• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4743-4750
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• 2022

Heat pipe cooled nuclear reactor has been a very attractive technical solution to provide the power for deep space applications. In this paper, a 200 kWe space nuclear reactor power design has been proposed based on the combination of an integrated UN ceramic fuel, a heat pipe cooling system and the Stirling power generators. Neutronics and thermal analysis have been performed on the space nuclear reactor. It was found that the entire reactor core has at least 3.9 $ subcritical even under the worst-case submersion accident superimposed a single safety drum failure, and results from fuel temperature coefficient, neutron spectrum and power distribution analysis also showed that this reactor design satisfies the neutronics requirements. Thermal analysis showed that the power in the core can be successfully removed both in normal operation or under one or more heat pipes failure scenarios.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2315-2324
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• 2023

Space nuclear reactors are becoming popular in deep space exploration owing to their advantages of high-power density and stability. Following the fourth-generation nuclear reactor technology, a conceptual design of the dual drum-controlled space molten salt reactor (D²-SMSR) is proposed. The reactor concept uses molten salt as fuel and heat pipes for cooling. A new reactivity control strategy that combines control drums and safety drums was adopted. Critical physical characteristics such as neutron energy spectrum, neutron flux distribution, power distribution and burnup depth were calculated. Flow and heat transfer characteristics such as natural convection, velocity and temperature distribution of the D²-SMSR under low gravity conditions were analyzed. The reactivity control effect of the dual-drums strategy was evaluated. Results showed that the D²-SMSR with a fast spectrum could operate for 10 years at the full power of 40 kWth. The D²-SMSR has a high heat transfer coefficient between molten salt and heat pipe, which means that the core has a good heat-exchange performance. The new reactivity control strategy can achieve shutdown with one safety drum or three control drums, ensuring high-security standards. The present study can provide a theoretical reference for the design of space nuclear reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.523-530
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• 2011

In a previous study, the stochastic space-dependent kinetics model (SSKM) based on the forward stochastic model in stochastic kinetics theory and the Ito stochastic differential equations was proposed for treating monoenergetic space-time nuclear reactor kinetics in one dimension. The SSKM was tested against analog Monte Carlo calculations, however, for exemplary cases of homogeneous slab reactors with only one delayed-neutron precursor group. In this paper, the SSKM is improved and evaluated with more realistic and complicated cases regarding several delayed-neutron precursor groups and heterogeneous slab reactors in which the extraneous source or reactivity can be introduced locally. Furthermore, the source level and the initial conditions will also be adjusted to investigate the trends in the variances of the neutron population and fission product levels across the reactor. The results indicate that the improved SSKM is in good agreement with the Monte Carlo method and show how the variances in population dynamics can be controlled.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.134-140
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• 2017

A well-performed core power control to track load changes is crucial in pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power stations. It is challenging to keep the core power stable at the desired value within acceptable error bands for the safety demands of the PWR due to the sensitivity of nuclear reactors. In this paper, a state-space model predictive control (MPC) method was applied to the control of the core power. The model for core power control was based on mathematical models of the reactor core, the MPC model, and quadratic programming (QP). The mathematical models of the reactor core were based on neutron dynamic models, thermal hydraulic models, and reactivity models. The MPC model was presented in state-space model form, and QP was introduced for optimization solution under system constraints. Simulations of the proposed state-space MPC control system in PWR were designed for control performance analysis, and the simulation results manifest the effectiveness and the good performance of the proposed control method for core power control.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.219-229
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• 1979

The current status of the computational methods and computer codes for the analysis of reactor kinetics is reviewed. Computational methods which have been developed for space-dependent transient analyses are presented and recent progress in the development of methods is discussed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.678-699
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• 2015

Although the harsh space environment imposes many severe challenges to space pioneers, space exploration is a realistic and profitable goal for long-term humanity survival. One of the viable and promising options to overcome the harsh environment of space is nuclear propulsion. Particularly, the Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) is a leading candidate for nearterm human missions to Mars and beyond due to its relatively high thrust and efficiency. Traditional NTR designs use typically high power reactors with fast or epithermal neutron spectrums to simplify core design and to maximize thrust. In parallel there are a series of new NTR designs with lower thrust and higher efficiency, designed to enhance mission versatility and safety through the use of redundant engines (when used in a clustered engine arrangement) for future commercialization. This paper proposes a new NTR design of the second design philosophy, Korea Advanced NUclear Thermal Engine Rocket (KANUTER), for future space applications. The KANUTER consists of an Extremely High Temperature Gas cooled Reactor (EHTGR) utilizing hydrogen propellant, a propulsion system, and an optional electricity generation system to provide propulsion as well as electricity generation. The innovatively small engine has the characteristics of high efficiency, being compact and lightweight, and bimodal capability. The notable characteristics result from the moderated EHTGR design, uniquely utilizing the integrated fuel element with an ultra heat-resistant carbide fuel, an efficient metal hydride moderator, protectively cooling channels and an individual pressure tube in an all-in-one package. The EHTGR can be bimodally operated in a propulsion mode of $100MW_{th}$ and an electricity generation mode of $100MW_{th}$, equipped with a dynamic energy conversion system. To investigate the design features of the new reactor and to estimate referential engine performance, a preliminary design study in terms of neutronics and thermohydraulics was carried out. The result indicates that the innovative design has great potential for high propellant efficiency and thrust-to-weight of engine ratio, compared with the existing NTR designs. However, the build-up of fission products in fuel has a significant impact on the bimodal operation of the moderated reactor such as xenon-induced dead time. This issue can be overcome by building in excess reactivity and control margin for the reactor design.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.364-372
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• 2023

