• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.43 no.10
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• pp.883-891
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• 2010

More recently, there have been significant changes in the forms of channels due to runoff characteristics driven by climate changes and other alterations in basin/channel environments. Particularly, increasing local deposition in major channels is being observed nationwide. Of such phenomena, it is noteworthy that flood-plains show unidirectional growth and lowering of channels within compound channels in the form of a high-flow plain. These changes are supposed to affect management of the river ecology as well as flood control. In this study, the research on channels in Korea confirmed that the phenomenon of local deposition in those channels is actually taking place, rendering a problem to be urgently addressed. Previous studies on bed changes have been focused on low channels based on bed materials distributed over the channels. However, this research has proved that surface-layer deposition of a high-flow plain is closely related with changes in the conditions of ground surfaces and, ultimately, affects the bed of the entire channel as well. According to the intensive research on the condition of the high-flow plain of the mouth of the Han River, the silt deposited in the high-flow plain was the main cause of settlement/growth of vegetation. And this leads to landforming along with woods-forming, disturbing flood control as well as the normal river ecology.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.462-469
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• 2008

A regenerative evaporative cooler has been fabricated and tested for the evaluation of cooling performance. The regenerative evaporative cooler is a kind of indirect evaporative cooler comprised of multiple pairs of dry and wet channels. The air flowing through the dry channels is cooled without any change in the humidity and at the outlet of the dry channel a part of air is redirected to the wet channel where the evaporative cooling takes place. The regenerative evaporative cooler fabricated in this study consists of the multiple pairs of finned channels in counterflow arrangement. The fins and heat transfer plates were made of aluminum and brazed for good thermal connection. Thin porous layer coating was applied to the internal surface of the wet channel to improve surface wettability. The regenerative evaporative cooler was placed in a climate chamber and tested at various operation condition. The cooling performance is found greatly influenced by the evaporation water flow rate. To improve the cooling performance, the evaporation water flow rate needs to be minimized as far as the even distribution of the evaporation water is secured. At the inlet condition of $32^{\circ}C$ and 50%RH, the outlet temperature was measured at $22^{\circ}C$ which is well below the inlet wet-bulb temperature of $23.7^{\circ}C$.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.257-264
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• 2013

In Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU)-type nuclear power plants, the reactor is composed of 380 fuel channels and refueling is performed on one or two channels per day. At the time of refueling, the fluid force of the cooling water inside the channel is exploited. New fuel added upstream of the fuel channel is moved downstream by the fluid force of the cooling water, and the used fuel is pushed out. Through this process, refueling is completed. Among the 380 fuel channels, outer rows 1 and 2 (called the FARE channel) make the process of using only the internal fluid force impossible because of the low flow rate of the channel cooling water. Therefore, a Flow Assist Ram Extension (FARE) tool, a refueling aid, is used to refuel these channels in order to compensate for the insufficient fluid force. The FARE tool causes flow resistance, thus allowing the fuel to be moved down with the flow of cooling water. Although the existing FARE tool can perform refueling in Korean plants, the coolant flow rate is reduced to below 80% of the normal flow for some time during refueling. A Flow rate below 80% of the normal flow cause low flow rate alarm signal in the plant operation. A flow rate below 80% of the normal flow may cause difficulties in the plant operation because of the increase in the coolant temperature of the channel. A new and improved FARE tool is needed to address the limitations of the existing FARE tool. In this study, we identified the cause of the low flow phenomena of the existing FARE tool. A new and improved FARE tool has been designed and manufactured. The improved FARE tool has been tested many times using laboratory test apparatus and was redesigned until satisfactory results were obtained. In order to confirm the performance of the improved FARE tool in a real plant, the final design FARE tool was tested at Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2. The test was carried out successfully and the low flow rate alarm signal was eliminated during refueling. Several additional improved FARE tools have been manufactured. These improved FARE tools are currently being used for Korean CANDU plant refueling.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.1201-1208
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• 2002

A numerical flow-field analysis is performed to investigate flow configurations in the anode, cathode and cooling channels on the bipolar plates of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Continuous open-faced flow channels are formed on the bipolar plate surface to supply hydrogen, air and water. In this analysis, two types of channel pattern are considered: serpentine and spiral. The averaged pressure distribution and velocity profiles of the hydrogen, air and water channels are calculated by two-dimensional flow-field analysis. The equations for the conservation of mass and momentum in the two-dimensional fluid flow analysis are slightly modified to include the characteristics of the PEMFC. The analysis results indicate that the serpentine flow-fields are locally unstable (because two channels are cross at right angles). The spiral flow-fields has more stable than the serpentine, due to rotational fluid-flow inertia forces. From this study, the spiral channel pattern is suggested for a channel pattern of the bipolar plate of the PEMFC to obtain better performance.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.213-216
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• 2006

