipe thickness at high temperature was also developed. Both a four-channel buffer rod pulse-echo type and a shear horizontal ultrasonic waveguide type for high-temperature thickness monitoring system were successfully installed to the test section of the FAC proof test facility. The overall measurement error can be estimated as ${\pm}10{\mu}m$ during a cycle from room temperature to $200^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.414-419
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• 2019

An ultrasonic based magnetostrictive position sensor (MPS) provides an indication of real target position. It determines the real target position by multiplying the propagation speed of ultrasonic wave and the time-of-flight between the receiving signals; one is the initial signal by an excitation current and the other is the reflection signal by the ultrasonic wave. The propagation speed of the ultrasonic wave depends on the temperature of the waveguide. Hence, the change of the propagation speed in various environments is a critical factor in terms of the positioning accuracy in the MPS. This means that the influence of the changes in the waveguide temperature needs to be compensated. In this paper, we presents a novel way to improve the positioning accuracy of MPSs using temperature compensation for waveguide. The proposed method used the inherent measurement blind area for the structure of the MPS, which can simultaneously measure the position of the moving target and the temperature of the waveguide without any additional devices. The average positional error was approximately -23.9 mm and -1.9 mm before and after compensation, respectively. It was confirmed that the positioning accuracy was improved by approximately 93%.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1115-1119
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• 2014

In this article, a 20 kHz ultrasonic waveguide for nano-surface treatment was designed and manufactured. When designing the system, finite element analysis with ANSYS software was performed to find optimal dimensions of the waveguide, which can raise energy efficiency. Consequently an anti-resonance frequency of an Al waveguide with a piezoelectric actuator was 20 kHz, which predicted the experimentally obtained value of 18 kHz well. For the assessment of the performance, Steel Use Stainless (SUS) 304 and chromium molybdenum steel (SCM) 435 specimens were tested. Cross-sectional microscopies of SUS304 were taken and they showed that the treated thickness was $30{\mu}m$. Additionally, hardness tests of SCM435 were done and the hardness before the process was 14.0 Rockwell Hardness-C scale (HRC) and after the process was 20.5 HRC, respectively, which means 46% increase. Considering these results, the developed ultrasonic system is thought to be effective in the nano-surface treatment process.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.545-553
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• 2003

This paper is concerned with protecting piezoelectric transducers used in an ultrasonic flowmeter from the high temperature of hot fluid in a pipe by using a waveguide and with improving the propagation of ultrasonic longitudinal vibration in the waveguide. Waveguide material has been chosen for efficient insulation of heat transferred in the waveguide, and the minimum length of the waveguide for protecting piezoelectric transducer has been estimated. Forced response of the longitudinal vibration in a uniform circular rod has been obtained and the length of the waveguide has been selected for maximum amplitude. Longitudinal vibration response of a conically-tapered rod excited at a natural frequency has been obtained to confirm that wave motion is amplified as the cross-sectional size of the waveguide decreases along the axial direction. The fact that dispersion of a pulse wave in a waveguide is reduced as the cross-sectional radius is decreased has been examined theoretically and confirmed experimentally by using a single-rod waveguide. A bundle-type waveguide has proven to be a practical one through the evaluation of the wave propagation performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.776-783
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• 2020

As the refueling of a sodium-cooled fast reactor is conducted by rotating part of the reactor head without opening it, the monitoring of existing obstacles that can disturb the rotation of the reactor head is one of the most important issues. This paper deals with the ultrasonic ranging technique that directly monitors the existence of possible obstacles located in a lateral gap between the upper internal structure and the reactor core in a prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR). A 10 m long plate-type ultrasonic waveguide sensor, whose feasibility has been successfully demonstrated through preliminary tests, was employed for the ultrasonic ranging technique. The design of the sensor's wave radiating section was modified to improve the radiation performance, and the radiated field was investigated through beam profile measurements. A test facility simulating the lower part of the upper internal structure and the upper part of the reactor core with the same shapes and sizes as those in the PGSFR was newly constructed. Several under-water performance tests were then carried out at room temperature to investigate the applicability of the developed ranging technique using the plate-type ultrasonic waveguide sensor with the actual geometry of the PGSFR's internal structures.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2006

