• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.381-389
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• 2009

Confined spaces are inherently dangerous workplace and many fatal and nonfatal accidents have been reported. Even though these accidents occur in various kinds of confined spaces, there has rarely been reported on the health hazard agent, i.e., the types of gases and their concentration ranges. Therefore in this study, we evaluated several toxic and asphyxiating gas concentrations in various confined spaces. We surveyed 57 manholes, 3 sewage treatment plants, 2 yellow radish manufacturing companies and 7 barges to measure the concentrations of oxygen($O_2$), hydrogen sulfide($H_2S$), carbon monoxide(CO), ammonia($NH_3$). Lower Explosion Limits(LEL) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Those four types of confined spaces occupies 56% of accidents during last 9 years in Korea. In 57 manholes, the concentration varied according to the types of manholes; rainfall and sewage, and by location; residential and industrial areas. Sewage manhole in industrial area was evaluated as the most hazardous than other types of manhole like rainfall manholes, residential sewage manholes. The highest $H_2S$ concentration and the lowest $O_2$ concentration at sewage manhole in industrial area were 300 ppm, 8.7% respectively. In 3 sewage treatment plants, $H_2S$ and $NH_3$ concentrations were reached up to the 500 ppm and 200 ppm respectively. Two yellow radish manufacturing companies showed the concentrations of 316 ppm, 505.2 ppm, 90 ppm and 15.7% for $H_2S$, CO, VOCs and $O_2$, respectively. Seven barges showed 15.9%~20.9% oxygen concentration. Gas species and concentration ranges varied by the types and location of confined spaces; CO, $H_2S$, $O_2$ could be hazardous in manhole, especially manhole connected to sewage plants. CO, $H_2S$, LEL, $O_2$, $NH_3$ should be controlled in sludge silo and sluge pumping confined spaces in sewage treatment plant. The activity of lifting out radish from the storage tank was evaluated more hazardous rather than the other activities in yellow radish manufacturing industry. The employers must conduct the survey to identify all possible confined spaces in their local workplace prior to performing the tasks. At the national level to reduce the accidents in the confined spaces, we suggest that systemic approach and active education program including possible hazards, standard operation procedures, ventilation plan, and personal protective equipment in confined spaces should be implemented.

• Composites Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.40-44
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• 2016

Nuclear fuel cladding used in a nuclear power plant must possess superior oxidation resistance in the coolant atmosphere of high temperature/high pressure. However, as was the case for the critical LOCA (loss-of-coolant accident) accident that took place in the Fukushima disaster, there is a risk of hydrogen explosion when the nuclear fuel cladding and steam reacts dramatically to cause a rapid high-temperature oxidation accompanied by generation of a huge amount of hydrogen. Hence, an active search is ongoing for an alternative material to be used for manufacturing of nuclear fuel cladding. Studies are currently aimed at improving the safety of this cladding. In particular, ceramic-based nuclear fuel cladding, such as SiC, is receiving much attention due to the excellent radiation resistance, high strength, chemical durability against oxidation and corrosion, and excellent thermal conduction of ceramics. In the present study, cladding with $SiC_f/SiC$ protective films was fabricated using a process that forms a matrix phase by polymer impregnation of polycarbosilane (PCS) after filament-winding the SiC fiber onto an existing Zry-4 cladding tube. It is analyzed the oxidation and microstructure of the metal cladding with $SiC_f/SiC$ composite protective films using a drop tube furnace for thermal shock test.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.83-93
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• 2021