The present study was aimed to determine whether nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in the regulation of aquaporin (AQP) channels in the kidney. Male Brattleboro rats ($250{\sim}300\;g$ body weight) were used. The experimental group was treated with $N^G$-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 100 mg/L drinking water) for 1 week, and cotreated with indomethacin (5 mg/kg, twice a day, i.p.) for the last two days. Control groups were treated with either L-NAME for 1 week, indomethacin for 2 days, or without any drug treatment. The abundance of AQP1, AQP2 and AQP3 proteins in the kidney was determined by Western blot analysis. Indomethacin downregulated AQP channels, whereas L-NAME by itself showed no significant effects on them. The indomethacin-induced downregulation of AQP2 and AQP3 was significantly blunted in L-NAME-treated rats, while that of AQP1 was not affected. These results suggest that endogenous NO, when stimulated, may downregulate AQP channels that are specifically regulated by AVP/cAMP pathway in the kidney.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.386-392
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• 2014

The effective water management in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of the key strategies for improving cell performance and durability. In this work, an ex situ measurement was carried out to understand the water droplet behavior on the surface of gas diffusion layer (GDL) as a fundamental study for establishing novel water management. For that purpose, simplified cell including one rib and two flow channels was designed and fabricated. Using this ex situ device, the water droplet emergence through the GDL of the PEMFC was emulated to understand liquid water transport through the porous diffusion medium. Through the visualization experiment, the emergence and growth of water droplets at the channel/GDL interface are mainly observed with the surface characteristics of GDL (SGL 10BA, 24BA) and rib when the liquid water passes through the GDL and is expelled to the flow channel. It is expected that the results obtained from this study can contribute to the better understanding on the water droplet behavior (emergence and removal) in the flow channels of PEMFC.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.589-596
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• 2013

In a pressurized heavy water reactor, following loss of the primary coolant, severe core damage would begin with the depletion of the liquid moderator, exposing the top row of internally-voided fuel channels to steam cooling conditions on the inside and outside. The uncovered fuel channels would heat up, deform and disassemble into core debris. Large inventories of water passively reduce the rate of progression of the accident, prolonging the time for complete loss of engineered heat sinks. The efficacy of available backup and ultimate heat sinks, available in a CANDU 6 reactor, in mitigating the consequences of a prolonged station blackout scenario was analysed using the MAAP4-CANDU code. The analysis indicated that the steam generator secondary side water inventory is the most effective heat sink during the accident. Additional heat sinks such as the primary coolant, moderator, calandria vault water and end shield water are also able to remove decay heat; however, a gradually increasing mismatch between heat generation and heat removal occurs over the course of the postulated event. This mismatch is equivalent to an additional water inventory estimated to be 350,000 kg at the time of calandria vessel failure. In the Enhanced CANDU 6 reactor ~2,040,000 kg of water in the reserve water tank is available for prolonged emergencies requiring heat sinks.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.476-483
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• 2012

Proper water management is crucial for the efficient operation of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Especially, for automotive applications, A novel water management that can avoid both membrane dry-out and flooding is a very important task to achieve good performance and efficiency of PEM fuel cells. The aim of this study is to investigate the liquid water behavior on the gas diffusion layer (GDL) surface and in the cathode flow channel of a PEM unit fuel cell under flooding conditions. For this purpose, a transparent unit fuel cell is devised and fabricated by modifying the conventional PEM fuel cell design. The results of water droplet behavior under flooding conditions are mainly presented. The water distributions in the cathode flow channels with cell operating voltage are also compared and analyzed. Through this work, it is expected that the data obtained from this fundamental study can be effectively used to establish the basic water management strategy in terms of water removal from the flow channels in a PEM fuel cell stack.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.307-313
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• 2001

Whether there exists a sympathetic neural mechanism regulating the expression of aquaporin (AQP) water channels in the kidney was investigated. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with reserpine (1 mg/kg, IP), and the expression of AQP1-4 proteins was determined in the kidney one day thereafter. Following the treatment with reserpine, the systolic blood pressure measured in a conscious state was significantly decreased in the experimental group compared with that in the control $(83{\pm}8\;vs\;124{\pm}6\;mmHg;\;n=6\;each,\;P＜0.05)$. The expression of AQP2 proteins was decreased in the cortex, outer medulla, and inner medulla. The decrease of AQP2 proteins was in parallel in the membrane and the cytoplasmic fractions, suggesting a preserved AQP2 targeting. No significant changes were observed in the expression of AQP1, AQP3, or AQP4. Neither basal nor AVP-stimulated formation of cAMP was significantly altered. These results suggest that the sympathetic nervous system has a tonic stimulatory effect specifically on the expression of AQP2 water channels in the kidney.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.360-361
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• 2005