The space reactor is the primary energy supply for future space vehicles and space stations. The radiator is one of the essential parts of a space reactor. Therefore, the research on radiators can improve the heat dissipation power, reduce the quality of radiators, and make the space reactor smaller. Based on MOOSE multi-physics numerical calculation platform, a simulation program for the combination of heat pipe and fin at the end of heat pipe radiator is developed. It is verified that the calculation result of this program is accurate and the calculation speed is fast. Analyze the heat transfer characteristics of the combination with heat pipe and fin, and obtain its internal temperature field. Based on the calculation results, the influence of structural parameters on the heat dissipation power is analyzed. The results show that when the fin width is 0.25 m, fin thickness is 0.002 m, condensing section length is 0.5425 m and heat pipe radius is 0.014 m, the power-mass ratio is the highest. When the temperature is 700K-900K, the heat dissipation power increases 41.12% for every 100K increase in the operating temperature. Smaller fin width and thinner fin thickness can improve the power-mass ratio and reduce the radiator quality.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.63-74
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• 2007

In this paper, a reconfigurable controller consisting of a normal controller and a standby controller is designed to control the thermoelectric (TE) power in the SP-100 space reactor. The normal controller uses a model predictive control (MPC) method where the future TE power is predicted by using support vector regression. A genetic algorithm that can effectively accomplish multiple objectives is used to optimize the normal controller. The performance of the normal controller depends on the capability of predicting the future TE power. Therefore, if the prediction performance is degraded, the proportional-integral (PI) controller of the standby controller begins to work instead of the normal controller. Performance deterioration is detected by a sequential probability ratio test (SPRT). A lumped parameter simulation model of the SP-100 nuclear space reactor is used to verify the proposed reconfigurable controller. The results of numerical simulations to assess the performance of the proposed controller show that the TE generator power level controlled by the proposed reconfigurable controller could track the target power level effectively, satisfying all control constraints. Furthermore, the normal controller is automatically switched to the standby controller when the performance of the normal controller degrades.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.792-799
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• 2023

Non-reactor nuclear facilities are increasing remarkably in Korea combined with advanced technologies such as life and space engineering, and the diversification of the nuclear industry. However, the absence of a basic classification guideline related to the design of non-reactor nuclear facilities has created confusion whenever related projects are carried out. In this paper, related domestic and international technical guidelines are reviewed to present the classification criteria of non-reactor nuclear facilities in Korea. Based on these criteria, the classification of structures, systems and components (SSCs) for safety controls is presented. Using the presented classification criteria, classification of a hot cell facility, a representative non-reactor nuclear facility, was performed. As a result of the classification, the hot cell facility is classified as the hazard category 3, accordingly, the safety class was classified as non-nuclear safety, the seismic category as non-seismic (RW-IIb), and the quality class as manufacturers' standards (S).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.3910-3917
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• 2021

Reactor fuel's power distribution plays a vital role in designing the new generation thermionic Space Reactor Power Systems (SRPS). In this paper, the 1/12th SPACE-R's full reactor core was numerically analyzed with two kinds of different axial power distribution, to identify their impacts on thermal-hydraulic and thermoelectric characteristics. In the benchmark study, the maximum error between numerical results and existing data or design values ranged from 0.2 to 2.2%. Four main conclusions were obtained in the numerical analysis: a) The axial power distribution has less impact on coolant temperature. b) Axial power distribution influenced the emitter temperature distribution a lot, when the core power was cosine distributed, the maximum temperature of the emitter was 194 K higher than that of the uniform power distribution. c) Comparing to the cosine axial power distribution, the uniform axial power distribution would make the maximum temperature in each component of the reactor core much lower, reducing the requirements for core fuel material. d) Voltage and current distribution were similar to the axial electrode temperature distribution, and the axial power distribution has little effect on the output power.