• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.857-862
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• 2014

Mechanical alloying under various gas atmospheres such as Ar, an Ar-$H_2$ mixture, and He gases were carried out, and its effects on the powder properties, microstructure and mechanical properties of ODS ferritic steels were investigated. Hot isostatic pressing and hot rolling processes were employed to consolidate the ODS steel plates. While the mechanical alloyed powder in He had a high oxygen concentration, a milling in Ar showed fine particle diameters with comparably low oxygen concentration. The microstructural observation revealed that low oxygen concentration contributed to the formation of fine grains and homogeneous oxide particle distribution by the Y-Ti-O complex oxides. A milling in Ar was sufficient to lower the oxygen concentration, and this led a high tensile strength and fracture elongation at a high temperature. It is concluded that the mechanical alloying atmosphere affects oxygen concentration as well as powder particle properties. This leads to a homogeneous grain and oxide particle distribution with excellent creep strength at high temperature.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.145-151
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• 2014

The objectives of this study are to investigate the effect of the concentration ratios of Ni and Fe ions on crud deposition onto the fuel cladding surface in the simulated primary environments of a pressurized water reactor. Crud deposition tests were conducted in the Ni and Fe concentration ratios of 20:20 ppm, 39:1 ppm and 1:39 ppm at $325^{\circ}C$ for 14 days. In the case of the same Ni and Fe ion ratio (20:20), nickel ferrite with a polyhedral shape was formed. Nickel oxide deposits with a needle shape were formed in the condition of high Ni to Fe ion ratio (39:1), While polyhedral iron oxide and needle-like nickel oxide formed in the condition of low Ni to Fe ion ratio (1:39). The amount of deposits increased, when Fe oxides were formed. This indicates that Fe rich oxides stimulated Ni oxide deposition.

• Progress in Superconductivity
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-4
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• 2007

The most common technique to fabricate $MgB_2$ superconducting wire is by powder-in-tube (PIT) technique. Therefore, the starting powder for the processing of $MgB_2$ superconductors is an important factor influencing the superconducting properties and performance of the conductors. In this study, the influence of magnesium precursor powders and annealing temperatures on the transition temperatures ($T_c$) and critical current densities ($J_c$) of $MgB_2/Fe$ wires was investigated. All the $MgB_2/Fe$ wires were fabricated by in situ PIT process. It was found that higher $J_c$ was obtained for $MgB_2$ wires with smaller particle size of magnesium precursor powders. The $J_c$ also increases with decreasing annealing temperatures.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.243-248
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• 2009

Carbon-coated Cu nanopowders with core/shell structure have been successfully fabricated by pulsed wire evaporation (PWE) method, in which a mixed gas of Ar/$CH_4$ (10 vol.%) was used as an ambient gas. The characterization of the samples was carried out using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). It was found that the nanoparticles show a spherical morphology with the size ranging of 10-40 nm and are covered with graphite layers of 2-4 nm. When oxygen-passivated Cu nanopowders were annealed under flowing argon gas (600 and 800$^{\circ}C$), the crystallinity of $Cu_2O$ phase and the particle size gradually increased. On the other hand, carbon-coated Cu nanopowders remained similar to as-prepared case with no additional oxide or carbide phases even after the annealing, indicating that the metal nanoparticles are well protected by the carbon-coating layers.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.180-184
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• 2009

In this paper, the electrochemical non-enzyme immunosensor has been developed for the determination of salmonella antigen, using inverse voltammetry. For the estimation of salmonella antigen concentration, the $Fe_3O_4$ nanoparticles synthesized by microemulsion method were conjugated with salmonella antigen. Then, the immunocomplex between antibody immobilized on the transducer surface and antigen containing a magnetic nanoparticles was formed. From the linear relationship between the reduction peak current of Fe(III) and salmonella antigen concentration, it is suggested that the electrochemical non-enzyme biosensor is applicable to detect salmonella antigen in the concentration range of $10^1-10^5$ CFU/ml.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.323-331
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• 2015

