• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.11
• /
• pp.4274-4281
• /
• 2023

Blanket is of vital importance for engineering application of the fusion reactor. Nuclear heat deposition in materials is the main heat source in blanket structure. In this paper, the three-dimensional method for thermal-hydraulics/neutronics coupling analysis is developed and applied for the full-scale module of the helium-cooled ceramic breeder tritium breeding blanket (HCCB TBB) designed for China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). The explicit coupling scheme is used to support data transfer for coupling analysis based on cell-to-cell mapping method. The coupling algorithm is realized by the user-defined function compiled in Fluent. The three-dimensional model is established, and then the coupling analysis is performed using the paralleled Coupling Analysis of Thermal-hydraulics and Neutronics Interface Code (CATNIC). The results reveal the relatively small influence of the coupling analysis compared to the traditional method using the radial fitting function of internal heat source. However, the coupling analysis method is quite important considering the nonuniform distribution of the neutron wall loading (NWL) along the poloidal direction. Finally, the structure optimization of the blanket is carried out using the coupling method to satisfy the thermal requirement of all materials. The nonlinear effect between thermal-hydraulics and neutronics is found during the blanket structure optimization, and the tritium production performance is slightly reduced after optimization. Such an adverse effect should be thoroughly evaluated in the future work.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.43-52
• /
• 2024

Recent abnormal climate conditions have increased the risk of slope collapses, which frequently result in significant loss of life and property due to the absence of early prediction and warning dissemination. In this paper, we develop a slope condition analysis system using IoT sensors and AI-based camera to assess the condition of slopes. To develop the system, we conducted hardware and firmware design for measurement sensors considering the ground conditions of slopes, designed AI-based image analysis algorithms, and developed prediction and warning solutions and systems. We aimed to minimize errors in sensor data through the integration of IoT sensor data and AI camera image analysis, ultimately enhancing the reliability of the data. Additionally, we evaluated the accuracy (reliability) by applying it to actual slopes. As a result, sensor measurement errors were maintained within 0.1°, and the data transmission rate exceeded 95%. Moreover, the AI-based image analysis system demonstrated nighttime partial recognition rates of over 99%, indicating excellent performance even in low-light conditions. Through this research, it is anticipated that the analysis of slope conditions and smart maintenance management in various fields of Social Overhead Capital (SOC) facilities can be applied.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.93-100
• /
• 2024

Pore water freezes in low-temperature compaction, which leads to different compaction characteristics compared to room temperature conditions. In regions like Alberta, Canada, where organic soils are prevalent, compaction performance is influenced by the high water retention and compressibility of organic soils, as well as their sensitivity to freezing and thawing. Alberta's strict environmental regulations demand the reuse of excavated soil for backfill, and the long winter season creates challenging conditions for civil engineering projects. In this study, a laboratory compaction test was conducted to evaluate the low-temperature compaction characteristics of organic soils with varying organic content. The results indicate that the optimum moisture content increases as the organic content increases, and the maximum dry unit weight decreases by up to 21.9%. In addition, under temperature conditions below -4℃, no optimum moisture content was observed, and the dry unit weight decreased as the moisture content increased.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.121-130
• /
• 2024

In this paper, we propose and design an NCS-based job matching system for individuals with disabilities. This system allows users with disabilities to access it, input basic information (personal and disability-related details), and take a simple test related to job performance. The system then provides NCS job-related information appropriate to their type and degree of disability. To effectively link various NCS-based jobs, it is essential to consider the degree of disability for each type of disability. However, most evaluation tools target specific types of disabilities or assess the vocational abilities of individuals with disabilities in a limited manner, focusing only on cognitive levels or certain physical functions. This makes it challenging to apply these tools to an NCS-based job matching system for individuals with disabilities. Therefore, in this paper, we utilize the ICF coresets for VR to assess the cognitive levels or physical functions required for performing specific jobs. Additionally, we use the NCS vocational competency evaluation tools to determine the levels of vocational competencies required for performing specific jobs. By doing so, we match NCS-based jobs according to the type and degree of disability. The proposed NCS-based job matching system relies on the user's interaction with the system, which may pose challenges for visually impaired individuals or those with intellectual and autism spectrum disabilities who have low literacy levels. Enhancing the accessibility of this system could enable individuals with disabilities to receive recommendations for NCS-based jobs that suit their vocational abilities.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.246-257
• /
• 2006

TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) aims to produce reliable and internationally comparable indicators of student achievement. The TIMSS science achievement scale summarizes student performance on test items designed to measure a wide range of student knowledge and proficiency. This study analyzed Korean middle school students' science achievement at the advanced and high international benchmarks of the four benchmark levels of the benchmarks classified in TIMSS 2003 in light of science content areas (physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and environmental science) and item characteristics. The average percent correct on items at the advanced benchmark by Korean students was highest in physics followed by earth science, biology, chemistry, and environmental science, whereas internationally the order was earth science, chemistry, biology, physics and lastly environmental science. Korean students performed relatively better in physics yet somewhat worse in chemistry than other top-performing countries. According to item analysis, Korean students reaching the advanced international benchmark understood some fundamentals of scientific investigation, but demonstrated weakness in written explanations of scientific principles, abstract science concept comprehension, and application of scientific concepts to solve quantitative problems. In addition, Korean students reaching the high international benchmark demonstrated relative weak conceptual understanding of ecology compared with other countries.

• Information Systems Review
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.23-45
• /
• 2017

The ROK military is making a great effort and investment in establishing network-centric warfare, a future battlefield concept, as a major step in the establishment of a basic plan for military innovation. In the military organization level, an advanced process is introduced to shorten the command control time of the military and the business process is improved to shorten the decision time. In the information system dimension, an efficient resource management is achieved by establishing an automated command control system and a resource management information system by using the battle management information system. However, despite these efforts, we must evaluate the present level of informatization in an objective manner and assess the current progress toward the future goal of the military by using objective indicators. In promoting informatization, we must systematically identify the correct areas of improvement and identify policy directions to supplement in the future. Therefore, by analyzing preliminary research, workshops, and expert discussions on the major informatization level evaluation models at home and abroad, this study develops an evaluation model and several indicators that systematically reflect the characteristics of military organizations. The developed informatization level evaluation model is verified by conducting a feasibility test for the troops of the operation class or higher. We expect that this model will be able to objectively diagnose the level of informatization of the ROK military by putting budget and resources into the right place at the right time and to rapidly improve the vulnerability of the information sector.

• Information Systems Review
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.79-96
• /
• 2018

This study started by focusing on the internalization of the technology appraisal model into the credit rating model to increase the discriminative power of the credit rating model not only for SMEs but also for all companies, reflecting the items related to the financial stability of the enterprises among the technology appraisal items. Therefore, it is aimed to verify whether the technology appraisal model can be applied to identify high-stability SMEs in advance. We classified companies into industries (manufacturing vs. non-manufacturing) and the age of company (initial vs. non-initial), and defined as a high-stability company that has achieved an average debt ratio less than 1/2 of the group for three years. The C5.0 was applied to verify the discriminant power of the model. As a result of the analysis, there is a difference in importance according to the type of industry and the age of company at the sub-item level, but in the mid-item level the R&D capability was a key variable for discriminating high-stability SMEs. In the early stage of establishment, the funding capacity (diversification of funding methods, capital structure and capital cost which taking into account profitability) is an important variable in financial stability. However, we concluded that technology development infrastructure, which enables continuous performance as the age of company increase, becomes an important variable affecting financial stability. The classification accuracy of the model according to the age of company and industry is 71~91%, and it is confirmed that it is possible to identify high-stability SMEs by using technology appraisal items.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.20 no.8
• /
• pp.1275-1284
• /
• 2019

