• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1-4
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• 2012

Effects of artificial holes on the cooling efficiency of single grain YBCO bulk superconductors were studied. Single grain YBCO bulk superconductors without artificial holes, with six 2.4 mm holes and six holes filled with Bi-Pb-Cd-Sn metal solder were fabricated by a top-seeded melt growth process for powder compacts with/without holes. Simulation for the cooling rate to a liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K) of YBCO samples was carried out using a finite element method (FEM) and the results are compared with the actual cooling rates of samples in liquid nitrogen. The simulated cooling times for the YBCO sample without holes, with six holes and with six holes filled with the metal solder were 80, 47 and 75 sec. respectively, which are similar to the actual cooling times of 84, 52 and 78 sec. estimated for the same samples cooled in liquid nitrogen. The shorter cooling time of the sample with artificial holes are attributed to the increased surface areas associated with the presence of artificial holes. The metal filling into the holes did not give any remarkable effect on the cooling efficiency.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.115-119
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• 2014

$Cu(In,Ga)Se_2$ (CIGS) thin films have been used as a light absorbing layer in high-efficiency solar cells. In order to improve the quality of the CIGS thin film, often selenization step is applied. Especially when the thin film was formed by non-vacuum powder process, selenization can help to induce grain growth of powder and densification of the thin film. However, selenization is not trivial. It requires either the use of toxic gas, $H_2Se$, or expensive equipment which raises the overall manufacturing cost. Herein, we would like to deliver a new, simple method for selenization. In this method, instead of using a costly two-zone furnace, use of a regular tube furnace is required and selenium is supplied by a mixture of selenium and ceramic powder such as alumina. By adjusting the ratio of selenium vs. alumina powder, selenium vaporization can be carefully controlled. Under the optimized condition, steady supply of selenium vapor was possible which was evidently shown by large grain growth of CIGS within a thin powder layer.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.190-194
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• 2003

Dielectric thin films of (P $b_{0.72}$,L $a_{0.28}$) $Ti_{0.93}$ $O_3$ (PLT(28)) have been deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/ $SiO_2$/Si(100) substrates in-situ by pulsed laser deposition using different annealing and deposition Processes. We have investigated the effect of hydrogen annealing on the ferroelectric properties of PLT thin films and found that the annealing process causes the diffusion of hydrogen into the ferroelectric film resulting in the destruction of polarization. We have tried to form the film by a two-step deposition process In order to improve electrical property. Two-step process to grow PLT films was adopted and verified to be useful to enlarge the grain size of the film and to reduce the leakage current characteristics. Structural properties and electrical properties including dielectric constant, ferroelectric characteristics, and leakage current of PLT thin films were shown to be strongly influenced by grain size. The film deposited by using two-step Process including pre-annealing treatment has a strongly(111) orientation. However, the films deposited by using single -step process with hydrogen annealing process show the smallest grain size. The film deposited by using two-step process including pre-annealing treatment shows the leakage current density of below 10$^{-7}$ A/c $m^2$ for the field of smaller than 100 kV/cm. However, the films deposited by using single-step process with hydrogen annealing process and pre-annealing process show worse leakage current density than the film deposited by using two-step process including pre-annealing treatment.tment.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.261-267
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• 2023

Crystal structure, microstructure, and dielectric properties of the (Ca, Sr)(Zr, Ti)O₃ (CSZT) system has been studied as a function of sintering temperature and MgO addition for microwave applications. A single-phase CSZT powder with the orthorhombic crystal structure was obtained by the solid-state reaction method. The powder compacts were sintered at 1200℃, 1300℃, and 1400℃ respectively. All the sintered samples had a single-phase orthorhombic crystal structure and grain size increased with sintering temperature. In the case of 1 mol% MgO addition, the orthorhombic crystal structure was the main phase; however, a secondary phase appeared during sintering at 1400℃, as determined by EDS analysis. At 1400℃, the undoped and MgO-doped CSZT had almost similar grain size distribution and densification but the grain size distribution became slightly narrow. The MgO-doped CSZT showed excellent low-loss dielectric properties: ε_r = 34.14, tanδ = 0.00047, τ_ε = -3.58 ppm/℃ at 1 MHz.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.135-147
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• 2023

