• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.311-322
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• 2013

High-Cr martensitic steel HT-9 is one of the candidate materials for advanced nuclear energy systems. Thanks to its excellent thermal conductivity and irradiation resistance, ferritic/martensitic steels such as HT-9 are considered for in-core applications of advanced nuclear reactors. The harsh neutron irradiation environments at the reactor core region pose a unique challenge for structural and cladding materials. Microstructural and microchemical changes resulting from displacement damage are anticipated for structural materials after prolonged neutron exposure. Consequently, various irradiation effects on the service performance of in-core materials need to be understood. In this work, the fundamentals of radiation damage and irradiation effects of the HT-9 martensitic steel are reviewed. The objective of this paper is to provide a background introduction of displacement damage, microstructural evolution, and subsequent effects on mechanical properties of the HT-9 martensitic steel under neutron irradiations. Mechanical test results of the irradiated HT-9 steel obtained from previous fast reactor and fusion programs are summarized along with the information of irradiated microstructure. This review can serve as a starting point for additional investigations on the in-core applications of ferritic/martensitic steels in advanced nuclear reactors.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.43-52
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• 2020

Purpose : The aim of this study was to investigate the change of the respiratory function of chronic low back pain patients after the thoracic manipulation and the trunk stability exercise on chronic low back pain patients. Methods : For this study, the group of the experiment was consisted of 44 patients suffering from the low back pain chronically. The participants were divided into two groups: the control group, which was assigned for core stabilization exercise (CSE), and the experimental group, which was randomly assigned for core stabilization exercise after thoracic manipulation (CSE+TM). Both groups carried out each assigned treatment on three times a week for 8 weeks. To study the change related to measurement variable from each test groups before and after intervention, paired t-test was performed. Further, the statistics for an intergroup comparison was analyzed by covariance analysis, ANCOVA. The measurement was conducted by the respiratory function, the respiratory function was measured by forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁). Results : As a result, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) showed significant differences not only by each groups but also between those groups before and after the test. Conclusion : In conclusion, both experiments, the core stabilization exercise and the core stabilization exercise conducted after thoracic manipulation, on chronic low back pain patients resulted in the significant level of difference in the respiratory function. This result indicates that the thoracic manipulation is an efficient treatment for improving the respiratory function for chronic low back pain patients.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.156-164
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• 2016

Qualification model(QM) of main payloads including concentrating photovoltaic system using fresnel lens, heating wire cutting type shockless holding and release mechanism, and MEMS-based solid propellant thruster have been developed for the STEP Cube Lab.(Cube Laboratory for Space Technology Experimental Project), which is a pico-class satellite for verification of core space technologies. In this study, we have verified structural safety and functionality of the developed payloads under a qualification temperature range through the QM thermal vacuum test. Additionally, a reliability of thermal model of the payloads has been confirmed by performing a thermal correlation based on the thermal balance test results.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.3491-3496
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• 2007

If a molten core is released from a reactor vessel into a reactor cavity during a severe accident, an important safety issue of coolability of the molten core from top-flooding and concrete ablation due to a molten core concrete interaction (MCCI) is still unresolved. The released molten core debris would attack the concrete wall and basemat of the reactor cavity, which will lead to inevitable concrete decompositions and possible radiological releases. In a OECD/MCCI project scheduled for 4 years from 2002. 1 to 2005. 12, a series of tests were performed to secure the data for cooling the molten core spread out at the reactor cavity and for the 2-D long-term core concrete interaction (CCI). The tests included not only separate effect tests such as a melt eruption, water ingression, and crust failure tests with a prototypic material but also 2-D CCI tests with a prototypic material under dry and flooded cavity conditions. The paper deals with the transient simulations on the CCI-2 test by using a severe accident analysis code, CORQUENCH, which was developed at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Similar simulations had been already per for me d by using MELCOR 1.8.5 code. Unlike the MELCOR 1.8.5, the CORQUENCH includes a melt eruption mode I and a newly developed water ingression model based on the water ingression tests under the OECD/MCCI project. In order to adjust the geometrical differences between the CCI-2 test (rectangular geometry) and the simulations (cylindrical geometry), the same scaling methodology as used in the MELCOR simulation was applied. For the direct comparison of the simulation results, the same inputs for the MELCOR simulation were used. The simulation results were compared with the previous results by using MELCOR 1.8.5.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.635-641
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• 2016

Because of prohibitive data storage requirements in large-scale simulations, the memory problem is an obstacle for Monte Carlo (MC) codes in accomplishing pin-wise three-dimensional (3D) full-core calculations, particularly for whole-core depletion analyses. Various kinds of data are evaluated and quantificational total memory requirements are analyzed based on the Reactor Monte Carlo (RMC) code, showing that tally data, material data, and isotope densities in depletion are three major parts of memory storage. The domain decomposition method is investigated as a means of saving memory, by dividing spatial geometry into domains that are simulated separately by parallel processors. For the validity of particle tracking during transport simulations, particles need to be communicated between domains. In consideration of efficiency, an asynchronous particle communication algorithm is designed and implemented. Furthermore, we couple the domain decomposition method with MC burnup process, under a strategy of utilizing consistent domain partition in both transport and depletion modules. A numerical test of 3D full-core burnup calculations is carried out, indicating that the RMC code, with the domain decomposition method, is capable of pin-wise full-core burnup calculations with millions of depletion regions.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2015

