• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.46 no.5
• /
• pp.699-706
• /
• 2014

The probabilistic seismic performance of a standard Korean nuclear power plant (NPP) with an idealized isolation is investigated in the present work. A probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) of the Wolsong site on the Korean peninsula is performed by considering peak ground acceleration (PGA) as an earthquake intensity measure. A procedure is reported on the categorization and selection of two sets of ground motions of the Tohoku earthquake, i.e. long-period and common as Set A and Set B respectively, for the nonlinear time history response analysis of the base-isolated NPP. Limit state values as multiples of the displacement responses of the NPP base isolation are considered for the fragility estimation. The seismic risk of the NPP is further assessed by incorporation of the rate of frequency exceedance and conditional failure probability curves. Furthermore, this framework attempts to show the unacceptable performance of the isolated NPP in terms of the probabilistic distribution and annual probability of limit states. The comparative results for long and common ground motions are discussed to contribute to the future safety of nuclear facilities against drastic events like Tohoku.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.561-572
• /
• 2017

Seismic base isolation has been accepted as one of the most popular design procedures to protect important structures against earthquakes. However, due to lack of information and experimental data the application of base isolation is quite limited to nuclear power plant (NPP) industry. Moreover, the effects of inelastic behavior of soil beneath base-isolated NPP have raised questions to the effectiveness of isolation device. This study applies the wavelet analysis to investigate the effects of soil-structure interaction (SSI) on the seismic response of a base-isolated NPP structure. To evaluate the SSI effects, the NPP structure is modelled as a lumped mass stick model and combined with a soil model using the concept of cone models. The lead rubber bearing (LRB) base isolator is used to adopt the base isolation system. The shear wave velocity of soil is varied to reflect the real rock site conditions of structure. The comparison between seismic performance of isolated structure and non-isolated structure has drawn. The results show that the wavelet analysis proves to be an efficient tool to evaluate the SSI effects on the seismic response of base-isolated structure and the seismic performance of base-isolated NPP is not sensitive to the effects in this case.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.975-983
• /
• 2020

Since the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011, concerns for the safety of multi-unit Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) sites have risen. This is because more than 70% of NPP sites are multi-unit sites that have two or more NPP units and a multi-unit accident occurred for the first time. After this accident, Probability Safety Assessment (PSA) has been considered in many countries as one of the tools to quantitatively assess the safety for multi-unit NPP sites. One of the biggest concerns for a multi-unit accident such as Fukushima is that the consequences (health and economic) will be significantly higher than in the case of a single-unit accident. However, many studies on multi-unit PSA have focused on Level 1 & 2 PSA, and there are many challenges in terms of public acceptance due to various speculations without an engineering background. In this study, two kinds of multi-unit Level 3 PSA for multi-unit site have been carried out. The first case was the estimation of multi-unit risk with conservative assumptions to investigate the margin between multi-unit risk and QHO, and the other was to identify the effect of time delays in releases between NPP units on the same site. Through these two kinds of assessments, we aimed at investigating the level of multi-unit risk and understanding the characteristics of risk in a multiunit context.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.749-763
• /
• 2022

The fulcrum of economic development is a sustainable supply of electricity. Nigeria is plagued with blackouts, with one of the lowest per capita electricity consumption in the world (circa. 120 kWh per capita). Hence, policies have been instigated to integrate electricity generation from nuclear power plants (NPP) on or before 2027. However, a critical requirement for NPP generation is the implementation of robust human resource development (HRD) programs. This paper presents the perspective of Nigeria in assessing human resources needs over the entire NPP lifecycle following the milestone approach and employing the IAEA's Nuclear Power Human Resource (NPHR) modeling tool. Three workforce organizations are in focus including the owner/operator, regulators, and construction workers following three decades timeframe (2015-2045). The results indicate that for the study period, a maximum of approximately 9045 personnel (73% construction workers, 24% owner/operator, and 3% regulators) should be directly involved in the NPP program just before the commissioning of the third NPP in 2033. However, this number decreases by about 73% (2465 personnel including 94% operator and 6% regulator) at the end of the study timeframe. The results can potentially provide clarity and guidance in HRD decision-making programs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.4
• /
• pp.1363-1373
• /
• 2022

The recent seismic events that occurred in South Korea have increased the interest in the re-evaluation of the seismic capacity of nuclear power plant (NPP) equipment, which is often conservatively estimated. To date, various approaches-including the Bayesian method proposed by the United States (US) Electric Power Research Institute -have been developed to quantify the seismic capacity of NPP equipment. Among these, the Bayesian approach has advantages in accounting for both prior knowledge and new information to update the probabilistic distribution of seismic capacity. However, data availability and region-specific issues exist in applying this Bayesian approach to Korean NPP equipment. Therefore, this paper proposes to construct an earthquake experience database by combining available earthquake records at Korean NPP sites and the general location of equipment within NPPs. Also, for the better representation of the seismic demand of Korean earthquake datasets, which have distinct seismic characteristics from those of the US at a high-frequency range, a broadband frequency range optimization is suggested. The proposed data construction and seismic demand optimization method for seismic capacity re-evaluation are demonstrated and tested on a 480 V motor control center of a South Korea NPP.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.38-46
• /
• 2024

