• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.63-69
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• 2012

The second phase of the national program for fusion energy development in Korea starts from 2012 for design and construction of the fusion DEMO reactor. Radiological assessment for the fusion reactor is one of the key tasks to assure its licensability and the starting point of the assessment is determination of the source terms. As the first effort, the activities of the coolant due to activated corrosion product (ACP) were estimated. Data and experiences from fission reactors were used, in part, in the calculations of the ACP concentrations because of lack of operating experience for fusion reactors. The MCNPX code was used to determine neutron spectra and intensities at the coolant locations and the FISPACT code was used to estimate the ACP activities in the coolant of the fusion DEMO reactor. The calculated specific activities of the most nuclides in the fusion DEMO reactor coolant were 2-15 times lower than those in the PWR coolant, but the specific activities of $^{57}Co$ and $^{57}Ni$ were expected to be much higher than in the PWR coolant. The preliminary results of this study can be used to figure out the approximate radiological conditions and to establish a tentative set of radiological design criteria for the systems carrying coolant in the design phase of the fusion DEMO reactor.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.670-670
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• 2013

The concept of a fusion-driven transmutation reactor based on LAR (Low Aspect Ratio) tokamak as a neutron source is studied based on ITER physics and technology. The radial build of transmutation reactor components are self-consistently determined by coupling the systems analysis with radiation transport analysis and an optimal configuration of a transmutation reactor for aspect ratio, A in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 is found. The performance of a transmutation reactor is investigated and shows that a transmutation reactor with a neutron source producing fusion power less than 150 MW can destroy the transuranic actinides contained in the spent fuels produced from more than two 1 GWe PWRs with production of the fission power being greater than 2 GW.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2006.08a
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• pp.216-216
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• 2006

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.431-431
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• 2012

A compact tokamak reactor concept as a 14 MeV neutron source is desirable from an economic viewpoint for a fusion-driven transmutation reactor. LAR (Low Aspect Ratio) tokamak allows a potential of high "see full txt" operation with high bootstrap current fractions and can be used for a compact fusion neutron source. For the optimal design of a reactor, a radial build of reactor components has to be determined by considering the plasma physics and engineering constraints which inter-relate various reactor components and are constrained to use ITER physics and technology. In a transmutation reactor, the blanket should produce enough tritium for tritium self-sufficiency and the neutron multiplication factor, keff should be less than 0.95 to maintain sub-criticality. The shield should provide sufficient protection for the superconducting toroidal field (TF) coil against radiation damage and heating effects of the fusion neutrons, fission neutrons, and secondary gammas. In this work, characteristics of transmutation reactor based on LAR tokamak is investigated by using the coupled system analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.582-582
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• 2012

Characteristics of a fusion-driven transmutation reactor was investigated. A compact reactor concept is desirable from an economic viewpoint. For the optimal design of a reactor, a radial build of reactor components has to be determined by considering the plasma physics and engineering constraints which inter-relate various reactor components. In a transmutation reactor, design of blanket and shield play a key role in determining the size of a reactor; the blanket should produce enough tritium for tritium self-sufficiency, the transmutation rate of waste has to be maximized, and the shield should provide sufficient protection for the superconducting toroidal field (TF) coil. To determine the radial build of the blanket and the shield, not only a radiation transport analysis but also a burnup calculation were coupled with the system analysis and it allowed the self-consistent determination of the design parameters of a transmutation reactor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1736-1746
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• 2021

The results of full-scale numerical experiments of a hybrid thorium-containing fuel cell facility operating in a close-to-critical state due to a controlled source of fusion neutrons are discussed in this work. The facility under study was a complex consisting of two blocks. The first block was based on the concept of a high-temperature gas-cooled thorium reactor core. The second block was an axially symmetrical extended plasma generator of additional neutrons that was placed in the near-axial zone of the facility blanket. The calculated models of the blanket and the plasma generator of D-T neutrons created within the work allowed for research of the neutronic parameters of the facility in stationary and pulse-periodic operation modes. This research will make it possible to construct a safe facility and investigate the properties of thorium fuel, which can be continuously used in the epithermal spectrum of the considered hybrid fusion-fission reactor.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.18-30
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• 1999

