• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.257-264
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• 1996

The conventional Equipment Environment Qualification (EEQ) envelope is developed based on the containment responses during the design basis events. The Safety Depressurization System (SDS) design without In-containment Refueling Water Storage Tank (IRWST) adopted in the Ulchin 3&4 challenges the conventional EEQ envelope during long term Feed and Bleed (F&B) operation due to the direct discharge of high mass and energy into the containment. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm that the containment pressure and temperature history during the long term F&B operation does not violate the conventional EEQ envelope. However, this subject has never been quantitatively assessed before. To investigate the success path of long term F&B operation this paper analyzes the thermal hydraulic response of the containment and Reactor Coolant System (RCS) until the completion of depressurization and cooldown of RCS into Shutdown Cooling System (SCS) entry condition. It is found that the SCS entry condition can be reached within 6 hours without violating the EEQ curve by proper operation of SDS valves, High Pressure Safety Injection (HPSI) pumps and active Containment Heat Removal System (CHRS). The suggested strategy not only demonstrates the feasibility of long term F&B operation but also can be utilized in the preparation of Emergency Procedure Guidelines (EPGs)

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2014

A total loss of all heat sinks is considered a severe accident with a low probability of occurrence. Following a total loss of all heat sinks, the degasser/condenser relief valves (DCRV) become the sole means available for the depressurization of the primary heat transport system. If a nuclear power plant has a total loss of heat sinks accident, high-temperature steam and differential pressure between the primary heat transport system (PHTS) and the steam generator (SG) secondary side can cause a SG tube creep rupture. To protect the PHTS during a total loss of all heat sinks accident, a sufficient depressurization capability of the degasser/condenser relief valve and the SG tube integrity is very important. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the discharge through these valves is necessary to assess the impact of the PHTS overprotection and the SG tube integrity of the primary circuit. This paper describes the analysis of DCRV discharge capacity and the SG tube integrity under a total loss of all heat sink using the CATHENA code. It was found that the DCRV's discharge capacity is enough to protect the overpressure in the PHTS, and the SG tube integrity is maintained in a total loss of all heat accident.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.356-367
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• 2018

A series of tests dedicated to station blackout (SBO) accident scenarios have been recently performed at the $Prim{\ddot{a}}rkreislauf-Versuchsanlage$ (primary coolant loop test facility; PKL) facility in the framework of the OECD/NEA PKL-3 project. These investigations address current safety issues related to beyond design basis accident transients with significant core heat up. This work presents a detailed analysis using the best estimate thermal-hydraulic code TRACE (v5.0 Patch4) of different SBO scenarios conducted at the PKL facility; failures of high- and low-pressure safety injection systems together with steam generator (SG) feedwater supply are considered, thus calling for adequate accident management actions and timely implementation of alternative emergency cooling procedures to prevent core meltdown. The presented analysis evaluates the capability of the applied TRACE model of the PKL facility to correctly capture the sequences of events in the different SBO scenarios, namely the SBO tests H2.1, H2.2 run 1 and H2.2 run 2, including symmetric or asymmetric secondary side depressurization, primary side depressurization, accumulator (ACC) injection in the cold legs and secondary side feeding with mobile pump and/or primary side emergency core coolant injection from the fuel pool cooling pump. This study is focused specifically on the prediction of the core exit temperature, which drives the execution of the most relevant accident management actions. This work presents, in particular, the key improvements made to the TRACE model that helped to improve the code predictions, including the modeling of dynamical heat losses, the nodalization of SGs' heat exchanger tubes and the ACCs. Another relevant aspect of this work is to evaluate how well the model simulations of the three different scenarios qualitatively and quantitatively capture the trends and results exhibited by the actual experiments. For instance, how the number of SGs considered for secondary side depressurization affects the heat transfer from primary side; how the discharge capacity of the pressurizer relief valve affects the dynamics of the transient; how ACC initial pressure and nitrogen release affect the grace time between ACC injection and subsequent core heat up; and how well the alternative feeding modes of the secondary and/or primary side with mobile injection pumps affect core quenching and ensure stable long-term core cooling under controlled boiling conditions.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2004.11c
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• pp.562-564
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• 2004

The containment leakage rate test performed on the nuclear power plants consists of following phases : pressurizing the containment, stabilizing the atmosphere, conducting a Type A test, conducting a verification test, depressurizing the containment. It takes more than 48 hours from the pressurization to the depressurization and the prediction of the results will help to prepare the next test phase. In this paper, to predict the leakage rate, the prediction methods based on the least square method are evaluated according to the input variables and the measurement period.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.143-154
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• 2014

In this study, we simulated both dissociation of gas hydrate and mechanical deformation of hydrate-bearing sedimentary formation using geomechanical model. The geomechanical model analysis consists of two distinct codes of TOUGH+Hydrate and FLAC3D. The model is characterized by the fact that changes of temperature, pressure, saturation and their influence on the consequent evolution of effective stress, stiffness and strength of hydrate-bearing sediments during gas production could be well simulated. We compared the results of simulation for two different production methods, and showed that combination of depressurization and thermal stimulation results in the enhancement of production rate especially at early stage. We also presented that the hydrate dissociation-induced geomechanical deformation in unconsolidated clay is much larger than that in sandstone.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.133-143
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• 2015

