• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.172-177
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• 2022

In general, detection robots using ultrasonic sensors are equipped with sensors to protrude outward or to contact objects. However, in the case of a screw-propelled robot that detects the inside of a reactor tendon duct, if the ultrasonic sensor protrudes to the outside, resistance due to grease is generated, and thus the propulsion efficiency is reduced. In order to increase the propulsion efficiency, the screw must be sharp, and the sharper the screw, the more difficult it is to apply a high-performance ultrasonic sensor, and the detection efficiency decreases. This paper proposes a screw shape-changing mechanism that can improve both propulsion efficiency and detection efficiency. This mechanism includes an overlapped helical ring (OHR) structure and a magnetic clutch system (MCS), and thus the shape of a screw may be changed to a compact size. As a result, the Screw-propelled robot with this mechanism can reduce the overall length by about 150 mm and change the shape of the screw faster and more accurately than a robot with a linear actuator.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.254-259
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• 2014

A pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) core has 380 fuel channels contained and supported by a horizontal cylindrical vessel known as the calandria, whereas a pressurized water reactor (PWR) has only a single reactor vessel. The pressure tube, which is a pressure-retaining component, has a 103.4 mm inside diameter ${\times}$ 4.19 mm wall thickness, and is 6.36 m long, made of a zirconium alloy (Zr-2.5 wt% Nb). This provides support for the fuel while transporting the $D_2O$ heat-transfer fluid. The simple tubular geometry invites highly automated inspection, and good approach for all inspection. Similar to all nuclear heat-transfer pressure boundaries, the PHWR pressure tube requires a rigorous, periodic inspection to assess the reactor integrity in accordance with the Korea Nuclear Safety Committee law. Volumetric-based nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques utilizing ultrasonic and eddy current testing have been adopted for use in the periodic inspection of the fuel channel. The eddy current testing, as a supplemental NDE method to ultrasonic testing, is used to confirm the flaws primarily detected through ultrasonic testing, however, eddy current testing offers a significant advantage in that its ability to detect surface flaws is superior to that of ultrasonic testing. In this paper, effectiveness of flaw detection and the depth sizing capability by eddy current testing for the inside surface of a pressure tube, will be introduced. As a result of this examination, the ET technique is found to be useful only as a detection technique for defects because it can detect fine defects on the surface with high resolution. However, the ET technique is not recommended for use as a depth sizing method because it has a large degree of error for depth sizing.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.25-40
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• 2016

The Systems Engineering (SE) approach is characterized by the application of a structured engineering methodology for the design of a complex system or component. In this study, the SE methodology is used to design a nondestructive inspection system for Bottom Mounted Instrumentation (BMI) nozzles. We developed a system that enables nondestructive inspection of BMI nozzles during regular refueling outage without removing the reactor internals. A special ultrasonic (UT) probe is introduced to scan and detect cracks within the weld region of the nozzle. A 3D model of the inspection structure system was developed along with the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and internals which permits a virtual 3D simulation of the operation to check the design concept and effectiveness of the system and to provide a good visualization of the system. This approach allows for a virtual walk through to verify the proposed BMI nozzle inspection system.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.54-62
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• 1999

2,4-Dichlorophenol was known pollutants caused by the endocrine disruptor into the refractory substances of environment and this is difficult to be degradable by conventional methods. Therefore, a considerable interest has been devoted to developing new process where 2,4-Dichlorophenol can easily decomposed. In this study, the series of ultrasonic irradiation for removal of 2,4-Dichlorophenol has been selected as a model reaction in the batch reactor system in order to obtain the basic data investigate the influence of various experimental parameters such as concentration, pH, reaction temperature, acoustic intensity. The products obtained form the ultrasonic irradiation were analysed by GC/MS and HPLC. The formation of $H_2O_2$, a well-known the strong oxidant was found proportionally to increase with irradiation time. The intermediates of ultrasonic irradiation of 2,4-Dichlorophenol were identified as HCl, catechol, hydroquinone, o,p-benzoquinone, muconic acid, and maleic acid. The final products of this was $CO_2$ and $H_2O$. As the decomposition of 2,4-Dichlorophenol proceeds by the ultrasonic irradiation, the pH of 2,4-Dichlorophenol containing aqueous solution increases slowly, The decomposition of 2,4-Dichlorophenol was found to be occured fast in the basic medium. In general, the rate of reaction is proportional to the reaction temperature obeying the Arrhenius' law. However, in the ultrasonic irradiation, this suggests as the reaction temperature increase the decomposition rate of the reactant decreases. This result meant that the increase of reaction temperature due to the increase of vapor pressure of water accelerated the decrease of acoustic intensity which was can be proportional to the decomposition rae of these compounds. It was found that more than 80% of phenol solution was removed within hours in all reaction conditions. The reaction order in the degradation of the 2,4-Dichlorophenol compounds was verified as the Pseude-first order. From the fore-mentioned results, it can be concluded that the refractory organic compounds caused by endocrine disruptor as 2,4-dichlorophenol could be removed by the ultrasonic irradiation with radicals, such as $H{\;}{\cdot}{\;}and{\;}OH{\;}{\cdot}$ radical causing the high increase of pressure and temperature. Finally, it apeared that the technology using ultrasonic irradiation can be applied to the treatment of refractory substances caused by endocrine disruptor which are difficult to be decomposed by the conventional methods.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.379-379
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• 2000

