• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.380-387
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• 2015

A lead slowing-down spectrometer (LSDS) system is a promising nondestructive assay technique that enables a quantitative measurement of the isotopic contents of major fissile isotopes in spent nuclear fuel and its pyroprocessing counterparts, such as $^{235}U$, $^{239}Pu$, $^{241}Pu$, and, potentially, minor actinides. The LSDS system currently under development at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (Daejeon, Korea) is planned to utilize a high-flux ($>10^{12}n/cm^2{\cdot}s$) neutron source comprised of a high-energy (30 MeV)/high-current (~2 A) electron beam and a heavy metal target, which results in a very intense and complex radiation field for the facility, thus demanding structural shielding to guarantee the safety. Optimization of the structural shielding design was conducted using MCNPX for neutron dose rate evaluation of several representative hypothetical designs. In order to satisfy the construction cost and neutron attenuation capability of the facility, while simultaneously achieving the aimed dose rate limit (< $0.06{\mu}Sv/h$), a few shielding materials [high-density polyethylene (HDPE)eBorax, $B_4C$, and $Li_2CO_3$] were considered for the main neutron absorber layer, which is encapsulated within the double-sided concrete wall. The MCNP simulation indicated that HDPE-Borax is the most efficient among the aforementioned candidate materials, and the combined thickness of the shielding layers should exceed 100 cm to satisfy the dose limit on the outside surface of the shielding wall of the facility when limiting the thickness of the HDPE-Borax intermediate layer to below 5 cm. However, the shielding wall must include the instrumentation and installation holes for the LSDS system. The radiation leakage through the holes was substantially mitigated by adopting a zigzag-shape with concrete covers on both sides. The suggested optimized design of the shielding structure satisfies the dose rate limit and can be used for the construction of a facility in the near future.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.369-378
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• 2012

A load-following operation in APR+ nuclear plants is necessary to reduce the need to adjust the boric acid concentration and to efficiently control the control rods for flexible operation. In particular, a disproportion in the axial flux distribution, which is normally caused by a load-following operation in a reactor core, causes xenon oscillation because the absorption cross-section of xenon is extremely large and its effects in a reactor are delayed by the iodine precursor. A model predictive control (MPC) method was used to design an automatic load-following controller for the integrated thermal power level and axial shape index (ASI) control for APR+ nuclear plants. Some tracking controllers employ the current tracking command only. On the other hand, the MPC can achieve better tracking performance because it considers future commands in addition to the current tracking command. The basic concept of the MPC is to solve an optimization problem for generating finite future control inputs at the current time and to implement as the current control input only the first control input among the solutions of the finite time steps. At the next time step, the procedure to solve the optimization problem is then repeated. The support vector regression (SVR) model that is used widely for function approximation problems is used to predict the future outputs based on previous inputs and outputs. In addition, a genetic algorithm is employed to minimize the objective function of a MPC control algorithm with multiple constraints. The power level and ASI are controlled by regulating the control banks and part-strength control banks together with an automatic adjustment of the boric acid concentration. The 3-dimensional MASTER code, which models APR+ nuclear plants, is interfaced to the proposed controller to confirm the performance of the controlling reactor power level and ASI. Numerical simulations showed that the proposed controller exhibits very fast tracking responses.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1202-1211
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• 2018

In this paper, induction machine operation efficiency and torque is improved using Machine Learning based Gene Optimization (ML-GO) Technique is introduced. Optimized Genetic Algorithm (OGA) is used to select the optimal induction machine data. In OGA, selection, crossover and mutation process is carried out to find the optimal electrical machine data for induction machine design. Initially, many number of induction machine data are given as input for OGA. Then, fitness value is calculated for all induction machine data to find whether the criterion is satisfied or not through fitness function (i.e., objective function such as starting to full load torque ratio, rotor current, power factor and maximum flux density of stator and rotor teeth). When the criterion is not satisfied, annealed selection approach in OGA is used to move the selection criteria from exploration to exploitation to attain the optimal solution (i.e., efficient machine data). After the selection process, two point crossovers is carried out to select two crossover points within a chromosomes (i.e., design variables) and then swaps two parent's chromosomes for producing two new offspring. Finally, Adaptive Levy Mutation is used in OGA to select any value in random manner and gets mutated to obtain the optimal value. This process gets iterated till finding the optimal value for induction machine design. Experimental evaluation of ML-GO technique is carried out with performance metrics such as torque, rotor current, induction machine operation efficiency and rotor power factor compared to the state-of-the-art works.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.666-673
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• 2022

The optimization of a transmission type bremsstrahlung conversion target was carried out with Monte Carlo code FLUKA for intense pulsed electron beams with electron energy of several hundred keV for maximum photon fluence. The photon emission intensity from electrons with energy ranging from 300 keV to 1 MeV on tungsten, tantalum and molybdenum targets was calculated with varied target thicknesses. The research revealed that higher target material element number and electron energy leads to increased photon fluence. For a certain target material, the target thickness with maximum photon emission fluence exhibits a linear relationship with the electron energy. With certain electron energy and target material, the thickness of the target plays a dominant role in increasing the transmission photon intensity, with small target thickness the photon flux is largely restricted by low energy loss of electrons for photon generation while thick targets may impose extra absorption for the generated photons. The spatial distribution of bremsstrahlung photon density was analyzed and the optimal target thicknesses for maximum bremsstrahlung photon fluence were derived versus electron energy on three target materials for a quick determination of optimal target design.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.364-370
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• 2009

