• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.3112-3121
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• 2021

One of the major factors affecting the life span of a Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) is the Pressurised Thermal Shock (PTS). PTS is a thermo-mechanical load on the RPV wall due to steep temperature gradients and structural load created by internal pressure of the fluid within the RPV. Safe operating life of a nuclear power plant is ensured by carrying out fracture analysis of the RPV against thermal shock. Carrying out fracture tests on RPV/large scale components is not always feasible. Hence, studies on laboratory level specimens are necessary to validate and supplement the prototype results. This paper aims to study the fracture behaviour of standard Compact Tension [C(T)] specimens, made of RPV steel 20MnMoNi55, subjected to thermal shock through experimental and numerical investigations. Fracture tests have been carried out on the C(T) specimens subjected to thermal transient load and tensile load to quantify the effect of thermal shock. Crack resistance curves are obtained from the fracture tests as per ASTM E1820 and compared with those obtained numerically using XFEM and a good agreement was found. A quantitative study on the crack tip plastic zone, computed using cohesive segment approach, from the numerical analyses justified the experimental crack initiation toughness.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.901-910
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• 2021

KHNP recently has obtained the approval for the commercialization of the modified 37-element (or 37 M) fuel bundle and now is loading the 37 M fuel bundles in CANDU-6 reactors in KOREA. One of the main issues for approval was the burnup limit. Due to CANDU design and neutronic characteristics, there was no specific burnup restriction of a fuel bundle. The absence of a burnup limit does not mean that a fuel bundle can stay in the CANDU reactor without a time limit. However, the regulator requested traditional design values as well as the burnup limit reflecting the computer code uncertainty. The method for the PWR burnup limit was not applied to the CANDU fuel bundle. Since there was no approved methodology to build the burnup limit with uncertainties, KHNP introduced a Monte-Carlo method coupled with a 95/95 approach to determine the conservative burnup limit from the viewpoint of the centerline temperature, internal pressure, strain measurement deviation. Moreover, to consider the uncertainties of various computing models, a converted power uncertainty was introduced. This paper presents the methodology and puts forward the limits on burnup, evaluated for each of the existing and modified fuel bundles, in consideration of the pressure tube aging condition.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.197-205
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• 1981

Penicillin amidase of Bacillus megaterium was recovered from the fermentation broth by adsorption on celite and immobilized by entrapping the adsorbed enzyme in acrylamide gel. The operational stability in column reactor was greatly increased by entrappment as compared with that of without entrappment. The optimum pH of the immobilized enzyme was 8.7 with broader activity profile than that of the free enzyme, while the most stable pH range appeared to be between pH 7.5 and 8.0. The optimum temperature was shifted to 5$0^{\circ}C$ from 45$^{\circ}C$ for the soluble enzyme. The values of Km and the inhibition constants for 6-APA( $K_{ia}$ ) and phenylacetic acid ( $K_{ip}$ ), were 4.55 mM, 36.5mM, and 10.5mM, respectively. No significant internal pore diffusion limitation was found since the value of effectiveness factor was 0.95. The operational half life in a column reactor at pH 8.0 was 6.8 days at 4$0^{\circ}C$ and 47 days at 3$0^{\circ}C$, whereas that of without entrappment was only 1 day and 4 days, respectively. The performance of a batch and a column reactor was also discussed with respect to the productivity. The results demonstrated that the entrappment of an adsorbed enzyme for the enhancement of the operational stability of the immobilized enzyme was useful especially when an extracellular enzyme was used.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.223-236
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• 1977

