• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.603-616
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• 2007

Roy Huddle, having invented the coated particle in Harwell 1957, stated in the early 1970s that we know now everything about particles and coatings and should be going over to deal with other problems. This was on the occasion of the Dragon fuel performance information meeting London 1973: How wrong a genius be! It took until 1978 that really good particles were made in Germany, then during the Japanese HTTR production in the 1990s and finally the Chinese 2000-2001 campaign for HTR-10. Here, we present a review of history and present status. Today, good fuel is measured by different standards from the seventies: where $9*10^{-4}$ initial free heavy metal fraction was typical for early AVR carbide fuel and $3*10^{-4}$ initial free heavy metal fraction was acceptable for oxide fuel in THTR, we insist on values more than an order of magnitude below this value today. Half a percent of particle failure at the end-of-irradiation, another ancient standard, is not even acceptable today, even for the most severe accidents. While legislation and licensing has not changed, one of the reasons we insist on these improvements is the preference for passive systems rather than active controls of earlier times. After renewed HTGR interest, we are reporting about the start of new or reactivated coated particle work in several parts of the world, considering the aspects of designs/ traditional and new materials, manufacturing technologies/ quality control quality assurance, irradiation and accident performance, modeling and performance predictions, and fuel cycle aspects and spent fuel treatment. In very general terms, the coated particle should be strong, reliable, retentive, and affordable. These properties have to be quantified and will be eventually optimized for a specific application system. Results obtained so far indicate that the same particle can be used for steam cycle applications with $700-750^{\circ}C$ helium coolant gas exit, for gas turbine applications at $850-900^{\circ}C$ and for process heat/hydrogen generation applications with $950^{\circ}C$ outlet temperatures. There is a clear set of standards for modem high quality fuel in terms of low levels of heavy metal contamination, manufacture-induced particle defects during fuel body and fuel element making, irradiation/accident induced particle failures and limits on fission product release from intact particles. While gas-cooled reactor design is still open-ended with blocks for the prismatic and spherical fuel elements for the pebble-bed design, there is near worldwide agreement on high quality fuel: a $500{\mu}m$ diameter $UO_2$ kernel of 10% enrichment is surrounded by a $100{\mu}m$ thick sacrificial buffer layer to be followed by a dense inner pyrocarbon layer, a high quality silicon carbide layer of $35{\mu}m$ thickness and theoretical density and another outer pyrocarbon layer. Good performance has been demonstrated both under operational and under accident conditions, i.e. to 10% FIMA and maximum $1600^{\circ}C$ afterwards. And it is the wide-ranging demonstration experience that makes this particle superior. Recommendations are made for further work: 1. Generation of data for presently manufactured materials, e.g. SiC strength and strength distribution, PyC creep and shrinkage and many more material data sets. 2. Renewed start of irradiation and accident testing of modem coated particle fuel. 3. Analysis of existing and newly created data with a view to demonstrate satisfactory performance at burnups beyond 10% FIMA and complete fission product retention even in accidents that go beyond $1600^{\circ}C$ for a short period of time. This work should proceed at both national and international level.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics D
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• v.35D no.11
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• pp.70-77
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• 1998

Ni/SiC Schottky diodes have been fabricated using epitaxial 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC wafers. The epitaxial n-type layers were grown on $n^{+}$ substrates, with a doping density of 4.0$\times$10$^{16}$ c $m^{-3}$ and a thickness of 10${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$. Oxide-termination has been adopted in order to obtain high breakdown voltage and low leakage current. The fabricated Ni/4H-SiC and Ni/6H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes show excellent rectifying characteristics up to the measured temperature range of 55$0^{\circ}C$. In case of oxide-terminated Schottky barrier diodes, breakdown voltage of 973V(Ni/4H-SiC) and 920V(Ni/6H-SiC), and a very low leakage current of less than 1nA at -800V has been observed at room temperature. On non-terminated Schottky barrier diodes, breakdown voltages were 430V(Ni/4H-SiC) and 160v(Ni/6H-SiC). At room temperature, SBH(Schottky Barrier Height), ideality factor and specific on-resistance were 1.55eV, 1.3, 3.6$\times$10$^{-2}$ $\Omega$.$\textrm{cm}^2$ for Ni/4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes, and 1.24eV, 1.2, 2.6$\times$10$^{-2}$$\Omega$.$\textrm{cm}^2$/ for Ni/SH-SiC Schottky barrier diodes, respectively. These results show that both Ni/4H-SiC and Ni/6H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes are very promising for high-temperature and high power applications.s..

