• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.175-182
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• 1986

The KNUI (Korea Nuclear Unit 1) loss of offsite power transient as a design-base accident has been simulated using the RELAP5/MOD1/NSC computer code. The analysis is carried out using the best-estimate methodology, but the sequence and its assumptions are based on the evaluation methodology th at emphasizes conservatism. Important thermal-hydraulic parameters such as average temperature, steam generator level and pressurizer water volume are compared with the results in the KNU1 Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). The present analysis gives much lower RCS average temperature and pressurizer water volume, and much higher S/G water volume at the turnaround point, which may be considered to be additional improved safety margins. This is expected since the present analysis deals with the best-estimate thermal-hydraulic models as well as the initial conditions on a best-estimate basis. These additional safety margins may contribute to further validate the safety of the KNU1 in this type of accidents(Decrease in Heat Removal by the Secondary System).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1989

Numerous losses of decay heat removal capability have occurred at U during stutodwn while its significance to safety is needless to say. A study is carried out as an attempt to assess what could be done to lower the frequency of these events and to mitigate their consequences in the unlikely event that one occurs. The shutdown risk model is developed and analyzed using Event/Fault Tree for the typical pressurized water reactor. The human cognitive reliability (HCR) model, two-stage bayesian approach and staircase function model are used to estimate human reliability, initiating event frequency and offsite power non-recovery probability given loss of offsite power, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the risk of a Pm at shutdown is not much lower than the risk when the plant is operating. By examining the dominant accident sequences obtained, several design deficiencies are identified and it is found that some proposed changes lead to significant reduction in core damage frequency due to loss of cooling events.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 2019

This work proposes a noncontact ultrasonic transducer for detecting wall-thinning of containment liner plates of nuclear power plants by measuring their thickness without physical contact. Because the containment liner plate is designed to prevent atmospheric leakage of radioactive substances under severe nuclear accident, its wall-thinning inspection is important for safety of nuclear power plants. Wall-thinning investigation of containment liner plates have been carried out by measuring their thickness with contact-type ultrasonic thickness gauge by inspectors and needs a lot of time and cost. As an alternative, an electromagnetic acoustic transducer measuring precisely thickness of containment liner plates without any physical contact or couplant was suggested in this research. A transducer generating and measuring shear ultrasonic waves in thickness direction was designed and wave field produced by the transducer was analyzed to verify the design. The working performance of the suggested transducer was tested with carbon steel plate specimens with various thicknesses. The test result shows that the proposed transducer can measure thickness of the specimens precisely without any couplant and implies that swift scanning of wall-thinning of containment liner plates will be possible with the proposed transducer.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.268-279
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• 2018

The ALCYONE multidimensional fuel performance code codeveloped by the CEA, EDF, and AREVA NP within the PLEIADES software environment models the behavior of fuel rods during irradiation in commercial pressurized water reactors (PWRs), power ramps in experimental reactors, or accidental conditions such as loss of coolant accidents or reactivity-initiated accidents (RIAs). As regards the latter case of transient in particular, ALCYONE is intended to predictively simulate the response of a fuel rod by taking account of mechanisms in a way that models the physics as closely as possible, encompassing all possible stages of the transient as well as various fuel/cladding material types and irradiation conditions of interest. On the way to complying with these objectives, ALCYONE development and validation shall include tests on $PWR-UO_2$ fuel rods with advanced claddings such as M5(R) under "low pressure-low temperature" or "high pressure-high temperature" water coolant conditions. This article first presents ALCYONE V1.4 RIA-related features and modeling. It especially focuses on recent developments dedicated on the one hand to nonsteady water heat and mass transport and on the other hand to the modeling of grain boundary cracking-induced fission gas release and swelling. This article then compares some simulations of RIA transients performed on $UO_2$-M5(R) fuel rods in flowing sodium or stagnant water coolant conditions to the relevant experimental results gained from tests performed in either the French CABRI or the Japanese NSRR nuclear transient reactor facilities. It shows in particular to what extent ALCYONE-starting from base irradiation conditions it itself computes-is currently able to handle both the first stage of the transient, namely the pellet-cladding mechanical interaction phase, and the second stage of the transient, should a boiling crisis occur. Areas of improvement are finally discussed with a view to simulating and analyzing further tests to be performed under prototypical PWR conditions within the CABRI International Program. M5(R) is a trademark or a registered trademark of AREVA NP in the USA or other countries.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.110-116
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• 2020

