• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2021

Subsurface rock produces heat from the decay of radioactive isotopes in constituent minerals and gamma-ray emissions, of which the magnitude is dominated by the contents of the major radioactive isotopes (e.g., U, Th, and K). The heat production is generally calculated from the rock density and contents of major isotopes, which can be determined by mass spectrometry of drilled core samples or rock fragments. However, such methods are not easily applicable to deep boreholes because core samples recovered from depths of several hundred meters to a few kilometers are rarely available. A geophysical logging technique for boreholes is available where the U, Th, and K contents are measured from the gamma-ray spectrum. However, this technique requires the density to be measured separately, and the measurement depth of the equipment is still limited. As an alternative method, a normal gamma-ray logging tool was adopted to estimate the heat production from the total gamma activity, which is relatively easy to measure. This technical report introduces the development of the proposed method for evaluating the heat production of a granitic rock mass with domestic commercial borehole logging tools, as well as its application to a ~2 km deep borehole for verification.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.271-277
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• 2016

For a stable electric power supply in the space, nuclear batteries have been used as the main power source in a spacecraft owing to their long lifetime and high reliability. In accordance with the plan for lunar mission in Korea, nuclear batteries will supply electricity to the rover that needs to be developed. According to the information about the estimated payload, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute started with the conceptual design based on the previous studies in USA and Russia. Because a nuclear battery converts the decay heat of the radioisotope into electricity, thermal design, radiation shield, and shock protection need to be considered. In this study, two types of nuclear batteries, radial type and axial type, were designed according to the alignment of the thermoelectric module. Heat transfer analyses were performed to compare their thermoelectric efficiency, and test mockups were fabricated to evaluate their performances.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.1053-1064
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• 2009

The existence of a large sodium pool in the KALIMER, a pool-type LMR developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, plays an important role in reactor safety and operability because it determines the grace time for operators to cope with an abnormal event and to terminate a transient before reactor enters into an accident condition. A two-dimensional hot pool model has been developed and implemented in the SSC-K code, and has been successfully applied for the assessment of safety issues in the conceptual design of KALIMER and for the analysis of anticipated system transients. The other important models of the SSC-K code include a three-dimensional core thermal-hydraulic model, a reactivity model, a passive decay heat removal system model, and an intermediate heat transport system and steam generation system model. The capability of the developed two-dimensional hot pool model was evaluated with a comparison of the temperature distribution calculated with the CFX code. The predicted hot pool coolant temperature distributions obtained with the two-dimensional hot pool model agreed well with those predicted with the CFX code. Variations in the temperature distribution of the hot pool affect the reactivity feedback due to an expansion of the control rod drive line (CRDL) immersed in the pool. The existing CRDL reactivity model of the SSC-K code has been modified based on the detailed hot pool temperature distribution obtained with the two-dimensional pool model. An analysis of an unprotected transient over power with the modified reactivity model showed an improved negative reactivity feedback effect.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.449-453
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• 2007

Synthesis of Sn-GIC (Graphite intercalated compound) and its electrochemical characteristics were investigated to find a method for enhancing the performance of carbon anode of lithium ion battery. The content of Sn intercalated in graphite interlayer increased with increase of concentration of $SnCl_2$ solution and increase of the heat treatment temperature of dried graphite after dipped in $SnCl_2$ solution, respectively. And initial discharge capacity increased upon increase of intercalated Sn content. Sn-GIC with excellent electrochemical performance, which can be synthesized by heat treatment at $900^{\circ}C$ after dipped in 1.0 M $SnCl_2$ solution, showed 356 mAh/g of initial discharge capacity and 13% of capacity decay after 10 cycles.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.558-567
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• 2022

The evolution of temperature and thermal stress in a granite specimen is studied via heating experiment in the context of a high-level radioactive waste repository. A heating condition based on the decay-induced heat is applied to a cubic granite specimen to measure the temperature and stress distributions and their evolution over time. The temperature increases quickly due to heat conduction along the heated surfaces, but a significant amount of thermal energy is also lost through other surfaces due to air convection and conduction into the loading machine. A three-dimensional finite element-based model is used to numerically reproduce the experiment, and the thermo-mechanical coupling behavior and modeling conditions are validated with the comparison to the experimental results. The most crucial factors influencing the heating experiment are analyzed and summarized in this paper for future works.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.3086-3091
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• 2007

