• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.248-255
• /
• 1983

The thermal analysis on the spent fuel shipping cask for a PWR fuel assembly is performed. Under the normal and fire-accident conditions the temperature distribution through a multilayer cask calculated in compliance with 10 CFR Part 71. A KNU 5&6 spent fuel assembly is assumed to be the decay heat source, which has the maximum discharge turnup of 45, 000MWD/MTU and has been stored in the spent fuel storage pool for 300 days. As a result of thermal analysis, the maximum cladding temperature in case of dry cavity under fire-accident conditions is calculated to be 455$^{\circ}C$. This value is much less than the limiting value specified in 10 CFR Part 50.46. It indicates that no fuel rod cladding rupture could occur under fire-accident conditions. It was also found that no melting of lead would take place in the major shield region.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.583-592
• /
• 2011

The radiological characteristics for waste classification were assessed for neutron-activated decommissioning wastes from a CANDU reactor. The MCNP/ORIGEN2 code system was used for the source term analysis. The neutron flux and activation cross-section library for each structural component generated by MCNP simulation were used in the radionuclide buildup calculation in ORIGEN2. The specific activities of the relevant radionuclides in the activated metal waste were compared with the specified limits of the specific activities listed in the Korean standard and 10 CFR 61. The time-average full-core model of Wolsong Unit 1 was used as the neutron source for activation of in-core and ex-core structural components. The approximated levels of the neutron flux and cross-section, irradiated fuel composition, and a geometry simplification revealing good reliability in a previous study were used in the source term calculation as well. The results revealed the radioactivity, decay heat, hazard index, mass, and solid volume for the activated decommissioning waste to be $1.04{\times}10^{16}$ Bq, $2.09{\times}10^3$ W, $5.31{\times}10^{14}\;m^3$-water, $4.69{\times}10^5$ kg, and $7.38{\times}10^1\;m^3$, respectively. According to both Korean and US standards, the activated waste of the pressure tubes, calandria tubes, reactivity devices, and reactivity device supporters was greater than Class C, which should be disposed of in a deep geological disposal repository, whereas the side structural components were classified as low- and intermediate-level waste, which can be disposed of in a land disposal repository. Finally, this study confirmed that, regardless of the cooling time of the waste, 15% of the decommissioning waste cannot be disposed of in a land disposal repository. It is expected that the source terms and waste classification evaluated through this study can be widely used to establish a decommissioning/disposal strategy and fuel cycle analysis for CANDU reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.432-438
• /
• 2019

In the study of nuclear structure, the fast timing technique can be used to measure the lifetime of excited states. In the paper, we have developed a new fast timing system, which is made up of two $LaBr_3:Ce$ detectors and a set of waveform sampling system. The sampling system based on domino ring sampler version 4 chip (DRS4) can digitize and store the waveform information of detector signal, with a smaller volume and higher timing accuracy, and the waveform data are performed by means of digital waveform analysis methods. The coincidence time resolution of the fast timing system for two annihilation 511 keV ${\gamma}$ photon is 200ps (FWHM), the energy resolution is 3.5%@511 keV, and the energy linear response in the large dynamic range is perfect. Meanwhile, to verify the fast timing performance of the system, the $^{152}Gd-2_1^+$ state form ${\beta}^+$ decay of $^{152}Eu$ source is measured. The measured lifetime is $45.3({\pm}5.0)ps$, very close to the value of the National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC: $46.2({\pm}3.9)ps$). The experimental results indicate that the fast timing system is capable of measuring the lifetime of dozens of ps. Therefore, the system can be widely used in the research of the fast timing technology.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.213-225
• /
• 2020

