• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2016

To investigate the effect of long-term thermal aging on the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of weldment made of nickel base alloy and its weld metal, an accelerated heat treatment was applied to simulate the process of long-term thermal aging in the operating condition of nuclear power plant. A representative nickel-based weldment with Alloy 600 and Alloy 182 was fabricated and heat-treated at $400^{\circ}C$ for 1,713 h and 3,427 h to simulate the thermal aging for the period equivalent to 15 and 30 years in operating pressurized water reactors, respectively. The microstructural and mechanical characteristics were analyzed by using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers microhardness measurement. Changes were observed in precipitation behavior and microhardness of each specimen, and these changes were mainly attributed to the change in precipitated morphology and residual stress across the weld during the thermal aging process.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.5A
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• pp.417-424
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• 2010

The dynamic properties of laminated rubber bearings used as isolators in structures could be significantly deteriorated because of the change of microstructure in rubber caused by thermal aging. As a result, a catastrophic failure of bridges and buildings unexpectedly occurs when they are subjected to earthquake attack. Here, the dynamic properties of laminated rubber bearings before and after different of compression-shear loading and repeated cycles loadings, ultimated failure test with thermal aging were first measured and compared to each other. The experimental results, the effects of thermal aging on the shear stiffness, energy absorption, and equivalent damping coefficient of laminated rubber bearings are investigated. It is found that the deterioration of dynamic properties of laminated rubber bearings caused by thermal aging is significant and should be taken into account in designing rubber bearings.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.402-403
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• 2009

Accelerated aging tests were conducted under laboratory conditions on two generator stator bars. Electrical stress is applied in No. 1 model stator bar. Electrical and thermal stresses are applied in No. 2 model stator bar. As aging times increased from 0 to 11460h, dissipation factor($tan{\delta}$) test was performed on No. 1 and No.2 model stator bars. The ${\Delta}tan{\delta}$ of No. 1 and No. 2 stator bars increased with increased in aging time.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.58 no.7
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• pp.1375-1379
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• 2009

Insulation tests have been performed on two generator stator bars under accelerated aging under a laboratory environment. Electrical stress was applied to stator bar No.1, and electrical and thermal stresses were applied to stator bar No.2. Nondestructive stator insulation tests including the ac current, dissipation factor($tan{\delta}$), and partial discharge tests have been performed on both bars as the bars were aged for 11460 hours. Experimental test results show that ${\Delta}I$, ${\Delta}tan{\delta}$, and partial discharge of No. 1 and No.2 stator bars increased with increased in aging time. It has been concluded from the test that the stator insulation of the two generators are in good condition.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.2613-2617
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• 2010

Chloroprene is a chlorine substituent of 1,3-butadiene. Butadiene rubber (BR) and chloroprene rubber (CR) composites were thermally aged at 60, 70, 80, and $90^{\circ}C$ for 2 - 185 days in a convection oven and changes of the crosslink densities by the accelerated thermal aging were investigated. The crosslink densities increased as the aging time elapsed and as the aging temperature became higher. Degrees of the crosslink density changes of the BR composite were on the whole larger than those of the CR one except the short-term thermal aging at 60 and $70^{\circ}C$. The crosslink densities abnormally increased after themal aging at high temperatures for a long time. Activation energies for the crosslink density changes of the rubber composites tended to increase with increase of the aging time and the variation showed a local minimum. The activation energies of the CR composite were lower than those of the BR one. The experimental results were explained with a role of ligand of chlorine atom of CR in a zinc complex, steric hindrance by chlorine atom of CR, and oxidation of rubber chain.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.709-731
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• 2022

Loss of fracture resistance due to thermal aging degradation is a potential limiting factor affecting the long-term (80+ year) viability of nuclear reactors. To evaluate the effects of decades of aging in a practical time frame, accelerated aging must be employed prior to mechanical characterization. In this study, a variety of chemically and microstructurally diverse austenitic stainless steels were aged between 0 and 30,000 h at 290-400 ℃ to simulate 0-80+ years of operation. Over 600 static fracture tests were carried out between room temperature and 400 ℃. The results presented include selected J-R curves of each material as well as K_0.2mm fracture toughness values mapped against aging condition and ferrite content in order to display any trends related to those variables. Results regarding differences in processing, optimal ferrite content under light aging, and the relationship between test temperature and Mo content were observed. Overall, it was found that both the ferrite volume fraction and molybdenum content had significant effects on thermal degradation susceptibility. It was determined that materials with >25 vol% ferrite are unlikely to be viable for 80 years, particularly if they have high Mo contents (>2 wt%), while materials less than 15 vol% ferrite are viable regardless of Mo content.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.35-47
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• 2017

