• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.87-100
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• 2009

The quality of early cost estimates is critical to the feasibility analysis and budget allocation decisions for public capital projects. Various researches have been attempted to develop cost prediction models in the early stage of a construction project. However, existing studies are limited on its applicability to actual projects because they focus primarily on a specific phase as well as utilize restricted information while the amount of information collectable differs from one another along with the project stages. This research aims to develop two-staged cost estimation model for the schematic planning and preliminary design process of a construction projects, considering the available information of each phase. In the schematic planning stage where outlined information of a project is only available, the Case-Based Reasoning model is used for easy and rapid elicitation of a project cost based on the extensive database of more than 90 actual highway construction projects. Then, the representing quantity-based model is proposed for the preliminary design stage where more information on the quantities and unit costs are collectable based on the alternative routes and cross-sections of a highway project. Real case studies are used to demonstrate and validate the benefits of the proposed approach. Through the two-stage cost estimation system, users are able to hold a timely prospect to presume the final cost within the budge such that feasibility study as well as budget allocation decisions are made on effectively and competitively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.146-147
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• 2011

Processing a large area substrate for liquid crystal display (LCD) or solar panel applications in a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) reactor is becoming increasingly challenging because of the size of the substrate size is no longer negligible compared to the wavelength of the applied radio frequency (RF) power. The situation is even worse when the driving frequency is increased to the Very High Frequency (VHF) range. When the substrate size is still smaller than 1/8 of the wavelength, one can obtain reasonably uniform process results by utilizing with methods such as tailoring the precursor gas distribution by adjustingthrough shower head hole distribution or hole size modification, locally adjusting the distance between the substrate and the electrode, and shaping shower head holes to modulate the hollow cathode effect modifying theand plasma density distribution by shaping shower head holes to adjust the follow cathode effect. At higher frequencies, such as 40 MHz for Gen 8.5 (2.2 m${\times}$2.6 m substrate), these methods are not effective, because the substrate is large enough that first node of the standing wave appears within the substrate. In such a case, the plasma discharge cannot be sustained at the node and results in an extremely non-uniform process. At Applied Materials, we have studied several methods of modifying the standing wave pattern to adjusting improve process non-uniformity for a Gen 8.5 size CCP reactor operating in the VHF range. First, we used magnetic materials (ferrite) to modify wave propagation. We placed ferrite blocks along two opposing edges of the powered electrode. This changes the boundary condition for electro-magnetic waves, and as a result, the standing wave pattern is significantly stretched towards the ferrite lined edges. In conjunction with a phase modulation technique, we have seen improvement in process uniformity. Another method involves feeding 40 MHz from four feed points near the four corners of the electrode. The phase between each feed points are dynamically adjusted to modify the resulting interference pattern, which in turn modulate the plasma distribution in time and affect the process uniformity. We achieved process uniformity of <20% with this method. A third method involves using two frequencies. In this case 40 MHz is used in a supplementary manner to improve the performance of 13 MHz process. Even at 13 MHz, the RF electric field falls off around the corners and edges on a Gen 8.5 substrate. Although, the conventional methods mentioned above improve the uniformity, they have limitations, and they cannot compensate especially as the applied power is increased, which causes the wavelength becomes shorter. 40 MHz is used to overcome such limitations. 13 MHz is applied at the center, and 40 MHz at the four corners. By modulating the interference between the signals from the four feed points, we found that 40 MHz power is preferentially channeled towards the edges and corners. We will discuss an innovative method of controlling 40 MHz to achieve this effect.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.407-408
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• 2011

