• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.218-224
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• 1999

Continuous ion exchange characteristics of the synthetic coolant contained Ni, Co and Ag ions of low concentration in acidic-oxidizing conditions have been studied to suggest the guideline for the optimum operation of mixed-bed demincralizer during the shutdown period of a pressurized water reactor (PWR). In the effect of the form of cation resins on the removal capacity of metal ions, the performance of a $H^+$-form resin was about 6% higher than that of a $Li^+$-form resin. Mixed-bed of cation and anion resins in comparison with nonmixed-bed of them, had no affected on the removal capacity of metal ions but very slightly increased the slope of breakthrough curves of metal ions. In the effect related to acidic-oxidizing conditions of the coolant, the addition of boric acid very slightly decreased the slope of breakthrough curves of metal ions, while the addition of hydrogen peroxide slightly decreased the removal capacity of metal ions.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.84-91
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• 2016

The transport and deposition of corrosion products in pressurized water nuclear reactor (PWR) steam generators have led to corrosion (SCC, denting etc.) problems. Lancing, mechanical cleaning and chemical cleaning have been used to reduce these problems. The methods of lancing and mechanical cleaning have limitations in removing corrosion products due to the structure of steam generator tubes. But high temperature chemical cleaning (HTCC) with EDTA is the most effective method to remove corrosion products regardless of the structure. However, EDTA in chemical cleaning aqueous solution and chemical cleaning environments affects the integrity of materials used in steam generators. The nuclear power plants have to perform the pre-test (also called as qualification test (QT)) that confirms the effect on the integrity of materials after HTCC. This is one of the series studies that assess the effect, and this study determines the effects of 20 % EDTA aqueous solution on defective tubes in high temperature chemical cleaning environments. The depth and magnitude of defects in steam generator (SG) tubes were measured by eddy current test (ECT) signals. Surface analysis and magnitude of defects were performed by using SEM/EDS. Corrosion rate was assessed by weight loss of specimens. The ECT signals (potential and depth %) of defective tubes increased marginally. But the lengths of defects, oxides on the surface and weights of specimens did not change. The average corrosion rate of standard corrosion specimens was negligible. But the surfaces on specimens showed traces of etching. The depth of etching showed a range on the nanometer. After comprehensive evaluation of all the results, it is concluded that 20 % EDTA aqueous solution in high temperature chemical cleaning environments does not have a negative effect on defective tubes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1989

Numerous losses of decay heat removal capability have occurred at U during stutodwn while its significance to safety is needless to say. A study is carried out as an attempt to assess what could be done to lower the frequency of these events and to mitigate their consequences in the unlikely event that one occurs. The shutdown risk model is developed and analyzed using Event/Fault Tree for the typical pressurized water reactor. The human cognitive reliability (HCR) model, two-stage bayesian approach and staircase function model are used to estimate human reliability, initiating event frequency and offsite power non-recovery probability given loss of offsite power, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the risk of a Pm at shutdown is not much lower than the risk when the plant is operating. By examining the dominant accident sequences obtained, several design deficiencies are identified and it is found that some proposed changes lead to significant reduction in core damage frequency due to loss of cooling events.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.229-236
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• 2018

Accident-tolerant fuels (ATFs) are currently of high interest to researchers in the nuclear industry and in governmental and international organizations. One widely studied accident-tolerant fuel concept is multilayer cladding (also known as coated cladding). This concept is based on a traditional Zr-based alloy (Zircaloy-4, M5, E110, ZIRLO etc.) serving as a substrate. Different protective materials are applied to the substrate surface by various techniques, thus enhancing the accident tolerance of the fuel. This study focuses on the results of testing of Zircaloy-4 coated with pure chromium metal using the cold spray (CS) technique. In comparison with other deposition methods, e.g., Physical vapor deposition (PVD), laser coating, or Chemical vapor deposition techniques (CVD), the CS technique is more cost efficient due to lower energy consumption and high deposition rates, making it more suitable for industry-scale production. The Cr-coated samples were tested at different conditions ($500^{\circ}C$ steam, $1200^{\circ}C$ steam, and Pressurized water reactor (PWR) pressurization test) and were precharacterized and postcharacterized by various techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), or nanoindentation; results are discussed. Results of the steady-state fuel performance simulations using the Bison code predicted the concept's feasibility. It is concluded that CS Cr coating has high potential benefits but requires further optimization and out-of-pile and in-pile testing.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.117-124
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• 2003

Oxygen to metal ratio has been measured by wet and dry chemical analysis to study the properties of sintered $UO_2$ pellets and $U_3O_8$ in the lithium reduction process of spent pressurized water reactor fuels. Uranium dioxide pellets simulated for the spent PWR fuels with burnup values of 20,000~60,000 MWd/MtU were prepared by mixing $UO_2$ powder and oxides of fission product elements, pelleting the powder mixture and sintering it at $1,700^{\circ}C$ under a hydrogen atmosphere. For wet chemical analysis, the simulated spent fuels were dissolved with mixed acid (10 M HCl : 8 M $HNO_3$, 2.5 : 1, v/v) using acid digestion bomb technique. The total amount of uranium and fission products added in the simulated spent fuels were measured using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. Weight change of the simulated fuel during its oxydation was measured by thermogravimetry and then the O/M ratio result was compared to that obtained by wet chemical analysis. Influence of $Mo_{0.4}-Ru_{0.4}-Rh_{0.1}-Pd_{0.1}$, quaternary alloy, on the determination of O/M ratio was investigated.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.18-35
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• 1993

