• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.952-964
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• 2016

The prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) has been developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. This reactor uses sodium as a reactor coolant to transfer the core heat energy to the turbine. Sodium has chemical characteristics that allow it to violently react with materials such as a water or steam. When a sodium-water reaction (SWR) occurs due to leakage or breakage of steam generator tubes, high-pressure waves and corrosive reaction products are produced, which threaten the structural integrity of the components of the intermediate heat-transfer system (IHTS) and the safety of the primary heat-transfer system (PHTS). In the PGSFR, SWR events are included in the design-basis event. This event should be analyzed from the viewpoint of the integrities of the IHTS and fuel rods. To evaluate the integrity of the IHTS based on the consequences of the SWR, the behaviors of the generated high-pressure waves are analyzed at the major positions of a failed IHTS loop using a sodium-water advanced analysis method-II code. The integrity of the fuel rods must be consistently maintained below the safety acceptance criteria to avoid the consequences of the SWR. The integrity of the PHTS is evaluated using the multidimensional analysis of reactor safety-liquid metal reactor code to model the whole plant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.02a
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• pp.130-139
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• 2004

The cladding materials remaining after reprocessing process of the nuclear fuel, generally called as hulls, are classified as a high-level radioactive waste. They are usually packaged in the container for disposal after being compacted, melted, or solidified into the matrix. The efforts to fabricate a better ingot for a more favorable disposal to the environment have failed due to the technical difficulties encountered in the chemical decontamination method. In the early 1990s, the accumulation of radio-chemical data on hulls and the advent of new technology such as a laser or plasma have made the pre-treatment of the hulls more efficient. This paper summarizes the information regarding the radio-chemical analysis of the hull through a literature survey and determines the characteristics of the hull and depth profile of the radio-nuclides within the hull thickness. The feasibility study was carried out to evaluate the reduction of the radioactivity by peeling off the surface of the hull with the application of laser technology.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2023

Recently, ultra-high strength bolts have been developed for weight lightening of a vehicle and fuel efficiency. However, some amount of diffusible H is absorbed into the bolt during its manufacturing process so that H embrittlement (HE) often occurs particularly in high strength bolts with a tempered martensitic microstructure. This brings attention to ultra-high strength pearlitic bolts with a high resistance to HE. Therefore, in this study the HE resistance of the 1.6 GPa grade pearlitic bolt was evaluated through tightening tests and slow strain rate tests (SSRTs), and fracture surfaces of failed bolts were comparatively observed. A critical H content for the tightening test turned out to be ~0.23-0.35 mass ppm. The bolt with a diffusible H content of ~0.35 mass ppm was fractured during the tightening test, showing a quasi-cleavage fracture surface, indicating the occurrence of HE. In addition, the bolt underwent premature elastic failure during the SSRT. This implies that the HE resistance of high strength bolts can be evaluated by both tightening test and SSRT.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2014

Using results of groundwater flow system modeling for a hypothetical deep geological repository site, a distribution of groundwater flow rates at the disposal depth was analyzed and a method of applying this distribution to a safety assessment for a disposal of radioactive wastes was suggested. The distribution of groundwater flow rates was produced by hydraulic heads simulated from regional and local scale groundwater flow models for the hypothetical disposal site. The flow rates at the locations where deposition holes would be located were estimated. These rates were normalized by the maximum of the flow rates in order to probabilistically illustrate a possibility of canister failures at the deposition holes. From the normalized distribution, probabilistic expectations for mass discharges of radionuclides released from the canisters assumed to be failed were calculated and compared with those deterministically estimated under the assumption that the canisters at the same deposition holes were definitely failed. The suggested method can be contributed to constructing a methodology for safety assessment of a geological repository by reflecting natural conditions of a disposal site in more detail.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.301-309
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• 2006

KDC-1 canister for PWR spent fuels which will be used for the Korean Reference Disposal System was developed. The structural analysis of the canister was carried out as a part of the safety analysis. Two conditions, disposal condition and handling condition, were considered for the structural analysis. Three kinds of load cases, normal, abnormal and rock movement, were considered for the disposal condition. The results of the calculation showed that the safety factors from the structural analysis were greater than the design requirements. Two accident scenarios, gripper failure accident and canister drop accident, were analyzed for the handling condition. According to the gripper failure scenario analysis, the handling machine with grippers could be used even in the cases that one or two grippers failed. The maximum von Mises stress from the canister drop accident scenario was 0.762 MPa, which was negligible compared with the yield stress of nodular cast iron. The proposed KDC-1 canister for PWR spent fuels proves to be safe under the repository condition that is based upon the Korean reference disposal system according to the structural analysis for disposal condition and handling condition.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.153-161
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• 2012

