Along This paper deals with research on firearm barrel processing and aims to improve firearm performance, accuracy, and machinability. The barrel is one of the key parts of a firearm and has a direct impact on shaping the trajectory of ammunition. In particular, durability and reliability are required due to the enormous heat generated as the bullet passes through. In this study, experiments were conducted under the processing conditions used in barrel processing to identify and analyze the characteristics. Various technologies and methods were investigated and analyzed. To achieve this, the cutting force generated during conventional barrel processing was measured to determine the level of stress on the material. In addition, we determined the suitability of tools and cutting conditions used in metal processing to identify conditions that can maximize productivity. This paper is expected to contribute to improving firearm performance by suggesting a plan to optimize processing conditions to the firearms manufacturing industry. Additionally, it can be used as a reference for barrel processing by other researchers.

본 연구는 딸기의 삽목 육묘 시 묘소질을 향상시키고 품질을 증진시키기 위한 지베렐린 효과를 검증하기 위해 수행되었다. 품종은 ‘설향’을 대상으로 하였고, 삽목 시 삽수의 기부를 30, 60분간 GA3 50, 100, 150mg·L-1에 침지 처리하고 증류수 침 지를 대조구로 두었다. 정식 시 묘소질 조사 결과 엽수와 SPAD 값은 지베렐린 침지시간이 길수록 증가하였고, 초장, 엽병장, 엽장, 엽폭, 엽면적은 침지시간과 농도 간의 상호작용에 따라 유의하게 값이 변하였다. 관부직경은 같은 농도라 할지라도 침지시간에 따른 차이가 나타났으며 30분, 100mg·L-1 처리를 제외하고 모두 직경이 8.0mm 이상으로 우량한 묘가 생성되 었으며, T/R률은 30분, 50mg·L-1 처리에서 유의하게 작아 식 물체 활력이 가장 우수했다. 양자수율은 농도가 150mg·L-1일 때 저조하였고, 지베렐린 처리 농도가 높을수록 양자수율이 감소하는 경향을 나타냈다. NPQ는 대조구 대비 30분, 150mg·L-1 처리에서 유의하게 작아 묘 스트레스 감소에 효과 가 있었다. 항산화물 함량은 30분, 50mg·L-1 처리와 60분, 150mg·L-1 처리에서 높게 나타났고, 정식 후 생육조사 결과 화아분화 정도에 미치는 지베렐린의 부정적 영향은 없었다. 따라서, ‘설향’ 딸기의 삽목 육묘 시 지베렐린 처리는 정식묘 양성에 효과가 있는 것을 확인할 수 있었으며, 이때 대조구 대 비 생육 증진 및 품질 향상을 위해서는 삽수 기부를 50mg·L-1 의 지베렐린에 30분 침지처리하는 것이 보다 적정한 것으로 판단되었다.

본 연구는 국내육성 수국 ‘Morning Star’와 ‘Pink Ari’에 있어서 삽목배지 및 삽목시기가 발근에 미치는 영향을 조사하 기 위해 수행하였다. 삽목배지 실험에서 코코피트, 펄라이트, 피트모스 단용과 코코피트+코코칩을 혼용 처리하였으며, 7월 15일에 ‘Morning Star’의 정아에서 삽수를 채취하여 삽목하 였다. 삽목시기 실험은 4월, 6월, 8월에 정아를 채취하여 삽 목하였다. 삽목배지로써 코코피트와 코코칩의 혼용 배지는 발 근에 가장 부정적인 영향을 미쳤다. 다른 배지들은 발근율과 뿌리길이에서 통계적인 차이가 없었으나, 펄라이트와 피트모 스보다 코코피트에서 뿌리수가 더 많았다. 따라서 국내육성 수국 ‘Morning Star’의 삽목은 코코피트를 배지로 사용하는 것이 발근에 가장 효과적인 것으로 나타났다. 삽목시기에 관 한 실험에서, ‘Morning Star’의 발근율은 삽목시기와 상관없 이 83~90%로 통계적인 유의성이 없었으나, 뿌리수와 생체 중은 4월과 8월보다 6월에 삽목했을 때, 가장 증가하였다. 그 리고, 신초의 길이, 엽수 등의 줄기의 생육도 6월에 삽목한 처 리에서 가장 좋았다. ‘Pink Ari’의 삽목시기 실험에서 발근율 은 4월 삽목보다 6월과 8월 삽목 처리에서 높았고, 뿌리수와 뿌리 생체중은 6월 삽목처리에서 각각 61.4개와 0.31g으로 가장 양호하였다. 또한 엽수와 신초의 길이 등 지상부 생육도 전반적으로 4월과 8월 삽목보다 6월 삽목처리에서 가장 좋았 다. 따라서, 국내육성 수국 ‘Morning Star’와 ‘Pink Ari’는 4 월과 8월보다 6월에 삽목하는 것이 발근과 지상부 생육에 효 과적인 것으로 나타났다.

