• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.915-922
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• 2018

Metallic fuel has been considered for sodium-cooled fast reactors because it can maximize the uranium resources. It generates rare earth elements as fission products, where it is reported by aggravating the fuel-cladding chemical interaction at the operating temperature. Rare earth elements form a multicomponent alloy (Ce-Nd-Pr-La-Sm-etc.) during reactor operation, where it shows a higher reaction thickness than a single element. Experiments have been carried out by simplifying multicomponent alloys for mono or binary systems because complex alloys have difficulty in the analysis. In previous experiments, xCe-yNd was fabricated with two elements, Ce and Nd, which have a major effect on the fuel-cladding chemical interaction, and the thickness of the reaction layer reached maximum when the rare earth elements ratio was 1:1. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect and relationship of rare earth elements on such synergistic behavior. Single and binary rare earth model alloys were prepared by selecting five rare earth elements (Ce, Nd, Pr, La, and Sm). In the single system, Nd and Pr behaviors were close to diffusion, and Ce showed a eutectic reaction. In the binary system, Ce and Sm further increased the reaction layer, and La showed a non-synergy effect.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.746-754
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• 2019

Vitrification of radioactive liquid waste (RLW) provides a feasible solution for isolating radionuclides from the biosphere for an extended period. In vitrification, base glass and radioactive waste are added simultaneously into the melter. Determination of heat and mass transfer rates is necessary for rational design and sizing of melter. For obtaining an assured product quality, knowledge of reaction kinetics associated with the thermal decomposition of waste constituents is essential. In this study Thermogravimetry (TG) - Differential Thermogravimetry (DTG) of eight kinds of nitrates and two oxides, which are major components of RLW, is investigated in the temperature range of 298-1273 K in the presence of base glasses of five component (5C) and seven component (7C). Studies on thermal behavior of constituents in RLW were carried out at heating rates ranging from 10 to $40\;K\;min^{-1}$ using TG - DTG. Thermal behavior and related kinetic parameters of waste constituents, in the presence of 5C and 7C base glass compositions were also investigated. The activation energy, pre-exponential factor and order of the reaction for the thermal decomposition of 24% waste oxide loaded glasses were estimated using Kissinger method.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.411-415
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• 2018

Nuclear fusion may be among the strongest sustainable ways to replace fossil fuels because it does not contribute to acid rain or global warming. In this context, activated cobalt materials in corrosion products for fusion energy are significant in determination of dose levels during maintenance after a coolant leak in a nuclear fusion reactor. Therefore, cross-section studies on cobalt material are very important for fusion reactor design. In this article, the excitation functions of some nuclear reaction channels induced by proton particles on $^{59}Co$ structural material were predicted using different models. The nuclear level densities were calculated using different choices of available level density models in ALICE/ASH code. Finally, the newly calculated cross sections for the investigated nuclear reactions are compared with the experimental values and TENDL data based on TALYS nuclear code.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.902-907
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• 2023

To understand the eutectic reaction mechanism and the relocation behavior of the core debris is indispensable for the safety assessment of core disruptive accidents (CDAs) in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). This paper addresses reaction products and their distribution of the eutectic melting/solidifying reaction of boron carbide (B₄C) and stainless-steel (SS). The influence of the existence of carbon on the B₄C-SS eutectic reaction was investigated by comparing the iron boride (FeB)-SS reaction by Raman spectroscopy with Multivariate Curve Resolution (MCR) analysis. The scanning electron microscopy with dispersive X-ray spectrometer was also used to investigate the elemental information of the pure metals such as Cr, Ni, and Fe. In the B₄C-SS samples, a new layer was formed between B₄C/SS interface, and the layer was confirmed that the formed layer corresponded to amorphous carbon (graphite) or FeB or Fe₂B. In contrast, a new layer was not clearly formed between FeB and SS interface in the FeB-SS samples. All samples observed the Cr-rich domain and Fe and Ni-rich domain after the reaction. These domains might be formed during the solidifying process.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.732-740
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• 2021

Scattering resonance of medium mass nuclides leads complex spectrum in the fast reactor, which requires thousands of energy groups in the spectrum calculation. When the broad-group cross sections are collapsed, reaction rate cannot be completely conserved. To eliminate the error from energy collapsing, the Super-homogenization method in energy collapsing (ESPH) was employed in the fast reactor code SARAX. An ESPH factor was derived based on the ESPH-corrected SN transport equation. By applying the factor in problems with reflective boundary condition, both the effective multiplication factor and reaction rate were conserved. The fixed-source iteration was used to ensure the stability of ESPH iteration. However, in the energy collapsing process of SARAX, the vacuum boundary condition was adopted, which was necessary for fast reactors with strong heterogeneity. To further reduce the error caused by leakage, an additional conservation factor was proposed to correct the neutron current in energy collapsing. To evaluate the performance of ESPH with conservation factor, numerical benchmarks of fast reactors were calculated. The results of broad-group calculation agreed well with the direct full-core Monte-Carlo calculation, including the effective multiplication factor, radial power distribution, total control rod worth and sodium void worth.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.245.1-245
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.386-386
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• 2001

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.424-433
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• 2015

The operating characteristics of hydrogen iodide (HI) decomposition for hydrogen production were investigated using the commercial computational fluid dynamics code, and various factors, such as hydrogen production, heat of reaction, and temperature distribution, were studied to compare device performance with that expected for device development. Hydrogen production increased with an increase of the surface-to-volume (STV) ratio. With an increase of hydrogen production, the reaction heat increased. The internal pressure and velocity of the HI decomposer were estimated through pressure drop and reducing velocity from the preheating zone. The mass of $H_2O$ was independent of the STV ratio, whereas that of HI decreased with increasing STV ratio.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.531-536
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• 2000

The extraction of precious metals from aqueous solutions is performed by using a photoredox reaction with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The metallic silver was efficiently precipitated and extracted from the silver nitrate solution by laser photolysis. An optimum reaction condition for silver extraction was determined by adjusting various experimental factors such as type of reducing agent, type of acids and reaction time. The composition of the reaction product was analyzed and it was identified as metallic silver, not other molecular types. The photoreaction of chromium(III) chloride in an acidic aqueous solution was also investigated. The 355 nm laser light was better suited for the reaction of silver nitrate as well as chromium(III) chloride in an acidic solution compared to the 532 nm light.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.420.1-420
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• 2002

Thermal decomposition reaction of gas-phase UO2(hfacac)2. THF was investigated in a static cell. IR spectroscopic method was used to study the thermal decomptsition of gas phase uranyl complexes. The decomposition reaction products were separated by using thermal-gradient fractional sublimation method utilizing the differences in their volatility.