The growing significance of sustainable energy technologies underscores the need for safe and efficient management of spent nuclear fuels (SNFs), particularly via deep geological disposal (DGD). DGD involves the long-term isolation of SNFs from the biosphere to ensure public safety and environmental protection, necessitating materials with high corrosion resistance for DGD canisters. This study investigated the feasibility of a Cu–Ni film, fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM), as a corrosion-resistant layer for DGD canister applications. A wire-fed AM technique was used to deposit a millimeter-scale Cu–Ni film onto a carbon steel (CS) substrate. Electrochemical analyses were conducted using aerated groundwater from the KAERI underground research tunnel (KURT) as an electrolyte with an NaCl additive to characterize the oxic corrosion behavior of the Cu–Ni film. The results demonstrated that the AM-fabricated Cu–Ni film exhibited enhanced corrosion resistance (manifested as lower corrosion current density and formation of a dense passive layer) in an NaCl-supplemented groundwater solution. Extensive investigations are necessary to elucidate microstructural performance, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance in the presence of various corroding agents to simplify the implementation of this technology for DGD canisters.

Effects of annealing temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties through thickness of a Cu-3.0Ni- 0.7Si alloy processed by differential speed rolling are investigated in detail. The copper alloy with a thickness of 3 mm is rolled to a 50 % reduction at ambient temperature without lubricant and subsequently annealed for 0.5 h at 200-900 oC. The microstructure of the copper alloy after annealing is different in the thickness direction depending on the amount of the shear and compressive strain introduced by the rolling; the recrystallization occurs first in the upper roll side and center regions which are largely shear-deformed. The complete recrystallization occurs at an annealing temperature of 800 oC. The grain size after the complete recrystallization is finer than that of the conventional rolling. The hardness distribution of the specimens annealed at 500-700 oC is not uniform in the thickness direction due to partial recrystallization. This ununiformity of hardness corresponds well to the amount of shear strain in the thickness direction. The average hardness and ultimate tensile strength has the maximum values of 250 Hv and 450 Mpa, respectively, in the specimen annealed at 400 oC. It is considered that the complex mode of strain introduced by rolling directly affects the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the annealed specimens.

Effects of annealing temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties through thickness of a cold-rolled Cu-3.0Ni-0.7Si alloy were investigated in detail. The copper alloy with thickness of 3 mm was rolled to 50 % reduction at ambient temperature without lubricant and subsequently annealed for 0.5h at 200~900 oC. The microstructure of the copper alloy after annealing was different in thickness direction depending on an amount of the shear and compressive strain introduced by rolling; the recrystallization occurred first in surface regions shear-deformed largely. The hardness distribution of the specimens annealed at 500~700 oC was not uniform in thickness direction due to partial recrystallization. This ununiformity of hardness corresponded well with an amount of shear strain in thickness direction. The average hardness and ultimate tensile strength showed the maximum values of 250Hv and 450MPa in specimen annealed at 400 oC, respectively. It is considered that the complex mode of strain introduced by rolling effected directly on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the annealed specimens.

In this study, Fe-Cu-Ni-Mo-C low alloy steel powder is consolidated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The internal structure and the surface fracture behavior are studied using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy techniques. The bulk samples are polished and etched in order to observe the internal structure. The sample sintered at 900oC with holding time of 10 minutes achieves nearly full density of 98.9% while the density of the as-received conventionally sintered product is 90.3%. The fracture microstructures indicate that the sample prepared at 900oC by the SPS process is hard to break out because of the presence of both grain boundaries and internal particle fractures. Moreover, the lamellar pearlite structure is also observed in this sample. The samples sintered at 1000 and 1100oC exhibit a large number of tiny particles and pores due to the melting of Cu and aggregation of the alloy elements during the SPS process. The highest hardness value of 296.52 HV is observed for the sample sintered at 900oC with holding time of 10 minutes.

Effects of conventional rolling(CR) and differential speed rolling(DSR) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Cu-Ni-Si alloy were investigated in detail. The copper alloy with thickness of 3 mm was rolled to 50 % reduction at ambient temperature without lubricant with a differential speed ratio of 2:1. The conventional rolling in which the rolling speed of upper and lower rolls is identical was performed under identical rolling conditions. The shear strain introduced by the CR showed positive values at positions of upper roll side and negative values at positions of lower roll side. However, it showed zero or positive values at all positions for the samples rolled by the DSR. The microstrucure and texture development of the as-rolled copper alloy did not show any significant difference between CR and DSR. The tensile strength of the DSR processed specimen was larger than that of the CR processed specimen. The effects of rolling methods on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-rolled copper alloy are discussed in terms of the shear strain.