본 연구는 토양 용토, 호르몬 종류 및 농도, 잎의 모양 차이 에 따른 넓은산꼬리풀의 삽목 발근을 확인하기 위하여 수행되 었다. 토양 용토는 단일 원예용상토와 녹소토 그리고 원예용 상토:녹소토(1:1) 혼합용토를 사용하였다. 호르몬 종류는 IBA 와 NAA를 사용했으며 각각 무처리, 100, 500, 1000㎎·L-1를 처리했다. 잎의 모양은 잎 두매가 온전하게 달린 삽수, 잎 두 매를 반으로 자른 삽수 그리고 잎 한매를 반으로 자른 삽수를 조제하여 사용했다. 용토에 따른 발근은 녹소토를 단일로 사 용한 처리에서 가장 우수하게 나타났으며 원예용상토를 단일 로 사용한 처리에서 발근이 저조하였다. 호르몬에 따른 발근 은 IBA와 NAA에 따라 큰 차이가 나타나지 않았으나, 생물의 biomass를 나타내는 건물중이 NAA 보다 IBA에서 높게 나 타난 것으로 보아 IBA가 더 효과적인 것으로 판단된다. 잎 모 양에 따른 발근은 잎 한장을 반으로 자른 삽수가 가장 높은 생육이 나타났으며 온전한 잎 두장이 붙어있는 처리는 생육이 가장 낮게 나타난 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 따라서 넓은산꼬리 풀은 삽목시 반으로 잘린 잎이 한장만 붙어있는 삽수를 저농 도의 IBA에 침지 후 녹소토에 꽂는 것이 삽목에 효과적일 것 으로 보여 진다.

The first commercial operation of Kori-1, which commenced in April 1978, was permanently shut down in June 2017, with plans for immediate dismantling. The decommissioning process of nuclear power plants generates a substantial amount of radioactive waste and poses significant radiation exposure risks to workers. Radioactivity is widely distributed throughout the primary coolant system of the reactor, including the reactor pressure vessel (RPV), steam generator (SG), and pressurizer. In particular, the SG has a considerable size and complex geometry, weighing approximately 326 tons and having a volume of 400 m3. The SG tubes are known to contain high levels of radioactivity, leading to significant radiation exposure to workers during the dismantling process. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the workers’ radiation exposure during the cutting of SG tubes, which account for approximately 95% of the total radiation dose in the SG. Firstly, the CRUDTRAN code, developed to predict the behavior of soluble and particulate corrosion products in a PWR primary coolant system, is used to estimate the radioactive inventory in the SG tubes. Based on decontamination factors (DF) obtained in the SG tubes through overseas experience, the expected reduction in radioactivity during the Kori-1 reactor’s full-system decontamination (FSD) process is considered in the CRUDTRAN results. These results are then processed to estimate the radioactivity in both the straight and bent sections of the tubes. Subsequently, these radioactivity values are used as inputs for the MicroShield code to calculate the worker radiation exposure during the cutting of both straight and bent sections of the tubes. The cutting process assumes that each SG tube section is cut in a separate, shielded area, and the radiation exposure is assessed, taking into account factors such as cutting equipment, cutting length, working hours, and working distance. This study evaluates the worker radiation exposure during the cutting of SG tubes, which are expected to have a significantly high radioactivity due to chalk river unidentified deposit (CRUD). This assessment also considers the reduction in radioactivity within the steam generator tubes resulting from the FSD process. Consequently, it enables an examination of how worker radiation exposure varies based on the extent of FSD. This study may provide valuable insights for determining the scope and extent of the FSD process and the development of shielding methods during the dismantling of SG tubes in the future.

