• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.644-652
• /
• 2022

During the pyroprocessing operation, various signals can be collected by process monitoring (PM). These signals are utilized to diagnose process states. In this study, feasibility of using PM for nuclear safeguards of electrorefining operation was examined based on the use of machine learning for detecting off-normal operations. The off-normal operation, in this study, is defined as co-deposition of key elements through reduction on cathode. The monitored process signal selected for PM was cathode potential. The necessary data were produced through electrodeposition experiments in a laboratory molten salt system. Model-based cathodic surface area data were also generated and used to support model development. Computer models for classification were developed using a series of recurrent neural network architectures. The concept of transfer learning was also employed by combining pre-training and fine-tuning to minimize data requirement for training. The resulting models were found to classify the normal and the off-normal operation states with a 95% accuracy. With the availability of more process data, the approach is expected to have higher reliability.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.271-281
• /
• 2023

A study was conducted on the vitrification of the rare earth oxide waste generated from the PyroGreen process. The target rare earth waste consisted of eight elements: Nd, Ce, La, Pr, Sm, Y, Gd, and Eu. The waste loading of the rare earth waste in the developed borosilicate glass system was 20wt%. The fabricated glass, processed at 1,200℃, exhibited uniform and homogeneous surface without any crystallization and precipitation. The viscosity and electrical conductivity of the melted glass at 1,200℃ were 7.2 poise and 1.1 S·cm^-1, respectively, that were suitable for the operation of the vitrification facility. The calculated leaching index of Cs, Co, and Sr were 10.4, 10.6, and 9.8, respectively. The evaluated Product Consistency Test (PCT) normalized release of the glass indicated that the glass satisfied the requirements for the disposal acceptance criteria. Furthermore, the pristine, 90 days water immersed, 30 thermal cycled, and 10 MGy gamma ray irradiated glasses exhibited good compressive strength. The results indicated that the fabricated glass containing rare earth waste from the PyroGreen process was acceptable for the disposal in the repository, in terms of chemical durability and mechanical strength.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.26 no.11
• /
• pp.1297-1306
• /
• 2017

This study identified physical characteristics and aerosol particle sources of $PM_{10}$ and $PM_{2.5}$ in the industrial complex of Busan Metropolitan City, Korea. Samples of $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$ and also soil, were collected in several areas during the year of 2012 to investigate elemental composition. A URG cyclone sampler was used for collection. The samples were collected according to each experimental condition, and the analysis method of SEM-EDX was used to determine the concentration of each metallic element. The comparative analysis indicated that their mass concentration ranged from 1% to 3%. The elements in the industrial region that were above 10% were Si, Al, Fe, and Ca. Those below 5% were Na, Mg, and S. The remaining elements (1% of total mass) consisted of elements such as Ni, Co, Br and Pb. Finally, a statistical tool was applied to the elemental results to identify each source for the industrial region. From a principal components analysis (SPSS, Ver 20.0) performed to analyze the possible sources of $PM_{10}$ in the industrial region, five main factors were determined. Factor 1 (Si, Al), which accounted for 15.8% of the total variance, was mostly affected by soil and dust from manufacturing facilities nearby, Factors 2 (Cu, Ni), 3 (Zn, Pb), and 4 (Mn, Fe), which also accounted for some of variance, were mainly related to iron, non-ferrous metals, and other industrial manufacturing sources. Also, five factors determined to access possible sources of $PM_{2.5}$, Factor 1 (Na, S), accounted for 13.5% of the total variance and was affected by sea-salt particles and fuel incineration sources, and Factors 2 (Ti, Mn), 3 (Pb, Cl), 4 (K, Al) also explained significant proportions of the variance. Theses factors mean that the $PM_{2.5}$ emission sources may be considered as sources of incineration, and metals, and non-ferrous manufacturing industries.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2013

