• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.655-660
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• 2013

Photoelectrochemical cells have been used in photolysis of water to generate hydrogen as a clean energy source. A high efficiency electrode for photoelectrochemical cell systems was realized using a ZnO hierarchical nanostructure. A ZnO nanofiber mat structure was fabricated by electrospinning of Zn solution on the substrate, followed by oxidation; on this substrate, hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanorods on the ZnO nanofibers was carried out to form a ZnO hierarchical structure. The thickness of the nanofiber mat and the thermal annealing temperature were determined as the parameters for optimization. The morphology of the structures was examined by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The performance of the ZnO nanofiber mat and the potential of the ZnO hierarchical structures as photoelectrochemical cell electrodes were evaluated by measurement of the photoelectron conversion efficiencies under UV light. The highest photoconversion efficiency observed was 63 % with a ZnO hierarchical structure annealed at $400^{\circ}C$ in air. The morphology and the crystalline quality of the electrode materials greatly influenced the electrode performance. Therefore, the combination of the two fabrication methods, electrospinning and hydrothermal synthesis, was successfully applied to fabricate a high performance photoelectrochemical cell electrode.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.847-858
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• 2016

An overview is given on the work of the Laboratory of Nuclear Energy Systems at ETH, Zurich (ETHZ) and of the Laboratory of Thermal Hydraulics at Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerland on tight-lattice bundles. Two-phase flow in subchannels of a tight triangular lattice was studied experimentally and by computational fluid dynamics simulations. Two adiabatic facilities were used: (1) a vertical channel modeling a pair of neighboring sub-channels; and (2) an arrangement of four subchannels with one subchannel in the center. The first geometry was equipped with two electrical film sensors placed on opposing rod surfaces forming the subchannel gap. They recorded 2D liquid film thickness distributions on a domain of $16{\times}64$ measuring points each, with a time resolution of 10 kHz. In the bubbly and slug flow regime, information on the bubble size, shape, and velocity and the residual liquid film thickness underneath the bubbles were obtained. The second channel was investigated using cold neutron tomography, which allowed the measurement of average liquid film profiles showing the effect of spacer grids with vanes. The results were reproduced by large eddy simulation + volume of fluid. In the outlook, a novel nonadiabatic subchannel experiment is introduced that can be driven to steady-state dryout. A refrigerant is heated by a heavy water circuit, which allows the application of cold neutron tomography.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.97-111
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• 1974

The adsorption mechanism of Cs-137 in low level radioactive solution by vermiculite treated with Na ion is studied in order to investigate its effective utilization for the radioactive effluent treatment. The beneficial role of Na-vermiculite is that Na ion can induce the wider c-axis spacing in which Cs ion can be sorbed in vermiculite. Cation exchange capacity and distribution coefficient of cesium seems to be influenced by the variation of c-axis spacing of vermiculite. Comparative identification and detection with the characteristic analyses of X-ray diffraction and electron diffraction patterns, diffrential thermal analysis and electron microscopy of Na-, K- and Cs-vermiculite are studied for the phemomena of Cs adsorption by vermiculite. This importance of the utilization in terms of adsorption and fixation of cesium involving vermiculite is discussed. It is found that the Na-vermiculite is valuable outside charging material for high level radioactive liquid waste storage tank of underground to protect the pollution of the underground water.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.784-792
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• 2009

In this study, we investigated the unsuitable cases for the hierarchy of the curriculum in science 'teaching-learning lesson plan' which is on the web site of the each city's support center for teaching and learning and Seoul Science Park with a purpose of giving helpful data for science teachers at lessons. The investigation is limited to 'Three states of matter' unit for the 7th grade and the content elements used at analysis was the "state changes of matter", "molecule" and "molecular model". The case found for unsuitable case for the hierarchy of the curriculum was phase equilibrium, ice crystal theory, peculiar property of water, classification of solid, thermal energy and physical change at the "state changes of matter". While the "molecular model" showed molecular motion and density. On the other hand, no case was found at "molecule".

