Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) has been used as a representative transparent conductive oxide (TCO) in various optoelectronic applications, including light emitting diodes, solar cells, photo-detectors, and electrochromic devices. The FTO plays an important role in providing electron transfer between active layers and external circuits while maintaining high transmittance in the devices. Herein, we report the effects of substrate rotation speed on the electrical and optical properties of FTO films during ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition (USPD). The substrate rotation speeds were adjusted to 2, 6, 10, and 14 rpm. As the substrate rotation speed increased from 2 to 14 rpm, the FTO films exhibited different film morphologies, including crystallite size, surface roughness, crystal texture, and film thickness. This FTO film engineering can be attributed to the variable nucleation and growth behaviors of FTO crystallites according to substrate rotation speeds during USPD. Among the FTO films with different substrate rotation speeds, the FTO film fabricated at 6 rpm showed the best optimized TCO characteristics when considering both electrical (sheet resistance of 13.73 Ω/□) and optical (average transmittance of 86.76 % at 400~700 nm) properties with a figure of merit (0.018 Ω-1).

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (“KAERI”) has been developing various studies related to the nuclear fuel cycle. Among them, KAERI was focusing on the pyroprocess, which recycles some useful elements white reducing the volume and toxicity of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Pyroprocess involves the handling of SNF, which cannot be handled directly by the facility worker. Therefore, SNF is handled and processed through remote handling device within a shielded facility such as a hot cell. Nuclear Facilities with such hot cells are called nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and unlike other facilities, heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system are particularly important in nuclear fuel cycle facilities to maintain the atmosphere in the hot cell and remove radioactive materials. In addition, due to the nature of the pyroprocess, which uses molten salt, corrosion is a problem in air atmosphere, so the process can only be carried out in an inert gas atmosphere. KAERI has a nuclear fuel cycle facility called the Irradiation Material Examination Facility (IMEF), and has built and operated the ACPF inside the IMEF, which operates an inert atmosphere hot cell for the demonstration of the pyroprocess. For efficient process development of the pyroprocess, it is necessary to put the developed equipment into the hot cell, which is a radiationcontrolled area, after sufficient verification in a mock-up facility. For this purpose, the ACPF mock-up facility, which simulates the system, space, and remote handling equipment of the ACPF, is operated separately in the general laboratory area. The inert gas conditioning system of the ACPF consists of very complex piping, blowers, and valves, requires special attention to maintenance. In addition, if there is a small leak in the piping within these valves or piping, radioactive materials can be directly exposed to facility workers, so continuous monitoring and maintenance are required to prevent accident. In this study, the applicability of acoustic emission technology and ultrasonic technology for leak detection in the inert gas conditioning system of ACPF mock-up facility was investigated. For this purpose, new bypass pipes and valves were installed in the existing system to simulate the leakage of pipes and valves. Acoustic emission sensors are attached directly to pipes or valves to detect signals, while ultrasonic sensors are installed at a distance to detect signals. The optimal parameters of each technology to effectively suppress background noise were derived and, and the feasibility of identifying normal and abnormal scenarios in the system was analyzed.

3D printing is widely used in product development and prototype manufacturing, and is expected to become universal across various industries with the development of 3D printing-related technologies. However, parts made by Fused Deposition Modeling(FDM) 3D printing using the commonly used stacking manufacturing process, show low tensile strength and hardness. The decreased mechanical properties of these parts limit their use as structural elements. In this study, we aim to investigate the relationship between ultrasonic treatment of PLA parts produced by FDM 3D printing and their mechanical properties. Specifically, we analyze the effects of ultrasonic annealing on the mechanical properties of PLA parts using the tensile test specimen.

Lithium lanthanum titanium oxide (LLTO) is a promising ceramic electrolyte because of its high ionic conductivity at room temperature, low electrical conductivity, and outstanding physical properties. Several routes for the synthesis of bulk LLTO are known, in particular, solid-state synthesis and sol-gel method. However, the extremely low ionic conductivity of LLTO at grain boundaries is one of the major problems for practical applications. To diminish the grain boundary effect, the structure of LLTO is tuned to nanoscale morphology with structures of different dimensionalities (0D spheres, and 1D tubes and wires); this strategy has great potential to enhance the ion conduction by intensifying Li diffusion and minimizing the grain boundary resistance. Therefore, in this work, 0D spherical LLTO is synthesized using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP). The USP method primarily yields spherical particles from the droplets generated by ultrasonic waves passed through several heating zones. LLTO is synthesized using USP, and the effects of each precursor and their mechanisms as well as synthesis parameters are analyzed and discussed to optimize the synthesis. The phase structure of the obtained materials is analyzed using X-ray diffraction, and their morphology and particle size are analyzed using field-emission scanning electron microscopy.