Objective: To develop algorithms using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for automatic segmentation of acute ischemic lesions on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and compare them with conventional algorithms, including a thresholding-based segmentation. Materials and Methods: Between September 2005 and August 2015, 429 patients presenting with acute cerebral ischemia (training:validation:test set = 246:89:94) were retrospectively enrolled in this study, which was performed under Institutional Review Board approval. Ground truth segmentations for acute ischemic lesions on DWI were manually drawn under the consensus of two expert radiologists. CNN algorithms were developed using two-dimensional U-Net with squeeze-and-excitation blocks (U-Net) and a DenseNet with squeeze-and-excitation blocks (DenseNet) with squeeze-and-excitation operations for automatic segmentation of acute ischemic lesions on DWI. The CNN algorithms were compared with conventional algorithms based on DWI and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) signal intensity. The performances of the algorithms were assessed using the Dice index with 5-fold cross-validation. The Dice indices were analyzed according to infarct volumes (< 10 mL, ≥ 10 mL), number of infarcts (≤ 5, 6-10, ≥ 11), and b-value of 1000 (b1000) signal intensities (< 50, 50-100, > 100), time intervals to DWI, and DWI protocols. Results: The CNN algorithms were significantly superior to conventional algorithms (p < 0.001). Dice indices for the CNN algorithms were 0.85 for U-Net and DenseNet and 0.86 for an ensemble of U-Net and DenseNet, while the indices were 0.58 for ADC-b1000 and b1000-ADC and 0.52 for the commercial ADC algorithm. The Dice indices for small and large lesions, respectively, were 0.81 and 0.88 with U-Net, 0.80 and 0.88 with DenseNet, and 0.82 and 0.89 with the ensemble of U-Net and DenseNet. The CNN algorithms showed significant differences in Dice indices according to infarct volumes (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The CNN algorithm for automatic segmentation of acute ischemic lesions on DWI achieved Dice indices greater than or equal to 0.85 and showed superior performance to conventional algorithms.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.791-800
• /
• 2019

Objective: To compare various models of diffusion-weighted imaging including monoexponential apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), biexponential (fast diffusion coefficient [D_f], slow diffusion coefficient [D_s], and fraction of fast diffusion), stretched-exponential (distributed diffusion coefficient and anomalous exponent term [α]), and kurtosis (mean diffusivity and mean kurtosis [MK]) models in the differentiation of renal solid masses. Materials and Methods: A total of 81 patients (56 men and 25 women; mean age, 57 years; age range, 30-69 years) with 18 benign and 63 malignant lesions were imaged using 3T diffusion-weighted MRI. Diffusion model selection was investigated in each lesion using the Akaike information criteria. Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were used for statistical evaluations. Results: Goodness-of-fit analysis showed that the stretched-exponential model had the highest voxel percentages in benign and malignant lesions (90.7% and 51.4%, respectively). ADC, D_s, and MK showed significant differences between benign and malignant lesions (p < 0.05) and between low- and high-grade clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) (p < 0.05). α was significantly lower in the benign group than in the malignant group (p < 0.05). All diffusion measures showed significant differences between ccRCC and non-ccRCC (p < 0.05) except D_f and α (p = 0.143 and 0.112, respectively). α showed the highest diagnostic accuracy in differentiating benign and malignant lesions with an area under the ROC curve of 0.923, but none of the parameters from these advanced models revealed significantly better performance over ADC in discriminating subtypes or grades of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with conventional diffusion parameters, α may provide additional information for differentiating benign and malignant renal masses, while ADC remains the most valuable parameter for differentiation of RCC subtypes and for ccRCC grading.

• Journal of Distribution Research
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.1-28
• /
• 2012

