• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1307-1313
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• 2019

Recent analysis results with realistic assumptions provide the variability of operator allowable time for the initiation of aggressive cooldown under small break loss of coolant accident or steam generator tube rupture with total failure of high pressure safety injection. We investigated how plant risk may vary depending on the variability of operators' failure probability of timely initiation of aggressive cooldown. Using a probabilistic safety assessment model of a nuclear power plant, we showed that plant risks had a linear relation with the failure probability of aggressive cooldown and could be reduced by up to 10% as aggressive cooldown is more reliably performed. For individual accident management, we found that core damage potential could be gradually reduced by up to 40.49% and 63.84% after a small break loss of coolant accident or a steam generator tube rupture, respectively. Based on the importance of timely initiation of aggressive cooldown by main control room operators within the success criteria, implications for improvement of emergency operating procedures are discussed. We recommend conducting further detailed analyses of aggressive cooldown, commensurate with its importance in reducing risks in nuclear power plants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.676-682
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• 2019

After the Fukushima Daiichi accident, there has been an increasing preference for passive safety features in the nuclear power industry. Some passive safety systems require limited active components to trigger subsequent passive operation. Under very serious accident conditions, passive safety features could be rendered inoperable or damaged. This study evaluates (i) the performance and effectiveness of the passive safety features of iPOWER (innovative Power Reactor), and (ii) whether a severe accident condition could be reached if the passive safety systems are damaged, namely the case of heat exchanger tube rupture. Analysis results show that the reactor coolant system remains in the hot shutdown condition without operator actions or electricity for over 72 h when the passive auxiliary feedwater systems (PAFSs) are operable without damage. However, heat exchanger tube rupture in the PAFS leads to core damage after about 18 h. Such results demonstrate that, to enhance the safety of iPOWER, maintaining the integrity of the PAFS is critical, and therefore additional protections for PAFS are necessary. To improve the reliability of iPOWER, additional battery sets are necessary for the passive safety systems using limited active components for accident mitigation under such extreme circumstances.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.812-824
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• 2021

In order to reduce risks from the Steam Generator Tube Rupture (SGTR) accident and to meet safety targets, various measures have been analyzed to minimize the amount of fission product (FP) release. In this paper, we propose an introduction of a Containment Filtered Venting System (CFVS) connected to the steam generator secondary side, which can reduce the amount of FP release while minimizing adverse effects identified in the previous studies. In order to compare the effect of new equipment with the existing strategy, accident simulations using MELCOR were performed. As a result of simulations, it is confirmed that CFVS operation lowers FP release into the environment, and the release fractions are lower (minimum 0.6% of the initial inventory for Cs) than that of the strategy which intends to depressurize the primary system directly (minimum 15.2% for Cs). The sensitivity analyses identify that refill of the CFVS vessel is a dominant contributor reducing the amount of FP released. As the new strategy has the possibility of hydrogen combustion and detonation in CFVS, the installation of an igniter inside the CFVS vessel may be considered in reducing such hydrogen risk.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.63-68
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• 2009

Microminiature heat exchanger has been applied to the gas turbine in order to increase energy efficiency. During the production of microminiature heat exchanger, however, it is very difficult to weld tube to tubesheet. In this study, therefore, welding process of resistance ring projection was used, and weld tensile tests were performed. Sound weld joint was obtained as a result of applying resistance ring projection welding to microminiature heat exchanger to tubesheet. Cold weld occurred at under 1600A. Even though tensile strength was increased with increasing current, splash occurred and tensile strength decreased at 2000A due to the excessive current. Therefore it was determine that the optimal current is 1900A. As result of tensile tests based on ASME code for tube to tubesheet weldment, rupture position was weldment due to Fs(Fractured section) of nugget, which was smaller than tube thickness (t), and it was proven as a partial strength welding because of the average joint efficiency fr = 0.90.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.157-169
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• 2016