The water level control system of the steam generator in a pressurized water reactor and its control problems are analysed. In this work the stable control strategy during the low power operation and transient states is studied. To solve the problem, a fuzzy logic control method is applied as a basic algorithm of the controller. The control algorithm is based on the operator's knowledges and the experiences of manual operation for water level control at the compact nuclear simulator set up in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. From a viewpoint of the system realization, the control variables and rules are established considering simpler tuning and the input-output relation. The control strategy includes the dynamic tuning method and employs a substitutional information using the bypass valve opening instead of incorrectly measured signal at the low flow rate as the fuzzy variable of the flow rate during the pressure control mode of the steam generator. It also involves the switching algorithm between the control valves to suppress the perturbation of water level. The simulation results show that both of the fine control action at the small level error and the quick response at the large level error can be obtained and that the performance of the controller is improved.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.3260-3268
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• 2009

A test apparatus has been fabricated to simulate chemical effect on head loss through a strainer in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) containment water pool after a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). Tests were conducted under condition of same ratio of strainer surface area to water volume between the test appratus and the containment sump. A series of tests have been performed to investigate the effects of spray, existence of calcium-silicate with tri-sodium phosphate (TSP), and composition of materials. The results showed that head loss across the chemical bed with even a small amount of calcium-silicate insulation instantaneously increased as soon as TSP was added to the test solution. Also, the head loss across the test screen is strongly affected by spray duration and is increased rapidly at the early stage, because of high dissolution and precipitation of aluminum and zinc. After passivation of aluminum and zinc by corrosion, the head loss increase is much slowed down and is mainly induced by materials such as calcium, silicon, and magnesium leached from NUKONTM and concrete. Furthermore, it is newly found that the spay buffer agent, tri-sodium phosphate, to form protective coating on the aluminum surface and reduce aluminum leaching is not effective for a large amount of aluminum and a long spray.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.12
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• pp.3748-3754
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• 2009

An integral head loss test in a test apparatus was conducted to simulate chemical effects on a head loss across a strainer in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) containment water pool after a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). The test was conducted during 30 days in the condition of a short spray, a long spray, and no materials with chemical effects. The result exhibited that the head loss was affected on amounts of the exposed materials according to spray conditions. XRD analysis of the collected precipitates showed that the precipitates were phosphate compounds. Comparison of the head loss with dissolved species concentration showed that high increase rate of the head loss resulted from the corrosion of aluminum and zinc but slow increase rate of the head loss resulted from the precipitates induced by Si, Mg, and Ca from leaching reaction at NUKON and concrete after passivation of metal specimens.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.73-86
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• 1999

The ion-exchange method for the purification of primary coolant has been used broadly in PWR(pressurized water reactor)-type nuclear power plants due to its high decontamination efficiency, simple system, and easy operation. However, its non-selective removal of metal and non-radionuclides shortens its life, resulting in the generation of a large amount of waste ion-exchange resin. In this study, the feasibility of electrodeionization (EDI) was investigated for the purification of primary cooling water using synthetic solutions under various experimental conditions as an alternative method for the ion exchange. The results shows that as the feed flow-rate increased, the removal efficiency increased and the power consumption decreased. The removal rate was observed as a 1000 decontamination factor(DF) at a nearly constant level. For the synthetic solution of 3 ppm TDS (Total Dissolved Solid), the power consumption was 40.3 mWh/L at 2.0 L/min of feed flow rate. The higher removal rate of metal species and lower power consumption were obtained with greater resin volume per diluting compartment. However, the flow rate of the EDI process decreased with the elapsed time because of the hydrodynamic resistivity of resin itself and resin fouling by suspended solids. Thus, the ion-exchange resin was replaced by an ion-conducting spacer in order to overcome the drawback. The system equipped with the ion-conducting spacer resolved the problem of the decreasing flow rate but showed a lower efficiency in terms of the power consumption, the removal rate of metal species and current efficiency. In the repeated batch operation, it was found that the removal efficiency of metal species was stably maintained at DF 1000.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.279-288
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• 2014

Nuclear energy is expected to meet the growing energy demand while avoiding CO2 emission. However, the problem of accumulating spent fuel from current nuclear power plants which is mainly composed of uranium oxides should be addressed. One of the most practical solutions is to reduce the spent oxide fuel and recycle it. Next-generation fuel cycles demand innovative features such as a reduction of the environmental load, improved safety, efficient recycling of resources, and feasible economics. Pyroprocessing based on molten salt electrolysis is one of the key technologies for reducing the amount of spent nuclear fuel and destroying toxic waste products, such as the long-life fission products. The oxide reduction process based on the electrochemical reduction in a LiCl-$Li_2O$ electrolyte has been developed for the volume reduction of PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) spent fuels and for providing metal feeds for the electrorefining process. To speed up the electrochemical reduction process, the influences of the feed form for the cathode and the type of anode shroud on the reduction rate were investigated.