• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05b
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• pp.435-440
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• 1996

Large Loss-of-Coolant Accidents analyzed in Final Safety Analysis Reports are usually covered by Reactor Inlet Header. Reactor Outlet Header and Primary Pump Suction breaks as representative cases. In this study we analyze the total (guillotine) break of an Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) pipe located at the ECCS injection point into the Primary Heat Transport System (PHTS). It was expected that thermal-hydraulic behaviors in the PHT and ECC systems are different from those of a Reactor Inlet Header break, having an equivalent break size. The main purpose of this study is to get insights on the differences occurred between the two cases and to assess these differences from the phenomenon behavior point of view. It was also investigated whether the ECCS line break analysis results could be covered by header break analysis results. The study reveals that as the intact loop has almost the same behavior in both analyzed cases. broken loop behavior is different mostly regarding sheath temperature in the critical core pass and pressure decrease in the broken Reactor Inlet Header. Differences are also met in the ECCS behavior and in event sequences timings.

• Journal of computational fluids engineering
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.71-77
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• 2016

The CUPID code is a transient, three-dimensional, two-fluid, thermal-hydraulic code designed for a component-scale analysis of nuclear reactor components. The primary objective of this study is to assess the applicability of CUPID to single-phase turbulent flow analyses of $2{\times}2$ rod bundle subchannel. The bulk velocity at the inlet varies from 1.0 m/s up to 2.0 m/s which is equivalent to the fully turbulent flow with the range of Re=12,500 to 25,000. Adiabatic single-phase flow is assumed. The velocity profile at the exit region is quantitatively compared with both experimental measurement and commercial CFD tool. Three different boundary conditions are simulated and quantitatively compared each other. The calculation results of CUPID code shows a good agreement with the experimental data. It is concluded that the CUPID code has capability to reproduce the turbulent flow behavior for the $2{\times}2$ rod bundle geometry.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.532-545
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• 2022

In-depth convergence analyses for neutronics/thermal-hydraulics (T/H) coupled calculations are performed to investigate the performance of nonlinear methods based on the Fixed-Point Iteration (FPI). A simplified neutronics-T/H coupled system consisting of a single fuel pin is derived to provide a testbed. The xenon equilibrium model is considered to investigate its impact during the nonlinear iteration. A problem set is organized to have a thousand different fuel temperature coefficients (FTC) and moderator temperature coefficients (MTC). The problem set is solved by the Jacobi and Gauss-Seidel (G-S) type FPI. The relaxation scheme and the Anderson acceleration are applied to improve the convergence rate of FPI. The performances of solution schemes are evaluated by comparing the number of iterations and the error reduction behavior. From those numerical investigations, it is demonstrated that the number of FPIs is increased as the feedback is stronger regardless of its sign. In addition, the Jacobi type FPIs generally shows a slower convergence rate than the G-S type FPI. It also turns out that the xenon equilibrium model can cause numerical instability for certain conditions. Lastly, it is figured out that the Anderson acceleration can effectively improve the convergence behaviors of FPI, compared to the conventional relaxation scheme.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.23-41
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• 2023

Coupled thermo-hydraulic-mechanical (THM) processes are essential for the long-term performance of deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. In this study, a numerical sensitivity analysis was performed to analyze the effect of rock properties on THM responses after the execution of the heater test at the Kamaishi mine in Japan. The TOUGH-FLAC simulator was applied for the numerical simulation assuming a continuum model for coupled THM analysis. The rock properties included in the sensitivity study were the Young's modulus, permeability, thermal conductivity, and thermal expansion coefficients of crystalline rock, rock salt, and clay. The responses, i.e., temperature, water content, displacement, and stress, were measured at monitoring points in the buffer and near-field rock mass during the simulations. The thermal conductivity had an overarching impact on THM responses. The influence of Young's modulus was evident in the mechanical behavior, whereas that of permeability was noticed through the change in the temperature and water content. The difference in the THM responses of the three rock type models implies the importance of the appropriate characterization of rock mass properties with regard to the performance assessment of the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.18-30
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• 1999

A heat transfer analysis for the two-dimensional (2-D) steady state using finite difference method (FDM) is performed to predict the thermal behavior of the primary first-wall (FW) system of fusion reactor under various geometric and thermo-hydraulic conditions, such as the beryllium (Be) armor thickness, pitch of cooling tube, and coolant velocity. The FW consists of authentic steel (type 316 stainless steel solution annealed) for cooling tubes, Cu for cooling tubes embedding material, and Be for a protective armor, based on the International Thermonuclear Experiment Reactor (ITER) report. The present 2-D analysis, the control volume discretized with hybrid grid (rectangular grid and polar grid) and Gauss-Seidel iteration method are adapted to solve the governing equations. In the present study, geometric and thermo-hydraulic parameters are optimized with consideration of several limitations. Consequently, it is suggested that the adequate pitch of cooling tube is 22-32mm, the beryllium armor thickness is 10-12mm, and that the coolant velocity is 4.5m/s-6m/s for $100^{\circ}C$ of inlet coolant temperature. The cooling tube should locate near beryllium armor. But, it would be better for locating the center of Cu wall, considering problems of material and manufacturing. Also, 2-D analysis neglecting the axial temperature distribution of cooling tube is appropriate, regarding the discretization error in axial direction.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05b
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• pp.637-642
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• 1996

