• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권1호
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• pp.304-313
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• 2021

Nickel base Alloy X-750, which is used as fastener parts in light-water reactor (LWR), has experienced many failures by environmentally assisted cracking (EAC). In order to improve the reliability of passive components for nuclear power plants (NPP's), it is necessary to study the failure mechanism and to predict crack growth behavior by developing a probabilistic failure model. In this study, The Bayesian inference was employed to reduce the uncertainties contained in EAC modeling parameters that have been established from experiments with Alloy X-750. Corrosion fatigue crack growth rate model (FCGR) was developed by fitting into Paris' Law of measured data from the several fatigue tests conducted either in constant load or constant ΔK mode. These parameters characterizing the corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior of X-750 were successfully updated to reduce the uncertainty in the model by using the Bayesian inference method. It is demonstrated that probabilistic failure models for passive components can be developed by updating a laboratory model with field-inspection data, when crack growth rates (CGRs) are low and multiple inspections can be made prior to the component failure.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권2호
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• pp.386-392
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• 2021

MACCS (MELCOR Accident Consequence Code System), WinMACCS, and MelMACCS now facilitate a multi-unit consequence analysis. MACCS evaluates the consequences of an atmospheric release of radioactive gases and aerosols into the atmosphere and is most commonly used to perform probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs) and related consequence analyses for nuclear power plants (NPPs). WinMACCS is a user-friendly preprocessor for MACCS. MelMACCS extracts source-term information from a MELCOR plot file. The current development can combine an arbitrary number of source terms, representing simultaneous releases from a multi-unit facility, into a single consequence analysis. The development supports different release signatures, fission product inventories, and accident initiation times for each unit. The treatment is completely general except that the model is currently limited to collocated units. A major practical consideration for performing a multi-unit PSA is that a comprehensive treatment for more than two units may involve an intractable number of combinations of source terms. This paper proposes and evaluates an approach for reducing the number of calculations to be tractable, even for sites with eight or ten units. The approximation error introduced by the approach is acceptable and is considerably less than other errors and uncertainties inherent in a Level 3 PSA.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.241-248
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• 1997

건설중이거나 기기 이력이 부족한 원자력 발전소에 대한 확률론적 안전성평가에 사용되는 일반 기기 신뢰도 데이타를 기 개발된 일반 데이타 및 발전소 데이타를 취합하여 구한다. 이를 위해 본 논문에서 사용한 계산 Code는 모수적 선험적 베이지안 방법에 근거하여 3단계 베이지안 방법으로 한국 원자력연구소에서 개발한 MPRDP Code이다. 일반 자료원에서 주로 자료를 취합하였으므로 각 문헌들 사이에 존재할 수 있는 종속성을 고려하여 Code에서 처리하였다. 본 논문에서는 결과로 얻어진 기기 신뢰도 자료표의 일부분을 보여준다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권12호
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• pp.4695-4702
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• 2023

Nuclear power plants play a pivotal role in the global energy infrastructure, fulfilling a substantial share of the world's energy requirements in a sustainable way. The management of these facilities, especially the handling of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), necessitates meticulous inspections to guarantee operational safety and efficiency. However, the prevailing inspection methodologies lean heavily on human operators, which presents challenges due to the potential hazards of the SNF environment. This study introduces the design of a novel Pre-Batched Inspection Strategy (PBIS) that integrates robotic automation and image processing techniques to bolster the inspection process. This methodology deploys robotics to undertake tasks that could be perilous or time-intensive for humans, while image processing techniques are used for precise identification of SNF targets and regulating the robotic system. The implementation of PBIS holds considerable promise in minimizing inspection time and enhancing worker safety. This paper elaborates on the structure, capabilities, and application of PBIS, underlining its potential implications for the future of nuclear energy inspections.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권8호
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• pp.3450-3462
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• 2024