In this study, the effect of the friction stir welding (FSW) was compared with that of the gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) on the microstructure and microhardness of Cu-Ni alloy weldment. The weldment of 10 mm thickness was fabricated by FSW and GTAW, respectively. Both weldments were compared with each other by optical microstructure, microhardness test and grain size measurement. Results of this study suggest that the microhardness decreased from the base metal (BM) to the heat affected zone (HAZ) and increased at fusion zone (FZ) of GTAW and stir zone (SZ) of FSW. the minimum Hv value of both weldment was obtained at HAZ, respectively, which represents the softening zone, whereas Hv value of FSW weldment was little higher than that of GTAW weldment. These phenomena can be explained by the grain size difference between HAZs of each weldment. Grain size was increased at the HAZ during FSW and GTAW. Because FSW is a solid-state joining process obtaining the lower heat-input generated by rotating shoulder than heat generated in the arc of GTAW.

In this study, Cu-5Ni-10Sn(wt%) spinodal alloy was manufactured by gas atomization spray forming, and the microstructural features and mechanical properties of Cu-5Ni-10Sn alloy have been investigated during homogenization, cold working and age-hardening. The spray formed Cu-5Ni-10Sn alloy consisted of an equiaxed microstructure with a mixture of solid solution -(CuNiSn) grains and lamellar-structure grains. Homogenization at and subsequent rapid quenching formed a uniform solid solution -(CuNiSn) phase. Direct aging at from the homogenized Cu-5Ni-10Sn alloy promoted the precipitation of finely distributed ' or phase throughout the matrix, resulting in a significant increase in microhardness and tensile strength. Cold working prior to aging was effective in strengthening Cu-5Ni-10Sn alloy, which gave rise to a maximum tensile strength of 1165 MPa. Subsequent aging treatment slightly reduced the tensile strength to 1000-1100 MPa due to annealing effects.

In this study, Cu-10Sn and Cu-10Sn-2Ni-0.2Si alloys have been manufactured by spray casting in order to achieve a fine scale microstructure and high tensile strength, and investigated in terms of microstructural evolution, aging characteristics and tensile properties. Spray cast alloys had a much lower microhardness than continuous cast billet because of an improved homogenization and an extended Sn solid solubility. Spray cast Cu-Sn-Ni-Si alloy was characterized by an equiaxed grain microstructure with a small-sized (Ni, Si)-rich precipitates. Cold rolling of Cu-Sn-Ni-Si alloy increased a tensile strength to 1220 MPa, but subsequent ageing treatment reduced a ultimate tensile strength to 780 MPa with an elongation of 18%.

The electrocatalytic characteristics of oxygen reduction reaction of the PtxM(1-x) (M = Co, Cu, Ni) supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been evaluated in a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). The PtxM(1-x)/MWNTs catalysts with a Pt : M atomic ratio of about 3 : 1 were synthesized and applied to the cathode of PEMFC. The crystalline structure and morphology images of the PtxM(1-x) particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The results showed that the crystalline structure of the Pt alloy particles in Pt/MWNTs and PtxM(1-x)/MWNTs catalysts are seen as FCC, and synthesized PtxM(1-x) crystals have lattice parameters smaller than the pure Pt crystal. According to the electrochemical surface area (ESA) calculated with cyclic voltammetry analysis, Pt0.77Co0.23/MWNTs catalyst has higher ESA than the other catalysts. The evaluation of a unit cell test using Pt/MWNTs or PtxM(1-x)/MWNTs as the cathode catalysts demonstrated higher cell performance than did a commercial Pt/C catalyst. Among the MWNTs-supported Pt and PtxM(1-x) (M = Co, Cu, Ni) catalysts, the Pt0.77Co0.23/MWNTs shows the highest performance with the cathode catalyst of PEMFC because they had the largest ESA.

The amorphization process and the thermal properties of amorphous TiCuNiAl powder during milling by mechanical alloying were examined by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The chemical composition of the samples was examined by an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) facility attached to the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The as-milled powders showed a broad peak (2 = 42.4) with crystalline size of about 5.0 nm in the XRD patterns. The entire milling process could be divided into three different stages: agglomeration (0 < t 3 h), disintegration (3 h < t 20 h), and homogenization (20 h < t 40 h) (t: milling time). In the DSC experiment, the peak temperature T and crystallization temperature T were 466.9 and 444.3, respectively, and the values of T, and T increased with a heating rate (HR). The activation energies of crystallization for the as-milled powder was 291.5 kJ/mol for T.