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.10
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• pp.504-507
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• 2012

Synthesis of RGO (reduced graphene oxide)-CdS composite material was performed through CBD (chemical bath deposition) method in which graphene oxide served as the support and Cadmium Sulfate Hydrate as the starting material. Graphene-based semiconductor photocatalysts have attracted extensive attention due to their usefulness for environmental and energy applications. The band gap (2.4 eV) of CdS corresponds well with the spectrum of sunlight because the crystalline phase, size, morphology, specic surface area and defects, etc., of CdS can affect its photocatalytic activity. The specific surface structure (morphology) of the photocatalyst can be effective for the suppression of recombination between photogenerated electrons and holes. Graphene (GN) has unique properties such as a high value of Young's modulus, large theoretical specific surface area, excellent thermal conductivity, high mobility of charge carriers, and good optical transmittance. These excellent properties make GN an ideal building block in nanocomposites. It can act as an excellent electron-acceptor/transport material. Therefore, the morphology, structural characterization and crystal structure were observed using various analytical tools, such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. From this analysis, it is shown that CdS particles were well dispersed uniformly in the RGO sheet. Furthermore, the photocatalytic property of the resulting RGO-CdS composite is also discussed in relation to environmental applications such as the photocatalytic degradation of pollutants. It was found that the prepared RGO-CdS nanocomposites exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity as compared with that of CdS nanoparticles. Therefore, better efficiency of photodegradation was found for water purification applications using RGO-CdS composite.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.586-592
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• 2011

In this study, we synthesized vinylbenzyl chloride-co-styrene-co hydroxyethyl acrylate (VBC-co-St-co-HEA) copolymer that can be applied to redox the flow battery process. The anion exchange membrane was prepared by the amination and crosslinking of VBC-co-St-co-HEA copolymer. The chemical structure and thermal properties of VBC-co-St-co-HEA copolymer and aminated VBC-co-St-co-HEA(AVSH) membrane were characterized by FTIR, $^1H$ NMR, TGA, and GPC analysis. The membrane properties such as ion exchange capacity(IEC), electrical resistance, ion conductivity and efficiency of all-vanadium redox flow battery were measured. The IEC value, electrical resistance, and ion conductivity were 1.17 meq/g, $1.9{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$, 0.009 S/cm, respectively. The charge-discharge efficiency, voltage efficiency and energy efficiency from all-vanadium redox flow battery test were 99.5, 72.6 and 72.1%, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.3413-3420
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• 2021

Applying the available neutron flux for medical and industrial purposes is the most important application of research reactors. The neutron radiography system is used for non-destructive testing (NDT) of materials so that it is one of the main applications of nuclear research reactors. One of these research reactors is the 5 MW pool-type light water research reactor of Tehran (TRR). This work aims to investigate on materials and location of the beam tube (BT) of the TRR radiography system to improve the index parameters of BT. Our results showed that a through-type BT with 20 cm thick carbon neutron filter, 1.2 cm and 9.4 cm of the diameter of inlet (D₁) and output (D₂) BT, respectively gives thermal neutron flux almost 25.7, 5.6 and 1.1 times greater than the former design of the TRR (with D₁ = 1.8 cm and D₁ = 9.4 cm), previous design of the TRR with D₁ = 3 cm and D₁ = 9.4 cm, and another design with D₁ = 5 cm and D₁ = 9.4 cm, respectively. Therefore, the design proposed in this paper could be a better alternative to the current BT of the TRR.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2024

