• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.7
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• pp.1451-1456
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• 2017

Finding technical issues associated with equipment scale-up is an important subject for the investigation of pyroprocessing. In this respect, electrolytic reduction of 1 kg $UO_2$, a unit process of pyroprocessing, was conducted using graphite as an anode material to figure out the scale-up issues of the C anode-based system at pilot scale. The graphite anode can transfer a current that is 6-7 times higher than that of a conventional Pt anode with the same reactor, showing the superiority of the graphite anode. $UO_2$ pellets were turned into metallic U during the reaction. However, several problems were discovered after the experiments, such as reaction instability by reduced effective anode area (induced by the existence of $Cl_2$ around anode and anode consumption), relatively low metal conversion rate, and corrosion of the reactor. These issues should be overcome for the scale-up of the electrolytic reducer using the C anode.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.229-233
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• 2015

Developing novel anode materials to replace the Pt anode currently used in electrolytic reduction is an important issue on pyroprocessing. In this study, the electrochemical behavior of TiN was investigated as the conductive ceramic anode which evolves O₂ gas during the reaction. The feasibility and stability of the TiN anode was examined during the electrolytic reduction of UO₂. The TiN anode could electrochemically convert UO₂ to metallic U in a LiCl–Li₂O molten salt electrolyte. No oxidation of TiN was observed during the reaction; however, the formation of voids in the bulk section appeared to limit the lifetime of the TiN anode.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.957-964
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• 2010

The deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) causes a strong pressure wave that can adversely affect surrounding structures. The pressure generated by multiple detonative pulses is strong enough to cause metal surface erosion and chipping of the edges of bulk structures. In this study, we investigate the damage caused by the DDT phenomenon and perform hydrocode simulations to evaluate the structural damage caused to a metallic pulverized-coal injector used in a pulverized-coal-oxygen combustion furnace. The experimental conditions are selected in order to accurately model the damage caused to metal injectors that are exposed to multiple DDT pulses.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2009

Fe-Cr steels are the most promising candidate for interconnect in solid oxide fuel cells. In this study, an effective, dense and well adherent (LaSr)(CrCo)$O_3$ [LSCC] coating layer was produced onto 430 stainless steel (STS-430) by atmospheric plasma spraying and the oxidation behavior as well as electrical properties of the LSCC coated STS-430 were investigated. A significant oxidation of pristine STS-430 occurred at $800^{\circ}C$ in air environment, leading to the formation of $Cr_2O_3$ and $FeCr_2O_4$ scale layer up to ${\sim}7{\mu}m$ after 1200h, and consequently increased an area specific resistance of $330\;m{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$. Although the plasma sprayed LSCC coating contained the characteristic pore network, the coated samples presented apparent advantages in reducing oxidation growth of STS-430, resulting a decrease in oxide scale thickness of ${\sim}1{\mu}m$ at $800^{\circ}C$ after 1200h. The area specific resistance of the LSCC coated STS-430 was much reduced to ${\sim}7\;m{\Omega}{\cdot}cm^2$ after exposure at $800^{\circ}C$ for 1200h, compared to that of the pristine STS-403.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.265-275
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• 1993

A vapor explosion has been a concern in nuclear reactor safety due to its potential for a destructive mechanical energy release. In order to properly assess the hazard of a vapor explosion, it is necessary to accurately estimate the conversion efficiency of the thermal energy to mechanical energy. In the absence of a complete model to determine the explosive energy yield, one may have to rely on a simpler upper bound estimate such as a thermodynamic model. This paper discusses various thermodynamic models and presents a clarification of each model in their mathematical formulation and the thermodynamic work conversion. It is shown that the work release in the shock adiabatic model of Board and Hall is essentially equal to that of Hicks-Menzies thermodynamic model. The effect of coolant void fraction on the explosion efficiency is also predicted based on these thermodynamic models. Finally, the Hicks-Menzies model is modified to account for the chemical reaction between a metallic fuel and water and the resultant effects on the explosion expansion work are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.139-145
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• 2003

We studied oxidation behaviors of anti-oxidative Y-Cr oxide coated sol on ferritic steel for application of the Fe-Cr alloys as interconnectors of planar-type Solid Oxide Fuel Cells(SOFCs). In coated$YCrO_3$on the ferritic steel, the phases of $YCrO_3$,$Cr_2O_3$and $Mn_{1.5}Cr_{1.5}O_4$on the coated surface were detected, but iron base scales were not observed after oxidation at 80$0^{\circ}C$ for 40 h. The Mn-Cr oxide scales were grown with oxidation by diffusing components in the ferritic steel from inner. The Log(ASR/T) value that expresses electrical resistance of coated$YCrO_3$on the ferritic steel was -4.57~$-4.70{omega}cm^2K^{-1}$, lower in comparison with the one of the uncoated ferritic steel,$-3.99{omega}cm^2K^{-1}$. This indicates the applicability of Fe-l6Cr alloy as interconnector materials for SOFCs.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.179-182
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• 2001

