To characterize the breakdown process, we newly introduce and define a dimensionless number called breakdown zone Reynolds number Reb. Reb represents the relationship between shear frictional resistance and inertial force, equivalent to (Vr /Vs)2. Vr and Vs are rupture and shear wave velocities, respectively. Reb also characterizes the energy budget relationship, seismic energy radiation, and its efficiency. Based on Reb, particle motion can be categorized into two cases: a) Reb≪1 and b) Reb ~1 or Reb>1. For case a), since the inertial force is negligible compared to the shear frictional resistance, the particle motion can be viewed as the response of a linear time-invariant system with the stress drop as an input function, and its impulse response function (IRF) is the second type of modified Bessel function with zeroth order supposing linear phase characteristics. The IRF is quite similar to the regularized Yoffe function. The particle velocity spectrum can be characterized with the approximated spectral attenuation slope in the high frequency range of ∝ω-0.6. The attenuation slope, however, would be changed to ∝ω-1.0 if we consider the pre-slip and phase delay of the response. Then, generic omega-square model can model a finite source’s source time function (STF). On the other hand, case b) shows that IRF has the same form as Brune’s omega-square model, and its STF has steeper spectral attenuation like omega-cube model. This means that the spectral characteristics of STF may change with the rupture velocity. Furthermore, we newly define the ratio of source-controlled fmax to corner frequency f c as Stokes number Sk, a function of Reb and approximately proportional to Reb 3/2. Remarkably, Sk delineates a Reynolds number similarity which is comparable to that of isotropic turbulence. The aggregated results of spectral inversion analysis for more than 130 shallow earthquakes occurring in Japan show that the analyzed fmax/ f c (=Sk) follow the theoretical relationship, and it is also demonstrated that the non-self-similarity parameter ε proposed by Kanamori and Rivera is related to the scale dependence of Reb. Finally, Reb is compared to the inertial number I, a representative dimensionless number governing the behavior of granular suspension as a model for the interaction between fault gouge and pore-pressure in fault core. As a result, Reb is equivalent to I 2 as we consider the differences in length scale and density in each definition. Consequently, I is uniquely linked to Sk by Reb, corresponding to the Stokes number for granular suspension. Hence, it can be asserted that Reb and Sk introduced in this study are representative dimensionless numbers which characterize the whole breakdown process and the behavior of pulverized fault core.

남한, 북한, 미국 등 세 행위자 간에는 복잡한 상호작용이 지속되며 전략적 삼각관계가 형성되어 왔다. 세 국가 간 관계에 적용돼 온 디트머의 전략적 삼 각관계 분석틀에 따르면 냉전기엔 ‘안정적 결혼’, 탈냉전기엔 ‘안정적 결혼’과 ‘로맨틱 삼각관계’ 사이의 과도기가 이어졌다. 하지만 북한이 대미 협상수단으 로서 핵개발 단계를 넘어 핵보유국 지위를 기정사실화하고, 미중 간 패권경쟁 과 ‘한미일 대 북중러’라는 구도가 본격화된 신냉전기에 들어서면서 남북미 간 전략적 삼각관계는 무너졌다. 하노이 회담 결렬 이래 미국과의 대화에 목매지 않고 대미 장기전체제에 돌입한 북한은 남한과의 대화도 철저히 단절한 채 동 맹국들과의 관계에만 몰두하고 있다. 북한의 핵 무력 완성으로 비핵화라는 목 표가 불가능에 가까워지고 ‘군축’이 최선책이 된 가운데 현재 중국과 러시아를 상대하느라 여력이 없는 바이든 정부에도 북한문제는 후순위로 전락해 소극적 인 대북정책을 펼치고 있다. 하지만 남북미 간 상호작용이 아예 끊겨버린 지금 이 오히려 북한의 배신행위 아래 불안정하게 유지되어 오고 있던 현재까지의 남북미 관계가 새롭게 거듭나는 중요한 기회일 수 있다. 기회가 오기까지 남북 관계에서의 긴장 국면이 확전되지 않도록 잘 관리하는 것이 현재 한국 정부의 과제일 것이다.

During electrorefining, fission products, such as Sr and Cs, accumulate in a eutectic LiCl-KCl molten salt and degrade the efficiency of the separation process by generating high heat and decreasing uranium capture. Thus, the removal of the fission products from the molten salt bath is essential for reusing the bath, thereby reducing the additional nuclear waste. While many studies focus on techniques for selective separation of fission products, there are few studies on processing monitoring of those techniques. In-situ monitoring can be used to evaluate separation techniques and determine the integrity of the bath. In this study, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was selected as the monitoring technique to measure concentrations of Sr and Cs in 550°C LiCl-KCl molten salt. A laser spectroscopic setup for analyzing high-temperature molten salts in an inert atmosphere was established by coupling an optical path with a glove box. An air blower was installed between the sample and lenses to avoid liquid splashes on surrounding optical products caused by laser-liquid interaction. Before LIBS measurements, experimental parameters such as laser pulse energy, delay time, and gate width were optimized for each element to get the highest signal-to-noise ratio of characteristic elemental peaks. LIBS spectra were recorded with the optimized conditions from LiCl-KCl samples, including individual elements in a wide concentration range. Then, the limit of detections (LODs) for Sr and Cs were calculated using calibration curves, which have high linearity with low errors. In addition to the univariate analysis, partial least-squares regression (PLSR) was employed on the data plots to obtain calibration models for better quantitative analysis. The developed models show high performances with the regression coefficient R2 close to one and root-mean-square error close to zero. After the individual element analysis, the same process was performed on samples where Sr and Cs were dissolved in molten salt simultaneously. The results also show low-ppm LODs and an excellent fitted regression model. This study illustrates the feasibility of applying LIBS to process monitoring in pyroprocessing to minimize nuclear waste. Furthermore, this high-sensitive spectroscopic system is expected to be used for coolant monitoring in advanced reactors such as molten salt reactors.

