• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제34권5호
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• pp.482-493
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• 2002

The MOX fuel for LWR is fabricated either by direct mechanical blending of UO$_2$ and PuO$_2$ or by two stage mixing. Hence Pu-rich particles, whose Pu concentrations are higher than pellet average one and whose size distribution depends on a specific fabrication method, are inevitably dispersed in MOX pellet. Due to the inhomogeneous microstructure of MOX fuel, the thermal conductivity of LWR MOX fuel scatters from 80 to 100 % of UO$_2$ fuel. This paper describes a mechanistic thermal conductivity model for MOX fuel by considering this inhomogeneous microstructure and presents an explanation for the wide scattering of measured MOX fuel＇s thermal conductivity. The developed model has been incorporated into a KAERI＇s fuel performance code, COSMOS, and then evaluated using the measured in-pile data for MOX fuel. The database used for verification consists of homogeneous MOX fuel at beginning-of-life and inhomogeneous MOX fuel at high turnup. The COSMOS code predicts the thermal behavior of MOX fuel well except for the irradiation test accompanying substantial fission gas release. The over-prediction with substantial fission gas release seems to suggest the need for the introduction of a recovery factor to a term that considers the burnup effect on thermal conductivity.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.349-358
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• 1996

The leaching behavior of uranium from unirradiated CANDU UO$_2$ fuel pellet in the spent fuel wet storage and disposal conditions has been investigated. A modified IAEA leach test method was used, and then the extent of leaching was monitored by analysis for uranium in the leachant. The leach test has been performed in various leachants(demineralized water and boric acid solution at pH=6, synthetic granite groundwater) for a long-term period of 5.4 years, and the effect of temperature on the leach rate of uranium has been analyzed. The leach rates of uranium at $25^{\circ}C$ were dependent on the leachants. Over initial 100 days of leach periods, the leach rate in groundwater was the highest in three leachants and no significant differences of leach rates ore observed in the demineralized oater and boric acid solution. But these leach rates in three leachants around 2,000 days at $25^{\circ}C$ appeared to be reached the steady rates in the range of 1~5$\times$10$^{-8}$ g/$\textrm{cm}^2$ day. The leach rate of uranium in groundwater shooed to be independent of the temperature, but those in both demineralized water and boric acid solution increased with temperature. These results show that the leaching behavior of uranium from UO$_2$ fuel in both the demineralized water ann boric acid may be controlled tv the surface oxidative.dissolution reaction of UO$_2$ and the leach rate of uranium in groundwater at room temperature could mainly be controlled by the complex reaction of dissolved uranyl ions with carbonate ions and no variation of leach rate of UO$_2$ in groundwater with temperature may be due to the local deposition of passivating uranyl phases on the surface.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1996년도 추계학술발표회논문집(2)
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• pp.506-511
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• 1996

Research on the dry etching of UO$_2$ by using fluorine containing gas plasma is carried out for DUPIC (Direct Use of spent PWR fuel In CANDU) process which is taken into consideration for potential future fuel cycle in Korea. CF$_4$/O$_2$ gas mixture is chosen for the reactant gas and the etching rates of UO$_2$ by the gas plasma are investigated as functions of substrate temperature, plasma gas pressure, CF$_4$/O$_2$ ratio, and plasma power, It is tentatively found that the etching rate can reach 1000 monolayers/min. and the optimum CF$_4$/O$_2$ ratio is around 4:1.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 2002년도 추계학술발표회요약집
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• pp.289.1-289
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• 2002

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.55-63
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• 2003

Threshold porosity above which fission gas release channels would be formed in the rim egion of high burnup UO$_2$ fuel was estimated by the Monte Carlo method and Hoshen-Kopelman algorithm. With the assumption that both rim pore and rim grain can be represented by cube, pore distribution in the rim was simulated 3-dimensionally by the Monte Carlo method according to porosity and pore size distribution. Then, using the Hoshen-Kopelman algorithm, the fraction of open rim pores interlinked to the outer surface of a fuel pellet was derived as a function of rim porosity. The simulation showed that porosity of 24-25% is the threshold above which the number of rim pores forming release channels increases very rapidly. On the other hand, channels would not be formed if the porosity is less than about 23.5%. This is consistent with the observation that, for porosity less than 23.5%, almost no fission gas is released in the rim. However, once the rim porosity reaches beyond 25%, extensive open paths would be developed and considerable fission gas release would start in the rim.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제44권8호
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• pp.437-444
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• 2007

The broth solution was prepared by the mixing of an uranyl nitrate, THFA, PVA, and water. The uranium concentration of the broth solution was $0.5{\sim}0.8$ mole-U/L and the viscosity of it was $30{\sim}80cSt$. The droplets of this broth solution were farmed in air and ammonia by the vibrating nozzle with the frequency of 100 Hz at the amplitude of $100{\sim}130V$. The diameter of the droplet was about $1900{\mu}m$ from using the nozzle diameter of 1 mm. The diameter of the aged gel was about $1400{\mu}m$ after aging in ammonia solution at $60{\sim}80^{\circ}C$, and the dried gel with the diameter of about $900{\mu}m$ was obtained after drying at room temperature or partially vacuum condition. The diameter of the calcined $UO_3$ microsphere after calcination at $600^{\circ}C$ appeared about $800{\mu}m$ in air atmosphere. Although the droplets of the same sizes were formed, the calcined microspheres of different sizes were manufactured in the case of the broth solutions of the different uranium concentration. The droplets of the desired diameters were obtained by the change of the nozzle diameters and the broth flow rates.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1999년도 춘계학술발표회요약집
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• pp.268-268
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• 1999

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1977년도 제9회 학술발표회 초록
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• pp.112-112
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• 1977

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.196-200
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• 1997

The variation of sintered density and fain size in ex-AUC, ex-ADU and granulated ex-ADU UO$_2$ pellets in which 0.1~1.0wt% Nb$_2$O$_{5}$ were doped were examined. Pellets were sintered in an atmosphere of H$_2$ at 1$700^{\circ}C$ for 4h. All the specimens tested shooed more than 94% T.D.(Theoretical Density). Sintered density decreased with increasing the amount of Nb$_2$O$_{5}$. Powder types had little influence on the sintered density. Pore size distribution was shifted to the larger ones as Nb$_2$O$_{5}$ was added. The increase of total pore volume and grain growth due to the addition of Nb$_2$O$_{5}$ were thought to be the cause of the sintered density decrease. The largest grain size was seen in the 1. 0wt% Nb$_2$O$_{5}$ doped ex-AUC UO$_2$ pellets. Their average size was 13.9 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$.m}$.

• 한국재료학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국재료학회 2007년도 추계학술발표대회 및
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• pp.135.2-135.2
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• 2007