• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권8호
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• pp.1575-1588
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• 2017

In order to develop a domestic research roadmap for severe accidents, a special committee was established by the Korean Nuclear Society. One of the subcommittees discussed the characteristics and the relevant technical issues in the stages of fission product release and physical forms of radionuclide release and transport. The group members developed a tree to identify fission product release phenomena by tracing failures of individual defense-in-depth barriers and added possible countermeasures against failure. For each elemental issue, they searched for technical problems by examining the phenomena, accident management actions, and regulatory aspects relevant to the mitigation features for containment, including mitigation strategies against containment bypass accidents. Regulatory concerns, including the source term and the acceptance criteria for radionuclide release, were also considered. They identified further research needs regarding important technical issues based on the degree of the current knowledge level in Korea and in foreign countries, looking at the significance and urgency of issues and the expected research period required to reach an advanced level of knowledge. As a result, the group identified the 12 most important and urgent issues, most of which were expected to require mid-term and long-term research periods.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1997년도 춘계학술발표회논문집(1)
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• pp.464-470
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• 1997

Severe accident analysis has been performed for the Wolsung nuclear power plants in Korea to investigate severe accident phenomena of CANDU-600 reactors as a part of Level II PSA study. The accident sequence analyzed in this paper is loss of active heat sinks(LOAH) which is caused by loss of off-site power, diesel generators, and DC power. ISAAC (Integrated Severe Accident Analysis Code)computer code developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) was used in this analysis. This paper describes the important thermal-hydraulics and source term behaviors in the primary system and inside containment, and the failure mechanism of calandria vessel and containment. In addition, some insights for accident management program(AMP) are also given.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.79-88
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• 1996

A hypothetical accident in the containment vessel of liquid metal reactor could cause a pressure, temperature rise, and a strong aerosol release. The computer codes relating to the modelization of these accident make it necessary to use various input parameter, among which is the dynamic shape factor of aerosols produced. Combustion experiments of sodium spray fire carried out in a closed vessel, which was vertical cylinder made of 1.2m in diameter and 1.8m hight with a volume of 1.7$m^3$. The results of theoretical analysis presented here was compared to data obtained from experiments. The experimental results were summarized as follows. 1) The aerodynamic diameter and geometric diameter of aerosols are decreasing with increasing of injection pressure and injection temperature of sodium 2) The dynamic shape factor of aerosol is proportional to the aerodynamic diameter for a given particle. 3) The correspondence between the aerodynamic diameter and geometric diameter can be as $D_{ae}=0.70 D_{ge}$. 4) Peak pressure rose with increase in pressure and temperature of injection sodium, being more sensitive to the injection pressure than the injection temperature.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권10호
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• pp.3298-3313
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• 2021

The objective of this study is to estimate the occurrence probabilities of severe accident phenomena based on a fuzzy elicitation technique. Normally, it is difficult to determine these probabilities due to the lack of information on severe accident progression and the highly uncertain values currently in use. In this case, fuzzy set theory (FST) can be best exploited. First, questions were devised for expert elicitation on technical issues of severe accident phenomena. To deal with ambiguities and the imprecision of previously developed (reference) probabilities, fuzzy aggregation methods based on FST were employed to derive the occurrence probabilities of severe accidents via four phases: 1) choosing experts, 2) quantifying weighting factors for the experts, 3) aggregating the experts' opinions, and 4) defuzzifying the fuzzy numbers. In this way, this study obtained expert elicitation results in the form of updated occurrence probabilities of severe accident phenomena in the OPR-1000 plant, after which the differences between the reference probabilities and the newly acquired probabilities using fuzzy aggregation were compared, with the advantages of the fuzzy technique over other approaches explained. Lastly, the impact of applying the updated severe accident probabilities on containment integrity was quantitatively investigated in a Level 2 PSA model.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제35권3호
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• pp.96-104
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• 2020

The numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the thermal-fluid phenomena occurred inside the experimental apparatus during a PCCS, used to remove heat released in accidents from a containment of light water nuclear power plant, operation. Numerical simulations of the flow and heat transfer caused by wall condensation inside the containment simulation vessel (CSV), which equipped with 18 vertical heat exchanger tubes, were conducted using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS-CFX. Shear stress transport (SST) and the wall condensation model were used for turbulence closure and wall condensation, respectively. The simulation using the actual size of the apparatus. However, rather than simulating the whole experimental apparatus in consideration of the experimental cases, calculation resources, and calculation time, the simulation model was prepared only in CSV. Selective simulation was conducted to verify the effects of non-condensable gas(NC gas) concentration, CSV internal pressure, and wall sub-cooling conditions. First, as a result of the internal flow of CSV, it was observed that downward flow due to condensation occurred surface of the vertical tube and upward flow occurred in the distant place. Natural convection occurred actively around the heat exchanger tube. Due to this rising and falling internal flow, natural circulation occurred actively around the heat exchanger tubes. Next, in order to check the performance of built-in condensation model using according to the non-condensable gas concentration, CSV internal flow and wall sub-cooling, the heat flux values were compared with the experimental results. On average, the results were underestimated with and error of about 25%. In addition, the influence of CSV internal pressure and wall sub-cooling was small, but when the condensate was highly generated due to the low non-condensable gas concentration, the error was large compared to the experimental values. This is considered to be due to the nature of the condensation model of the CFX code. However, in spite of the limitations of CFD, it is valid to use the built-in condensation model of CFD for PCCS performance prediction from a conservative perspective.

• 한국전산구조공학회논문집
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.93-103
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• 2006

격납건물은 원자로 사고발생시 방사능물질의 외부 유출을 막는 최후의 방벽이므로 가동 중 원전의 격납건물에 대한 안전성평가는 반드시 수행되어야 된다. 이러한 맥락에서 이 논문은 원전 격납건물의 비선형해석을 위해 탄소성 모델을 바탕으로 개발된 8절점 가변형도 쉘 요소와 이를 이용한 구조물의 비선형해석에 대하여 기술하였다. 비선형해석을 위해 콘크리트의 압축거동에 Drucker-Prager 파괴기준을 적용하였고 파괴포락선의 형상을 결정짓는 재료매개변수는 이축응력 실험으로부터 도출하였다. 개발된 쉘 유한요소는 퇴화 고체기법과 횡 전단변형도를 고려하기 위하여 Reissner-Mindlin(RM)가정을 도입하였고 쉘의 두께가 얇거나, 즉 종횡비가 작거나, 균일하지 않은 유한요소망을 사용할 경우 구조물의 강성이 과대하게 평가되는 묶임현상(locking phenomenon)을 제거하기 위해 본 논문에서는 가변형도법을 도입하였다. 개발된 철근콘크리트 쉘 요소의 성능검증을 위해서 벤치마크 테스트를 수행하였고 그 결과 이 논문에서 도출한 유한요소해석 결과는 실험결과와 잘 일치 하였다

• 한국압력기기공학회 논문집
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.90-100
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• 2021

Molten corium-concrete interaction (MCCI) is one of the most important phenomena that can lead to the potential hazard of late containment failure due to basemat penetration during a severe accident. In this study, MCCI analytical models of the CORQUENCH code were prepared through verification calculations of several experiments, which had been performed using concrete types similar to those of the calandria vault floor in CANDU-6 plants. The behaviors of thermal-hydraulic variables related to MCCI phenomena were analyzed under the conditions of dry floor and water flooding during the severe accident stemming from a hypothetic station blackout. Uncertainty analyses on the ablation depth were also carried out. It was estimated that the concrete ablation was not interrupted due to the continuous MCCI process under the dry condition but was terminated within 24 hours under the water flooding condition. It was confirmed that the water flooding as a mitigating action was effective to achieve the quenching and thermal stabilization of the melt discharged from the calandria vessel, showing that the present models are capable of reasonably simulating MCCI phenomena in CANDU-6 plants. This study is expected to provide the technical bases to the accident management strategy during the late-phase severe accidents.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권2호
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• pp.426-433
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• 2017

