• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제39권4호
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• pp.287-298
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• 2007

As part of the $AP1000^{TM}$ pressurized water reactor design certification program, a series of integral systems tests of the nuclear steam supply system was performed at the APEX-1000 test facility at Oregon State University. These tests provided data necessary to validate Westinghouse safety analysis computer codes for AP1000 applications. In addition, the tests provided the opportunity to investigate the thermal-hydraulic phenomena expected to be important in AP1000 small-break loss of coolant accidents (SBLOCAs). The APEX-1000 facility is a 1/4-scale pressure and 1/4-scale height simulation of the AP1000 nuclear steam supply system and passive safety features. A series of eleven tests was performed in the APEX-1000 facility as part of a U.S. Department of Energy contract. In all, four SBLOCA tests representing a spectrum of break sizes and locations were simulated along with tests to study specific phenomena of interest. The focus of this paper is the SBLOCA tests. The key thermal-hydraulic phenomena simulated in the APEX-1000 tests, and the performance and interactions of the passive safety-related systems that can be investigated through the APEX-1000 facility, are emphasized. The APEX-1000 tests demonstrate that the AP1000 passive safety-related systems successfully combine to provide a continuous removal of core decay heat and the reactor core remains covered with considerable margin for all small-break LOCA events.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.246-258
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• 2016

The shield building of AP1000 was designed to protect the steel containment vessel of the nuclear reactor. Therefore, the safety and integrity must be ensured during the plant life in any conditions such as an earthquake. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of water in the water tank on the response of the AP1000 shield building when subjected to three-dimensional seismic ground acceleration. The smoothed particle hydrodynamics method (SPH) and finite element method (FEM) coupling method is used to numerically simulate the fluid and structure interaction (FSI) between water in the water tank and the AP1000 shield building. Then the grid convergence of FEM and SPH for the AP1000 shield building is analyzed. Next the modal analysis of the AP1000 shield building with various water levels (WLs) in the water tank is taken. Meanwhile, the pressure due to sloshing and oscillation of the water in the gravity drain water tank is studied. The influences of the height of water in the water tank on the time history of acceleration of the AP1000 shield building are discussed, as well as the distributions of amplification, acceleration, displacement, and stresses of the AP1000 shield building. Research on the relationship between the WLs in the water tank and the response spectrums of the structure are also taken. The results show that the high WL in the water tank can limit the vibration of the AP1000 shield building and can more efficiently dissipate the kinetic energy of the AP1000 shield building by fluid-structure interaction.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권6호
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• pp.1669-1680
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• 2019

Seismic safety is considered to be one of the key design objectives of AP1000 nuclear power plant (NPP) in strong earthquakes. Dynamic behavior, damage development and aggravation effect are studied in this study for the three main components of AP1000 NPP, namely reinforced concrete shield building (RCSB), steel vessel containment (SVC) and reinforced concrete auxiliary building (RCAB). Characteristics including nonlinear concrete tension and compressive constitutions with plastic damage are employed to establish the numerical model, which is further validated by existing studies. The author investigates three earthquakes and eight input levels with the maximum magnitude of 2.4 g and the results show that the concrete material of both RCSB and RCAB have suffered serious damage in intense earthquakes. Considering RCAB in the whole NPP, significant damage aggravation effect can be detected, which is mainly concentrated at the upper intersection between RCSB and RCAB. SVC and reinforcing bar demonstrate excellent seismic performance with no obvious damage.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권5호
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• pp.1686-1704
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• 2021

This study addresses the numerical simulation of the shield building of an AP1000 nuclear power plant (NPP) subjected to a large commercial aircraft impact. First, a simplified finite element model (F.E. model) of the large commercial Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is established. The F.E. model of the AP1000 shield building is constructed, which is a reasonably simplified reinforced concrete structure. The effectiveness of both F.E. models is verified by the classical Riera method and the impact test of a 1/7.5 scaled GE-J79 engine model. Then, based on the verified F.E. models, the entire impact process of the aircraft on the shield building is simulated by the missile-target interaction method (coupled method) and by the ANSYS/LS-DYNA software, which is at different initial impact velocities and impact heights. Finally, the laws and characteristics of the aircraft impact force, residual velocity, kinetic energy, concrete damage, axial reinforcement stress, and perforated size are analyzed in detail. The results show that all of them increase with the addition to the initial impact velocity. The first four are not very sensitive to the impact height. The engine impact mainly contributes to the peak impact force, and the peak impact force is six times higher than that in the first stage. With increasing initial impact velocity, the maximum aircraft impact force rises linearly. The range of the tension and pressure of the reinforcement axial stress changes with the impact height. The perforated size increases with increasing impact height. The radial perforation area is almost insensitive to the initial impact velocity and impact height. The research of this study can provide help for engineers in designing AP1000 shield buildings.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권4호
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• pp.1109-1116
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• 2019

