• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2069-2087
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• 2023

In nuclear power plant (NPP) accidents, the containment is subject to high temperatures and high internal pressures, which may further trigger serious chain accidents such as core meltdown and hydrogen explosion, resulting in a significantly higher accident level. Therefore, studying the mechanical performance of a containment under high temperature and high internal pressure is relevant to the safety of NPPs. Based on similarity principles, the 1:3.2 scale model of a prestressed concrete containment vessel (PCCV) of a NPP was designed. The loading method, which considers the thermal-pressure coupling conditions, was used. The mechanical response of the PCCV was investigated with a simultaneous increase in internal pressure and temperature, and the failure mechanism of the PCCV under thermal-pressure coupling conditions was revealed.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.7 no.3 s.20
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• pp.51-57
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• 2003

This paper presents the temperature distribution and deformation characteristics of O-ring groove geometry in which is strongly related the sealing performance of pressure vessels. A working gas in pressure vessel may be heated by a heater and pressurized by a gas compressor. Thus, the pressure vessel should keep high Pressure and temperature for a limited working period. For these operation conditions, the working gas in pressure vessels should not leak to the air by two O-rings with a rectangular groove. The FEM computed results indicate that the thermal and mechanical properties of metal sealing material is very important for stopping a leakage of hot gas in a vessel. Based on the results, high thermal conductive and low mechanical strength material is recommended as a metal sealing one. This may improve the sealing characteristics of O-ring sealing mechanism with a rectangular groove, which reduces the sealing gap between a flange and a cylinder and the width of O-ring groove.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.111-121
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• 1998

It is well recognized that a excessive temperature gradient from the junction of head to skirt in axial direction in a hot pressure vessel can cause unpredicted high thermal stress at the junction and/or in axial direction of a skirt. this thermal stress resulting from axial thermal gradient may be a major cause of unsoundness of structural integrity. In case of cyclic operation of hot pressure vessels, the thermal stress becomes one of the primary design consideration because of the possibility of fracture as a result of cyclic thermal fatigue and progressively incremental plastic deformation. To perform thermal stress analysis of the junction and cylindrical skirt of a vessel, or, at least, to inspect quantitatively the magnitude and effect of thermal stress, the temperature profile of the vessel and skirt must be known. This paper demonstrated the temperature distribution and thermal stress analysis for the junction of skirt to head using F.E. analysis. Effect of air pocket in crotch space was quantitatively investigated to minimize the temperature gradient causing the thermal stress in axial direction. Effect of the skirt height on thermal stresses was also studied. Analysis results were compared with theoretical formulas to verify th applicability to the strength calculation in design field.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.831-836
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• 2014

In this study, high temperature integrity evaluation on a pressure vessel of the expansion tank operating at elevated temperature of $510^{\circ}C$ in the sodium test facility of the SEFLA(Sodium Thermal-hydraulic Experiment Loop for Finned-tube Sodium-to-Air heat exchanger) to be constructed at KAERI has been performed. Evaluations of creep-fatigue damage based on a full 3D finite element analyses were conducted for the expansion tank according to the recent elevated temperature design codes of ASME Section III Subsection NH and French RCC-MRx. It was shown that the expansion tank maintains its integrity under the intended creep-fatigue loads. Quantitative code comparisons were conducted for the pressure vessel of austenitic stainless steel 316L.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.10-14
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• 2012

Recently the low alloy steel plate made with manganese-molybdenum is used widely in steam drum and separator of the new coal-fired power plant boiler. This material is suitable for the vapor storage of high pressure and high temperature. The high temperature creep strength of Mn-Mo alloy is higher than the carbon plate(SA516) that used in the subcritical pressure boiler. It reduces the thickness of the pressure vessel and makes the lightweight possible. Recently in the power plant boiler operation and production process, the damage has happened frequently in the heat affected zone and base material according to the hydrogen crack and delayed crack. This paper describes the research result about the damage case experienced in the boiler steam drum production process and present the optimum manufacture method for the similar damage prevention of recurrence.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.526-538
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• 2001

Fatigue tests in air and in room temperature water were performed to obtain comparable data and stable crack measuring conditions. In air environment, fatigue crack growth rate was increased with increasing temperature due to an increase in crack tip oxidation rate. In room temperature water, the fatigue crack growth rate was faster than in air and crack path varied on loading conditions. In simulated light water reactor (LWR) conditions, there was little environmental effect on the fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) at low dissolved oxygen or at high loading frequency conditions. While the FCGR was enhanced at high oxygen condition, and the enhancement of crack growth rate increased as loading frequency decreased to a critical value. In fractography, environmentally assisted cracks, such as semi-cleavage and secondary intergranular crack, were found near sulfide inclusions only at high dissolved oxygen and low loading frequency condition. The high crack growth rate was related to environmentally assisted crack. These results indicated that environmentally assisted crack could be formed by the Electrochemical effect in specific loading condition.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Mechanical Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.145-153
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• 2011

The irradiation tests of materials in HANARO have been performed usually at temperatures below $300^{\circ}C$ at which the RPV(Reactor Pressure Vessel) materials of the commercial reactors such as the light water reactor and CANDU are operated. As VHTR(Very High Temperature Reactor) and SFR(Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor) projects are being carried as a part of the present Gen-IV program in Korea, the requirements for irradiation of materials at temperatures higher than $500^{\circ}C$ are recently being gradually increased. To overcome the restriction in the use at high temperature of the existing Al thermal media, a new capsule with double thermal media composed of two kinds of materials such as Al-Ti and Al-graphite was designed and fabricated more advanced than the single thermal media capsule. At the irradiation test of the capsule, the temperature of the specimens successfully reached $700^{\circ}C$ and the integrity of Al, Ti and graphite material was maintained.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.410-423
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• 2000

A two-dimensional numerical model is developed and applied to the LAVA-EXV tests performed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to investigate the external cooling effect on the thermal margin to failure of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) during a severe accident. The computational program was written to predict the temperature profile of a two-dimensional spherical vessel segment accounting for the conjugate heat transfer mechanisms of conduction through the debris and the vessel, natural convection within the molten debris pool, and the possible ablation of the vessel wall in contact with the high temperature melt. Results of the sensitivity analysis and comparison with the LAVA-EXV test data indicated that the developed computational tool carries a high potential for simulating the thermal behavior of the RPV during a core melt relocation accident. It is concluded that the main factors affecting the RPV failure are the natural convection within the debris pool and the ablation of the metal vessel, The simplistic natural convection model adopted in the computational program partly made up for the absence of the mechanistic momentum consideration in this study. Uncertainties in the prediction will be reduced when the natural convection and ablation phenomena are more rigorously dealt with in the code, and if more accurate initial and time-dependent conditions are supplied from the test in terms of material composition and its associated thermophysical properties.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.1371-1379
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• 2003

The effects of change in injection pressure on spray structure in high temperature and pressure field have been investigated. The analysis of liquid and vapor phases of injected fuel is important for emissions control of diesel engines. Therefore, this work examines the evaporating spray structure using a constant volume vessel. The injection pressure is selected as the experimental parameter, is changed from 22 MPa to 112 MPa using a high pressure injection system (ECD-U2). Also, we conducted simulation study by modified KIVA-II code. The results of simulation study are compared with experimental results. The images of liquid and vapor phase for free spray were simultaneously taken by exciplex fluorescence method. As experimental results, the vapor concentration of injected fuel is leaner due to the increase of atomization in the case of the high injection pressure than in that of the low injection pressure. The calculated results obtained by modified KIVA-II code show good agreements with experimental results.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.202-202
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• 2002