• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.127-138
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• 2005

Approaches to several recent issues in the operation of nuclear power plants using computational intelligence are discussed. These issues include 1) noise analysis techniques, 2) on-line monitoring and sensor validation, 3) regularization of ill-posed surveillance and diagnostic measurements, 4) transient identification, 5) artificial intelligence-based core monitoring and diagnostic system, 6) continuous efficiency improvement of nuclear power plants, and 7) autonomous anticipatory control and intelligent-agents. Several changes to the focus of Computational Intelligence in Nuclear Engineering have occurred in the past few years. With earlier activities focusing on the development of condition monitoring and diagnostic techniques for current nuclear power plants, recent activities have focused on the implementation of those methods and the development of methods for next generation plants and space reactors. These advanced techniques are expected to become increasingly important as current generation nuclear power plants have their licenses extended to 60 years and next generation reactors are being designed to operate for extended fuel cycles (up to 25 years), with less operator oversight, and especially for nuclear plants operating in severe environments such as space or ice-bound locations.

• International Journal of Fuzzy Logic and Intelligent Systems
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.112-120
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• 2003

This paper reports the development work carried out in respect of a proposed application of Neural Network approach for the Korean Next generation Reactor (KNGR) now referred as APR-1400. The emphasis is on establishing the methodology and the approach to be adopted towards realizing this application in the next generation reactors. Keeping in view the advantages and limitation of Artificial Neural Network Approach, the role of ANN has been limited to plant status or to be more precise plant transient monitoring. The simulation work carried out so far and the results obtained shows that artificial neural network approach caters to the requirements of plant status monitoring and qualifies to be incorporated as a part of proposed operator support systems of the referenced nuclear power plant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.11a
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• pp.183-190
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• 1996

Leak-before-break(LBB) approach has been shown to be both cost and risk effective by reducing maintenance cost and occupational exposure when applied to high energy piping in nuclear power plants. For Korean Next Generation Reactor(KNGR) development, LBB is considered for the Main Steam Line(MSL) piping inside containment. Unlike the reactor coolant piping leakages which can be detected by particulate and gaseous radiation monitoring, main steam line leak detection systems must be based on principles that do not involve radioactivity. Ceramics are widely used as humidity sensor materials which can be further developed for nuclear applications. In this paper, we describe the progress in the development of ceramic humidity sensors for use with the main steam lines of KNGR.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2013.01a
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• pp.451-458
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• 2013

This research documents the initial findings and recommendations for developing a risk management tool to assess and quantify the risks associated with the construction of the next generation of nuclear power plants. The proposed tool builds upon the Construction Industry Institute's International Project Risk Assessment (IPRA) Best Practice. This paper provides an overview of the investigation to assess the unique risk elements pertaining to nuclear power plant construction and documents the preliminary findings from historical project performance data to better understand the function and use of the IPRA's Relative Impact value.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.32-40
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• 2018

Since 2000, the frequency of earthquakes beyond the 5.0 magnitude quake has been increasing in the Korean peninsula. For instance, the 5.0-magnitude earthquake in Baekryong-do in 2003 has occurred, and recent earthquake with Gyeongju(2016) and Pohang(2017) measured respectively magnitude of 5.2 and 5.8 on the Richter scale. As results, the public concern and anxiety about earthquakes are increasing, and therefore it is necessarily required for social infrastructure to reinforce seismic design and energy production facilities directly related to the national economy and security. This study represents the analysis of seismic performance evaluation methodology such as Seismic Margin Assessment (SMA), Seismic Probabilistic Risk Assessment (SPRA), High Confidence Low Probability Failure (HCLPF) in nuclear power plants in order to develop optimal seismic performance improvement. Current methodologies to evaluate nuclear power plants are also addressed. Through review of the nuclear structure evaluation past and current trend, it contributes to be the basis for the improvement of evaluation techniques on the next generation of nuclear power plants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.697-732
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• 2006

