• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.102-109
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• 2023

Following the accident at Fukushima, the true impact of multi-unit accidents came to light. Accordingly, research related to multi-unit accident effect analysis, risk evaluation, and accident prevention/prevention technology has been conducted. Specific examples are mobile/fixed equipment such as multi-barrier accident coping strategy (MACST) and diverse and flexible coping strategies (FLEX), which have been introduced and installed in multi-units for preventing and mitigating multi-unit accidents. These strategies are useful for enhancing the safety of nuclear power plants (NPPs); however, a more efficient strategy is required in terms of the costs of physical and human resources. To effectively and efficiently mitigate an increase in multi-unit accidents, it is necessary to not only to utilize mobile/fixed equipment but to also use crosstie options with resources that already exist at NPPs. Therefore, we analyzed the current international and domestic status of crosstie systems technology and propose a method to evaluate feasibility alongside risk based on a multi-unit probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). To analyze the international and domestic status of crosstie systems technology, actual cases and related research were studied, and a list of potential crosstie safety resources was derived. Additionally, a case study was performed on crosstie cases of two systems within the assumed six units on-site under a multi-unit accident, and a multi-unit PSA-based risk evaluation method is proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.710-720
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• 2017

In Korea, many nuclear power plants operate at a single site based on geographical characteristics, but the population density near the sites is higher than that in other countries. Thus, multiunit accidents are a more important consideration than in other countries and should be addressed appropriately. Currently, there are many issues related to a multiunit probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). One of them is the quantification of a multiunit PSA model. A traditional PSA uses a Boolean manipulation of the fault tree in terms of the minimal cut set. However, such methods have some limitations when rare event approximations cannot be used effectively or a very small truncation limit should be applied to identify accident sequence combinations for a multiunit site. In particular, it is well known that seismic risk in terms of core damage frequency can be overestimated because there are many events that have a high failure probability. In this study, we propose a quantification method based on a Monte Carlo approach for a multiunit PSA model. This method can consider all possible accident sequence combinations in a multiunit site and calculate a more exact value for events that have a high failure probability. An example model for six identical units at a site was also developed and quantified to confirm the applicability of the proposed method.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2018

Ecological networks can be generally classified into core areas, buffer zones, and corridors. Particularly, buffer zones connect core areas or ecological corridors, and preserve ecological network by reducing the impact from outside. We examined related laws and researches about buffer zone establishment associated with the resources of high ecological and conservation value to find out more researches are needed. In this study, we investigated various examples of the criteria for establishing buffer zones at domestic and overseas. Based on the results of railway environmental impact assessment and railway construction guidelines, we analyzed the application methods applicable to the railway development area and proposed the criteria to evaluate land cover status, species diversity, rarity, and connectivity. Through this study, the environmental and ecological value around the development area of the railroad was examined to reduce the environmental damage from railroad construction.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.702-705
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• 2006

Change detection is a core function of remote sensing. It can be widely used in public services such as land monitoring, damage assessment from disaster, analysis of city growth, etc. However, it seems that the change detection using satellite imagery has not been fully used in public services. For the person who is in charge of public services, it seems not to be ease to implement the change detection because various functions are combined into it. So, to promote the use of the change detection in public services, the standard, the process and the method for the change detection in public services should be established. And the software which supports that will be very useful. This study aims to promote the use of satellite imagery in public services by building up the change detection process which are suitable for general public services and developing the change detection software to support the process. The software has been developed using ETRI Components for Satellite Image Processing to support the interoperability with other GIS software.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.54-64
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• 1988

This paper assesses the models in the SCDAP code using the results of the FLHT-2 test. Calculations show that the SCDAP correctly predicts Ire temperatures, oxidation front movement, overall hydrogen generation and peak generation rate, internal fuel rod pressure, and cladding rupture due to ballooning. A comparison of the calculated results with measured data shows that two phase level is underpredicted, and that radiation heat transfer and auto-catalytic reaction temperature of zircaloy are overpredicted. These models are recommended to be modified. The analysis also shows that the simulation of the gap in a fuel rod improves the code prediction on core damage progression.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.745-754
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• 2012