LCC (Liquid cadmium cathode) is used for electrowinning in pyroprocessing to recover uranium and transuranic elements simultaneously. It is one of the core technologies in pyroprocessing with higher proliferation resistance than a wet reprocessing because LCC-cell does not separate TRU from uranium. The crucible which holds the LCC is technically important because it should be nonconducting material to prevent deposition of metallic elements on the crucible outer surface. The chemical stability is also crucial factor to choose crucible material due to the strong reactivities of TRU and possible incorporation of Li metal during the operation. In this study, the chemical stabilities of four kinds of representative ceramic materials such as $Al_2O_3$, MgO, $Yl_2O_3$ and BeO were thermodynamically and experimentally evaluated at $500^{\circ}C$ with simulated LCC. The contact angle of LCC on ceramic materials was measured as function of time to predict chemical reactivity. $All_2O_3$ showed poorest chemical stability and the pores in BeO contributed to a decreases in contact angle. MgO and $Y_2O_3$ have superior chemical stability among the materials.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.157-167
• /
• 2020

Removing radioactive concrete is crucial in the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. However, this process generates radioactive aerosols, exposing workers to radiation. Although large amounts of radioactive concrete are generated during decommissioning, studies on the internal exposure of workers to radioactive aerosols generated from the cutting of radioactive concrete are very limited. In this study, therefore, we calculate the internal radiation doses of workers exposed to radioactive aerosols during activities such as drilling and cutting of radioactive concrete, using previous research data. The electrical-mobility-equivalent diameter measured in a previous study was converted to aerodynamic diameter using the Newton-Raphson method. Furthermore, the specific activity of each nuclide in radioactive concrete 10 years after nuclear power plants are shut down was calculated using the ORIGEN code. Eventually, we calculated the committed effective dose for each nuclide using the IMBA software. The maximum effective dose of ¹⁵²Eu constituted 83.09% of the total dose; moreover, the five highest-ranked elements (¹⁵²Eu, ¹⁵⁴Eu, ⁶⁰Co, ²³⁹Pu, ⁵⁵Fe) constituted 99.63%. Therefore, we postulate that these major elements could be measured first for rapid radiation exposure management of workers involved in decommissioning of nuclear power plants, even if all radioactive elements in concrete are not considered.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.191-205
• /
• 2009

To characterize the geological features in the study area for high-level radioactive waste disposal research, KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has been performing several geological investigations such as geophysical surveys and borehole drillings since 1997. Especially, the KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) constructed to understand the deep geological environments in 2006. Recently, the deep boreholes, which have 500 m depth inside the left research module of the KURT and 1,000 m depth outside the KURT, were drilled to confirm and validate the results from a geological model. The objective of this research was to investigate hydrogeological conditions using a 3-D geological model around the KURT. The geological analysis from the surface and borehole investigations determined four important geologicla elements including subsurface weathered zone, low-angled fractures zone, fracture zones and bedrock for the geological model. In addition, the geometries of these elements were also calculated for the three-dimensional model. The results from 3-D geological model in this study will be beneficial to understand hydrogeological environment in the study area as an important part of high-level radioactive waste disposal technology.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.1013-1022
• /
• 2022

Recently, with the worldwide development of the fourth industry, the development of technologies for smart and eco-friendly ships is accelerating. With the emergence of autonomous vessels with complete unmanned or minimum personnel on board and eco-friendly fuel (methane, ammonia, electricity, etc.), the role of existing seafarers on board is expected to change significantly. To improve the competitiveness of seafarers in the future, predicting future seafarer occupation groups, improving the educational curriculum, and creating an educational system are necessary. In this study, eight occupational groups that seafarers may have in the future were derived through a review of earlier studies and brainstorming of maritime university students, incumbent seafarers and expert groups. A survey was conducted on the eight occupational groups using the Likert scale, and based on the results, a leading occupational group related to future seafarer was derived. The most likely occupational groups with high scores were remote control centre operators and cargo remote manager. In addition, essential educational elements to be educated first for these occupational groups were derived and presented.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.291-299
• /
• 2001

