• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.25-31
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• 2011

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have many attractive features for widespread applications in generation systems. Recently, stainless steels have attractive materials for metallic bipolar plate because metallic bipolar plates have many benefits compared to others such as graphite and composite bipolar plates. SOFC operates on high temperature of about $800{\sim}1000^{\circ}C$ than other fuel cell systems. Thus, many studies have attempted to reduced the operation temperature of SOFC to about $600{\sim}800^{\circ}C$, which is the intermediate temperature (IT) of SOFC. Low cost and high-temperature corrosion resistance are very important for the practical applications of SOFC in various industries. In this study, two specimens, 304 and 430 stainless steels with and without different pre-surface treatments on the surface were investigated. And, specimens were exposed at high temperature in the box furnace under oxidation atmosphere of $800^{\circ}C$. Oxidation behavior have been investigated with the materials exposed at different times (100 hrs and 400 hrs) by SEM, EDS and XRD. By increasing exposure time, the amount of metal oxide increased in the order like; STS304 < STS430 and As-received < As-polished < Sand-blast specimens.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 2022

In the process of long-term use of PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells), chemical degradation of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) occurs due to corrosion of stack elements and contamination of supply gas. In this study, we investigated whether chemically degraded MEA can be recovered by acid washing. The performance was measured and compared in a PEMFC cell after contamination with iron ions and washing with an aqueous sulfuric acid solution. The performance was reduced by about 25% by 0.5 ppm iron ion contamination, and 97.1% performance recovery was possible by washing of 0.15 M sulfuric acid. The membrane resistance was increased due to iron ion contamination of the polymer membrane, and the ionic conductivity was restored by washing the iron ions from the membrane while minimizing the loss of the electrode catalyst by washing with a low-concentration sulfuric acid aqueous solution. The possibility of solving the decrease in durability caused by chemical contamination of PEMFC MEA by the acid washing was confirmed.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.543-549
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• 2021

Aluminum cast iron has excellent oxidation resistance and good resistance to sulfide and corrosion. Compared to Ti and Ni alloys, it is expected to be a substitute material for structural materials and stainless steels because it is relatively inexpensive to use Fe, which is a non-strategic element. This results in a weight reduction effect of about 30% as compared to the use of stainless steel. With regard to aluminum as an alloying material, it is an element that has been widely used for the alloying of cast iron in recent years. Practical use has been delayed owing to the resulting lack of ductility at room temperature and the sharp decrease in the strength above 600℃ of this alloy, however. The cause of the weak room temperature ductility is known to be environmental embrittlement by hydrogen, and the addition of various alloying elements has been attempted in order to mitigate these shortcomings. Although alloying elements such as vanadium, chromium, and manganese are mainly used to increase the hardness and wear resistance of gray cast iron, the price of finished products containing these elements and the problems associated with alloys with this material impose many limitations.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2792-2800
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• 2022

In the core of the WWR-K reactor, a long-term irradiation of tristructural isotopic (TRISO)-coated fuel particles (CFPs) with a UO₂ kernel was carried out under high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR)-like operating conditions. The temperature of this TRISO fuel during irradiation varied in the range of 950-1100 ℃. A fission per initial metal atom (FIMA) of uranium burnup of 9.9% was reached. The release of gaseous fission products was measured in-pile. The release-to-birth ratio (R/B) for the fission product isotopes was calculated. Aspects of fuel safety while achieving deep fuel burnup are important and relevant, including maintaining the integrity of the fuel coatings. The main mechanisms of fuel failure are kernel migration, silicon carbide corrosion by palladium, and gas pressure increase inside the CFP. The formation of gaseous fission products and carbon monoxide leads to an increase in the internal pressure in the CFP, which is a dominant failure mechanism of the coatings under this level of burnup. Irradiated fuel compacts were subjected to electric dissociation to isolate the CFPs from the fuel compacts. In addition, nondestructive methods, such as X-ray radiography and gamma spectrometry, were used. The predicted R/B ratio was evaluated using the fission gas release model developed in the high-temperature test reactor (HTTR) project. In the model, both the through-coatings of failed CFPs and as-fabricated uranium contamination were assumed to be sources of the fission gas. The obtained R/B ratio for gaseous fission products allows the finalization and validation of the model for the release of fission products from the CFPs and fuel compacts. The success of the integrity of TRISO fuel irradiated at approximately 9.9% FIMA was demonstrated. A low fuel failure fraction and R/B ratios indicated good performance and reliability of the studied TRISO fuel.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.261-273
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• 2022

In this study, we collect water control valves that have had accidents due to existing cracks, etc. are collected, and propose investigation items for strengthening the valve structural safety evaluation through a series of analyzes from valve specifications to physicochemical properties are proposed. The results of this study are as follows. First, there was a large variation in the thickness of the body or flange of the valves to be investigated, which is considered to be very important factor, because it may affect the safety of the valve body against internal pressure and the flange connected with the bolt nut. Second, 60% of the valves under investigation had many voids in the valve body and flange, etc. and the decrease in thickness due to corrosion was relatively large on the inner surface in contact with water rather than the outer surface. It is judged that the investigation of depth included voids is very important factor. Third, all valves to be investigated are made of gray cast iron foam, and therefore it is judged that there is no major problem in chemical composition. It is judged that the chemical composition should be investigated. Fourth, as a physical investigation item, the analysis of metal morphology structure seems to be a very important factor for nodular cast iron from rather than a gray cast iron foam water valve with a flake structure. As it was found to be 46.7~68.8% of the standard recommended by KS, it could have a direct effect on damage such as cracks, and therefore it is judged that the evaluation of tensile strength is very important in evaluating the safety of the valve.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.29-42
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• 2022