An integral computer code has been developed for a mechanical and thermal design and performance analysis of an oxide fuel rod in a pressurized water reactor. The code designated as FROD 1.0 takes into account the phenomena of radial power depression within the pellet, cracking, densification and swelling of the pellet, fission gas release, clad creep, pellet-clad contact, heat transfer to coolant and buildup of corrosion layers on the clad surface. The FROD 1.0 code yields two-dimensional temperature distributions, dimensional changes, stresses, and internal pressure of a fuel rod as a function of irradiation time within a reasonable computation time. The code may also be used for the analyses of oxide fuel rods in other thermal reactors. As an application of FROD 1.0 the behavior of fuel rod loaded in the first core of Go-ri Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 is predicted for the two power histories corresponding to steady state operation and Codition II of the ANS Classification. The results are compared with the design criteria described in the Final Safety Analysis Report and a discrepancy between these two values is discussed herein.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.124-129
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• 2014

The piping system accounts for a large portion of the machinery structure of a plant, and is considered as a very important mechanical structure for plant safety. Accordingly, it is used in most energy plants in the nuclear, gas, and heavy chemical industries. In particular, the piping system for a nuclear plant is generally complicated and uses the reactor and its cooling system. The piping equipment is exposed to diverse loads such as weight, temperature, pressure, and seismic load from pipes and fluids, and is used to transfer steam, oil, and gas. In ultrasound infrared thermography, which is an active thermography technology, a 15-100 kHz ultrasound wave is applied to the subject, and the resulting heat from the defective parts is measured using a thermography camera. Because this technique can inspect a large area simultaneously and detect defects such as cracks and delamination in real time, it is used to detect defects in the new and renewable energy, car, and aerospace industries, and recently, in piping defect detection. In this study, ultrasound infrared thermography is used to detect information for the diagnosis of nuclear equipment and structures. Test specimens are prepared with piping materials for nuclear plants, and the optimally designed ultrasound horn and ultrasound vibration system is used to determine damages on nuclear plant piping and detect defects. Additionally, the detected images are used to improve the reliability of the surface and internal defect detection for nuclear piping materials, and their field applicability and reliability is verified.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.432-437
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• 1999

Pyrolysis of polyethylene was carried out in the stainless steel reactor of internal volume of $10cm^3$. Pyrolysis reactions were performed at temperature $390{\sim}450^{\circ}C$ and the pyrolysis products were collected separately as reaction products and gas products. The molecular weight distributions(MWDs) of each product were determined by HPLC-GPC and GC analysis. Distribution balance equation for MWDs of random and specific products were proposed to account for initiation-termination and propagation-depropagation, such as hydrogen abstraction, chain cleavage, coupling of polymer and radical. A separate chain-end scission process produces low molecular weight noncondensable gases(C1 through C5) of average molecular weight 38. Activation energies of the random-chain scission and chain-end scission rate parameters, respectively, were determined to be 35, 17 kcal/mole.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.257-264
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• 2013

In Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU)-type nuclear power plants, the reactor is composed of 380 fuel channels and refueling is performed on one or two channels per day. At the time of refueling, the fluid force of the cooling water inside the channel is exploited. New fuel added upstream of the fuel channel is moved downstream by the fluid force of the cooling water, and the used fuel is pushed out. Through this process, refueling is completed. Among the 380 fuel channels, outer rows 1 and 2 (called the FARE channel) make the process of using only the internal fluid force impossible because of the low flow rate of the channel cooling water. Therefore, a Flow Assist Ram Extension (FARE) tool, a refueling aid, is used to refuel these channels in order to compensate for the insufficient fluid force. The FARE tool causes flow resistance, thus allowing the fuel to be moved down with the flow of cooling water. Although the existing FARE tool can perform refueling in Korean plants, the coolant flow rate is reduced to below 80% of the normal flow for some time during refueling. A Flow rate below 80% of the normal flow cause low flow rate alarm signal in the plant operation. A flow rate below 80% of the normal flow may cause difficulties in the plant operation because of the increase in the coolant temperature of the channel. A new and improved FARE tool is needed to address the limitations of the existing FARE tool. In this study, we identified the cause of the low flow phenomena of the existing FARE tool. A new and improved FARE tool has been designed and manufactured. The improved FARE tool has been tested many times using laboratory test apparatus and was redesigned until satisfactory results were obtained. In order to confirm the performance of the improved FARE tool in a real plant, the final design FARE tool was tested at Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2. The test was carried out successfully and the low flow rate alarm signal was eliminated during refueling. Several additional improved FARE tools have been manufactured. These improved FARE tools are currently being used for Korean CANDU plant refueling.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.512-521
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• 2017