Floating Offshore Wind Turbines (FOWT) installed in the deep sea regions where stable and strong wind flows are abundant would have significantly improved energy production capacity. When designing FOWT, it is essential to understand the stability and motion performance of the floater. Water tank model tests are required to evaluate these aspects of performance. This paper describes a model test and numerical simulation for a 750-kW semi-submersible platform wind turbine model-II. In the previous model test, the 750-kW FOWT model-I suffered slamming phenomena from extreme wave conditions. Because of that, the platform freeboard of model-II was increased to mitigate the slamming load on the platform deck structure in extreme conditions. Also, the model-I pitch Response Amplitude Operators (RAO) of simulation had strong responses to the natural frequency region. Thus, the hub height of model-II was decreased to reduce the pitch resonance responses from the low-frequency response of the system. Like the model-I, 750-kW FOWT model-II was built with a 1/40 scale ratio. Furthermore, the experiments to evaluate the performance characteristics of the model-II wind turbine were executed at the same location and in the same environment conditions as were those of model-I. These tests included a free decay test, and tests of regular and irregular wave conditions. Both the experimental and simulation conditions considered the blade rotating effect due to the wind. The results of the model tests were compared with the numerical simulations of the FOWT using FAST (Fatigue, Aerodynamics, Structures, and Turbulence) code from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.361-368
• /
• 2023

In lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, encapsulation of sulfur in activated carbon (AC) materials is a promising strategy for preventing the dissolution of lithium polysulfide into electrolytes and enhancing cycle life, because instead of solid-liquid-solid reactions, quasi-solid-state (QSS) reactions occur in the AC micropores. While a high weight fraction of sulfur in S/AC composites is essential for achieving a high energy density of Li-S cells, the deterioration mechanisms under such conditions are still unclear. In this study, we report the deterioration mechanisms during charge-discharge cycling when the discharge products overflow from the AC. Analysis using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry confirms that the sulfur in the S/AC composites migrates outside the AC as cycling progresses, and it is barely present in the AC after 20 cycles, which corresponds to the capacity decay of the cell. Impedance analysis clearly shows that the electrical resistance of the S/AC composite and the charge-transfer resistance of QSS reactions significantly increase as a result of sulfur migration. On the other hand, the charge-discharge cycling performance under limited-capacity conditions, where the discharge products are encapsulated inside the AC, is extremely stable. These results reveal the degradation mechanism of a Li-S cell with micro-porous carbon and provide crucial insights into the design of a S/AC composite cathode and its operating conditions needed to achieve stable cycling performance.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.71-87
• /
• 2024

In deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste, the surrounding rock at the immediate vicinity of the deposition hole may experience localized changes in permeability due to in-situ stress at depth, swelling pressure from resaturated bentonite buffer, and the heat generated from the decay of radioactive isotopes. In this study, experimental data on changes in permeability of granite, a promising candidate rock type in South Korea, were obtained by applying various confining pressures and temperature conditions expected in the actual disposal environment. By conducting the permeability test on KURT granite specimens under three or more hydrostatic pressure conditions, the relation in which the permeability decreases exponentially as the confining pressure increases was derived. The temperature-induced changes in permeability were found to be negligible at temperatures below the expected maximum of 90℃. In addition, by establishing a relation in which the initial permeability is proportional to the power of the initial porosity, it was possible to estimate permeability value for granite with a specific porosity under a certain confining pressure.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.12
• /
• pp.4570-4575
• /
• 2023

Noise and Radio-frequency interference or RFI causes a significant restriction on the Free induction Decay or FID signal detection of the Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance procedure. Therefore, using this method in non-isolated environments such as industry and ports requires extraordinary measures. For this purpose, noise reduction algorithms and increasing signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio or SNIR have been used. In this research, sodium nitrite has been used as a sample and algorithms have been tested in a non-isolated environment. The resonant frequencies for the 150 g of test sample were measured at 303 K at about 1 MHz and 3.4 MHz. The main novelty in this study was, (1) using two types of antennas in the receiver to improve adaptive noise and interference cancellation, (2) using a separate helical antenna in the transmitter to eliminate the duplexer, (3) estimating the noise before sending the pulse to calculate the weighting factors and reduce the noise by adaptive noise cancellation, (3) reject the interference by blanking algorithm, (4) pulse integration in the frequency domain to increase the SNR, and (5) increasing the detection speed by new pulse integration technique. By interference rejection and noise cancellation, the SNIR is improved to 9.24 dB at 1 MHz and to 7.28 dB at 3.4 MHz, and by pulse integration 44.8 dB FID signal amplification is achieved, and the FID signals are detected at 1.057 MHz and 3.402 MHz at room temperature.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.319-325
• /
• 2015

