• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.38-46
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• 2020

The accurate measurement of critical heat flux (CHF) in flow boiling is important for the safety requirement of the nuclear power plant to prevent sharp degradation of the convective heat transfer between the surface of the fuel rod cladding and the reactor coolant. In this paper, a System Engineering approach is used to develop a model that predicts the CHF using machine learning. The model is built using artificial neural network (ANN). The model is then trained, tested and validated using pre-existing database for different flow conditions. The Talos library is used to tune the model by optimizing the hyper parameters and selecting the best network architecture. Once developed, the ANN model can predict the CHF based solely on a set of input parameters (pressure, mass flux, quality and hydraulic diameter) without resorting to any physics-based model. It is intended to use the developed model to predict the DNBR under a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA) in APR1400. The System Engineering approach proved very helpful in facilitating the planning and management of the current work both efficiently and effectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2989-2998
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• 2022

Line contact structures, such as the contact between graphite brick and graphite tenon, widely exist in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. Due to the stress concentration effect, the line contact area is one of the dangerous positions prone to failure in the nuclear reactor core. In this paper, the failure mechanism of line contact structures composed of IG11 nuclear graphite column and brick were investigated by means of experiment and finite element simulation. It was found that the failure process mainly includes three stages: firstly, the damage accumulation in nuclear graphite material led to the characteristic yielding of the line contact structure, but no macroscopic failure can be observed at this stage; secondly, the stresses near the contact area met Mohr failure criterion, and a crack initiated and propagated laterally in the contact zone, that is, local macroscopic failure occurred at this stage; finally, a second crack initiated in the contact area and developed in to a Y-shape, resulting in the final failure of the structure. This study lays a foundation for the structural design and safety assessment of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3235-3241
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• 2022

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is planning the construction of the KIJANG Research Reactor (KJRR) for stable supply of ⁹⁹Mo. The Fission ⁹⁹Mo Production Process (FMPP) of KJRR produces solid waste such as spent uranium cake and alumina cake, and liquid waste in the form of intermediate level liquid waste (ILLW) and low level liquid waste (LLLW). This study thus established the operating range and optimum operating conditions for the cementation of ILLW from FMPP. It also evaluated whether cement waste form samples produced under optimum operational conditions satisfy the waste acceptance criteria (WAC) of a disposal facility in Korea (Korea radioactive waste agency, KORAD). Considering economic feasibility and safety, optimum operational conditions were achieved at a w/c ratio of 0.55, and the corresponding salt content was 5.71 wt%. The cement waste form samples prepared under optimum operational conditions were found to satisfy KORAD's WAC when tested for structural stability and leachability. The results indicate that the proposed cementation conditions for the disposal of ILLW from FMMP can be effectively applied to KJRR's disposal facility.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.484-497
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• 2021

This paper proposes an extended time uncertainty analysis approach in Level 2 human reliability analysis (HRA) considering severe accident management (SAM) strategies. The method is a time-based model that classifies two time distribution functions-time required and time available-to calculate human failure probabilities from delayed action when implementing SAM strategies. The time required function can be obtained by the combination of four time factors: 1) time for diagnosis and decision by the technical support center (TSC) for a given strategy, 2) time for strategy implementation mainly by the local emergency response organization (ERO), 3) time to verify the effectiveness of the strategy and 4) time for portable equipment transport and installation. This function can vary depending on the given scenario and includes a summation of lognormal distributions and a choice regarding shifting the distribution. The time available function can be obtained via thermal-hydraulic code simulation (MAAP 5.03). The proposed approach was applied to assess SAM strategies that use portable equipment and safety depressurization system valves in a total loss of component cooling water event that could cause reactor vessel failure. The results from the proposed method are more realistic (i.e., not conservative) than other existing methods in evaluating SAM strategies involving the use of portable equipment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.1429-1435
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• 2021

The temperature distribution of an electromagnetic pump was analyzed with a flow rate of 1380 L/min and a pressure of 4 bar designed for the sodium thermo-hydraulic test in the Sodium Test Loop for Safety Simulation and Assessment-Phase 1 (STELLA-1). The electromagnetic pump was used for the circulation of the liquid sodium coolant in the Intermediate Heat Transport System (IHTS) of the Prototype Gen-IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (PGSFR) with an electric power of 150 MWe. The temperature distribution of the components of the electromagnetic pump was numerically analyzed to prevent functional degradation in the high temperature environment during pump operation. The heat transfer was numerically calculated using ANSYS Fluent for prediction of the temperature distribution in the excited coils, the electromagnet core, and the liquid sodium flow channel of the electromagnetic pump. The temperature distribution of operating electromagnetic pump was compared with cooling of natural and forced air circulation. The temperature in the coil, the core and the flow gap in the two conditions, natural circulation and forced circulation, were compared. The electromagnetic pump with cooling of forced circulation had better efficiency than natural circulation even considering consumption of the input power for the air blower. Accordingly, this study judged that forced cooling is good for both maintenance and efficiency of the electromagnetic pump.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.365-369
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• 2022