This paper describes the development process, the innovative techniques used and insights gained from the latest integrated, full scope, multistate Level 2 PSA analysis conducted at the Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant (KKL), Switzerland. KKL is a modern single-unit General Electric Boiling Water Reactor (BWR/6) with Mark III Containment, and a power output of $3600MW_{th}/1200MW_e$, the highest among the five operating reactors in Switzerland. A Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) analyses accident phenomena in nuclear power plants, identifies ways in which radioactive releases from plants can occur and estimates release pathways, magnitude and frequency. This paper attempts to give an overview of the advanced modeling techniques that have been developed and implemented for the recent KKL Level 2 PSA update, with the aim of systematizing the analysis and modeling processes, as well as complying with the relatively prescriptive Swiss requirements for PSA. The analysis provides significant insights into the absolute and relative importances of risk contributors and accident prevention and mitigation measures. Thanks to several newly developed techniques and an integrated approach, the KKL Level 2 PSA report exhibits a high degree of reviewability and maintainability, and transparently highlights the most important risk contributors to Large Early Release Frequency (LERF) with respect to initiating events, components, operator actions or seismic component failure probabilities (fragilities).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.26-32
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• 2015

During the course of a severe accident in a light water nuclear reactor, large amounts of hydrogen can be generated and released into the containment during reactor core degradation. Additional burnable gases [hydrogen ($H_2$) and carbon monoxide (CO)] may be released into the containment in the corium/concrete interaction. This could subsequently raise a combustion hazard. As the Fukushima accidents revealed, hydrogen combustion can cause high pressure spikes that could challenge the reactor buildings and lead to failure of the surrounding buildings. To prevent the gas explosion hazard, most mitigation strategies adopted by European countries are based on the implementation of passive autocatalytic recombiners (PARs). Studies of representative accident sequences indicate that, despite the installation of PARs, it is difficult to prevent at all times and locations, the formation of a combustible mixture that potentially leads to local flame acceleration. Complementary research and development (R&D) projects were recently launched to understand better the phenomena associated with the combustion hazard and to address the issues highlighted after the Fukushima Daiichi events such as explosion hazard in the venting system and the potential flammable mixture migration into spaces beyond the primary containment. The expected results will be used to improve the modeling tools and methodology for hydrogen risk assessment and severe accident management guidelines. The present paper aims to present the methodology adopted by Institut de Radioprotection et de $S{\hat{u}}ret{\acute{e}}$ $Nucl{\acute{e}}aire$ to assess hydrogen risk in nuclear power plants, in particular French nuclear power plants, the open issues, and the ongoing R&D programs related to hydrogen distribution, mitigation, and combustion.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.257-264
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• 1994

원자력발전소 중대사고시 용융된 노심과 잔류냉각수가 증기폭발을 일으켜 원자로 격납용기의 건전성을 위협할 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 증기폭발을 모사할 수 있는 실험 장치를 제작하고, 물과 프레온을 사용하여 증기폭발실험을 수행하였다. 이때 고속카메라를 사용하여 폭발현상을 관측하였고, 동압측정기와 압력분출관을 이용하여 생성되는 폭발압력과 기계적인 에너지를 계측하였다. 이를 토대로 증기폭발의 중요인자들(물의 온도, 물의 주입속도, 물의 주입 시간, 그리고 냉매의 깊이)에 대한 민감도 분석을 수행하였다. 그리고, 압력용기 바닥의 구조물이 용융/냉각재의 반응에 미치는 영향을 살펴보기위하여 실험용기 내부에 그리드를 설치하여 폭발실험을 실시하였다. 물/프레온의 폭발실험에서 계측된 기계적에너지를 이용한 에너지효율은 0.5∼l.6%인 것으로 계산되었다.