Submicron-sized $CeO_2:Er^{3+}/Yb^{3+}$ upconversion phosphor particles were synthesized by spray pyrolysis, and their luminescent properties were characterized by changing the concentration of $Er^{3+}$ and $Yb^{3+}$. $CeO_2:Er^{3+}/Yb^{3+}$ showed an intense green and red emission due to the $^4S_{3/2}$ or $^2H_{11/2}{\rightarrow}^4I_{15/2}$ and $^4F_{9/2}{\rightarrow}^4I_{15/2}$ transition of $Er^{3+}$ ions, respectively. In terms of the emission intensity, the optimal concentrations of Er and Yb were 1.0 % and 2.0%, respectively, and the concentration quenching was found to occur via the dipole-dipole interaction. Upconversion mechanism was discussed by using the dependency of emission intensities on pumping powers and considering the dominant depletion processes of intermediate energy levels for the red and green emission with changing the $Er^{3+}$ concentration. An energy transfer from $Yb^{3+}$ to $Er^{3+}$ in $CeO_2$ host was mainly involved in ground-state absorption (GSA), and non-radiative relaxation from $^4I_{11/2}$ to $^4I_{13/2}$ of $Er^{3+}$ was accelerated by the $Yb^{3+}$ co-doping. As a result, the $Yb^{3+}$ co-doping led to greatly enhance the upconversion intensity with increasing ratios of the red to green emission. Finally, it is revealed that the upconversion emission is achieved by two photon processes in which the linear decay dominates the depletion of intermediate energy levels for green and red emissions for $CeO_2:Er^{3+}/Yb^{3+}$ phosphor.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.87-91
• /
• 2001

The optimized derived intervention levels for animal products were evaluated based on cost-benefit analysis. From these results, the radionuclide concentrations in animal feedstuffs for use were derived. It was shown that radionuclide concentrations in animal feedstuffs for use depend strongly on animal products, radionuclides and feeding period (period from the starting time to be led with contaminated feedstuffs to production time of animal products). In case of feedstuffs contaminated with long-lived radionuclides ($^{l37}Cs,\;^{90}Sr$), the feedstuffs with lower contamination should be supplied to animals with increase of feeding period due to the bioaccumulation of radionuclides. While, in case of feedstuffs contaminated with short-lived radionuclides ($^{131}I$), the feeding of higher contaminated feedstuffs was possible with increase of feeding period due to radionuclide decay. It was shown that $^{137}Cs$ concentration in animal feedstuffs lot use was lower than $^{90}Sr$ concentration. It is primarily, due to the higher feed-animal product transfer factor of $^{137}Cs$.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.286-293
• /
• 1991

$^{123}I$, which is applied for the thyroid and other in vivo kinetic study, has a special role in life sciences. The 159 KeV $\gamma-ray$ from $^{123}I$ is almost ideally appropriate for the current imaging instrumentation. Its decay mode (electron capture) and short half-life (13.3 hr) reduced the burden of radiation dose to the patients, and its chemical property makes it easy to synthesize the labelling compounds. In this experiment, the production of $^{123}I$ via the nuclear reaction $^{124}Te(p,2n)^{123}I$ with 28 MeV protons was sutdied. $TeO_2$ is used as a target material, because it has good physical properties. The target was prepared with $TeO_2$ powder and was molten into a ellipsoidal cavity (a=14 mm, b=10 mm, $270.8mg/cm^2$ thick) of pure platinum. The irradiation was carried out in the external proton beam with incident energies range from 28 MeV to 22 MeV, and current was $30{\mu}A$. The loss of $TeO_2$ target was significantly reduced by using $4\pi-cooling$ system in irradiation. The dry distillation method was adopted for the separation of $^{123}I$ from irradiated target, and when it was kept 5 minutes at $780^{\circ}C$, its result was quantitative. The loss of the target material $(TeO_2)$ was below 0.2% for each production run and $^{123}I$ from the dry distillation apparatus was captured with 0.01 N NaOH in $Na^{123}I$ form, then the pH of the solution was adjusted to $7.5\sim9.0$ with HC1/NaOH. The $Na^{123}I$ solution was passed through $0.2{\mu}m$ membrane filter, and sterilized under high pressure and temperature for 30 minutes. The production of $^{123}I$ is acceptable for clinical application based on the quality of USP XXI.