Thermal cutting processes that can be applied to dismantling nuclear power plants include oxygen cutting, plasma cutting, and laser cutting. According to the global trend, research projects are being carried out in various countries to upgrade laser cutting, and many studies are also being conducted in Korea with plans to apply laser cutting processes when dismantling nuclear power plants. However, with the current technology level of the laser cutting process, the maximum thickness that can be cut is limited to 250 mm. Therefore, in this study, a laser-oxygen hybrid cutting process was implemented by adding a laser heat source to the oxygen cutting process that can cut carbon steel with a thickness of 250 mm or more (RV, beam, column, beam, etc.) when dismantling the nuclear power plant. This has the advantage of improving the cutting speed and reducing the cutting width Kerf compared to conventional oxygen cutting. In this research, the laser-oxygen hybrid cutting process consisted of laser cutting to which Raycus’ 8 kW Fiber Laser power source was applied and oxygen cutting to which hydrogen was applied with Fuel Gas. The oxygen torch was placed perpendicular to the test piece, and the laser head was irradiated by tilting 35° to 70°. The effects of cutting directions on quality and performance were studied, and cutting paths were selected by comparing cutting results. Thereafter, it was confirmed that there is an optimal laser output power according to the cutting thickness by studying the effect on the cutting surface quality by changing only the laser output power under the same cutting conditions. The results of this study are expected to be helpful in the remote cutting process using laser-oxygen hybrid cutting when dismantling domestic nuclear power plants in the future.

As the decommissioning of domestic nuclear power plants (Gori Unit 1 and Wolseong Unit 1) becomes more visible, many research projects are being conducted to safely and economically decommissioning of domestic nuclear power plants (NPPs). After permanent shutdown, decommissioning of NNPs proceeds through decontamination, cutting of main equipment, waste disposal and site restoration stages. And various technologies are applied at each stage. In particular, remote cutting of neutron induced structures (RV, RVI, etc.) is a technology used in developed countries in the cutting stage, and remote cutting has been evaluated as a core technology for minimizing workers’ radiation exposure. Generally, remote cutting technologies are divided into mechanical/thermal/electrical cutting. Among various thermal cutting technologies, plasma arc cutting (PAC) is more economical and easily to remote control than other cutting technologies, and is also effective in cutting STS304 plates. PAC is a thermal cutting technology that melts the base material at the cutting area with a plasma arc heat source and removes melted material by blowing it out with cutting gas. The cutting quality depends on the stand-off distance and power (current), material thickness, cutting speed, etc., while double arcing will occur if the cutting conditions are not suitable. A monitoring system that can confirm double arcing during remote cutting is necessary because double arcing can reduce cutting quality, increase secondary waste (increase kerf and aerosol), and cause non-cutting. In this study, we used an ultrahigh-speed camera equipped with a band-pass filter to capture clear arc shapes, and measured voltage waveforms with a data acquisition system. We studied a monitoring method that can confirm the occurrence of double arcing by synchronizing the obtained arc shape and voltage waveform, and the effects of double arcing on the STS304 plates. The results of this study are expected to be helpful in the development of the remote cutting process using plasma arc cutting when decommissioning of domestic NPPs.

