• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.397-410
• /
• 2022

The safety of the disposal repository for high level radioactive waste should be guaranteed for a quite long period so that the precise evaluations are required. The site characteristics of the discontinuities are essential part of the safe repository design including engineered barrier and natural barrier systems. The discontinuities act like weak planes and at the same time, they act as flow paths so that their features should be investigated thoroughly. RQD (Rock Quality Designation) is one of the most widely applied characterizing methods due to its simplicity, however, modified designations have been proposed because RQD has some drawbacks, such as its directivity and dependence on the threshold length. This study aims to evaluate the applicability of the modified designations by applying them to the rock mass around KURT and to produce fundamental database that will be utilized in future studies.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.249-266
• /
• 2024

Bentonite buffer material is an important component of engineered barrier designed for the safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Under certain groundwater conditions, erosion or piping phenomena of the material can happen, which may compromise the overall safety of the whole engineered barrier system. Previous domestic researches related to it have been conducted at a laboratory scale so that those are subject to some limitations, despite their valuable results. Therefore, KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has planned the BEPT (Bentonite Erosion and Piping Test) to extend and validate the previous works at a field conditions. Prior to detailed experimental design, case studies that had been conducted by leading countries in disposal research were collected and analyzed. The analyses included suitable site conditions and system design, which were incorporated into the detailed design of BEPT. This technical report aims to introduce the previous researches and the current status of the ongoing BEPT experiment.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.191-195
• /
• 2004

Tunnel junctions with AI-N barriers fabricated by microwave-excited plasma were studied. When the Al thickness, nitridation time, and annealing temperature were 1 nm (0.8 nm), 50 s (35 s), and $280^{\circ}C$ ($300^{\circ}C$), TMR ratio and resistance-area product (RA) were 49% (34%) and $3 ${\times}$ 10^4$ $\Omega$$\mu\m^2$ ($1.5 ${\times}$ 10^4$ $\Omega$$\mu\m^2$), respectively. In order to clarify the annealing temperature dependence of TMR ratio, the local transport properties were measured for Ta 5 nm/Cu 20 nm/Ta 5 nm$29_{76}$ $Fe_{24}$ 2 nm/Cu 5 nm/M $n_{75}$$Ir_{25}$ 10 nm/ $Co_{71}$ $Co_{29}$ 4nm/Al-N junction with Al thickness of 0.8 nm and nitridation time of 35s at various temperatures. The increase of TMR ratio after annealing at $300^{\circ}C$, where the TMR ratio of the corresponding MTJ had the maximum value of 34%, can be well explained by the enhancement of the average barrier height ($\Phi_{ave}$) and the reduction of its fluctuation. After further annealing at $340^{\circ}C$, the leakage current was observed and the TMR ratio decreaseded

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.25-32
• /
• 2015

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator was designed to reduce aerodynamic drag in a cylindrical model and wind tunnel test was performed at various wind velocities. In addition, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and flow visualization were used to investigate the effect of the plasma on the flow stream in the cylinderical model. At low wind velocity, the plasma actuator had no effects because flow separation did not appear. The aerodynamic drag was reduced by 14% at 14 m/s and by 27% at 17 m/s, respectively. It was confirmed by CFD analysis and flow visualization that the DBD plasma actuator decreased in pressure difference around the cylindrical model, thus decreasing the magnitude of wake vortex.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.02a
• /
• pp.167-167
• /
• 2011

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) is one of the prospective semiconductor memories for next generation. It has the excellent features including nonvolatility, fast access time, unlimited read/write endurance, low operating voltage, and high storage density. MRAM consists of magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) stack and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The MTJ stack is composed of various magnetic materials, metals, and a tunneling barrier layer. For the successful realization of high density MRAM, the etching process of magnetic materials should be developed. Among various magnetic materials, FePt has been used for pinned layer of MTJ stack. The previous etch study of FePt magnetic thin films was carried out using $CH_4/O_2/NH_3$. It reported only the etch characteristics with respect to the variation of RF bias powers. In this study, the etch characteristics of FePt thin films have been investigated using an inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etcher in various etch chemistries containing $CH_4$/Ar and $CH_4/O_2/Ar$ gas mixes. TiN thin film was employed as a hard mask. FePt thin films are etched by varying the gas concentration. The etch characteristics have been investigated in terms of etch rate, etch selectivity and etch profile. Furthermore, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is applied to elucidate the etch mechanism of FePt thin films in $CH_4$/Ar and $CH_4/O_2/Ar$ chemistries.