Natural boron consists of two stable isotopes 10B and 11B with natural abundance of 18.8 atom percent of 10B and 81.2 atom percent of 11B. The thermal neutron absorption cross-section for 10B and 11B are 3837 barn and 0.005 barn respectively. 10B enriched specific compounds are used for control rods and as a reactor coolant additives. In this work 2 methods for boron enrichment were analysed: 1) Gas irradiation in static conditions. Dissociation occurs due to multiphoton absorption by specific isotopes in appropriately tuned laser field. IR shifted laser pulses are usually used in combination with increasing the laser intensity also improves selectivity up to some degree. In order to prevent recombination of dissociated molecules BCl3 is mixed with H2S 2) SILARC method. Advantages of this method: a) Gas cooling is helpful to split and shrink boron isotopes absorption bands. In order to achieve better selectivity BCl3 gas has to be substantially rarefied (~0.01%-5%) in mixture with carrier gas. b) Laser intensity is lower than in the first method. Some preliminary calculations of dissociation and recombination with carrier gas molecules energetics for both methods will be demonstrated Boron separation in SILARC method can be represented as multistage process: 1) Mixture of BCl3 with carrier gas is putted in reservoir 2) Gas overcooling due to expansion through Laval nozzle 3) IR multiphoton absorption by gas irradiated by specifically tuned laser field with subsequent gradual gas condensation in outlet chamber It is planned to develop software which includes these stages. This software will rely on the following available software based on quantum molecular dynamics in external quantized field: 1) WavePacket: Each particle is treated semiclassicaly based on Wigner transform method 2) Turbomole: It is based on local density methods like density of functional methods (DFT) and its improvement- coupled clusters approach (CC) to take into account quantum correlation. These models will be used to extract information concerning kinetic coefficients, and their dependence on applied external field. Information on radiative corrections to equation of state induced by laser field which take into account possible phase transition (or crossover?) can be also revealed. This mixed phase equation of state with quantum corrections will be further used in hydrodynamical simulations. Moreover results of these hydrodynamical simulations can be compared with results of CFD calculations. The first reasonable question to ask before starting the CFD simulations is whether turbulent effects are significant or not, and how to model turbulence? The questions of laser beam parameters and outlet chamber geometry which are most optimal to make all gas volume irradiated is also discussed. Relationship between enrichment factor and stagnation pressure and temperature based on experimental data is also reported.

• Clean Technology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.283-288
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• 2019

Monodisperse microparticles has been particularly enabling for various applications in the encapsulation and delivery of pharmaceutical agents. The microfluidic devices are attractive candidates to produce highly uniform droplets that serve as templates to form monodisperse microparticles. The microfluidic devices that have micro-scale channel allow precise control of the balance between surface tension and viscous forces in two-phase flows. One of its essential abilities is to generate highly monodisperse droplets. In this paper, a microfluidic approach for preparing monodisperse polycaprolactone (PCL) microparticles is presented. The microfluidic devices that have a flow-focusing generator are manufactured by soft-lithography using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The crucial factors in the droplet generation are the controllability of size and monodispersity of the microdroplets. For this, the volumetric flow rates of the dispersed phase of oil solution and the continuous phase of water to generate monodisperse droplets are optimized. As a result, the optimal flow condition for droplet dripping region that is able to generate uniform droplet is found. Furthermore, the droplets containing PCL polymer by solvent evaporation after collection of droplet from device is solidified to generate the microparticle. The particle size can be controlled by tuning the flow rate and the size of the microchannel. The monodispersity of the PCL particles is measured by a coefficient of variation (CV) below 5%.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.330-335
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• 2018

A new approach for the fabrication of organic-organic conducting composite thin films using simultaneous co-vaporization vapor phase polymerization (SC-VPP) of two or more monomers that have different polymerization mechanisms (i.e., oxidation-coupling polymerization and radical polymerization) was reported for the first time. In this study, a PEDOT-PSMA composite thin film consisting of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(PEDOT) and poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride)(PSMA) was prepared by SC-VPP process. The preparation of organic-organic conductive composite thin films was confirmed through FT-IR and $^1H-NMR$ analyses. The surface morphology analysis showed that the surface of PEDOT-PSMA thin film was rougher than that of PEDOT thin film. Therefore, PEDOT-PSMA exhibited lower electrical conductivity than that of PEDOT. But the conductivity can be improved by adding 2-ethyl-4-methyl imidazole as a weak base. The contact angle of PEDOT-PSMA was about $50^{\circ}$, as compared to $62^{\circ}$ for PEDOT. The demonstrated methodology for preparing an organic-organic conductive hybrid thin film is expected to be useful for adjusting intrinsic conductive polymer (ICP)'s surface properties such as mechanical, optical, and roughness properties.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.89-99
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• 2012