Objectives: 'Confined space' was only defined in the Safety and Health Regulations as a place where oxygen deficiency and hydrogen sulfide must be dealt with at the time of the initial enactment (1982). The danger of fire and explosion were added in 2003. We will compare and review the regulations related to confined space work under the current safety and health rules alongside regulations in other countries and prepare a plan to improve the system through enhanced clarity and execution. Methods: In a comparison of systems for the prevention of suffocation in confined spaces in major countries (Germany, United States, Japan) different concepts of the definition of confined spaces in different countries apparently due to differences in each country's legal implementation system, accident analysis methods, the status of safety and health implementation in workplaces, the precautions against actual confined space work, and the definition of confined spaces were found to be not much different between Korea and the other foreign countries. Results: In the case of Germany and the United States, a confined space is defined as a contextual concept rather than a place, so more careful attention is needed from operators or enclosed space managers as it is often necessary to judge the actual workplace. In the case of Korea and Japan, the interior of the place is mainly defined as a place, especially in the case of Japan, which concentrates on oxygen deficiency and hydrogen sulfide poisoning. Conclusions: For measures to improve regulations on the prevention of suffocation accidents in Korea, I would like to propose three major measures to improve the system in the rules on domestic industrial safety and health standards. It is necessary to prepare and provide a guide to ensure that the 18 types of confined spaces currently defined as confined spaces are clearly understood by field management supervisors or workers.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.575-602
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• 2009

In the wake of the Three Mile Island accident, vigorous research efforts were initiated to acquire a basic knowledge of the progression and consequences of accidents that involve a substantial degree of core degradation and melting. The primary emphasis of this research was placed on containment integrity, with: i) hydrogen combustion-detonation, ii) steam explosion, iii) direct containment heating (DCH), and iv) melt attack on the BWR Mark-I containment shell identified as energetic processes that could lead to early containment failure (i.e., within the first 24 hours of the accident). Should the core melt fail the reactor vessel, then non-condensable gas production from Molten Core-Concrete Interaction (MCCI) was identified as a mechanism that could fail the containment by pressurization over the long term. One signification question that arose as part of this investigation was the effectiveness of water in terminating an MCCI by flooding the interacting masses from above, thereby quenching the molten core debris and rendering it permanently coolable. Successful quenching of the core melt would prevent basemat melt through, as well as continued containment pressurization by non-condensable gas production, and so the accident progression would be successfully terminated without release of radioactivity to the environment. Based on these potential merits, ex-vessel corium coolability has been the focus of extensive research over the last 20 years as a potential accident management strategy for current plants. In addition, outcomes from this research have impacted the accident management strategies for the Gen III+LWR plant designs that are currently being deployed around the world. This paper provides: i) an historical overview of corium coolability research, ii) summarizes the current status of research in this area, and iii) highlights trends in severe accident management strategies that have evolved based on the findings from this work.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.2086-2092
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• 2013

Two new high-nitrogen energetic compounds $ZTO{\cdot}2H_2O$ and $ZTO(phen){\cdot}H_2O$ have been synthesized (where ZTO = 4,4-azo-1,2,4-triazol-5-one and phen = 1,10-phenanthroline). The crystal structure, elemental analysis and IR spectroscopy are presented. Compound 1 $ZTO{\cdot}2H_2O$ crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system with space group Pnna and compound 2 $ZTO(phen){\cdot}H_2O$ in the triclinic crystal system with space group P-1. In $ZTO(phen){\cdot}H_2O$, there is intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the -NH group of ZTO molecule (as donor) and N atom of phen molecule (as acceptor). Thermal decomposition process is studied by applying the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo thermogravimetric differential analysis (TG-DTG). The DSC curve shows that there is one exothermic peak in $ZTO{\cdot}2H_2O$ and $ZTO(phen){\cdot}H_2O$, respectively. The critical temperature of thermal explosion ($T_b$) for $ZTO{\cdot}2H_2O$ and $ZTO(phen){\cdot}H_2O$ is $282.21^{\circ}C$ and $195.94^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.12
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• pp.1297-1303
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• 2015