Reactor core and internal structures of a liquid metal reactor (LMR) can not be visually examined due to an opaque liquid sodium. The under-sodium viewing technique by using an ultrasonic wave should be applied far the visual inspection of reactor internals. In this study, an ultrasonic waveguide sensor with a strip plate has been developed for an application to the under-sodium viewing technique. The Lamb wave propagation of a waveguide sensor has been analyzed and the zero-order antisymmetric $A_0$ plate wave was selected as the application mode of the sensor. The $A_0$ plate wave can be propagated in the dispersive low frequency range by using a liquid wedge clamped to the waveguide. A new technique is presented which is capable of steering the radiation beam angle of a waveguide sensor without a mechanical movement of the sensor assembly The steering function of the ultrasonic radiation beam can be achieved by a frequency tuning method of the excitation pulse in the dispersive range of the $A_0$ mode. The technique provides an opportunity to overcome the scanning limitation of a waveguide sensor. The beam steering function has been evaluated by an experimental verification. The ultrasonic C-scanning experiments are performed in water and the feasibility of the ultrasonic waveguide sensor has been verified.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.530-534
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• 2015

Ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM) is an example of a nanoscale-surface modification that has become noticeable because of its effects on the mechanical improvement of metallic materials. UNSM equipment needs to be both utilized and improved. The equipment is based on an ultrasonic waveguide whose role is to strike surfaces of metallic materials to achieve nanoscale deformation. In this paper, we introduce the development of one kind of UNSM equipment. Using piezoelectric elements, we repeatedly design and fabricate a 20-kHz ultrasonic waveguide. With respect to the composition of the equipment, the waveguide is automatically transferred by two axial stages automatically. In addition, a static force is constantly applied by pneumatic devices. We perform an experiment to verify the feasibility of the equipment.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.364-371
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• 2008

Ultrasonic waveguide sensor has been developed for under-sodium viewing of reactor internal structures of a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR). The structure design concept of a waveguide sensor assembly was suggested and evaluated for the application in SFR. A 10 m long ultrasonic waveguide sensor assembly has been manufactured and the experimental feasibility tests were carried out. The 10 m long distance propagation performance of zero-order antisymmetric $A_0$ Lamb wave has been verified. The feasibility of ultrasonic waveguide sensor has been demonstrated by the C-scanning resolution performance test.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.186-192
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• 2022

Flow accelerated corrosion (FAC) is a type of pipe corrosion in which the pipe thickness decreases depending on the fluid flow conditions. In nuclear power plants, FAC mainly occurs in the carbon steel pipes of a secondary system. However, because the temperature of a secondary system pipe is over 150 ℃, in situ monitoring using a conventional ultrasonic non-destructive testing method is difficult. In our previous study, we developed a waveguide ultrasonic thickness measurement system. In this study, we applied a waveguide ultrasonic thickness measurement system to monitor the thinning of the pipe according to the change in pH. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute installed FAC-proof facilities, enabling the monitoring of internal fluid flow conditions, which were fixed for ~1000 h to analyze the effect of the pH. The measurement system operated without failure for ~3000 h and the pipe thickness was found to be reduced by ~10% at pH 9 compared to that at pH 7. The thickness of the pipe was measured using a microscope after the experiment, and the reliability of the system was confirmed with less than 1% error. This technology is expected to also be applicable to the thickness-reduction monitoring of other high-temperature materials.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.568-575
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• 2020

Ultrasound has been widely used in various industrial fields. One of challenging application areas is cooling microelectronics. Ultrasonic cooling systems can work with air, argon (Ar) and nitrogen (N₂) instead of conventional refrigerant such as freon gas, which can cause global warming. Furthermore, ultrasonic systems do not have moving parts, thus high durability can be obtained. So it is necessary to develop ultrasonic cooling systems due to environmental issues and durability points. In this paper, the design and fabrication processes are explained. When designing the system, a feasibility test was performed with a prototype cooler. Based on the result, finite element analysis with ANSYS software was performed. The predicted anti-resonance frequency for a piezoelectric actuator was 34.8 kHz, which was in good agreement with the experimental result of 34.6 kHz with 0.6% error. In addition, the predicted anti-resonance frequency for the ultrasonic waveguide was 39.4 kHz, which also agreed well with the experimental value of 39.8 kHz with 1.0% error. Based on these results, the developed ultrasonic waveguide might be applicable in microchip cooling.