Purpose - Mobile devices, especially mobile terminals capable of telecommunication and wireless connectivity, are leading the advancements in consumer electronics. Digital convergence drives the functions of various devices, such as cellular phones, MP3 players, personal digital assistants, and gaming, into a single device. This trend would continue and applications such as digital audio and video streaming (including personalized content delivery mechanisms) would soon be on a handheld device. As customers want mobile convergence devices, manufacturers are driving new initiatives in the emerging mobile device market. Given the roles played by device design and service content in user satisfaction of a mobile convergence device, this study focuses on identifying and measuring the constructs for the process by which user satisfaction is achieved. This study synthesizes the expectation-disconfirmation paradigm with empirical theories in user satisfaction. Device and service levels are separated, and nine key constructs for user satisfaction of mobile convergence devices are proposed. Insight into this process could help web-based businesses to improve user satisfaction, thus enhancing the effectiveness of e-commerce for sellers and buyers. Research design, data, methodology - This study draws on three users of mobile convergence devices as examples. To test there search model and hypotheses, survey questionnaires were sent to 607 mobile device users. Mobile device users were initially identified from several members, and subjects were randomly drawn. Data from 577 survey responses were finally analyzed. The unit of measurement and analysis in this research study is at a personal level. Results - The measurements for the constructs were developed and tested in a two-phase study. In the first phase, the device and service dimensions were identified, and instruments for measuring them were developed and tested. In the second phase, using the salient dimensions of the device and service as the formulating first-order factors, instruments were developed and empirically tested to measure satisfaction of the device and service. In measuring satisfaction of mobile convergence devices, the critical tasks are to identify the key constructs of such user satisfaction and to develop validated instruments to measure them. Hence, the results of this study have immediate implications for businesses and for research in user satisfaction of mobile convergence devices. Conclusions - This study provides reliable instruments for operationalizing key constructs in the analysis of user satisfaction of mobile convergence devices within the expectation-disconfirmation paradigm. Hence, convergence device makers will be able to examine whether their websites meet their customers' expectations by examining the device aspect of the mobile convergence device customers, and the service aspect expectations and disconfirmation. Moreover, the introduction of expectation and disconfirmation constructs brings the marketing aspect of convergence devices into focus for such retailers, an aspect crucial to the effective design of websites for online businesses. In addition,this study provides the metrics required to initiate future studies on user satisfaction of mobile convergence devices.

• Archives of design research
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• v.18 no.3 s.61
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• pp.15-24
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• 2005

There is a large waste of time, money, and production through the infelicitous product design process in small and medium enterprises. They don't possess enough career-manpower with respect to design. Especially, the objective and scientific approach process isn't presented very well on the 'establishment concept' of the embodiment phase or 'Sketch and Rendering' of the development phase which are the most important design processes. So, this research is applied to the conception of the AHP method. It uses the basic concept of relativity to decrease risk from the calculational quantity data, and supplement the decision making phase. Generally, human beings can conclude by relative judgement which is more influenceable than absolute judgement. So we must use the relative comparison concept rather than the comparison of two items with variable sketches based on characteristics of human beings. Thus, efficiency judgement is dependent on design sketch comparisons which help the consistency progress of variable alternative plans. We can decrease risk when we chose the final design and increase efficiency of the design decision making. That is now a perfect selection of each alternative's ranking and sensitive design result but this research will provide consistency criterion on filtering and lead to variable design alternatives. The significance of this research is the efficiency method that overcomes differences of character and sensitivity on many phases of the process. Finally, this research proposes a new ideal process that where applied improves quality and evidence of propriety through comparison to existing methods result in method application research for improvement quality.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.226-233
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• 2023