This study demonstrates the effect of the compaction pressure on the microstructure and properties of pressureless-sintered W bodies. W powders are synthesized by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and hydrogen reduction using ammonium metatungstate hydrate as a precursor. Microstructural investigation reveals that a spherical powder in the form of agglomerated nanosized W particles is successfully synthesized. The W powder synthesized by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis exhibits a relative density of approximately 94% regardless of the compaction pressure, whereas the commercial powder exhibits a relative density of 64% under the same sintering conditions. This change in the relative density of the sintered compact can be explained by the difference in the sizes of the raw powder and the densities of the compacted green body. The grain size increases as the compaction pressure increases, and the sintered compact uniaxially pressed to 50 MPa and then isostatically pressed to 300 MPa exhibits a size of 0.71 m. The Vickers hardness of the sintered W exhibits a high value of 4.7 GPa, mainly due to grain refinement.

High-intensity focused ultrasonic (HIFU) decontamination technology to decontaminate complex metal radioactive waste was developed and verified. Ultrasonic decontamination technology is a method widely used in this field, but its energy strength is weak, so it cannot be applied to fixed contamination. The HIFU developed in this study can eliminate a wide range of fixed contamination due to the advantage of maintaining a high frequency while having hundreds of times the energy intensity compared to conventional general ultrasonic method. In addition, there is a merit in that there is no work that generates a lot of secondary wastes such as chemical decontamination method or threatens the safety of workers. In particular, high ultrasonic energy is transmitted to curved parts and inside pipes that cannot be decontaminated with blasting method, so various types of metal wastes can be treated with the HIFU method. In this study, the performance of the HIFU was verified for zirconium chips, and the radioactivity after decontamination was reduced to less than MDA in all subjects.

Because of depletion of fossil fuel from the earth curst and increase of environmental concerns, in search of an efficient alternative to the traditional carbon black (CB), a biochar known as rice husk carbon (RHC) has been examined here as a filler material to develop the EPDM composite. In this regard, the ball milled RHC was further treated with ultrasonic wave and used with or without its surface treatment by the silane coupling agent [i.e., 3-mercaptopropyl triethoxysilane (3-MPTMS)]. Among the RHC, ultrasonic treated RHC (UHC) and silane treated UHC (USHC), the EPDM composite of USHC showed nearly similar tensile strength to that of the CB (e.g., CB: 33.88 kgf/cm2, USHC: 31.38 kgf/cm2 at 20 wt% filler loading) with an enhanced elongation at break (e.g., CB: 206%, USHC: 342% at 20 wt% filler loading) and surprisingly much less compression set value (CB: 40.87%, USHC: 18.95% even after 40 wt% of filler loading). Compared to RHC, the UHC also showed its better performance next to the USHC. In addition to presence of both the carbon and silica in RHC and additional silica within the flexible aliphatic chain in USHC, the disintegration of RHC by ultrasonic treatment towards its narrow particle distribution, smaller particle size, and increased surface area is considered very much effective to develop the corresponding high performance EPDM composites. Thus, the use of waste material, i.e., rice husk through the ultrasonication of RHC followed by its surface treatment can be used as a potential filler material to prepare the environment friendly and cost effective high performing composites to be used in different efficient end products, and motivated further for industrial upscaling.

최근 선박용 연료유에 대한 황 함유량 규제를 준수하기 위해 저유황유의 수요가 증가하고 있다. 그러나 저유황유를 공급하는 시기, 지역, 회사 별로 그 품질이 상이함에 따라 선내 연료유 저장탱크에서는 과도한 슬러지가 발생하는 등 혼합 안정성에 대한 문제가 제기되고 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 초음파의 캐비테이션 현상을 이용하여 저유황유의 품질 향상을 하고자 하였다. 선내 저장 탱크에서 이종의 연료유가 혼합되는 상황을 모사하기 위해 두 가지 종류의 저유황유(황 함유량 0.5 % 이하 MGO, MDO)를 혼합하여 시료유로 사용하였다. 원료유와 50 wt.% 씩 혼합한 시료유를 120분 동안 초음파 처리하였으며, 40분 주기로 채취된 샘플은 GC/MS 분석을 수행하여 초음파 조사 시간에 따른 시료유의 조성 변화를 분석하였다. 연구결과, 초음파의 캐비테이션 효과로 인하여 화학결합이 깨지면서 MGO 내 존재하는 고분자량 화합물의 감소와 저분자량의 화합물 증가가 관찰되었다. MDO와 혼합유의 경우, 초음파 조사 후 저분자 화합물에 대한 상대 존재 비의 부분적 증가가 관찰되었지만 시간과 상대 존재비 사이의 상관관계는 관찰되지 않았다.