Molten salt reactors and pyroprocessing are widely considered for various nuclear applications. The main challenges for monitoring these systems are high temperature and strong radiation. Two harsh environments make the monitoring system needs to measure nuclides at a long distance with sufficient resolution for discriminating many different elements simultaneously. Among available methodologies, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been the most studied. The LIBS method can provide the required stand-off and desired multi-elemental measurable ability. However, the change of the level for molten salts induces uncertainty in measuring the concentration of the nuclides for LIBS analysis. The spectra could change by focusing points due to the different laser fluence and plasma shape. In this study, to prepare for such uncertainties, we evaluated a LIBS monitoring system with machine learning technology. While the machine learning technology cannot use academic knowledge of the atomic spectrum, this technique finds the new variable as a vector from any data including the noise, target spectrum, standard deviation, etc. Herein, the partial least squares (PLS) and artificial neural network (ANN) were studied because these methods represent linear and nonlinear machine learning methods respectively. The Sr (580–7200 ppm) and Mo (480–4700 ppm) as fission products were investigated for constructing the prediction model. For acquiring the data, the experiments were conducted at 550°C in LiCl-KCl using a glassy carbon crucible. The LIBS technique was used for accumulating spectra data. In these works, we successfully obtained a reasonable prediction model and compared each other. The high linearities of the prediction model were recorded. The R2 values are over 0.98. In addition, the root means square of the calibration and cross-validation were used for evaluating the prediction model quantitatively.

To improve ferroelectric properties of PZT, many studies have attempted to fabricate dense PZT films. The AD process has an advantage for forming dense ceramic films at room temperature without any additional heat treatment in low vacuum. Thick films coated by AD have a higher dielectric breakdown strength due to their higher density than those coated using conventional methods. To improve the breakdown strength, glass (SiO2-Al2O3-Y2O3, SAY) is mixed with PZT powder at various volume ratios (PZT-xSAY, x = 0, 5, 10 vol%) and coating films are produced on silicon wafers by AD method. Depending on the ratio of PZT to glass, dielectric breakdown strength and energy storage efficiency characteristics change. Mechanical impact in the AD process makes the SAY glass more viscous and fills the film densely. Compared to pure PZT film, PZT-SAY film shows an 87.5% increase in breakdown strength and a 35.3 % increase in energy storage efficiency.

This study was conducted to investigate cucumber plants response to greenhouse environments by solar shading in greenhouse in the summer. In order to estimate heat stress reduction of cucumber plants by solar shading in greenhouse, we measured and analyzed physiological conditions of cucumber plants, such as leaf temperature, leaf-air temperature, rubisco maximum carboxylation rate, maximum electron transport rate, thermal breakdown, light leaf respiration, etc. Shading levels were 90% mobile shading of full sunlight, 40% mobile shading of full sunlight and no shading(full sunlight). The 90% shading screen was operated when the external solar radiation is greater than 650 W·m-2. Air temperature, solar radiation, leaf temperature, leaf-air temperature and light leaf respiration in the 90% shading of full sunlight was lower than those of 40% shading and no shading. Rubisco maximum carboxylation rate, arrhenius function value and light leaf respiration of the 90% shading were significantly lower than those of 40% shading and no shading. The thermal breakdown, high temperature inhibition, of 90% shading was significantly higher than that of 40% shading and no shading. Therefore, these results suggest that 90% mobile shading made a less stressful growth environment for cucumber crops.

Lead free (Ba0.7Ca0.3) TiO3 thick films with nano-sized grains are prepared using an aerosol deposition (AD) method at room temperature. The crystallinity of the AD thick films is enhanced by a post annealing process. Contrary to the sharp phase transition of bulk ceramics that has been reported, AD films show broad phase transition behaviors due to the nanosized grains. The polarization-electric hysteresis loop of annealed AD film shows ferroelectric behaviors. With an increase in annealing temperature, the saturation polarization increases because of an increase in crystallinity. However, the remnant polarization and cohesive field are not affected by the annealing temperature. BCT AD thick films annealed at 700 ℃/2h have an energy density of 1.84 J/cm3 and a charge-discharge efficiency of 69.9%, which is much higher than those of bulk ceramic with the same composition. The higher energy storage properties are likely due to the increase in the breakdown field from a large number of grain boundaries of nano-sized grains.