• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.2775-2787
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• 2021

At present, most of the widely used system codes for nuclear safety analysis are one-dimensional, which cannot effectively simulate the flow field of the reactor core or other structures. This is true even for the system codes containing three-dimensional modules with limited three-dimensional simulation function such as RELAP-3D. In contrast, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes excel at providing a detailed three-dimensional flow field of the reactor core or other components; however, the computational domain is relatively small and results in the very high computing resource consuming. Therefore, the development of coupling codes, which can make comprehensive use of the advantages of system and CFD codes, has become a research focus. In this paper, a review focus on the researches of coupled CFD and thermal-hydraulic system codes was carried out, which summarized the method of coupling, the data transfer processing between CFD and system codes, and the verification and validation (V&V) of coupled codes. Furthermore, a series of problems associated with the coupling procedure have been identified, which provide the general direction for the development and V&V efforts of coupled codes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2019

After Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP accident, the need for implementation of diverse and flexible coping strategies (FLEX) became evident. However, to ensure the effectiveness of the safety strategy, it is essential to quantify the uncertainties associated with the station blackout (SBO) scenario as well as the operator actions. In this paper, a systems engineering approach for uncertainty analysis (UA) of a SBO scenario in advanced pressurized water reactor is performed. MARS-KS is used as a best estimate thermal-hydraulic code and is loosely-coupled with Dakota software which is employed to develop the uncertainty quantification framework. Furthermore, the systems engineering approach is adopted to identify the requirements, functions and physical architecture, and to develop the verification and validation plan. For the preliminary analysis, 13 uncertainty parameters are propagated through the model to evaluate the stability and convergence of the framework. The developed framework will ultimately be used to quantify the aleatory and epistemic uncertainties associated with an extended SBO accident scenario and assess the coping capability of APR1400 and the effectiveness of the implemented FLEX strategies.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.72 no.3
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• pp.313-327
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• 2019

Damage evolution in the form of void nucleation, propagation and coalescence is the primary cause that is responsible for the ductile failure of microalloyed steels. The Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) damage model has proven to be extremely robust for characterizing the microscopic damage behavior of ductile metals. Nonetheless, successful applications of the model on a given metal type are limited by the correct identification of damage parameters as well as the validation of the calculated void growth rate. The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, we aim to identify the damage parameters of the GTN model for Q345 steel (Chinese code), due to its extensive application in mechanical and civil industries in China. The identification of damage parameters is facilitated by the well-suited response surface methodology, followed by a complete analysis of variance for evaluating the statistical significance of the identified model. Second, taking notched Q345 cylinders as an example, finite element simulations implemented with the identified GTN model are performed in order to analyze their microscopic damage behavior. In particular, the void growth rate predicted from the simulations is successfully correlated with experimentally measured acoustic emissions. The quantitative correlation suggests that during the yielding stage the void growth rate increases linearly with the acoustic emissions, while in the strain-hardening and softening period the dependence becomes an exponential function. The combined experimental and finite element approach provides a means for validating simulated void growth rate against experimental measurements of acoustic emissions in microalloyed steels.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.6
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• pp.699-712
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• 2019

The reinforced concrete lining of hydraulic pressure tunnels tends to crack under high inner water pressure (IWP), which results in the inner water exosmosis along cracks and involves typical hydro-mechanical interaction. This study aims at the development, validation and application of an indirect-coupled method to simulate the lining cracking process. Based on the concrete damage plasticity (CDP) model, the utility routine GETVRM and the user subroutine USDFLD in the finite element code ABAQUS is employed to calculate and adjust the secondary hydraulic conductivity according to the material damage and the plastic volume strain. The friction-contact method (FCM) is introduced to track the lining-rock interface behavior. Compared with the traditional node-shared method (NSM) model, the FCM model is more feasible to simulate the lining cracking process. The number of cracks and the reinforcement stress can be significantly reduced, which matches well with the observed results in engineering practices. Moreover, the damage evolution of reinforced concrete lining can be effectively slowed down. This numerical method provides an insight into the cracking process of reinforced concrete lining in hydraulic pressure tunnels.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.3897-3908
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• 2022

High-fidelity nuclear data libraries and neutronics simulation tools are essential for the development of fast reactors. The IAEA coordinated research project on "Neutronics Benchmark of CEFR Start-Up Tests" offers valuable data for the qualification of nuclear data libraries and neutronics codes. This paper focuses on the verification and validation of the CEFR start-up modelling using OpenMC Monte-Carlo code against the experimental measurements. The OpenMC simulation results agree well with the measurements in criticality, control rod worth, sodium void reactivity, temperature reactivity, subassembly swap reactivity, and reaction distribution. In feedback coefficient evaluations, an additional state method shows high consistency with lower uncertainty. Among 122 relative errors in the benchmark of the distribution of nuclear reaction, 104 errors are less than 10% and 84 errors are less than 5%. The results demonstrate the high reliability of OpenMC for its application in fast reactor simulations. In the companion paper, the influence of cross-section libraries is investigated using neutronics modelling in this paper.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.119-139
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• 2022

