• Title/Summary/Keyword: Experimental investigations

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INTEGRAL EFFECT TESTS IN THE PKL FACILITY WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION

  • Umminger, Klaus;Mull, Thomas;Brand, Bernhard
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.41 no.6
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    • pp.765-774
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    • 2009
  • For over 30 years, investigations of the thermohydraulic behavior of pressurized-water reactors under accident conditions have been carried out in the PKL test facility at AREVA NP in Erlangen, Germany. The PKL facility models the entire primary side and significant parts of the secondary side of a of pressurized water reactor at a height scale of 1:1. Volumes, power ratings and mass flows are scaled with a ratio of 1:145. The experimental facility consists of four primary loops with circulation pumps and steam generators (SGs) arranged symmetrically around the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The investigations carried out encompass a very broad spectrum from accident scenario simulations with large, medium, and small breaks, over the investigation of shutdown procedures after a wide variety of accidents, to the systematic investigation of complex thermohydraulic phenomena. The PKL tests began in the mid 1970s with the support of the German Research Ministry. Since the mid 1980s, the project has also been significantly supported by the German PWR operators. Since 2001, 25 partner organizations from 15 countries have taken part in the PKL investigations with the support and mediation of the OECD/ NEA (Nuclear Energy Agency). After an overview of PKL history and a short description of the facility, this paper focuses on the investigations carried out since the beginning of the international cooperation, and shows, by means of some examples, what insights can be derived from the tests.

COMBINED ANALYTICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS FOR LWR CONTAINMENT PHENOMENA

  • Allelein, Hans-Josef;Reinecke, Ernst-Arndt;Belt, Alexander;Broxtermann, Philipp;Kelm, Stephan
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.44 no.3
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    • pp.249-260
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    • 2012
  • Main focus of the combined nuclear research activities at Aachen University (RWTH) and the Research Center J$\ddot{u}$lich (J$\ddot{U}$LICH) is the experimental and analytical investigation of containment phenomena and processes. We are deeply convinced that reliable simulations for operation, design basis and beyond-design basis accidents of nuclear power plants need the application of so-called lumped-parameter (LP) based codes as well as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes in an indispensable manner. The LP code being used at our institutions is the GRS code COCOSYS and the CFD tool is ANSYS CFX mostly used in German nuclear research. Both codes are applied for safety analyses especially of beyond design accidents. Focal point of the work is containment thermal-hydraulics, but source term relevant investigations for aerosol and iodine behavior are performed as well. To increase the capability of COCOSYS and CFX detailed models for specific features, e.g. recombiner behavior including chimney effect, building condenser, and wall condensation are developed and validated against facilities at different scales. The close connection between analytical and experimental activities is notable and identifying feature of the RWTH/J$\ddot{U}$LICH activities.

SSI Effects on the Dynamic Response of Structures (구조물-지반 상호작용이 구조물의 동적거동에 미치는 영향)

  • 김용석
    • Computational Structural Engineering
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.87-93
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    • 1993
  • Recently it is recognized that the effects of structure-soil interaction(SSI) on the response of structures are important in the dynamic analysis of structures. In this study, theoretical and experimental investigations were performed to study the SSI effects(mainly inertial interaction) on the dynamic response of buildings utilizing the finite element foumulation. Theoretical studies were performed with two idealized buildings(stubby one and slender one) built on the homogeneous soil layer and having the small embedment ratio. Experimental investigations were also carried out for two buildings built on the pile foundation in Mexico City, experienced the 1985 Earthquake. The results of this study show that the SSI effects are significant on the response of structures due to the change of fundamental frequency and effective damping ratio, and that it is necessary to include the SSI effects on the dynamic analysis of structures.

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Experimental Study for the Optimum Rudder Design (선박의 최적 방향타 설계를 위한 실험적 연구)

  • Keh-Sik Min;Kyung-Nam Chung
    • Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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    • v.37 no.2
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    • pp.88-99
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    • 2000
  • As a part of theoretical and experimental research works for the prediction and improvement of ship's maneuvering performance, an experimental study for the optimum rudder design has been carried out. Largely, this study is composed of the investigations on three major characteristics which determine rudder performance, that is, the investigations on section shape, planform and aspect ratio, and the investigation on the special section shapes. Some practically useful design directions and conclusion for each characteristic have been derived through this study. Among special section shapes, dolphin-tail type section shape has shown a possibility of significantly improving rudder performance if utilized as the section of rudders.

