• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.108-116
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• 2020

Background: This foundational study on educational interventions aimed to analyze the changes in awareness, knowledge, and attitudes of young learners after they received objective information on safety management. Materials and Methods: Educational sessions on nuclear power and radiation safety were delivered to 4,934 Korean elementary, middle, and high school students in two separate sessions conducted in 2016 and 2017. The effects of these interventions were subsequently analyzed. Results and Discussion: Learner attitudes toward safety were found to be the predominant variables affecting the post-intervention risk (safety) awareness of nuclear power generation. Conclusion: The safety awareness of future generations will significantly influence policy decisions on nuclear power generation. Hence, the design of educational interventions on this subject must match variables suited to learner levels.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.559-571
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• 2016

This paper studies the feasibility of renewable energy as a substitute for nuclear and energy by considering Korean customers' willingness to pay (WTP). For this analysis, we use the contingent valuation method to estimate the WTP of renewable energy, and then estimate its value using ordered logistic regression. To replace nuclear power and fossil energy with renewable energy in Korea, an average household is willing to pay an additional 102,388 Korean Won (KRW) per month (approx. US $85). Therefore, the yearly economic value of renewable energy in Korea is about 19.3 trillion KRW (approx. US $16.1 billion). Considering that power generation with only renewable energy would cost an additional 35 trillion KRW per year, it is economically infeasible for renewable energy to be the sole method of low-carbon energy generation in Korea.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1369-1377
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• 2021

Nowadays, it is necessary to accelerate the construction of new power plant in face of rising energy demand in such a way that the electricity will be generated at the lowest cost while reducing emissions caused by that generation. The expansion planning is one of the most important issues in electricity management. Nuclear energy comes forward with the low-carbon technology and increasing competitiveness to expand the share of generated energy by introducing Gen IV reactors. In this paper, the generation expansion planning of these new Gen reactors is investigated using the WASP software. Iran power grid is selected as a case of study. We present a comparison of the twenty-one year perspective on the future with the development of (1) traditional thermal power plants and Gen II reactors, (2) Gen III + reactors with traditional thermal power plants, (3) Gen IV reactors and traditional thermal power plants, (4) Gen III + reactors and the new generation of the thermal power plant, (5) the new generation of thermal power plants and the Gen IV reactors. The results show that the Gen IV reactors have the most developing among other types of power plants leading to reduce the operating costs and emissions. The obtained results show that the use of new Gen of combined cycle power plant and Gen IV reactors make the emissions and cost to be reduced to 16% and 72% of Gen II NPPs and traditional thermal power plants, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.353-353
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.369.1-369.1
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.57.1-57
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• 1999

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.2788-2802
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• 2021

Multigroup cross section (MG XS) generation by the UNIST in-house Monte Carlo (MC) code MCS for fast reactor analysis using nodal diffusion codes is reported. The feasibility of the approach is quantified for two sodium fast reactors (SFRs) specified in the OECD/NEA SFR benchmark: a 1000 MW_th metal-fueled SFR (MET-1000) and a 3600 MW_th oxide-fueled SFR (MOX-3600). The accuracy of a few-group XSs generated by MCS is verified using another MC code, Serpent 2. The neutronic steady-state whole-core problem is analyzed using MCS/RAST-K with a 24-group XS set. Various core parameters of interest (core k_eff, power profiles, and reactivity feedback coefficients) are obtained using both MCS/RAST-K and MCS. A code-to-code comparison indicates excellent agreement between the nodal diffusion solution and stochastic solution; the error in the core k_eff is less than 110 pcm, the root-mean-square error of the power profiles is within 1.0%, and the error of the reactivity feedback coefficients is within three standard deviations. Furthermore, using the super-homogenization-corrected XSs improves the prediction accuracy of the control rod worth and power profiles with all rods in. Therefore, the results demonstrate that employing the MCS MG XSs for the nodal diffusion code is feasible for high-fidelity analyses of fast reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4776-4797
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• 2022

In the one-dimensional thermal-hydraulic (TH) codes, a subcooled boiling model to predict the void fraction profiles in a vertical channel consists of wall heat flux partitioning, the vapor condensation rate, the bubbly-to-slug flow transition criterion, and drift-flux models. Model performance has been investigated in detail, and necessary refinements have been incorporated into the Safety and Performance Analysis Code (SPACE) developed by the Korean nuclear industry for the safety analysis of pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The necessary refinements to models related to pumping factor, net vapor generation (NVG), vapor condensation, and drift-flux velocity were investigated in this study. In particular, a new NVG empirical correlation was also developed using artificial neural network (ANN) techniques. Simulations of a series of subcooled flow boiling experiments at pressures ranging from 1 to 149.9 bar were performed with the refined SPACE code, and reasonable agreement with the experimental data for the void fraction in the vertical channel was obtained. From the root-mean-square (RMS) error analysis for the predicted void fraction in the subcooled boiling region, the results with the refined SPACE code produce the best predictions for the entire pressure range compared to those using the original SPACE and RELAP5 codes.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.85-92
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• 2016

Since the power density of the VHTR(Very High Temperature Reactor) is lower, there is less possibility of core melt. VHTR has no risk of explosion caused by hydrogen generation when the loss of coolant accident occurs, which is another advantage. Along with safety benefit, it can be used as a process heat supplier near demand facilities because coolant temperature is very high enough to be used for industrial purpose. In this paper, we designed the primary system using VHTR and the secondary system providing electricity and process heat. Based on that 350 MW thermal reactor proposed by NGNP(Next Generation Nuclear Part), we developed conceptual model that the IHX(Intermediate Heat Exchanger) loop transports 300 MW thermal energy to the secondary system. In addition, we analyzed thermodynamic behavior and performed the efficiency analysis and optimization study depending on major parameters.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.3570-3577
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• 2012

Researches on the danger of nuclear power generation, the foundation of the development of national industry and one of the energy sources, as perceived by ordinary citizens, are very important to social acceptance of nuclear power generation. Accordingly, this study intends to understand how ordinary citizens perceive the social risk of nuclear power generation and radiation, and their misconceptions, and to propose ways to improve such perceptions. To achieve these goals, this study analyzed the perceptions of 251 ordinary citizens. The analysis showed that ordinary citizens have vague anxiety and suspicion about the safety of nuclear power generation, and little trust in government-affiliated organizations. The younger they were, the more influential they thought corporations and industries were. The result of this study suggests that the misconceptions of ordinary citizens should be corrected by professors and scientists in university research institutions they trust the most, and their intrinsic perceptions should be changed accordingly.