• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.655-668
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• 2023

In radiography, an antiscatter grid is a well-known device for eliminating unexpected x-ray scatter. We investigate a new stationary grid artifact suppression method based on a nonsubsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) incorporated with Gaussian band-pass filtering. The proposed method has an advantage that extracts the Moiré components while minimizing the loss of image information and apply the prior information of Moiré component positions in multi-decomposition sub-band images. We implemented the proposed algorithm and performed a simulation and an experiment to demonstrate its viability. We did this experiment using an x-ray tube (M-113T, Varian, focal spot size: 0.1 mm), a flat-panel detector (ROSE-M Sensor, Aspenstate, pixel dimension: 3032 × 3800 pixels, pixel size: 0.076 mm), and carbon graphite-interspaced grids (JPI Healthcare, 18 cm × 24 cm, line density: 103 LP/inch and 150 LP/inch, ratio: 5:1, focal distance: 65 cm). Our results indicate that the proposed method successfully suppressed grid artifacts by reducing them without either reducing the spatial resolution or causing negative side effects. Consequently, we anticipate that the proposed method can improve image acquisition in a stationary grid x-ray system as well as in extended x-ray imaging.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.109-118
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• 2023

In this paper, the evaluation method of fluidelastic instability (FEI) of newly designed steam generator tubing in pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plants is discussed. To obtain the parameters for prediction of the critical velocity of FEI for steam generator tubes, experimental research is carried out, and the design parameters are determined. Using CFD numerical simulation, the tube array scale of the model experiment is determined, and the experimental device is designed. In this paper, 7 groups of experiments with void fractions of 0% (water), 10%, 20%, 50%, 75%, 85% and 95% were carried out. The critical damping ration, fundamental frequency and critical velocity of FEI of tubes in flowing water were measured. Through calculation, the total mass and instability constant of the immersed tube are obtained. The critical damping ration measured in the experiment mainly included two-phase damping and viscous damping, which changed with the change in void fraction from 1.56% to 4.34%. This value can be used in the steam generator design described in this paper and is conservative. By introducing the multiplier of frequency and square root of total mass per unit length, it is found that the difference between the experimental results and the calculated results is less than 1%, which proves the rationality and feasibility of the calculation method of frequency and total mass per unit length in engineering design. Through calculation, the instability constant is greater than 4 when the void fraction is less than 75%, less than 4 when the void fraction exceeds 75% and only 3.04 when the void fraction is 95%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.566-574
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• 2023

Investigating the seepage characteristics of the leaching solution in the ore-bearing layer during the in situ leaching process can be useful for designing the process parameters for the uranium mining well. We prepared leaching solutions of four different viscosities and conducted experiments using a self-developed multifunctional uranium ore seepage test device. The effects of different viscosities of leaching solutions on the seepage characteristics of uranium-bearing sandstones were examined using seepage mechanics, physicochemical seepage theory, and dissolution erosion mechanism. Results indicated that while the seepage characteristics of various viscosities of leaching solutions were the same in rock samples with similar internal pore architectures, there were regular differences between the saturated and the unsaturated stages. In addition, the time required for the specimen to reach saturation varied with the viscosity of the leaching solution. The higher the viscosity of the solution, the slower the seepage flow from the unsaturated stage to the saturated stage. Furthermore, during the saturation stage, the seepage pressure of a leaching solution with a high viscosity was greater than that of a leaching solution with a low viscosity. However, the permeability coefficient of the high viscosity leaching solution was less than that of a low viscosity leaching solution.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2215-2221
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• 2023

In order to further meet the requirements of weight, volume, and dose minimization for new nuclear energy devices, the bare-bones multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to automatically and iteratively optimize the design parameters of radiation shielding system material, thickness, and structure. The radiation shielding optimization program based on the bare-bones particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed and coupled into the reactor radiation shielding multi-objective intelligent optimization platform, and the code is verified by using the Savannah benchmark model. The material type and thickness of Savannah model were optimized by using the BBMOPSO algorithm to call the dose calculation code, the integrated optimized data showed that the weight decreased by 78.77%, the volume decreased by 23.10% and the dose rate decreased by 72.41% compared with the initial solution. The results show that the method can get the best radiation shielding solution that meets a lot of different goals. This shows that the method is both effective and feasible, and it makes up for the lack of manual optimization.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2572-2577
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• 2023