This paper presents a computational framework for drop time assessment of a control element assembly (CEA) under fuel assembly (FA) deformations. The proposed framework consists of three key components: 1) finite element modeling of CEA, 2) fluid-structure interaction to compute drag force, and 3) modeling of frictional contact between CEA and FA. Specially, to accommodate the large motion of CEA, beam elements based on absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) are adopted. The continuity equation is utilized to calculate the drag force, considering flow changes in the cross-sectional area during the CEA drop. Lastly, beam-inside-beam frictional contact model is employed to capture practical contact conditions between CEA and FA. The proposed framework is validated through experiments under two scenarios: free falls of CEA within FA, encompassing undeformed and deformed scenarios. The experimental validation of the framework demonstrated that the drop time of CEA can be accurately predicted under the complex coupling effects of fluid and frictional contact. The drop times of the S-shaped deformation case is longer than those of the C-shaped deformation case, affirming the time delay due to frictional force. The validation confirms the potential applicability to access the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants under extreme conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권9호
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• pp.3764-3774
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• 2024

In accordance with Regulatory Guide 1.207, Rev.1, fatigue assessments must be conducted considering the influence of primary coolant environment in nuclear reactors. Environmental fatigue, resulting from corrosion in the primary coolant, is evaluated in air fatigue life assessments through the application of an environmental fatigue correction factor. This environmental fatigue correction factor depends on sulfur content, operating temperature, dissolved oxygen, and strain rate. It remains constant for sulfur content, operating temperature, and dissolved oxygen, while strain rate introduces potential errors based on the analysis method. The current fatigue evaluation procedure for air, following ASME B&PV Code Sec.III, NB-3200, employs elastic analysis with a simplified elastic-plastic correction factor(Ke). However, Ke factor is considered excessively conservative, prompting less conservative alternatives proposed by JSME, RCC-M, ASME Code Case N-779. This study applied both ASME Ke and JSME Ke for fatigue evaluations considering environmental effects. Additionally, fatigue assessments accounting for elastic-plastic effects were conducted using Neuber and Glinka methods, compared with actual experiments. The analysis systematically examined changes in fatigue life and the environmental fatigue correction factor due to plastic effects in environmental fatigue evaluations.

• 자원환경지질
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• 제51권2호
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• pp.77-85
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• 2018

원전 시설 주변 및 심지층 폐기물 처분장 인근 환경은 우라늄으로 오염될 가능성이 높으며, 오염된 우라늄은 지하수를 따라 먼 곳까지 이동 및 확산될 수 있다. 이러한 오염 우라늄의 이동 및 확산을 효과적으로 제어하기 위해서는 지하 환경에서 우라늄의 생지화학적 거동을 이해할 필요가 있다. 일반적으로 토양 및 지질 매체 내에 다양한 종류의 미생물이 생존하고 있으며, 이들의 활동은 핵종들의 산화 환원 반응 및 그에 따른 용해도 변화와 밀접히 연관되어 있다. 우리는 유기물 대신 수소 가스를 전자공여체로 사용하여 고체 매질에 대한 용존 우라늄의 수착 및 침전 거동을 살펴보았다. 화강암을 고체 매질로 사용한 회분식 실험에서는 수소의 영향이 관찰되지 않았으나, 벤토나이트를 사용한 조건에서는 수소의 영향으로 5~8% 우라늄 농도 감소가 관찰되었다. 이러한 결과는 벤토나이트 토착미생물이 수소를 전자공여체로 활용하여 우라늄 거동(감소)에 영향을 준 것으로 보인다. 또한, 폐기물 처분환경의 고열 및 고방사선 조건에서도 벤토나이트 토착미생물은 강한 내성을 보였으며, 이는 향후 자연산 벤토나이트가 처분장 완충재로 사용될 경우 핵종-생지화학 반응이 주요 기작 중의 하나가 될 것으로 예상된다.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.117-124
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• 2013

