• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4181-4194
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• 2022

Main steam safety valves are commonly used in nuclear power plants to provide final protections from overpressure events. Blowdown and dynamic stability are two critical characteristics of safety valves. However, due to the parameter sensitivity and multi-parameter features of safety valves, using traditional method to design and/or optimize them is generally difficult and/or inefficient. To overcome these problems, a surrogate model-based valve design optimization is carried out in this study, of particular interest are methods of valve surrogate modeling, valve parameters global sensitivity analysis and valve performance optimization. To construct the surrogate model, Design of Experiments (DoE) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the safety valve were performed successively, thereby an ensemble surrogate model (E-AHF) was built for valve blowdown and stability predictions. With the developed E-AHF model, global sensitivity analysis (GSA) on the valve parameters was performed, thereby five primary parameters that affect valve performance were identified. Finally, the k-sigma method is used to conduct the robust optimization on the valve. After optimization, the valve remains stable, the minimum blowdown of the safety valve is reduced greatly from 13.30% to 2.70%, and the corresponding variance is reduced from 1.04 to 0.65 as well, confirming the feasibility and effectiveness of the optimization method proposed in this paper.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.9-15
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• 2023

Hydrogen is gaining attention as a sustainable and renewable energy source, potentially replacing fossil fuels. Its high diffusivity, wide flammable range, and low ignition energy make it prone to ignition even with minimal friction, potentially leading to fire and explosion risks. Workplaces manage ignition risks by classifying areas with explosive atmospheres. However, the effective installation of a blast wall can significantly limit the spread of hydrogen, thereby enhancing workplace safety. To optimize the wall installation of this barrier, we employed the response surface methodology (RSM), considering variables such as wall distance, height, and width. We performed 17 simulations using the Box-Behnken design, conducted using FLACS software. This process yielded two objective functions: explosion likelihood near the barrier and explosion overpressure affecting the blast wall. We successfully achieved the optimal solution using multi-objective optimization for these two functions. We validated the optimal solution through verification simulations to ensure reliability, maintaining a margin of error of 5%. We anticipated that this method would efficiently determine the most effective installation of a blast wall while enhancing workplace safety.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.1052-1065
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• 2024

Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (APWRs) and Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) employ a suppression pool as a heat sink to prevent containment overpressure. Steam can be discharged into the pool through multi-hole spargers or blowdown pipes in both normal and accident conditions. Direct Contact Condensation (DCC) creates sources of momentum and heat. The competition between these two sources determines the development of thermal stratification or mixing of the pool. Thermal stratification is of safety concern as it reduces the cooling capability compared to a completely mixed pool condition. In this work we develop a scaling approach to prediction of the thermal stratification in a water pool induced by steam injection through spargers. Experimental data obtained from large-scale pool tests conducted in the PPOOLEX and PANDA facilities, as well as simulation results obtained using validated codes are used to develop the scaling. Two injection orientations, namely radial injection through multi-hole Sparger Head (SH) and vertical injection through Load Reduction Ring (LRR), are considered. We show that the erosion rate of the cold layer can be estimated using the Richardson number. In this work, scaling laws are proposed to estimate both the (i) transient erosion velocity and (ii) the stable position of the thermocline. These scaling laws are then implemented into a 1D model to simulate the thermal behavior of the pool during steam injection through the sparger.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.949-958
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• 2024

In contrast to all-time flooded small modular reactor (SMR) systems, an in-kind flooding safety system (FSS) has been proposed as a passive safety system applicable to small modular reactors (SMRs) that adopt a metal containment vessel (MCV). Under transient conditions, the FSS can provide emergency cooling to dry reactor cavities and sustain long-term coolability using re-acquired evaporated steam in the reactor building on demand. When designing an FSS, the effect of the flooding flow area is vital as it affects the overall accident sequence and safety. Therefore, in this study, a MELCOR model of a reference SMR is developed and numerical analysis is performed under postulated accident scenarios. Without flooding, the MCV pressure of the reactor module exceeds the design pressure before core damage. To prevent core damage, an emergency flooding strategy is devised using various flow path parameters and requirements to ensure an adequate emergency coolant supply before the core damage is investigated. The results indicate that a flow area exceeding 0.02 m2 is required in the FSS to prevent MCV overpressure and core damage. This study is the first to report a strategic analysis for appropriately sizing an FSS flooding valve applicable to innovative SMRs.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.65-77
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• 2024

This study aims to present a performance based design for apartments through evacuation safety assessment and damage impact assessment due to acrylonitrile leakage. In the evacuation safety evaluation, ASET was analyzed as 25 min or more and 60 min or less when the ventilation rate was once per hour, and RSET was 22.6 min. Evacuation safety is satisfied when the number of ventilation per hour is less than 1, so it is necessary to design the number of ventilation to be 1 or less. In the damage impact assessment, the 0% structural collapse rate due to overpressure was measured to be between 71m and 90m, and the 0% fatality rate due to radiant heat was measured to be between 136m and 353m. Therefore, maintain a safe distance of 353m or more.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.11-22
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• 2024

