• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.7
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• pp.807-816
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• 2012

The Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) accident has been studied extensively, as part of both post-accident technical assessment and follow-up computer code calculations. The models used in computer codes for severe accidents have improved significantly over the years due to better understanding. It was decided to reanalyze the severe accident scenario using current state of the art codes and methodologies. This reanalysis was adopted as a part of the joint standard problem exercise for the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) - United States Regulatory Commission (USNRC) bilateral safety meet. The accident scenario was divided into four phases for analysis viz., Phase 1 covers from the accident initiation to the shutdown of the last Reactor Coolant Pumps (RCPs) (0 to 100 min), Phase 2 covers initial fuel heat up and core degradation (100 to 174 min), Phase 3 is the period of recovery of the core water level by operating the reactor coolant pump, and the core reheat that followed (174 to 200 min) and Phase 4 covers refilling of the core by high pressure injection (200 to 300 min). The base case analysis was carried out for all four phases. The majority of the predicted parameters are in good agreement with the observed data. However, some parameters have significant deviations compared to the observed data. These discrepancies have arisen from uncertainties in boundary conditions, such as makeup flow, flow during the RCP 2B transient (Phase 3), models used in the code, the adopted nodalisation schemes, etc. In view of this, uncertainty and sensitivity analyses are carried out using simulation based techniques. The paper deals with uncertainty and sensitivity analyses carried out for the first three phases of the accident scenario.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.1083-1095
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• 2016

The design of Prototype Gen-IV Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (PGSFR) has been developed and the validation and verification (V&V) activities to demonstrate the system performance and safety are in progress. In this paper, the current status of test activities is described briefly and significant results are discussed. The large-scale sodium thermal-hydraulic test program, Sodium Test Loop for Safety Simulation and Assessment-1 (STELLA-1), produced satisfactory results, which were used for the computer codes V&V, and the performance test results of the model pump in sodiumshowed good agreement with those in water. The second phase of the STELLA program with the integral effect tests facility, STELLA-2, is in the detailed design stage of the design process. The sodium thermal-hydraulic experiment loop for finned-tube sodium-to-air heat exchanger performance test, the intermediate heat exchanger test facility, and the test facility for the reactor flow distribution are underway. Flow characteristics test in subchannels of a wire-wrapped rod bundle has been carried out for safety analysis in the core and the dynamic characteristic test of upper internal structure has been performed for the seismic analysis model for the PGSFR. The performance tests for control rod assemblies (CRAs) have been conducted for control rod drive mechanism driving parts and drop tests of the CRA under scram condition were performed. Finally, three types of inspection sensors under development for the safe operation of the PGSFR were explained with significant results.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.24-32
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• 2018

System Complexity one of the most common cause failure of the projects, it leads to a lack of understanding about the functions of the system. Hence, the model is developed for communication and furthermore modeling help analysis, design, and understanding of the system. On the other hand, the text-based specification is useful and easy to develop but is difficult to visualize the physical composition, structure, and behaviour or data exchange of the system. Therefore, it is necessary to transform system description into a diagram which clearly depicts the behaviour of the system as well as the interaction between components. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Glossary, The safety system is a system important to safety, provided to ensure the safe shutdown of the reactor or the residual heat removal from the reactor core, or to limit the consequences of anticipated operational occurrences and design basis accidents. Core Protection Calculator System (CPCS) in Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR 1400) Nuclear Power Plant is a safety critical system. CPCS was developed using systems engineering method focusing on Departure from Nuclear Boiling Ratio (DNBR) calculation. Due to the complexity of the system, many diagrams are needed to minimize the risk of ambiguities and lack of understanding. Using Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) software for modeling the DNBR algorithm were used. These diagrams then serve as the baseline of the reverse engineering process and speeding up the development process. In addition, the use of MBSE ensures that any additional information obtained from auxiliary sources can then be input into the system model, ensuring data consistency.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.217-242
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• 2011