This paper aims to use the artificial intelligence approach to develop a new model for predicting the ultimate axial strength of the circular concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) stub columns. For this, the results of 314 experimentally tested circular CFST stub columns were employed in the generation of the design model. Since the influence of the column diameter, steel tube thickness, concrete compressive strength, steel tube yield strength, and column length on the ultimate axial strengths of columns were investigated in these experimental studies, here, in the development of the design model, these variables were taken into account as input parameters. The model was developed using the backpropagation algorithm named Bayesian Regularization. The accuracy, reliability, and consistency of the developed model were evaluated statistically, and also the design formulae given in the codes (EC4, ACI, AS, AIJ, and AISC) and the previous empirical formulations proposed by other researchers were used for the validation and comparison purposes. Based on this evaluation, it can be expressed that the developed design model has a strong and reliable prediction performance with a considerably high coefficient of determination (R-squared) value of 0.9994 and a low average percent error of 4.61. Besides, the sensitivity of the developed model was also monitored in terms of dimensional properties of columns and mechanical characteristics of materials. As a consequence, it can be stated that for the design of the ultimate axial capacity of the circular CFST stub columns, a novel artificial intelligence-based design model with a good and robust prediction performance was proposed herein.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.83 no.4
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• pp.563-576
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• 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the progressive collapse potential of buildings designed using conventional design codes for the merchant occupancy classification and subjected to a sudden column failure. For this purpose, three reinforced concrete buildings having different story numbers were designed according to the seismic design recommendations of TSCB-2019. Later on, the buildings were analyzed using the GSA-2016 and UFC 4-023-03 to observe their progressive collapse responses. Three columns were removed independently in the structures from different locations. Nonlinear dynamic analysis method for the alternate path direct design approach was implemented for the design evaluation. The plasticity of the structural members was simulated by using nonlinear fiber hinges. The moment, axial, and shear force interaction on the hinges was considered by the Modified Compression Field Theory. Moreover, an existing experimental study investigating the progressive collapse behavior of reinforced concrete structures was used to observe the validation of nonlinear fiber hinges and the applied analysis methodology. The study results deduce that a limited local collapse disproportionately more extensive than the initial failure was experienced on the buildings designed according to TSCB-2019. The mercantile structures designed according to current seismic codes require additional direct design considerations to improve their progressive collapse resistance against the risk of a sudden column loss.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.3164-3182
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• 2023

The CRUD on the fuel cladding under the pressurized water reactor (PWR) operating condition causes several issues. The CRUD can act as thermal resistance and increases the local cladding temperature which accelerate the corrosion process. The hideout of boron inside the CRUD results in axial offset anomaly and reduces the plant's shutdown margin. Recently, there are efforts to revise the acceptance criteria of emergency core cooling systems (ECCS), and additionally require the modeling of the thermal resistance effect of the CRUD during the performance analysis. There is an urgent need for the evaluation of the effect of the CRUD deposition on the cladding heat transfer under PWR operating conditions, but the experimental database is very limited. The experimental facility called DISNY was designed and constructed to analyze the CRUD-related multi-physical phenomena, and the performance analysis of the constructed DISNY facility was conducted. The thermal-hydraulic and water chemistry conditions to simulate the CRUD growth under PWR operating conditions were established. The design characteristics and feasibility of the DISNY facility were validated by the MARS-KS code analysis and separate performance tests. In the current study, detailed design features, design validation results, and future utilization plans of the proposed DISNY facility are presented.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.159-170
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• 2023

In the present study, the dynamic behavior characteristics of an amphibious assault vehicle during water entry were analyzed using STAR-CCM+, a commercial computational fluid dynamics(CFD) code. All computations were performed using an overset mesh system and a RANS based flow-solver coupled with dynamic fluid-body interaction(DFBI) solver for simulating three degrees of freedom motion. For numerical validation of the solver, a water entry simulation of inclined circular cylinder was conducted and it was compared between an existing experiment data and CFD results. The pitch angle variation and the trajectory of the circular cylinder during water entry shows good agreement with previous experimental and numerical studies. For the water entry simulations of the amphibious assault vehicle, the analysis of dynamic behaviors of the amphibious assault vehicle with different slope angles, submerged depths and initial velocities were conducted. It is confirmed that the steep slope angle increases the submerged volume of the amphibious assault vehicle, so the buoyancy acting on the vehicle is increased and the moved distance for the re-flotation is decreased. It is also revealed that the submerged volume is increased, bow-up phenomenon occur earlier.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.13-24
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• 2023

In this study, alternative seismic force-resisting systems for plant structure supporting equipment were designed, and the seismic performance thereof was compared using nonlinear dynamic analysis. One alternative seismic force-resisting system was designed per the requirement for ordinary moment-resisting and concentrically braced frames but with a reduced base shear. The other seismic force-resisting system was designed by accommodating seismic details of intermediate and unique moment-resisting frames and special concentrically braced frames. Different plastic hinge models were applied to ordinary and ductile systems based on the validation using existing test results. The control model obtained by code-based flexible design and/or reduction of base shear did not satisfy the seismic performance objectives, but the alternative structural system did by strengthened panel zones and a reduced effective buckling length. The seismic force to equipment calculated from the nonlinear dynamic analysis was significantly lower than the equivalent static force of KDS 41 17 00. The comparison of design alternatives showed that the seismic performance required for a plant structure could be secured economically by using performance-based design and alternative seismic-force resisting systems adopting minimally modified seismic details.