• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.538-543
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• 2014

It is investigated that that the physical properties of Glutathione layer formed on gold surfaces may make an effect on the distribution of either gold particle adsorbed to the $ZrO_2$ surface or vice versa with the adjustment of the electrostatic interactions. For the investigation, the atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to measure the surface forces between the surfaces as a function of the salt concentration and pH value. The forces were quantitatively analyzed with the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory to estimate the surface potential and charge density of the surfaces for each condition of salt concentration and pH value. The estimated-value dependence on the salt concentration was described with the law of mass action, and the pH dependence was explained with the ionizable groups on the surface. The salt concentration dependence of the surface properties, found from the measurement at pH 4 and 8, was consistent with the prediction from the law. It was found that the Glutathione layer had higher values for the surface charge densities and potentials than the zirconium dioxide surfaces at pH 4 and 8, which may be attributed to the ionized-functional-groups of the Glutathione layer.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.126-132
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• 2002

The nanocrystalline zirconia powder with anisotropic shapes was synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of the tetragonal zirconia prepared by aging the zirconium hydroxide precipitate, which was obtained from the reaction between $ZrOCl_2{\cdot}8H_2O$ and KOH solutions under the fixed pH of 13.5, at $100^{\circ}C$ for 24 h. With increasing the hydrothermal reaction temperature and time, the fraction of tetragonal phase with spherical zirconia decreased, whereas, relatively the fraction of monoclinic phase with spindle-like and rod shape zirconia increased. As increased concentration of the NaOH solution it promoted the particle size to become larger and the crystalline phase to transform tetragonal to monoclinic. However, the specific surface area at the early stage of the reaction increased and subsequently decreased because of grain growth in powder with longer reaction time.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.16-25
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• 2016

In severe loss of coolant accidents (LOCA), similar to those experienced at Fukushima Daiichi and Three Mile Island Unit 1, the zirconiumalloy fuel claddingmaterials are rapidlyheateddue to nuclear decay heating and rapid exothermic oxidation of zirconium with steam. This heating causes the cladding to rapidly react with steam, lose strength, burst or collapse, and generate large quantities of hydrogen gas. Although maintaining core cooling remains the highest priority in accident management, an accident tolerant fuel (ATF) design may extend coping and recovery time for operators to restore emergency power, and cooling, and achieve safe shutdown. An ATF is required to possess high resistance to steam oxidation to reduce hydrogen generation and sufficient mechanical strength to maintain fuel rod integrity and core coolability. The initiative undertaken by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing an ATF cladding with capability to maintain its integrity in $1,200-1,500^{\circ}C$ steam for at least 24 hours. This ATF cladding utilizes thin-walled Mo-alloys coated with oxidation-resistant surface layers. The basic design consists of a thin-walled Mo alloy structural tube with a metallurgically bonded, oxidation-resistant outer layer. Two options are being investigated: a commercially available iron, chromium, and aluminum alloy with excellent high temperature oxidation resistance, and a Zr alloy with demonstratedcorrosionresistance.Asthese composite claddings will incorporate either no Zr, or thin Zr outer layers, hydrogen generation under severe LOCA conditions will be greatly reduced. Key technical challenges and uncertainties specific to Moalloy fuel cladding include: economic core design, industrial scale fabricability, radiation embrittlement, and corrosion and oxidation resistance during normal operation, transients, and severe accidents. Progress in each aspect has been made and key results are discussed in this document. In addition to assisting plants in meeting Light Water Reactor (LWR) challenges, accident-tolerant Mo-based cladding technologies are expected to be applicable for use in high-temperature helium and molten salt reactor designs, as well as nonnuclear high temperature applications.

• Journal of Information Display
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.13-18
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• 2006

Currently, the flexible organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are investigated. They are very vulnerable to moisture, and thus have been found to show some problems. Thus, an effective barrier layer is needed to protect from moisture in air. We deposited thin films with magnesium oxide (MgO) and silicon oxide $(SiO_{2})$ compounds mixed at various mixture ratios on flexible polyether sulfone (PES) substrates by an electron-beam evaporator to investigate their applizability for transparent barrier applications. In this study, we found that as the MgO fraction increased, thin films comprised of MgO and $(SiO_{2})$ compounds became more amorphous and their surface morphologies become smoother and denser. In addition, zirconium oxide $(ZrO_{2})$ was added to the above-mentioned compound mixtures. $ZrO_{2}$ made thin mixture films more amorphous and made the surface morphology denser and more uniform. The water vapor transmission rates (WVTRs) of the whole films decreased rapidly. The best WVTR was obtained by depositing thin films of Mg-Si-Zr-O compound among the whole thin films. As the thin mixture films became more amorphous, and the surface morphology become denser and more uniform, the WVTRs decreased. Therefore, the thin mixture films became more suitable for flexible OLED applications as transparent passivation layers against moisture in air.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3272-3282
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• 2022

