• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1100-1108
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• 2021

Supercritical water has great potential as a coolant for nuclear reactor. Its use will lead to higher thermal efficiency of Rankine cycle. However, in certain conditions heat transfer may get deteriorated which may lead to undesirable high clad surface temperature. It is necessary to estimate the operating conditions in which heat transfer deterioration (HTD) will take place, so as to establish thermal margins for safe reactor operation. In the present work, the heat flux corresponding to onset of HTD for vertically upward flow of supercritical water in a pipe is obtained over a wide range of system parameters, namely pressure, mass flux, and pipe diameter. This is done by performing large number of simulations using an in-house CFD code, which is especially developed and validated for this purpose. The identification of HTD is based on observance of one or more peak/s in the computed wall temperature profile. The existing correlations for predicting the onset of HTD are compared against the results obtained by present simulations as well as available sets of experimental data. It is found that the prediction accuracy of the correlation proposed by Dongliang et al. is best among the existing correlations.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.741-751
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• 2021

There has been a deep interest in trying to find better-performing fuel clad motivated by the desire to decrease the likelihood of the reactor barrier failure like what happened in Fukushima in recent years. In this study, the effect of move towards accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding as the most attracting concept for improving reactor safety is investigated for SMART modular reactor. These reactors have less production cost, short construction time, better safety and higher power density. The SiC and FeCrAl materials are considered as the most potential candidate for ATF cladding, and the results are compared with Zircaloy cladding material from reactor physics point of view. In this paper, the calculations are performed by generating PMAX library by DRAGON lattice physics code to be used for further reactor core analysis by PARCS code. The differential and integral worth of control and safety rods, reactivity coefficient, power and temperature distributions, and boric acid concentration during the cycle are analyzed and compared from the conventional fuel cladding. The rod ejection accident (REA) is also performed to study how the power changed in response to presence of the ATF cladding in the reactor core. The key quantitative finding can be summarized as: 20 ℃ (3%) decrease in average fuel temperature, 33 pcm (3%) increase in integral rod worth and cycle length, 1.26 pcm/℃ (50%) and 1.05 pcm/℃ (16%) increase in reactivity coefficient of fuel and moderator, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.410-416
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• 2010

Studies were carried out to establish the technology for sodium-clad compatibility and to analyze the compatibility behavior of the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) cladding material under a flowing sodium environment. The natural circulation facility caused by the thermal convection of the liquid sodium was constructed and the 316-series stainless steels were exposed at $650{^{\circ}C}$ liquid sodium for 1458 hours. The weight change and related microstructural change were analyzed. The results showed that the quasi-dynamic facility represented by the natural convection exhibited similar results compared to the conventional dynamic facility. Selective leaching and local depletion of the chromium, re-distribution of the carbide, and the decarburization process took place in the 316-series stainless steel under a flowing sodium environment. This process decreased as the sodium flowed along the channel, which was caused by the change in the dissolved oxygen and carbon activity in the liquid sodium.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.380-387
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• 2011

Wire brushing, which is a typical surface preparation method for roll bonding, has recently been highlighted as a potentially effective method for surface nanocrystallization. In the present study, the microstructure evolution and hardness of the wire-brushed surface and roll-bonded interface of a 1050 aluminum sheet were investigated. Wire brushing formed protruded layers with a nanocrystalline structure and extremely high surface hardness. After roll bonding, the protruded layers remained as hard layers at the interface. Due to their hardness and brittleness the interface hard layers, can affect the interface bonding properties and also play an important role determining the mechanical properties of multi-layered clad sheets.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.601-607
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• 2021

Laser cladding a surface treatment process that grants superior characteristics such as toughness, hardness, and corrosion resistance to the surface, and rebuilds cracked molds; as such, it can be a strong tool to prolong service life of mold steel. Furthermore, compared with the other similar coating processes - thermal spray, etc., laser cladding provides superior bonding strength and precision coating on a local area. In this study, surface characteristics are studied after laser cladding of low carbon steel using 18%Cr-2.5%Ni-Fe powder (Rockit404), known for its high hardness and excellent corrosion resistance. A diode laser with wavelength of 900-1070 nm is adopted as laser source under argon atmosphere; electrical power for the laser cladding process is 5, 6, and 10 kW. Fundamental surface characteristics such as crossectional microstructure and hardness profile are observed and measured, and special evaluation, such as a soldering test with molten ALDC12 alloy, is conducted to investigate the corrosion resistance characteristics. As a result of the die-soldering test by immersion of low carbon alloy steel in ALDC12 molten metal, the clad layer's soldering thickness decreases.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.138-151
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• 2022