Sand columns in clayey soil are considered one of the most economical and environmentally-friendly soil-improving techniques. It improves the shear strength parameters, reduces the settlement, and increases the bearing capacity of clayey soils. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of grain shape in sand columns on their performance in improving the mechanical properties of clayey soils. An intensive series of consolidated-drained triaxial tests were performed on clay specimens only and clay specimens with sand columns. The parameters examined during the experimental work were grain shape in sand columns (angular, rounded, sub-rounded) and effective confining pressure (50 kPa, 100 kPa, 200 kPa). The results indicated that there is a significant improvement in the deviatoric stress and stiffness values of specimens with sand columns. Improving deviatoric stress values in the use of angular sand grains was found to be higher than those in the use of sub-rounded and rounded sand grains. A 187%, 159%, and 153% increment in deviatoric stress values were observed for the sand columns with angular, sub-rounded, and rounded grain shapes, respectively. The specimens were observed to be more contractive as the sand column was installed, and as the angularity of grains in the sand column was increased. Sand column installation improves significantly the angle of internal friction, and the effective angle of internal friction increases as the angularity of the sand grains increases.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.301-305
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• 2016

We investigate proton conduction in a nonstoichiometric ${\Sigma}3$ $BaZrO_3$ (210)[001] tilt grain boundary using density functional theory (DFT). We employ the space charge layer (SCL) and structural disorder (SD) models with the introduction of protons and oxygen vacancies into the system. The segregation energies of proton and oxygen vacancy are determined as -0.70 and -0.54 eV, respectively. Based on this data, we obtain a Schottky barrier height of 0.52 V and defect concentrations at 600K, in agreement with the reported experimental values. We calculate the energy barrier for proton migration across the grain boundary core as 0.61 eV, from which we derive proton mobility. We also obtain the proton conductivity from the knowledge of proton concentration and mobility. We find that the calculated conductivity of the nonstoichiometric grain boundary is similar to those of the stoichiometric ones in the literature.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.71-74
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• 2010

We have investigated protonic conduction in highly dense (>98%) polycrystalline Y-doepd $BaZrO_3$ (BYZ) ceramic with an average grain size of ~85 nm. It is observed that the protonic conductivity across the grain boundaries in this nano-crystallilne BYZ (n-BYZ) is significantly higher than the microcrystalline counterpart. Such a remarkable enhancement in grain boundary conductivity results in high overall conductivity that may allow this chemically stable protonic conductor to serve as a solid electrolyte for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell applications.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.1083-1089
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• 2002

Densification and grain growth behavior of MgO and -doped alumina ceramics were investigated. MgO was found to inhibit grain growth and to promote densification, but acted to promote grain growth more than densification. The density which showed the maximum shrinkage rate was investigated in the plot of shrinkage rate versus density. The data suggests that the maximum shrinkage rate separates the two kinetic regimes, below the density of maximum shrinkage, the regime associated with densification and above the maxima, the regime associated with the grain growth. The plot exhibits a maximum which shifts to higher temperatures with MgO doping and to lower with doping.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.164-172
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• 2023

The grain size distribution of sand provides crucial information for understanding coastal erosion and sediment deposition. The commonly used sieve analysis for grain size distribution analysis has limitations such as time-consuming processes and the inability to obtain information about individual particle shapes and colors. In this study, we propose a grain size distribution analysis method using smartphone digital images, which is simpler and more efficient than the sieve analysis method. During the image analysis process, we effectively detect particles from relatively low-resolution smartphone digital images by extracting particle boundaries through image gradient calculation. Using samples collected from four beaches in Gyeongsangbuk-do, we compare and validate the proposed boundary extraction image analysis method with the analysis method that does not extract boundaries, against sieve analysis results. The proposed method shows an average error rate of 8.21% at D₅₀, exhibiting a 65% lower error compared to the method without boundary extraction. Therefore, grain size distribution analysis using smartphone digital images is convenient, efficient, and demonstrated accuracy comparable to sieve analysis.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.275-278
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• 2010

We have examined the Ferroelectric properties of $PbZr_{0.4}Ti_{0.6}O_3$ (PZT) grains by monitoring the surface potential through the utilization of Kelvin force microscopy. Hysteretic and time dependent behaviors of small and large grains were compared with each other. The smaller grain yields had smaller values of surface potential. However, the normalized voltage versus surface potential behavior indicates that the smaller grains became saturated earlier with respect to the writing voltages than did the larger grains. On the other hand, the surface potential hysteresis loop obtained from the smaller grains showed a similar shape to what might be obtained from a Zr rich PZT film. In contrast the hysteresis loop of the larger grain looks like that obtained from a Ti-rich film. In addition, the time dependent behaviors of the smaller grains also revealed a better response than the response of larger grains. The overall ferroelectric properties of the smaller grains seem better than corresponding properties for larger grains. The Ti/Zr ratio of the PZT film which was examined in this study was 60/40.