The robot systems used in nuclear power plants need to be both reliable and safe. As a part of the "Validation of nuclear safety-grade equipment" project, we established reliability analysis program and performed a number of analysis using conventional reliability analysis techniques. This paper describes the procedures, techniques, and results of the analysis utilized in our project. In addition, the paper includes current status of reliability analysis techniques and the summary of foreign case studiesse studies

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.294-303
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• 2005

This paper describes the analysis results of a series f Round-Robin test that was performed to intercompare inspection and diagnosis techniques for characterization of pressure tube f a pressurized heavy water reactor under the Coordinated Research Project(CRP) of IAEA's nuclear Power Programme. For this test, six nations, Korea, Canada, India, Argentina, Rumania, and China that currently have pressurized heavy water reactors under operation involved, and the "KOR-1" pressure tube sample prepared by Korea was used. Two kinds of NDE technique, ultrasonic and eddy current test, were applied for these tests. The "KOR-1" pressure tube sample contains total 12 artificial flaws such as crack-like EDM notches, wear that is similar to the real flaws and can be produced on the pressure tubes during plant operation. Test results showed that seven laboratories from six nations detected all twelve flaws in "KOR-1" specimen by using ultrasonic and eddy current test methods, and ultrasonic test method was more accurate than eddy current test method in flaw detectin and sizing. ID flaws in pressure tube sample were more easily detected and accurately sized than OD flaws.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.322-328
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• 2009

Emulsion polymerization of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS) was conducted under ultrasonic irradiation. Two sources of ultrasound with different intensities and frequencies of 20 KHz and 40 KHz were used for horn and bath type reactor, respectively. A combined process of horn and bath was also investigated. The effectiveness of the reaction systems was investigated by measuring conversion as well as intrinsic viscosity of the products. The influence of reaction temperature and sonication time on the progress of sonochemical polymerization was examined. It was found that conversion of greater than 80% and high viscosity were achieved within a few minutes of sonication in a horn type reactor, however, conversion and viscosity showed maximum values depending upon the sonication time. In a bath type reactor where a relatively weak intensity was maintained, longer duration time of more than one hour of sonication was required to reach a high level of conversion and viscosity. Compared with the horn type system, the conversion and viscosity in the bath type reactor were increased along with the sonication time. When the polymerization was carried out in a combined system of horn and bath, the evolution of conversion and molecular weight was quite different from the other cases. For the given geometry of reaction system, acoustic analysis using a commercial software was carried out and the results were correlated with experimental observation.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.373-380
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• 2000

It is useful to use NDE methods to assess the mechanical properties of materials since destructive methods are time-consuming and usually require cutting of sample from the material/component. In the present research, ultrasonic characteristics have been utilized to evaluate changes of mechanical properties due to heat treatment temperature and condition. The attenuation coefficient of ultrasonic wave increased as the heat treatment temperature because the grain size increased in size as the temperature. The attenuation coefficient decreased as the heat treatment has been progressed (quenched, tempered, PWHT). In the case of ultrasonic velocity measurement, velocity difference between quenched and tempered/PWHT was 40 m/s. There was a good relationship between the attenuation coefficient and the toughness. The relationship can be used for the nondestructive evaluation of the forged reactor vessels. Moreover, the method may be effectively used in the field application.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.145-156
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• 2021

Ultrasonic Nanocrystal Surface Modification (UNSM) is a peening technology that generates elastic-plastic deformation on the material surface to which a static load of a air compressor and a dynamic load of ultrasonic vibration energy are applied by striking the material surface with a strike pin. In the UNSM-treated material, the structure of the surface layer is modified into a nano-crystal structure and compressive residual stress occurs. When UNSM is applied to welds in a reactor coolant system where PWSCC can occur, it has the effect of relieving tensile residual stress in the weld and thus suppressing crack initiation and propagation. In order to quantitatively evaluate the compressive residual stress generated by UNSM, many finite element studies have been conducted. In existing studies, single-path UNSM or UNSM in a limited area has been simulated due to excessive computing time and analysis convergence problems. However, it is difficult to accurately calculate the compressive residual stress generated by the actual UNSM under these limited conditions. Therefore, in this study, a minimum finite element peening analysis area that can reliably calculate the compressive residual stress is proposed. To confirm the validity of the proposed analysis area, the compressive residual stress obtained from the experiment are compared with finite element analysis results.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.170-178
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• 1988

An automated ultrasonic flaw detection system was developed for thin-walled and short tubes such as Zircaloy-4 tubes used for cladding heavy-water reactor fuel. The system was based on the two channels immersion pulse-echo technique using 14 MHz shear wave and the specially developed helical scanning technique, in which the tube to be tested is only rotated and the small water tank with spherical focus ultrasonic transducers is translated along the tube length. The optimum angle of incidence of ultrasonic beam was 26 degrees, at which the inside and outside surface defects with the same size and direction could be detected with the same sensitivity. The maximum permissible defects in the Zircaloy-4 tubes, i.e., the longitudinal and circumferential v notches with the length of 0.76mm and 0.38mm, respectively and the depth of 0.04 mm on the inside and outside surface, could be easily detected by the system with the inspection speed of about 1 m/min and the very excellent reproducibility. The ratio of signal to noise was greater than 20 dB for the longitudinal defects and 12 dB for the circumferential defects.