• Proceeding of KASS Symposium
• /
• 2006.05a
• /
• pp.91-101
• /
• 2006

We have conducted the study about the shelter effect against the wind by using the wind fence with various porosities and the measured distance from the wind fence, in three different types of it ; (Circle wind fence, Vertical wind fence, Horizontal wind fence) The shelter effect and turbulence characteristics of the selected wind barrier is throughly investigated by wind tunnel test. flow characteristics of velocities and turbulences behind wind fence were measured using hot-wire anemometer. we characterize the turbulence behind the wind fence by varying the porosity of 0 %, 20 %, 40%, and 60%, and the distances from the wind fence from 1 H to 9 H with maintaining the uniform flow velocity of 6 m/s. In addition, we investigated the overall characterization of the wind fence by measuring total of twenty eight points on the wind fence, which forms the lattice structure on it with seven points in lateral direction and four points in vertical direction. The results of analysis from the circle wind fence indicate that the degree of the turbulence is lowered and the velocity of the wind is decreased when the porosity of 40 % are used at the distance from 3 H to 9 H. On the other hand, the vertical, horizontal wind fence with the porosity of 20% is more advantageous at the distance of 2 H to 9 H. For the effectiveness of the wind fence depending on the position, the center part is the greatest and it decreases at the edges with 10 % to 30 % less than that of at the center.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.333-359
• /
• 2021

Gases such as hydrogen and radon can be generated around the canister in high-level radioactive waste disposal systems due to several reasons including the corrosion of metal materials. When the gas generation rate exceeds the gas diffusion rate in the low-permeability bentonite buffer, the gas phase will form and accumulate in the engineered barrier system. If the gas pressure exceeds the gas entry pressure, gas can migrate into the bentonite buffer, resulting in pathway dilation flow and advective flow. Because a sudden occurrence of dilation flow can cause radionuclide leakage out of the engineered barrier of the radioactive waste disposal system, it is necessary to understand the gas migration behavior in the bentonite buffer to quantitatively evaluate the long-term safety of the engineered barrier. Experimental research investigating the characteristics of gas migration in saturated bentonite and research developing numerical models capable of simulating such behaviors are being actively conducted worldwide. In this technical note, previous gas injection experiments and the numerical models proposed to verify such behaviors are introduced, and the future challenges necessary for the investigation of gas migration are summarized.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.167-183
• /
• 2021

It is essential to understand the complex thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) coupled behavior in the engineered barrier system and natural barrier system to secure the high-level radioactive waste repository's long-term safety. The heat from the high-level radioactive waste induces thermal pressurization and vaporization of groundwater in the repository system. Groundwater inflow affects the saturation variation in the engineered barrier system, and the saturation change influences the heat transfer and multi-phase flow characteristics in the buffer. Due to the complexity of the coupled behavior, a numerical simulation is a valuable tool to predict and evaluate the THMC interaction effect on the disposal system and safety assessment. To enhance the knowledge of THMC coupled interaction and validate modeling techniques in geological systems. DECOVALEX, an international cooperation project, was initiated in 1992, and KAERI has participated in the projects since 2008 in Korea. In this study, we introduced the main contents of all tasks in the DECOVALEX-2023, the current DECOVALEX phase, to the rock mechanics and geotechnical researchers in Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2008.11a
• /
• pp.128-129
• /
• 2008

The annealing effects of $SiO_2/Si_3N_4$ stacked tunneling dielectrics were investigated. I-V characteristics of band gap engineered tunneling gate stacks consisted of $Si_3N_4/SiO_2/Si_3N_4$(NON), $SiO_2/Si_3N_4/SiO_2$(ONO) dielectrics were evaluated and compared with $SiO_2$ single layer using the MOS(Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) capacitor structure. The leakage currents of engineered tunneling barriers (ONO, NON stacks) are lower than that of the conventional $SiO_2$ single layer at low electrical field. Meanwhile, the engineered tunneling barriers have larger tunneling current at high electrical field and improved electrical characteristics by annealing processes than $SiO_2$ layer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Magnestics Society Conference
• /
• 2003.06a
• /
• pp.21-21
• /
• 2003

Microstructure and magnetic transport phenomina in rf sputtered AlN/Co type ten-layered discontinuous films of nanoscaled [AlN (3 nm)/Co (t nm)]...$\sub$10/ with t$\sub$Co/=1.0∼2.0 nm have been investigated. The microstructure and tunneling magnetic resistance of the samples are strongly dependent on the thickness of Co layer. Negative tunneling magneto-resistance due to the spin-dependent transport has been observed along the current-in-plane configuration in the samples having the Co layers below 1.6 nm thick. When the thickness of Co layer was less than 1,2 nm, randomly oriented granular Co particles were completely isolated and embedded in amorphous AlN matrix, and the films showed the superparamagnetic behavior with a high MR value of Δ$\rho$/$\rho$$\sub$0/=1.8 %. As t$\sub$Co/ increases, a transition from the regime of co-existence of superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic behaviors to ferromagnetic behavior was observed. Tunneling barrier called "decay length for tunneling" for the films having the thickness of Co layer from 1.4 to 1.6 nm was measured to be ranged from 0.004 to 0.021 ${\AA}$$\^$-1/.