As the management plan for domestic spent nuclear fuel is delayed, the storage of the operating nuclear power plant is approaching saturation, and the Kori 1 Unit that has reached its end of operation life is preparing for the dismantling plan. The first stage of dismantling is the transfer of spent nuclear fuel stored in storage at plants. The spent fuel management process leads to temporary storage, interim storage, reprocessing and permanent disposal. In this paper, the technical issues to be considered when transporting spent fuel in this process are summarized. The spent fuels are treated as high-level radioactive waste and strictly managed according to international regulations. A series of integrity tests are performed to demonstrate that spent fuel can be safely stored for decades in a dry environment before being transferred to an intermediate storage facility. The safety of spent fuel transport container must be demonstrated under normal transport conditions and virtual accident conditions. IAEA international standards are commonly applied to the design of transport containers, licensing regulations and transport regulations worldwide. In addition, each country operates a physical protection system to reduce and respond to the threat of radioactive terrorism.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.280-287
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• 2013

Flow accelerated corrosion(FAC) of the carbon steel piping in pressurized water reactors(PWRs) has been major issue in nuclear industry. Severe accident at Surry Unit 2 in 1986 initiated the worldwide interest in this area. Major parameters influencing FAC are material composition, microstructure, water chemistry, and hydrodynamics. Qualitative behaviors of FAC have been well understood but quantitative data about FAC have not been published for proprietary reason. In order to minimize the FAC in PWRs, the optimal method is to control water chemistry factors. Chemistry factors influencing FAC such as pH, corrosion potential, and hydrazine contents were reviewed in this paper. FAC rate decreased with pH up to 10 because magnetite solubility decreased with pH. Corrosion potential is generally controlled dissolved oxygen (DO) and hydrazine in secondary water. DO increased corrosion potential. FAC rate decreased with DO by stabilizing magnetite at low DO concentration or by formation of hematite at high DO concentration. Even though hydrazine is generally used to remove DO, hydrazine itself thermally decomposed to ammonia, nitrogen, and hydrogen raising pH. Hydrazine could react with iron and increased FAC rate. Effect of hydrazine on FAC is rather complex and should be careful in FAC analysis. FAC could be managed by adequate combination of pH, corrosion potential, and hydrazine.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2016

KHNP CRI has developed APR+ nuclear power plant since 2007, which is GEN III+ model with 1500 MWe capacity. To develop safer nuclear power plant than APR1400, we investigated advanced design features of ALWR being constructed in Korea and being developed/constructed in foreign countries. We applied the advanced design features and lessons learned from Fukushima accident to develop APR+ standard design suitable for both domestic construction and overseas construction business. One economic assessments have performed during safety design improvement phase(2013.1 ~ 2015.12) of APR+. The result of the economic analysis for APR+ safety inhancement design showed that APR+ N-th plant is about 39.2% more economical than coal-fired 1,000MW power plant. Also APR+ plant is more cost advantage over foreign advanced nation ALWRs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.187-194
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• 2016

A single fire event within a fire area can cause multiple initiating events considered in internal events probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). For an example, a fire event in turbine building fire area can cause a loss of the main feed-water and loss of off-site power initiating events. This fire initiating event could result in special plant responses beyond the scope of the internal events PSA model. One approach to address a fire initiating event is to develop a specific fire event tree. However, the development of a specific fire event tree is difficult since the number of fire event trees may be several hundreds or more. Thus, internal fire events PSA model has been generally constructed by modifications of the pre-developed internal events PSA model. New accident sequence logics not covered in the internal events PSA model are separately developed to incorporate them into the fire PSA model. Recently, many fire PSA models have fire induced initiating event fault trees not shown in an internal event PSA model. Up to now, there has been no analytical comparative study on the constructions of fire events PSA model using internal events PSA model with and without fault trees of initiating events. In this study, the changing process of internal events PSA model to fire events PSA model is analytically presented and discussed.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.236-239
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• 2014

KHNP CRI has been developing APR+ nuclear power plant since 2007, which is GEN III+ model with 1500 MWe capacity. To develop safer and more economical nuclear power plant than APR1400, we investigated advanced design features of ALWR(advanced light water reactor) being constructed in Korea and being developed/constructed in foreign countries. We applied the advanced design features and lessons learned from Fukushima accident to develop APR+ standard design suitable for both domestic construction and overseas construction business. Three economic assessments have performed during standard design phase of APR+. The result of the 3th(final) economic analysis for APR+ standard design showed that APR+ N-th plant was about 23% more economical than coal-fired 1,000MW power plant.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.285-296
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• 1995

The site of Korea Final Repository, KFR, to collect and dispose of radioactive wastes produced in nuclear power plants will be selected to seaside. As all the radwastes stored temporarily in the site of power plants should be transported by the sea, Nuclear Environmental Management Center, NEMAC, of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, KAERI, has been developing the sea transport system to secure safe and efficient transportation of the radwastes from the power plant sites to the final repository. Investigating the status of advanced techniques of foreign countries for transport vessels and considering inland circumstances, the technical criteria of the transport vessel have been suggested in this study. Therefore, all the radwastes will be transported safely by the sea, without releasing any radioactive material to environment even in the case of accident.