Kori Unit 1, pressurized water reactor, is the Korea’s first commercial nuclear power plant. It successfully generated electricity for a period of 30 years, commencing from April 19, 1978. Following its approval for continued operation in 2008, Kori Unit 1 continued to operate for an additional 9 years, resulting in a total operational period of 39 years. On June 18, 2017, Kori Unit 1 was permanently shut down. Since then, Korea is actively preparing for the decommissioning of nuclear power plant. During the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, the heavy components such as reactor, steam generator, pressurizer, reactor coolant pump located in the containment building should be taken out of the containment building. To take out heavy components from the containment building, pipes connected to heavy component should be cut. There are numerous pipes connected to the heavy component, each with varying dimensions and material. Each pipe has a different level of contamination depending on its use. In this study, optimal cutting method of pipe connected to steam generator, one of the heavy components of nuclear power plant, is proposed during the decommissioning of Kori unit 1. In case of pipe connected to Kori unit 1 steam generator, material is stainless steel or carbon steel. These pipes have varying inner diameter, ranging from 0.6 cm to 74 cm, and thickness ranging from 0.15 cm to 7.1 cm. These pipes are classified as low and intermediate level waste (LILW) or very low level waste (VLLW). Because characteristics of pipes are different, each pipe optimal cutting methods are proposed differently considering material, dimension, contamination level, cutting cost, cutting time, and the management of secondary waste. As a result, the cutting method for pipe of reactor coolant system is selected to orbital cutting. The cutting method of main steam pipe and main feedwater pipe is selected to oxygen cutting. In case of other small pipes, cutting method is selected to circular saw.

Prepreg is an abbreviation of Preimpregnated Materials. It is a sheet-type product in which a matrix is ​​impregnated with reinforced fiber. The prepreg has very different properties depending on the orientation of the fibers and the weaving method, and the orientation of the fibers plays an important role in determining the mechanical strength of CFRP. Short and randomly oriented reinforcing fibers show isotropy, while long, unidirectional reinforcing fibers exhibit anisotropic behavior and are strongest when the applied load is parallel to the reinforcing fibers. Classification by the direction of the fiber is divided into unidirectional, orthogonal, multiaxial, and the like. Uni-directional refers to a state in which almost all fibers in the fabric are aligned in one direction. When the fibers used as reinforcing materials are aligned in one direction, the fibers are used in a straight line without twisting during the fabric production process, and there is an advantage in that the amount of fibers used as a whole can be minimized. A uni-directional prepreg exhibits different cutting forces depending on the stacking orientation angle. In this experiment, the optimal cutting conditions for a uni-directional prepreg 45 degree orientation angle specimen are presented.

This study was conducted to investigate optimal conditions for cutting propagation of the strawberry cultivar “Sulhyang” through the collection methods of cuttings (runners tips), leaf number of cuttings, and cutting time. Cuttings were collected from the mother plant in the nursery bed (MP) and plants after fruit harvest (HP); the leaf number of cuttings was 0, 1, and 2, and the cutting time was at one-week intervals from June 4 to July 9. The survival rates for MP and HP cuttings were notably high, reaching 99.5% and 98.7%, respectively, but no significant difference was found. The number of roots were higher in MP cuttings, and there was no significant difference in crown and leaf growth. The fruit yields were 419.2 and 428.4 g, for MP and HP cuttings, respectively. The survival rates according to leaf number of cuttings were 98.1% and 98.3% for 1 and 2 remaining leaves, respectively, and remarkably lower at 25.3% for no remaining leaves. The root numbers were 26.0 and 26.3 for 1 and 2 remaining leaves, respectively, compared with 23.5 for no remaining leaves, with no significant differences in crown and leaf growth. The fruit yields were 424.4 and 421.5 g for 1 and 2 remaining leaves, respectively, and 396.7 g for no remaining leaves. The survival rates according to cutting time was over 97.2% in all cutting time without any difference in each treatment. The root, shoot, and crown of the nursery plant before planting showed the best growth in the cuttings on June 4 and 11, resulting in the highest fruit yields of 433.3 and 426.4 g, respectively, with the lowest yields at 384.5 g for cutting time on July 9. Both MP and HP materials proved suitable for strawberry cuttings. The optimal leaf number for cuttings was at least 1, and the optimal cutting time in Gyeongnam area was evaluated as around June 4-11.

