• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.69-75
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• 2004

DORT and ORIGEN2 code were used for calculation of neutron flux and inventory in reactor pressure vessel(RPV) of Kori unit-1, To calculate neutron flux using DORT code, the reactor was divided into 94 mesh from the center of core to RPV and from 0 to 45 degree along the azimuth. The cross-sections of main nuclides were recalculated using neutron flux in the RPV region. The results showed that 95% of the total activity in RPV came from the nuclides of $^{55}$ Fe, $^{60}$ Co, $^{59}$ Ni and $^{63}$ Ni. And the total activity with cooling of more than 50 years after decommissioning was no more than 0.2% of at the time of shutdown. Considering the weight of RPV is 210 tons, the initial total activity of RPV reached 5.25${\times}$10$^{6}$ GBq. To verify results of ORIGEN2 calculation, comparison between calculated and measured value at RPV of Kori unit-1 was peformed. The comparison results showed a good agreement.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2003

Based on the necessity to evaluate the activation products inventory during decommissioning lot domestic nuclear power plants, a preliminary estimation of the activation products inventory for Kori unit 1, which is getting close to the end of lifetime, was carried out with ANISN and ORIGEN2 code. In order to calculate neutron nux using ANISN code, the reactor was divided into 9 zones from core to bioshield concrete for radial direction. Also :he cross-section of main nuclides were calibrated with neutron flux in the reactor pressure vessel(RPV) region. The results showed that 95 % of tile total radioactivity in RPV from reactor shutdown to 10 years came from the nuclides of $^{55}Fe,\;^{59}Ni,\;^{63}Ni\;and\;^{60}Co$. And the total radioactivity with cooling of more than 50 years after decommissioning was no more than 0.2 % of at the time of shutdown. Considering the weight of RPV is 210 tons, the total radioactivity of RPV reached to $5.25{\times}10^{6}GBq$ at shutdown time. As compared with the total radioactivity of bioshield concrete at reactor shutdown time, the radioactivity after tooling more than 10 years was below 1 %.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.83-92
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• 2013

A novel methodology to evaluate remote dismantling equipment for a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) in a decommissioning project is presented in this paper. The remote dismantling equipment, mainly composed of cutting tools and positioning equipment, is absolutely required to cut and handle highly radioactive and large components in nuclear power plants (NPPs); this equipment has a great effect on the overall success of the decommissioning project. Conventional evaluation methods have only focused on cutting technologies or positioning equipment, although remote dismantling equipment cannot achieve its goal without organic interaction between the cutting tools and the positioning equipment. In this paper, the cutting tools and the positioning equipment are evaluated by performance parameters according to their original characteristics, the relationship between the two systems, and common factors. Finally, the remote dismantling equipment used in recent decommissioning projects has been evaluated based on the proposed methodology. The results of this paper are expected to be useful for future decommissioning projects.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.1491-1510
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• 2021

This work presents an illustration of Nagra's AMAC (Advanced Methodology for Activation Characterization) approach to the South Korean pressurized water reactor Kori-1 decommissioning. The results achieved are supported by the existing experience from the detailed AMAC applications to Swiss NPPs and are used not only for a demonstration of the applicability of AMAC to South Korean NPPs, but also for a first approximation of the activated waste volumes to be expected from Kori-1. A packaging concept based on the above activation characterization is also presented, using the AMAC algorithmic optimization software ALGOPACK leading to the minimum number of waste containers needed given the selected packaging constraints. Nagra's AMAC enables effective planning before and during NPP decommissioning, including recommendations for cutting profiles for diverse reactor components and building structures. Finally, it is expected to lead to significant cost savings by reducing the number of expensive waste containers, by optimizing a potential melting strategy for metallic waste as well as by significantly limiting the number of radiological measurements. All information about Kori-1 used for the purpose of this study was collected from publicly available sources.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.123-134
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• 2016

Decommissioning of nuclear power plants has become a big issue in South Korea as some of the nuclear power plants in operation including Kori unit 1 and Wolsung unit 1 are getting old. Recently, Wolsung unit 1 received permission to continue operation while Kori unit 1 will shut down permanently in June 2017. With the consideration of segmentation method and disposal containers, this paper evaluated final disposal amount of radioactive waste generated from decommissioning of the reactor pressure vessel in Kori unit 1 which will be decommissioned as the first in South Korea. The evaluation results indicated that the final disposal amount from the top and bottom heads of the reactor pressure vessel with hemisphere shape decreased as they were cut in smaller more effectively than the cylindrical part of the reactor pressure vessel. It was also investigated that 200 L and 320 L radioactive waste disposal containers used in Kyung-Ju disposal facility had low payload efficiency because of loading weight limitation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 2022

In accordance with the growing trend of decommissioning nuclear facilities, research on the cutting process is actively proceeding worldwide. In general, a thermal cutting process, such as plasma cutting is applied to decommissioning a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Plasma cutting has the advantage of removing the radioactive materials and being able to cut thick materials. However, when operating under water, the molten metal remains in the cut plane and re-solidifies. Hence, cutting is not entirely accomplished. For these environmental reasons, it is difficult to cut thick metal. The contact arc metal cutting (CAMC) process can be used to cut thick metal under water. CAMC is a process that cuts metal using a plate-shaped electrode based on a high-current arc plasma heat source. During the cutting process, high-pressure water is sprayed from the electrode to remove the molten metal, known as rinsing. As the CAMC is conducted without using a shielding gas, such as Argon, the electrode is consumed during the process. In this study, CAMC is introduced as a method for dismantling nuclear vessels and the relationship between the metal removal and electrode consumption is investigated according to the cutting conditions.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.389-396
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• 2018

The Kori-1 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), WH 2-Loop Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) operated for approximately 40 years in Korea, was permanently ceased on June 18, 2017. To reduce worker exposure to radiation by reducing the dose rate in the system before starting main decommissioning activities, the permanently ceased Kori-1 NPP will be subjected to full system decontamination. Generally, the range of system decontamination includes Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPV), Pressurizer (PZR), Steam Generators (SG), Chemical & Volume Control System (CVCS), Residual Heat Removal System (RHRS), and Reactor Coolant System (RCS) piping. In order to decontaminate these systems and equipment in an effective manner, it is necessary to evaluate the influence of the flow characteristics in the RCS during the decontamination period. There are various methods of providing circulating flow rate to the system decontamination. In this paper, the flow characteristics in Kori-1 NPP reactor coolant according to RHR pump operation were evaluated. The evaluation results showed that system decontamination using an RHR pump was not effective at decontamination due first to impurities deposited in piping and equipment, and second to the extreme flow unbalance in the RCS caused deposition of impurities.