Operating and decommissioning nuclear power plants generates radioactive waste. This radioactive waste can be categorized into several different levels, for example, low, intermediate, and high, according to the regulations. Currently, low and intermediate-level waste are stored in conventional 200-liter drums to be disposed. However, in Korea, the disposal of intermediate-level radioactive waste is virtually impossible as there are no available facilities. Furthermore, large-sized intermediate-level radioactive waste, such as reactor internals from decommissioning, need to be segmented into smaller sizes so they can be adequately stored in the conventional drums. This segmentation process requires additional costs and also produces secondary waste. Therefore, this paper suggests repurposing the no-longer-used spent nuclear fuel casks. The casks are larger in size than the conventional drums, thus requiring less segmentation of waste. Furthermore, the safety requirements of the spent nuclear fuel casks are severer than those of the drums. Hence, repurposed spent nuclear fuel casks could better address potential risks such as dropping, submerging, or a fire. In addition, the spent nuclear fuel casks need to be disposed in compliance with the regulations for low level radioactive waste. This cost may be avoided by repurposing the casks.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.193-204
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• 2023

To ensure radiological safety margin in the transport and storage of spent nuclear fuel, it is crucial to perform source term and shielding analyses in advance from the perspective of conservation. When performing source term analysis on UO₂ fuel, which is mostly used in commercial nuclear power plants, uranium and oxygen are basically considered to be the initial materials of the new fuel. However, the presence of impurities in the fuel and structural materials of the fuel assembly may influence the source term and shielding analyses. The impurities could be radioactive materials or the stable materials that are activated by irradiation during reactor power operation. As measuring the impurity concentration levels in the fuel and structural materials can be challenging, publicly available information on impurity concentration levels is used as a reference in this evaluation. To assess the effect of impurities, the results of the source term and shielding analyses were compared depending on whether the assumed impurity concentration is considered. For the shielding analysis, generic cask design data developed by KEPCO-E&C was utilized.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2757-2772
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• 2023

The fluid retention effect of the Volume Control Tank (VCT) leads to a long time delay in Reactor Coolant System (RCS) concentration during the boration process. A coupled model combining a lumped-parameter sub-model and a computational fluid dynamics sub-model is currently used to investigate the concentration dynamic characteristic of RCS during the boration process. This model is validated by comparison with experimental data, and the predicted results show excellent agreement with experimental data. We provide detailed fields in VCT and concentration variations of RCS to study the interaction between mixing in VCT and the transient responses of RCS. Moreover, the impacts of the inlet flow rate, inlet nozzle diameter, original concentration, and replenishing temperature of VCT on the RCS concentration characteristic are studied. The inlet flow rate and nozzle diameter of VCT remarkably affect the RCS concentration characteristic. Too-large or too-small inlet flow rates and nozzle diameters will lead to unacceptable long delays. In this work, the optimal inlet flow rate and nozzle diameter of VCT are 5 m³/h and 58.8 mm, respectively. Besides, the impacts of the original concentration and replenishing temperature of VCT are negligible under normal operating conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05b
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• pp.429-434
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• 1996

K-REM［1］, which is under development as a realistic evaluation model of large break LOCA, is applied to the analysis of cold leg guillotine break of Ulchin 3&4. Fuel parameters on which statistical analysis of their effects on the peak cladding temperature (PCT) are made and system parameters on which the concept of limiting value approach (LVA) are applied, are determined from the single parameter sensitivity study. 3 parameters of fuel gap conductance, fuel thermal conductivity and power peaking factor are selected as fuel related ones and 4 parameters of axial power shape, reactor power, decay heat and the gas pressure of safety injection tank (SIT) are selected as plant system related ones. Response surface of PCT is generated from the plant calculation results and on which Monte Carlo sampling is made to get plant application uncertainty which is statistically combined with code uncertainty to produce the 95th percentile PCT. From the break spectrum analysis, blowdown PCT of 1350.23 K and reflood PCT of 1195.56 K are obtained for break discharge coefficients of 0.8 and 0.5, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.902-907
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• 2023

To understand the eutectic reaction mechanism and the relocation behavior of the core debris is indispensable for the safety assessment of core disruptive accidents (CDAs) in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). This paper addresses reaction products and their distribution of the eutectic melting/solidifying reaction of boron carbide (B₄C) and stainless-steel (SS). The influence of the existence of carbon on the B₄C-SS eutectic reaction was investigated by comparing the iron boride (FeB)-SS reaction by Raman spectroscopy with Multivariate Curve Resolution (MCR) analysis. The scanning electron microscopy with dispersive X-ray spectrometer was also used to investigate the elemental information of the pure metals such as Cr, Ni, and Fe. In the B₄C-SS samples, a new layer was formed between B₄C/SS interface, and the layer was confirmed that the formed layer corresponded to amorphous carbon (graphite) or FeB or Fe₂B. In contrast, a new layer was not clearly formed between FeB and SS interface in the FeB-SS samples. All samples observed the Cr-rich domain and Fe and Ni-rich domain after the reaction. These domains might be formed during the solidifying process.