• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.314-314
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• 2010

For the optimal design of a tokamak-type reactor, self-consistent determination of a radial build of reactor systems is important and the radial build has to be determined by considering the plasma physics and engineering constraints which inter-relate various reactor systems. In a low aspect ratio (LAR) tokamak reactor with a superconducting toroidal field (TF) coil, the shield should provide sufficient protection for the superconducting TF coil and the shield plays a key role in determining the size of a reactor. To determine the radial build of a reactor, neutronic effects such as tritium breeding in the blanket, nuclear heating, and radiation damage to toroidal field (TF) coil has to be included in the systems analysis. In this work, the outboard blanket only is considered where tritium self-sufficiency is possible by using an inboard neutron reflector instead of breeding blanket. The reflecting shield should provide not only protection for the superconducting TF coil but also improved neutron economy for the tritium breeding in outboard blanket. Tungsten carbide, metal hydride such as titanium hydride and zirconium hydride can be used for improved shielding performance and thus smaller shield thickness. With the use of advanced technology in the shield, conceptual design of a compact superconducting LAR reactor with aspect ratio of less than 2 will be presented as a viable power plant.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.299-302
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• 2006

연구로 및 원자력 시설의 해체 공정 절차 수립과 해체 시나리오 선정에 기초 자료를 제공하고자 컴퓨터 그래픽스를 응용한 방사화 분포 가시화 연구가 수행되었다. 해체 전 시료 채취와 핵종 분석을 통해 방사능 자료가 확보된 연구로 2 호기 조사실(Exposure Room)과 조사실 주변의 콘크리트 차폐체(Concrete Shielding)를 대상으로 방사화 분포 가시화 실험이 이루어졌다. $^{60}Co$에 오염된 조사실의 벽면과 콘크리트 차폐체의 깊이 별로 조사된 방사능 농도 값을 기초로하여 이들 구조물을 3 차원으로 모델링 한 후 Contour mapping을 수행하여 방사화 분포 가시화를 완료하였다. 방사능 정도를 가시화 한 결과와 콘크리트 차폐체 깊이에 따라 지수 함수적으로 감소하고 있었던 결과가 잘 일치하고 있음을 확인할 수 있었다. 연구 결과 자료는 향후 해체 활동 중 방사선에 노출되는 작업자의 피폭선량 평가 모델에 중요한 역할을 수행할 것이다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2014

Pyroprocess technology has been considered as a fuel cycle option to solve the spent fuel accumulation problems in Korea. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has been studying pyroprocess technology, and the conceptual design of an engineering-scale pyroprocess facility, called the Advanced Fuel Cycle (AFC) facility, has been performed on the basis of a 10tHM throughput per year. In this paper, the concept of the AFC facility was introduced, and its safety evaluations were performed. For the safety evaluations, anticipated accident events were selected, and environmental safety analyses were conducted for the safety of the public and workers. In addition, basic radiation shielding safety analyses and criticality safety analyses were conducted. These preliminary safety studies will be used to specify the concept of safety systems for pyroprocess facilities, and to establish safety design policies and advance more definite safety designs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.73-80
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• 2014

A concrete cask is an option for spent nuclear fuel interim storage. A concrete cask usually consists of a metallic canister which confines the spent nuclear fuel assemblies and a concrete overpack. When the overpack undergoes a missile impact, which might be caused by a tornado or an aircraft crash, it should sustain an acceptable level of structural integrity so that its radiation shielding capability and the retrievability of the canister are maintained. A missile impact against a concrete overpack produces two damage modes, local damage and global damage. In conventional approaches [1], those two damage modes are decoupled and evaluated separately. The local damage of concrete is usually evaluated by empirical formulas, while the global damage is evaluated by finite element analysis. However, this decoupled approach may lead to a very conservative estimation of both damages. In this research, finite element analysis with material failure models and element erosion is applied to the evaluation of local and global damage of concrete overpacks under high speed missile impacts. Two types of concrete overpacks with different configurations are considered. The numerical simulation results are compared with test results, and it is shown that the finite element analysis predicts both local and global damage qualitatively well, but the quantitative accuracy of the results are highly dependent on the fine-tuning of material and failure parameters.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.189-195
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• 2021

A technology for designing and licensing a dedicated radiation shielding facility needs to be developed for safe and efficient operation an R&D center. Technology development is important for smooth operation of such facilities. Causes of damage to internal structures (such as baffle former bolt (BFB) of pressurized water reactor) of a nuclear power reactor should be analyzed along with prevention and countermeasures for similar cases of other plants. It is important to develop technologies that can comprehensively analyze various characteristics of internal structures of long term operated reactors. In high-temperature, high-pressure operating environment of nuclear power plants, cases of BFB cracks caused by irradiated assisted stress corrosion cracks (IASCC) have been reported overseas. The integrity of a reactor's internal structure has emerged as an important issue. Identifying the cause of the defect is requested by the Korean regulatory agency. It is also important to secure a foundation for testing technology to demonstrate the operating environment for medium-level irradiated testing materials. The demonstration testing facility can be used for research on material utilization of the plant, which might have highest fluence on the internal structure of a reactor globally.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.720-725
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• 2011