The structural integrity of tube bundles represents a major concern when dealing with high risk industries, such as nuclear steam generators, where the rupture of a tube or tubes will lead to the undesired mixing of the primary and secondary fluids. Flow-induced vibration is one of the major concerns that could compromise the structural integrity. The vibration is caused by fluid flow excitation. While there are several excitation mechanisms that could contribute to these vibrations, fluidelastic instability is generally regarded as the most severe. When this mechanism prevails, it could cause serious damage to tube arrays in a very short period of time. The tubes are therefore stiffened by means of supports to avoid these vibrations. To accommodate the thermal expansion of the tube, as well as to facilitate the installation of these tube bundles, clearances are allowed between the tubes and their supports. Progressive tube wear and chemical cleaning gradually increases the clearances between the tubes and their supports, which can lead to more frequent and severe tube/support impact and rubbing. These increased impacts can lead to tube damage due to fatigue and/or wear at the support locations. This paper presents simulations of a loosely supported multi-span U-bend tube subjected to turbulence and fluidelastic instability forces. The mathematical model for the loosely-supported tubes and the fluidelastic instability model is presented. The model is then utilized to simulate the nonlinear response of a U-bend tube with flat bar supports subjected to cross-flow. The effect of the support clearance as well as the support offset are investigated. Special attention is given to the tube/support interaction parameters that affect wear, such as impact and normal work rate.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.350-355
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• 2012

Past few years have seen the growing importance of micro shock tubes in various engineering applications. A pharma ballistic technique is one such application which uses micro shock tube to accelerate drug particles and penetrate into skin, thus avoiding the usual injection drug delivery system. But for the efficient design of such instruments requires the detailed knowledge of shock characteristics and flow field inside a micro shock tube. Due to many factors such as boundary layer, low Reynolds number and high Knudsen number shock propagation inside micro shock tubes will be quite different from that of the well established macro shock tubes. In the present study, experimental studies were carried out on a micro shock tube of 3 mm diameter to investigate flow characteristics and shock propagation. Pressure values were measured at different locations inside the driven section. From the experimental values other parameters like shock velocity, shock strength were found and shock wave diagram was constructed.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.353-358
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• 2004

Tracing the study of the burst test of steam generator tube, few studies have been reported to effect of external pressure acting on secondary-side in service condition. In this study the burst tests of Inconel 690TT were conducted in order to evaluate burst strength characteristics under the effect of external pressure. We obtained the result that the burst strength of Inconel 690TT increased when external pressure increased while both total circumferential elongation and uniform burst elongation were not affected. Also, according to the increased of external pressure, the size of the burst opening became smaller and the tear was getting severe.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.2953-2959
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• 2021

A new practical modeling of the Norton's power law creep is proposed and implemented to analyze the high temperature behaviors of Alloy 690 SG tube material. In the model, both the stress exponent n and the rate constant B are simply treated as the temperature dependent parameters. Based on the two-step optimization procedure, the temperature function of the rate constant B(T) was determined for the data set of each B value after fixing the stress exponent n value by using the prior optimized function at each temperature. This procedure could significantly reduce the numerical errors when using the power law creep equations. Based on the better description of the steady-state creep rates, the experimental rupture times could also be well predicted by using the Monkman-Grant relationship. Furthermore, the difference in tensile strengths at high temperatures could be very well estimated by assuming the imaginary creep stress related to the given strain rate after correcting the temperature effects on the elastic modulus.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.54-59
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• 2013

Micro shock tubes are now-a-days used for a variety engineering applications such as in the field of aerospace, combustion technology and drug delivery systems. But the flow characteristics of micro shock tube will be different from that of well established conventional macro shock tube under the influence of very low Reynolds number and high Knudsen number formed due to smaller diameter. In present study, experimental studies were carried out to a closed end (downstream) Micro Shock Tube with two different diameters were investigated to understand the flow characteristics. Pressure values were measured at different locations inside the driver and driven section. The results obtained show that with the increase in diameter the shock propagation velocity increases as well as the effect of reflected shock wave will be more significant under the same diaphragm rupture pressure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.74-80
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• 2012

Past few years have seen the growing importance of micro shock tubes in various engineering applications like micro combution, micro propulsion, particle delivery systems. But in order to efficiently apply Micro Shock Tube to such areas require the detailed knowledge of shock characteristics and flow field inside a micro shock tube. Due to many factors such as boundary layer, low Reynolds number and high Knudsen number shock propagation inside micro shock tubes will be quite different from that of the well established macro shock tubes. In the present study, experimental studies were carried out on micro shock tubes of two diameters to investigate flow characteristics and shock propagation. Pressure values were measured at different locations inside the driven section. From the experimental values other parameters like shock velocity, shock strength were found and shock wave diagram was constructed.