• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.9-22
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• 2023

Spin-off pyroprocessing technology and inert anode materials to replace the conventional carbon-based smelting process for critical materials were introduced. Efforts to select inert anode materials through numerical analysis and selected experimental results were devised for the high-throughput reduction of oxide feedstocks. The electrochemical properties of the inert anode material were evaluated, and stable electrolysis behavior and CaCu generation were observed during molten salt recycling. Thereafter, CuTi was prepared by reacting rutile (TiO₂) with CaCu in a Ti crucible. The formation of CuTi was confirmed when the concentration of CaO in the molten salt was controlled at 7.5mol%. A laboratory-scale electrorefining study was conducted using CuTi(Zr, Hf) alloys as the anodes, with a Ti electrodeposit conforming to the ASTM B299 standard recovered using a pilot-scale electrorefining device.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.185-199
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• 2024

Disposal cover as an engineered barrier of a near-surface disposal facility for low and very low-level radioactive waste is composed of a multi-layer to isolate radioactive waste from environmental influences for the long term. To acquire a realistic forecast for the post-closure period of the disposal facility, it is essential to carry out long-term experimental research in a similar condition to the actual disposal environment. Hence, a performance test facility of the disposal cover was constructed in Gyeongju low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal center in 2022. The constructed performance test facility has differences from the material properties presented in the design. These differences are factors that affect the prevent rainfall infiltration, which is one of the important roles of the disposal cover. Therefore, in this study, a numerical simulation of rainfall infiltration into the performance test facility was performed for the designed case and the actual constructed case. To simulate the behavior of water infiltration, the FEFLOW software based on the finite element method is used. Through the analysis of numerical simulation results, it is confirmed that the hydraulic conductivity of the material constituting the multi-layer of the disposal cover greatly influences the amount of water infiltration.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2024

The bentonite buffer material is a crucial component in an engineered barrier system used for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Because a large amount of heat from the disposal canister is released into the bentonite buffer material, the thermal conductivity of the bentonite buffer is a crucial parameter that determines the design temperature. At the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), a new standard bentonite (Bentonil-WRK) has been used since 2022 because Gyeongju (KJ) bentonite is no longer produced. However, the currently available data are insufficient, making it essential to investigate both the basic and complex properties of Bentonil-WRK. Thus, this study evaluated its geotechnical and thermal properties and developed a thermal conductivity empirical model that considers its dry density, water content, and temperature variations from room temperature to 90℃. The coefficient of determination (R²) for the model was found to be 0.986. The thermal conductivity values of Bentonil-WRK were 1-10% lower than those of KJ bentonite and 10-40% higher than those of MX-80 bentonites, which were attributable to mineral-composition differences. The thermal conductivity of Bentonil-WRK ranged between 0.504 and 1.149 W·(m^-1·K^-1), while the specific heat capacity varied from 0.826 to 1.138 (kJ·(kg^-1·K^-1)).

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.339-346
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• 2018

A geological repository system consists of a disposal canister with packed spent fuel, buffer material, backfill material, and intact rock. The buffer is indispensable to assure the disposal safety of high-level radioactive waste. Since the heat generated from spent nuclear fuel in a disposal canister is released to the surrounding buffer materials, the thermal properties of the buffer material are very important in determining the entire disposal safety. Especially, since thermal expansion can cause thermal stress to the intact rock mass in the near-field, it is very important to evaluate thermal expansion characteristics of bentonite buffer materials. Therefore, this paper presents a thermal expansion coefficient prediction model of the Gyeongju bentonite buffer materials which is a Ca-bentonite produced in South Korea. The linear thermal expansion coefficient was measured considering heating rate, dry density and temperature variation using dilatometer equipment. Thermal expansion coefficient values of the Gyeongju bentonite buffer materials were $4.0{\sim}6.0{\times}10^{-6}/^{\circ}C$. Based on the experimental results, a non-linear regression model to predict the thermal expansion coefficient was suggested and fitted according to the dry density.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.7-17
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• 2014

