• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.252-261
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• 2022

Cobalt is a vital metal in the modern society because of its applications in lithium-ion batteries, super alloys, hard metals, and catalysts. Further, cobalt is a representative rare metal and is the 30th most abundant element in the Earth's crust. This study reviews the current status of cobalt extraction and recycling processes, along with the trends in its production amount and use. Although cobalt occurs in a wide range of minerals, such as oxides and sulfides of copper and nickel ores, the amounts of cobalt in the minerals are too low to be extracted economically. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) leads cobalt mining, and accounts for 68.9 % of the global cobalt reserves (142,000 tons in 2020). Cobalt is mainly extracted from copper-cobalt and nickel-cobalt concentrates and is occasionally extracted directly from the ore itself by hydro-, pyro-, and electro-metallurgical processes. These smelting methods are essential for developing new recycling processes to extract cobalt from secondary resources. Cobalt is mainly recycled from lithium-ion batteries, spent catalysts, and cobalt alloys. The recycling methods for cobalt also depend on the type of secondary cobalt resource. Major recycling methods from secondary resources are applied in pyro- and hydrometallurgical processes.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2016

Recently several studies reported that the renal toxicity of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) may exist in even a low level exposure. In terms of the deterioration of tubular function, it affects the loss of divalent metals and leads to other complications, so renal tubular effect of heavy metals should be well managed. Considering the exposure to heavy metals in reality, it is hard to find the case that human is exposed to only one heavy metal. We designed a cross-sectional study using Korean Research Project on the Integrated Exposure Assessment (KRIEFS) data to investigate the renal effects of multiple metal exposure in general population. We used blood Pb and urinary Cd as exposure measures, and urinary N-acetyl-${\beta}$-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and ${\beta}_2$-microglobulin (${\beta}_2$-MG) as renal tubular impairment outcome. We conducted linear regression to identify the association between each heavy metal and urinary NAG and ${\beta}_2$-MG. And then, we conducted linear regression including the interaction term. Of 1953 adults in KRIEFS (2010~2011), the geometric mean of blood Pb and urinary Cd concentration was $2.21{\mu}g/dL$ (geometric $SD=1.49{\mu}g/dL$) and $1.08{\mu}g/g\;cr$ (geometric $SD=1.98{\mu}g/g\;cr$), respectively. In urinary Cd, the strength of the association was also high after adjusting (urinary NAG: ${\beta}=0.44$, p < 0.001; urinary ${\beta}_2$-MG: ${\beta}=0.13$, p = 0.002). Finally, we identified the positive interactions for the two renal biomarkers. The interaction effect of the two heavy metals of ${\beta}_2$-MG was greater than that of NAG. It is very important in public health perspective if the low level exposure to multiple heavy metals has an interaction effect on kidney. More epidemiological studies for the interaction and toxicological studies on the mechanism are needed.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2022

Tungsten carbide is widely used in carbide tools. However, its production process generates a significant number of end-of-life products and by-products. Therefore, it is necessary to develop efficient recycling methods and investigate the remanufacturing of tungsten carbide using recycled materials. Herein, we have recovered 99.9% of the tungsten in cemented carbide hard scrap as tungsten oxide via an alkali leaching process. Subsequently, using the recovered tungsten oxide as a starting material, tungsten carbide has been produced by employing a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) method. SHS is advantageous as it reduces the reaction time and is energy-efficient. Tungsten carbide with a carbon content of 6.18 wt % and a particle size of 116 nm has been successfully synthesized by optimizing the SHS process parameters, pulverization, and mixing. In this study, a series of processes for the high-efficiency recycling and quality improvement of tungsten-based materials have been developed.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1363-1372
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• 2015

Smart structures and intelligent systems play pivotal roles in numerous areas of applied sciences ranging from civil engineering to computer and communications systems engineering. Although such structures and systems have been intensively deployed in these areas, they have been, interestingly, very rarely deployed in the field of cultural heritage preservation.This paper presents one of thefirst such attempts. A new methodology is describedthat deploys smart structures andlinks them with artificial intelligence methods.These solutions are referred toas advanced hybrid engineering artefacts. By their use,important environmental factors can be monitoredin hard to access, remote or unsafe locationsby minimizing the need for human involvement. In addition toproviding safety the methodologyalso reduces costs and, most importantly,providesa new way to modelany particular micro-environment in a much more efficient way than this is possible with traditional ways. Last but not least, although themethodology has been developed for cultural heritage preservation, its application areas are much broader and it is expected that it will find its applicationin other domains like civil engineering and ecology.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.271-279
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• 2020