With time, the stable management of turbidity is becoming more important in the water treatment process. So optimization of flocculation is important for the improvement of the sedimentation efficiency. we evaluated the hydrodynamic behavior in the rotation direction (clock-wise, counterclock-wise) of the flocculator in the flocculation basin using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The results of the CFD simulation, in cases where flocculators rotate in a clockwise direction, a stronger flow is formed near the surface of the water where the rotating direction and current of flow correspond. The variance and standard deviation of the flux are about 8.5 and 2.9 respectively. In contrast, in the case of a counterclockwise direction, a stronger flow is formed near the bottom of the basin. The variance and standard deviation of the flux are about 5.3 and 2.3, respectively. The effluent flux is affected more by the third flocculator spin than the first and second flocculator spins. The third flocculator spinning in the counterclockwise direction is better for the uniform flow of the sedimentation basin than the third flocculator spinning in the clockwise direction

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1089-1094
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• 2002

Mobile communication industry powered by electronics and information technology is building a transforming way for human communication. The latest electronics is so saturated to forget the difficulty in size reduction of electronic parts. However, mechanical parts, such as dynamic speakers and vibration motors, are intrinsically not easy to realize size reduction due to their construction. In this paper, a hexahedral type with simpler configuration is introduced to substitute for the conventional vibration motors. For uneven magnetic field analysis of the hexahedral type, FEM was used to determine magnetic flux density. After an analysis of magnetic and mechanical characteristics, it is shown that the coil configuration is the most important parameter to increase the output torque, and thus vibration. For optimization, genetic algorithm is used to find the optimal configuration of coil to maximize the output torque. Experimental results are also followed to confirm the validity of the proposed design.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.1274-1285
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• 2015

This paper deals with model reference adaptive system (MRAS) speed estimators based on a secondary flux for linear induction motors (LIMs). The operation of these estimators significantly depends on an adaptation mechanism. Fixed-gain PI controller is the most common adaptation mechanism that may fail to estimate the speed correctly in different conditions, such as variation in machine parameters and noisy environment. Two adaptation mechanisms are proposed to improve LIM drive system performance, particularly at very low speed. The first adaptation mechanism is based on fuzzy theory, and the second is obtained from an LIM mechanical model. Compared with a conventional PI controller, the proposed adaptation mechanisms have low sensitivity to both variations of machine parameters and noise. The optimum parameters of adaptation mechanisms are tuned using an offline method through chaotic optimization algorithm (COA) because no design criterion is given to provide these values. The efficiency of MRAS speed estimator is validated by both numerical simulation and real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) implementations. Results indicate that the proposed adaptation mechanisms improve performance of MRAS speed estimator.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2011.07a
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• pp.991-992
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• 2011

This study was designed to satisfy induced voltage limits considering drive's specifications and optimize design reducing usage of permanent magnet, by increasing salient poles ratio, when designing 150kW IPMSM. In order to achieve these objectives, design plans were determined, based on Ld and Lq parameters of a basic design model, according to changes in salient poles ratio and flux linkage using IPMSM's voltage equation and torque equation and then, required torque and induced voltage were analyzed using Sensitivity Analysis. Based on analysis data, the optimum design was performed and basic model's characteristics were compared to final model's through Gradient-Based Optimization Technique.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.869-881
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• 2014

This paper presents the materials analysis for combination of working modes of Magnetorheological (MR) damper. The materials were selected based on the optimum magnetic field strength at the effective areas in order to obtain a better design of MR damper. The design of electromagnetic circuit is one of the critical criteria in designing MR dampers besides the working mechanism and the types of MR damper. The increase in the magnetic field strength is an indication of the improvement in the damping performance of the MR damper. Eventually, the experimental test was performed under quasi-static loading to observe the performances of MR damper in shear mode, squeeze mode and mixed mode. The results showed that the increment of forces was obtained with the increased current due to higher magnetic flux density generated by electromagnetic coils. In general, it can be summarized that the combination of modes generates higher forces than single mode for the same experimental parameters throughout the study.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.339-344
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• 2014

Different types of polyethersulfone (PES) support layer for a thin film composite (TFC) membrane were synthesized under various synthesis conditions using the phase inversion method to study the combined effects of substrate, adhesive, and pore former. The permeability, selectivity, pore structure, and morphology of the prepared membranes were analyzed to evaluate the membrane performance. The combined use of substrate, adhesive, and pore former produced a thinner dense top layer, with more straight finger-like pores. The pure water permeation (PWP) of the optimized PES membrane was $27.42L/m^2hr$ (LMH), whereas that of bare PES membrane was 3.24 LMH. Moreover, membrane selectivity, represented as divalent ion ($CaSO_4$) rejection, was not sacrificed under the synthesis conditions, which produced the dramatically enhanced PWP. The high permeability and selectivity of the PES membrane produced under the optimized synthesis conditions suggest that it can be utilized as a potential support layer for TFC membranes.