PURPOSES : The objective of this study is to compare the densities of asphalt pavements measured both in the field and in the laboratory, and also to evaluate the applicability of field density measuring equipment, such as the pavement quality indicator (PQI), by using statistical analysis. METHODS : For the statistical analysis of the density measured from asphalt pavement, student t-tests and a coefficient of correlation are investigated. In order to compare the measured densities, two test sections are prepared, with a base layer and an intermediate layer constructed. Each test section consists of 9 smaller sections. During construction, the field densities are measured for both layers (base and intermediate) in each section. Core samples are extracted from similar regions in each section, and moved to the laboratory for density measurements. All the measured densities from both the field and laboratory observations are analyzed using the selected statistical analysis methods. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION : Based on an analysis of measured densities, analysis using a correlation coefficient is found to be more accurate than analysis using a student t-test. The correlation coefficient (R) between the field density and the core density is found to be very low with a confidence interval less than 0.5. This may be the result of inappropriate calibration of the measuring equipment. Additionally, the correlation coefficient for the base layer is higher than for the intermediate layer. Finally, we observe that prior to using the density measuring equipment in the field, a calibration process should be performed to ensure the reliability of measured field densities.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2024

Aluminum foams sandwich panel (AFSP) has been used in engineering field, where cyclic loading is used in most of the applications. In this paper, the fatigue life of AFSP prepared by the bonding method was investigated through a three-point bending test. The mathematical statistics method was used to analyze the influence of different plate thicknesses and core densities on the bending fatigue life. The macroscopic fatigue failure modes and damage mechanisms were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that panel thickness and core layer density have a significant influence on the bending fatigue life of AFSP and their dispersion. The damage mechanism of fatigue failure to cells in aluminum foam is that the initial fatigue crack begins the cell wall, the thinnest position of the cell wall or the intersection of the cell wall and the cell ridge, where stress concentrations are more likely to occur. The fatigue failure of aluminum foam core usually starts from the semi-closed unit of the lower layer, and the fatigue crack propagates layer by layer along the direction of the maximum shear stress. The results can provide a reference for the practical engineering design and application of AFSP.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.2195-2205
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• 2023

One of the salient nuclear fuel performance parameters for new fuel types under development is changes in fuel thickness. To test the new commercially fabricated U-10Mo monolithic plate-type fuel, an irradiation experiment was designed that consisted of multiple mini-plate capsules distributed within the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) core, the mini-plate 1 (MP-1) experiment. Each capsule contains eight mini-plates that were either fueled or "dummy" plates. Fuel thickness changes within a fuel assembly can be characterized by measuring the gaps between the plates ultrasonically. The channel gap probe (CGP) system is designed to measure the gaps between the plates and will provide information that supports qualification of U-10Mo monolithic fuel. This study will discuss the design and the results from the use of a custom-designed CGP system for characterizing the gaps between mini-plates within the MP-1 capsules. To ensure accurate and repeatable data, acceptance and calibration procedures have been developed. Unfortunately, there is no "gold" standard measurement to compare to CGP measurements. An effort was made to use plate thickness obtained from post-irradiation measurements to derive channel gap estimates for comparison with the CGP characterization.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.205-229
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• 2018

Energy induced by minor earthquake and micro vibration cannot be dissipated by traditional buckling-restrained braces (BRBs). To solve this problem, a new type of hybrid passive control device, named as VE-BRB, which is configured by a BRB with high-damping viscoelastic (VE) layers, is developed and studied. Theoretical analysis, performance tests, numerical simulation and case analysis are conducted to study the seismic behavior of VE-BRBs. The results indicate that the combination of hysteretic and damping devices lead to a multi-phased nature and good performance. VE-BRB's working state can be divided into three phases: before yielding of the steel core, VE layers provide sufficient damping ratio to mitigate minor vibrations; after yielding of the steel core, the steel's hysteretic deformations provide supplemental dissipative capacity for structures; after rupture of the steel core, VE layers are still able to work normally and provide multiple security assurance for structures. The simulation results agreed well with the experimental results, validating the finite element analysis method, constitutive models and the identified parameters. The comparison of the time history analysis on a 6-story frame with VE-BRBs and BRBs verified the advantages of VE-BRB for seismic protection of structures compared with traditional BRB. In general, VE-BRB had the potential to provide better control effect on structural displacement and shear in all stages than BRB as expected.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.495-508
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• 2020

Double skin composite walls are alternatives to concrete walls to resist gravity load in structures. The composite action between steel faceplates and concrete core largely depends on the internal mechanical connectors. This paper investigates the structural behavior of novel composite wall system with T section and under combined compressive force and bending moment. The truss connectors are used to bond the steel faceplates to concrete core. Four short specimens were designed and tested under eccentric compression. The influences of the thickness of steel faceplates, the truss spacing, and the thickness of web wall were discussed based on the test results. The N-M interaction curves by AISC 360, Eurocode 4, and CECS 159 were compared with the test data. It was found that AISC 360 provided the most reasonable predictions.