• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.1250-1253
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• 2024

Activity measurement of the primary circuit water of fission reactors is one method that can provide early detection of a damaged fuel assembly in the reactor core. This is an important aspect in the safe operation of the reactor and for radiation protection of staff. Radionuclides in the primary circuit water are produced by the activation of stable nuclides and the fission of fissile nuclides, mainly the isotope ²³⁵U. In the LVR-15 research reactor, measurement of the activity of the primary circuit water has been regularly undertaken since 1996. A water sample is taken from the primary circuit every week and the activities are measured four days later using gamma spectrometry. The results of these long-term measurements from 1996 to 2022 are presented. The activity time dependences of the individual radionuclides are discussed in relation to fuel assembly damage and for events connected to contamination of the water by objects inserted into the primary circuit during experiments carried out near the reactor core.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.1638-1649
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• 2020

In the case of a severe accident in a Light Water Reactor, the issue of late release of fission products, from the primary circuit surfaces is of particular concern due to the direct impact on the source term. CsI is the main iodine compound present in the primary circuit and can be deposited as particles or condensed species. Its chemistry can be affected by the presence of molybdenum, and can lead to the formation of gaseous iodine. The present work studied chemical reactions on the surfaces involving gaseous iodine release. CsI and MoO₃ were used to highlight the effects of carrier gas composition and oxygen partial pressure on the reactions. The results revealed a noticeable effect of the presence of molybdenum on the formation of gaseous iodine, mainly identified as molecular iodine. In addition, the oxygen partial pressure prevailing in the studied conditions was an influential parameter in the reaction.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2008

In this paper, electrochemical and microstructural characteristics of nickel-plated Alloy 600 were investigated in order to identify the performance of electroless Ni-plating on Alloy 600 in high-temperature aqueous condition with the comparison of electrolytic nickel-plating. For high temperature corrosion test of nickel-plated Alloy 600, specimens were exposed for 770 hours to typical PWR primary water condition. During the test, open circuit potentials (OCP's) of all specimens were measured using a reference electrode. Also, resistance to flow accelerated corrosion (FAC) test was examined in order to check the durability of plated layers in high-velocity flow environment at high temperature. After exposures to high flow rate aqueous condition, the integrity of surfaces was confirmed by using both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). For the field application, a remote process for electroless nickel-plating was demonstrated using a plate specimen with narrow gap on a laboratory scale. Finally, a practical seal design was suggested for more convenient application.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.2990-2998
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• 2024

In ITER, the evaluation of the activated water radiation source and its impact on the radiological levels is necessary to demonstrate compliance with the safety requirements. The use of simplified or conservative approaches often results in the application of expensive constraints on the installation that impact its economics, operations, and construction schedule. In this work, we propose a novel methodology to calculate the activated water source term with a higher degree of realism. The methodology is based on the coupling of a system-level code with a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code in an explicit, one-way approach. We apply this methodology to the evaluation of the16N radioisotope within the ITER Vacuum Vessel Primary Heat Transfer System (VV-PHTS) cooling circuit in a steady-state and transient scenarios. We chose this system since previous analyses of the VV-PHTS were done with simple, ad-hoc calculations that yielded results that differed by up to a factor of five, underscoring a higher level of uncertainty. As a result, we generate a computational model of the source term that can be used to evaluate the radiological condition surrounding the cooling systems during the operations.

• Clean Technology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 2016

This study reports on the modeling and simulation of heat transfer in packaging boxes used for vaccine shipping. Both water and n-tetradecane are used as primary insulation materials inside a multi-slab system. The one-dimensional model, which is a spherical model using a radius equivalent to the rectangular geometry of container, is applied in this study. N-tetradecane with low thermal diffusivity and proper phase transition temperature exhibits higher heat transfer resistance during both heating and cooling processes compared to water. Thus, n-tetradecane is a better candidate as an insulating material for packaging containers for vaccine shipping. Furthermore, the developed method can also become a rapid and economic tool for screening appropriate phase change materials used as insulation materials with suitable properties in logistics applications.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.363-369
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• 1999

In this paper, we design the robust $H_{\infty}$ controller for water level control of steam generator using a mixed $H_{\infty}$ optimization with model-matching method. Firstly we choose the desired model which has good disturbance rejection performance. Secondly we design a stabilizing controller to keep the model-matching error small and also provide sufficiently large stability margin against additive perturbations of the nominal plant. Simulation results show that proposed robust $H_{\infty}$ controller at specific power operation has satisfactory performances against the variations of load power, steam flow rate, primary circuit coolant temperature, and feedwater temperature. It can be also observed that the proposed robust $H_{\infty}$ controller exhibits better robust stability than conventional PI controller.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.113-119
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• 2015

