• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2021

Experiments of vertically upward steam-water two-phase flow have been carried out in single-side heated narrow rectangular channel with a gap of 3 mm. Flow patterns were identified and classified through visualization directly. Slug flow was only observed at 0.2 MPa but replaced by block-bubble flow at 1.0 MPa. Flow pattern maps at the pressure of 0.2 MPa and 1.0 MPa were plotted and the difference was analyzed. The experimental data has been compared with other flow pattern maps and transition criteria. The results show reasonable agreement with Hosler's, while a wide discrepancy is observed when compared with air-water two-phase experimental data. Current criteria developed based on air-water experiments poorly predict bubble-slug flow transition due to the different formation and growth of bubbles. This work is significant for researches on heat transfer, bubble dynamics and flow instability.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.12 no.6 s.53
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• pp.422-427
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• 2005

The $Al_2O_3$ with various phases were prepared by simple ex-situ hydrolysis and spark plasma sintering (SPS) process of Al powder. The nano bayerite $(\beta-Al(OH)_3)$ phase was derived by hydrolysis of commercial powder of Al with micrometer size, whereas the bohemite (AlO(OH)) phase was obtained by hydrolysis of nano Al powder synthesized by pulsed wire evaporation (PWE) method. Compaction as well as dehydration of both nano bayerite and bohemite was carried out simultaneously by SPS method, which is used to fabricate dense powder compacts with a rapid heating rate of $100^{\circ}C$ per min. under the pressure of 50MPa. After compaction treatment in the temperature ranges from $100^{\circ}C\;to\; 1100^{\circ}C$, the bayerite and bohemite phases change into various alumina phases depending on the compaction temperatures. The bayerite shows phase transition of $Al(OH)_3{\to}{\eta}-Al_2O_3{\to}{\theta}-Al_2O_3{\to}\alpha-Al_2O_3$ sequences. On the other hand, the bohemite experiences the phase transition from AlO(OH) to ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3\;at\;350^{\circ}C.$ It shows AlO(OH) ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3{\to}{\delta}-Al_2O_3{\to}{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ sequences. The ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ compacted at $550^{\circ}C$ shows a high surface area $(138m^2/g)$.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.107-144
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• 2012

Recently concerns on the energy future are rising in Korea after nuclear disaster of Fukushima in Japan last year. However, even after Fukushima disaster Korean government keeps on insisting nuclear oriented energy policy. Contrary to it, some of civil society's organizations(CSOs) including environment groups and progressive political parties are making strong voices for phase-out nuclear. As a way of phase-out nuclear activity researcher groups based on CSOs have presented several alternative energy scenarios against the official government scenario so that contest between the two senarios seems not to be avoided. This article aims to analyse the politics of expertise around energy scenarios in Korea by highlighting differences between two scenarios of government and CSOs in terms of epistemological and methodological base, value orientation, institutional foundation, and the socio-political contexts of scenarios. Our research shows that government's energy scenario is based on scientific-positivist epistemology, firm belief in value neutrality and forecasting method, and is built by neo-classical economists at government-sponsored research institutes in accordance with the 'Business As Usual' approach. In contrast, alternative scenarios of CSOs can be said to be based on epistemological constructivism, value oriented attitudes and backcasting method, and be built by collaboration of researchers and activists with different academic and social backgrounds after Fukushima nuclear disaster.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.873-879
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• 2024

A sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) core has a potential of prompt criticality due to a change of core material distribution during a severe accident, and the resultant energy release has been one of the safety issues of SFRs. In this study, the safety assessment of an unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF) in a small SFR (SSFR) has been performed using the SIMMER-IV computer code, which couples the models of space- and time-dependent neutronics and multi-component, multi-field thermal hydraulics in three dimensions. The code, therefore, is applicable to the simulations of transient behaviors of extended disrupted core material motion and its reactivity effects during the transition phase (TP) of ULOF, including a potential of prompt-criticality power excursions driven by fuel compaction. Several conservative assumptions are used in the TP analysis by SIMMER-IV. It was found out that one of the important mechanisms that drives the reactivity-inserting fuel motion was sodium vapor pressure resulted from a fuel-coolant interaction (FCI), which itself was non-energetic local phenomenon. The uncertainties relating to FCI is also evaluated in much conservative way in the sensitivity analysis. From this study, the ULOF characteristics in an SSFR have been understood. Occurrence of recriticality events under conservative assumptions are plausible, but their energy releases are limited.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.128-141
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• 2000

The critical heat flux (CHF）experiments have been carried out in a wide range of pressures for an internally heated vertical annulus. The experimental conditions covered ranges of pressures from 0.57 to 15.01 MPa, mass fluxes of 0 kg/$m^2$s and from 200 to 650 kg/$m^2$s, and inlet subcoolings from 85 to 413 kJ/kg. The characteristics of the present data and the effect of pressure on CHF are discussed. Most of the CHFs were identified to dryout of the liquid film in the annular or annular-mist flow. For the mass flux of 200 kg/$m^2$s, there were the indications that the CHF occurred at the transition from annular to annular-mist How in the pressure range of 3~10 MPa. For the mass fluxes of 550 and 650 kg/$m^2$s, the CHFs had a maximum value at a pressure of 2~3 MPa, and the pressure at the maximum CHF values had a trend moving toward the pressure at the peak value of pool boiling CHF as the mass flux decreased. The CHF data under a zero mass flux condition indicate that both the effects of pressure and inlet subcooling on the CHF were smaller, compared with those on the CHF with net water upward flow.