This study focuses on the development of coatings designed for storage containers used in the management of radioactive waste. The primary objective is to enhance the shielding performance of these containers against either gamma or neutron radiation. Shielding against these types of radiation is essential to ensure the safety of personnel and the environment. In this study, tungsten and boron cabide coating specimens were manufactured using the HVOF (High-Velocity Oxy Fuel) technuqe. These coatings act as an additional layer of protection for the storage containers, effectively absorbing and attenuating gamma and neutron radiation. The fabricated tungsten and boron carbide coating specimens were evaluated using two different testing methods. The first experiment evaluates the effectiveness of a radiation shielding coating on cold-rolled steel surfaces, achieved by applying a mixture of WC (Tungsten Carbide) powders. WC-based coating specimens, featuring different ratios, were prepared and preliminarily assessed for their radiation shielding capabilities. In the gamma-ray shielding test, Cs-137 was utilized as the radiation source. The coating thickness remained constant at 250 μm. Based on the test results, the attenuation ratio and shielding rate for each coated specimen were calculated. It was observed that the gammaray shielding rate exhibited relatively higher shielding performance as the WC content increased. This observation aligns with our findings from the gamma-ray shielding test and underscores the potential benefits of increasing the tungsten content in the coating. In the second experiment, a neutron shielding material was created by applying a 100 μm-thick layer of B4C (Boron Carbide) onto 316SS. The thermal neutron (AmBe) shielding test results demonstrated an approximate shielding rate of 27%. The thermal neutron shielding rate was confirmed to exceed 99.9% in the 1.5 cm thick SiC+B4C bulk plate. This indicates a significant reduction in required volume. This study establishes that these coatings enhance the gamma-ray and neutron shielding effectiveness of storage containers designed for managing radioactive waste. In the future, we plan to conduct a comparative evaluation of the radiation shielding properties to optimize the coating conditions and ensure optimal shielding effectiveness.

Tungsten carbide is widely used in carbide tools. However, its production process generates a significant number of end-of-life products and by-products. Therefore, it is necessary to develop efficient recycling methods and investigate the remanufacturing of tungsten carbide using recycled materials. Herein, we have recovered 99.9% of the tungsten in cemented carbide hard scrap as tungsten oxide via an alkali leaching process. Subsequently, using the recovered tungsten oxide as a starting material, tungsten carbide has been produced by employing a self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) method. SHS is advantageous as it reduces the reaction time and is energy-efficient. Tungsten carbide with a carbon content of 6.18 wt % and a particle size of 116 nm has been successfully synthesized by optimizing the SHS process parameters, pulverization, and mixing. In this study, a series of processes for the highefficiency recycling and quality improvement of tungsten-based materials have been developed.

Recently, high-entropy carbides have attracted considerable attention owing to their excellent physical and chemical properties such as high hardness, fracture toughness, and conductivity. However, as an emerging class of novel materials, the synthesis methods, performance, and applications of high-entropy carbides have ample scope for further development. In this study, equiatomic (Hf-Ti-Ta-Zr-Nb)C high-entropy carbide powders have been prepared by an ultrahigh- energy ball-milling (UHEBM) process with different milling times (1, 5, 15, 30, and 60 min). Further, their refinement behavior and high-entropy synthesis potential have been investigated. With an increase in the milling time, the particle size rapidly reduces (under sub-micrometer size) and homogeneous mixing of the prepared powder is observed. The distortions in the crystal lattice, which occur as a result of the refinement process and the multicomponent effect, are found to improve the sintering, thereby notably enhancing the formation of a single-phase solid solution (high-entropy). Herein, we present a procedure for the bulk synthesis of highly pure, dense, and uniform FCC single-phase (Fm3m crystal structure) (Hf-Ti-Ta-Zr-Nb)C high-entropy carbide using a milling time of 60 min and a sintering temperature of 1,600oC.

Transition metal carbides (TMCs) are used to process difficult-to-cut materials due to the trend of requiring superior wear and corrosion properties compared to those of cemented carbides used in the cutting industry. In this study, TMC (TiC, TaC, Mo2C, and NbC)-based cermets were consolidated by spark plasma sintering at 1,300 oC (60 oCmin) with a pressure of 60 MPa with Co addition. The sintering behavior of TMCs depended exponentially on the function of the sintering exponent. The Mo2C-6Co cermet was fully densified, with a relative density of 100.0 %. The Co-binder penetrated the hard phase (carbides) by dissolving and re-precipitating, which completely densified the material. The mechanical properties of the TMCs were determined according to their grain size and elastic modulus: TiC-6Co showed the highest hardness of 1,872.9 MPa, while NbC-6Co showed the highest fracture toughness of 10.6 MPa*m1/2. The strengthened grain boundaries due to high interfacial energy could cause a high elastic modules; therefore, TiC-6Co showed a value of 452 ± 12 GPa.

