• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제50권5호
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• pp.648-653
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• 2018

Elimination of soluble boron from reactor design eliminates boron-induced reactivity accidents and leads to a more negative moderator temperature coefficient. However, a large negative moderator temperature coefficient can lead to large reactivity feedback that could allow the reactor to return to power when it cools down from hot full power to cold zero power. In soluble boron-free small modular reactor (SMR) design, only control rods are available to control such rapid core transient. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether an SMR would have enough control rod worth to compensate for large reactivity feedback. The investigation begins with classification of reactivity and completes an analysis of the reactivity balance in each reactor state for the SMR model. The control rod worth requirement obtained from the reactivity balance is a minimum control rod worth to maintain the reactor critical during the whole cycle. The minimum available rod worth must be larger than the control rod worth requirement to manipulate the reactor safely in each reactor state. It is found that the SMR does have enough control rod worth available during rapid transient to maintain the SMR at subcritical below k-effectives of 0.99 for both hot zero power and cold zero power.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권5호
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• pp.1775-1782
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• 2023

Several reactor physics commissioning experiments were conducted to obtain the neutronic parameters at the beginning of the G.A. Siwabessy Multi-purpose Reactor (RSG-GAS) operation. These parameters are essential for the reactor to safety operate. Leveraging the experimental data, this study evaluated the calculated core reactivity, control rod reactivity worth, integral control rod reactivity curve, and fuel reactivity. Calculations were carried out with Serpent 2 code using the latest neutron cross-section data ENDF/B-VIII.0. The criticality calculations were carried out for the RSG-GAS first core up to the third core configuration, which has been done experimentally during these commissioning periods. The excess reactivity for the second and third cores showed a difference of 510.97 pcm and 253.23 pcm to the experiment data. The calculated integral reactivity of the control rod has an error of less than 1.0% compared to the experimental data. The calculated fuel reactivity value is consistent with the measured data, with a maximum error of 2.12%. Therefore, it can be concluded that the RSG-GAS reactor core model is in good agreement to reproduce excess reactivity, control rod worth, and fuel element reactivity.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권7호
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• pp.1367-1379
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• 2020

The small modular sodium-cooled fast reactor (SMSFR) is an important component of Generation-IV reactors. The objective of this work is to improve the reactivity control in SMSFR by using innovative systems, including burnable poisons and optimized control rods. SMSFR with MOX fuel usually exhibits high burnup reactivity loss that leads to high excess reactivity and potential fuel melting in control rod withdrawal (CRW) accidents, which becomes an important constraint on the safety and economic efficiency of SMSFR. This work applies two types of burnable poisons in a SMSFR to reduce the excess reactivity. The first one homogenously loads minor actinides in the fuel. The second one combines absorber and moderators in specific assemblies. The influence of burnable poisons on the core characteristics is discussed and integrated into the analysis of CRW accidents. The results show that burnable poisons improve the safety performance of the core in a significant way. Burnable poisons also lessen the demand for the number, absorption ability, and insertion depth of control rods. Two optimized control rod designs with rare earth oxides (Eu₂O₃ and Gd₂O₃) and moderators are compared to the conventional design with natural boron carbide (B₄C). The optimized designs show improved neutronic and safety performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.30-40
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• 1991

한국형 다목적 연구로(KMRR)의 출력 자동제어를 위하여 새로운 제어이론으로 등장한 반응도 제한법을 시간 최적제어에 적용하여 보았다. 반응도 제한법은 원자로내의 반응도가 제어봉의 움직임으로 상쇄될 수 있는 반응도보다 항상 작도록 제한하여 준다. 이 방법을 시간 최적제어에 이용하기 위해 서 는 일정 한 원자로주기를 유지하도록 하는 반응도 값을 Dynamic Period Equation으로 얻어야 한다. 따라서 2점 동특성 방정식에 의한 Dynamic Period Equation이 새로 유도되었다. 이 제어법을 시험하기 위해 수학적 모델로 구성된 제어모델을 원자로 모의 전산코드인 KMRSIM에 적용하여 보았다. 반응도제한법도 출력의 시간 최적제어에서 신뢰할만한 결과를 보여줌을 알았다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제45권5호
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• pp.573-580
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• 2013

The combined effects of reactivity coefficients, along with other core nuclear characteristics, determine reactor core behavior in normal operation and accident conditions. The Power Coefficient of Reactivity (PCR) is an aggregate indicator representing the change in reactor core reactivity per unit change in reactor power. It is an integral quantity which captures the contributions of the fuel temperature, coolant void, and coolant temperature reactivity feedbacks. All nuclear reactor designs provide a balance between their inherent nuclear characteristics and the engineered reactivity control features, to ensure that changes in reactivity under all operating conditions are maintained within a safe range. The $CANDU^{(R)}$ reactor design takes advantage of its inherent nuclear characteristics, namely a small magnitude of reactivity coefficients, minimal excess reactivity, and very long prompt neutron lifetime, to mitigate the demand on the engineered systems for controlling reactivity and responding to accidents. In particular, CANDU reactors have always taken advantage of the small value of the PCR associated with their design characteristics, such that the overall design and safety characteristics of the reactor are not sensitive to the value of the PCR. For other reactor design concepts a PCR which is both large and negative is an important aspect in the design of their engineered systems for controlling reactivity. It will be demonstrated that during Loss of Regulation Control (LORC) and Large Break Loss of Coolant Accident (LBLOCA) events, the impact of variations in power coefficient, including a hypothesized larger than estimated PCR, has no safety-significance for CANDU reactor design. Since the CANDU 6 PCR is small, variations in the range of values for PCR on the performance or safety of the reactor are not significant.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.391-400
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• 1999