This study examined the effect of ultraviolet (UV) application on bacterial disinfection in a commercialized humidifier using ultrasonic wave (UW). To accurately examine disinfection kinetics in tap-water condition, tap-water was sterilized using a filter, and then inoculated with pure cultures of E. coli and P. putida with known viable counts. The disinfection kinetic characteristics were experimentally compared when UV alone, UW alone, and UW+UV together were applied in disinfecting the added bacteria in the commercialized humidifier. When UV alone was applied, bacterial disinfection kinetics followed a first-order decay reaction, and showed an approximately 10-time weaker disinfection compared to the typical UV disinfection in water treatment or wastewater treatment. When UW alone was applied, bacterial disinfection kinetics followed a second-order decay reaction with a low disinfection rate constant of 0.0002 min-1(CFU/mL)-1. When UV and UW were applied together, however and interestingly, the disinfection rate constant (0.0211 min-1(CFU/mL)-1) was approximately 100 times increased than that for the UW alone case. These results revealed that the co-use of UV and UW can provide synergistic effect on bacterial disinfection in a tap-water condition in household humidifiers.

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is being considered as a technology to replace the conventional manufacturing process of titanium alloys. However, coarse β grains, which can extend through several deposited materials, result in strong textures and anisotropy. As a solution, we study the plastic deformation effects of ultrasonic needle peening (UNP) on the microstructure. UNP treated materials deform plastically and the dislocation density increases. Fine α+α' grains with low aspect ratio are observed in the UNP treated specimens. UNP treated WAAM Ti-6Al-4V alloys have higher strength and lower elongation than those characteristics of WAAM Ti-6Al-4V alloys. Due to UNP treatment, the z-axis directional specimens exhibit a greater effect of reducing elongation than do the x-axis directional specimens. The UNP treatment produces fine grains in proportion to the number of times UNP is performed, thereby increasing strength. UNP processes produce a large number of dislocations in the WAAM Ti-6Al-4V alloys, with the most dislocations being formed at the surface.

In this study, (GaN)1-x(ZnO)x solid solution nanoparticles with a high zinc content are prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and subsequent nitridation. The structure and morphology of the samples are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The characterization results show a phase transition from the Zn and Ga-based oxides (ZnO or ZnGa2O4) to a (GaN)1-x (ZnO)x solid solution under an NH3 atmosphere. The effect of the precursor solution concentration and nitridation temperature on the final products are systematically investigated to obtain (GaN)1-x(ZnO)x nanoparticles with a high Zn concentration. It is confirmed that the powder synthesized from the solution in which the ratio of Zn and Ga was set to 0.8:0.2, as the initial precursor composition was composed of about 0.8-mole fraction of Zn, similar to the initially set one, through nitriding treatment at 700oC. Besides, the synthesized nanoparticles exhibited the typical XRD pattern of (GaN)1-x(ZnO)x, and a strong absorption of visible light with a bandgap energy of approximately 2.78 eV, confirming their potential use as a hydrogen production photocatalyst.

초음파 탐상은 다양한 콘크리트 구조물의 비파괴검사에서 활용된다. 본 연구에서는 골재형상을 고려한 골재-모르타르 모델 생성과 초음파 전파 해석을 수행하였다. 실제 골재형상을 반영하기 위해 이미지처리를 통한 골재-모르타르 단면으로부터 모르타르와 골재 영역을 파악하고, 영역 경계형상을 보존하면서 격자를 생성하는 기법을 개발하였다. 개발된 기법에서는 모든 격자가 4각형으로 생성된다. 골재-모르타르 모델을 통해 초음파 전파 해석을 수행하였고 모델을 반무한체로 간주하기 위해 CALM 기반 경계흡수 조건을 적용하였다. 골재 및 결함을 포함한 이미지로부터 격자를 생성한 뒤, 결함 영역에 포함된 격자를 제거하여 공극결함을 모사하였다. 본격적인 결함탐지 전 선행 해석을 통해 모델 동특성을 고려한 적절한 가진 주파수를 결정 및 가진 신호형상을 설계하였다. 이후 case 별 초음파 전파 해석을 통해 신호를 획득하고 신호 에너지 맵핑 작업을 통해 내부 결함을 가시화 하였다. 가시화 결과, 골재에 의한 다수 반사 및 산란현상이 관찰되지만 결함부에서 신호 에너지는 가장 높게 나타났으며 모든 해석 case에서 결함위치 추정이 가능하였다. 또한 균열의 경우 형상파악도 가능하였다.