• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.9-20
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• 2008

Since plutonium accounts for 40-50% of the power produced by uranium fuels, spent fuel contains only residual plutonium. Management of this plutonium is one of the aspects influencing the choice of a fuel cycle back-end option: reprocessing, direct disposal or wait-and-see. Different grades and qualities of plutonium exist depending from their specific generation conditions; all are valuable fissile material. Safeguard authorities watch the inventories of civil plutonium, but access to those data is restricted. Independent evaluations have led to an estimated current inventory of 220t plutonium in total (spent fuel, separated civil plutonium and military plutonium). If used as MOX fuel, it would be sufficient to feed all the PWRs and BWRs worldwide during 7 years or to deploy a FBR park corresponding to 150% of today' s installed nuclear capacity worldwide, which could then be exploited for centuries with the current stockpile of depleted and spent uranium. The energy potential of plutonium deteriorates with storage time of spent fuel and of separated plutonium, due to the decay of $^{241}Pu$, the best fissile isotope, into americium, a neutron absorber. The loss of fissile value of plutonium is more pronounced for usage in LWRs than in FBR. However, keeping the current plutonium inventory for an expected future deployment of FBRs is counterproductive. Recycling plutonium reduce the required volume for final disposal in an underground repository and the cost of final disposal. However, the benefits of utilizing an energy resource and of reducing final disposal liabilities are not the only aspects that determine the choice of a back-end policy.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2019

Variation Analysis (VA) is used to simulate final product variation, taking into consideration part manufacturing and assembly variations. In VA, all the manufacturing and assembly processes are defined at the product design stage. Process Capability Data Bases (PCDB) provide information about measured variation from previous products and processes and allow the designer to apply this to the new product. A new challenge to this traditional approach is posed by the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) revolution, where Smart Manufacturing (SM) is applied. The manufacturing intelligence and adaptability characteristics of SM make present PCDBs obsolete. Current tolerance analysis methods, which are made for discrete assembly products, are also challenged. This paper discusses the differences expected in future factories relevant to VA, and the approaches required to meet this challenge. Current processes are mapped using I4.0 philosophy and gaps are analysed for potential approaches for tolerance analysis tools. Matching points of simulation capability and I4.0 intents are identified as opportunities. Applying conditional variations, incorporating levels of adjustability, and the un-suitability of present Monte Carlo simulation due to changed mass production characteristics, are considered as major challenges. Opportunities including predicting residual stresses in the final product and linking them to product deterioration, calculating non-dimensional performances and extending simulations for process manufactured products, such as drugs, food products etc. are additional winning aspects for next generation VA tools.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.32-42
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• 2023

In this study, spray characteristics of n-heptane and propane were investigated under different injection pressure using various imaging techniques such as Mie-scattering, DBI (diffuse back-illumination), and Schlieren imaging techniques. NI compact RIO system was used to control a test injector. Spray penetration length, length-to-width ratio and number of black pixels were calculated by using MATLAB software to compare spray characteristics of each fuel. Longer spray penetration length and higher length-to-width ratio were observed in propane spray because of flash boiling caused by high saturated vapor pressure. Spray collapse occurred in propane spray due to the high plume-to-plume interaction. Moreover, rapid evaporation occurred in propane spray, so that nozzle tip wetting could not be observed. Rapid evaporation of propane also caused fewer residual droplets compared to n-heptane spray. Therefore, propane is advantageous in reducing the generation of soot emission from large droplets that are not atomized. However, additional evaluation should be conducted considering combustion efficiency and the possibility of deposits by nozzle tip icing during fuel injection.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.488-493
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• 2009

Purpose : The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of recent-generation patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure devices applied by a new selection strategy according to the characteristics of each PDA. Methods : From February 2003 to January 2006, 138 patients underwent transcatheter closure of PDA (study group). According to the size and morphology of each ductus, a COOK Detachable Coil or 'flex' PFM Nit-Occlud was used for a small ductus (group 1, n=43); 'medium' PFM Nit-Occlud (group 2, n=49) for a moderate ductus; and an Amplatzer Duct Occluder (group 3, n=46) for a large ductus. The 83 patients who underwent transcatheter closure of PDA from February 2000 to January 2003 were defined as the comparison group. The Qp/Qs ratio, pulmonary/aorta pressure ratio, and MD of the ductus were compared. Immediate and follow-up results including residual shunts and complications were also evaluated and compared among groups. Results : In all 138 patients, complete occlusions were confirmed without major complications, while procedure failure (n=2, 2.2%), device embolization (n=1, 1.1%), and persistent residual shunt (n=4, 4.5%) were documented in the comparison group. Total complication rates were lower in the study group than in the comparison group (study group, 1.4%; comparison group, 9.0%; P<0.05). Conclusion : A novel strategy adopting the merits of various recent-generation devices for transcatheter closure of PDA provides excellent clinical results with minimal risk.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1371-1382
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• 2016

