• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1307-1313
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• 2019

Recent analysis results with realistic assumptions provide the variability of operator allowable time for the initiation of aggressive cooldown under small break loss of coolant accident or steam generator tube rupture with total failure of high pressure safety injection. We investigated how plant risk may vary depending on the variability of operators' failure probability of timely initiation of aggressive cooldown. Using a probabilistic safety assessment model of a nuclear power plant, we showed that plant risks had a linear relation with the failure probability of aggressive cooldown and could be reduced by up to 10% as aggressive cooldown is more reliably performed. For individual accident management, we found that core damage potential could be gradually reduced by up to 40.49% and 63.84% after a small break loss of coolant accident or a steam generator tube rupture, respectively. Based on the importance of timely initiation of aggressive cooldown by main control room operators within the success criteria, implications for improvement of emergency operating procedures are discussed. We recommend conducting further detailed analyses of aggressive cooldown, commensurate with its importance in reducing risks in nuclear power plants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.484-497
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• 2021

This paper proposes an extended time uncertainty analysis approach in Level 2 human reliability analysis (HRA) considering severe accident management (SAM) strategies. The method is a time-based model that classifies two time distribution functions-time required and time available-to calculate human failure probabilities from delayed action when implementing SAM strategies. The time required function can be obtained by the combination of four time factors: 1) time for diagnosis and decision by the technical support center (TSC) for a given strategy, 2) time for strategy implementation mainly by the local emergency response organization (ERO), 3) time to verify the effectiveness of the strategy and 4) time for portable equipment transport and installation. This function can vary depending on the given scenario and includes a summation of lognormal distributions and a choice regarding shifting the distribution. The time available function can be obtained via thermal-hydraulic code simulation (MAAP 5.03). The proposed approach was applied to assess SAM strategies that use portable equipment and safety depressurization system valves in a total loss of component cooling water event that could cause reactor vessel failure. The results from the proposed method are more realistic (i.e., not conservative) than other existing methods in evaluating SAM strategies involving the use of portable equipment.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.319-326
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• 2012

Han-green building is one of the modernized Korean traditional buildings developed by Korea Forest Research Institute. This building was developed to increase the competitiveness of Korean traditional building using state-of-art technologies; hence Han-green building has the inherent characteristics of traditional building such as exposed wood frame in wall. Because of discontinuity in wall by the exposed wood frame, there is a concern on heat-air leaking in terms of energy performance. In this study, air-tightness of Han-green building was evaluated to investigate the influence of gaps between frames and in-fill walls. Blower door test was carried out to evaluate the air-tightness, and air-change rate (ACH50) was evaluated by averaging four set of pressurization and depressurization test. The air-change rate of Han-green house was 5.91 $h^{-1}$. To improve energy performance of Han-green house, thermal infrared images of Han-green house were taken in winter with heating to find out where the heat loss occurred. It was found that the building lost more heat through gaps between frames and in-fill walls rather than through other parts of this building. After covering all the gaps by taping, the blower door test was performed again, and the air-change rate was improved to 5.25 $h^{-1}$. From this analysis, it was concluded that the heated air can leak through the gaps between frames and walls. Therefore, when one designs the post and beam building with exposed frame, the detail design between frame and wall needs to be carefully dealt. However, Han-green building showed relatively high air-tightness comparing with other country research results.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.237-246
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• 2002

If the safety depressurization system of APR-1400, the Korean next generation reactor, is in operation, water, air and steam are successively discharging into a in-containment refueling water storage tank through spargers. Among the phenomena occurring during the discharging processes, the air bubble clouds produce a low-frequency and high-amplitude oscillatory loading, which may result in the most significant damages to the submerged structures if the oscillation frequency is the same or close to the natural frequency of the structures. The involved phenomena are so complicated that most of the prediction of frequency and pressure loads has been resorted to experimental work and computational approach has been precluded. This study deals with a numerical simulation on the behavior of air bubble clouds discharging into a water pool through a sparger, by using a commercial thermal hydraulic analysis code, FLUENT, version 4.5. Among the multiphase flow models, the VOF (Volume Of Fluid) model was selected to simulate the water, air and steam flows. A satisfactory result was obtained comparing the analysis results with the ABB-Atom test results which had been performed for the development of sparser.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.27-35
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• 2018

In the water-filling and preloading test, the sensing cables were installed on the surface of steel spiral case and in the surrounding concrete to monitor the strain distribution of several cross-sections by using Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA), a kind of distributed optical fiber sensing (DOFS) technology. The average hoop strain of the spiral case was about $330{\mu}{\varepsilon}$ and $590{\mu}{\varepsilon}$ when the water-filling pressure in the spiral case was 2.6 MPa and 4.1 MPa. The difference between the measured and the calculated strain was only about $50{\mu}{\varepsilon}$. It was the first time that the stress adjustment of the spiral case was monitored by the sensing cable when the pressure was increased to 1 MPa and the residual strain of $20{\mu}{\varepsilon}$ was obtained after preloading. Meanwhile, the shrinkage of $70{\sim}100{\mu}{\varepsilon}$ of the surrounding concrete was effectively monitored during the depressurization. It is estimated that the width of the gap between the steel spiral case and the surrounding concrete was 0.51 ~ 0.75 mm. BOTDA based distributed optical fiber sensing technology can obtain continuous strain of the structure and it is more reliable than traditional point sensor. The strain distribution obtained by BOTDA provides strong support for the design and optimization of the spiral case structure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.95-103
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• 1999