When a molten corium is relocated in a lower head of a reactor vessel, the ERVC (External Reactor Vessel Cooling) system is actuated as coolant is supplied into a reactor cavity to remove a decay heat from the molten corium during a severe accident. To achieve this severe accident mitigation strategy, the two-phase natural circulation flow in the annular gap between the external reactor vessel and the insulation should be formed sufficiently by designing the coolant inlet/outlet area and gap size adequately on the insulation device. For this reason, one-dimensional natural circulation flow tests were conducted to estimate the natural circulation flow under the ERVC condition of APR1400. The experimental facility is one-dimensional and scaled-down as the half height and 1/238 rectangular channel area of the APR1400 reactor vessel. As the water inlet area increased, the natural circulation mass flow rate asymptotically increased, that is, it converged at a specific value. And the circulation mass flow rate also increased as the outlet area, injected air flow rate, and outlet height increased. But the circulation mass flow rate was not changed along with the external water level variation if the water level was higher than the outlet height.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.1963-1973
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• 2020

Liquid metal-cooled reactors use various passive safety systems driven by natural circulation. Investigating these safety systems experimentally is more advantageous by using a simulant. Although numerous experimental approaches have been applied to natural circulation-driven passive safety systems using simulants, there has been no clear validation of the similarity law. To validate the similarity law experimentally, SINCRO-V experiment was conducted using Wood's metal and water for simulant of the Wood's metal. A pair of SINCRO-V facilities with length-scale ratio of 14.1:1 for identical Bo' was investigated, which was the main similarity parameter in temperature field simulation. In the experimental range of 0.2-1.0% of decay heat, the temperature distribution characteristics of the small water facility were very similar to that of the large Wood's metal facility. The temperature of the Wood's metal predicted by the water experiment showed good agreement with the actual Wood's metal temperature. Despite some error factors like discordance of Gr' and property change along the temperature, the water experiment predicted the Wood's metal temperature with an error of 27%. The validity of the similarity law was confirmed by the SINCRO-V experiments.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.337-342
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• 2001

The Rondonia Boundary Layer Experiment (RBLE-II) was conceived to collect data the atmospheric boundary layer over two representative surface in the Amazon region of Brazil; tropical forest and a deforested, pasture area. The present study deals with the observations of atmospheric boundary layer growth and decay. Although the atmospheric boundary layer measurements made in RBLE-II were not made simultaneously over the two different surface types, some insights can be gained from analysing and comparing with their structure. The greater depth of the nocturnal boundary layer at the forest site may be due to influence of mechanical turbulence. The pasture site is aerodynamically smoother and so the downward turbulent diffusion will be much pasture than over the forest. The development of the convective boundary layer is stronger over the pasture than over the forest. The influence of the sensible heat flux is important but may be not enough to explain the difference completely. It seems that energy advection may occur from the wet and colder(forest) to the dry and warmer area(pasture), rapidly breaking up the nocturnal inversion. Such advection can explain the abrupt growth of the convective boundary layer at the pasture site during the early morning.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.687-687
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• 2013

In rearpoint contact solar cell and the PERC (passivated emitter rear contact) type cell, surfaces were passivated by SiO2 or Al2O3 to increase solar cell efficiency. Therefore, we have investigated the effect of surface passivation for crystalline silicon solarcell using mass-production atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3. The patttern which consists of cylinders with 100um diameter and 5um height was formed by PR patterning on Si (100) substrate and then Al2O3 of about 10nm and 20nm thickness was deposited by ALD. The pattern in 10 nm Al2O3 film was removed by dipping in aceton solution for about 10 min but the pattern in 20 nm Al2O3 film was not. The influences of process temperature and heat treatment were investigated using microwave photoconductance decay (PCD) and Quasi-Steady-State photoconductance (QSSPC). The solar cell process used in this work combines the advantage of using the applicability of a selective deposition associated with a ALD passivation and the use of low-cost screen print for the contacts formation.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2008

A swelling clay should remain physically and chemically stable for a long time to perform its functions as a buffer material of a high-level waste (HLW) repository. The longevity issues in the swelling clay were reviewed to evaluate their importance in the performance of a repository. The review results suggest that an elevated temperature due to decay heat, groundwater chemistry, high pH environment by concrete, organic matter and microbes, radiation, and mechanical disturbance might significantly affect the long-term performance of a swelling clay as a buffer material. This paper will be used as basic informations to design the swelling clay buffer for a HLW repository.