In-plane directional mechanical properties of carbon fabric skins in sandwich structures after thermoforming

In this paper, a representative unit volume finite element (RUV FE) model was employed to simulate thermoforming process of carbon fabric-polymeric foam sandwich structures. Thermoforming simulations, which capture crimp angles and amplitude changes of carbon fabric with respect to different operational pressure, were conducted with the help of RUV FE model. Micro-deformation of tow structures after thermoforming was rigorously reflected in the second stage FE model to determine the in-plane directional stiffness of skin parts. Tensile tests were carried out to investigate mechanical properties of skin parts in sandwich structures for the potential usage of automotives, electronic housings or the satellite structure design.     

A miniature UWB planar monopole antenna with 5-GHz band-rejection filter and the time-domain characteristics

A planar monopole antenna with a staircase shape and small volume (25/spl times/26/spl times/1 mm/sup 3/) is proposed in this paper. With the use of a half-bowtie radiating element, the staircase-shape, and a modified ground plane structure, the proposed antenna has a very wide impedance bandwidth measured at about 11.6 GHz (2.9-14.5 GHz, bandwidth ratio about 1:5) below VSWR 2 including the WLAN band notched in the vicinity of 5 GHz. An omnidirectional radiation pattern is obtained. The group delay which is an indication of linearity between two proposed antennas is less than 1 ns. The electrical characteristics in terms of frequency and time domains and physical ones of the proposed antenna make it attractive for use in ultrawideband (UWB) systems.     

Leak behavior of SCC degraded steam generator tubings of nuclear power plant

A forced outage due to a steam generator tube leak in a Korean nuclear power plant has been reported [Kim, J.S., Hwang, S.S., et al., 1999. KAERI Internal Report (Korean). Destructive analysis on pulled tubes from Ulchin unit 1. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute]. Primary water stress corrosion cracking has occurred in many tubes in the plant, and they were repaired using sleeves or plugs. In order to develop proper repair criteria, it is necessary to understand the leak behavior of the tubes containing stress corrosion cracks. Cracked specimens were prepared using a room temperature cracking technique, and the leak rates and burst pressures of the degraded tubes were determined both at room temperature and at a high temperature. Some tubes with 100% through wall cracks did not show a leakage at 10.8 MPa, which is the typical pressure difference of the pressurized water reactors (PWRs) during a normal operation. In some tests, the leak rates of the tubes increased with time at a constant pressure. In a high temperature pressure test at 282 °C one specimen showed a very small leakage at 18.6 MPa, which stopped after a small increase in the test pressure. Because stress corrosion cracks can develop at relatively low stresses, even 100% through wall cracks can be so tight that they will not leak at a normal operating pressure.     

A novel smooth impact drive mechanism actuation method with dual-slider for a compact zoom lens system

In this paper, a novel actuation method for a smooth impact drive mechanism that positions dual-slider by a single piezo-element is introduced and applied to a compact zoom lens system. A mode chart that determines the state of the slider at the expansion or shrinkage periods of the piezo-element is presented, and the design guide of a driving input profile is proposed. The motion of dual-slider holding lenses is analyzed at each mode, and proper modes for zoom functions are selected for the purpose of positioning two lenses. Because the proposed actuation method allows independent movement of two lenses by a single piezo-element, the zoom lens system can be designed to be compact. For a feasibility test, a lens system composed of an afocal zoom system and a focusing lens was developed, and the passive auto-focus method was implemented.     

Slip control strategy for an automatic transmission vehicle

Modern automatic transmissions equip torque converters with lock-up clutches to reduce the energy loss of hydraulic systems. Instead of simply engaging the clutch disks, the new technology of clutch slip has been developed to improve the overall efficiency of power transmission. There are two major problems with the clutch slip system. The first is how to keep the slip between the two disks within a small range and the second is when to start or stop the slip. In this paper, the second problem is discussed in view of the vehicle economy. With a simple vehicle dynamic model, the fuel economy is calculated to determine the lock-up strategy. Then the lock-up strategy is developed for a slip schedule.     

Superior–Subordinate Relationships in Korean Civil Engineering Companies

The Leader–Member Exchange (LMX) relationship quality between superiors and subordinates in Korean civil engineering companies were empirically examined for superiors’ feedback-seeking behaviors. The results showed that for superiors, affect, loyalty, and contribution toward subordinates were positively related to seeking negative as well as positive feedback from subordinates. From subordinates’ point of view, affect, contribution, and professional respect toward their superiors were positively related to superiors’ negative feedback seeking, but affect was negatively related to superiors’ positive feedback seeking. It was also found that superiors and subordinates were not consensual in LMX and superiors’ feedback-seeking behaviors. For example, for superiors, all of the four LMX dimensions were positively related to superiors’ asking subordinates directly for feedback, whereas for subordinates, none of the LMX dimensions were significantly related to superiors’ asking subordinates directly for feedback. These and other findings are discussed in detail, and implications for the findings are provided.     

Pixel‐Structured Scintillator with Polymeric Microstructures for X‐Ray Image Sensors

We introduce a pixel‐structured scintillator realized on a flexible polymeric substrate and demonstrate its feasibility as an X‐ray converter when it is coupled to photosensitive elements. The sample was prepared by filling Gd₂O₂S:Tb scintillation material into a square‐pore‐shape cavity array fabricated with polyethylene. For comparison, a sample with the conventional continuous geometry was also prepared. Although the pixelated geometry showed X‐ray sensitivity of about 58% compared with the conventional geometry, the resolving power was improved by about 70% above a spatial frequency of 3 mm^?1. The spatial frequency at 10% of the modulation‐transfer function was about 6 mm^?1.     

Proton incorporation in yttria-stabilized zirconia during atomic layer deposition

This work elucidated the proton-incorporation mechanism in ALD YSZ¹. Isotope ²H₂O was used as an oxidant to trace proton incorporation. The ratio of ZrO₂ to Y₂O₃ ALD cycles was varied from 1:1 to 5:1. TEM confirmed that the ALD YSZ films grew as fully crystallized columnar grains in the cubic ZrO₂ phase. SIMS indicated that the Y³⁺ and ²H⁺ concentrations were linearly correlated, indicating yttria-deposition-induced proton incorporation. XPS confirmed an appreciable amount of Y(OH)₃ proportional to the ²H⁺ content in the ALD YSZ, as was also detected by SIMS. Oxide ion vacancies created by the replacement of ZrO₂ with relatively small amounts of Y₂O₃ provided additional vacancies for proton incorporation, resulting in steeper [²H⁺]/[Y³⁺] slopes.