In this paper, a historical review of the developments in the safety of LWR power plants is presented. The paper reviews the developments prior to the TMI-2 accident, i.e. the concept of the defense in depth, the design basis, the large LOCA technical controversies and the LWR safety research programs. The TMI-2 accident, which became a turning point in the history of the development of nuclear power is described briefly. The Chernobyl accident, which terrified the world and almost completely curtailed the development of nuclear power is also described briefly. The great international effort of research in the LWR design-base and severe accidents, which was, respectively, conducted prior to and following the TMI-2 and Chernobyl accidents is described next. We conclude that with the knowledge gained and the improvements in plant organisation/management and in the training of the staff at the presently-installed nuclear power stations, the LWR plants have achieved very high standards of safety and performance. The Generation 3+LWR power plants, next to be installed, may claim to have reached the goal of assuring the safety of the public to a very large extent. This review is based on the historical developments in LWR safety that occurred primarily in USA, however, they are valid for the rest of the Western World. This review can not do justice to the many fine contributions that have been made over the last fifty years to the cause of LWR safety. We apologize if we have not mentioned them. We also apologize for not providing references to many of the fine investigations, which have contributed towards LWR safety earning the conclusions that we describe just above.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.435-443
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• 1998

Leak-before-break(LBB) approach has been shown to be both cost effective and risk reductive when applied to high energy Piping in nuclear Power Plants. For the Korean Next Generation Reactor (KNGR) development, LBB application is considered for the Main Steam Line(MSL) piping inside containment. Unlike the primary system leakages, the MSL leak detection systems must be based on principles other than radioactivity measurements. Among humidity, heat and acoustic noise currently being considered as indicators of leakage, we explored humidity as an effective one and developed ceramic-based humidity sensor which can be qualified for LBB applications. The ceramic material, sintered and annealed MgCr$_2$O$_4$-TiO$_2$, is shown to increase its electrical conductivity drastically upon water vapor adsorption over the entire temperature range of interest. With this ceramic sensor specimen, we suggested installation-inside-the-piping method by which we can detect leakage more rapidly and sensitively. In this paper, we describe the progress in the development and characterization of ceramic humidity sensor for the LBB application to the MSL of KNGR.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1995.10a
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• pp.153-158
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• 1995

All of the nuclear power plants in Korea we operating with analog instrumentation and control (I&C) equipment which are increasingly faced with frequent troubles, obsolescence and high maintenance expenses. Electrical and computer technology has improved rapidly in recent years and has been applied to other industries. So it is strongly recommended we adopt modern digital and computer technology to improve plant safety and availability. The advanced I&C system, namely, Integrated Intelligent Instrumentation and Control System (I$^3$CS) will be developed for beyond the next generation nuclear power plant. I$^3$CS consists of three major parts, the advanced compact workstation, distributed digital control and protection system including Automatic Start-up/shutdown Intelligent Control System (ASICS) and the computer-based alarm processing and operator support system, namely, Diagnosis, Response, and operator Aid Management System (DREAMS).

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.118-127
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• 2011

An IGCC was evaluated as one of the next generation technologies that would be able to substitute for coal-fired power plants. According to "The 4th Basic Plan of Long-term Electricity Supply & Demand" which is developed by the Electricity Business Acts, the first IGCC will be operated at 2015. Like other new and renewable energy such as solar PV, Fuel cell, The IGCC is considered as non-competitive generation technology because it is not maturity technology. Before the commercial operation of an IGCC in our electricity market, its economic feasibility under the Korean electricity market, which is cost-based trading system, is studied to find out institutional support system. The results of feasibility summarized that under the current electricity trading system, if the IGCC is considered like a conventional plant such as nuclear or coal-fired power plants, it will not be expected that its investment will be recouped within life-time. The reason is that the availability of an IGCC will plummet since 2016 when several nuclear and coal-fired power plants will be constructed additionally. To ensure the reasonable return on investment (NPV>0 IRR>Discount rate), the availability of IGCC should be higher than 77%. To do so, the current electricity trading system is amended that the IGCC generator must be considered as renewable generators to set up Price Setting Schedule and it should be considered as pick load generators, not Genco's coal fired-generators, in the Settlement Payment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.351-356
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• 1997

In the des19n of KNGR (Korea Next Generation Reactor), we believe that economy is one of the most important factors to be considered Thus, we reviewed and evaluated the consequences of designing the head area into an integrated package from an economical point of view. The refueling outage durations of the nuclear power plants currently in operation In Korea, some having and others not having integrated head package, are compared. This paper discusses the characteristics of head area design and the critical design issues of KNGR head area to evaluate the effect of the head area characteristics on the outage duration.