Non-ferrous metals, widely used in the mechanical industry, are difficult to machine, particularly by drilling and tapping. Since non-ferrous metals have a strong tendency to adhere to the cutting tool, the tool life is greatly deteriorated. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is one of the promising candidates to improve the performance and life of cutting tool due to their low frictional property. In this study, a sacrificial DLC layer is applied on the hard nitride coated drill tool to improve the durability. The DLC coatings are fabricated by controlling the acceleration voltage of the linear ion source in the range of 0.6~1.8 kV. As a result, the optimized hardness(20 GPa) and wear resistance(1.4 x 10-8 ㎣/N·m) were obtained at the 1.4 kV. Then, the optimized DLC coating is applied as an sacrificial layer on the hard nitride coating to evaluate the performance and life of cutting tool. The Vickers hardness of the composite coatings were similar to those of the nitride coatings (AlCrN, AlTiSiN), but the friction coefficients were significantly reduced to 0.13 compared to 0.63 of nitride coatings. The drilling test were performed on S55C plate using a drilling machine at rotation speed of 2,500 rpm and penetration rate of 0.25 m/rev. The result showed that the wear width of the composite coated drills were 200 % lower than those of the AlCrN, AlTiSiN coated drills. In addition, the cutting forces of the composite coated drills were 13 and 15 % lower than that of AlCrN, AlTiSiN coated drills, respectively, as it reduced the aluminum clogging. Finally, the application of the DLC sacrificial layer prevents initial chipping through its low friction property and improves drilling quality with efficient chip removal.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.83-90
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• 2016

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the degree of metal contamination of the Turag River water and its suitability for irrigation. Twenty water samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters and metals viz., calcium, magnesium, potassium (K), sodium, copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni). All water samples were slightly alkaline to alkaline. Regarding electrical conductivity (EC), all samples were suitable for crop in soils with moderate permeability and leaching. Water samples were medium salinity and low alkalinity hazard classes. In terms of total dissolved solids (TDS), all samples were classified as freshwater. As per sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and soluble sodium percentage (SSP), all samples were classified as excellent. No residual sodium carbonate (RSC) was detected in any of the samples, indicating suitability for irrigation; and all samples were considered very hard. Cr and Mn contents in all samples were above FAO guideline values and, therefore, these metals were considered toxic. Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, and Ni concentrations were below acceptable limit for irrigation and do not pose a threat to soil environment. Significant relationships were found between EC and TDS, SAR and SSP, SAR and RSC, and SSP and RSC. The combinations of ions such as K-Zn, K-Fe, K-Cu, K-Mn, K-Pb, Zn-Fe, Zn-Cu, Zn-Mn, Fe-Mn, Cu-Mn, Cu-Pb and Mn-Pb exhibited significant correlation. This study revealed that Turag River water samples are contaminated with Cr and Mn. This fact should not be ignored because water contamination by metals may pose a threat to human health through food chain.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.873-882
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• 2012

Dual Phase (DP) steel which has a soft ferrite phase and a hard martensite phase reveals both high strength and high ductility and has received increased attention for use in automotive applications. To conduct structural analysis to verify vehicle safety, highly credible experimental results are required. In this study, tensile tests were performed in a strain rate range from $10^{-4}/s$ to 300/s for Sink Roll-Less (SRL) hot-dip metal coated sheets. Collision properties were estimated through simulation by LS-DYNA using the stress-strain curve obtained from the tensile test. The simulation results were compared with the actual crash test results to confirm the credibility of the simulation. In addition, a tensile test and a crash test with 2% prestrain and a baking (PB) specimen were evaluated identically because automotive steel is used after forming and painting. The mechanical behaviors were improved with an increasing strain rate regardless of the PB treatment. Thus, plastic deformation with an appropriate strain rate is expected to result in better formability and crash characteristics than plastic deformation with a static strain rate. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and absorbed energy up to 10% strain were improved even though the total elongation decreased after PB treatment, The results of the experimental crash test and computer simulation were slightly different but generally, a similar propensity was seen.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.230-238
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• 2024

