• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.12
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• pp.818-824
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• 2019

In this study, the direct water quenching technique is applied to validate the applicability of direct water quenching as a cooling method in the hot stamping process of 3.2 mm thick boron steel sheet. Cooling performance of conventional die quenching and direct water quenching is compared. Higher cooling rate is obtained by hot stamping with direct water quenching compared to die quenching. As the flow rate of cooling water increases, the cooling rate increases, and a high cooling rate of 71 ℃/s is achieved under flow rate conditions of 0.8 L/min. Through direct water quenching, the cooling time required for sufficient cooling of the sheet is reduced. Full martensitic microstructure is obtained under flow rate condition of 0.8 L/min. Hardness increases with increasing flow rate. From these results, it is verified that the direct water quenching is applicable to the hot stamping of thick boron steel sheet.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.12
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• pp.693-700
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• 2020

Direct water quenching technique can be used in hot stamping process to obtain higher cooling rate compared to that of the normal die cooling method. In the direct water quenching process, setting proper water flow rate in consideration of material thickness and the size of the area directly cooled in the component is important to ensure uniform microstructure and mechanical properties. In this study, to derive proper water flow rate conditions that can achieve uniform microstructure and mechanical properties, microstructure and hardness distribution in various water flow rate conditions are measured for 3.2 mm thick boron steel sheet. Hardness distribution is uniform under the flow condition of 1.5 L/min or higher. However, due to the lower cooling rate in that area, the lower flow conditions result in a drastic decrease in hardness in some areas in the hot-stamped part, resulting in low martensite fraction. From these results, it is found that the selection of proper water flow rate is an important factor in hot stamping with direct water quenching process to ensure uniform mechanical properties.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.257-270
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• 2011

A set of reflood tests has been performed using ATLAS, which is a thermal-hydraulic integral effect test facility for the pressurized water reactors of APR1400 and OPR1000. Several important phenomena were observed during the ATLAS LBLOCA reflood tests, including core quenching, down-comer boiling, ECC bypass, and steam binding. The present paper discusses those four topics based on the LB-CL-11 test, which is a best-estimate simulation of the LBLOCA reflood phase for APR1400 using ATLAS. Both homogeneous bottom quenching and inhomogeneous top quenching were observed for a uniform radial power profile during the LB-CL-11 test. From the observation of the down-comer boiling phenomena during the LB-CL-11 test, it was found that the measured void fraction in the lower down-comer region was relatively smaller than that estimated from the RELAP5 code, which predicted an unrealistically higher void generation and magnified the downcomer boiling effect for APR1400. The direct ECC bypass was the dominant ECC bypass mechanism throughout the test even though sweep-out occurred during the earlier period. The ECC bypass fractions were between 0.2 and 0.6 during the later test period. The steam binding phenomena was observed, and its effect on the collapsed water levels of the core and down-comer was discussed.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 1992

The inhibitory effects of mercury ions on the growth of barley seedlings were studied and the distribution of metal elements in the organs of treated plants was investigated by using synchrotron radiation induced X-ray emission (SRIXE). Although the treatment of mercury ions caused growth inhibition, the mercury-specific increase in variable fluorescence and the abolishment of energy-dependent quenching in broken barley chloroplasts as shown by Moon et at. (1992) were not observed in the leaves of growth-inhibited seedlings. Instead the treatment of mercury decreased Fmax and Fo values. However, Fmax/Fo ratio and photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching coefficients were not affected significantly. By SRIXE analysis of $10\mu\textrm{m}$ mercury chloride treated seedlings, accumulation of mercury in roots was observed after 1 hour of treatment and similar concentration was sustained for 48 hours. Relative contents of mercury was high in roots and underground nodes where seeds were attachedl but was very low in leaves. Iron and zinc were also distributed mainly in the lower parts of the seedlings. However after 72 hours of treatment the contents of these metals in roots decreased and their distribution became more uniform, which may lead to death of the plants. These results suggest that the observed inhibitory effects on barley seedlings upto 48 hours after the treatment is not due to direct damages in the photosynthetic apparatus, but due to its accumulation in roots and the consequent retardation of the growth of barley seedlings. The decrease in Fmax and Fo is probably due to the decrease in chlorophyll and protein contents caused by the retardation of growth. The observed slow expansion of primary leaves could be also explained by the retardation of growth, but the fluorescence induction pattern from the leaves did not show characteristic symptoms of leaves under water stress.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.349-356
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• 2001

