• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.798-804
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• 2003

One of the methods that are used to compare and verify the supporting performance of the spacer grids developed is the vibration characteristic test. A modal test in this paper is performed for a dummy rod 3,847 mm tall supported by eight New Doublet (ND) spacer grids. For the vibration test in air, nine accelerometers, one displacement sensor and one shaker are used for acquiring signals, and an I-DEAS TDAS software Is employed for analyzing the signals. Also, a finite element (FE) analysis is performed by a beam-spring simple model and a contact model simulating the contact phenomenon between the rod and the ND spring. And then, the results of the modal testing are compared with those of the FE analysis. The natural frequencies as well as the mode shapes obtained by the experiment have a greater similarity to the results by the contact model than the previous beam-spring model. In audition, for grasping whether or not the modal parameters are influenced by where shaking spot is, two kinds of tests are performed : one is for the shaker attached at the fourth span (center), the other is for the shaker at the fifth span that is one span nearer to the bottom of the rod. The latter shows higher MAC than the former Finally, the vibration displacements are measured in the range of 0.l12∼0.214 mm for the excitation force of 0.25∼0.75 N.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.36-48
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• 2022

As a valid numerical method to obtain a high-resolution result of a flow field, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have been widely used to study coolant flow and heat transfer characteristics in fuel rod bundles. However, the time-consuming, iterative calculation of Navier-Stokes equations makes CFD unsuitable for the scenarios that require efficient simulation such as sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification. To solve this problem, a reduced-order model (ROM) based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and machine learning (ML) is proposed to simulate the flow field efficiently. Firstly, a validated CFD model to output the flow field data set of the rod bundle is established. Secondly, based on the POD method, the modes and corresponding coefficients of the flow field were extracted. Then, an deep feed-forward neural network, due to its efficiency in approximating arbitrary functions and its ability to handle high-dimensional and strong nonlinear problems, is selected to build a model that maps the non-linear relationship between the mode coefficients and the boundary conditions. A trained surrogate model for modes coefficients prediction is obtained after a certain number of training iterations. Finally, the flow field is reconstructed by combining the product of the POD basis and coefficients. Based on the test dataset, an evaluation of the ROM is carried out. The evaluation results show that the proposed POD-ROM accurately describe the flow status of the fluid field in rod bundles with high resolution in only a few milliseconds.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.1592-1597
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• 2004

Experimental studies were carried out to confirm the turbulent enhancement of the cooling system of nuclear reactor by large scale vortex generation in nuclear fuel rod bundle. The large scale vortex motions were generated by rearranging the inclination angles of mixing vanes to the coordinate directions. Experimental studies were carried out at Reynolds Number 60,000 with hydraulic condition. Normal variations of mean velocity and turbulent intensity in the rod bundle subchannel were measured by the 2-color LDV measurement system. The turbulence generated by split mixing vanes has small length scales so that they maintain only about 10DH after the spacer grid. On the other hand, the turbulences generated by the large scale vortex continue more and remain up $25D_{H}$ after the spacer grid.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.54-60
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• 2009

Weight reduction of automobile parts has been sought to achieve fuel efficiency and energy conservation. In this study, a shape design procedure is suggested to obtained the lightweight design of an outer tie rod. The developed aluminium Al6082M is selected as a steel-substitute material. Strength assesment and durability are the important design criterion in the structural design of an outer tie rod. This study considers strength and durability in the optimization process. In this study, the kriging interpolation method and trial and error method are adopted to obtain the minimum weight satisfying the strength and durability constraints.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.306-312
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• 2018

There is an increasing need in the United States and around the world to move used nuclear fuel from wet storage in fuel pools to dry storage in casks stored at independent spent fuel storage installations or interim storage sites. Under normal conditions, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission limits cladding temperature to $400^{\circ}C$ for high-burnup (>45 GWd/mtU) fuel, with higher temperatures allowed for low-burnup fuel. An analysis was conducted with FRAPCON-4.0 on three modern fuel designs with three representative used nuclear fuel storage temperature profiles that peaked at $400^{\circ}C$. Results were representative of the majority of US light water reactor fuel. They conservatively showed that hoop stress remains below 90 MPa at the licensing temperature limit. Results also show that the limiting case for hoop stress may not be at the highest rod internal pressure in all cases but will be related to the axial temperature and oxidation profiles of the rods at the end of life and in storage.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.1602-1611
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• 2021

