• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.26-33
• /
• 2019

A comparison of CL 13% and 17% IBLOCA counterpart tests(CPTs) between the ATLAS and LSTF facilities was carried out and the behavior of peak cladding temperatures(PCTs) and related thermal hydraulic phenomena were investigated and discussed. There appeared quite a big difference in PCT behavior between the two CPTs and a further comparison of reactor coolant system design between the two facilities was performed. As a result, there was a difference in fuel alignment plate (FAP) design, e.g., one FAP in ATLAS, a combination of upper core plate and upper end box in LSTF, respectively. The FAP design mainly affects the reflux condensate behavior in IBLOCA tests and any difference in FAP design can be a possible reason for different PCT behavior between the two facilities. It should be a further study to find the reason of different PCT behvior between the two facilites.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.47 no.7
• /
• pp.791-803
• /
• 2015

The effective cross sections (XSs) in the direct whole core calculation code nTRACER are evaluated by the equivalence theory-based resonance-integral-table method using the WIMS-based library as an alternative to the subgroup method. The background XSs, as well as the Dancoff correction factors, were evaluated by the enhanced neutron-current method. A method, with pointwise microscopic XSs on a union-lethargy grid, was used for the generation of resonance-interference factors (RIFs) for mixed resonant absorbers. This method was modified by the intermediate-resonance approximation by replacing the potential XSs for the non-absorbing moderator nuclides with the background XSs and neglecting the resonance-elastic scattering. The resonance-escape probability was implemented to incorporate the energy self-shielding effect in the spectrum. The XSs were improved using the proposed method as compared to the narrow resonance infinite massbased method. The RIFs were improved by 1% in $^{235}U$, 7% in $^{239}Pu$, and >2% in $^{240}Pu$. To account for thermal feedback, a new feature was incorporated with the interpolation of pre-generated RIFs at the multigroup level and the results compared with the conventional resonance-interference model. This method provided adequate results in terms of XSs and k-eff. The results were verified first by the comparison of RIFs with the exact RIFs, and then comparing the XSs with the McCARD calculations for the homogeneous configurations, with burned fuel containing a mixture of resonant nuclides at different burnups and temperatures. The RIFs and XSs for the mixture showed good agreement, which verified the accuracy of the RIF evaluation using the proposed method. The method was then verified by comparing the XSs for the virtual environment for reactor applicationbenchmark pin-cell problem, as well as the heterogeneous pin cell containing burned fuel with McCARD. The method works well for homogeneous, as well as heterogeneous configurations.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.925-936
• /
• 2020

To ascertain the characteristics of pool sloshing behavior that might be encountered during a core disruptive accident of sodium-cooled fast reactors, in our earlier work several series of experiments were conducted under various scenarios including the condition with mono-sized solid particles. It is found that under the particle-bed condition, three typical flow regimes (namely the bubble-impulsion dominant regime, the transitional regime and the bed-inertia dominant regime) could be identified and a flow-regime model (base model) has been even successfully established to estimate the regime transition. In this study, aimed to further understand this behavior at more realistic particle-bed conditions, a series of simulated experiments is newly carried out using mixed-size particles. Through analyses, it is verified that for present scenario, by applying the area mean diameter, our previously-developed base model can provide the most appropriate predictive results among the various effective diameters. To predict the regime transition with a form of extension scheme, a correction factor which is based on the volume-mean diameter and the degree of convergence in particle-size distribution is suggested and validated. The conducted analyses in this work also indicate that under certain conditions, the potential separation between different particle components might exist during the sloshing process.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.7
• /
• pp.2104-2125
• /
• 2021

This paper presents the verification and validation (V&V) of a calculation module for isotope inventory prediction to control the back-end cycle of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The calculation method presented herein was implemented in a two-step code system of a lattice code STREAM and a nodal diffusion code RAST-K. STREAM generates a cross section and provides the number density information using branch/history depletion branch calculations, whereas RAST-K supplies the power history and three history indices (boron concentration, moderator temperature, and fuel temperature). As its primary feature, this method can directly consider three-dimensional core simulation conditions using history indices of the operating conditions. Therefore, this method reduces the computation time by avoiding a recalculation of the fuel depletion. The module for isotope inventory calculates the number densities using the Lagrange interpolation method and power history correction factors, which are applied to correct the effects of the decay and fission products generated at different power levels. To assess the reliability of the developed code system for back-end cycle analysis, validation study was performed with 58 measured samples of pressurized water reactor (PWR) SNF, and code-to-code comparison was conducted with STREAM-SNF, HELIOS-1.6 and SCALE 5.1. The V&V results presented that the developed code system can provide reasonable results with comparable confidence intervals. As a result, this paper successfully demonstrates that the isotope inventory prediction code system can be used for spent nuclear fuel analysis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.44-60
• /
• 2021

