• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.981-988
• /
• 2018

An experiment was performed for the OECD/NEA ROSA-2 Project with the large-scale test facility (LSTF), which simulated a steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) accident due to a double-ended guillotine break of one of steam generator (SG) U-tubes with operator recovery actions in a pressurized water reactor. The relief valve of broken SG opened three times after the start of intact SG secondary-side depressurization as the recovery action. Multi-dimensional phenomena specific to the SGTR accident appeared such as significant thermal stratification in a cold leg in broken loop especially during the operation of high-pressure injection (HPI) system. The RELAP5/MOD3.3 code overpredicted the broken SG secondary-side pressure after the start of the intact SG secondary-side depressurization, and failed to calculate the cold leg fluid temperature in broken loop. The combination of the number of the ruptured SG tubes and the HPI system operation difference was found to significantly affect the primary and SG secondary-side pressures through sensitivity analyses with the RELAP5 code.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.543-551
• /
• 2011

Steam generator tubes for nuclear power plants contain the local shape transitions on their inner or outer surface such as dent, bulge, over-expansion, eccentricity, deflection, and so on by the application of physical force during the tube manufacturing and steam generator assembling and by the sludge (that is, corrosion products) produced during the plant operation. The structural integrity of tubes will be degraded by generating the corrosive crack at that location. The profilometry using the traditional bobbin probes which are currently applied for measuring the profile change of tubes gives us basic information such as axial locations and average magnitudes of deformations. However, the three-dimensional quantitative evaluation on circumferential locations, distributional angle, and size of deformations will have to be conducted to understand the effects of residual stresses increased by local deformations on corrosive cracking of tubes. Steam generator tubes of Korean standard nuclear power plants expanded within their tube-sheets by the explosive expansion method and suffered from corrosive cracks in the early stage of power operation. Thus, local deformations of steam generator tubes at the top of tube-sheet were measured with an advanced rotating probe and a laser profiling system for the two cases where the tubes expanded by the explosive expansion method and hydraulic expansion. Also, the trends of eccentricity, deflection, and over-expansion of tubes were evaluated. The advanced eddy current profilometry was confirmed to provide accurate information of local deformations compared with laser profilometry.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2004.04a
• /
• pp.84-89
• /
• 2004

When the tube contacted to support, anti-vibration bar of the steam generator in nuclear power plant, the contact area is worn out by their relative displacement and contact force. Connors and Au-Yang found the relation between tube worn displacement and volume, or normal work rate at given gap size. The present analysis is obtained the relation between tube worn displacement and normal work rate at various gap size modifying Au-Yang's result. The results are compared with Connors and Yettisir and Pettigrew's results. The comparison shows that Yettisir and Pettigrew result is fairly good agreement with Connors and present results with gap clearance, 0.015in.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2003.04a
• /
• pp.610-616
• /
• 2003

Recently, the common concern of nuclear power industry in the development of technology mitigating and preventing the aging of steam generator tubes prevails, because the trends of steam generator flaws at Uljin unit #1,2 and KSNP(Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant) impose a burden on the operation of nuclear power plant. While the regulatory agency is demanding the establishment of the advanced general performance maintenance system, the steam generator management program adapting advanced technology is being developed which may comply with EPRI PWR SG Guidelines based on NEI 97-06 ‘ General Guidelines including all the maintenance aspects consist of the tube integrity assessment criteria, repair limit, allowable leakage level, water chemistry will be composed in order to obtain the approval of regulatory agency and be applied to Nuclear power plant early 2005. This presentation is to introduce maintenance state including SG tube degradation and main contents of advanced SG management program being developed, and futhermore update present and future plan, and estimate the alternation after the completion.

