• Title/Summary/Keyword: Enrichment Zoning

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An Application of the Enrichment Zoning Concept to $17\times{17}$ KOFA ($17\times{17}$ 국산 핵연료에의 다중농축도 개념 적용)

  • Kim, K.S.;Kim, J.H.;Zee, S.K.;Song, J.W.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.26 no.3
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    • pp.337-344
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    • 1994
  • Enthalpy rise hot channel factor($F_{\Delta{H}}$$^{N}$) is one of the most limiting constraints in determining the fuel loading pattern(LP) for PWR's. In order to enhance the LP design flexibility without any changes of not only basic fuel specifications but also Technical Specifications and Operation Procedures, we apply the enrichment zoning concept to Westinghouse designed PWR's to flatten the rod power distributions within the fuel assembly and thus to reduce $F_{\Delta{H}}$$^{N}$. Enrichment zoning is described that each assembly consists of two different enrichment fuels ; the lower enriched fuels are located in positions which are expected to have the higher rod power and vice versa for the higher enriched fuels. As a result of unit assembly calculations to flatten the rod power distribution within the assembly, the appropriate enrichment difference is found to be 0.3~0.4w/o. Through core depletion calculations for the 18-month cycle of Kori Unit 4, the $F_{\Delta{H}}$$^{N}$ behavior in core with the enrichment zoning concept is investigated. A comparison with the reference case without the enrichment zoning results in a reduction in $F_{\Delta{H}}$$^{N}$ of approximately 1.5%.TEX>H/$^{N}$ of approximately 1.5%.

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Axial BP Zoning for the Soluble Boron Free Operation in Medium-Sized PWR

  • Kim, Jong-Chae;Kim, Myung-Hyun
    • Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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    • 1996.11a
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    • pp.59-64
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    • 1996
  • Feasibility of soluble boron free operation for the medium-sized commercial reactors was investigated. Westinghouse advanced reactor, AP-600 was chosen as a design prototype. Design modification was applied for the assembly design with gadolinia burnable poison-high Gd enrichment and axial poison zoning. CASMO and NECTA-C code system checked axial offset and peaking factors as fuels burned up. A core with complex axial burnable poison zoning satisfied design goals - small excess reactivity for 18 month cycle. Therefore, critical bank positioning for three control rod banks was sought with ease. A.O. value and Fq value were kept within the safety limit.

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APPLICATION OF A GENETIC ALGORITHM FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF ENRICHMENT ZONING AND GADOLINIA FUEL (UO2/Gd2O3) ROD DESIGNS IN OPR1000s

  • Kwon, Tae-Je;Kim, Jong-Kyung
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.44 no.3
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    • pp.273-282
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    • 2012
  • A new effective methodology for optimizing the enrichment of low-enriched zones as well as gadolinia fuel ($UO_2/Gd_2O_3$) rod designs in PLUS7 fuel assemblies was developed to minimize the maximum peak power in the core and to maximize the cycle lifetime. An automated link code was developed to integrate the genetic algorithm (GA) and the core design code package of ALPHA/PHOENIX-P/ANC and to generate and evaluate the candidates to be optimized efficiently through the integrated code package. This study introduces an optimization technique for the optimization of gadolinia fuel rod designs in order to effectively reduce the peak powers for a few hot assemblies simultaneously during the cycle. Coupled with the gadolinia optimization, the optimum enrichments were determined using the same automated code package. Applying this technique to the reference core of Ulchin Unit 4 Cycle 11, the gadolinia fuel rods in each hot assembly were optimized to different numbers and positions from their original designs, and the maximum peak power was decreased by 2.5%, while the independent optimization technique showed a decrease of 1.6% for the same fuel assembly. The lower enrichments at the fuel rods adjacent to the corner gap (CG), guide tube (GT), and instrumentation tube (IT) were optimized from the current 4.1, 4.1, 4.1 w/o to 4.65, 4.2, 4.2 w/o. The increase in the cycle lifetime achieved through this methodology was 5 effective full-power days (EFPD) on an ideal equilibrium cycle basis while keeping the peak power as low as 2.3% compared with the original design.