Phenomenon of direct contact condensation (DCC) heat transfer between steam and water is characterized by the transport of heat and mass through a moving steam/water interface. Since the DCC heat transfer provides some advantageous features in the viewpoint of enhanced heat transfer, it is widely applied to the diversified industries. This study proposes a simple condensation model on the stable steam jets discharging into a quenching tank with subcooled water from a single horizontal pipe for the prediction of the steam jet shapes. The model was derived from the mass, momentum and energy equations as well as thermal balance equation with condensing characteristics at the steam/water interface for the axi-symmetric coordinates. The extremely large heat transfer rate at the steam/water interface was reflected in the effective thermal conductivity estimated from the previous experimental results. The results were compared with the experimental ones. The predicted steam jet shape(i. e. radius and length) by the model was increasing as the steam mass flux and the pool temperature were increasing, which was similar to the trend observed in the experiment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.575-602
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• 2009

In the wake of the Three Mile Island accident, vigorous research efforts were initiated to acquire a basic knowledge of the progression and consequences of accidents that involve a substantial degree of core degradation and melting. The primary emphasis of this research was placed on containment integrity, with: i) hydrogen combustion-detonation, ii) steam explosion, iii) direct containment heating (DCH), and iv) melt attack on the BWR Mark-I containment shell identified as energetic processes that could lead to early containment failure (i.e., within the first 24 hours of the accident). Should the core melt fail the reactor vessel, then non-condensable gas production from Molten Core-Concrete Interaction (MCCI) was identified as a mechanism that could fail the containment by pressurization over the long term. One signification question that arose as part of this investigation was the effectiveness of water in terminating an MCCI by flooding the interacting masses from above, thereby quenching the molten core debris and rendering it permanently coolable. Successful quenching of the core melt would prevent basemat melt through, as well as continued containment pressurization by non-condensable gas production, and so the accident progression would be successfully terminated without release of radioactivity to the environment. Based on these potential merits, ex-vessel corium coolability has been the focus of extensive research over the last 20 years as a potential accident management strategy for current plants. In addition, outcomes from this research have impacted the accident management strategies for the Gen III+LWR plant designs that are currently being deployed around the world. This paper provides: i) an historical overview of corium coolability research, ii) summarizes the current status of research in this area, and iii) highlights trends in severe accident management strategies that have evolved based on the findings from this work.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.59-62
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• 2015

We investigated photo-induced electron transfer (PET) in a dye-labeled peptide, fluorophore-Ala-Gly-Gln-Tyr, employing time-resolved fluorescence. As an effort to develop new functional dyes, we studied an acriflavine derivative for the electron-acceptor in the excited state from tyrosine, an electrondonor in the ground-state. The pH dependence of the fluorescence lifetime of the model peptide indicates that electron transfer between the excited dye and tyrosine occurs when the tyrosine is deprotonated. The proton-coupled electron transfer appears to be sequential rather than concerted. We also report direct time measurements on the end-to-end loop formation processes of the peptide in water.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.21-30
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• 1991

Microstructural analysis was conducted to observe the effect of aging treatments in a Cr-Mn austenitic stainless steel containing nitrogen, and the amount, size, shape and distribution of precipitates were investigated. It was found that on water quenching from $1000^{\circ}C$ after holding 3 h at that temperature, the steel contained no precipitates observable by optical microscopy. Precipitation of phases begins at places most favorable for the formation of nuclei-in the boundaries of grains and twins. Precipitates were studied in detail by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Chemical compositions of precipitates were examined by the use of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) together with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis. Also chromium depletion adjacent to grain boundary precipitates was investigated by the use of Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for a direct examination of the fracture surface chemistry.