• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2016

Fuel assembly's mechanical characterization test facility (FAMeCT) in KAERI was constructed with upgraded functional features such as increased loading capacity, underwater vibration testing and severe earthquake simulation for extended fuel design guideline. This facility is designed and developed to provide out-pile fuel data for accident analysis model and fuel licensing. Functional tests of FAMeCT were performed to confirm functionality, structural integrity, and validity of newly-built fuel assembly mechanical test facility. Test program includes signal check of data acquisition system, load delivering capacity using real-sized fuel assemblies and a standard loading cylindrical rigid specimen. Fuel assembly's lateral bending test was carried out up to 30 mm of pull-out displacement. Limit case axial compression loading test up to 33 kN was performed to check structural integrity of UCPS (Upper Core Plate Simulator) support frame. Test results show that all test equipment and measurement system have acceptable range of alignment, signal to noise ratio, load carrying capacity limit without loss of integrity. This paper introduces newly constructed fuel assembly's mechanical test facility and summarizes results of functional test for the mechanical test equipment and data acquisition system.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2020

In SMART, the flow mixing header assembly (FMHA) is used to mix the coolant flowing into the reactor core to maintain a uniform temperature. The FMHA is designed to have enough stiffness so the resonance with reactor internal structures does not occurs during the pipe break and the seismic accidents. Since the gap between the FMHA and the core support barrel assembly is very narrow compared with the diameter of FMHA, the hydrodynamic mass effect acting on the FMHA is not negligible. Therefore the hydrodynamic mass characteristics on the FMHA are investigated to consider the fluid and structure interaction effects. The result of modal analysis for the dry and underwater conditions, the natural frequency of primary vibration mode for the horizontal direction is reduced from 136.67 Hz to 43.76 Hz. Also the result of frequency response spectrum seismic analysis for the dry and underwater conditions, the maximum equivalent stress are increased from 13.89 MPa to 40.23 MPa. Therefore, reactor internal structures located in underwater condition shall consider carefully the hydrodynamic mass effects even though they have sufficient stiffness required for performing its functions under the dry condition.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2015

Feedwater Heaters are important components in a nuclear power plant. As the age of heater increases, the maintenance cost required for continuous operation also increases. Most heaters have the carbon steel shells, tube support plates and flow baffles. The carbon steel is susceptible to flow-accelerated corrosion. This is especially true if the flow has a two-phase mixture of steam and condensate. The wall thinning around the wet steam entrance area of the shell is inevitable during some long term operation. The structural integrity of the feedwater heater shell affects the safe operation of the nuclear power plant. Therefore, it is needed for the thinned shell to be repaired. The maintenance method for preventing failure of the shell should be determined by investigating various factors including the stress distribution of thinned area. The stress analysis of the shell including the steam entrance region is studied in this paper. The results of thinned shell is compared with that of intact shell.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 2011

CANDU reactor core is composed a few hundreds pressure tubes, which support and locate the nuclear fuels in the reactor. Each pressure tube provides pressure boundary and flow path of primary heat transport system in the core region. In order to guarantee the structural integrity of pressure tube flaws which can be found by in-service inspection, crack growth and fracture initiation assessment have to be performed. Stress intensity factors are important and basic information for structural integrity assessment of planar and laminar flaws (e. g. crack). This paper reviews and confirms the stress intensity factor of axial crack, proposed in CSA N285.8-05, which is an fitness-for-service evaluation code for pressure tubes in CANDU nuclear reactors. The stress intensity factors in CSA N285.8-05 were compared with stress intensity factors calculated by three methods (finite element results, API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 2007 Fitness-For-Service and ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section XI). The effects of Poisson's ratio and anisotropic elastic modulus on stress intensity factors were also discussed.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.51-56
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• 2011

Steam generator is one of the main equipments that affect safety and long term operation in nuclear power plants. Fluid flows inside and outside of the steam generator tubes and induces vibration. To prevent the vibration the tubes are supported by AVB (anti vibration bar). When the steam generator tube contact to AVB, it is damaged by the accumulation of wear and corrosion. Therefore studies are required to determine the effects of the gap between the steam generator tube and AVB. In order to obtain the stress and the displacement distributions of the steam generator tube, three dimensional finite element analyses were performed by using the commercial program ANSYS. Using the calculated the stress and the displacement distributions, the static residual strength of the steam generator tube can be evaluated. The results show that the stress and displacement of the steam generator tube increase significantly compared with the results from a zero-gap model.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.50-56
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• 2008