Gas hydrate is a solid substance composed of natural gas constrained in water molecules under low temperature and high pressure conditions. The existence of hydrates has been reported to be world-widely distributed, mainly at permafrost and deep ocean floor. Test productions of small amount of natural gas from the on-shore permafrost have been accomplished in U.S.A and Canada, but, world-first and the only production case from off-shore hydrate bearing sediments was in Nankai trough, Japan. In this study, we introduce key technologies in gas production from hydrates by analyzing the Japanese off-shore gas production project in Nankai trough in terms of depressurization- induced dissociation so as to utilize planned domestic gas production test in Ulleung basin.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.71-84
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• 2013

Most gas hydrates (GH) occur in ocean sediments. Global GH reserves are estimated to be $10^{13}{\sim}20{\times}10^{15}m^3$, which is nearly 1,000 times the amount of current world energy consumption. Methane hydrate (MH) has the potential to be developed into future natural gas resources to replace traditional oil and gas resources, and thus MH production technologies such as depressurization, inhibitor injection, thermal stimulation, and $CO_2-CH_4$ substitution need to be further developed. MH production, which is expected to be in test production until 2014 in Korea, is focused on the development of GH production technologies for use in the commercial production of methane gas. This study compares MH production technology and its ability to meet the twin goals of being both effective and environmentally friendly while taking into consideration the complex phenomena of GH decomposition.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.147-158
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• 2017

Among the energy consumption in building, the heating energy takes the largest part. Therefore, it is important to minimize the heat energy loss in building for the reduction of overall energy use in construction. The most important points for the minimization of energy loss in building are insulation and airtightness. Especially, in wood houses, airtightness is very important for energy saving as well as increase of durability. However, the researches on airtightness of wood buildings have been started recently and are very deficient especially in Korea. In this study, air leakage properties and airtightness performance were evaluated for light-frame wood houses built in Daejeon and Chungnam area. Total 7 houses were evaluated, among which four houses (Case 1 to Case 4) were in the construction stage before interior finish and the other three houses (Case 5 to Case 7) were after completion of construction work. The tests for airtightness were conducted by pressurization-depressurization method, and the factors included in the measurements includes air leakage rate at 50 Pa (CMH50), air change rate at 50 Pa (ACH50), equivalent leakage area (EqLA) and EqLA per floor area. As a result of this study, key air leakage points in wood houses were found to be the gaps between floor and wall, the holes for wiring and plumbing, the double glasses windows and the entrance doors. The average value of ACH50 for the houses after completion of construction work was $3.5h^{-1}$ that was similar to Europe standard ($3.0h^{-1}$). ACH50 was proportional to EqLA per floor area but inversely proportional to the internal volume, the net floor area and the area of window.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineers
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.670-687
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• 2018

This paper reviews the structures, physical and chemical properties, origins and global distribution, amount of energy resources, production technologies, and environmental impacts of gas hydrates to understand the gas hydrates as future energy sources. Hydrate structures should be studied to clarify the fundamentals of natural gas hydrates, hydrate distributions, and amount of energy sources in hydrates. Phase equilibria, dissociation enthalpy, thermal conductivity, specific heat, thermal diffusivity, and fluid permeability of gas hydrate systems are important parameters for the the efficient recovery of natural gas from hydrate reservoirs. Depressurization, thermal stimulation, inhibitor injection, and chemical exchange methods can be considered as future technologies to recover the energy sources from natural gas hydrates, but so far depressurization is the only method to have been applied in test productions of both onshore and offshore hydrates. Finally, we discuss the hypotheses of environmental impacts of gas hydrates and their contribution to global warming due to hydrate dissociation.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.1520-1523
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• 1997

A rigorous dynamic simulation was performed in binary gas mixture H$_{2}$/CO (70:30 vol.%) to determinate start-up operating conditions of PSA(Pressure Swing Adsorption) processes. The rigorous dynamic model for the PSA process contains an Ergun equation for expressing the pressure drop in a bed, and valve equations to compute the boundary pressure change of the bed. As the result of the continuous dynamic simulation of 100 operating cyles in various initial conditions, the unsteady-state appeared in the early period and the cyclic steady-state came out about 20th cycle in feed condition and vaccum condition, and 30th cycle in pure H$_{2}$ condition. As time goes by valve equations made change the pressure at each end of the bed in ressurization, countercurrunt-depressurization and pressure equalization steps. The H$_{2}$ purity and the recovery is 99.99% and 86.73% respectively, which is slightly higher than the experimental data. Main contributiion of this study includes supplying fundamental technologies of handling combined variables PSA processes by developing rigorous models.