Corn silage is extensively utilized in ruminant feeding on a global scale, with substantial research efforts directed towards enhancing its nutritional worth and managing moisture content. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of normal cutting height and elevated cutting height on whole-crop corn silage. Corn was harvested at heights of 15 cm and 45 cm above the ground, respectively, 45 days after heading. The harvested corn was cut into 2-3 cm lengths and packed into 20-liter plastic silos in triplicate. The results showed that dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of C45 were significantly higher than those of the control, while the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was significantly lower in C45 (p<0.05). The C15 had higher yields than C45 (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the total digestible nutrients (TDN) yield of whole-crop corn silage. The increase in cutting height resulted in a larger change in moisture content and NDF per centimeter. After 60 days-ensiling, C45 showed significantly lower NH3-N concentrations. Moreover, C45 had significantly higher lactic acid concentration, lactic acid/acetic acid ratio, and lactic acid bacteria count compared to the control. Mold was not detected and the yeast count was less than 2 log10 cfu/g fresh matter in both control and C45. In summary, C45 improved the feeding value and fermentation quality of whole-crop corn silage at the expense of forage productivity.

In this study, in order to confirm the machining characteristics of AISI 1020 CD-Bar, cutting was performed after strength measurement, and surface roughness analysis was performed according to cutting conditions. Tensile strength was reduced by about 27.7% compared to AISI 1045 material, and Rockwell hardness HRC was reduced by 46.7%. The surface roughness measurement after cutting was divided into roughing, semi-finishing and finishing turning. In particular, in finishing machining, the best surface roughness was confirmed when the cutting speed was 150m/min and the depth of cut was 0.6mm based on the feed rate of 0.05mm/rev.

Among the twenty six nuclear power plants in Korea, twenty four plants are currently in operation excluding the two permanently shut-down Kori #1 and Wolsung #1 plants. The decommissioning process includes many tasks such as cutting, decontamination, disposal and treatment. Among the tasks, because cutting is one of the tasks performed close to the target structure, there is a possibility for the workers to be exposed excessively to the radiation. There are representative large structures such as steam generators, nuclear reactors, reactor coolant pump, and pressurizer, made of metals, and radioactive concrete, made of concrete. Especially, compared to the trend of research to manage the radiation exposure of steam generators that are directly connected to pressurizers, the trend of research to manage the radiation exposure of pressurizers to workers is not satisfactory. Moreover, although there have been many studies on radioactive concrete, the studies to manage the radiation exposure to workers with a systematic cutting scenario are insufficient. In this study, radioactive concrete, a representative large structure made of concrete, was selected as the target for evaluation. The conditions for evaluation were cutting speed (1~10 m2/hr) and the time for cutting (permanent shutdown~30 years after the shutdown). A cutting scenario was developed by applying the situation for abrasive decontamination beforehand and Hot-to-Cold and Cold-to-Hot, and effort was made to derive a reasonable plan. The evaluation result derived were hourly radiation dose distribution of 1.19~0.103 mSv/hour and 1.29~0.0113 mSv/hour for a scenario without abrasive decontamination (in the order of Hot to Cold, Cold to Hot), and hourly radiation dose distribution of 0.547~0.0479 mSv/hour and 0.608~0.0522 mSv/hour for a scenario with abrasive decontamination. The maximum value of collective dose derived was 1.54E+04 mSv at the cutting time of permanent shutdown with cutting speed of 1 m2/hour in the Cold to Hot scenario before abrasive decontamination, and the minimum value derived was 5.15E+01 mSv at the cutting time of 30-year after the permanent shutdown with cutting speed of 10 m2/hour in the Hot to Cold scenario after abrasive decontamination.