The tubes in heat exchanger are typically made of copper alloy, stainless steel, carbon steel, titanium alloy material. Type-439 ferritic stainless steel is ferromagnetic material, and furnish higher heat transfer rates than austenitic stainless steels and higher resistance to corrosion-induced flaws. Ferritic stainless steel can be found in low-pressure(LP) feedwater heaters and moisture separator reheaters(MSRs) in turbine system. LP feedwater heaters generally utilize thin wall Type-439 stainless steel tubing, whereas MSRs typically employ a heavier wall tubing with integral fins. Service-induced damage can occur on the O.D(outside diameter) surface of Type-439 ferritic stainless steel tubing which is employed for MSRs tubing, and the most typical damage mechanism is vibration-induced tube-to-TSP(tube support plate) wear and fatigue cracking. The wear has been reported that occurs mainly on the OD surface. Accordingly, in this study, we have evaluated the flaw sizing capability of magnetic saturation eddy current technique using magnetic saturation probe and flawed specimen.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.8-14
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• 2011

The clogging of the flow area at the tube support plates(TSPs), especially at the upper TSPs results in the water level oscillation of a steam generator during normal operation. A reduction of the TSP flow area causes to increase in pressure drop within the two-phase flow zone, which destabilizes the boiling flow through the tube bundle. This phenomenon was occasionally observed at a few domestic and foreign nuclear power plants. One of the methods for defining the flow area clogging is visual inspection, which is the most effective inspection method. The results of the visual inspection for TSPs' flow area are clogging images on TSPs' quartrefoil lobes. These images are complexly distorted due to lens aberration and external factors like the distance to a subject and angle etc. In this work, we developed the analysis algorithm for clogging image of the TSP flow area of steam generators. For this purpose, we designed an image verification device applicable to the camera employed in the field for visual inspection and then, we demonstrated the validity of image analysis algorithm by using this device and commercial autoCAD program.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.109-118
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• 2021

In the periodic surveillance material test for the spacer component of fuel channel assembly in CANDU, a microstructural characterization analysis is required in addition to the mechanical property evaluation test. In this study, detailed microstructure analysis and simple mechanical property evaluation of archive spacer parts were conducted to indirectly support the surveillance test and assist in the study of spacer material degradation. We investigated the microstructural characteristics of the spacer garter spring coil through comparative analysis with the plate material. The main microstructure characteristics of the garter spring coil X-750 are represented by the fine grain size distribution, the ordering phase distribution developed inside the matrix, the high dislocation density inside the grains, and the arrangement of coarse carbides. In addition, the yield strength of the garter spring coil X-750 was indirectly evaluated to be approximately 1 GPa. We also established an analytical method to elucidate the microstructural evolution of the radioactive spacer garter spring coil X-750 based on Canadian research experiences. Finally, we confirmed the measurement technique for helium bubble formation through TEM examination on the helium implanted X-750 material.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.61-68
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• 2023

The phenomenon of fretting wear due to the flow-induced vibration in steam generator (SG) tube is a significant degradation mechanism in nuclear power plants. Fretting wear in SG tube is primarily attributed to the friction and impact forces between the SG tube and the tube support structures, experienced during nuclear power plants operation. While the Archard model has generally been used for the prediction of fretting wear in SG tube, it is limited by its linear nature. In this study, we introduced an "Impact Shear Work-rate" (ISW) model, which takes into account the combined effects of impact and sliding. The ISW model was evaluated using existing experimental data on fretting wear in SG tube and was compared against the Archard model. The prediction results using the ISW model were more accurate than those using the Archard model, particularly for impact forces.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.232-238
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• 1997

In this paper, a theoretical method is presented to design a hydraulic control valve system that consist of an important component in the hydraulic snubber. The hydraulic snubber is used essentially to support the piping systems at power plants. To calculate the force due to pressure drop and flow rate in the valve orifice and by-pass hole, Bernoulli equation is used. The Reynolds equation are numerically analyzed in the clearance gap between the valve cone and valve seat to estimate the friction force and leakage flow rate. Based on the detailed theoretical data, we developed successfully the hydraulic snubber for power plants.