I. Introduction : The purpose of this study is to test empirically hypothetical causality among constructs used in previous studies to build the model of relational market behavior on customers' participation and consumer-brand relationship after introducing theories of relationship marketing, loyalty program, consumer-brand relationship, customers' participation in service marketing as previous studies with regard to relational market behavior, which Bagozzi(1995) and Peterson(1995) commented on constructs and definition suggested by Sheth and Parvatiyar (1995). For this purpose, loyalty program by the service provider, customers' participation and consumer-brand relationship as preceding variables explain relational market behavior defined by Sheth and Parvatiyar(1995). This study proposes that loyalty program as a tool of relationship marketing will be effective in that consumers' participation in marketing relationship results in a narrow range of choice(Sheth and Parvatiyar, 1995) because consumers think that their participation motive result in benefits(Peterson, 1995). Also, it is proposed that the quality of consumer-brand relationship explain the performance of relationship as well as the intermediary effect because the loyalty program could be evaluated based on relationship with customers. We reviewed the variables with regard to performance of relationship based on relation maintain in marketing literature, and then tested our hypotheses related to several performance variables including loyalty and intention of relation maintain based on the previous studies and constructs(Bendapudi and Berry, 1997 ; Bettencourt, 1997 ; Palmatier, Dant, Grewal and Evans, 2006 ; You Jae Yi and Soo Jin Lee, 2006). II. Study Model : Analyses about hypothetical causality were proceeded. The marketing effect of loyalty program on relational market behavior was empirically tested in study regarding a service provider. The research model in according to the path hypotheses (loyalty program ${\rightarrow}$ customers' participation ${\rightarrow}$ consumer-brand relationship ${\rightarrow}$ relational market behavior and loyalty program ${\rightarrow}$ consumer-brand relationship, and loyalty program ${\rightarrow}$ relational market behavior and customers' participation ${\rightarrow}$ consumer-brand relationship, and customers' participation ${\rightarrow}$ relational market behavior) proceeded as an activity for customer relation management was suggested. The main purpose of study is to see if relational market behavior could be brought as a result of developing relationship between consumers and a corporate into being stronger and more valuable when a corporate or a service provider try aggressively to build the relationship with customers (Bettencourt, 1997; Palmatier, Dant, Grewal and Evans, 2006; Sheth and Parvatiyar, 1995). III. Conclusion : The results of research into the membership fitness club, one of service areas with high level of customer participation (Bitner, Faranda, Hubbert and Zeithaml, 1997; Chase, 1978; Kelley, Donnelly, Jr. and Skinner, 1990) are as follows: First, causalities in according to path hypotheses were tested, after the preceding variables affecting relational market behavior and conceptual frame were suggested. In study, all hypotheses were supported as expected. This result confirms the proposition suggested by Sheth and Parvatiyar(1995), who claimed that intention of consumer and corporate to participate in marketing relationship brings high level of marketing productivity. Also, as a corporate or a service provider try aggressively to build relationship with customers, the relationship between consumers and a corporate can be developed into stronger and more valuable one (Bettencourt, 1997; Palmatier, Dant, Grewal and Evans, 2006). This finding supports the logic of relationship marketing. Second, because the question regarding the path hypothesis of consumer-brand relationship ${\rightarrow}$ relational market behavior are still at issue, the further analyses were conducted. In particular, there existed the mediating effects of consumer-brand relationship toward relational market behavior. Also, multiple regressions were conducted to see if which one strongly influences relational market behavior among specific question items with regard to consumer-brand relationship. As a result, the influence between items composing consumer-brand relationship and ones composing relational market behavior was different. Among items composing consumer-brand relationship, intimacy was an influence of sustaining relationship, word of mouth, and recommendation, intimacy and interdependence were influences of loyalty, intimacy and self-connection were influences of tolerance and advice. Notably, commitment among items measuring consumer-brand relationship had the negative influence with relational market behavior. This means that bringing relational market behavior is not consumer-brand relationship without personal commitment, but effort to build customer relationship like intimacy, interdependence, and self-connection. This finding confirms the results of Breivik and Thorbjornsen(2008). They reported that six variables composing the quality of consumer-brand relationship have higher explanation in regression model directly affecting performance of consumer-brand relationship. As a result of empirical analysis, among the constructs with regard to consumer-brand relationship, intimacy(B=0.512), interdependence(B=0.196), and quality of partner(B=0.153) had the effects on relation maintain. On the contrary, self-connection, love and passion, and commitment had little effect and did not show the statistical significance(p<0.05). On the other hand, intimacy(B=0.668) and interdependence(B=0.181) had the high regression estimates on word of mouth and recommendation. Regarding the effect on loyalty, explanation level of the model was high(R2=0.515), intimacy(0.538), interdependence(0.223), and quality of partner(0.177) showed the statistical significance(p<0.05). Furthermore, intimacy(0.441) had the strong effect as well as self-connection(0.201) and interdependence (0.163) had the effect on tolerance and forgive. And these three variables showed effects even on advice and suggestion, intimacy(0.373), self-connection(0.270), interdependence (0.155) respectively. Third, in study with regard to the positive effect(loyalty program ${\rightarrow}$ customers' participation, loyalty program ${\rightarrow}$ consumer-brand relationship, loyalty program ${\rightarrow}$ relational market behavior, customers' participation ${\rightarrow}$ consumer-brand relationship, customers' participation ${\rightarrow}$ relational market behavior, consumer-brand relationship ${\rightarrow}$ relational market behavior), the path hypothesis of customers' participation ${\rightarrow}$ consumer-brand relationship, was supported. The fact that path hypothesis of customers' participation ${\rightarrow}$ consumer-brand relationship was supported confirms assertion by Bitner(1995), Fournier(1994), Sheth and Parvatiyar(1995) about consumer relationship to participate in marketing relationship.