Energy efficiency solutions are being pursued as a sustainable approach to reducing energy consumption and related gas emissions across various sectors of the economy. Vacuum Insulation Panel (VIP) is an energy efficient advanced insulation system that facilitates slim but high-performance insulation, based on a porous core material evacuated and encapsulated in a barrier envelope. Although VIP has been applied in buildings for over a decade, it wasn't until recently that efforts have been initiated to propose and adopt a global standard on characterization and testing of VIP. One of the issues regarding VIP is its durability and aging due to pressure and moisture dependent increase of the initial low thermal conductivity with time; more so in building applications. In this paper, the aging of commercially available VIP was investigated experimentally; thermal conductivity was tested in accordance with ISO 8302 standard (guarded hot box method) and long-term durability was estimated based on a non-linear pressure-humidity dependent equation based on study of IEA/ECBCS Annex 39, with the aim of assessing durability of VIP for use in buildings. The center-of-panel thermal conductivity after 25 years based on initial 90% fractile with a confidence level of 90 % for the thermal conductivity (${\lambda}90/90$) ranged from 0.00726-0.00814 (W/m K) for silica core VIP. Significant differences between manufacturer-provided data and measurements of thermal conductivity and internal pressure were observed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.855-864
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• 2013

The dynamic characteristics of natural rubber bearings, which are used as isolator, are dependent on the main rubber's dynamic behaviors and nonlinear properties. Rubber materials tend to undergo an aging process under the influence of mechanical or environmental factors, so they inevitably end up facing damage. A main cause of aging like this is known to be oxidization, which occurs through the heat of reaction at high temperatures. Accordingly, in this study an accelerated thermal aging test was carried out in order to compare the characteristic values of the bearings before and after thermal aging occurs. As a result of this experiment, it was found that a thermal aging phenomenon could have some effects on shear stiffness, energy absorption, and equivalent damping coefficients of the bearings. Furthermore, a deterioration in the dynamic properties of the natural rubber bearings caused by the thermal aging was applied to an actual bridge and then the effects of such thermal aging on the seismic performance of the bridge were also compared and analyzed based on numerical analysis. As a result of this analysis, it was found that the changes in the basic properties of the natural rubber bearings caused by the thermal aging bring only a minor effect on the seismic performance of bridges.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.92-100
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• 2017

Due to the presence of ferrite phase in the finished welds, austenitic stainless steel welds (ASSWs) are considered susceptible to the thermal aging embrittlement during long-term service in light water reactor environment. In this study, the thermal aging embrittlement of typical ASSWs, E308 and ER316L welds, were evaluated after the long-term exposure up to 20,000 h at $400^{\circ}C$, which is considered as an accelerated thermal aging condition. After thermal aging, the decrease of tensile ductility and fracture toughness was observed. The microstructure observation with high resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that spinodal decomposition in ferrite phase of both E308 and ER316L welds would be the main cause of the degradation of mechanical properties. Also, it was shown that the difference of thermal ageing embrittlement between ER316L and E308 welds was significant, such that the reduction of fracture resistance for ER316L weld was much larger than that of E308 weld.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.442-446
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• 2009

Recovery behaviors of unfilled NR, BR, and SBR vulcanizates after aging with a circular deformation were compared to prevent the influence of reinforcing agent. Samples were aged at room temperature, 50, 70, and $90^{\circ}C$ for 10 days. Recovery increased by increasing the measurement time. Instantaneous recoveries less than 1.0 sec were obtained using the recovery variations with the measurement time. For aging at room temperature, difference in the recoveries of the rubber samples was not significant because the aging time was too short. However, for accelerated thermal aging at 50, 70, and $90^{\circ}C$, difference in the recoveries of the rubber samples was significant. Degree of recovery of BR specimen was higher than those of the others, while that of SBR was lowest. However, for accelerated thermal aging at $90^{\circ}C$, recovery of the NR sample was higher than that of the BR one. The initial recovery decreased by increasing the aging temperature and the decrement of SBR was larger than the others. The experimental results were explained with the resilience properties of rubbers and the crosslink density changes by thermal aging.