• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권3호
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• pp.922-929
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• 2019

This paper presents the drop performance test of the control rod assembly which is one of the main components strongly related to the safety of the prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor. To investigate the drop performance, a real-sized control rod assembly that was recently modified based on the drop analysis results was newly fabricated, and several free drop tests under different flow rate conditions were carried out. Then the results were compared with those obtained from the previous tests conducted on the conceptually designed control rod assembly to demonstrate the improvement in performance. Moreover, the drop performance tests under several types and magnitudes of seismic loadings were also conducted to investigate the effect of the seismic loading on the drop performance of the modified control rod assembly. The results showed that the effects of the type and magnitude of the seismic loading on the drop performance of the modified control rod assembly were not significant. Also, the drop time requirement was successfully satisfied, even under the seismic loading conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.855-864
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• 2017

The control rod assembly controls reactor power by adjusting its position during normal operation and shuts down chain reactions by its free drop under scram conditions. Therefore, the drop performance of the control rod assembly is important for the safety of a nuclear reactor. In this study, the drop performance of the conceptually designed control rod assembly for the prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor that is being developed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute as a next-generation nuclear reactor was experimentally investigated. For the performance test, the test facility and test procedure were established first, and several free drop performance tests of the control rod assembly under different flow rate conditions were then carried out. Moreover, performance tests under several types and magnitudes of seismic loading conditions were also conducted to investigate the effects of seismic loading on the drop performance of the control rod assembly. The drop time of the conceptually designed control rod assembly for 0% of the tentatively designed flow rate was measured to be 1.527 seconds, and this agrees well with the analytically calculated drop time. It was also observed that the effect of seismic loading on the drop time was not significant.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제48권5호
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• pp.1071-1082
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• 2016

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has been developing a pool-type sodium-cooled fast reactor of the Prototype Gen-IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (PGSFR). To assess the effectiveness of the inherent safety features of the PGSFR, the system transients during design basis accidents and design extended conditions are analyzed with MARS-LMR and the subchannel blockage events are analyzed with MATRA-LMR-FB. In addition, the invessel source term is calculated based on the super-safe, small, and simple reactor methodology. The results show that the PGSFR meets safety acceptance criteria with a sufficient margin during the events and keeps accidents from deteriorating into more severe accidents.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권4호
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• pp.776-783
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• 2020

As the refueling of a sodium-cooled fast reactor is conducted by rotating part of the reactor head without opening it, the monitoring of existing obstacles that can disturb the rotation of the reactor head is one of the most important issues. This paper deals with the ultrasonic ranging technique that directly monitors the existence of possible obstacles located in a lateral gap between the upper internal structure and the reactor core in a prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR). A 10 m long plate-type ultrasonic waveguide sensor, whose feasibility has been successfully demonstrated through preliminary tests, was employed for the ultrasonic ranging technique. The design of the sensor's wave radiating section was modified to improve the radiation performance, and the radiated field was investigated through beam profile measurements. A test facility simulating the lower part of the upper internal structure and the upper part of the reactor core with the same shapes and sizes as those in the PGSFR was newly constructed. Several under-water performance tests were then carried out at room temperature to investigate the applicability of the developed ranging technique using the plate-type ultrasonic waveguide sensor with the actual geometry of the PGSFR's internal structures.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제57권1호
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• pp.28-41
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• 2019

본 연구는 소듐냉각고속로 원형로 소듐-물 반응 압력완화계통의 성능 해석을 목적으로 한다. 증기발생기의 전열관 파단에 의한 대규모 물 누출 사고 발생 시, 증기발생기 전열관 내측의 물을 급수덤프탱크로 배출하고 전열관 외측의 소듐 및 반응생성물을 소듐덤프탱크로 배출 할 때 유체의 거동을 해석하여 계통 설계요건의 적절성을 평가하였다. 증기발생기 쉘 측의 액체와 중간열전달계통 내 소듐이 모두 배출되는데 소요되는 시간은 약 50초이고, 증기발생기 전열관 측의 급수가 모두 배출되는데 소요되는 시간은 약 2.5초로 계산되었다. 증기발생기와 중간열전달계통 내 유체가 덤프탱크로 배출되는 동안 전열관 측의 압력은 쉘 측의 압력보다 높게 유지되어 쉘 측의 소듐이 전열관 측으로 역류하는 현상은 없는 것으로 해석되었다. 본 연구의 결과는 SFR 원형로 소듐-물반응압력완화계통의 성능 평가에 대한 기초자료로 활용할 예정이다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제48권4호
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• pp.952-964
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• 2016