Laser cutting has been recognized as one of key techniques in dismantling nuclear power plants as it has several advantages such as a remote operation and a reduced secondary waste. However, it generates a significant amount of aerosols that can pose a health risk to workers and further induce environmental pollution during the cutting operation. Thus, understanding the aerosol characteristics generated by the laser cutting is crucial for implementing an effective cutting operation and reducing the exposure to these hazardous particles. In this work, we established a methodology to collect the aerosols and investigate their properties in the laser cutting operation. We built an integrated laser cutting system for aerosol analyses, consisting of a high-power laser cutting module, a metal sample holder, an aerosol collector, and a closed chamber. We expect that this system will offer an opportunity for in-depth understanding of the aerosol properties, by connecting it with desired type of aerosol analysis platforms, and further safe dismantling operation of the nuclear power plants.

Laser cutting has many advantages, including high-speed cutting potential, no reaction forces, narrow kerf widths, ease of remote control, and more. This makes it the next generation cutting technology for nuclear decommissioning. For this reason, various groups in countries with nuclear power plants have been working on applying laser cutting to nuclear decommissioning. Our group has also been developing in-air and underwater laser cutting technologies. Previous research has focused on efficiently cutting thicker steels. To accomplish this, a cutting head with a long focusing element with a focal length of 600 mm was utilized. A long focusing head is advantageous for cutting thick objects at high speeds because it can maintain a high power density over a long distance. However, with such a long focused beam, the residual laser power that remains after passing through the target object can cut or damage other unwanted objects located behind the target. Utilizing a short focused element can solve this problem, but if the focal length is too short, the cutting capability will be reduced. In this work, we developed and applied a cutting head that utilizes a focused element with a short focal length of 300 mm. Cutting tests with this head allowed us to cut 10-60 mm thick stainless steel plates at a laser power of 6 kW. We also obtained the maximum cutting speed and kerf width for each thickness while increasing the laser power by 1 kW from 1 to 6 kW. The results obtained in this work are expected to be utilized for safe cutting in future nuclear decommissioning applications.

During the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, the structures must be dismantled to a disposal size. Thermal cutting methods are used to reduce metal structures to a disposal size. When metal is cut using thermal cutting methods, aerosols of 1 μm or less are generated. To protect workers from aerosols in the work environment during cutting, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of the aerosols generated during the cutting process. In this study, changes in aerosol characteristics in the working environment were observed during metal thermal cutting. The cutting was done using the plasma arc cutting method. To simulate the aerosols generated during metal cutting in the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant, a non-radioactive stainless steel plate with a thickness of 20 mm was cut. The cutting condition was set to plasma current: 80 A cutting speed: 100 mm/min. The aerosols generated during cutting were measured using a highresolution aerosol measurement device called HR-ELPI+ (Dekati®). The HR-ELPI+ is an instrument that can measure the range of aerodynamic diameter from 0.006 μm to 10 μm divided into 500 channels. Using the HR-ELPI+, the number concentration of aerosols generated during the cutting process was measured in real-time. We measured the aerosols generated during cutting at regular intervals from the beginning of cutting. The analyzed aerosol concentration increased almost 10 times, from 5.22×106 [1/cm3] at the start of cutting to 6.03×107 [1/cm3] at the end. To investigate the characteristics of the distribution, we calculated the Count Median Aerodynamic Diameter (CMAD), which showed that the overall diameter of the aerosol increased from 0.0848 μm at the start of cutting to 0.1247 μm at the end of the cutting. The calculation results were compared with the concentration by diameter over time. During the cutting process, particles with a diameter of 0.06 μm or smaller were continuously measured. In comparison, particles with a diameter of 0.2 μm or larger were found to increase in concentration after a certain time following the start of cutting. In addition, when the aerosol was measured after the cutting process had ended, particles with a diameter of 0.06 μm or less, which were measured during cutting, were hardly detected. These results show that the nucleation-sized aerosols are generated during the cutting process, which can explain the measurement of small particles at the beginning of cutting. In addition, it can be speculated that the generated aerosols undergo a process of growth by contact with the atmosphere. This study presents the results of real-time aerosol analysis during the plasma arc cutting of stainless steel. This study shows the generation of nucleation-sized particles at the beginning of the cutting process and the subsequent increase in the aerosol particle size over time at the worksite. The analysis results can characterize the size of aerosol particles that workers may inhale during the dismantling of nuclear power plants.