This study conducted a survey and field investigation on the application of the Public Obligation System for new & renewable energy in public buildings, as well as energy consumption of each building according to their uses. The findings are as follows: (1) Since the introduction of the Public Obligation System (until June 30, 2011), there was average 1.4 new & renewable energy facilities established at 1,433 places. Preference for solar energy facilities was the highest at 57.8%. (2) The revised act sets the obligatory supply percentage of new & renewable energy for each public building: it is 9.0% for a tax office, 4.2% for a dong office, 8.2% for a public health center, and 12.6% for a fire station. All the public buildings except for fire stations failed to meet 10% expected energy consumption, a revised standard. (3) Energy consumption of each public building was 120.6TOE for a tax office, 124.3TOE for a dong office, 166.4TOE for a public health center, and 174.6TOE for a fire station. The energy consumption was comprised of 80% electric power, 18% urban gas, and 1% oil. (4) Electric power consumption per person in the room was high at a dong office, and fuel consumption per person in the room was high at a public health center. In addition, electric power consumption per unit space was high at a public health center, and fuel consumption per unit space was high at a fire station. (5) In all the four public buildings, power load had the highest basic unit percentage at average 55%, being followed by heating load (21.2%), cooling load (15%), and water heating load (7%). A tax office and fire station had 2% load due to cooking facilities.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.7-12
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• 2019

To investigate the influence of the char layer formed during the combustion process on the pyrolysis of wood combustibles, ISO 5660-1 cone calorimetry experiments and Fire dynamics simulator (FDS) simulations were performed, and the results from these two methods were compared. The wood combustible selected as the fuel for this study, Douglas fir, has been widely used for the production of building materials, furniture, etc. The heat release rate (HRR) measured from the cone calorimetry experiment was in good agreement with the result predicted by the FDS simulation. However, the FDS simulation failed to predict the heat released by the smoldering combustion process, due to the absence of the char surface reaction in the model. The FDS simulation results clearly indicate that the char layer formed on the surface of combustibles produces a thermal barrier which prevents heat transfer to the interior, thickening the thermal depth and thus reducing the pyrolysis rate of combustibles.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.11 no.1 s.34
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• pp.23-28
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• 2007

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the sealing defects and cracks of O-rings and a valve packing of a gas valve for a LPG cylinder. O-ring in which stops a gas leakage of a liquefied petroleum gas is very important for a LPG valve safety. Valve packing is to open and close a gas flow port for supplying and charging a LPG fuel. The sealing performance of two sealing units ism related to the leak safety and long lift of a gas valve. The investigated results show that most of O-rings was failed due to a circumferential crack in which is caused by partial press bonding failure near the partition zone and an excess compression rate. Some of the O-ring failure was originated by an extrusion of an excessive leak pressure of a LP gas. Thus, this paper strongly recommends a tight quality control and a safety guarantee system of O-rings and valve packing to guarantee a leak safety and to extend a service lift of a gas valve. At the end, a warranty policy of the sealing units should be adopted for increasing a product quality and safety of a gas valve.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2005

The electrolytic reduction of uranium oxide in a LiCl-Li$_{2}$O molten salt system has been studied in a 10 g U$_{3}$O$_{8}$ /batch-scale experimental apparatus with an integrated cathode assembly at 650$^{\circ}C$. The integrated cathode assembly consists of an electric conductor, the uranium oxide to be reduced and the membrane for loading the uranium oxide. From the cyclic voltammograms for the LiCl-3 wt$\%$ Li$_{2}$O system and the U$_{3}$O$_{8}$-LiCl-3 wt$\%$ Li$_{2}$O system according to the materials of the membrane in the cathode assembly, the mechanisms of the predominant reduction reactions in the electrolytic reactor cell were to be understood; direct and indirect electrolytic reduction of uranium oxide. Direct and indirect electrolytic reductions have been performed with the integrated cathode assembly. Using the 325-mesh stainless steel screen the uranium oxide failed to be reduced to uranium metal by a direct and indirect electrolytic reduction because of a low current efficiency and with the porous magnesia membrane the uranium oxide was reduced successfully to uranium metal by an indirect electrolytic reduction because of a high current efficiency.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.73-81
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• 2020

Strontium (⁹⁰Sr) and nickel (⁵⁹Ni) have been considered as key radionuclides in the safety assessment of radioactive waste disposal. Through various efforts to impede the migration of radioactive nuclides underground, it has been established that some minerals generated from the corrosion of the waste containers have a positive chemical interaction with these radionuclides. Among these minerals we selected mackinawite (FeS), an iron and sulfur compound, and performed a sorption experiment for the Sr and Ni in FeS under anoxic and alkaline conditions by reflecting deep underground environments. The effects of pH on sorption were likewise investigated in the pH range of 8 ~ 12. As a result, it was found that strontium failed to exhibit a good sorption capacity in a weak alkaline range, while nickel showed a noticeably higher sorption affinity over the entire experimental pH range. Moreover, we determined that as the pH increased in the solution, the distribution coefficients (K_d) were increased for both nuclides, which reflects when an alkalinity increses, the surface of the mineral charges much negatively by detaching the hydrogen or cations on the mineral surface. Thus, it can be concluded that the cationic nuclides of Sr and Ni can attach easily to the mineral under strong alkalinity.