In this study, two phases were conducted to investigate the direct injection of gaseous CO₂ into cement mortar. The aim was to advance carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology by harnessing industrial waste CO₂ from the domestic ready-mixed concrete industry. In the first phase, the factors influencing the physical properties of cement mortar when using gaseous CO₂ were identified. This included a review of materials to achieve physical properties comparable to a reference formulation. As a result of this phase, it was confirmed that traditional approaches, such as adjusting the water-to-cement ratio, had limitations in achieving the desired physical properties. Consequently, the second phase focused on the optimization of CO₂-injected mortar. This involved studying the CO₂ application and mixing method for cement mortar. Changes in properties were observed when gaseous CO₂ was injected into the mortar. The optimal injection quantity and time to enhance the compressive strength of mortar were determinded. As a result, this study indicated that an extra mixing time exceeding 120 seconds was necessary, compared to conventional mortar. The optimal CO₂ injection rate was identified as 0.1 to 0.2 % by weight of cement, taking both flowability and compressive strength performance into account. Increasing the CO₂ injection time did not further enhance strength. For this approach to be employed as a CCUS technology, additional studies are required, including a microstructural analysis evaluating the amount of immobilized CO₂.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.225-237
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• 2018

The difficulties of satellite vibration testing are due to the commonly expressed qualification requirements being incompatible with the limited performance of the entire controlled system (satellite + interface + shaker + controller). Two features cause the problem: firstly, the main satellite modes (i.e., the first structural mode and the high and low tank modes) are very weakly damped; secondly, the controller is just too basic to achieve the expected performance in such cases. The combination of these two issues results in oscillations around the notching levels and high amplitude beating immediately after the mode. The beating overshoots are a major risk source because they can result in the test being aborted if the qualification upper limit is exceeded. Although the abort is, in itself, a safety measure protecting the tested satellite, it increases the risk of structural fatigue, firstly because the abort threshold has been already reached, and secondly, because the test must restart at the same close-resonance frequency and remain there until the qualification level is reached and the sweep frequency can continue. The beat minimum relates only to small successive frequency ranges in which the qualification level is not reached. Although they are less problematic because they do not cause an inadvertent test shutdown, such situations inevitably result in waiver requests from the client. A controlled-system analysis indicates an operating principle that cannot provide sufficient stability: the drive calculation (which controls the process) simply multiplies the frequency reference (usually called cola) and a function of the following setpoint, the ratio between the amplitude already reached and the previous setpoint, and the compression factor. This function value changes at each cola interval, but it never takes into account the sensor signal phase. Because of these limitations, we firstly examined whether it was possible to empirically determine, using a series of tests with a very simple dummy, a controller setting process that significantly improves the results. As the attempt failed, we have performed simulations seeking an optimum adjustment by finding the Least Mean Square of the difference between the reference and response signal. The simulations showed a significant improvement during the notch beat and a small reduction in the beat amplitude. However, the small improvement in this process was not useful because it highlighted the need to change the reference at each cola interval, sometimes with instructions almost twice the qualification level. Another uncertainty regarding the consequences of such an approach involves the impact of differences between the estimated model (used in the simulation) and the actual system. As limitations in the current controller were identified in different approaches, we considered the feasibility of a new controller that takes into account an estimated single-input multi-output (SIMO) model. Its parameters were estimated from a very low-level throughput. Against this backdrop, we analyzed the feasibility of an LQG control in cancelling beating, and this article highlights the relevance of such an approach.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.6 no.9
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• pp.419-428
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• 2017

In an embedded system, modules exchange data by interacting among themselves. Exchanging erroneous resource data among modules may lead to execution errors. The interacting resources produce dependencies between the two modules where any change of the resources by one module affects the functionality of another module. Several investigations of the embedded systems show that interaction faults between the modules are one of the major cause of critical software failure. Therefore, interaction testing is an essential phase for reducing the interaction faults and minimizing the risk. The direct and indirect interactions between the modules generate interaction faults. The direct interaction is the explicit call relation between the modules, and the indirect interaction is the remaining relation that is made underneath the interface that possesses data dependence relationship with resources. In this paper, we investigate the errors that are based on the indirect interaction between modules and introduce a new test criterion for identifying the errors that are undetectable by existing approaches at the integration level. We propose a novel approach for generating the interaction model using the indirect interaction pattern and design test criteria that are based on different interaction errors to generate test cases. Finally, we use the fault injection technique to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of our approach.