A field determination method for small D-T neutron source yield based on the oxygen prompt gamma rays was established. A neutron-gamma transport equation of the determination device was developed. Two yield field determination devices with a thickness of 20 mm and 50 mm were made. The count rates of the oxygen prompt gamma rays were calculated using three energy spectra processing approaches, which were the characteristic peak of 6.13 MeV, the overlapping peak of 6.92 MeV and 7.12 MeV, and the total energy area. The R-square of the calibration curve is better than 94% and the maximum error of the yield test is 5.21%, demonstrating that it is feasible to measure the yield of D-T neutron source by oxygen prompt gamma rays. Additionally, the results meet the requirements for field determination of the conventional D-T neutron source yield.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.745-752
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• 2024

A method for gamma/neutron event classification based on frequency-domain analysis for mixed radiation environments is proposed. In contrast to the traditional charge comparison method for pulse-shape discrimination, which requires baseline removal and pulse alignment, our method does not need any preprocessing of the digitized data, apart from removing saturated traces in sporadic pile-up scenarios. It also features the identification of neutron events in the detector's full energy range with a single device, from thermal neutrons to fast neutrons, including low-energy pulses, and still provides a superior figure-of-merit for classification. The proposed frequency-domain analysis consists of computing the fast Fourier transform of a triggered trace and integrating it through a simplified version of the transform magnitude components that distinguish the neutron features from those of the gamma photons. Owing to this simplification, the proposed method may be easily ported to a real-time embedded deployment based on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays or Digital Signal Processors. We target an off-the-shelf detector based on a small CLYC (Cs2LiYCl6:Ce) crystal coupled to a silicon photomultiplier with an integrated bias and preamplifier, aiming at lightweight embedded mixed radiation monitors and dosimeter applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2024

In-vessel retention through external reactor vessel cooling (IVR-ERVC) is a severe accident management (SAM) strategy that has been adopted and used in many nuclear reactors such as AP1000, APR1400, and light water reactor etc. Some reactor accidents have raised concerns about nuclear reactors among residents, leading to a decrease in residents' acceptability and many studies on SAM are being conducted. Experiments on IVR-ERVC are almost impossible due to its specificity, so fluid characteristics are analyzed through BALI experiments with similar condition. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) via Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and large eddy simulation (LES) for BALI experiments were performed. Steady-state CFD analysis was performed on three turbulence models, and SST k-ω model was in good agreement with the experimental measurement temperature within the maximum error range of 1.9%. LES CFD analysis was performed based on the RANS analysis results and it was confirmed that the temperature and wall heat flux for depth was consistent within an error range of 1.0% with BALI experiment. The LES CFD analysis results were compared with those of the Lagrangian-based solver. LES matched the temperature distribution better than SOPHIA, but SOPHIA calculated the position of boundary between stratified layer and convective layer more accurately. On the other hand, Lagrangian-based solver predicted several small eddy behaviors of the convective layer and LES predicted large vortex behavior. The vibration characteristics near the cooling part of the BALI experimental device were confirmed through Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) investigation. It was found that the power spectral density for pressure at least 10 times higher near the side cooling than near the top cooling.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1679-1686
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• 2024

Graphite material plays an important role in nuclear reactors especially the high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) by its outstanding comprehensive nuclear properties. The structural integrity of graphite pebble fuel elements is the first barrier to core safety under any circumstances. The correct knowledge of the stiffness coefficient of the graphite pebble fuel element inside the reactor's core is significant to ensure the valid design and inherent safety. In this research, a vertical extrusion device was set up to measure the stiffness coefficient of the graphite pebble fuel element by the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology (INET) of Tsinghua University in China. The stiffness coefficient equations of graphite pebble fuel elements at different temperatures are given (in a helium atmosphere). The result first provides the data on the high-temperature stiffness coefficient of pebbles in helium gas. The result will be helpful for the engineering safety analysis of pebble-bed nuclear reactors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.206-213
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• 2004