The internal chromium plating of a long-axis tube is widely used in military and industrial application, with the thick hard plating formed using a mixed solution of Chromium acid and catalytic $H_2SO_4$. A large-caliber gun can endure a high explosive force as a result of the increased stiffness and wear resistance provided by this internal hard chromium surface. The internal chromium layer of a tube is prone to exfoliation caused by the high kinetic energy of the projectile and high pressure of the explosion. Therefore, we reviewed the plating process. Chromium plating comprises many steps, including the removal of Grease, water cleaning, electrolytic abrasion, etching, plating, water cleaning, and hydrogen brittleness removal. The exfoliated chromium plating layer is affected by the adhesion property of the plating. In particular, the Fe concentration of the electrolyte affects the adhesion property. The optimum Fe concentration for effectively suppressing the exfoliation of the plating layer was established by using a scanning electron microscope to determine the surface roughness, and the effectiveness was proved in an adhesion test, etc.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.686-692
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• 2013

Today, environmental issues have become a matter of worldwide concern. In particular, automobile industries engage in considerable research and investment to develop high-efficiency and ecofriendly cars. Most ecofriendly cars use natural gas or hydrogen gas instead of fossil fuels. In this regard, low-weight and high-pressure vessels have gradually been developed to increase the driving distance of a car. However, most pressure vessels installed in cars develop many defects over time owing to shocks sustained when the car is being driven. Such defects can cause the explosion of the pressure vessel. Therefore it is important to prevent such explosions due to internal defects. The use of shearography for measuring the internal defects of objects afford many advantages. It is a non-contact and non-destructive method, and it is not limited by the object shape. In this study, the internal defect deformation and strain of an aluminum liner that is used in a CNG bus for the fuel storage tank is measured using shearography. It is important to measure the strain and deformation in order to detect defects and repair the pressure vessel. To verify the accuracy of the shearography measurement method, the measurement results of shearography, out-of-plane ESPI, and FEM are compared quantitatively.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.1080-1087
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• 2019

For a risk analysis in a chemical process, it is important to reflect correctly the characteristic properties of the target process. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was adopted for the advanced risk analysis in a residual hydro desulfurization (RHDS) process by considering operation condition, layout of instruments and facilities, atmospheric condition, and wind direction. Release and explosion simulations for the RHDS by using FEA (Finite Element Analysis) and CFD showed the applicability of 3D scanning methods for estimation of release hole size and release amount.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.262-262
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• 2006

The characteristics of Brown gas was experimentally studied in view of efficiency and flame propagation. For this study, the Brown gas stack with 7 cells was manufactured following the Brown gas related patents and reports. All measuring equipments were re-tested and calibrated by Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS) certified laboratories. Since the amount of produced gas is most crucial in determining the efficiency, we adopted two gas collecting methods such as bottle trap method and wet gas meter method. The energy efficiency of our own fabricated stack was measured to be 75%, which is comparable to general alkaline water electrolysis efficiency. In order to analyze the flame propagation characteristics of Brown gas, we measured the flame propagation pressure, velocity, and shape by using strain type pressure sensor, optical sensor, and high speed camera in conjunction with Schliren system, respectively. From the experimental results, it was found that the flame propagation behavior of Brown gas was almost the same as that of hydrogen and oxygen mixture gas in 2:1 molar ratio. Moreover, from the high speed camera analysis, we concluded that Brown gas flame exhibits explosion behavior as does mixture gas ($H_{2}:O_{2}=2:1$).

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.231-236
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• 2011

When the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident occurred in March of 2011, a hydrogen explosion in the reactor building at the 4th unit of Fukushima plants led to a big surprise because the full core of the unit 4 reactor had been moved and stored underwater at the spent nuclear fuel storage pool for periodic maintenance. It was because the possible criticality in the fuel storage pool by coolant loss may yield more severe situation than the similar accident happened inside the reactor vessel. Fortunately, it was assured to be evitable to an anxious situation by a look of water filled in the storage pool later. In the paper, the safety state of the spent fuel storage pool and rack structures of the domestic nuclear plants would be roughly reviewed and compared with the Fukushima plant case by engineering viewpoint of potential severe accidents.