Laser cutting technology capable of remote cutting is being developed to reduce radiation exposure to workers and minimize secondary waste generation when dismantling highly polluted nuclear power plant facilities (reactors, pressurizers, steam generators, coolant pumps, etc.). Laser cutting proceeds in air or water, and at this time, secondary products containing radioactive materials are inevitably generated. In air cutting, dust and aerosol are generated, and in underwater cutting, aerosol, water vapor, dispersed particles (colloid, suspension), sediment (dross, sediment), and radioactive waste liquid are generated. Dispersed particles float in the form of fine particles in water, increasing the turbidity of water as cutting progresses, hindering work, and aerosols contain micrometer-sized particles together with water vapor, which can threaten the safety of workers. Particles dispersed in water and aerosol are within 10% of the mass ratio among secondary products, but the volume they occupy is very large, which can have a significant impact on the environment as well as a burden on treatment capacity. Various characterization methods are being developed to diagnose the generation mechanism and physical and chemical properties of laser cutting secondary products in real time and to secure technologies for collecting and removing dispersed particles and aerosols in water. This study introduces a real-time laser cutting secondary product characteristic evaluation method that can identify the key mechanisms of secondary product generation by analyzing the plasma formation process on laser cutting surface and behavior of aerosol, underwater dispersed particles produced by secondary products, as well as physical and chemical properties in real time with various measurement technologies such as Optical Emission Spectrometer (OES), Particle Size Analyzer (PSA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (ICP-TOF-MS).

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has been operating the Post Irradiation Examination Facility (PIEF) for spent fuel. The facility has pools and hot cells for handling and examining fuel assemblies and rods. In the first hot cell, non-destructive tests such as visual inspection, defect detection, oxide layer thickness measurement, and gamma scanning are performed on a full-length fuel rod. Then, the fuel rod is transported to the next hot cell for measuring the rod internal pressure (RIP). After the RIP measurement, the fuel rod is cut by a cutting machine to make samples for destructive tests. Currently, the existing cutting machine is broken, so a new machine needed to be designed and manufactured. The major considerations for designing the cutting machine were convenience of remote handling and decontamination. The machine was modularized and its handling parts were designed to be easily controlled by manipulators. The cover was designed to prevent radioactive contamination of the surrounding area.

The present study investigated the effects of forage cutting and baler mixing on the chemical compositions, fermentation indices, and aerobic stability of whole crop rice (WCR) haylage. The WCR (“Youngwoo”) was harvested at 48.4% dry matter and ensiled into a 300 kg bale silo with forage cutting (whole crop without cutting vs. 5 cm of cutting length). The WCR forages were ensiled without baler mixing process (CON) or with (MIX). The concentrations of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude ash, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber of whole crop rice before ensiling were 48.4, 9.70, 2.57, 6.11, 41.2, and 23.5%, respectively. The forage cutting did not affect the chemical compositions, fermentation indices, microbes, and aerobic stability of WCR haylage (p>0.05). The CON haylages tend to be higher in NDF content (p<0.10). The MIX haylages had lower in lactate (p=0.019), and lactate:acetate ratio (p<0.001). The MIX haylages had higher in lactic acid bacteria (LAB) (p=0.010). Therefore, this study concluded that the fermentation quality of WCR haylage improved by baler mixing, but had no effects by forage cutting.