• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.225-234
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• 2014

Wall-thinned defects caused by accelerated corrosion due to fluid flow in the inner pipe appear in many structures of the secondary systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs) and are a major factor in degrading the integrity of pipes. Wall-thinned defects need to be managed not only when the NPP is under maintenance but also when the NPP is in normal operation. To this end, a test technique was developed in this study to detect such wall-thinned defects based on the temperature difference on the surface of a hot pipe using infrared (IR) thermography and a cooling device. Finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted to examine the tendency and experimental conditions for the cooling experiment. Based on the FEA results, the equipment was configured before the cooling experiment was conducted. The IR camera was then used to detect defects in the inner pipe of the pipe specimen that had artificially induced defects. The IR thermography developed in this study is expected to help resolve the issues related to the limitations of non-destructive inspection techniques that are currently conducted for NPP secondary systems and is expected to be very useful on the NPPs site.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2561-2567
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• 2018

The extension of DC battery backup time in the DC power supply system of nuclear power plants (NPPs) remains a challenge. The lead-acid battery is the most popular at present. And it is generally the most popular energy storage device. However, extension of backup time requires too much space. The lithium-ion battery has high energy density and advanced gravimetric and volumetric properties. The aim of this paper is development of the sizing formula of stationary lithium-ion batteries. The ongoing research activities and related industrial standards for stationary lithium-ion batteries are reviewed. Then, the lithium-ion battery sizing calculation formular is proposed for the establishment of industrial design standard which is essential for the design of stationary batteries of nuclear power plants. An example of calculating the lithium-ion battery capacity for a medium voltage UPS is presented.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2014

For decreasing an unexpected shutdown of Nuclear Power Plants, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power co.(KHNP) has developed Single Point Vulnerability(SPV) of NPPs since 2008. SPV is the equipment that cause reactor shutdown & turbine trip or more than 50% power rundown due to its malfunction. New type Nuclear Power Plants need to develop the SPV list, so performed the SPV selection for about 1 year. To develop this, Failure Mode Effect Analysis(FMEA) methods are used. As results of FMEA analysis, about 700 equipment are selected as SPV. Thereafter those are going to be applied to new type Nuclear Power Plants to enhance equipment reliability.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.509-512
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• 2012

For decreasing an unexpected shutdown of Nuclear Power Plants, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power co.(KHNP) has developed Single Point Vulnerability(SPV) of NPPs since 2008. SPV is the equipment that cause reactor shutdown & turbine trip or more than 50% power rundown due to its malfunction. Newly built Nuclear Power Plants need to develop the SPV list, so performed the job which analyse equipment failure effect for SPV selection for 1 year. To develop this, Failure Mode Effect Analysis(FMEA) and Fault Tree Analysis(FTA) methods are used. As results of this analysis, about 900 equipment are selected as SPV. Thereafter those are going to be applied to Nuclear Power Plants to enhance equipment reliability.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.207-213
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• 2003

Carbon-14 is one of the major radionuclides released by CANDU Nuclear Power Plants(NPPs). It is almost always emitted as gas through the stack. From CANDU NPPs about 95% of all carbon-14 is released as carbon dioxide. Carbon-14 is a low energy beta emitter which, therefore, gives only a small skin dose from external radiation. As carbon dioxide Is physiologically rather inert gases for man's metabolism, the inhalation dose is probably less than 1 % of the ingestion dose. But this source of carbon-14, formed in a closed, nor-oxidative environment, was subsequently released into the workplace as an insoluble particulate when these systems were opened lip for re-tubing at CANDU NPPs. As a part of the improvement of dosimetry program at Wolsong Nuclear Power Plants, the carbon-14 metabolism based on references was investigated and studied to setup the internal dosimetry program due to inhalation of carbon-14.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2096-2106
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• 2023