A variety of Generation III/III+ water-cooled reactor designs featuring enhanced safety and improved economics are being proposed by nuclear power industries around the world in efforts to solve the future energy supply shortfall. Thermal-hydraulics is recognized as a key scientific subject in the development of innovative reactor systems. Phase change by boiling and condensation in the reverse process is a highly efficient heat transport mechanism that accommodates large heat fluxes with relatively small driving temperature differences. This mode of heat transfer is encountered in a wide spectrum of nuclear systems,and thus it is necessary to determine the thermal limit of water-cooled nuclear energy conversion in terms of economic and safety. Such applications are being advanced with the introduction of new technologies such as nanotechnology. Here, we investigated newly-introduced nanotechnologies relevant to boiling and condensation in general engineering applications. We also evaluated the potential linkage between such new advancements and nuclear applications in terms of advanced nuclear thermal-hydraulics.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.1504-1513
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• 2019

Recently, ocean nuclear reactors have received attention due to enhanced safety features. The movable and transportable characteristics distinguish ocean nuclear reactors from land-based nuclear reactors. Therefore, for safety/design analysis of the ocean reactor, the thermos-hydraulics must be investigated in the moving system. However, there are no studies reporting the general two-fluid equations that can be used for multi-dimensional simulations of two-phase flows in moving systems. This study is to systematically formulate the multi-dimensional two-fluid equations in the non-inertial frame of reference. To demonstrate the applicability of the formulated equations, we perform a total of six different simulations in 2D tanks with translational and/or rotational motions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.1990-1997
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• 2020

To support the safe operation of the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR), a thermo-hydraulic transient model using the RELAP5/Mod3.2 code was simulated. The model was verified by comparing the results with the measured and the previously calculated data. The comparisons consisted of comparing the MNSR parameters under normal constant power operation and reactivity insertion transients. Reactivity Insertion Accident (RIA) for three different initial reactivity values of 3.6, 6.0, and 6.53 mk have been simulated. The calculated peaks of the reactor power, fuel, clad and coolant temperatures in hot channel were calculated in this model. The reactor power peaks were: 103 kW at 240 s, 174 kW at 160 s and 195 kW at 140 s, respectively. The fuel temperature reached its maximum value of 116 ℃ at 240 s, 124 ℃ at 160 s and 126 ℃ at 140 s respectively. These calculation results ensured the high inherently safety features of the MNSR under all phases of the RIAs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.157-164
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• 2015

Nuclear power plants have logical loop structures in their system configuration. This paper explains the method to solve a loop structure in reliability analysis. As examples of loop structured systems, the reactor core isolation cooling system and high-pressure core injection system of a boiling water reactor are considered and analyzed under a station blackout accident condition. The analysis results show the important role of loop structures under severe accidents. For the evaluation of the safety of nuclear power plants, it is necessary to accurately evaluate a loop structure's reliability.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.331-336
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• 2011

When the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident occurred in March, a hydrogen explosion in the reactor building at the 4th unit of Fukushima plants lead to a big surprise because the full core of the unit 4 reactor had been moved and stored underwater at the spent nuclear fuel storage pool for periodic maintenance. It was because the potential criticality in the fuel storage pool by coolant loss may yield more severe situation than the similar accident happened inside the reactor vessel. In the paper, the safety state of the spent fuel storage pool and rack structures of the domestic nuclear plants would be reviewed and compared with the Fukushima plant case by engineering viewpoint of potential severe accidents.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2000

Safety and integrity are required for reactor pressure vessels because they are operated in high temperature. There are single specimen method multiple specimen method and load ratio analysis method which used as evaluation of safety and integrity for reactor pressure vessels. In this study the fracture resistance curve(J-R curve) elastic-plastic fracture toughness($J_{IC}$) and material tearing modulus ($T_{mat}$) of SA 508 class 3 alloy steel used as reactor pressure vessel steel are measured and evaluated at room temperature 20$0^{\circ}C$ and 30$0^{\circ}C$ according to unloading compliance method and load ration analysis method. And then the comparison with experimental $J_{IC}$ and theoretical$J_{IC}$ by local fracture strain is managed.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.103-118
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• 1999

The structural integrity of the reactor pressure vessel under pressurized thermal shock (PTS) is evaluated in this study. For given material properties and transient histories such as temperature and pressure, the stress distribution is found and stress intensity factors are obtained for a wide range of crack sizes. The stress intensity factors are compared with the fracture toughness to check if cracking is expected to occur during the transient. A round robin problem of the PTS during a small break loss of coolant transient has been analyzed as a part of the international comparative assessment study, and the evaluation results are discussed. The maximum allowable nil-ductility transition temperatures are determined for various crack sizes.