• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.355-367
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• 2017

The decommissioning of Kori unit 1, which was permanently shut down in June of 2017, will be the first instance of the dismantling of a commercial nuclear power plant in Korea. The disposal of waste during the dismantling process accounts for a large part of the total decommissioning cost. Therefore, structures consisting of activated and contaminated concrete must be economically and safely dismantled by establishing a proper dismantling strategy. This study focuses on optimized dismantling and disposal scenarios pertaining to a biological shield. Several dismantling cases, regulations and technologies related to waste treatment as these practices pertain to nuclear power plants are analyzed. To minimize the amount of waste from the biological shield dismantling process, an optimized dismantling scenario is presented and disposal alternatives for dismantled concrete waste are proposed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2014.05a
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• pp.80-81
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• 2014

Generally significant reinforcement is used for nuclear power plant structures and may cause potential problems when concrete is poured. In particular pouring concrete into structural member joint area is more difficult than other areas since the joint area is very congested due to hooked bars, embedded plates, and other reinforcements. The purpose of this study is to solve the problem by applying high-strength(ASTM A615 Gr. 75/80) bars. In addition large-sized(#14 & #18) headed deformed bar could be used as alternative of standard hooked bars to relieve the congestion to some extent. In order to apply headed deformed bars to nuclear power plant structures effectively, the large-sized diameter bars and the high-strength bars shall be used as thick as clear cover thickness 1". Therefore, test results were obtained by taking bar size, yield strength, and clear cover thickness as variables.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2020

Many researches have been conducted to utilize recycled aggregates in Korea, but since most sources of recycled aggregates are not clear, there is a lot of uncertainty in applying the existing research results on recycle of aggregates generated from nuclear power plants. In this study, therefore, in order to investigate the possibility of recycling coarse aggregates generated through dismantling of nuclear power plants in Korea, recycled coarse aggregates were produced from concrete simulating nuclear power plants in Korea. Using the recycled coarse aggregates, concrete was mixed in consideration of the mixing ratio of the recycled coarse aggregates, and the mechanical properties were experimentally investigated. From the test results, as the mixing ratio of recycled coarse aggregates increased. concrete compressive strength, tensile strength, and elastic modulus generally decreased up to 36, 37, and 27% from the mechanical properties of normal concrete, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that limitation on the mixing ratio of recycled coarse aggregates is necessary when coarse aggregates are recycled through dismantling of nuclear power plants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.1174-1183
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• 2016

Hydrogen release during severe accidents poses a serious threat to containment integrity. Mitigating procedures are necessary to prevent global or local explosions, especially in large steel shell containments. The management of hydrogen safety and prevention of over-pressurization could be implemented through a hydrogen reduction system and spray system. During the course of the hypothetical large break loss-of-coolant accident in a nuclear power plant, hydrogen is generated by a reaction between steam and the fuel-cladding inside the reactor pressure vessel and also core concrete interaction after ejection of melt into the cavity. The MELCOR 1.8.6 was used to assess core degradation and containment behavior during the large break loss-of-coolant accident without the actuation of the safety injection system except for accumulators in Beznau nuclear power plant. Also, hydrogen distribution in containment and performance of hydrogen reduction system were investigated.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.259-274
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• 2023

In this paper, mechanical properties of periodic foundation made of concrete and rubber are investigated by a parametric study using the finite element method (FEM). Periodic foundation is a special type of seismic isolation foundation used in civil engineering, which is inspired by the meso-scale structure of phononic crystals in solid-state physics. This type of foundation is capable of reducing the seismic wave propagating though the foundation, therefore providing additional protection for the structures. In the FEM analysis, layered periodic foundation is frequently modelled due to its simplicity in numerical modeling. However, the isolation effect of periodic foundation on nuclear power plant has not been fully discussed to the best knowledge of authors. In this work, we construct four numerical models of nuclear power plant with different foundations to investigate the seismic isolation effects of periodic foundations. The results show that the layered periodic foundation can increase the natural period of the nuclear power plant like traditional base isolation systems, which is beneficial to the structures. In addition, the seismic response of the nuclear power plant can also be effectively reduced in both vertical and horizontal directions when the frequencies of the incident waves fall into some specific frequency bandgaps of the periodic foundation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the layered periodic foundation can reduce the amplitude of the floor response spectrum, which plays an important role in the protection of the equipment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.197-198
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• 2012

If the mechanical development be applied to the Nuclear Power Plant Structures instead of the standard hook development, the problem of overcrowding re-bars in the anchorage zone can be solved and the construction quality of the concrete work will be improved. But there are some problems in applying it to the NPP structures because of the restriction on the re-bar yield strength and diameter. After the performance evaluation test for the mechanical development, we can develop the new design equation of the mechanical development length in order to solve the limitation and apply it to NPP structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.195-196
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• 2012

Because of the high level of the safety and durability, a lot of reinforcing bars is placed in the concrete structure of the Nuclear Power Plant. But the overcrowding re-bars cause some problems during the construction as the diseconomy, construction delay, quality deterioration, and so on. These problems can be solved by applying the high-strength reinforcing bars to NPP structure. To achieve this, after analysing the structural target performance like the control of cracks, adherence, shear, torsion, development of reinforcement and earthquake-resistance, the results of the analysis will be reflected in the structural performance evaluation test.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.273-275
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• 2013

If the mechanical development is applied to the Nuclear Power Plant Structures instead of the standard hook development, the problem of overcrowding re-bars in the anchorage zone can be solved and the construction quality of the concrete work will be improved. But there are some problems in applying it to the NPP structures because of the restriction on the yield strength and diameter of the re-bar. After the performance evaluation test for the mechanical development, we can develop the new design equation of the mechanical development length in order to solve the limitation and apply it to NPP structures.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.336-347
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• 1997

During postulated severe accidents in Light water Reactors, molten corium which was ejected from the reactor vessel bottom, may erode the concrete basemat of the containment and there by threaten the containment integrity. This study experimentally examines the molten core-concrete interaction (MCC) using 20kg of thermite melt (Fe + $Al_2$O$_3$) and the concrete, used in Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 (YGN 3 & 4) in Korea. The measured data are the downward heat fluxes, concrete erosion rate, gases and particle generation rates during MCCI. Transient results ore compared with those of TURCIT experiment conducted by SNL in USA. The peak downward heat flux to the concrete was measured to be about 2.1㎿/$m^2$. The initial concrete erosion rate was 175cm per hour, decreasing to 30cm per hour. It was shown from the post-test that the erosion was progressed downward up to 18mm in the concrete slug.

• Proceedings of the Korea Concrete Institute Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.237-240
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• 2006

Almost 30 years have been passed since the first nuclear power plant was operated in Korea. Many studies have been actively conducted from the early 1990's in order to develop the deterioration management system for concrete structures in NPPs(Nuclear Power Plants) accordingly. Base on these studies, a systematic deterioration management program has developed and operated since 1997. According to this program, systematic inspections to provide database and evaluation were periodically performed (every overhaul at intervals of $12{\sim}18$ month and every five years). Accumulated deterioration database was usefully utilized for the NPP PSR (Periodic Safety Review). In this paper, the long-term durability and integrity of Kori 1,2 NPP concrete structures which are the oldest ones in Korea were evaluated based on the precise inspection database and regulatory inspection results including compressive strength, depth of carbonation, amount of chlorination and spontaneous potential of reinforcing bar, etc. It was noted that Kori 1,2 NPP structures have not any serious durability problems.