This paper presents the analysis results for the core degradation processes and the fission product release of the PHEBUS FPT0 experiment using MELCOR1.8.3. The objective of this study is to assess models associated with the core damage and fission product behavior in MELCOR. The calculation results were much improved through sensitivity studies. Thermal/hydraulic behavior in the core and the circuit was well predicted under the intact core geometry. In non-eutectic model case. the UO$_2$ dissolution model in the MELCOR always showed such a tendency that the resulting dissolved UO$_2$ mass was small at the highly oxidized condition due to the model logic. Total H$_2$ generation mass was underpredicted because the stiffner was not modeled and the liner in the shroud was not allowed to be oxidized in MELCOR. Some difficulties were found in modeling the activation product were solved by manipulating the RN input associated with the initial fission product inventory. These problem were occurred because there are no control rod model in MELCOR. Generally the fission product release ratio showed a similar trend compared with the measured data except the activation product. which have no model to simulate in MELCOR.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2001

The post-LOCA long term cooling (LTC) performance of the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNPP) is analyzed for both small break loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA) and large break LOCA at cold leg. The RELAP5/MOD3.2.2 beta code is used to calculate the LTC sequences based on the LTC plan of the Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plants (KSNPP). A standard input model is developed such that LOCA and the followed LTC sequence can be calculated in a single run for both small break LOCA and large break LOCA. A spectrum of small break LOCA ranging from \ulcorner.02 to 0.5 k2 of break area and a double-ended guillotine break are analyzed. Through the code calculations, the thermal-hydraulic behavior and the boron behavior are evaluated and the effect of the important action including the safety injection tank (SIT isolation and the simultaneous injection in LTC procedure is investigated. As a result, it is found that the sufficient margin is available in avoiding the boron precipitation in the core. It is also found that a further specific condition for the SIT isolation action need to be setup and it is recommended that the early initiation of the simultaneous injection be taken for larger break LTC sequences.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1999

A finite element code was developed to analyze coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical phenomena. This code is based on the finite element formulation provided by Noorishad et al. (1984) and Joint behavior was simulated Goodman's joint constitutive model. The developed code was applied for T-H-M coupling analysis for two kinds of shaft models, with a joint or without a joint respectively. For a model without a joint, temperature increased from the shaft wall to outward evidently. The radial displacement showed opposite directions of outward and inward at some distance from shaft wall. For a model with a joint, closure of joint was found due to thermal expansion. The temperature distribution along a joint showed relatively lower than that of rock matrix because of low thermal conductivity and high specific heat of water. And it could be concluded that effects of thermal flow to joint were more than that of hydraulic flow in a rock mass.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.8
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• pp.1611-1625
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• 2020

We propose a scaled-down experimental model of vertical air-natural convection channels by applying the modified Ishii-Kataoka scaling method with the assistance of numerical analyses to the Reactor Vault Cooling System (RVCS) of the Proto-type Gen-IV Sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR) being developed in Korea. Two major non-dimensional numbers (modified Richardson and Friction number) from the momentum equation and Stanton number from the energy balance equation were identified to design the scaled-down experimental model to assimilate thermal-hydraulic behaviors of the natural convective air-cooling channel of RVCS. The ratios of the design parameters in the PGSFR RVCS between the prototype and the scaled-down model were determined by setting Richardson and Stanton number to be unity. The friction number which cannot be determined by the Ishii-Kataoka method was estimated by numerical analyses using the MARS-KS system code. The numerical analyses showed that the friction number with the form loss coefficient of 2.0 in the scale-down model would result in an acceptable prediction of the thermal-hydraulic behavior in RVCS. We also performed experimental benchmarking using the scaled-down model with the MARS-KS simulations to verify the appropriateness of the scale-down model, which demonstrated that the temperature rises and the average air flow velocity measured in the scale-down model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.274-284
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• 1992

A 1/15-scale CREARE experiment, which simulates the thermal-hydraulic behavior in the reactor pressure vessel of a PWR during a hypothetical Loss Of Coolant Accident, has been analyzed using CATHARE code for the associated model assessment to represent the phenomenon. The key parameters examined in the CREARE experiment were known as ECC water injection rate. ECC water subcooling, system pressure, and steam flow rate coming out from the core bottom. The present CATHARE simulation, however, has been mainly focused on qualitative analysis of a countercurrent flow in the downcomer. The discrepancy of the simulation results with the experimental data is considered arising primarily from an inadequate numerical representation as well as an interfacial friction model. Accordingly it is suggested from the sensitivity studies that either multidimensional approach or further examination of momentum equations at a junction near a volume element in CATHARE be necessary in order to represent the phenomenon more realistically.