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.116-131
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• 2017

Purpose: The entry of bacteria or harmful substances through the epithelial seal of human gingival keratinocytes (HGKs) in the junctional epithelium (JE) is blocked by specialized intercellular junctions such as E-cadherin junctions (ECJs). However, the influence of roughened substrates, which may occur due to apical migration of the JE, root planing, or peri-implantitis, on the development of the ECJs of HGKs remains largely unknown. Methods: HGKs were cultured on substrates with varying levels of roughness, which were prepared by rubbing hydrophobic polystyrene dishes with silicon carbide papers. The activity of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was inhibited with SP600125 or by transfection with JNK short hairpin RNA. The development of intercellular junctions was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy or confocal laser scanning microscopy after immunohistochemical staining of the cells for E-cadherin. The expression level of phospho-JNK was assessed by immunoblotting. Results: HGKs developed tight intercellular junctions devoid of wide intercellular gaps on smooth substrates and on rough substrates with low-nanometer dimensions (average roughness $[Ra]=121.3{\pm}13.4nm$), although the ECJs of HGKs on rough substrates with low-nanometer dimensions developed later than those of HGKs on smooth substrates. In contrast, HGKs developed short intercellular junctions with wide intercellular gaps on rough substrates with mid- or high-nanometer dimensions ($Ra=505.3{\pm}115.3nm$, $867.0{\pm}168.6nm$). Notably, the stability of the ECJs was low on the rough substrates, as demonstrated by the rapid destruction of the cell junction following calcium depletion. Inhibition of JNK activity promoted ECJ development in HGKs. JNK was closely associated with cortical actin in the regulation of ECJs in HGKs. Conclusions: These results indicate that on rough substrates with nanometer dimensions, the ECJs of HGKs develop slowly or defectively, and that this effect can be reversed by inhibiting JNK.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.180-184
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• 2018

Gallium oxide ($Ga_2O_3$) and silicon carbide (SiC) are the material with the wide band gap ($Ga_2O_3-4.8{\sim}4.9eV$, SiC-3.3 eV). These electronic properties allow high blocking voltage. In this work, we investigated the characteristic of $Ga_2O_3$ and 4H-SiC vertical depletion-mode metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. We demonstrated that the blocking voltage and on-resistance of vertical DMOSFET is dependent with structure. The structure of $Ga_2O_3$ and 4H-SiC vertical DMOSFET was designed by using a 2-dimensional device simulation (ATLAS, Silvaco Inc.). As a result, 4H-SiC and $Ga_2O_3$ vertical DMOSFET have similar blocking voltage ($Ga_2O_3-1380V$, SiC-1420 V) and then when gate voltage is low, $Ga_2O_3-DMOSFET$ has lower on-resistance than 4H-SiC-DMOSFET, however, when gate voltage is high, 4H-SiC-DMOSFET has lower on-resistance than $Ga_2O_3-DMOSFET$. Therefore, we concluded that the material of power device should be considered by the gate voltage.

• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.323-330
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• 2017

In this study, multiscale analysis in which the information obtained from molecular dynamics simulation is applied to the continuum mechanics level is conducted to investigate the effects of clustering of silicon carbide nanoparticles reinforced into polypropylene matrix on mechanical behavior of nanocomposites. The elastic behavior of polymer nanocomposites is observed for various states of nanoparticulate agglomeration according to the model reflecting the degradation of interphase properties. In addition, factors which mainly affect the mechanical behavior of the nanocomposites are identified, and new index 'clustering density' is defined. The correlation between the clustering density and the elastic modulus of nanocomposites is understood. As the clustering density increases, the interfacial effect decreased and finally the improvement of mechanical properties is suppressed. By considering the random distribution of the nanoparticles, the range of elastic modulus of nanocomposites for same value of clustering density can be investigated. The correlation can be expressed in the form of exponential function, and the mechanical behavior of the polymer nanocomposites can be effectively predicted by using the nanoparticulate clustering density.

• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.116-125
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to develop silicon carbide fiber showing an excellent mechanical properties under highly oxidative conditions at high temperature. Polycarbosilane(PCS) as a preceramic precursor was used for making the SiC fiber. PCS fiber was taken by melt spinning method followed by melting the PCS at $300{\sim}350^{\circ}C$ in N2 gas. The Curing of PCS fiber was carried out in air oxygen chamber, prior to high temperature pyrolysis. Degree of cure was calculated by characteristic peak's ratio of Si-H to $Si-CH_3$ in FT-IR spectra before and after curing of PCS fiber. The properties of SiC fiber was affected greatly by the degree of cure. The SiC fiber produced by controlling fiber tension during heat treatment showed good properties. The SiC fiber exposed to $1000^{\circ}C$ at air from 1 min. up to maximum 50 hrs showed around 60% reduction in tensile strength. We found that large amount of carbon content on the fiber surface after long-term exposure has resulted in lower tensile strength.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.113-114
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• 2009

Silicon carbide is one of the most attractive and promising wide band-gap semiconductor material with excellent physical properties and huge potential for electronic applications. Up to now, the most successful method for growth of large SiC crystals with high quality is the physical vapor transport (PVT) method [1, 2]. Since further reduction of defect densities in larger crystal are needed for the true implementation of SiC devices, many researchers are focusing to improve the quality of SiC single crystal through the process modifications for SiC bulk growth or new material implementations [3, 4]. It is well known that for getting high quality SiC crystal, source materials with high purity must be used in PVT method. Among various source materials in PVT method, a SiC powder is considered to take an important role because it would influence on crystal quality of SiC crystal as well as optimum temperature of single crystal growth, the growth rate and doping characteristics. In reality, the effect of powder on SiC crystal could definitely exhibit the complicated correlation. Therefore, the present research was focused to investigate the quality difference of SiC crystal grown by conventional PVT method with using various SiC powders. As shown in Fig. 1, we used three SiC powders with different particles size. The 6H-SiC crystals were grown by conventional PVT process and the SiC seeds and the high purity SiC source materials are placed on opposite side in a sealed graphite crucible which is surrounded by graphite insulation[5, 6]. The bulk SiC crystal was grown at $2300^{\circ}C$ of the growth temperature and 50mbar of an argon pressure. The axial thermal gradient across the SiC crystal during the growth is estimated in the range of $15\sim20^{\circ}C/cm$. The chemical etch in molten KOH maintained at $450^{\circ}C$ for 10 min was used for defect observation with a polarizing microscope in Nomarski mode. Electrical properties of bulk SiC materials were measured by Hall effect using van der Pauw geometry and a UV/VIS spectrophotometer. Fig. 2 shows optical photographs of SiC crystal ingot grown by PVT method and Table 1 shows electrical properties of SiC crystals. The electrical properties as well as crystal quality of SiC crystals were systematically investigated.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.56 no.9
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• pp.1602-1608
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• 2007