The correlations between Large Early Release Frequency (LERF) and Early Fatality need to be investigated for risk-informed application and regulation. In Regulatory Guide (RG) -1.174, while there are decision-making criteria using the measures of Core Damage Frequency (CDF) and LERF, there are no specific criteria on LERF. Since there are both huge uncertainties and large costs needed in off-site consequence calculation, a LERF assessment methodology needs to be developed, and its correlation factor needs to be identified, for risk-informed decision-making. A new method for estimating off-site consequence has been presented and performed for assessing health effects caused by radioisotopes released from severe accidents of nuclear power plants in this study. The MACCS2 code is used for validating the source term quantitatively regarding health effects, depending on the release characteristics of radioisotopes during severe accidents. This study developed a method for identifying correlations between LERF and Early Fatality and validates the results of the model using the MACCS2 code. The results of this study may contribute to defining LERF and finding a measure for risk-informed regulations and risk-informed decision-making.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.12
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• pp.2812-2820
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• 2020

House load operation (HLO) occurs when the generator supplies power to the house load without triggering reactor trips during grid disturbances. In Korea, the HLO capability of optimized power reactor 1000 (OPR1000) plants has prevented several reactor trips. Operational experiences demonstrate the difference in the reactor trip incidence due to grid disturbances between OPR1000 plants and Westinghouse plants in Korea, attributable to the availability of the HLO capability. However, probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs) for OPR1000 plants have not considered their specific design features in the initiating event analyses. In an at-power PSA, the HLO capability can affect the initiating event frequencies of general transients (GTRN) and loss of offsite power (LOOP), resulting from transients within the grid system. The initiating event frequencies of GTRN and LOOP for an OPR1000 plant are reduced by 17.7% and 78.7%, respectively, compared to the Korean industry-average initiating event frequencies, and its core damage frequency from internal events is reduced by 15.2%. The explicit consideration of the HLO capability in initiating event analyses makes significant changes in the risk contributions of the initiating events. Consequently, for more realistic at-power PSAs in Korea, we recommend incorporating plant-specific HLO-related design features when estimating initiating event frequencies.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.526-535
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• 2024

This paper proposes a safety-critical standby component unavailability model that contains aging effects caused by the elapsed time from installation, component degradation due to surveillance tests, and imperfect maintenance actions. An application of the model to a Motor-Operated Valve and a Motor-Driven Pump involved in the HPIS of a VVER/1000-V446 nuclear power plant is demonstrated and compared with other existing models at component and system levels. In addition, the effects of different unavailability models are reflected in the NPP's risk criterion, i.e., core damage frequency, over five maintenance periods. The results show that, compared with other models that do not simultaneously consider the full effects of degradation and maintenance impacts, the proposed model realistically evaluates the unavailabilities of the safety-related components and the involved systems as a plant age function. Therefore, it can effectively reflect the age-dependent CDF impact of a given testing and maintenance policy in a specified time horizon.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.141-146
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• 2024

Station blackout (SBO) risk is one of the most significant contributors to nuclear power plant risk. In this paper, the sequence probability formulas derived by the convolution approach are compared with those derived by the conventional event tree/fault tree (ET/FT) approach for the SBO situation in which emergency diesel generators fail to start. The comparison identifies what makes the ET/FT approach more conservative and raises the issue regarding the mission time of a turbine-driven auxiliary feedwater pump (TDP), which suggests a possible modeling improvement in the ET/FT approach. Monte Carlo simulations with up-to-date component reliability data validate the convolution approach. The sequence probability of an alternative alternating current diesel generator (AAC DG) failing to start and the TDP failing to operate owing to battery depletion contributes most to the SBO risk. The probability overestimation of the scenario in which the AAC DG fails to run and the TDP fails to operate owing to battery depletion contributes most to the SBO risk overestimation determined by the ET/FT approach. The modification of the TDP mission time renders the sequence probabilities determined by the ET/FT approach more consistent with those determined by the convolution approach.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.20 no.4 s.64
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• pp.13-18
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• 2006

The fire protection regulation for the nuclear power plants is based on the qualitative fire hazard assessment and the quantitative fire risk analysis, and the fire risk is managed by the fire protection plan with the appropriate balance among the fire prevention, fire suppression and the minimization of the fire effect. In these days, the zone model or the field model is generally used for the detail evaluation for the fire risk. At this paper, with consideration of the present trend, we evaluate whether the quantitative fire risk analysis and the assessment of fire result for fire areas at nuclear power plants can be possible by use of Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) that is the state-of-the-art fire modeling tool. Consequently, it is expected that the quantitative fire risk evaluation propelled by the fire modeling can be available as an applicable tool to improve the core damage frequency as well as the quantitative fire risk analysis.