This study aims to present safety distances by the damage impact assessment of the leakage of propylene oxide. As a result of the experiment, the pressure 1psi range was 52m to 169m, the radiant heat 18kW/m² range was 63m to 163m, the AEGL-2 range was analyzed as 224m to 414m, and the fire ball diameter was analyzed to be 45m to 121m. Additionally, the extent of damages was proportional to the amount of propylene oxide stored or handled. The safe distance for a 10% lethality due to overpressure and radiant heat was calculated to be 134m, and the safe distance for a 0% lethality was 169m. Toxicity was measured at 134m with a lethality 0%. Therefore, the safety distance due to leakage of propylene oxide is calculated to be between 134m and 169m.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.61.1-61.1
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• 2010

$CuIn_{1-x}-GaxSe_2$ based materials with direct bandgap and high absorption coefficient are promising materials for high efficiency hetero-junction solar cells. CIGS champion cell efficiency(19.9%, AM1.5G) is very close to polycrystalline silicon(20.3%, AM1.5G). A reduction in the price of CIGS module is required for competing with well matured silicon technology. Price reduction can be achieved by decreasing the manufacturing cost and by increasing module efficiency. Manufacturing cost is mostly dominated by capital cost. Device properties of CIGS are strongly dependent on doping, defect chemistry and structure which in turn are dependent on growth conditions. The complex chemistry of CIGS is not fully understood to optimize and scale processes. Control of the absorber grain size, structural quality, texture, composition profile in the growth direction is important to achieving reliable device performance. In the present work, CIS nanoparticles were prepared by a simple wet chemical synthesis method and their structural and optical properties were investigated. XRD patterns of as-grown nanopowders indicate CIS(Cubic), $CuSe_2$(orthorhombic) and excess selenium. Further, as-grown and annealed nanopowders were characterized by HRTEM and ICP-OES. Grain growth of the nanopowders was followed as a function of temperature using HT-XRD with overpressure of selenium. It was found that significant grain growth occurred between $300-400^{\circ}C$ accompanied by formation of ${\beta}-Cu_{2-x}Se$ at high temperature($500^{\circ}C$) consistent with Cu-Se phase diagram. The result suggests that grain growth follows VLS mechanism which would be very useful for low temperature, high quality and economic processing of CIGS based solar cells.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.89-95
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• 2016

Keeping the gas pipelines in the common utility tunnel is useful because it has a lower risk of corrosion than conventional burial, and can prevent from excavating construction. But, explosions in common utility tunnels can cause greater damage from the blast overpressure compared to outdoor explosions, due to nature of the confined environment. Despite this fact, however, research on common utility tunnels has been limited to fire hazard and little has been studied on the dangers of explosions. This study developed scenarios of methane gas explosion caused by gas leak from gas piping within the common utility tunnel followed by unknown ignition; the study then calculated the extent of the impact of the explosion on the facilities above, and suggested the needs for designing additional safety measures. Two scenarios were selected per operating condition of safety devices and the consequence analysis was carried out with FLACS, one of the CFD tools for explosion simulation. The overpressures for all scenarios are substantial enough to completely destroy most of the buildings. In addition, we have provided additional measures to secure safety especially reducing incident frequency.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.38-45
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• 2018

Jet fire, pool fire, and vapor cloud explosion are major accident scenarios in LPG filling station. The protection wall would mitigate radiation effect in a jet fire. In case of a pool fire, the protection wall would restrict expanding the pool area. The protection wall might both obstruct the dispersion of released vapor and protect blast overpressure in a vapor cloud explosion scenario. In this paper, An availability assessment method of the protection wall how much reduce damage to receptors is proposed. Additionally application cases are presented for the effectiveness of protection wall in the LPG filling station. The study shows that the protection wall can effectively reduce the death probabilities of receptors located behind the wall in cases of the jet fires and the vapor cloud explosions.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.121-128
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• 2009

During a hypothetical high-pressure accident in a nuclear power plant (NPP), molten corium can be ejected through a breach of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and dispersed by a following jet of a high-pressure steam in the RPV. The dispersed corium is fragmented into smaller droplets in a reactor cavity of the NPP by the steam jet and released into other compartments of the NPP by a overpressure in the cavity. The fragments of the corium transfer thermal energy to the ambient air in the containment or interact chemically with steam and generate hydrogen which may be burnt in the containment. The thermal loads from the ejected molten corium on the containment which is called direct containment heating (DCH) can threaten the integrity of the containment. DCH in a NPP containment is related to many physical phenomena such as multi-phase hydrodynamics, thermodynamics and chemical process. In the evaluation of the DCH load, the melt dispersion rates depending on the RPV pressure are the most important parameter. Mostly, DCH was evaluated by using lumped-analysis codes with some correlations obtained from experiments for the dispersion rates. In this study, MC3D code was used to evaluate the dispersion rates in the APR1400 NPP during the high-pressure accidents. MC3D is a two-phase analysis code based on Eulerian four-fields for melt jet, melt droplets, gas and water. The dispersion rates of the corium melt depending on the RPV pressure were obtained from the MC3D analyses and the values specific to the APR1400 cavity geometry were compared to a currently available correlation.