The composites were fabricated, respectively, using 61[vol.%] SiC-39[vol.%] $TiB_2$ and using 61[vol.%] SiC-39[vol.%] $ZrB_2$ powders with the liquid forming additives of 12[wt%] $Al_2O_3+Y_2O_3$ by hot pressing annealing at $1650[^{\circ}C]$ for 4 hours. Reactions between SiC and transition metal $TiB_2$, $ZrB_2$ were not observed in this microstructure. The result of phase analysis of composites by XRD revealed SiC(6H, 3C), $TiB_2$, $ZrB_2$ and $YAG(Al_5Y_3O_{12})$ crystal phase on the Liquid-Phase-Sintered(LPS) $SiC-TiB_2$, and $SiC-ZrB_2$ composite. $\beta\rightarrow\alpha-SiC$ phase transformation was occurred on the $SiC-TiB_2$ and $SiC-ZrB_2$ composite. The relative density, the flexural strength and Young's modulus showed the highest value of 98.57[%], 249.42[MPa] and 91.64[GPa] in $SiC-ZrB_2$ composite at room temperature respectively. The electrical resistivity showed the lowest value of $7.96{\times}10^{-4}[\Omega{\cdot}cm]$ for $SiC-ZrB_2$ composite at $25[^{\circ}C]$. The electrical resistivity of the $SiC-TiB_2$ and $SiC-ZrB_2$ composite was all positive temperature coefficient resistance (PTCR) in the temperature ranges from $25[^{\circ}C]$ to $700[^{\circ}C]$. The resistance temperature coefficient of composite showed the lowest value of $1.319\times10^{-3}/[^{\circ}C]$ for $SiC-ZrB_2$ composite in the temperature ranges from $100[^{\circ}C]$ to $300[^{\circ}C]$ Compositional design and optimization of processing parameters are key factors for controlling and improving the properties of SiC-based electroconductive ceramic composites.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.277-284
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• 2012

In this study, a heat-transfer performance analysis is carried out for a multi-channel volumetric air receiver for a solar power tower. On the basis of a series of reviews regarding the relevant literature, a calculation process is proposed for the prediction of the wall- and air- temperature distributions of a single channel at given geometric and input conditions. Furthermore, a unique mathematical model of the receiver effectiveness is presented through analysis of the temperature profile. The receiver is made of silicon carbide. A total of 225 square straight channels per module are molded to induce the air flow, and each channel has the dimensions of $2mm(W){\times}2mm(H){\times}0.2mm(t){\times}320mm(L)$. The heat-transfer rate, temperature distribution and effectiveness are presented according to the variation of the channel and module number under uniform irradiation and mass flow rate. The available air outlet temperature applied to the solar power tower should be over $700^{\circ}C$. This numerical model was actually used in the design of a 200 kW-level commercial solar air receiver, and the required number of modules satisfying the thermal performance could be obtained for the specified geometric and input conditions.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.543-550
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• 2011

Conductive SiC-$ZrB_2$ composites were produced by subjecting a 40:60 (vol%) mixture of zirconium diboride (ZrB2) powder and ${\beta}$-silicon carbide (SiC) matrix to spark plasma sintering (SPS). Sintering was carried out for 5 min in an argon atmosphere at a uniaxial pressure and temperature of 50 MPa and $1500^{\circ}C$, respectively. The composite sintered at a heating speed of $25^{\circ}C$/min and an on/off pulse sequence of 12:2 was denoted as SZ12L. Composites SZ12H, SZ48H, and SZ10H were obtained by sintering at a heating speed of $100^{\circ}C$/min and at on/off pulse sequences of 12:2, 48:8, and 10:9, respectively. The physical, electrical, and mechanical properties of the SiC-$ZrB_2$ composites were examined and thermal image analysis of the composites was performed. The apparent porosities of SZ12L, SZ12H, SZ48H, and SZ10H were 13.35%, 0.60%, 12.28%, and 9.75%, respectively. At room temperature, SZ12L had the lowest flexural strength (286.90 MPa), whereas SZ12H had the highest flexural strength (1011.34 MPa). Between room temperature and $500^{\circ}C$, the SiC-$ZrB_2$ composites had a positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) and linear V-I characteristics. SZ12H had the lowest PTCR and highest electrical resistivity among all the composites. The optimum SPS conditions for the production of energy-friendly SiC-$ZrB_2$ composites are as follows: 1) an argon atmosphere, 2) a constant pressure of 50 MPa throughout the sintering process, 3) an on/off pulse sequence of 12:2 (pulse duration: 2.78 ms), and 4) a final sintering temperature of $1500^{\circ}C$ at a speed of $100^{\circ}C$/min and sintering for 5 min at $1500^{\circ}C$.