To improve the safety and life extension qualities of nuclear fuel rods which is currently made of zirconium (Zr) alloy, research on the application of chromium (Cr) coating was conducted. Cr coating has advantages such as increased corrosion resistance and reduced oxidation rate, but non-destructive thickness evaluation studies are needed to ensure the reliability of the steps taken to provide uniform coating thickness. Eddy current testing (ECT) is a representative non-destructive technique for such as thickness evaluation and surface defect inspection. To inspect changes in thickness at micron scale, the Swept Frequency Eddy Current Testing (SFECT) method was applied to select a frequency range sensitive to changes in thickness. The coating thickness was evaluated using changes in signals, such as that for impedance. In this study, basic research was performed to evaluate the thickness of the Cr coating on a rod using an encircling sensor and the SFECT technique. The sensor design parameters were determined through simulation, after which the new sensor was manufactured. A sensor capable of measuring the thickness of a non-uniformly Cr-coating rod was selected through an experiment evaluating the performance of the manufactured sensor. This was done using the impedance-difference of a Cr-coating rod and a Zr alloy rod. The possibility of evaluation of the Cr coating thickness was confirmed by comparing the experimental results with the selected sensor and the signals of the measured Cr-coating rod. All simulation results were verified experimentally.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.2584-2594
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• 2024

A novel approach to incorporating oxide formers into ferritic ODS production has been developed using the co-precipitation technique. This method enables the tailored design of complex nano-oxides, integrated during Mechanical Alloying (MA) and precipitated during Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) consolidation. Findings illustrate that co-precipitation effectively produces nano-powders with customised compositions, enriching Y, Ti, and Zr in the ferritic grade to condition subsequent oxide precipitation. While the addition of Y-Ti-Zr-O nano-oxides did not prevent the formation of Y-Al-O and Al-containing nano-oxides, these were refined thanks to the presence of well-dispersed Zr. Additionally, the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) parameters were optimised to tailor the bimodal grain size distribution of the ODS steels, aiming for favourable strength-to-ductility ratios. Comprehensive microstructural analyses were performed using SEM, EDS, EBSD, and TEM techniques, alongside mechanical assessments involving microtensile tests conducted at room temperature and small punch tests carried out at room temperature, 300 ℃, and 500 ℃. The outcomes yielded promising findings, showcasing similar or better performance with conventionally manufactured ODS steels. This reinforces the effectiveness and success of this innovative approach.

• 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 $1500^{\circ}C$.

• Clean Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2018

In this study, Material life cycle evaluation was performed to analyze the environmental impact characteristics of TiN-Zr membrane manufacturing process. The software of MLCA was Gabi. Through this, environmental impact assessment was performed for each process. Transition metal nitrides have been researched extensively because of their properties. Among these, TiN has the most attention. TiN is a ceramic materials which possess the good combination of physical and chemical properties, such as high melting point, high hardness, and relatively low specific gravity, high wear resistance and high corrosion resistance. With these properties, TiN plays an important role in functional materials for application in separation hydrogen from fossil fuel. Precursor TiN was synthesized by sol-gel method and zirconium was coated by ball mill method. The metallurgical, physical and thermodynamic characteristics of the membranes were analyzed by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermo Gravimetry/Differential Thermal Analysis (TG/DTA), Brunauer, Emmett, Teller (BET) and Gas Chromatograph System (GP). As a result of characterization and normalization, environmental impacts were 94% in MAETP (Marine Aquatic Ecotoxicity), 2% FAETP (Freshwater Aquatic Ecotoxicity), 2% HTP (Human Toxicity Potential). TiN fabrication process appears to have a direct or indirect impact on the human body. It is believed that the greatest impact that HTP can have on human is the carcinogenic properties. This shows that electricity use has a great influence on ecosystem impact. TiN-Zr was analyzed in Eco-Indicator '99 (EI99) and CML 2001 methodology.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2174-2181
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• 2024

In this work, Sr_0.5Zr₂(PO₄)₃-SmPO₄ dual-phase ceramics were prepared via in-situ synthesis process, which is a potential novel nuclear waste form for immobilizing the fission product ⁹⁰Sr and the trivalent actinide radionuclides in high-level waste (HLW). And the preparation technology, microstructure and chemical durability of Sr_0.5Zr₂(PO₄)₃-SmPO₄ dual-phase ceramics were systematically investigated. It was confirmed that the optimum microwave-sintering temperature (1050 ℃) and heat preservation time (1.5 h) is estimated by Archimedes method. Besides, the as-prepared samples that were consisted of strontium zirconium phosphate (SrZP) and monazite showed the remarkable densification, in which the two crystalline phases were intermixed well with each other. Meanwhile, the formation and evolution of microstructure was also consistent with the variational rule of Sr_0.5Zr₂(PO₄)₃/SmPO₄, indicating that there was not mutual reaction during the in-situ synthesis process. The PCT and MCC-1 experimental results demonstrated that the elemental normalized leaching rates of tested samples are all at a low level (LR_Sr ~10^-4 g·m^-2·d^-1, LR_Zr ~10^-8-10^-6 g·m^-2·d^-1, LR_Sm ~10^-7-10^-5 g·m^-2·d^-1 and LR_P ~10^-4 g·m^-2·d^-1). It is indicated that Sr_0.5Zr₂(PO₄)₃-SmPO₄ dual-phase ceramics possesses excellent chemical durability for HLW disposal.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.260-264
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• 2011

Zirconia ($ZrO_2$) is a crystalline dioxide of zirconium. Dental zirconia blocks for CAD/CAM are usually fabricated with powders of tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (TZP) stabilized with 3mol% yttria. Because of its mechanical properties similar to those of metals and color similar to tooth, it is evaluated to attain the two purposes at a time, strength and aesthetic in prosthetic dentistry. The ability of transformation of Y-TZP from tetragonal to monoclinic helps to prevent crack propagation and contributes the increase of strength and fracture toughness. Two different types of blocks, soft and hard, are used to prepare the zirconia frameworks. The fuzzy-sintered block is difficult in machining, so pre-sintered soft 3Y-TZP block is usually used to mill by computer aided machining.