Cu-Ni-P alloy nano powders were fabricated by the electrical explosion of electroless Ni plated Cu wires. The effect of applied voltage on the explosion was examined by applying pulse voltage of 6 and 28 kV, The estimated overheating factor, K, were 1.3 for 6 kV and 2.2 for 28 kV. The powders produced with pulse voltage of 6 kV were composed of Cu-rich solid solution, Ni-rich solid solution, and phase. While, those produced with 28 kV were complete Cu-Ni-P solid solution and small amount of phase. The initial P content of 6.5 at.% was reduced to 2-3 at.% during explosion due to its high vapour pressure.

Nanoscale Cu-Ni alloy nanopowders have been produced by a pulsed wire evaporation method in an inert gas. The effect of Cu-Ni alloy nanopowders as additives to motor oil on the tribological properties was studied at room temperature. The worn surfaces were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). Cu-Ni alloy nanopowders as additives lowered coefficient of friction and wear rate. It was found that a copper containing layer on the worn surface was formed, and deposited layers of the metal cladding acted as lubricant on the worn surface, reducing the friction coefficient. It was clearly demonstrated that Cu-Ni alloy nanopowders as additives are able to restore the worn surface and to preserve the friction surfaces from wear

급냉응고방식으로 제조한 비정질 Z r62-xN i10C u20A l8 Tix (x=3, 6, 9at%) 합금을 사용하여 열적, 기계적 성질을 조사하였다. 시효온도에 따른 결정화 거동은 Ti 3at%에서는 비정질→비정질+Z r2A l3+Zr+(Ni,Ti)→Z r2Cu+Al+(Ni,Ti)의 결정화 거동을 나타내었으며, Ti 6at%에서는 비정질→비정질+Al→A l2Ti+NiZr+CuTi, Ti 9at%에서는 비정질→비정질+Zr+Al→Zr+A l2Zr+Al Ti3+CuTi의 결정화 거동을 보였다. 시효온도가 증가할수록 비정질 모상에 석출상의 체적율( Vf )이 증가하고 그에 따라 비커스 경도 ( Hv )간이 증가하였다. 파괴인장강도(σf )는 Vf 의 증가에 따라 증가하다가 Z r59A l10N i20C u8 Ti3은 Vf =38%에서 1219MPa의 최대값을 보이고, Z r56A l10N i20C u8 Ti6은 Vf =2%에서 1203MPa의 최대값을 보이고, Z r53A l10N i20C u8 Ti9 Vf =5%에서 1350MPa의 최대값을 나타낸 후 그 이상의 Vf 에서는 급격히 감소하였다. σf 가 급격히 감소하는 Vf 와 연성 파면에서 취성파면으로 천이되는 Vf 가 일치하였다.f/가 일치하였다.

분말야금법으로 제조된 Cu-7.5Ni-5Sn 합금의 용체화 및 시효 열처리 조건에 따른 기계적 특성의 변화를 관찰하였다. As-received 상태의 Cu-7.5Ni-5Sn 합금을 시효한 경우에는 시효 20분 후에 γ' 상의 석출에 의한 강도 증가를 나타내는데 반해, 재용체화 처리된 시편에서는 시효 수십초부터 스피노달 분해에 의한 급격한 강도의 증가를 나타내고 있다. 그러나 전체적인 인장강도는 재용체화 처리를 행한 경우에 비해 as-received 상태에서 등온 시효한 경우가 더욱 우수한 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 현상은 재용체화 처리에 의한 결정립 성장에 기인한 것으로 사료된다. As-received 상태의 Cu-7.5Ni-5Sn 합금을 장시간 시효하게 되면 결정립계에 불연속 석출물이 생성되었으며, 이러한 불연속 석출물의 생성과 성장은 열처리 조건에 영향을 받는 것으로 관찰되었으며, 합금의 최종 기계적 성질에 크게 영향을 미치는 것으로 판단된다.

강도, 소전율, 스프링성, 내열성 및 굽힘 가공성등의 적절한 조화를 갖는 콘넥팅재료를 개발하기 위하여 Cu-Ni-Si-P합금에 대하여 연구하였다. Ni와 Si의 조성을 달리한 3종류의 합금을 용해, 주조하여 약 900˚C에 열간압연 후 수냉하고, 그 후 냉간압연하여 450˚C. 500˚C 및 550˚C에서 시효처리한 후 기계적 성질 변화와 도전율 등을 조사하였다. 고강도와 고존도율의 적절한 조화를 나타내는 Cu-2.7%Ni-0.53% Si-0.029%P 합금을 만들었다. 합금 1을 0.5mm두께의 콘넥팅재료로 가공한 후 여러가지 특성은 인청동(C 5210R-H)과 황동(C2600R-EH)에 비해 우수한 것으로 평가되었다.