In-vessel retention through external reactor vessel cooling (IVR-ERVC) is a severe accident management (SAM) strategy that has been adopted and used in many nuclear reactors such as AP1000, APR1400, and light water reactor etc. Some reactor accidents have raised concerns about nuclear reactors among residents, leading to a decrease in residents' acceptability and many studies on SAM are being conducted. Experiments on IVR-ERVC are almost impossible due to its specificity, so fluid characteristics are analyzed through BALI experiments with similar condition. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) via Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and large eddy simulation (LES) for BALI experiments were performed. Steady-state CFD analysis was performed on three turbulence models, and SST k-ω model was in good agreement with the experimental measurement temperature within the maximum error range of 1.9%. LES CFD analysis was performed based on the RANS analysis results and it was confirmed that the temperature and wall heat flux for depth was consistent within an error range of 1.0% with BALI experiment. The LES CFD analysis results were compared with those of the Lagrangian-based solver. LES matched the temperature distribution better than SOPHIA, but SOPHIA calculated the position of boundary between stratified layer and convective layer more accurately. On the other hand, Lagrangian-based solver predicted several small eddy behaviors of the convective layer and LES predicted large vortex behavior. The vibration characteristics near the cooling part of the BALI experimental device were confirmed through Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) investigation. It was found that the power spectral density for pressure at least 10 times higher near the side cooling than near the top cooling.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.147-158
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• 2008

In this study, fermentation characteristics of waste agricultural and forest biomass for production of heat energy were focused to be used in agricultural farm households. The purpose of this study was focused on seeking practical utilization of agricultural and forest biomass wastes in agricultural farm households in the form of thermal energy by means of simple fermentation process. Fermentation process was performed in terms of different raw-materials and their mixture with different ratios. Urea, lime, and bioaids were added as fermenting aids. Moisture contents of fermenting substrates were adjusted to 55~65%. In order to optimize the fermentation process various factors, such as raw-materials, moisture contents, amount of fermenting aids, and practical measurement of hot-water temperature during fermentation were carefully investigated. The optimum condition of fermenting process were obtained from hardwood only and hardwood: softwood (50 : 50) beds. In case of hardwood only the highest temperature was recorded between 60 to $90^{\circ}C$ the lowest temperature was determined to more or less $40^{\circ}C$ and the average temperature was ranged to $50{\sim}60^{\circ}C$ and this temperature ranges were maintained up to 20~30 days. The optimum amount of additives were estimated to ca. 15 kg of urea, 20 kg of bioaids, and 10 kg of lime for 1 ton of substrate. To reach the highest temperature the optimum moisture content of fermenting substrate was proved to 55% among three moisture content treatments of 45%, 55% and 65%. The temperature of hot-water tank installed in fermenting bed of hardwood : grass (50 : 50) showed very different patterns according to measuring positions. In general, temperatures in the mid- and upper-parts of substrate piling were relative higher than lower and surface parts during 45-day fermentation process. The maximum temperature of fermenting stage was determined to $65^{\circ}C$, minimum temperature, more or less $40^{\circ}C$, and average temperature was $60^{\circ}C$. The water temperature of tank exit was ranged to $33{\sim}48^{\circ}C$ during whole measuring periods. It could be concluded that fermentation process of waste agricultural and forest biomass produces a considerable amounts of heat, averaging about $50{\sim}60^{\circ}C$ for maximum 3 months by using the heat exchanger (HX-helical type).

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.18-30
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• 2023

Submarine mud volcanos are topographic features that resemble volcanoes, and are formed due to eruptions of fluidized or gasified sediment material. They have gained attention as a source of subsurface heat, sediment, or hydrocarbons supplied to the surface. In the continental slope of the Canadian Beaufort Sea, mud volcano exists at various water depths. The MV420, is an active mud volcano erupting at a water depth of 420 meters, and it has been the subject of extensive study. The Korea Polar Research Institute(KOPRI) collected high-resolution seismic data and heat flow data around the caldera of the mud volcano. By analyzing the multi-channel seismic data, we confirmed the reverse-polarity reflector assumed by a gas hydrate-related bottom simulating reflector(BSR). To further elucidate the relationship between the BSR and gas hydrates, as well as the thermal structure of the mud volcano, a numerical geothermal model was developed based on the steady-state heat equation. Using this model, we estimated the base of the gas hydrate stability zone and found that the BSR depth estimated by multi-channel seismic data and the bottom of the gas hydrate stability zone were in good agreement., This suggests the presence of gas hydrates, and it was determined that the depth of the gas hydrate was likely up to 50 m, depending on the distance from the mud conduit. Thus, this depth estimate slightly differs from previous studies.