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Theoretical and experimental dynamic characteristics of a RC building model for construction stages

  • Turker, Temel;Bayraktar, Alemdar
    • Computers and Concrete
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.455-475
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    • 2016
  • Dynamic characteristics, named as natural frequencies, damping ratios and mode shapes, affect the dynamic behavior of buildings and they vary depending on the construction stages. It is aimed to present the effects of construction stages on the dynamic characteristics of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings considering theoretical and experimental investigations. For this purpose, a three-storey RC building model with a 1/2 scale was constructed in the laboratory of Civil Engineering Department at Karadeniz Technical University. The modal testing measurements were performed by using Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) method for the bare frame, brick walled and coated cases of the building model. Randomly generated loads by impact hammer were used to vibrate the building model; the responses were measured by uni-axial seismic accelerometers as acceleration. The building's modal parameters at these construction stages were extracted from the processed signals using the Enhanced Frequency Domain Decomposition (EFDD) technique. Also, the finite element models of each case were developed and modal analyses were performed. It was observed from the experimental and theoretical investigations that the natural frequencies of the building model varied depending on the construction stages considerably.

Experimental and numerical investigation of closure time during artificial ground freezing with vertical flow

  • Jin, Hyunwoo;Go, Gyu-Hyun;Ryu, Byung Hyun;Lee, Jangguen
    • Geomechanics and Engineering
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    • v.27 no.5
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    • pp.433-445
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    • 2021
  • Artificial ground freezing (AGF) is a commonly used geotechnical support technique that can be applied in any soil type and has low environmental impact. Experimental and numerical investigations have been conducted to optimize AGF for application in diverse scenarios. Precise simulation of groundwater flow is crucial to improving the reliability these investigations' results. Previous experimental research has mostly considered horizontal seepage flow, which does not allow accurate calculation of the groundwater flow velocity due to spatial variation of the piezometric head. This study adopted vertical seepage flow-which can maintain a constant cross-sectional area-to eliminate the limitations of using horizontal seepage flow. The closure time is a measure of the time taken for an impermeable layer to begin to form, this being the time for a frozen soil-ice wall to start forming adjacent to the freeze pipes; this is of great importance to applied AGF. This study reports verification of the reliability of our experimental apparatus and measurement system using only water, because temperature data could be measured while freezing was observed visually. Subsequent experimental AFG tests with saturated sandy soil were also performed. From the experimental results, a method of estimating closure time is proposed using the inflection point in the thermal conductivity difference between pore water and pore ice. It is expected that this estimation method will be highly applicable in the field. A further parametric study assessed factors influencing the closure time using a two-dimensional coupled thermo-hydraulic numerical analysis model that can simulate the AGF of saturated sandy soil considering groundwater flow. It shows that the closure time is affected by factors such as hydraulic gradient, unfrozen permeability, particle thermal conductivity, and freezing temperature. Among these factors, changes in the unfrozen permeability and particle thermal conductivity have less effect on the formation of frozen soil-ice walls when the freezing temperature is sufficiently low.

Numerical and Experimental Investigations of Dynamic Stall

  • Geissler, Wolfgang;Raffel, Markus;Dietz, Guido;Mai, Holger
    • 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2009.04a
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    • pp.19-19
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    • 2009
  • Dynamic Stall is a flow phenomenon which occurs on the retreating side of helicopter rotor blades during forward flight. It also occurs on blades of stall regulated wind turbines under yawing conditions as well as during gust loads. Time scales occurring during this process are comparable on both helicopter and wind turbine blades. Dynamic Stall limits the speed of the helicopter and its manoeuvrability and limits the amount of power production of wind turbines. Extensive numerical as well as experimental investigations have been carried out recently to get detailed insight into the very complex flow structures of the Dynamic Stall process. Numerical codes have to be based on the full equations, i.e. the Navier-Stokes equations to cover the scope of the problems involved: Time dependent flow, unsteady flow separation, vortex development and shedding, compressibility effects, turbulence, transition and 3D-effects, etc. have to be taken into account. In addition to the numerical treatment of the Dynamic Stall problem suitable wind tunnel experiments are inevitable. Comparisons of experimental data with calculated results show us the state of the art and validity of the CFD-codes and the necessity to further improve calculation procedures. In the present paper the phenomenon of Dynamic Stall will be discussed first. This discussion is followed by comparisons of some recently obtained experimental and numerical results for an oscillating helicopter airfoil under Dynamic Stall conditions. From the knowledge base of the Dynamic Stall Problems, the next step can be envisaged: to control Dynamic Stall. The present discussion will address two different Dynamic Stall control methodologies: the Nose-Droop concept and the application of Leading Edge Vortex Generators (LEVoG's) as examples of active and passive control devices. It will be shown that experimental results are available but CFD-data are only of limited comparison. A lot of future work has to be done in CFD-code development to fill this gap. Here mainly 3D-effects as well as improvements of both turbulence and transition modelling are of major concern.

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Atomic-Scale Insights into Material Properties and Design

  • Sinnott, Susan B.
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2012.08a
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    • pp.75-75
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    • 2012
  • This presentation will focus on computational materials research carried out across length scales. Examples will be presented that illustrate the way in which state-of-the-art quantum mechanical calculations and atomistic simulations can be applied to explain experimental data, design new structures, determine mechanisms, and enable new investigations. In particular, the presentation will present key findings from an integrated experimental and computational investigation of the tribological properties of polytetrafluoroethylene and its composites and predictions regarding the mechanical and tribological properties of inorganic nanostructured materials.

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