• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.186-192
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• 2022

Flow accelerated corrosion (FAC) is a type of pipe corrosion in which the pipe thickness decreases depending on the fluid flow conditions. In nuclear power plants, FAC mainly occurs in the carbon steel pipes of a secondary system. However, because the temperature of a secondary system pipe is over 150 ℃, in situ monitoring using a conventional ultrasonic non-destructive testing method is difficult. In our previous study, we developed a waveguide ultrasonic thickness measurement system. In this study, we applied a waveguide ultrasonic thickness measurement system to monitor the thinning of the pipe according to the change in pH. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute installed FAC-proof facilities, enabling the monitoring of internal fluid flow conditions, which were fixed for ~1000 h to analyze the effect of the pH. The measurement system operated without failure for ~3000 h and the pipe thickness was found to be reduced by ~10% at pH 9 compared to that at pH 7. The thickness of the pipe was measured using a microscope after the experiment, and the reliability of the system was confirmed with less than 1% error. This technology is expected to also be applicable to the thickness-reduction monitoring of other high-temperature materials.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.359-365
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• 2006

Since the start of the KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) project, Instrumentation and Control (I&C) of the Neutral Beam Test Facility (NB-TF) has been striving to answer diverse requests arising from various facets during the project's development and construction phases. Hard-wired electrical circuits have been designed, tested, fabricated, and finally installed to the relevant parts of the system. In relation to the vacuum system I&C, controlling functions for the rotary pumps, a Roots pump, two turbomolecular pumps, and four cryosorption pumps have been constructed. I&C for the ion source operation are the temperature and flow rate signal monitoring, Langmuir probe signal measurements, gradient grid current measurements, and arc detector circuit. For the huge power system to be monitored or safely operated, many temperature measurement functions have also been implemented for the beam line components like the neutralizer, bending magnet, ion dump, and calorimeter. Nearly all of the control and probe signals between the NB test stand and the control room were made to be transmitted through the optical cables. Failures of coolant flow or beam line vacuum pressure were made to be safely blocked from influencing the system by an appropriate interlock circuit that will shut down the extraction voltage application to the system or prevent damages to the vacuum components. Preliminary estimation of the beam power through the calorimetric measurement shows that 87.9% of the total power of the 60kV/18A beam with 200 seconds duration is absorbed by the calorimeter surface. Most of these I&C results would be highly appropriate for the construction of the main NBI facility for the KSTAR national fusion research project.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 1995.10a
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• pp.1182-1185
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• 1995

This paper presents a novel technology for unattented continuous monitoring of radioactive material in hot cell environments. In this monitoring system, the surveillance camera data and NDA data are time synchronized and integrated into the same dimension through data processing. The integrated information is then fed into a neural network to generate diagnostics through data processing. the integrated information of the concept is tested for a spent nuclear fuel transprotation in an operational hot cell at KAERI. The presented integral part of the multi-sensory system and the analytical paradigm may provide an effective technologyical alternative for safeguarding new conceptual hot cell facilities, namely the Dupic facility.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.96-102
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• 1998

The use of computers as part of nuclear safety systems elicits additional requirements-software verification and validation (v/v), hardware qualification-not specifically addressed in general industry fields. The computer used in nuclear power plants is a system that includes computer hardware, software, firmware, and interfaces. To develop the computer systems graded with nuclear safety class, the developing environments have to be required in advance and the developed software have to be verified and validated in accordance with nuclear code and standards. With this requirements, the test facility for Inadequate Core Cooling Monitoring System (ICCMS) as one of safety systems in the nuclear power plants was developed. The test facility consists of three(3) parts such as Input/Output (I/O) simulator, Plant Data Acqusition System (PDAS) cabinets and supervisory computer. The performance of the system was validated by manual test procedure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2000.06a
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• pp.670-678
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• 2000

Loose parts monitoring system(LPMS) is one of the important monitoring systems for the safe and efficient operation of the nuclear reactor, since it is LPMS that can early detect loose parts which may cause a significant damage in facilities or components of the plant. Nuclear power plants in Korea have recently experienced several loose part alarms due to the metallic impact and it is expected that the frequency of the loose part will be increased along the aging of the plants. In this paper, the status of loose parts monitoring technologies and facilities in Korean nuclear power plants is presented for the establishment of LPMS installation plan in some nuclear reactors which are not yet equipped with LPMS. Sensor specification, location and mounting method for loose parts monitoring were reviewed. As a result, the location and the mounting method of the properly chosen sensor was recommended. Data acquisition algorithms and discriminating rules of loose part impact signals were also reviewed. Actual alarm cases occurred by true impact signal and false impact signal were stated here.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.205-215
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• 2008