Nuclear Design Feasibility of the Soluble Boron Free PWR Core

  • Kim, Jong-Chae;Kim, Myung-Hyun;Lee, Un-Chul;Kim, Young-Jin
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.30 no.4
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    • pp.342-352
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    • 1998
  • A nuclear design feasibility of soluble boron free(SBF core for the medium-sized(600MWe) PWR was investigated. The result conformed that soluble boron free operation could be performed by using current PWR proven technologies. Westinghouse advanced reactor, AP-600 was chosen as a design prototype. Design modification was applied for the assembly design with burnable poison and control rod absorber material. In order to control excess reactivity, large amount of gadolinia integral burnable poison rods were used and B4C was used as a control rod absorber material. For control of bottom shift axial power shape due to high temperature feedback in SBF core, axial zoning of burnable poison was applied to the fuel assemblies design. The combination of enrichment and rod number zoning for burnable poison could make an excess reactivity swing flat within around 1% and these also led effective control on axial power offset and peak pin power, The safety assessment of the designed core was peformed by the calculation of MTC, FTC and shutdown margin. MTC in designed SBF core was greater around 6 times than one of Ulchin unit 3&4. Utilization of enriched BIO(up to 50w1o) in B4C shutdown control rods provided enough shutdown margin as well as subcriticality at cold refueling condition.

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Nuclear Core Design for a Marine Small Power Reactor (선박용 소형동력로의 노심 핵설계)

  • 최유선;김종채;김명현
    • Journal of Energy Engineering
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.146-152
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    • 1996
  • A small power reactor core of 108 MW$\_$th/ was designed with some design constraints: 2 year refueling cycle length, soluble boron free operation, low power density, and proven fuel assembly design - Uljin 3'||'&'||'4 design specifications. CASMO-3 and KINS-3 was used to evaluate operational capability for power level control via control rods. Cycle length, power peaking factor, M.T.C., and power coefficients were also checked. Designed core loaded with KOFAs satisfied all design goals. We found that much more burnable poisons are to be loaded with axial enrichment zoning. Control rod assemblies should be located at every other assemblies with more than 3 banks. Additional shutdown banks are proposed for the safe plant cooldown, which could be located at core periphery.

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Chalcopyrite Disease in Sphalerite: A Case of the Soowang Ore Deposits in Muju, Republic of Korea (무주 수왕광산에서 산출되는 섬아연석의 황동석 병변에 관한 연구)

  • Youn, Seok-Tai
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.29 no.7
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    • pp.551-558
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    • 2008
  • The Soowang deposits occur in the quartz veins that were filled fissures in the middle Cretaceous porphyritic granite and/or the Precambrian Sobaegsan gneiss complex. Paragenetic studies suggest that the vein filling can be divided into four identifiable stages. Sphalerites were deposited by the cooling fluids at stages I, II, and III. The results of microscopic observation and EPMA analysis suggest that the chalcopyrite dots and disease in sphalerite are replacement products by later hydrothermal solution at the early stage III. The inferred processes of chalcopyrite disease are as follows: (1) Fe enrichment to the margins and along the cracks of the Fe-poor sphalerite by Fe-rich solution, (2) Formation of chalcopyrite dots in the Fe-enriched sphalerite formed at the stage II, and Fe reduction of sphalerite near the chalcopyrite dots by Cu-bearing solution, (3) Formation of "chalcopyrite disease" penetrating the compositional zoning of sphalerite at the early stage III.

Geochemical and Geochronological Studies on Metaigneous Rocks in the Gyemyeongsan Formation, Northwestern Okcheon Metamorphic Belt and their Tectonic Implication (옥천변성대 북서부 계명산층 내 변성화성암류의 지구화학 및 지구연대학적 연구와 그 지구조적 의의)

  • 박종길;김성원;오창환;김형식
    • The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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    • v.12 no.4
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    • pp.155-169
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    • 2003
  • In the northwest Okcheon metamorphic belt, the metaigneous rocks in the Gyemyeongsan Formation have wider chemical ranges for major, trace and REE elements compared with metaigneous rocks in the Munjuri Formation and do not represent bimodal igneous activity which is characteristic for a continental rifting. The metaigneous rocks in the Munjuri Formation are regarded as products of single magmatic evolution, whereas those in the Gyemyeongsan Formation may be formed through multiple magmatic episodes. The felsic metavolcanic rocks in the Gyemyeongsan Formation show weaker Eu negative anomalies compared with those in the Munjuri Formation but those in both formations show similar degrees of enrichment from LREE to HREE. The metabasites in the Munjuri Formation do not show Eu anomalies but those in the Gyemyeongsan Formation show both positive and negative Eu anomalies(0.59