A conceptual core design of the 1,300MWe KNGR (Korean Next Generation Reactor) without using soluble boron for reactivity control was developed to determine whether it is technically feasible to implement SBF (Soluble Boron Free) operation. Based on the borated KNGR core design, the fuel assembly and control rod configuration were modified for extensive use of burnable poison rods and control rods. A new fuel rod, in which Pu-238 had been substituted for a small amount of U-238 in fuel composition, was introduced to assist the reactivity control by burnable poison rods. Since Pu-238 has a considerably large thermal neutron capture cross section, the new fuel assembly showed good reactivity suppression capability throughout the entire cycle turnup, especially at BOC (Beginning of Cycle). Moreover, relatively uniform control of power distribution was possible since the new fuel assemblies were loaded throughout the core. In this study, core excess reactivity was limited to 2.0 %$\delta$$\rho$ for the minimal use of control rods. The analysis results of the SBF KNGR core showed that axial power distribution control can be achieved by using the simplest zoning scheme of the fuel assembly Furthermore, the sufficient shutdown margin and the stability against axial xenon oscillations were secured in this SBF core. It is, therefore, concluded that a SBF operation is technically feasible for a large sized LWR (Light Water Reactor).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권3호
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• pp.785-792
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• 2024

This article provides an overview of the design methodology used to develop a conceptual set of reactivity control mechanism of a micro reactor based on the U-Battery. The U-Battery is based on remote deployment and therefore it is favourable to provide a long fuel lifecycle. This is achieved by implementing a high fissile loading content, which proves challenging when considering reactivity control methods. This article follows the design methodology used to overcome these issues, with an emphasis on a new concept of a moveable moderator which utilises the size of the U-Battery as a small reduction in moderation provides a significant reduction in reactivity. The latest work on this project sees the moveable moderator investigated during a depressurised loss of forced coolant accident, where a reduction of moderator volume increases the maximum fuel temperature experienced. The overall conclusion is that the maximum fuel temperature is not significantly increased (4 K) due to the central reflector region relatively lower volumetric heat capacity compared to that of whole core. However, a small temperature increase is observed immediately after the transient due to the central reflector removal because it reaches energy equilibrium with the fuel region faster.

• 대한전기학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한전기학회 2007년도 심포지엄 논문집 정보 및 제어부문
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• pp.253-254
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• 2007

This paper deals with the development of power control system(PCS) for nuclear power plants. The PCS provides the control motive power to operate the CEDMs(Control Element Drive Mechanism) for reactivity control inside the reactor vessel. The CEDM is raise and lower the CEAs( Control Element Assemblies) inside the reactor core. The CEAs are constructed with the Boron-10 isotope which has a high microscopic cross section of absorption for thermal neutrons. This characteristic causes the addition of negative reactivity when a CEA is inserted and positive reactivity when it is withdrawn from the reactor core.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제50권7호
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• pp.1037-1042
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• 2018

The present study aims to assess the excess induced reactivity in a Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) for a Beyond Design Basis Accident (BDBA) scenario. The BDBA scenario as defined in the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) of the reactor involves sticking of the control rod and filling of the inner and outer irradiation sites with water. At the end of the MNSR core life, 10.95 cm of Beryllium is added to the top of the core as a reflector which affects some neutronic parameters such as effective delayed neutrons fraction (${\beta}_{eff}$), the reactivity worth of inner and outer irradiation sites that are filled with water and the reactivity worth of the control rod. Given those influences and changes, new neutronic calculations are required to be able to demonstrate the reactor safety. Therefore, a validated MCNPX model is used to calculate all neutronic parameters at the end of the reactor core life. The calculations show that the induced reactivity in the BDBA scenario increases at the end of core life to $7.90{\pm}0.01mk$ which is significantly higher than the induced reactivity of 6.80 mk given in the SAR of MNSR for the same scenario but at the beginning of the core's life. Also this value is 3.90 mk higher than the maximum allowable operational limit (i.e. 4.00 mk).

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.145-160
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• 2001

Objectives : The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effect of Geupoongjibo-dan Extracts on Reversible Forebrain Ischemia in Mongolian Gerbils. Methods : The change rate of water content in cerebral tissues, the numercal change of the CA1 pyramidal neuron in the hippocampus, the change of delayed neuronal death(necrosis apoptosis) through light microscopy, the reactivity change of glycoprotein in neuronal membrane and the ultrastructural change of pyramidal neuron through electron microscopy caused by dalayed neuronal death were investigated. Results : 1. The change rate of water content in the normal group showed 78.90% on the third day, and 79.12% on the seventh day after an attack of ischemia. The rate in the control group showed 82.25% and 85.13%, respectively. The rate in the sample group showed a significant decrease: 81.72% and 83.66%. 2. Light microscopy revealed that the cells, continuous and systematic forms in the pyramidal cells of hippocampus, changed into discontinuous and unsystematic forms in the normal group when compared with the control group. The cells were less damaged in the sample group. 3. The mean of the numerical change of the CA1 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus was 104 in the normal group. The mean of the control group was decreased to 27. The mean of the sample group was 44. 4. TUNEL staining examination reveals that the whole part of the hippocampus of the normal group had negative reactivity. As far as CA1 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampus, the control group had positive reactivity. The sample group was more positive than the control group. 5. Electron microscopy reveals that the ischemic injury of the control group had both necrotic and apoptotic morphology. The sample group was less necrotic, and more apoptotic morphology than the control group. 6. Lectin histochemisrical examination reveals that the normal group had positive reactivity to PNA and SBA in interneuron, and weak positive reactivity to WGA Con A LCA in intercelluar space. The reactivity to PNA and WGA decreased in the control group. The reactivity to PNA and WGA tended to increase in the sample group. Conclusions : The data shows that the effect of Geupoongjibo-dan Extracts on Reversible Forebrain Ischemia in MG is a significant result.