Rotating machinery is widely applied in important equipment of nuclear power plants (NPPs), such as pumps and valves. The research on intelligent fault diagnosis of rotating machinery is crucial to ensure the safe operation of related equipment in NPPs. However, in practical applications, data-driven fault diagnosis faces the problem of small and imbalanced samples, resulting in low model training efficiency and poor generalization performance. Therefore, a deep convolutional conditional generative adversarial network (DCCGAN) is constructed to mitigate the impact of imbalanced samples on fault diagnosis. First, a conditional generative adversarial model is designed based on convolutional neural networks to effectively augment imbalanced samples. The original sample features can be effectively extracted by the model based on conditional generative adversarial strategy and appropriate number of filters. In addition, high-quality generated samples are ensured through the visualization of model training process and samples features. Then, a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) is designed to extract features of mixed samples and implement intelligent fault diagnosis. Finally, based on multi-fault experimental data of motor and bearing, the performance of DCCGAN model for data augmentation and intelligent fault diagnosis is verified. The proposed method effectively alleviates the problem of imbalanced samples, and shows its application value in intelligent fault diagnosis of actual NPPs.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.167-174
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• 2019

Compared to a single nuclear power plant (NPP) risk, the commonalities existing in the multiple NPPs attribute the characteristics of the multi-unit risk. If there is no commonality among the multiple NPPs, there will be no dependency among the risks of multiple NPPs. Therefore, understanding the commonality causing multi-unit events is essential to assessing the multi-unit risk, and identifying the characteristics of the multi-unit risk is necessary not only to select the scope and method for the multi-unit risk assessment, but also to analyze the data of the multi-unit events. In order to develop Korea-specific multi-unit risk assessment technology, we analyze the multi-unit commonalities included in the operational experiences of domestic NPPs. We identified 58 cases of multi-unit events through detailed review of domestic nuclear power plant event reports over the past 10 years, and the multi-unit events were classified into six commonalities to identify Korea-specific characteristics of multi-unit events. The identified characteristics can be used to understand and manage domestic multi-unit risks. It can also be used as a basis for modeling multi-unit events for multi-unit risk assessment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3599-3616
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• 2023

After a nuclear power plant (NPP) accident, it would be helpful to predict the movement of the radioactive plume emitted from the NPP as accurately as possible to protect the nearby population. Radioactive plumes are mainly affected by wind direction and speed. Since it is difficult to identify the wind direction and speed immediately after the accident, a good understanding of the historical wind data could save many lives and ensure smoother evacuation procedures. In this study, wind data for the past 10 years are analyzed for the five NPPs in the Republic of Korea (ROK). The analyzed data include wind direction and wind speed from 2012 to 2021. In particular, the characteristics of the wind field blowing from the NPPs to the nearest densely populated regions are examined. Finally, suggestions to improve evacuation plans are made.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.791-794
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• 2013

Since the Fukushima accident in 2011, the importance of the electrical systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs) has been emphasized. The result has been that NPP regulators are enhancing their monitoring of loss of offsite power (LOOP) events. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) is reviewing the status and issues related to LOOPs, and is attempting to establish specific countermeasures to prevent LOOPs, because they can have severe consequences in the complicated maintenance schedule during an outage. A starting point for preventing LOOPs is the control of the loss of voltage (LOV)-initiating components. In order to reflect this in the risk assessment program, an LOV monitor is being developed for use during plant outages.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.2038-2045
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• 2021

The main objective of this work is to propose a reliable routine standard operation procedures (SOP) for structural health monitoring and diagnosis of nuclear power plants (NPPs). At present, NPPs have monitoring systems that can be used to obtain the quantitative health record of containment (CTMT) buildings through system identification technology. However, because the measurement signals are often interfered with by noise, the identification results may introduce erroneous conclusions if the measured data is directly adopted. Therefore, this paper recommends the SOP for signal screening and the required identification procedures to identify the dynamic characteristics of the CTMT of NPPs. In the SOP, three recommend methods are proposed including the Recursive Least Squares (RLS), the Observer Kalman Filter Identification/Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (OKID/ERA), and the Frequency Response Function (FRF). The identification results can be verified by comparing the results of different methods. Finally, a preliminary CTMT healthy record can be established based on the limited number of earthquake records. It can be served as the quantitative reference to expedite the restart procedure. If the fundamental frequency of the CTMT drops significantly after the Operating Basis Earthquake and Safe Shutdown Earthquake (OBE/SSE), it means that the restart actions suggested by the regulatory guide should be taken in place immediately.