• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.1386-1390
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• 2007

This paper presents the equipment condition monitoring technology for the process or the equipment using statistical techniques. The equipment condition monitoring system consists of an empirical model to estimate the expected sensor values of process variables and a diagnose model to detect the abnormal condition and to identify the root source of the problem. The empirical model is constructed by the analysis of historic data. The diagnose model uses the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) technique. The monitoring system was tested with real operating data acquired from the Reactor Coolant Pump Seal in the Nuclear Power Plant. It can detect the system degradation or failure at the early stage since it is able to catch the subtle deviation of process variables from normal condition.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2003

In the nuclear power plant, emergency core coolant system (ECCS) is furnished at reactor coolant system (RCS) in order to cool down high temperature water in case of emergency. However, in this coolant system, thermal stratification phenomenon can occur due to coolant leaking in the check valve. The thermal stratification produces excessive thermal stresses at the pipe wall so as to yield thermal fatigue crack (TFC) accident. In the present study, effects of turbulence penetration on the thermal stratification into T-branches with square cross-section in the modeled ECCS are analysed numerically. $textsc{k}$-$\varepsilon$ model is employed to calculate the Reynolds stresses in momentum equations. Results show that the length and strength of thermal stratification are primarily affected by the leak flow rate of coolant and the Reynolds number of the main flow in the duct. Turbulence penetration into the T-branch of ECCS shows two counteracting effects on the thermal stratification. Heat transport by turbulence penetration from the main duct to leaking flow region may enhance thermal stratification while the turbulent diffusion may weaken it.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.157.1-157
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• 1999

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.1109-1116
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• 2019

It is essential to predict the radioactivity distribution around the reactor cooling system (RCS) during obligatory cyclic operation of AP-1000. A home-developed program CPA-AP1000 is upgraded to predict the response of activated corrosion products (ACPs) in the RCS. The program is written in MATLAB and it uses state of the art MCNP as a subroutine for flux calculations. A pair of cyclic power profiles were superimposed after initial full power operation. The effect of cyclic operation is noticed to be more prominent for in-core surfaces, followed by the primary coolant and out-of-core structures. The results have shown that specific activity trends of $^{56}Mn$ and $^{24}Na$ promptly follow the power variations, whereas, $^{59}Fe$, $^{58}Co$, $^{99}Mo$ and $^{60}Co$ exhibit a sluggish power-following response. The investigations pointed out that promptly power-following response of ACPs in the coolant is vital as an instant radioactivity source during leakage incidents. However, the ACPs with delayed power-following response in the out-of-core components are perceived to cause a long-term activity. The present results are found in good agreement with those for a reference PWR. The results are useful for source term monitoring and optimization of work procedures for an innovative reactor design.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
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• 1993.11a
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• pp.103-108
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• 1993

In nuclear power plants using pressurized water as the main coolant, it is necessary to maintain system pressure within operational range. During transients, the coolant shrinks and expands causing insurge and outsurge of coolant in the pressurizer. In CANDU system, the pressure is controlled mainly by the pressurizer/degasser-condenser system. In CANDU system, the control of heat transport system pressure is achieved by giving heat to the pressurizer by activating the heaters to compensate a diminution in pressure or by removing heat from the pressurizer by bleeding steam to the degasser-condenser to compensate an increase in pressure. This study aims at developing a theoretical model capable to simulate various operational transients in the CANDU primary heat transport system (PHTS), applicable to CANDU engineering simulator on real time basis.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.3086-3091
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• 2007

When a molten corium is relocated in a lower head of a reactor vessel, the ERVC (External Reactor Vessel Cooling) system is actuated as coolant is supplied into a reactor cavity to remove a decay heat from the molten corium during a severe accident. To achieve this severe accident mitigation strategy, the two-phase natural circulation flow in the annular gap between the external reactor vessel and the insulation should be formed sufficiently by designing the coolant inlet/outlet area and gap size adequately on the insulation device. For this reason, one-dimensional natural circulation flow tests were conducted to estimate the natural circulation flow under the ERVC condition of APR1400. The experimental facility is one-dimensional and scaled-down as the half height and 1/238 rectangular channel area of the APR1400 reactor vessel. As the water inlet area increased, the natural circulation mass flow rate asymptotically increased, that is, it converged at a specific value. And the circulation mass flow rate also increased as the outlet area, injected air flow rate, and outlet height increased. But the circulation mass flow rate was not changed along with the external water level variation if the water level was higher than the outlet height.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.4003-4013
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• 2021