As far as an opening device of fishing gears is concerned, applications of a kite are under development around the world. The typical examples are found in the opening device of the stow net on anchor and the buoyancy material of the trawl. While the stow net on anchor has proved its capability for the past 20 years, the trawl has not been wildly used since it has been first introduced for the commercial use only without sufficient studies and thus has revealed many drawbacks. Therefore, the fundamental hydrodynamics of the kite itself need to ne studied further. Models of plate and canvas kite were deployed in the circulating water tank for the mechanical test. For this situation lift and drag tests were performed considering a change in the shape of objects, which resulted in a different aspect ratio of rectangle and trapezoid. The results obtained from the above approaches are summarized as follows, where aspect ratio, attack angle, lift coefficient and maximum lift coefficient are denoted as A, B, $C_L$ and $C_{Lmax}$ respectively : 1. Given the triangular plate, $C_{Lmax}$ was produced as 1.26${\sim}$1.32 with A${\leq}$1 and 38$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$42$^{\circ}$. And when A${\geq}$1.5 and 20$^{\circ}$${\leq}$B${\leq}$50$^{\circ}$, $C_L$ was around 0.85. Given the inverted triangular plate, $C_{Lmax}$ was 1.46${\sim}$1.56 with A${\leq}$1 and 36$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$38$^{\circ}$. And When A${\geq}$1.5 and 22$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$26$^{\circ}$, $C_{Lmax}$ was 1.05${\sim}$1.21. Given the triangular kite, $C_{Lmax}$ was produced as 1.67${\sim}$1.77 with A${\leq}$1 and 46$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$48$^{\circ}$. And when A${\geq}$1.5 and 20$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$50$^{\circ}$, $C_L$ was around 1.10. Given the inverted triangular kite, $C_{Lmax}$ was 1.44${\sim}$1.68 with A${\leq}$1 and 28$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$32$^{\circ}$. And when A${\geq}$1.5 and 18$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$24$^{\circ}$, $C_{Lmax}$ was 1.03${\sim}$1.18. 2. For a model with A=1/2, an increase in B caused an increase in $C_L$ until $C_L$ has reached the maximum. Then there was a tendency of a very gradual decrease or no change in the value of $C_L$. For a model with A=2/3, the tendency of $C_L$ was similar to the case of a model with A=1/2. For a model with A=1, an increase in B caused an increase in $C_L$ until $C_L$ has reached the maximum. And the tendency of $C_L$ didn't change dramatically. For a model with A=1.5, the tendency of $C_L$ as a function of B was changed very small as 0.75${\sim}$1.22 with 20$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$50$^{\circ}$. For a model with A=2, the tendency of $C_L$ as a function of B was almost the same in the triangular model. There was no considerable change in the models with 20$^{\circ}$B${\leq}$50$^{\circ}$. 3. The inverted model's $C_L$ as a function of increase of B reached the maximum rapidly, then decreased gradually compared to the non-inverted models. Others were decreased dramatically. 4. The action point of dynamic pressure in accordance with the attack angle was close to the rear area of the model with small attack angle, and with large attack angle, the action point was close to the front part of the model. 5. There was camber vertex in the position in which the fluid pressure was generated, and the triangular canvas had large value of camber vertex when the aspect ratio was high, while the inverted triangular canvas was versa. 6. All canvas kite had larger camber ratio when the aspect ratio was high, and the triangular canvas had larger one when the attack angle was high, while the inverted triangluar canvas was versa.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.12-20
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• 2008

Recent wireless communication technologies are envisioned as an innovative alternative to solve transportation problems. On ad hoc networks, as a wireless communication technology, nodes can communicate data without any infrastructure. In particular, vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), a specific ad hoc network applied to vehicles, enable vehicles equipped with a communication device to form decentralized traffic information systems in which vehicles share traffic information they experienced. This study investigated traffic information dissemination in a VANET-based traffic information system. For this study, an integrated transportation and communications simulation framework was developed, and experiments were conducted with real highway networks and traffic demands. The results showed that it took 3 minutes in the low traffic density situations (10 vehicle/lane.km) and 43 seconds in the high traffic density condition (40 vehicle/lane.km) to deliver traffic information of 5km away with 10% market penetration rate. In uncongested traffic conditions, information seems to be disseminated via equipped vehicles in the opposite direction. In congested traffic conditions, the sufficient availability of equipped vehicles traveling in the same direction reduces the chance to use vehicles in the opposing direction even though it is still possible.