In this paper, we validate the decay heat calculation capability via a two-step method to analyze spent nuclear fuel (SNF) discharged from pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The calculation method is implemented with a lattice code STREAM and a nodal diffusion code RAST-K. One of the features of this method is the direct consideration of three-dimensional (3D) core simulation conditions with the advantage of a short simulation time. Other features include the prediction of the isotope inventory by Lagrange non-linear interpolation and the use of power history correction factors. The validation is performed with 58 decay heat measurements of 48 fuel assemblies (FAs) discharged from five PWRs operated in Sweden and the United States. These realistic benchmarks cover the discharge burnup range up to 51 GWd/MTU, 23.2 years of cooling time, and spanning an initial uranium enrichment range of 2.100-4.005 wt percent. The SNF analysis capability of STREAM is also employed in the code-to-code comparison. Compared to the measurements, the validation results of the FA calculation with RAST-K are within ±4%, and the pin-wise results are within ±4.3%. This paper successfully demonstrates that the developed decay heat calculation method can perform SNF back-end cycle analyses.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.1303-1314
• /
• 2019

This paper studies the harmonic characteristics of ship electric propulsion systems and their treatment methods. It also adopts effective measures to suppress and prevent ship power systems from affecting ship operation due to the serious damage caused by harmonics. Firstly, the harmonic characteristics of a ship electric propulsion system are reviewed and discussed. Secondly, aiming at problems such as resonant frequency and filter characteristics variations, resonance point migration, and unstable filtering performances in conventional passive filters, a method for fully tuning of a passive dynamic tunable filter (PDTF) is proposed to realize harmonic suppression. Thirdly, to address the problems of the uncontrollable inductance L of traditional air gap iron core reactors and the harmonics of power electronic impedance converters (PEICs), this paper proposes an electromagnetic coupling reactor with impedance transformation and harmonic suppression characteristics (ECRITHS), with the internal filter (IF) designed to suppress the harmonics generated by PEICs. The ECRITHS is characterized by both harmonic suppression and impedance change. Fourthly, the ECRITHS is investigated. This investigation includes the harmonic suppression characteristics and impedance transformation characteristics of the ECRITHS at the fundamental frequency, which shows the good performance of the ECRITHS. Simulation and experimental evaluations of the PDTF are carried out. Multiple PDTFs can be configured to realize multi-order simultaneous dynamic filtering, and can effectively eliminate the current harmonics of ship electric propulsion systems. This is done to reduce the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the supply currents to well below the 5% limit imposed by the IEEE-519 standard. The PDTF also can eliminate harmonic currents in different geographic places by using a low voltage distribution system. Finally, a detailed discussion is presented, with challenges and future implications discussed. The research results are intended to effectively eliminate the harmonics of ship electric power propulsion systems and to improve the power quality of ship power systems. This is of theoretical and practical significance for improving the power quality and power savings of ship power systems.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.8
• /
• pp.1266-1276
• /
• 2018

In this paper, three-dimensional neutronic calculations were performed in order to calculate the dependency of CRW on the temperature of fuel and moderator and the moderator void. Calculations were performed using the known MTR_PC computer codes in the core configuration 61 of TRR. The dependency of CRW on the fuel temperature in the range of $20-340^{\circ}C$ and the moderator temperature of each control rods were studied. Based on the positions of the control rods, the calculations were performed in three different cases, named case A, B and C. By the results, the worth of each control rods increases by increasing of the coolant temperature in all methods, however, the total CRW is somewhat independent of the fuel temperature. In addition, the results showed that the variation of CRW versus density depends on the positions of the control rods and the most change in CRW in the coolant temperature, $20-100^{\circ}C$ (279 pcm), belongs to SR4. Finally the effect of void on CRW was studied for different void fraction in coolant. The most worth change is about $2 for 40% void fraction related to SR1 and SR3 in case B. For 40% void fraction, the total CRW increases about $7.5, $6 and $7 in cases, A, B and C, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.10
• /
• pp.3236-3246
• /
• 2021

Lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident directed that multiple failures should be considered more seriously rather than single failure in the licensing bases and safety cases because attempts to take accident management measures could be unsuccessful under the high radiation environment aggravated by multiple failures, such as complete loss of electric power, uncontrollable loss of coolant inventory, failure of essential safety function recovery. In the case of the complete loss of electric power called station blackout (SBO), if there is no mitigation action for recovering safety functions, the reactor core would be overheated, and severe fuel damage could be anticipated due to the failure of the active heat sink. In such a transient condition at CANDU-6 plants, the seal failure of the primary heat transport (PHT) pumps can facilitate a consequent increase in the fuel sheath temperature and eventually lead to degradation of the fuel integrity. Therefore, it is necessary to specify the regulatory guidelines for multiple failures on a licensing basis so that licensees should prepare the accident management measures to prevent or mitigate accident conditions. In order to explore the efficiency of implementing accident management strategies for CANDU-6 plants, this study proposed a realistic accident analysis approach on the SBO transient with multiple-failure sequences such as seal failure of PHT pumps without operator's recovery actions. In this regard, a comparative study for two PHT pump seal failure modes with and without coolant seal leakage was conducted using a best-estimate code to precisely investigate the behaviors of thermal-hydraulic parameters during transient conditions. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis for different PHT pump seal leakage rates was also carried out to examine the effect of leakage rate on the system responses. This study is expected to provide the technical bases to the accident management strategy for unmitigated transient conditions with multiple failures.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.5
• /
• pp.1825-1834
• /
• 2022

Performing high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (HF-CFD) to predict the flow and heat transfer state of the coolant in the reactor core is expensive, especially in scenarios that require extensive parameter search, such as uncertainty analysis and design optimization. This work investigated the performance of utilizing a multi-fidelity reduced-order model (MF-ROM) in PWR rod bundles simulation. Firstly, basis vectors and basis vector coefficients of high-fidelity and low-fidelity CFD results are extracted separately by the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) approach. Secondly, a surrogate model is trained to map the relationship between the extracted coefficients from different fidelity results. In the prediction stage, the coefficients of the low-fidelity data under the new operating conditions are extracted by using the obtained POD basis vectors. Then, the trained surrogate model uses the low-fidelity coefficients to regress the high-fidelity coefficients. The predicted high-fidelity data is reconstructed from the product of extracted basis vectors and the regression coefficients. The effectiveness of the MF-ROM is evaluated on a flow and heat transfer problem in PWR fuel rod bundles. Two data-driven algorithms, the Kriging and artificial neural network (ANN), are trained as surrogate models for the MF-ROM to reconstruct the complex flow and heat transfer field downstream of the mixing vanes. The results show good agreements between the data reconstructed with the trained MF-ROM and the high-fidelity CFD simulation result, while the former only requires to taken the computational burden of low-fidelity simulation. The results also show that the performance of the ANN model is slightly better than the Kriging model when using a high number of POD basis vectors for regression. Moreover, the result presented in this paper demonstrates the suitability of the proposed MF-ROM for high-fidelity fixed value initialization to accelerate complex simulation.

• Tribology and Lubricants
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.136-142
• /
• 2022

This paper investigates the enhanced wear performance of a CrAl coated accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding. In the wake of the Fukushima accident, extensive research on ATF with respect to improving the oxidation resistance of cladding materials is ongoing. Since coated Zr claddings can be applied without major changes to the criteria for reactor core design, many researchers are studying coatings for claddings. To improve the quality of the CrAl coating layer, optimization of the manufacturing process is imperative. This study employs arc ion plating to obtain improved CrAl coated claddings using CrAl binary alloy targets through an improved coating method. Surface roughness and adhesion are improved, and droplets are reduced. Furthermore, the coated layer has a dense and fine microstructure. In scratch tests, all the tested CrAl coated claddings exhibit a superior resistance compared to the Zr cladding. In a fretting wear test, the wear volume of the CrAl coated claddings is smaller compared to the Zr cladding. Furthermore, the coated cladding manufactured through the improved process exhibits better wear resistance than other CrAl coated claddings. Based on these results, we suggest that fine microstructure is attributed to a mechanically and microstructurally robust CrAl coating layer, which enhances wear resistance.