The prototype generation IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) has been developed by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. This reactor uses sodium as a reactor coolant to transfer the core heat energy to the turbine. Sodium has chemical characteristics that allow it to violently react with materials such as a water or steam. When a sodium-water reaction (SWR) occurs due to leakage or breakage of steam generator tubes, high-pressure waves and corrosive reaction products are produced, which threaten the structural integrity of the components of the intermediate heat-transfer system (IHTS) and the safety of the primary heat-transfer system (PHTS). In the PGSFR, SWR events are included in the design-basis event. This event should be analyzed from the viewpoint of the integrities of the IHTS and fuel rods. To evaluate the integrity of the IHTS based on the consequences of the SWR, the behaviors of the generated high-pressure waves are analyzed at the major positions of a failed IHTS loop using a sodium-water advanced analysis method-II code. The integrity of the fuel rods must be consistently maintained below the safety acceptance criteria to avoid the consequences of the SWR. The integrity of the PHTS is evaluated using the multidimensional analysis of reactor safety-liquid metal reactor code to model the whole plant.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• 제56권3호
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• pp.388-403
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• 2018

본 연구는 소듐냉각고속로 원형로 소듐-물 반응 압력완화계통의 소듐, 물, 가스 배출배관 설계에 필요한 요건 도출을 목적으로 한다. 증기발생기의 전열관 파단에 의한 대규모 물 누출 사고 발생 시, 증기발생기 전열관 측의 물과 전열관 외측의 소듐 및 반응생성물을 물배출조와 소듐배출조로 신속하게 배출하기 위해 증기발생기의 소듐 배출배관 파열판 면적, 소듐배출조의 가스 방출배관 직경, 물배출조의 기체 방출배관 직경, 증기발생기의 물 배출배관 직경 등을 설정하기 위한 계산을 수행하였다. 이를 바탕으로 대규모 물 누출 사고 발생 시 증기발생기 내 유체 배출 소요시간 및 압력거동 해석을 수행하였고, 증기발생기 물 배출배관 격리밸브의 차단 설정압력 등의 설계인자를 도출하였다. 본 연구에서 도출된 설계인자들은 소듐냉각고속로 원형로 소듐-물 반응 압력완화계통 설계에 기초자료로 활용할 예정이다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제48권2호
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• pp.351-359
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• 2016

The Korean Prototype Gen-IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) is supposed to be loaded with a relatively-costly low-enriched U fuel, while its envisaged transuranic fuels are not available for transmutation. In this work, the U-enrichment reduction by improving the neutron economy is pursued to save the fuel cost. To improve the neutron economy of the core, a new reflector material, PbO, has been introduced to replace the conventional HT9 reflector in the current PGSFR core. Two types of PbO reflectors are considered: one is the conventional pin-type and the other one is an inverted configuration. The inverted PbO reflector design is intended to maximize the PbO volume fraction in the reflector assembly. In addition, the core radial configuration is also modified to maximize the performance of the PbO reflector. For the baseline PGSFR core with several reflector options, the U enrichment requirement has been analyzed and the fuel depletion analysis is performed to derive the equilibrium cycle parameters. The linear reactivity model is used to determine the equilibrium cycle performances of the core. Impacts of the new PbO reflectors are characterized in terms of the cycle length, neutron leakage, radial power distribution, and operational fuel cost.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권1호
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• pp.284-292
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• 2019

For the continuous operation of a nuclear reactor, burnt fuel needs to be replaced with fresh fuel, where appropriate (ex-vessel) fuel handling is required. Particularly for the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) refueling, its process has unique challenges due to liquid sodium coolant. The ex-vessel spent fuel transportation should concern several design features such as the radiation shielding, decay-heat removal, and inert space separated from air. This paper proposes a new design optimization methodology of cask shielding to transport the spent fuel assembly in a prototype SFR for the first time. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm had been applied to design trade-offs between shielding and cask weight. The cask is designed as a double-cylinder structure to block an inert sodium region from the air-cooling space. The PSO process yielded the optimum shielding thickness of 26 cm, considering the weight as well. To confirm the shielding performance, the radiation dose of spent fuel removed at its peak burnup and after 1-year cooling was calculated. Two different fuel positions located during transportation were also investigated to consider a functional disorder in a cask drive system. This study concludes the current cask design in normal operations is satisfactory in accordance with regulatory rules.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제48권5호
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• pp.1096-1108
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• 2016

Metal fuel is being developed for the prototype generation-IV sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) to be built by 2028. U-Zr fuel is a driver for the initial core of the PGSFR, and U-transuranics (TRU)-Zr fuel will gradually replace U-Zr fuel through its qualification in the PGSFR. Based on the vast worldwide experiences of U-Zr fuel, work on U-Zr fuel is focused on fuel design, fabrication of fuel components, and fuel verification tests. U-TRU-Zr fuel uses TRU recovered through pyroelectrochemical processing of spent PWR (pressurized water reactor) fuels, which contains highly radioactive minor actinides and chemically active lanthanide or rare earth elements as carryover impurities. An advanced fuel slug casting system, which can prevent vaporization of volatile elements through a control of the atmospheric pressure of the casting chamber and also deal with chemically active lanthanide elements using protective coatings in the casting crucible, was developed. Fuel cladding of the ferritic-martensitic steel FC92, which has higher mechanical strength at a high temperature than conventional HT9 cladding, was developed and fabricated, and is being irradiated in the fast reactor.