Objectives: Genotoxicity is evaluated through a chromosomal aberration test using cultured mammalian cells to determine the toxicity of no-pain pharmacopuncture (NPP), which has recently been used to treat musculoskeletal pain disorders in Korean medical clinical practice. Methods: An initial test was performed to determine the dosage range of the NPP, followed by the main test. In this study, NPP doses of 10.0, 5.0, and 2.5%, and negative and positive controls were tested. An in vitro chromosome aberration test was performed using Chinese hamster lung cells under short-term treatment with or without metabolic activation and under continuous treatment without metabolic activation. Results: Compared with the saline negative control group, NPP did not significantly increase the frequency of chromosomal abnormalities in Chinese hamster lung cells, regardless of the presence or absence of metabolic activation. Additionally, the number of cells with structural chromosomal abnormalities was significantly higher in the positive control group than that in the negative control group that received saline. Conclusion: Based on the above results, the chromosomal abnormality-producing effect of NPP was determined to be negative under these test conditions.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.467-480
• /
• 2011

Spatial and temporal variabilities of NPP(Net Primary Production) retrieved from two satellite instruments, AVHRR(Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, 1981-2000) and MODIS(MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, 2000-2006), were investigated. The range of mean NPP from A VHRR and MODIS were estimated to be 894-1068 $g{\cdot}C/m^2$/yr and 610-694.90 $g{\cdot}C/m^2$/yr, respectively. The discrepancy of NPP between the two instruments is about 325 $g{\cdot}C/m^2$/yr, and MODIS product is generally closer to the ground measurement than AVHRR despite the limitation in direct comparison such as spatial resolution and vegetation classification. The higher NPP values over South Korea are related to the regions with higher biomass (e.g., mountains) and higher annual temperature. The interannual NPP trends from the two satellite products were computed, and both mean annual trends show continuous NPP increase; 2.14 $g{\cdot}C/m^2$/yr from AVHRR(1981-2000) and 6.08 $g{\cdot}C/m^2$/yr from MODIS (2000-2006) over South Korea. Specifically, the higher increasing trends over the Southwestern region are likely due to the increasing productivity of crop fields from sufficient irrigation and fertilizer use. The retrieved NPP shows a closer relationship between monthly temperature and precipitation, which results in maximum correlation during summer monsoons. The difference in the detection wavelength and model schemes during the retrieval can make a significant difference in the satellite products, and a better accuracy in the meterological and land use data and modeling applications will be necessary to improve the satellite-based NPP data.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 1999

Rice yield and primary productivity (NPP) are dependent upon the variability of climate and soil. The variability and regionality of the rice yield and net primary productivity were evaluated with the meteorological data collected from Korea Meteorology Administration and the actual rice yield data from the Ministration of Agriculture and Forestry, Korea. The estimated NPP using the three models, dependent upon temperature(NPP-T), precipitation(NPP-P) and net radiation(NPP-R), ranged from 10.87 to 17.52 Mg ha$^{-1}$ with average of 14.69 Mg ha$^{-1}$ in the South Korea and was ranged 6.47 to 15.58 Mg ha$^{-1}$ with average of 12.59 Mg ha$^{-1}$ in the North Korea. The primary limiting factor of NPP in Korea was net radiation, and the secondary limiting factor was temperature. Spectral analysis on the long term change in air temperature in July and August showed periodicity. The short periodicity was 3 to 7 years and the long periodicity was 15 to 43 years. The coefficient of variances, CV, of the rice yield from 1989 to 1998 ranged 3.23 percents to 12.37 percents which were lower than past decades. The CV's in Kangwon and Kyeongbuk were high while that in Chonbuk was the lowest. The prediction model based on th e yield index and yield response to temperature obtain ed from the field crop situation showed reasonable results and thus the spatial distributions of rice yield and predicted yield could be expressed in the maps. The predicted yields was well fitted with the actual yield except Kyungbuk. For better prediction, modification should be made considering radiation factor in further development.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 2010.05a
• /
• pp.379-380
• /
• 2010

This study is aimed to investigate performance of the NPP structure. Thus, assess the effects of physical properties of NPP concrete by measure the compressive strength, permeability coefficient and air permeability coefficient.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
• /
• 1996.10a
• /
• pp.546-550
• /
• 1996

The personal-computer software program named SAMS(Structural Aging Management System) was developed for the concrete structure of NPP(Nuclear Power Plant). SAMS is constituted of three part, detabase system containing various inspection data, operation program for standard input/output of the inspection data, and application program for efficient operation of database system. Using the SAMS, the field engineers can easily acquire the information about the various inspection data, repair and accidental histories of NPP structures. SAMS will contribute to the effcient maintenance of NPP structures.