Alloy 82/182 weld metals had been extensively used in joining the components of the PWR primary system. Unfortunately, there have been a number of incidents of cracking caused by PWSCC in Alloy 82/182 welds during the operation of PWR worldwide. To mitigate PWSCC, optimization of water-chemistry conditions, especially dissolved hydrogen (DH) and Zn contents, is considered as the most promising and effective remedial method. In this study, the PWSCC behaviours of Alloy 182 weld were investigated in simulated PWR environments with various DH content. Both in-situ and ex-situ oxide characterizations as well as PWSCC initiation tests were performed. The results showed that PWSCC crack initiation time was shortest in PWR water (DH: 30cc/kg). Also, high stress reduced crack initiation time. Oxide layer showed multi-layered structures consisted of the outer needle-like Ni-rich oxide layer, Fe-rich crystalline oxide, and inner Cr-rich inner oxide layers, which was not altered by the level of applied stress. To analyse the multi-layer structure of oxides, EIS measurement were fitted into an equivalent circuit model. Further analyses including TEM and EDS are underway to verify appropriateness of the equivalent circuit model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3567-3579
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• 2022

This paper provides an assessment of fluid transport and mixing processes inside the primary circuit of the test facility ROCOM through the numerical simulation of Test 2.1 with the system code ATHLET. The experiment represents an asymmetric injection of cold and non-borated water into the reactor coolant system (RCS) of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) to restore core cooling, an emergency procedure which may subsequently trigger a core re-criticality. The injection takes place at low velocity under single-phase subcooled conditions and presents a major challenge for the simulation in lumped parameter codes, due to multidimensional effects in horizontal piping and vessel arising from density gradients and gravity forces. Aiming at further validating ATHLET 3-D capabilities against horizontal geometries, the experiment conditions are applied to a ROCOM model, which includes a newly developed horizontal pipe object to enhance code prediction inside coolant loops. The obtained results show code strong simulation capabilities to represent multidimensional flows. Enhanced prediction is observed at the vessel inlet compared to traditional 1-D approach, whereas mixing overprediction from the descending denser plume is observed at the upper-half downcomer region, which leads to eventual deviations at the core inlet.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.73-81
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• 2024

In the field of electronic components, the potting material, which is a part of the electronic circuit package, plays a significant role in protecting circuits from the external environment and reducing signal interference among electronic devices during operation. This significantly affects the reliability of the components. Therefore, the accurate prediction and assessment of the lifespan of a material are of paramount importance in the electronics industry. We conducted an accelerated thermal aging evaluation using the Arrhenius technique on elastic potting material developed in-house, focusing on its insulation, waterproofing, and contraction properties. Through a comprehensive analysis of these properties and their interrelations, we confirmed the primary factors influencing molding material failure, as increased hardness is related to aggregation, adhesion, and post-hardening or thermal-aging-induced contraction. Furthermore, when plotting failure times against temperature, we observed that the hardness, adhesive strength, and water absorption rate were the predominant factors up to 120 ℃. Beyond this temperature, the tensile properties were the primary contributing factors. In contrast, the dielectric constant and loss tangent, which are vital for reducing signal interference in electric devices, exhibited positive changes(decreases) with aging and could be excluded as failure factors. Our findings establish valuable correlations between physical properties and techniques for the accurate prediction of failure time, with broad implications for future product lifespans. This study is particularly advantageous for advancing elastic potting materials to satisfy the stringent requirements of reliable environments.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.209-224
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• 2001

The SSC-K system analysis code is under development at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) as a part of the KALIMER project. The SSC-K code is being used as the principal tool for analyzing a variety of off-normal conditions or accidents of the preliminary KALIMER design. The SSC-K code features a multiple-channel core representation coupled with a point kinetics model with reactivity feedback. It provides a detailed, one-dimensional thermal-hydraulic simulation of the primary and secondary sodium coolant circuits, as well as the balance-of-plant steam/water circuit. Recently a two-dimensional hot pool model was incorporated into SSC-K for analysis of thermal stratification phenomena in the hot pool. In addition, SSC-K contains detailed models for the passive decay heat removal system and a generalized plant control system. The SSC-K code has also been applied to the computational engine for an interactive simulation of the KALIMER plant. This paper presents an overview of the recent activities concerned with SSC-K code model development This paper focuses on both descriptions of the newly adopted thermal hydraulic and neutronic models, and applications to KALIMER analyses for typical anticipated transients without scram.