The chloride volatilization method for the recovery of zirconium and removal of uranium from zirconium containing metallic wastes formed in spent fuel reprocessing was studied using the simulated alloy waste, i.e. the mixture of Zr foil and UO$_2$/U$_3$O$_{8}$ powder. When the simulated waste was heated to react with chlorine gas at 350- l00$0^{\circ}C$, the zirconium metal changed to volatile ZrCl$_4$showing high volatility ratio (Vzr) of 99%. The amount of volatilized uranium increases at higher temperatures causing lowering of decontamination factor (DF) of uranium. This is thought to be caused by the chlorination of UO$_2$ with ZrCl$_4$vapor. The highest DF value of 12.5 was obtained when the reaction temperature was 35$0^{\circ}C$. Addition of 10 vol.% oxygen gas into chlorine gas was effective for suppressing the volatilization of uranium, while the volatilization ratio of zirconium was decreased to 68% with the addition of 20 vol.% oxygen. In the case of the mixture of Zr foil and U$_3$O$_{8}$, the V value of uranium showed minimum (44%) at 40$0^{\circ}C$ with chlorine gas giving the highest DF value 24.3. When the 10 vol.% oxygen was added to chlorine gas, the V value of zirconium decreased to 82% at $600^{\circ}C$, but almost all the uranium volatilized (Vu=99%), which may be caused by the formation of volatile uranium chlorides under oxidative atmosphere.ere.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.157-168
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• 2016

Radioactive waste container designs should comply with the requirements for safety (i.e., transportation, storage, disposal) and other criteria such as economics and technology. These criteria are also applicable to the future management of the large amount of LLW and VLLW to arise from decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of nuclear power plants, which have different features compared to that of wastes from operation and maintenance (O&M). This paper proposes to develop a set of standard containers of multi-purpose usage for transportation, storage and disposal. The concepts of the containers were optimized for management of D&D wastes in consideration of national system for radioactive waste management, in particular the Gyeongju Repository and associated infrastructures. A set of prototype containers were designed and built : a soft bag for VLLW, two metallic containers for VLLW/LLW (a standard IP2 container for sea transport and ISO container for road transport). Safety analyses by simulation and tests of these designs show they are in compliance with the regulatory requirements. A further development of a container with concrete is foreseen for 2016.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.260-266
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• 2018

To enhance catalyst activity of the palladium (Pd) towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), iridium (Ir) and yttrium (Y) were alloyed by polyol method. Due to the low reduction potential of Y, it is hard to reduce Y ion completely by polyol method. In XPS spectra, the binding energy of the Pd is shifted to a lower value, which indicates the d-electron of Pd is filled by the electron from the Y. And other phases of Y are observed by the XPS. Among the catalysts, the $Pd_4IrY_{0.1}/C$ showed the best activity towards ORR, which indicates the metallic Y is effective for improving the catalytic activity. Thus, for further enhancing ORR activity, the novel method for complete reduction of Y is needed.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.10
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• pp.646-651
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• 2008

The electrolytic reduction of spent oxide fuel involves the liberation of oxygen in a molten LiCl electrolyte, which results in a chemically aggressive environment that is too corrosive for typical structural materials. It is essential to choose the optimum material for the process equipment handling molten salt. IN713LC is one of the candidate materials proposed for application in electrolytic reduction process. In this study, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) top coat was applied to a surface of IN713LC with an aluminized metallic bond coat by an optimized plasma spray process, and were investigated the corrosion behavior at $675^{\circ}C$ for 216 hours in the molten salt $LiCl-Li_2O$ under an oxidizing atmosphere. The as-coated and tested specimens were examined by OM, SEM/EDS and XRD, respectively. The bare superalloy reveals obvious weight loss, and the corrosion layer formed on the surface of the bare superalloy was spalled due to the rapid scale growth and thermal stress. The top coatings showed a much better hot-corrosion resistance in the presence of $LiCl-Li_2O$ molten salt when compared to those of the uncoated superalloy and the aluminized bond coatings. These coatings have been found to be beneficial for increasing to the hot-corrosion resistance of the structural materials for handling high temperature lithium molten salts.