The refractive index is a key material-design parameter, especially for high-refractive-index glasses, which are used for precision optics and devices. Increased demand for high-precision optical lenses produced by the glass-mold-press (GMP) process has spurred extensive studies of proper glass materials. B₂O₃, SiO₂, and multiple heavy-metal oxides such as Ta₂O₅, Nb₂O₅, La₂O₃, and Gd₂O₃ mostly compose the high-refractive-index glasses for GMP. However, due to many oxides including up to 10 components, it is hard to predict the refractivity solely from the composition of the glass. In this study, the refractive index of optical glasses based on the B₂O₃-La₂O₃-Ta₂O₅-SiO₂ system is predicted using machine learning (ML) and compared to experimental data. A dataset comprising up to 271 glasses with 10 components is collected and used for training. Various ML algorithms (linear-regression, Bayesian-ridge-regression, nearest-neighbor, and random-forest models) are employed to train the data. Along with composition, the polarizability and density of the glasses are also considered independent parameters to predict the refractive index. After obtaining the best-fitting model by R² value, the trained model is examined alongside the experimentally obtained refractive indices of B₂O₃-La₂O₃-Ta₂O₅-SiO₂ quaternary glasses.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.812-818
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• 2024

The volume and toxicity of radioactive waste can be decreased by separating the components of high-level liquid waste according to their properties. An impregnated silica-based adsorbent was prepared in this study by combining N,N,N',N',N",N"-hexa-n-octylnitrilotriacetamide (HONTA) extractant, N',N'-di-n-hexyl-thiodiglycolamide (Crea) extractant, and macroporous silica polymer composite particles (SiO₂-P). The performance of platinum-group metals adsorption and separation on prepared (HONTA + Crea)/SiO₂-P adsorbent was then assessed together with that of co-existing metal ions by batch-adsorption and chromatographic separation studies. From the batch-adsorption experiment results, (HONTA + Crea)/SiO₂-P adsorbent showed high adsorption performance of Pd(II) owing to an affinity between Pd(II) and Crea extractant based on the Hard and Soft Acids and Bases theory. Additionally, significant adsorption performance was observed toward Zr(IV) and Mo(VI). Compared with studies using the Crea extractant, the high adsorption performance of Zr(IV) and Mo(VI) is attributed to the HONTA extractant. As revealed from the chromatographic experiment results, most of Pd(II) was recovered from the feed solution using 0.2 M thiourea in 0.1 M HNO₃. Additionally, the possibility of recovery of Zr(IV), Mo(VI), and Re(VII) was observed using the (HONTA + Crea)/SiO₂-P adsorbent.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.129-129
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• 2018

Hard coating application is effective way of cutting tool for hard-to-machine materials such as Inconel, Ti and composite materials focused on high-tech industries which are widely employed in aerospace, automobile and the medical device industry also Information Technology. In cutting tool for hard-to-machine materials, high hardness is one of necessary condition along with high temperature stability and wear resistance. In recent years, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) which consist of five or more principal elements having an equi-atomic percentage were reported by Yeh. The main features of novel HEAs reveal thermodynamically stable, high strength, corrosion resistance and wear resistance by four characteristic features called high entropy, sluggish diffusion, several-lattice distortion and cocktail effect. It can be possible to significantly extend the field of application such as cutting tool for difficult-to-machine materials in extreme conditions. Base on this understanding, surface coatings using HEAs more recently have been developed with considerable interest due to their useful properties such as high hardness and phase transformation stability of high temperature. In present study, the nanocomposite coating layers with high hardness on WC substrate are investigated using high entropy alloy target made a powder metallurgy. Among the many surface coating methods, reactive magnetron sputtering is considered to be a proper process because of homogeneity of microstructure, improvement of productivity and simplicity of independent control for several critical deposition parameters. The N2 is applied to reactive gas to make nitride system with transition metals which is much harder than only alloy systems. The acceleration voltage from 100W to 300W is controlled by direct current power with various deposition times. The coating layers are systemically investigated by structural identification (XRD), evaluation of microstructure (FE-SEM, TEM) and mechanical properties (Nano-indenter).