A method of separation and purification of Sm for quantitation of Sm isotopes from various fission products in PWR spent nuclear fuels has been studied. Simulated solution containing inactive metal ions(Cs, Ba, Gd, Eu, Sm and Nd) in place of radioactive fission products was prepared. Sm was separated with 0.5 M $HNO_3$/80% MeOH after washing with 1 M $HNO_3$/90% MeOH on AG $1{\times}8$, anion exchange resin. Sm was purified on cation exchange resin, AG $50W{\times}8$, pretreated with 0.2 M alpha-hydroxisobutyric acid(pH 4.5-4.6) to remove Ba causing isobaric effect Sm from PWR spent fuel. As a result of mass spectrometric measurement, eluted Sm portion did not include isobars form other elements such as Gd, Eu, Pm, Nd and BaO. The contents of Sm and its isotopes($^{147}Sm$, $^{148}Sm$, $^{149}Sm$, $^{150}Sm$, $^{151}Sm$, $^{152}Sm$ and $^{154}Sm$) in spent fuel were determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometric method spiking $^{154}Sm$.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2011.10a
• /
• pp.7-7
• /
• 2011

Quantum beam technology has been expected to develop breakthroughs for nanotechnology during the third basic plan of science and technology (2006~2010). Recently, Green- or Life Innovations has taken over the national interests in the fourth basic science and technology plan (2011~2015). The NIMS (National Institute for Materials Science) has been conducting the corresponding mid-term research plans, as well as other national projects, such as nano-Green project (Global Research for Environment and Energy based on Nanomaterials science). In this lecture, the research trends in Japan and NIMS are firstly reviewed, and the typical achievements are highlighted over key nanotechnology fields. As one of the key nanotechnologies, the quantum beam research in NIMS focused on synchrotron radiation, neutron beams and ion/atom beams, having complementary attributes. The facilities used are SPring-8, nuclear reactor JRR-3, pulsed neutron source J-PARC and ion-laser-combined beams as well as excited atomic beams. Materials studied are typically fuel cell materials, superconducting/magnetic/multi-ferroic materials, quasicrystals, thermoelectric materials, precipitation-hardened steels, nanoparticle-dispersed materials. Here, we introduce a few topics of neutron scattering and ion beam nanofabrication. For neutron powder diffraction, the NIMS has developed multi-purpose pattern fitting software, post RIETAN2000. An ionic conductor, doped Pr2NiO4, which is a candidate for fuel-cell material, was analyzed by neutron powder diffraction with the software developed. The nuclear-density distribution derived revealed the two-dimensional network of the diffusion paths of oxygen ions at high temperatures. Using the high sensitivity of neutron beams for light elements, hydrogen states in a precipitation-strengthened steel were successfully evaluated. The small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) demonstrated the sensitive detection of hydrogen atoms trapped at the interfaces of nano-sized NbC. This result provides evidence for hydrogen embrittlement due to trapped hydrogen at precipitates. The ion beam technology can give novel functionality on a nano-scale and is targeting applications in plasmonics, ultra-fast optical communications, high-density recording and bio-patterning. The technologies developed are an ion-and-laser combined irradiation method for spatial control of nanoparticles, and a nano-masked ion irradiation method for patterning. Furthermore, we succeeded in implanting a wide-area nanopattern using nano-masks of anodic porous alumina. The patterning of ion implantation will be further applied for controlling protein adhesivity of biopolymers. It has thus been demonstrated that the quantum beam-based nanotechnology will lead the innovations both for nano-characterization and nano-fabrication.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.117-124
• /
• 2003

Oxygen to metal ratio has been measured by wet and dry chemical analysis to study the properties of sintered $UO_2$ pellets and $U_3O_8$ in the lithium reduction process of spent pressurized water reactor fuels. Uranium dioxide pellets simulated for the spent PWR fuels with burnup values of 20,000~60,000 MWd/MtU were prepared by mixing $UO_2$ powder and oxides of fission product elements, pelleting the powder mixture and sintering it at $1,700^{\circ}C$ under a hydrogen atmosphere. For wet chemical analysis, the simulated spent fuels were dissolved with mixed acid (10 M HCl : 8 M $HNO_3$, 2.5 : 1, v/v) using acid digestion bomb technique. The total amount of uranium and fission products added in the simulated spent fuels were measured using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Weight change of the simulated fuel during its oxydation was measured by thermogravimetry and then the O/M ratio result was compared to that obtained by wet chemical analysis. Influence of $Mo_{0.4}-Ru_{0.4}-Rh_{0.1}-Pd_{0.1}$, quaternary alloy, on the determination of O/M ratio was investigated.