Molten salt electrorefining process achieves uranium deposits at cathode using an electrochemical processing of spent nuclear fuel. In order to recover pure uranium from cathode deposit containing about 30wt% salt, the adhered salt should be removed by cathode process (CP). The CP has been regarded as one of the bottle-neck of the pyroprocess as the large amount of uranium is treated in this step and the operation parameters are crucial to determine the final purity of the product. Currently, related research activities are mainly based on experiments consequently it is hard to observe processing variables such as temperature, pressure and salt gas behavior during the operation of the cathode process. Hence, in this study operation procedure of cathode process is numerically described by using appropriate mathematical model. The key parameters of this research are the amount of evaporation at the distillation part, diffusion coefficient of gas phase salt in cathode processor and phase change rate at condensation part. Each of these conditions were composed by Hertz-Langmuir equation, Chapman-Enskog theory, and interphase mass flow application in ANSYS-CFX. And physical properties of salt were taken from the data base in HSC Chemistry. In this study, calculation results on the salt gas behavior and optimal operating condition are discussed. The numerical analysis results could be used to closely understand the physical phenomenon during CP and for further scale up to commercial level.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.245-251
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• 2014

Pyroprocess for treating spent nuclear fuels has been developed based on electrochemical principles. Process simulation is one of the important methods for process development and experimental data analysis and it is also a necessary approach for pyroprocessing. To date, process simulation of pyroprocessing has been focused on electrorefining and there have been not so many investigations on electrolytic reduction. Electrolytic reduction, unlike electrorefining, includes specific features of gas evolution and porous electrode and, thus, different equations should be considered for developing a model for the process. This study summarized required concepts and equations for electrolytic reduction model development from thermodynamic, mass transport, and reaction kinetics theories which are necessitated for analyzing an electrochemical cell. An electrolytic reduction cell was divided and equations for each section were listed and, then, boundary conditions for connecting the sections were indicated. It is expected that those equations would be used as a basis to develop a simulation model for the future and applied to determine parameters associated with experimental data.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 2012

Geology, hydrogeology, and geochemistry are the main technical siting factors of a geological repository for spent nuclear fuels. This paper focused on how rock's different geological conditions, such as topography, soils, rock types, structural geology, and geological events, influence the functions of the geological repository. In the context, the site selection criteria of various countries were analyzed with respect to the geological conditions. Each country established the criteria based on its important geological backgrounds. For example, it was necessary for Sweden to take into account the effect of ice age on the land uplift and sea level change, whereas Japan defined seismic activity and volcanism as the main siting factors of the geological repository. Therefore, the results of the paper seems to be helpful in preparing the siting criteria of geological repository in Korea.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.77-85
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• 2006

A demonstration facility for an advanced spent fuel conditioning process (ACP) is under construction at KAERI. In this hotcell facility, the rear door is frequently used since all process equipment and materials are taken in and out only through the rear door. Therefore , both the structural safety and stability of the door are essentially required for the safety of ACP facility. In this paper, the finite element analysis has been performed to investigate the structural safety under the impact condition between the rear door and the door frame. Also the possibility of the rear door being tumbled over by the impact force or the inertia force under a sudden stop conditon has been evaluated. The analysis results demonstrate that the structural safety and stability of the rear door are sufficiently assured for both the impact and the accidential stop conditions.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2006

A demonstration facility for advanced spent fuel conditioning process (ACP) is under construction in KAERI. In this hot cell facility, all process equipments and materials are taken in and out only through the rear door. The working table in front of the process rear door is specially designed to be openable for the efficient use of the space. This paper presents the structural safety analysis of the openable working table, for the normal operational load condition and accidential drop condition of heavy object. Both cases are investigated through static and dynamic finite element analyses. The analysis results show that structural safety of the working table is sufficiently assured and the working table is not collapsed even when an object of 500 kg is dropped from the height of 50 cm.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.99-112
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• 2015

In this study, laboratory test equipment was designed and installed to evaluate the thermal behavior of bentonite, which is used as a buffer in high-level waste disposal systems. The thermal analysis was conducted to verify the test results using ABAQUS, a finite element analysis code. In view of the seasonal changes seen during the test, the thermal behavior of bentonite with a temperature of outside air was evaluated. Of the cases examined, the results of the analysis model using stainless steel (Case 3) approximates to the test results, showing an error of about 1℃. The results of the thermal analysis into seasonal temperature distributions are consistent with trends seen in lab-test results. These analyses show that the effects of the thermal conductivity of the material surrounding the buffer and outside air temperature, are very important factors in the thermal behavior of bentonite. In the future, it is expected that a moisture saturation test of a bentonite buffer containing a heat source will be carried out. Therefore, the development of a numerical analysis model is required for the prediction and verification of the laboratory test results.