In mountainous areas of China, concrete poles with connectors are widely employed in power transmission due to its convenience of manufacture and transportation. The bearing capacity of the poles must have degenerated over time, and most of the steel connectors have been corroded. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) offers a durable, light-weight alternative in strengthening those poles that have served for many years. In this paper, the bearing capacity and failure mechanism of CFRP sheet strengthened existing reinforced concrete poles with corrosion steel connectors were investigated. Four poles were selected to conduct flexural capacity test. Two poles were strengthened by single-layer longitudinal CFRP sheet, one pole was strengthened by double-layer longitudinal CFRP sheets and the last specimen was not strengthened. Results indicate that the failure is mainly bond failure between concrete and the external CFRP sheet, and the specimens fail in a brittle pattern. The cross-sectional strains of specimens approximately follow the plane section assumption in the early stage of loading, but the strain in the tensile zone no longer conforms to this assumption when the load approaches the failure load. Also, bearing capacity and stiffness of the strengthened specimens are much larger than those without CFRP sheet. The bearing capacity, initial stiffness and elastic-plastic stiffness of specimen strengthened by double-layer CFRP are larger than those strengthened by single-layer CFRP. Weighting the cost-effective effect, it is more economical and reasonable to strengthen with single-layer CFRP sheet. The results can provide a reference to the same type of poles for strengthening design.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2022

The demand for metal 3D printing technology is increasing in various industries. The materials commonly used for metal 3D printing include aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, and stainless steel. In particular, for applications in the aviation and defense industry, aluminum alloy 3D printing parts are being produced. To improve the corrosion resistance in the 3D printed aluminum alloy outputs, a post-treatment process, such as chromate coating, should be applied. However, powdered materials, such as AlSi7Mg and AlSi10Mg, used for 3D printing, have a high silicon content; therefore, a suitable pretreatment is required for chromate coating. In the desmut step of the pretreatment process, the chromate coating can be formed only when a smut composed of silicon compounds or oxides is effectively removed. In this study, suitable desmut solutions for 3D printed AlSi7Mg and AlSi10Mg materials with high silicon contents were presented, and the chromate coating properties were studied accordingly. The smut removal effect was confirmed using an aqueous desmut solution composed of sulfuric, nitric, and hydrofluoric acids. Thus, a chromate coating was successfully formed. The surfaces of the aluminum alloys after desmut and chromate coating were analyzed using SEM and EDS.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.65-75
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• 2023

Ships operated at sea for a long time are subjected to various kinds of loads, which may cause various types of damage. Such damages will eventually reduce the strength of hull structures. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate and evaluate the residual strength and remaining fatigue life of aging ships in order to secure structural safety, establish a reasonable maintenance plan, and make a judgment of life extension. For this purpose, the corrosion damage and local denting damage should be measured, fatigue damage estimation should be performed, and material properties of aged steel should be identified. For this study, in order to investigate the mechanical properties of aged steel, steel plates were obtained from a naval ship that reached the end of her life span. The specimens were manufactured from the obtained steel plates, and static and dynamic tensile tests, fatigue tests, and metallographic tests were performed. The mechanical properties obtained from the aged steel plates were compared with those of new steel plates to quantify the aging effect on the mechanical properties of marine steel materials.

• Composites Research
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1-7
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• 2008

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of salt water on the mechanical properties of a high modulus carbon-epoxy composite. Specimens were made of a carbon-epoxy composite UPN139B of SK Chemical and tested under inplane tension and shear after 0, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months immersion in 3.5% salt water. Acceleration technique such as temperature elevation was not used. The tensile strengths and modulli in fiber and matrix direction did not show any remarkable degradation until 12 months immersion. In contrast to the tensile properties, shear strength and modulus started to gradually decrease up to about 10% of values of dry specimens after 12 months immersion. It was confirmed through the test that the material UPN139B can be an effective material for the shell structures in salt water to resist against the external pressure buckling because of the high fiber directional modulus and corrosion resistance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1855-1862
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• 2023

Graphite crucibles are used for melting uranium and its alloys in VIM furnace. Various coating materials namely Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, MgO etc. are applied on the inner surface of the crucibles using paint brush or thermal spray technique to mitigate U-C interaction. These leads to significant amount of carbon pick-up in uranium. In this study, the attempts are made to develop multilayer coatings comprising of SiC/Y₂O₃ and Mo/Y₂O₃ on graphite to study the feasibility of minimizing U-C interaction. The parameters are optimized to prepare SiC coating of about 70㎛ thickness using CVD technique on graphite coupons and subsequently Y₂O₃ coating of about 250㎛ thickness using plasma spray technique. Molybdenum and Y₂O₃ layers were deposited using plasma spray technique with 70㎛ and 250㎛ thickness, respectively. Interaction studies of the coated graphite with molten uranium at 1450℃ for 20 min revealed that Y₂O₃ coating with SiC interlayer provides physical barrier for uranium-graphite interaction, however, this led to the physical separation of coating layer. Y₂O₃ coating with Mo interlayer provided superior barrier effect showing no degradation and the coatings remained intact after interaction tests. Therefore, the Mo/Y₂O₃ coating was found to be a promising solution for minimizing carbon pick-up during uranium/uranium alloy melting.