W-Ni-Fe heavy alloys have been used in various fields, such as kinetic energy penetrators and radiation shielding materials, due to their high density and good mechanical properties. In this study, the sintering of W-Ni-Fe alloys with various Ni/Fe ratios was demonstrated to improve the mechanical properties and penetration capabilities of heavy alloys by formation of interfacial phase. The microstructural changes and the mechanical properties of the W-Ni-Fe alloys after liquid-phase sintering were investigated. The Vickers hardness and tensile strength of the 95W1.3Ni3.7Fe sample, which had coated W grains by $Fe_7W_6$ phase (${\mu}$-phase), were 450 Hv and 1560 MPa, respectively. As a result, enhancement of the mechanical properties was considered to have uniformly generated ${\mu}$-phase around W grains.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2999-3005
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• 2022

The new experimental setup has been built at the 11b channel of the IBR-2 research reactor at FLNP, JINR, to study the elemental composition of samples by registration of prompt gamma emission during thermal neutron capture. The setup consists of a curved mirror neutron guide and a radiation-resistant HPGe high-purity germanium detector. The detector is surrounded by lead shielding to suppress the natural background gamma level. The sample is placed in a vacuum channel and surrounded by a LiF shield to suppress the gamma background generated by scattered neutrons. This work presents characteristics of the experimental setup. An example of hydrogen concentration determining in a diamond powder made by detonation synthesis is given and on its basis, the sensitivity of the setup is calculated being ~4 ㎍.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.756-768
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• 2023

Neutron transport calculations are extremely challenging due to the high computational cost of large and complex problems. A multilevel octree grid algorithm (MLTG) of discrete ordinates method was developed to improve the modeling accuracy and simulation efficiency on 3-D Cartesian grids. The Balakovo-3 VVER-1000 neutron dosimetry benchmark is calculated to verify and validate this numerical technique. A simplified S₂ synthetic acceleration is used in the MLTG calculation method to improve the convergence of the source iterations. For the triangularly arranged fuel pins, we adopt a source projection algorithm to generate pin-by-pin source distributions of hexagonal assemblies. MLTG provides accurate geometric modeling and flexible fixed source description at a lower cost than traditional Cartesian grids. The total number of meshes is reduced to 1.9 million from the initial 9.5 million for the Balakovo-3 model. The numerical comparisons show that the MLTG results are in satisfactory agreement with the conventional S_N method and experimental data, within the root-mean-square errors of about 4% and 10%, respectively. Compared to uniform fine meshing, approximately 70% of the computational cost can be saved using the MLTG algorithm for the Balakovo-3 computational model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.1036-1044
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• 2023

The combination of MCNP6 and the FISPACT codes was used to predict inventories of radioisotopes produced by neutron exposure of a sample in a research reactor. The detailed MCNP6 model of the Budapest Research Reactor and the specific irradiation geometry of the NAA channel was established, while realistic material cards were specified based on concentrations measured by PGAA and NAA, considering the precursor elements of all significant radioisotopes. The energy- and spatial distributions of the neutron field calculated by MCNP6 were transferred to FISPACT, and the resulting activities were validated against those measured using neutron-irradiated small and bulky targets. This approach is general enough to handle different target materials, shapes, and irradiation conditions. A general agreement within 10% has been achieved. Moreover, the method can also be made applicable to predict the activation properties of the near-vessel concrete of existing nuclear installations or assist in the optimal construction of new nuclear power plant units.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3677-3691
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• 2023

Since containment building is the major shielding structure to ensure safety of nuclear power plant, the structural behavior and ultimate pressure capacity of containments must be studied in depth. This paper addresses ambiguous issue of determining free-field position for liner failure by suggesting an expanded free-field region and comparing internal pressure capacities obtained by test data, conservative assumption and suggested free-field region. For this purpose, a practical approach to determine the free-field position for the evaluation of liner tearing is carried out. The maximum principal strain histories versus internal pressure capacities among different free-field positions at various azimuths and elevations are compared with those at the equipment hatch as a conservative assumption. The comparison shows that there are considerable differences in the internal pressure capacity at liner failure within the expanded free-field region compared to the vicinity of the equipment hatch. Additionally, this study proposes an approximate correlation with conservative factors by considering the expanded free-field ranges and material characteristics to determine realistic failure criteria for liner. The applicability of the proposed correlation is demonstrated by comparing the internal pressure capacities of full-scale containment buildings following liner failure criteria according to RG 1.216 and an approximate correlation.