During the long-term cooling (LTC) phase of a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) in a pressurized water reactor (PWR), water is supplied from the containment sump to the reactor coolant system (RCS) by the flooded sump water to the Reactor Vessel (RV) through the broken pipes. As part of the technical efforts for resolving GSI-191 [( Reid and Crytzer, May. 2007) 1, consideration is needed for the consequences of debris penetrating the sump screen and propagating downstream into the RV. Injection of debris (fiberglass) into the RV during the LTC recirculation phase needs special attention to assure that reactor core cooling is maintained. The point of concern is the potential for debris to adversely affect the reactor core flow paths or heat transfer [2]. However, all the experiments for proving the coolability of RV have been done with the assumption of the most of debris would be transferred to the RV and the bottom nozzle of the FAs. The purpose of the tests is to quantify the amount of the debris that would be accumulated at the lower plenum and the debris that passes through the FAs since non-conservatism of other researches assumptions that have been used in the past experimental or analytical programs.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.154-159
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• 2018

Background: To prevent small leakage accidents, a real-time and direct detection system for small leaks with a detection limit below that of existing systems, e.g. $0.5gpm{\cdot}hr^{-1}$, is required. In this study, a small-size beta detector, which can be installed inside the reactor containment (CT) building and detect small leaks directly, was suggested and its feasibility was evaluated using MCNPX simulation. Materials and Methods: A target nuclide was selected through analysis of radiation from radionuclides in the reactor coolant system (RCS) and the spectrum was obtained via a silicon detector simulated in MCNPX. A window was designed to reduce the background signal caused by other nuclides. The sensitivity of the detector was also estimated, and its shielding designed for installation inside the reactor CT. Results and Discussion: The beta and gamma spectrum of the silicon detector showed a negligible gamma signal but it also contained an undesired peak at 0.22 MeV due to other nuclides, not the $^{16}N$ target nuclide. Window to remove the peak was derived as 0.4 mm for beryllium. The sensitivity of silicon beta detector with a beryllium window of 1.7 mm thickness was derived as $5.172{\times}10^{-6}{\mu}Ci{\cdot}cc^{-1}$. In addition, the specification of the shielding was evaluated through simulations, and the results showed that the integrity of the silicon detector can be maintained with lead shielding of 3 cm (<15 kg). This is a very small amount compared to the specifications of the lead shielding (600 kg) required for installation of $^{16}N$ gamma detector in inside reactor CT, it was determined that beta detector would have a distinct advantage in terms of miniaturization. Conclusion: The feasibility of the beta detector was evaluated for installation inside the reactor CT to detect small leaks below $0.5gpm{\cdot}hr^{-1}$. In future, the design will be optimized on specific data.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2014.10a
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• pp.181-184
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• 2014

Loose Parts Monitoring System(LPMS) monitors loosened or detached parts and foreign parts inside the pressure boundary of a reactor coolant system (RCS). It is difficult to discriminate valid signal from LPMS alarms at full power since the signal pattern by thermal shocks and structure friction are similar to those by loose metal impacts. In addition, It is more difficult to discriminate the impact signals induced by the rod driving, sensor hard-line movement and loosened component since they have similar frequency characteristics with valid signals. This paper classifies the signal patterns by analyzing actual LPMS signal captured during nuclear power plant operation.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.234-240
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• 2007

As a reactor coolant pump (RCP) is operated in the nuclear power system for a long time, so its surface is continuously contaminated by radioactive scales. In order to maintain for RCP internals, a special chemical decontamination process should be used to reduce the radiation from the RCP surface. In this study, applicable possibility in chemical decontamination for RCP was investigated for the various stainless steels. The stainless steel (STS) 304 showed the best electrochemical properties for corrosion resistance and the lowest weight loss ratio in chemical decontamination process model 3-1 than other materials. However, the pitting corrosion was generated in both STS 415 and STS 431 with the increasing numbers of cycle. The intergranular corrosion in STS 415 was sporadically observed. The sizes of their pitting corrosion were also increased with increasing cycle numbers.