Zirconium alloys are widely used in nuclear reactors as structural materials. During the operation, they are exposed to fast neutrons. Ion irradiation is used to simulate the damage introduced by neutron irradiation. In this article, we briefly review the neutron irradiation damage of zirconium alloys, then summarize the effect of ion irradiation on microstructural evolution, mechanical and corrosion properties, and their relationships. The microstructure components consist of dislocation loops, second phase precipitates, and gas bubbles. The microstructure parameters are also included such as domain size and microstrain determined by X-ray diffraction and the S-parameter determined by positron annihilation. Understanding the relationships of microstructure and properties is necessary for developing new advanced materials with higher irradiation tolerance.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.185-190
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• 2013

In the present study, $Ni-TiO_2$ composite coatings were electrodeposited in a sulfamate bath containing $TiO_2$ particles. The influence of the ultrasonic treatment on the co-deposition of $TiO_2$ particles in the coating and the hardness of the electrodeposited $Ni-TiO_2$ composite has been investigated. Three different ultrasonic treatments (pretreatment before the electrodeposition (pre-UT), pretreatment + applied during the electrodeposition (UT), and the electrodeposition without the ultrasonic treatment (w/o UT)) were performed. The $Ni-TiO_2$ composite coatings are characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), image analyzer, and hardness tester. Comparison of results indicates that the volume fraction is more important factor than the agglomerated particle size in terms of the strength improvement, and the strength of the electrodeposited $Ni-TiO_2$ composite coatings is enhanced with pre-UT condition.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.193-204
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• 2023

To ensure radiological safety margin in the transport and storage of spent nuclear fuel, it is crucial to perform source term and shielding analyses in advance from the perspective of conservation. When performing source term analysis on UO₂ fuel, which is mostly used in commercial nuclear power plants, uranium and oxygen are basically considered to be the initial materials of the new fuel. However, the presence of impurities in the fuel and structural materials of the fuel assembly may influence the source term and shielding analyses. The impurities could be radioactive materials or the stable materials that are activated by irradiation during reactor power operation. As measuring the impurity concentration levels in the fuel and structural materials can be challenging, publicly available information on impurity concentration levels is used as a reference in this evaluation. To assess the effect of impurities, the results of the source term and shielding analyses were compared depending on whether the assumed impurity concentration is considered. For the shielding analysis, generic cask design data developed by KEPCO-E&C was utilized.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.9
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• pp.659-667
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• 2012

Alloy 617 is a Ni-base superalloy and a candidate material for the intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) of a very high temperature gas reactor (VHTR) which is one of the next generation nuclear reactors under development. The high operating temperature of VHTR enables various applications such as mass production of hydrogen with high energy efficiency. Alloy 617 has good creep resistance and phase stability at high temperatures in an air environment. However, it was reported that the mechanical properties decreased at a high temperature in an impure helium environment. In this study, high-temperature corrosion tests were carried out at $850^{\circ}C-950^{\circ}C$ in a helium environment containing the impurity gases $H_2$, CO, and $CH_4$, in order to examine the corrosion behavior of Alloy 617. Until 250 h, Alloy 617 specimens showed a parabolic oxidation behavior at all temperatures. The activation energy for oxidation in helium environment was 154 kJ/mol. The SEM and EDS results elucidated a Cr-rich surface oxide layer, Al-rich internal oxides and depletion of grain boundary carbides. The thickness and depths of degraded layers also showed a parabolic relationship with time. A normal grain growth was observed in the Cr-rich surface oxide layer. When corrosion tests were conducted in a pure helium environment, the oxidation was suppressed drastically. It was elucidated that minor impurity gases in the helium would have detrimental effects on the high-temperature corrosion behavior of Alloy 617 for the VHTR application.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.411-415
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• 2018

Nuclear fusion may be among the strongest sustainable ways to replace fossil fuels because it does not contribute to acid rain or global warming. In this context, activated cobalt materials in corrosion products for fusion energy are significant in determination of dose levels during maintenance after a coolant leak in a nuclear fusion reactor. Therefore, cross-section studies on cobalt material are very important for fusion reactor design. In this article, the excitation functions of some nuclear reaction channels induced by proton particles on $^{59}Co$ structural material were predicted using different models. The nuclear level densities were calculated using different choices of available level density models in ALICE/ASH code. Finally, the newly calculated cross sections for the investigated nuclear reactions are compared with the experimental values and TENDL data based on TALYS nuclear code.