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate expression of mRNAs in many biological pathways. Liver plays an important role in the feed efficiency of animals and high and low efficient cattle demonstrated different gene expression profiles by microarray. Here we report comprehensive miRNAs profiles by next-gen deep sequencing in Angus cattle divergently selected for residual feed intake (RFI) and identify miRNAs related to feed efficiency in beef cattle. Two microRNA libraries were constructed from pooled RNA extracted from livers of low and high RFI cattle, and sequenced by Illumina genome analyser. In total, 23,628,103 high quality short sequence reads were obtained and more than half of these reads were matched to the bovine genome (UMD 3.1). We identified 305 known bovine miRNAs. Bta-miR-143, bta-miR-30, bta-miR-122, bta-miR-378, and bta-let-7 were the top five most abundant miRNAs families expressed in liver, representing more than 63% of expressed miRNAs. We also identified 52 homologous miRNAs and 10 novel putative bovine-specific miRNAs, based on precursor sequence and the secondary structure and utilizing the miRBase (v. 21). We compared the miRNAs profile between high and low RFI animals and ranked the most differentially expressed bovine known miRNAs. Bovine miR-143 was the most abundant miRNA in the bovine liver and comprised 20% of total expressed mapped miRNAs. The most highly expressed miRNA in liver of mice and humans, miR-122, was the third most abundant in our cattle liver samples. We also identified 10 putative novel bovine-specific miRNA candidates. Differentially expressed miRNAs between high and low RFI cattle were identified with 18 miRNAs being up-regulated and 7 other miRNAs down-regulated in low RFI cattle. Our study has identified comprehensive miRNAs expressed in bovine liver. Some of the expressed miRNAs are novel in cattle. The differentially expressed miRNAs between high and low RFI give some insights into liver miRNAs regulating physiological pathways underlying variation in this measure of feed efficiency in bovines.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.81-92
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• 2009

This study investigated the occurrence of residues derived animals produced during the process of slaughter and the subsequent channels of processing those residues derived animals; the status of recycling of these residues derived animals by recycling business is investigated to utilize the results as the basic data for management purposes. At present, animal slaughter is highly specialized and the residues derived animals obtained from the slaughter of animals are separated and dissected into different parts to serve as fodder and residual compost. Some of the residues derived animals obtained from slaughter, which are edible are utilized for edible purposes and those parts which are not edible such as horns, claws, fats etc. are confirmed to be recycled. Poultry residues derived animals are mostly recycled as single-component feed, used as original forms, residual compost whereas fish remains are recycled mostly as singlecomponent feed etc. Most of the companies that recycle residues derived animals are situated in provinces such as Jeollanamdo, Jeollabukdo, Gyeongsangnamdo, Gyeongsangbukdo, where many of the slaughterhouses are located. And many of these recylcing business find themselves in the vicinity of these slaughterhouse. Majority of these slaughterhouse are capable of processing residues derived animals in the range of 10~60 ton/day, which is quite small in terms of processing capacity. The problem encountered in the recycling of the residues derived animals is the occurrence of foul smell caused by the decomposition, for which appropriate measures have to be taken. The residues derived animals are on many occasions directly collected and transported to save costs and secure required amount of residues derived animals.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.139-144
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• 2004

Recently, the importance of clean vacuum and partial pressure measurement of gas species has been increased in the vaccum process. In this study, the partial pressures of $H_2$, He, C, N, $O_2$, $H_2O $, Ar/2, $N_2$(CO), Ar, $CO_2$ were measured by residual gas analyzer according to temperature of cryogenic pump which is used to clean vacuum generation and compared. The experimental results showed that the cryopanel temperature was reached to 12K after 72 minutes of pumping and after 25hours, the partial pressures in percent were 24.9 %, 6.6%, 5.5 %, 2.2 %, 3.8%, 30.7%, 6.5%, 6.1 %, 5.5%, 8.2% for $H_2$, He, C, N, $O_2$, $H_2O $, Ar/2, $N_2$, Ar, $CO_2$ respectively. The dominant gases were $H_2$ and $H_2O $, and the partial pressures were relatively high compare to other gases.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.23-33
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• 2020