Cladding ballooning and rupture are the important phenomena at the early stage of a severe accident. Most severe accident analysis codes determine the cladding rupture based on simple parameter models. In this paper, a FRTMB module was developed using the thermal-mechanical model to analyze the fuel mechanical behavior. The purpose is to judge the cladding rupture with the severe accident analysis code. The FRTMB module was integrated into the self-developed severe accident analysis code ISAA to simulate the PHEBUS FPT3 experiment. The predicted rupture time and temperature of the cladding were basically consistent with the measured values, which verified the correctness and effectiveness of the FRTMB module. The results showed that the rising of gas pressure in the fuel rod and high temperature led to cladding ballooning. Consequently, the cladding hoop strain exceeded the strain limit, and the cladding burst. The developed FRTMB module can be applied not only to rod-type fuel, but also to plate-type fuel and other types of reactor fuel rods. Moreover, the FRTMB module can improve the channel blockage model of ISAA code and make contributions to analyzing the effect of clad ballooning on transient and subsequent parts of core degradation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.3154-3165
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• 2022

During a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in the pressurized water reactor (PWR), there is a possibility that high temperature and internal pressure of the fuel rods lead to ballooning of the cladding, which causes a partial blockage of flow area in a subchannel. Such flow blockage would influence the core coolant flow, thus affecting the core heat transfer during a reflooding phase and subsequent severe accident. However, most of the system analysis codes simulate the accident process based on the assumed channel blockage ratio, resulting in the fact that the simulation results are not consistent with the actual situation. This paper integrates the developed core Fuel Rod Thermal-Mechanical Behavior analysis (FRTMB) module into the self-developed severe accident analysis code ISAA. At the same time, the existing flow blockage model is improved to make it possible to simulate the change of flow distribution due to fuel rod deformation. Finally, the ISAA-FRTMB is used to simulate the QUENCH-LOCA-0 experiment to verify the correctness and effectiveness of the improved flow blockage model, and then the effect of clad ballooning on core heat transfer and subsequent parts of core degradation is analyzed.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.371-383
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• 2022

Buildings with mono-sloped roofs are used for different purposes like at railway platforms, restaurants, industrial buildings, etc. Between two types of mono-slope roofs, clad and unclad, unclad canopy types are more vulnerable to wind load as wind produces pressure on both upper and lower surfaces of the roof, resulting in uplifting of the roof surface. This paper discusses the provisions of wind loads in different codes and standards for Low-rise buildings. Further, the pressure coefficients on mono-slope canopy roof available in wind code and standards are compared. Previous experimental studies for mono-slope canopy roof along with the recent wind tunnel testing carried out at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee is briefly discussed and compared with the available wind codes. From the study it can further be asserted that the information available related to staging or blocking under the mono-slope canopy roofs is limited. This paper is an attempt to put together the available information in different wind codes/standards and the research works carried out by different researchers, along with shedding some light on the future scopes of research on mono-slope canopy roofs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.179-189
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• 1994

A performance of reactor coolant pump in two-phase flow is examined using the pump geometric conditions and the performance of the pump in single-phase flow. Wall friction loss of the reactor coolant pump in single-phase flow is prdicted using the Truckenbrodt boundary layer theory, and the head loss in two-phase flow is predicted with calculated well friction loss and separation loss coefficients. The analysis results are compared with the Combustion Engineering pump test data. The effect of two-phase multiplier on the peak clad temperature in Loss-of-Coolant Accident is also examined using the RELAP5 and the results indicate the importance of its accuracy.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.203-214
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• 2024

A heat exchanger is a device designed to transfer heat between two or more fluids. In a vehicle's thermal management system, Al heat exchangers play a critical role in controlling and managing heat for efficient and safe operation of the engine and other components. The fluid used to prevent heat exchangers from overheating the engine is mostly tap water. Heat exchange performance can be maintained at sub-zero temperatures using a solution mixed with antifreeze. Although the fluid flowing through the heat exchanger can reduce the temperature inside the engine, it also has various problems such as cavitation corrosion. Cavitation corrosion characteristics in tap water and corrosion characteristics were evaluated in this study when antifreeze was added for test specimens where AA4045 was cladded on the inner surface of AA3003 tubes of a fin-type heat exchanger. The cavitation corrosion resistance of AA3003 was found to be superior to that of AA4045 regardless of the test solution due to higher corrosion resistance and hardness of AA3003 than those of AA4045. The cavitation corrosion rate of Al alloys increased with the addition of antifreeze.