• Journal of Magnetics
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.97-100
• /
• 2009

A new eddy current testing probe was developed to separate the eddy current signal distortion caused by permeability variation clusters and ordinary defects created in steam generator tubes. Signal processing circuits were inserted into the probe to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and allow digital signal transmission. The new probe could measure and separate the magnetic phases created in the steam generator tubes in the operating environment of a nuclear power plant. Furthermore, the new eddy current testing probe can measure the defects in steam generator tubes as rapidly as a bobbin probe with enhanced testing speed and reliability of defect detection.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
• /
• 1994.11a
• /
• pp.135-140
• /
• 1994

An improved steam generator model has been developed for the DSNP simulation of normal operational transient behavior of CANDU nuclear power plant. For more realistic prediction of steam generator behavior during transient, tube bundle region is divided into two separate control volumes, subcooled region and saturated region, and the variation of thermal hydraulic properties in the control volume is accounted for more realistic estimates of outlet enthalpy of each control volume. Test results for typical CANDU operational transient case show reasonable transient behavior of steam generator with overall CANDU operation and improved operational characteristics of steam generator with power variation.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2000.04a
• /
• pp.25-30
• /
• 2000

Residual stresses induced in U-bending and tube-to-tubesheet joining processes of PWR's steam generator row-1 tube were measured by X-ray method and Hole-Drilling Method(HDM). The stresses resulting from the Internal pressure and the temperature gradient in the steam generator were also estimated theoretically. In U-bent lesions, the residual stresses at extrados were induced with compressive stress(-), and its maximum value reached -319 MPa in axial direction at ${\psi}=0^{\circ}$ in position. Maximum tensile residual stress of 170MPa was found to be at the flank side at Position of${\psi}=90^{\circ}$, i.e., at apex region. In tube-to-tubesheet fouling methods, the residual stresses induced by the explosive joint method were found to be lower than that by the mechanical roll method. The gradient of residual stress along the expanded tube was highest at the. transition region, and the residual stress in circumferential direction was found to be higher than the residual stress in axial direction. Hoop stress due to an internal pressure between primary and secondary side was analyzed to be 76 MPa and thermal stress was 45 MPa.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 1997.10a
• /
• pp.1367-1370
• /
• 1997

This paper presents a vision algorithm for finding the centers of steam generator tubes using the generalized symmetry transform, which is used for ECT(Eddy Current Test) of steam generator tubes in nuclear power plants. The geometrical properties of the image representing steam generator tubes shows that they have amost circular or somewhat elliptic appearances and each tube has strong symmetry about its center. So we apply the generalized symmetry transform to finding centers of steam geneator tubes. But applying the generalized symmetry transform itself without any modification gives difficulties in obtaining the exact centers of steam generator tubes. But applying the generalized symmetry transform itself without any modification gives difficulties in obtaining the exact centers of tubes due to the shadow effect generated by the local light installed inside steam generator. Therefore we make the generalized symmetry transform modified, which uses a modified phase weight function in getting the symmetry magnitude in order to overcome the misleading effect by the local light. The experimental results indicate that the proposed vision algorithm efficiently recongnizes centers of steam generator tubes.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.25-31
• /
• 2009

Steam Generator(SG) tube is an important component of Nuclear Power Plant(NPP), which comprises of the pressure boundary of primary system. The integrity of SG tube has been confirmed by the eddy current test every outage. In Korea, Bobbin probe and MRPC probe have been generally used for the eddy current test. Meanwhile the usage of Array probe has gradually increased in U.S., Japan and other countries. In this study, we investigated the defect detection capability of the Array probe through its preliminary application to SG tube inspection. The Array probe has the equivalent capability in the defect detection and sizing as the conventional methods. Thus it is desirable that the Array probe is generally applied to SG tube inspection in the domestic NPPs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.11
• /
• pp.3643-3652
• /
• 2021

Sizing the tube inlet orifice of a Once-Through Steam Generator (OTSG) is important to protect the integrity of the tubes from thermal cycling and vibration wear. In this study, a new sizing criterion is proposed for the tube inlet orifice to suppress the parallel channel instability in an OTSG. A perturbation method is used to capture the essential parts of the thermal-hydraulic phenomena of the parallel channel instability. The perturbation model of the heat transfer regime boundaries is identified as a missing part in existing models for sizing the OTSG tube inlet orifice. Limitations and deficiency of the existing models are identified and the reasons for the limitations are explained. The newly proposed model can be utilized to size the tube inlet orifice to suppress the parallel channel instability without excessive engineering margin.