This paper reports development process of a university-based sounding rocket using simplified hybrid rocket propulsion system for low-altitude flight application. A hybrid propulsion system was tried to be designed with as few components as possible for more economical, simpler and safer propulsion system, which is essential for the small scale sounding rocket operation as a CanSat carrier. Using blow-down feeding system and catalytic ignition as combustion starter, 250 N class hybrid rocket system was composed of three components: a composite tank, valves, and a thruster. With a composite tank filled with both hydrogen peroxide($H_2O_2$) as an oxidizer and nitrogen gas($N_2$) as a pressurant, the feeding pressure was operated in blowdown mode during thruster operation. The $MnO_2/Al_2O_3$ catalyst was fabricated for propellant decomposition, and ground test of propulsion system showed the almost theoretical temperature of decomposed $H_2O_2$ at the catalyst reactor, indicating sufficient catalyst efficiency for propellant decomposition. Auto-ignition of the high density polyethylene(HDPE) fuel grain successfully occurred by the decomposed $H_2O_2$ product without additional installation of any ignition devices. Performance test result was well matched with numerical internal ballistics conducted prior to the experimental propulsion system ground test. A sounding rocket using the developed hybrid rocket was designed, fabricated, flight simulated and launch tested. Six degree-of-freedom trajectory estimation code was developed and the comparison result between expected and experimental trajectory validated the accuracy of the developed trajectory estimation code. The fabricated sounding rocket was successfully launched showing the effectiveness of the simplified hybrid rocket propulsion system.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.323-327
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• 2020

The reaction characteristics of Ni/CeO_2-X which is highly efficient at a low temperature was investigated for an application to carbon dioxide methanation process. The CeO_2-X support was obtained by the heat treatment of Ce(NO₃)₃ at 400 ℃ and the catalyst was prepared by impregnation process. The operating parameters of the experiment were the internal pressure of the reactor, the composition of oxygen, methane, and hydrogen sulfide in the inlet gas and the reaction temperature. When Ni/CeO_2-X was used for the carbon dioxide methanation reaction, the CO₂ conversion rate increased by more than 25% as the pressure increased from 1 to 3 bar. The increase was large at a low reaction temperature. When both oxygen and methane were in the inlet gas, the CO₂ conversion rate of the catalyst decreased by up to 16 and 4%, respectively. As the concentration of oxygen and methane increased, the reduction rate of the CO₂ conversion rate tended to increase. In addition, the hydrogen sulfide in the inlet gas reduced the CO₂ conversion rate by up to 7% and caused catalyst deactivation. The results of this study will be useful as basic data for the carbon dioxide methanation process.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.165-170
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• 2013

An external gelation method in place of an internal gelation method applied to the fabrication process of an intermediated compound of Uranium Oxy-Carbide (UCO) kernel spheres for Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) fuel preparation is under development in Korea. For the preliminary experiments of the UCO kernel sphere preparation using an external gelation method, the carbon black dispersion experiments were carried out using a simulated broth solution. From the selection experiments of various kinds of carbon black through dispersion experiments in a viscous metal salt solution, Cabot G carbon black was selected owing to its dispersion stability, and the homogeneous dispersing state of carbon black particles in our system. For the effective dispersion of nano-size aggregated carbon black particles in a high viscous liquid, the carbon black particles in a metal salt solution were first de-aggregated with ultrasonic force. The mixed solution was then dispersed secondly by the use of the extremely high-speed agitation with a mechanical mixer of 6000 rpm after feeding the Poly Vinyl Alcohol (PVA) in the solution. This results in the broth solution with good stability and homogeneity alongside no further changes in physical properties.