It is essential to predict the radioactivity distribution around the reactor cooling system (RCS) during obligatory cyclic operation of AP-1000. A home-developed program CPA-AP1000 is upgraded to predict the response of activated corrosion products (ACPs) in the RCS. The program is written in MATLAB and it uses state of the art MCNP as a subroutine for flux calculations. A pair of cyclic power profiles were superimposed after initial full power operation. The effect of cyclic operation is noticed to be more prominent for in-core surfaces, followed by the primary coolant and out-of-core structures. The results have shown that specific activity trends of $^{56}Mn$ and $^{24}Na$ promptly follow the power variations, whereas, $^{59}Fe$, $^{58}Co$, $^{99}Mo$ and $^{60}Co$ exhibit a sluggish power-following response. The investigations pointed out that promptly power-following response of ACPs in the coolant is vital as an instant radioactivity source during leakage incidents. However, the ACPs with delayed power-following response in the out-of-core components are perceived to cause a long-term activity. The present results are found in good agreement with those for a reference PWR. The results are useful for source term monitoring and optimization of work procedures for an innovative reactor design.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권6호
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• pp.2321-2328
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• 2022

The passive safety system is adopted in an AP1000 nuclear power unit to improve the operation safety of the whole unit. However, due to boron diffusion and periodic sampling, boron dilution occurs in the core makeup tank. The boron replenishment process in the core makeup tank is essential and becomes particularly important. Based on the validated models, this article numerically investigates the influence of the replenishment flow rate and the position on the boron distribution in the core makeup tank. The thermal fatigue phenomenon of the "T" connection caused by replenishment is analyzed. Finally, the replenishment strategy is proposed to benefit both boron mixing in the core makeup tank and eliminating the thermal fatigue of the "T" connection.

• 원자력산업
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.77-79
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• 2016

• 원자력산업
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• 제25권1호통권263호
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• pp.55-61
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• 2005

• 한국추진공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국추진공학회 1994년도 제2회 학술강연회논문집
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• pp.23-26
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• 1994

130mm D.B. 추진기관의 고온 시험에서 나타난 극심한 이상 연소 현상을 해결하기 위해 미세한 고체 입자들을 연소 가스에 분산시켜 불안정 연소를 억제하는 particulate damping 효과를 연구하였다. 고체 입자로서 효과적인 것으로 알려진 $K_2$$SO_4$. ZrC, Graphite를 CTPB, HTPB 고분자 물질에 충진시켜 epoxide, isocyanate 반응기와 가교 반응을 일으킴으로써 고무상의 탄성체 성질을 갖게 하는 $K_2$$SO_4$/CTPB, ZrC/Graphite/HTPB, ZrC/Graphite/AP/HTPB, ZrC/AP/HTPB 조성의 연소 안정제를 개발하였다. 이 연소 안정제는 외경 17mm, 길이 1000mm의 안정봉 형태로 제작하여 모타의 중심 cavity에 조립한 후 지상 연소 시험을 통하여 성능을 확인하였다. 시험 결과, 조성에 AP를 포함시켜 연소 안정제에 일정한 연소 속도를 부여하여 추진제 grain 연소 동안 고체 입자를 연소 가스에 분산되게 설계한 ZrC/Graphite/AP/HTPB, ZrC/AP/HTPB 조성의 연소 안정제가 불안정 연소 억제에 효과적인 것으로 나타났다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.335-346
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• 2013

The Critical Heat Flux (CHF) of water with dispersed alumina nanoparticles was measured for the geometry and flow conditions relevant to the In-Vessel Retention (IVR) situation which can occur during core melting sequences in certain advanced Light Water Reactors (LWRs). CHF measurements were conducted in a flow boiling loop featuring a test section designed to be thermal-hydraulically similar to the vessel/insulation gap in the Westinghouse AP1000 plant. The effects of orientation angle, pressure, mass flux, fluid type, boiling time, surface material, and surface state were investigated. Results for water-based nanofluids with alumina nanoparticles (0.001% by volume) on stainless steel surface indicate an average 70% CHF enhancement with a range of 17% to 108% depending on the specific flow conditions expected for IVR. Experiments also indicate that only about thirty minutes of boiling time (which drives nanoparticle deposition) are needed to obtain substantial CHF enhancement with nanofluids.