Recently, high-resolution images can be easily acquired using UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), so that it is possible to produce small area observation and spatial information at low cost. In particular, research on the generation of cover maps in crop production areas is being actively conducted for monitoring the agricultural environment. As a result of comparing classification performance by applying RF(Random Forest), SVM(Support Vector Machine) and CNN(Convolutional Neural Network), deep learning classification method has many advantages in image classification. In particular, land cover classification using satellite images has the advantage of accuracy and time of classification using satellite image data set and pre-trained parameters. However, UAV images have different characteristics such as satellite images and spatial resolution, which makes it difficult to apply them. In order to solve this problem, we conducted a study on the application of deep learning algorithms that can be used for analyzing agricultural lands where UAV data sets and small-scale composite cover exist in Korea. In this study, we applied DeepLab V3 +, FC-DenseNet (Fully Convolutional DenseNets) and FRRN-B (Full-Resolution Residual Networks), the semantic image classification of the state-of-art algorithm, to UAV data set. As a result, DeepLab V3 + and FC-DenseNet have an overall accuracy of 97% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.92, which is higher than the conventional classification. The applicability of the cover classification using UAV images of small areas is shown.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.189-207
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• 2023

In the present study, the thermoshearing experiment on a rough rock fracture were modeled using a three-dimensional grain-based distinct element model (GBDEM). The experiment was conducted by the Korea Institute of Construction Technology to investigate the progressive shear failure of fracture under the influence of thermal stress in a critical stress state. The numerical model employs an assembly of multiple polyhedral grains and their interfaces to represent the rock sample, and calculates the coupled thermo-mechanical behavior of the grains (blocks) and the interfaces (contacts) using 3DEC, a DEM code. The primary focus was on simulating the temperature evolution, generation of thermal stress, and shear and normal displacements of the fracture. Two fracture models, namely the mated fracture model and the unmated fracture model, were constructed based on the degree of surface matedness, and their respective behaviors were compared and analyzed. By leveraging the advantage of the DEM, the contact area between the fracture surfaces was continuously monitored during the simulation, enabling an examination of its influence on shear behavior. The numerical results demonstrated distinct differences depending on the degree of the surface matedness at the initial stage. In the mated fracture model, where the surfaces were in almost full contact, the characteristic stages of peak stress and residual stress commonly observed in shear behavior of natural rock joints were reasonably replicated, despite exhibiting discrepancies with the experimental results. The analysis of contact area variation over time confirmed that our numerical model effectively simulated the abrupt normal dilation and shear slip, stress softening phenomenon, and transition to the residual state that occur during the peak stress stage. The unmated fracture model, which closely resembled the experimental specimen, showed qualitative agreement with the experimental observations, including heat transfer characteristics, the progressive shear failure process induced by heating, and the increase in thermal stress. However, there were some mismatches between the numerical and experimental results regarding the onset of fracture slip and the magnitudes of fracture stress and displacement. This research was conducted as part of DECOVALEX-2023 Task G, and we expect the numerical model to be enhanced through continued collaboration with other research teams and validated in further studies.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.131.1-131.1
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• 2010

This study was conducted for engineering optimization for the gasification process which is the key factor for success of Taean IGCC gasification plant which has been driven forward under the government support in order to expand to supply new and renewable energy and diminish the burden of the responsibility for the reduction of the green house gas emission. The gasification process consists of coal milling and drying, pressurization and feeding, gasification, quenching and HP syngas cooling, slag removal system, dry flyash removal system, wet scrubbing system, and primary water treatment system. The configuration optimization is essential for the high efficiency and the cost saving. For this purpose, it was designed to have syngas cooler to recover the sensible heat as much as possible from the hot syngas produced from the gasifier which is the dry-feeding and entrained bed slagging type and also applied with the oxygen combustion and the first stage cylindrical upward gas flow. The pressure condition inside of the gasifier is around 40~45Mpg and the temperature condition is up to $1500{\sim}1700^{\circ}C$. It was designed for about 70% out of fly ash to be drained out throughout the quenching water in the bottom part of the gasifier as a type of molten slag flowing down on the membrane wall and finally become a byproduct over the slag removal system. The flyash removal system to capture solid particulates is applied with HPHT ceramic candle filter to stand up against the high pressure and temperature. When it comes to the residual tiny particles after the flyash removal system, wet scurbbing system is applied to finally clean up the solids. The washed-up syngas through the wet scrubber will keep around $130{\sim}135^{\circ}C$, 40~42Mpg and 250 ppmv of hydrochloric acid(HCl) and hydrofluoric acid(HF) at maximum and it is turned over to the gas treatment system for removing toxic gases out of the syngas to comply with the conditions requested from the gas turbine. The result of this study will be utilized to the detailed engineering, procurement and manufacturing of equipments, and construction for the Taean IGCC plant and furthermore it is the baseline technology applicable for the poly-generation such as coal gasification(SNG) and liquefaction(CTL) to reinforce national energy security and create new business models.