SITES(Site Information and Total Environmental Data Management System) has been developed for the purpose of systematically managing site characteristics and environmental data produced during the pre-operational, operational, and post-closure phases of a radioactive waste disposal facility. SITES is an integration system, which consists of 4 modules, to be available for maintenance of site characteristics data, for safety assessment, and for site/environment monitoring; site environmental data management module(SECURE), integrated safety assessment module(SAINT), site/environment monitoring module(SUDAL) and geological information module for geological data management(SITES-GIS). Each module has its database with the functions of browsing, storing, and reporting data and information. Data from SECURE and SUDAL are interconnected to be utilized as inputs to SAINT. SAINT has the functions that multi-user can access simultaneously via client-server system, and the safety assessment results can be managed with its embedded Quality Assurance feature. Comparison between assessment results and environmental monitoring data can be made and visualized in SUDAL and SITES-GIS. Also, SUDAL is designed that the periodic monitoring data and information could be opened to the public via internet homepage. SITES has applied to the Wolsong low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal center in Korea, and is expected to enhance the function of site/environment monitoring in other nuclear-related facilities and also in industrial facilities handling hazardous materials.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1996.10b
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• pp.828-831
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• 1996

Radiation monitoring system is needed at nuclear power plant and nuclear facility. Manual survey techniques are commonly used, but they are time consuming and somewhat inaccurate. Automatic radiation surveys are very important because it provides significant savings in men-rem and wages. Unmanned, remote automatic radiation measurement system should be small and light-weighted in order to mount on robotic system. The system we have developed consists of detection parts, signal processing part, interface, and software part. Position information is provided by using of a collimator. The measurement process is achieved by the scanning of detector and image processing techniques are used to display radiation levels. We designed collimators, detectors, signal processing circuit, and constructed prototype system. The goal of this system is the mapping of camera image and radiation level distribution.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.489-500
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• 2014

In this study, remote handling strategies for a large-scale argon cell facility were considered. The suggested strategies were evaluated by several types of field test. The teleoperation tasks were performed using a developed remote handling system, which enabled traveling over entire cell area using a bridge transport system. Each arm of the system had six DOFs (degrees of freedom), and the bridge transport system had four DOFs. However, despite the dexterous manipulators and redundant monitoring system, many operators, including professionals, experienced difficulties in operating the remote handling system. This was because of the lack of a strategy for handling the installed camera system, and the difficulty in recognizing the gripper pose, which might fall outside the FOV (field of vision) of the system during teleoperation. Hence, in this paper, several considerations for the remote handling tasks performed in the target facility were discussed, and the tasks were analyzed based on ergonomic factors such as the workload. Toward the development of a successful operation strategy, several ergonomic issues, such as active/passive view of the remote handling system, eye/hand alignment, and FOV were considered. Furthermore, using the method for classifying remote handling tasks, several unit tasks were defined and evaluated.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.1884-1887
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• 1997

The increasing concern over radiation exposure in the nuclear industry has fostered agrressive efforts to reduce the levels of radiation exposure. One area of the effot to reduce the radiation exposure is the development of a remote radiation monitoring system. Remote radiation monitoring can serve many benificaial functions reduce exposure to radiation by plant personnel, impruve the quality of the data that is collected and recognize the radiation environment easily. Radiation mapping system gives a good information that represents radiation level distribution. The system we have developed consists of a data acquistion parts, mobile robot and remote control parts. Data acquisition parts consist of radiation detection module and vision acquistion module which collect radiation data, visiion data and distance information. In remote control parts, the acquision data are processed and displayed. We have constructed radiation mapping image by overlaying the vision and radiation data. The radiation mapping techniques for displaying the results of the survey in an easily comprehendable form will facilitate a better understanding of the radiation environment in the facility. This system can reduce workers radiation exposure and aid to help work plan, so it has significant benifits in cost and safety.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.345-361
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• 2014

The systematic quality assurance activities on documents of the safety assessment are required for the safety case of the low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste disposal facility. In this paper, quality assurance system focused on the input data including the site characterization, groundwater flow, system design and monitoring are prepared and discussed. Rule for the input data selection is suggested and applied for the safety assessment which is based on the in-situ/experiment observations, final facility design and waste pileup plan, engineered barrier, field monitoring, recent biosphere, and radionuclide inventory. The reduction of data uncertainty will be expected to contribute to the safety of disposal facility further.