Low pressure combustion characteristics of the composite solid propellants were studied in terms of the propellant burning rate, ignition processes, and the structure of the extinguished surfaces. Optical Vacuum Strand Burner(OVSB) system was designed and configured for this purpose. Burning rates of the propellants were measured at subatmospheric pressure by developed test method in OVSB. The ignition and combustion phenomena of the studied propellants in the combustion chamber of OVSB were recorded and analyzed with the camera and VCR(30 frames/s). Burning surfaces of the propellants were extinguished by rapid depressurization method and analyzed with Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 1992

Behavior of loop seal formation and clearing during small break loss of coolant accident is investigated using the RELAP5/MOD 2 and /MOD3 codes with the test of SB-CL-18 of the LSIF (Large Scale Test Facility）. The present study examines the thermal-hydraulic mechanisms responsible for early core uncovery including the manometric effect due to an asymmetric coolant holdup in the steam generator upflow and downflow side. The analysis with the RELAP5/MOD2 demonstrates the main phenomena occuring in the depressurization transient including the loop seal formation and clearing with sufficient accuracy. Nevertheless, several differences regarding the evolution of phenomena and their timing have been pointed out in かe base calculations. The RELAP5/MOD3 predicts overall phenomena, particularly the steam generator liquid holdup better than the RELAP5/MOD2. The nodalization study in the components of the steam generator U-tubes and the cross-over legs wiか the RELAP5/MOD3 results in good prediction of the loop seal clearing phenomena and their timing.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.188-191
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• 2008

There have been many methods for producing natural gas from gas hydrate reservoirs in permafrost and sea floor sediments. It is well knownthat the depressurization should be a best option for Class 1 gas hydrate deposit, which is composed of tow layers: hydrate bearing layer and an underlying free gas. However many of gas hydrate reservoirs in sea floor sediments are classified as Class 2 that is composed of gas hydrate layer and mobile water, and Class 3 that is a single gas hydrate layer. The most appropriate production methods among the present methods such as thermal stimulation, inhibitor injection, and controlled oxidation are still under development with considering the gas hydrate reservoir characteristics. In East Sea of Korea, it is presumed that the thick fractured shale deposits could be Class 2 or 3, which is similar to the gas hydrate discovered offshore India. Therefore it is needed to evaluate the possible production methods for economic production of natural gas from gas hydrate reservoir. Here we would like to present the production of natural gas from gas hydrate deposit in East Sea with industrial flue gases from steel company, refineries, and other sources. The existing industrial complex in Gyeongbuk province is not far from gas hydrate reservoir of East Sea, thus the carbon dioxide in flue gas could be used to replace methane in gas hydrate. This approach is attractive due to the suggestion of natural gas productionby use of industrial flue gas, which contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emission in industrial complex. As a feasibility study, we did the NMR experiments to study the replacement reaction of carbon dioxide with methane in gas hydrate cages. The in-situ NMR measurement suggeststhat 42% of methane in hydrate cages have been replaced by carbon dioxide and nitrogen in preliminary test. Further studies are presented to evaluate the replacement ratio of methane hydrate at corresponding flue gas concentration.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.79-84
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• 2012

An experiment of rapid pressurization-induced crack propagation of solid propellant was conducted by using a windowed test chamber. A pre-cracked specimen of solid propellant is installed in the chamber, and highly compressed nitrogen gas in an accumulator pressurizes the chamber until the chamber pressure reaches set-up pressure to make the chamber depressurization. Pressure-time trace was obtained from the experimental result, and pressurization rate was defined from the trace. In this study, three pressurization rates (64.34, 73.86 and 85.44 MPa/s) are considered, and propagation lengths are measured. Also, a progression of the crack propagation recorded by a high-speed digital camera is presented.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to suggest the rupture disk design(size) and application at the two phase(gas-liquid) flow by runaway reaction at batch reactor. The definition of runaway reaction is abnormally exothermic reaction by the uncontrolled cooling water or deviated operating condition. As a result, the temperature of reactor is rapidly increasing. The causes of runaway reaction are either self-heating reaction or sleeper reaction. General methods of rupture disk size or safety valve are not suitable in the runaway reaction, because of temperature and pressure increasing rapidly in the reactor and the phases of relieving fluid is 2-phase flow. This study case of the reactor incident, the depressurization system such as safety valve and vent installed, however, the system did not relieved the pressure of reactor suitably. The orifice size of the safety valve were designed too small because the size had not been considered the phenomena and character of reaction. The batch reactor design should be considered by referring to the possibility of runaway reaction proposed in this study and the size of rupture disk design method considering 2-phase flow.