A heat transfer analysis for the two-dimensional (2-D) steady state using finite difference method (FDM) is performed to predict the thermal behavior of the primary first-wall (FW) system of fusion reactor under various geometric and thermo-hydraulic conditions, such as the beryllium (Be) armor thickness, pitch of cooling tube, and coolant velocity. The FW consists of authentic steel (type 316 stainless steel solution annealed) for cooling tubes, Cu for cooling tubes embedding material, and Be for a protective armor, based on the International Thermonuclear Experiment Reactor (ITER) report. The present 2-D analysis, the control volume discretized with hybrid grid (rectangular grid and polar grid) and Gauss-Seidel iteration method are adapted to solve the governing equations. In the present study, geometric and thermo-hydraulic parameters are optimized with consideration of several limitations. Consequently, it is suggested that the adequate pitch of cooling tube is 22-32mm, the beryllium armor thickness is 10-12mm, and that the coolant velocity is 4.5m/s-6m/s for $100^{\circ}C$ of inlet coolant temperature. The cooling tube should locate near beryllium armor. But, it would be better for locating the center of Cu wall, considering problems of material and manufacturing. Also, 2-D analysis neglecting the axial temperature distribution of cooling tube is appropriate, regarding the discretization error in axial direction.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1999

Pd-ceramic composite membranes and catalytic membrane reactors(CMR) have been studied for hydrogen and its isotopes (deuterium and tritium) purification and recovery in the fusion reactor fuel cycle. Particularly a closed-loop process has been studied for recovering tritium from tritiated water by means of a CMR in which the water gas shift reaction takes place. The development of the techniques for coating micro-porous ceramic tubes with Pd and Pd/Ag thin layers is described : P composite membranes have been produced by electroless deposition (Pd/Ag film of 10-20 $\mu$m) and rolling of thin metal sheets (Pd and Pd/Ag membranes of 50-70 $\mu$m). Experimental results of the electroless membranes have shown a not complete hydrogen selectivity because of the presence of some defects(micro-holes) in the metallic thin layer. Conversely the rolled thin Pd and Pd/ag membranes have separated hydrogen from the other gases with a complete selectivity giving rise to a slightly larger (about a factor 1.7) mass transfer resistance with respect to the electroless membranes. Experimental tests have confirmed the good performances of the rolled membranes in terms of chemical stability over several weeks of operation. Therefore these rolled membranes and CMR are adequate for applications in the fusion reactor fuel cycle as well as in the industrial processes where high pure hydrogen is required (i.e. hydrocarbon reforming for fuel cell)

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.1016-1021
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• 2008

The development of the first wall whose major function is to withstand high neutron and heat fluxes is a critical path to fusion power. The materials database and the fabrication technology are being developed for design, construction and safety operation of the fusion reactor. The first wall was designed to consist of the plasma facing armor, the heat sink layer and the supporting plates. and Porous materials are of significant interest due to their wide applications in catalysis, separation, lightweight structural materials. In this study, the characteristics of the sintering process of SiC ceramic, $SiC_f$/SiC composite and porous $C_f$/SiC composite have been introduced order to study of the fusion blanket materials and heat-exchange pannel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.411-415
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• 2018

Nuclear fusion may be among the strongest sustainable ways to replace fossil fuels because it does not contribute to acid rain or global warming. In this context, activated cobalt materials in corrosion products for fusion energy are significant in determination of dose levels during maintenance after a coolant leak in a nuclear fusion reactor. Therefore, cross-section studies on cobalt material are very important for fusion reactor design. In this article, the excitation functions of some nuclear reaction channels induced by proton particles on $^{59}Co$ structural material were predicted using different models. The nuclear level densities were calculated using different choices of available level density models in ALICE/ASH code. Finally, the newly calculated cross sections for the investigated nuclear reactions are compared with the experimental values and TENDL data based on TALYS nuclear code.