A varying degree of eccentricity always exists in the initial configuration of a nuclear fuel rod. Its impact on traditional LWR fuel is limited as the radial gap closes relatively early during irradiation. However, the effect of misalignment is expected to be more relevant in rods with highly conductive fuels, large initial gaps and low conductivity filling gases. In this paper, we study similar characteristics in the experimental setup of two fuel disc irradiation campaigns carried out in the OECD Halden Boiling Water Reactor. Using the multi-dimensional fuel performance code OFFBEAT, we combine 2-D axisymmetric and 3-D simulations to investigate the effect of eccentricity on the fuel temperature distribution. At the same time, we illustrate how the advent of modern tools with multi-dimensional capabilities might further improve the design and interpretation of in-pile separate-effect tests and we outline the potential of such an analysis for upcoming experiments.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.7
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• pp.1386-1395
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• 2020

High fidelity nuclear reactor fuel assembly simulation using CFD method is an effective way for the structure design and optimization. The validated models and user practice guidelines play critical roles in achieving reliable results in CFD simulations. In this paper, the international benchmark MATiS-H is studied carefully and the best user practice guideline is achieved for the rod bundles simulation. Then a 5 × 5 rod bundles model in the advanced pressurized water reactor (PWR) is established and the detailed three-dimensional thermal-hydraulic characteristics are investigated. The influence of spacer grids and mixing vanes on the flow and hear transfer in rod bundles is revealed. As the coolant flows through the spacer grids and mixing vanes in the rod bundles, the drastic lateral flow would be induced and the pressure drop increases significantly. In addition, the heat transfer is enhanced remarkably due to the strong mixing effects. The calculation results could provide meaningful guidelines for the design of advanced PWR fuel assembly.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.91-92
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• 2017

In this study, assembling procedure of TRU fuel assembly was reviewed and divided into rod bundle assembling, mating preassemblies and welding, and inspection and non-destructive examination. Based on this assumption, the design criteria of a remote assembler for TRU fuel assembly of PGSFR is defined and predictable technical issues are proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.3171-3181
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• 2021

This research serves to advance the development of engineering computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computing efficiency for the analysis of pressurized water reactor (PWR) core using rod-type fuel assemblies with mixing vanes (one kind of typical PWR core). In this research, a CFD scheme based on the reconstruction of the initial fine flow field (RIF CFD scheme) is proposed and analyzed. The RIF scheme is based on the quantitative regulation of flow velocities in the rod-type PWR core and the principle that the CFD computing efficiency can be improved greatly by a perfect initialization. In this paper, it is discovered that the RIF scheme can significantly improve the computing efficiency of the CFD computation for the rod-type PWR core. Furthermore, the RIF scheme also can reduce the computing resources needed for effective data storage of the large fluid domain in a rod-type PWR core. Moreover, a flow-ranking RIF CFD scheme is also designed based on the ranking of the flow rate, which enhances the utilization of the flow field with a closed flow rate to reconstruct the fine flow field. The flow-ranking RIF CFD scheme also proved to be very effective in improving the CFD efficiency for the rod-type PWR core.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.375-388
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• 2024

In this study, to evaluate the shock and vibration load characteristics of used fuel, a sea transportation test was conducted using simulated fuel assemblies under normal transport conditions. An overall test data analysis was performed based on the measured strain and acceleration data obtained from cruise, rotation, acceleration, braking, depth of water, and rolling tests. In addition, shock response spectrum and power spectral densities were obtained for each test case. Amplification and attenuation characteristics were investigated based on the load path. The load was amplified as it passed from the overpack to the simulated used fuel-assembly. As a result of the RMS trend analysis, the fuel-loading position of the transportation package affected the measured strain in the fuel rod, and the maximum strains were obtained at the spans with large spacing. However, even these maximum strains were very small compared to the fatigue strength and the cladding yield strength. Moreover, the fuel rods located on the side exhibited a larger strain value than those at the center.