• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.734-741
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• 2020

A new air-cooled waste heat removal system with a direct contact heat exchanger was designed for SMRs requiring 200 MW of waste heat removal. Conventional air-cooled systems use fin structure causing high thermal resistance; therefore, a large cooling tower is required. The new design replaces the fin structure with a vertical string type direct contact heat exchanger which has the most effective performance among tested heat exchangers in a previous study. The design results showed that the new system requires a cooling tower 50% smaller than that of the conventional system. However, droplet formation on a falling film along a string caused by Rayleigh-Plateau instability decreases heat removal performance of the new system. Analysis of Rayleigh-Plateau instability considering drag force on the falling film surface was developed. The analysis results showed that the instability can be prevented by providing thick string. The instability is prevented when the string radius exceeds the capillary length of liquid by a factor of 0.257 under stagnant air and 0.260 under 5 m/s air velocity.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.131-140
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• 1993

A new model which requires one branch of main curves for the model calibration is developed based on the assumption that the weighting factor accounting for the pore blockage effect against air entry, $P_a({\theta})$, in Mualem's Model III-1 has a linear relation to the dimensionless pore radius r. The proposed model simulates experimental data more accurately than existing models which require one branch of main curves for the model calibration. Previous study showed that Model III-1 is the most appropriate model among domain models which require two branches of main curves for the model calibration. In comparison of the proposed model with Model III-1, both simulate hysteresis curves with almost the same accuracy. The proposed model can be applied efficiently in analyzing the unsaturated flow.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.93-107
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• 2013

Thermal conduction of the particulate composites or granular materials can be widely used in porous materials and geotechnical engineering. And it has continued to develop "effective thermal conductivity" of medium by modeling energy relationship among particles in medium. This study focuses on the development of the effective thermal conductivity at the unsaturated conditions of soils using the modified network model approach assisted by synthetic 3D random packed systems (DEM method, Discrete Element Method) at the particle scale. To verify the network model, three kinds of glass beads and the Jumunjin sand are used to obtain experimental values at various unsaturated conditions. The PPE (Pressure Plate Extractor) test is then performed to obtain SWCC (Soil-Water Characteristic Curve) of soil samples. In the modified network model, SWCC is used to adjust the equivalent radius of thermal cylinder at contact area between particles. And cutoff range parameter to define the effective zone is also adjusted according to the SWCC at given conditions. From a series of laboratory tests and the proposed network model, the modified network model which adopts a SWCC shows a good agreement in modeling thermal conductivity of granular soils at given conditions. And an empirical correlation between the fraction of the mean radius (${\chi}$) and thermal conductivity at given saturated condition is provided, which can be used to expect thermal conductivity of the granular soils, to estimate thermal conductivity of granular soils.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.271-278
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• 1999

Soil filters are commonly used to protect the soil structures from eroding and piping. When filters are clogged by fine particles which are progressively accumulated, these may lead to buildup of excessive pore pressures also leading to instability in subsurface infrastructure. A filter in the backfill of a retaining wall, a filter adjacent to the lining of a tunnel, or a filter in the bottom of an earth dam can be clogged by transported fine particles. This causes reduction in the permeability, which in turn may lead to intolerable decreases in their drainage capacity. In this thesis, the extent of this reduction is addressed using results from both experimental and theoretical investigations. In the experimental phase, the permeability reduction of a filter is monitored when an influent of constant concentration flows into the filter (uncoupled test), and when the water flow through the soil-filter system to simulate an in-situ condition (coupled test), respectively. The results of coupled and uncoupled test are compared with among others. In the theoretical phase of the investigation, a representative elemental volume of the soil filter was modeled as an ensemble of capillary tubes and the permeability reduction due to physical clogging was simulated using basic principles of flow in cylindrical tubes. In general, it was found that the permeability was reduced by at least one order of magnitude, and that the results from the uncoupled test and theoretical investigations were in good agreement. It is observed that the amount of deposited particles of the coupled test matches fairly well with that of the uncoupled test, which indicates that the prediction of permeability reduction is possible by preforming the uncoupled test instead of the coupled test, and/or by utilizing the theoretical model.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.61-66
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• 1979

This experiment was conducted to find out the simple and economical method to improve physical properties of the soil that was very poor for the establishment of orchard. Jeonnam clay loam soils distributed mainly on rolling and hill side slope, were treated with the explosion of two kinds of dynamite at the depth of 1 m. The change of physical properties was investigated vertically and horizontally after soil profile had settled to some extent. The results were summarized as : 1. The original soil was very high in bulk density and soil hardness. Total porosity and aeration porosities were lower than critical level providing root elongation. It was more apparent in the subsoil than in the surface soil. 2. It was recognized that soil mass destruction and cracking by dynamite explosion decreased soil bulk density and soil hardness and increased porosity, especially non-capillary pores. 3. Effective radius of the improved physical properties by explosion with two dynamites was 100cm at 60cm depth and 30cm at 80cm depth. But with the use of three dynamites it was 100cm at 80cm depth. 4. It was thought that soil mass destruction and cracking caused by explosion was uneven in the two dynamites, and three dynamites was more effective to improve physical properties evenly. 5. With the use of two dynamites, Ammonium explosive was superior to gelatin dynamite.