본 연구에서는 1500℃ 이상의 극한 열 환경에서 사용되는 소재인 SiC (silicon carbide) 섬유를 복합방적사로 제조 한 후에 원단을 제직하고 제직된 원단의 역학적 특성을 KES-FB system으로 측정하고 측정된 역학적 특성 값으로부 터 착용성능을 분석하여 방화복으로의 활용 가능성을 알아보았다. 그 결과 직물의 역학적 특성에서는 인장선형성 (LT)과 인장레질리언스(RT), 전단강성(G)을 나타내는 값이 원사의 제조형태에 따라서 그 특성 값의 차이를 보였으 며, 직물의 두께와 평량, 밀도 값이 전단히스테리시스(2HG)와 압축레질리언스(RC) 값에 영향을 준다는 것을 알 수있었다. 의복착용 성능에서는 착용 시 부피감을 나타내는 두께에 대한 압축에너지의 비(WC/T) 값에서 SiC 복합방적 사로 제조된 직물의 값이 가장 우수한 값을 타나내었으며, 방염성능에서는 SiC 복합방적사로 제조된 직물이 탄화길 이와 잔염시간에서 KFI 성능기준을 만족하여 방화복으로서의 활용이 가능함을 확인할 수 있었다.

Cobalt (Co) is mainly used to prepare cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and binder metals for WC-Co hard metals. Developing an effective method for recovering Co from WC-Co waste sludge is of immense significance. In this study, Co is extracted from waste cemented carbide soft scrap via mechanochemical milling. The leaching ratio of Co reaches approximately 93%, and the leached solution, from which impurities except nickel are removed by pH titration, exhibits a purity of approximately 97%. The titrated aqueous Co salts are precipitated using oxalic acid and hydroxide precipitation, and the effects of the precipitating agent (oxalic acid and hydroxide) on the cobalt microstructure are investigated. It is confirmed that the type of Co compound and the crystal growth direction change according to the precipitation method, both of which affect the microstructure of the cobalt powders. This novel mechanochemical process is of significant importance for the recovery of Co from waste WC-Co hard metal. The recycled Co can be applied as a cemented carbide binder or a cathode material for lithium secondary batteries.

This study aims to investigate the effect of an aluminum chromium nitride (AlCrN) coating on tool wear and hole quality in the conventional drilling process of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites, titanium alloy (Ti), and CFRP–Ti stack workpieces popular in the aerospace industry. The advanced arc plasma acceleration (APA) method of physical vapor deposition (PVD) was used for all AlCrN coatings. The drilling experiments were conducted with uncoated drills as well as AlCrN-coated drills. When drilling CFRP only, the AlCrN coating was removed at the drill cutting edges and the margin area, which suggests the carbon fibers abraded the coatings. When drilling Ti only, the AlCrN-coated drill mitigated the Ti adhesion formation, which resulted in less tool wear. In addition, hole quality for both CFRP and Ti was improved when the coating was used versus the uncoated tool. The machinability of CFRP–Ti stacks in the drilling process was improved by utilizing the advanced AlCrN coating on the WC tool in terms of drilling forces and hole quality parameters such as average hole size, average hole roundness, hole surface roughness, and Ti exit burr height.

A variety of composite powders having different aluminum and carbon contents are prepared using various organic solvents having different amounts of carbon atoms in unit volume as ball milling agents for titanium and aluminum ball milling. The effects of substrate temperature and post-heat treatment on the texture and hardness of the coating are investigated by spraying with this reduced pressure plasma spray. The aluminum part of the composite powder evaporates during spraying, so that the film aluminum content is 30.9 mass%~37.4 mass% and the carbon content is 0.64 mass%~1.69 mass%. The main constituent phase of the coating formed on the water-cooled substrate is a non-planar α2 phase, obtained by supersaturated carbon regardless of the alloy composition. When these films are heat-treated at 1123 K, the main constituent phase becomes  phase, and fine Ti2AlC precipitates to increase the film hardness. However, when heat treatment is performed at a higher temperature, the hardness is lowered. The main constitutional phase of the coating formed on the preheated substrate is an equilibrium gamma phase, and fine Ti2AlC precipitates. The hardness of this coating is much higher than the hardness of the coating in the sprayed state formed on the water-cooled substrate. When hot pressing is applied to the coating, the porosity decreases but hardness also decreases because Ti2AlC grows. The amount of Ti2AlC in the hot-pressed film is 4.9 vol% to 15.3 vol%, depending on the carbon content of the film.

Magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) process is a surface improvement method, which the magnetic field of permanent magnet or electromagnet is used to control the abrasive particles during the finishing process. The magnetic abrasive tools are filled between the N-pole and S-pole of Nd-Fe-B type permanent magnets. Tungsten carbide bar (WC) is a high hardness material and its compressive strength is much higher than the other materials. Therefore, due to its superior mechanical properties, it has been widely used in cutting or machining process. Because the smooth surface of tungsten carbide is required in cutting tools, thus the magnetic abrasive finishing process was applied for achieving its surface accuracy and dimensional accuracy. The results showed that the surface roughness of tungsten carbide bar was improved from Ra: 0.23㎛ to Ra: 0.02㎛ in 120 sec by magnetic abrasive finishing process.

Tungsten carbide (WC) hard materials are used in various industries and possess a superior hardness compared to other hard materials. They have particularly high melting points, high strength, and abrasion resistance. Accordingly, tungsten carbide hard materials are used for wear-resistant tools, cutting tools, machining tools, and other tooling materials. In this study, the WC-5wt.%Co, Fe, Ni hard materials are densified using the horizontal ball milled WC-Co, WC-Fe, and WC-Ni powders by a spark plasma sintering process. The WC-5Co, WC-5Fe, and WC-5Ni hard materials are almost completely densified with a relative density of up to 99.6% after simultaneous application of a pressure of 60 MPa and an electric current for about 15 min without any significant change in the grain size. The average grain size of WC-5Co, WC-5Fe, and WC-5Ni that was produced through SPS was about 0.421, 0.779, and 0.429 μm, respectively. The hardness and fracture toughness of the dense WC-5Co, WC-5Fe, WC-5Ni hard materials were also investigated.

본 실험에서는 대청호에서 발생한 남조류를 대상으로 SiC(Silicon carbide) 평막의 최적 운전조건을 도출하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 원수 농도에 따른 투과플럭스, 응집제 주입 조건, Air scrubbing 조건, 역세척(Backwashing) 유량 및 시간, 여과 및 역세척 시간, 응집제 종류 및 주입 농도 등에 대해 안정적으로 운전이 가능한 최적 조건을 도출하였다. 특히, 저농도의 응집제 주입에도 음전하를 띄는 조류 입자들과 전기적으로 중화를 일으켜서 생성된 미세 플럭들이 SiC 평막의 막표면에서 투수성을 증가시킨 것으로 사료된다. 이를 통해 도출된 설계인자로 제작한 Pilot Plant를 조류 제거시 적용하고자 한다. 본 연구는 환경부의 “환경정책기반공공기술개발사업”으로 지원받은 과제입니다.

Molybdenum silicide has gained interest for high temperature structural applications. However, poor fracture toughness at room temperatures and low creep resistance at elevated temperatures have hindered its practical applications. This study uses a novel powder metallurgical approach applied to uniformly mixed molybdenum silicidebased composites with silicon carbide. The degree of powder mixing with different ball milling time is also demonstrated by Voronoi diagrams. Core-shell composite powder with Mo nanoparticles as the shell and β-SiC as the core is prepared via chemical vapor transport. Using this prepared core-shell composite powder, the molybdenum silicide-based composites with uniformly dispersed β-SiC are fabricated using pressureless sintering. The relative density of the specimens sintered at 1500oC for 10 h is 97.1%, which is similar to pressure sintering owing to improved sinterability using Mo nanoparticles.

For diamond/metal composites it is better to use diamond particles coated with metal carbide because of improved wettability between the diamond particles and the matrix. In this study, the coating of diamond particles with a chromium carbide layer is investigated. On heating diamond and chromium powders at 800~900 oC in molten salts of LiCl, KCl, CaCl2, the diamond particles are coated with Cr7C3. The surfaces of the diamond powders are analyzed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The average thickness of the Cr7C3 coating layers is calculated from the result of the particle size analysis. By using the molten salt method, the Cr7C3 coating layer is uniformly formed on the diamond particles at a relatively low temperature at which the graphitization of the diamond particles is avoided. Treatment temperatures are lower than those in the previously proposed methods. The coated layer is thickened with an increase in heating temperature up to 900 oC. The coating reaction of the diamond particles with chromium carbide is much more rapid in LiCl-KCl-CaCl2 molten salts than with the molten salts of KCl-CaCl2.

To overcome the low mechanical strength and corrosion behavior of a carbon steel canister at high temperature condition of a deep borehole, SiC ceramics were studied as an alternative material for the disposal canister. In this paper, a design concept for a SiC canister, along with an outer stainless steel container, was proposed, and its manufacturing feasibility was tested by fabricating several 1/3 scale canisters. The proposed canister can contain one PWR assembly. The outer container was also prepared for the string formation of SiC canisters. Thermal conductivity was measured for the SiC canister. The canister had a good thermal conductivity of above 70 W·m-1·K-1 at 100℃. The structural stability was checked under KURT environment, and it was found that the SiC ceramics did not exhibit any change for the 3 year corrosion test at 70℃. Therefore, it was concluded that SiC ceramics could be a good alternative to carbon steel in application to deep borehole disposal canisters.