With global warming leading to abnormal weather phenomena and increasing carbon emissions, countries are implementing carbon emission reduction policies. Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) aims to promote environmentally responsible practices while maintaining industrial competitiveness. To avoid potential tariffs in the European market, Korea must vigorously pursue carbon emission reduction. Emphasizing renewable energy adoption is crucial for achieving eco-friendly and sustainable energy production. This study conducted an economic feasibility assessment for constructing small hydroelectric power plants using discharged energy from Goseong Green Power Plant. By evaluating economic viability, decision-makers could assess potential benefits and costs to support effective planning and implementation. Findings of this study could encourage investments in renewable energy projects, fostering a greener and more sustainable energy landscape for the future.

The need for automated material handling inside the factory has been steadily increasing, especially due to implementation of intelligent manufacturing for better productivity and product quality. Automated material handling devices include logistics robots, automated guided vehicles, industrial robots, collaborative robots, and pick-and-place devices. This study focuses on the development of a low-cost logistics robot that works effectively within a simulated smart factory environment. A nominal PID controller is implemented to guide the robot to follow the line painted on the factory floor. The tracking error information is generated by four down-facing infrared sensors and is fed into the controller. The line-following performance is significantly improved with augmentation of a model-based friction compensator. Optimization of battery power depending on the remaining charge status enhances the reliability. All hardware/software development is supported by the Arduino platform. The step-by-step movement and performance of the logistics robot is verified inside the simulated smart factory environment that includes a robot arm, three conveyors, and two processing stations.

Beyond conventional military products, technologies in the defense industry sectors around the globe are integrated and fused with newly emerging technologies such as three-dimensional printing (3DP) and smart material fabrication. Acknowledging these trends, this study proposes a miniature high-speed actuator whose fabrication process entails 3DP, smart materials, and shape memory alloy. The manufactured actuator is 25 mm long and 5 mm wide in and weighs 2.5 g, having the optimal frequency in the range of 35-40 Hz. Force and deformation measurement were also conducted, resulting in the lift force of 0.18 N per second with a bending deformation of 5 mm.

Hybrid manufacturing technology has been advanced to overcome limitations due to traditional fabrication methods. To fabricate a micro/nano-scale structure, various manufacturing technologies such as lithography and etching were attempted. Since these manufacturing processes are limited by their materials, temperature and features, it is necessary to develop a new three-dimensional (3D) printing method. A novel nano-scale 3D printing system was developed consisting of the Nano-Particle Deposition System (NPDS) and the Focused Ion Beam (FIB) to overcome these limitations. By repeating deposition and machining processes, it was possible to fabricate micro/nano-scale 3D structures with various metals and ceramics. Since each process works in different chambers, a transfer process is required. In this research, nanoscale 3D printing system was briefly explained and an alignment algorithm for nano-scale 3D printing system was developed. Implementing the algorithm leads to an accepted error margin of 0.5% by compensating error in rotational, horizontal, and vertical axes.

Smart material such as SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) has been studied in various ways because it can perform continuous, flexible, and complex actuation in simple structure. Smart soft composite (SSC) was developed to achieve large deformation of smart material. In this paper, a shell actuator using woven type SSC was developed to enhance stiffness of the structure while keeping its deformation capacity. The fabricated actuator consisted of a flexible polymer and woven structure which contains SMA wires and glass fibers. The actuator showed various actuation motions by controlling a pattern of applied electricity because the SMA wires are embedded in the structure as fibers. To verify the actuation ability, we measured its maximum end-edge bending angle, twisting angle, and actuating force, which were 103°, 10°, and 0.15 N, respectively.