Emergency operating procedures(EOPs) of nuclear power plants should be described considering the cognitive capability and limitation of operators and provide appropriate information in the aspect of human factors. Procedures which doesn't consider cognitive characteristics of operators can become causes of human errors. In previous researches, in order to reduce these problems related to the description of EOP, an improvement suggestion for EOP writer's guide has been proposed, which is reflected human factors aspects that should be considered when describing EOPs. The proposed items, however, have a necessity to be validated because it was listed from various documents such as standards and guidelines without any special validation process. For that reason, in this study, a validation process were performed to show that procedures, which are described in compliance with the requirement items proposed in the improved EOP writer's guide, have positive effects in the aspects of human errors and performance comparing with previous procedures. Experiments were performed to compare the performances of two tasks which are described in compliance with each writer's guide of before and after the improvement During each task was performed in experiments, changes of physiological responses such as EEG and ECG were measured to evaluate the cognitive workload and the stress of operators in each task. And also, as the performance, frequencies of errors and cognition speeds of each task were evaluated. In the results of the experiment, the portions of the ${\beta}$ wave decreased in the tasks overall after the improvement. In the case of ECG, change rates of the mean of R-R interval were decreased in the tasks after improvement. In the results of the performance, the cognition and the response time of the tasks after the improvement were predominant with statistical significancies. Error times in the tasks after improvement were decreased or same to the tasks before improvement. Conclusively, it was validated that the procedures were described in compliance with the improved EOP writer's guide had effects on the reduction of human errors and improvement of performance.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.29-36
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• 2019

원자력발전소를 운영하게 되면 사용후핵연료와 같은 고준위방사성폐기물이 필연적으로 발생한다. 이러한 고준위방사성폐기물을 처분하기 위해 심층처분방식이 가장 적합한 대안으로 알려져 있으며 고준위방사성폐기물은 공학적방벽과 천연방벽에 둘러 쌓여 지하 500~1,000 m 깊이의 심지층에 처분된다. 이 중 압축 벤토나이트 완충재는 공학적방벽의 가장 중요한 구성요소이다. 완충재는 처분용기와 자연 암반 사이에 위치해 있기에 주변 지하수 흐름으로부터 처분용기를 보호하고 처분 용기로부터 핵종이 유출되는 것을 저지하는 역할을 한다. 주변 지하수 흐름으로 인한 완충재의 불포화 함수특성 규명은 전체 공학적방벽의 성능을 평가하는데 있어 매우 중요하다고 할 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 실내 시험을 수행하여 국내 압축 벤토나이트 완충재의 건조밀도, 구속조건 여부, 그리고 건조 및 포화 이력에 따른 압축 벤토나이트 완충재의 함수특성곡선을 도출하여 분석하였다. 구속 조건하에서 건조밀도에 따른 함수특성곡선은 큰 차이를 보이지 않았다. 또한 비구속 조건이 구속 조건에 비해 보다 큰 수분흡입력을 나타냈으며, 아울러 포화 과정보다 건조 과정에서 보다 큰 수분흡인력이 측정되었다.

• 환경영향평가
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.15-26
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• 1995

The objective of the study is to produce preferential impact assessment factors for Environmental Impact Assessment by considering regional features and public participation in the initial stages of EIA. In order to produce preferential impact assessment factor, the study was carried out through theoretical research and a survey of public awareness as way to reflect public participation based on theoretical research. The survey of public awareness was conducted in the form of an interview to review the impact which the construction of atomic power plants at Hyo-am village, Jang-an, Kyungsang Province and Bi-hak village, Suhsang-myon, Ulsan-Kun will have on the surrounding environment : to reflect public participation on deciding preferential assessment: and to determine the extent of alternatives of the proposed project. As the result of the study, the followings were identified as preferential assessment factors in the displacing settlement and surrounding areas: cultivation marine products, change of temperature of seawater due to flow of warm water, land use (negative), noise vibration during construction, existing vegetations, erosion sedimentation, influx of manpower for construction(negative), recreation landscaping during construction and operation, change in flow of transportation during construction, the quality of seawater during construction and operation were produced as preferential assessment factors in both displacing area and neighboring areas. In the displacing settlement area, the educational environment(negative & positive) and positive aspects of the influx of manpower for construction were also identified as preferential assessment factors.