• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권1호
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• pp.330-338
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• 2023

In this study, impacts of an enhanced-moderation Fuel Assembly (FA) named Truly Optimized PWR (TOP) lattice, which is modified based on the standard 17 × 17 PWR FA, are investigated in a natural circulation Soluble-Boron-Free (SBF) Small Modular Reactor (SMR). Two different TOP lattice designs are considered for the analysis; one is with 1.26 cm pin pitch and 0.38 cm fuel pellet radius, and the other is with 1.40 cm pin pitch and 0.41 cm fuel pellet radius. The NuScale core design is utilized as the base model and assumed to be successfully converted to an SBF core. The analysis is performed following the primary coolant circulation loop, and the reactor is modelled as a single channel for thermal-hydraulic analyses. It is assumed that the ratio of the core pressure drop to the total system pressure drop is around 0.3. The results showed that the reactor power could be increased by 2.5% and 9.8% utilizing 1.26/0.38 cm and 1.40/0.41 cm TOP designs, respectively, under the identical coolant inlet and outlet temperatures as the constraints.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권3호
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• pp.1037-1051
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• 2024

This paper presents the construction results and design of the UNIST Reactor Innovation platform for small modular reactors as a versatile testbed for exploring innovative technologies. The platform uses simulant fluids to simulate the thermal-hydraulic behavior of a reference small modular reactor design, allowing for cost-effective design modifications. Scaling analysis results for single and two-phase natural circulation flows are outlined based on the three-level scaling methodology. The platform's capability to simulate natural circulation behavior was validated through performance calculations using the 1-D system thermal-hydraulic code-based calculation. The strategies for evaluating cutting-edge technologies, such as the integration of a solid oxide electrolysis cell for hydrogen production into a small modular reactor, are presented. To overcome experimental limitations, the hardware-in-the-loop technique is proposed as an alternative, enabling real-time simulation of physical phenomena that cannot be implemented within the experimental facility's hardware. Overall, the proposed versatile innovation platform is expected to provide valuable insights for advancing research in the field of small modular reactors and nuclear-based hydrogen production.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권3호
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• pp.900-906
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• 2024

The Passively-Cooled Molten Salt Fast Reactor (PMFR) is one of the advanced design concepts of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) which utilizes a natural circulation for the primary loop and aims to attain a long-life operation without any means of fuel reprocessing. For an extended operation period, it is necessary to have enough fissile material, i.e., high excess reactivity, at the onset of operation. Since the PMFR is based on a fast neutron spectrum, direct implementation of a burnable absorber concept for the control of excess reactivity would be ineffective. Therefore, a localized moderator concept that encircles the active core has been envisioned for the PMFR which enables the effective utilization of a burnable absorber to achieve low reactivity swing and long-life operation. The modified PMFR design that incorporates a moderator and burnable absorber is presented, where depletion calculation is performed to estimate the reactor lifetime and reactivity swing to assess the feasibility of the proposed design. All the presented neutronic analysis has been conducted based on the Monte Carlo Serpent2 code with ENDF/B-VII.1 library.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권5호
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• pp.1272-1278
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• 2019

A lumped kinetic modeling platform is developed to investigate the coupled nuclear/thermo-fluid features of the closed natural circulation loop in a low power lead cooled fast reactor. This coolant material serves a reliable choice with noticeable thermo-physical safety characteristics in terms of natural convection. Boussienesq approximation is resorted to appropriately reduce the governing partial differential equations (PDEs) for the fluid flow into a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). As a main contributing step, the coolant circulation speed is accordingly correlated to the loop operational power and temperature levels. Further temporal analysis and control synthesis activities may thus be carried out within a more consistent state space framework. Nyquist stability criterion is thereafter employed to carry out a sensitivity analysis for the system stability at various power and heat sink temperature levels and results confirm a widely stable natural circulation loop.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 2002년도 추계학술발표회요약집
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• pp.176-176
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• 2002

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1996년도 추계학술발표회논문집(1)
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• pp.79-84
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• 1996

The robust controller for the nuclear reactor power control system is designed. The reactor model is set up by use of the point kinetics equations and the singly lumped energy balance equations. Since the model is different from the actual plant, the controller which makes the system robust is necessary. The perturbation of the actual plant is investigated with respect to several possible sources of uncertainty. Then the overall system is configured into the two port model and the $H_{\infty}$ controller is designed. The loop shaping and the permissible control rod speed are considered as the design constraints. The designed $H_{\infty}$ controller provides the sufficient margins for the robustness, and the system output as well as the control input satisfy their relevant requirements.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2003년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.1897-1902
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• 2003

An 1/21.6 scaled experimental facility was prepared utilizing the results of a scaling analysis to simulate the APRI400 reactor and insulation system. The behaviors of the boiling-induced two-phase natural circulation flow in the insulation gap were observed, and the liquid mass flow rates driven by natural circulation loop were measured by varying the wall heat flux, upper exit slot area and configuration. And non-heating experiments have also been performed and discussed to certify the hydraulic similarity of the heating experiments by injecting air equivalent to the steam generated in the heating experimental condition.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.280-290
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• 1997

The robust controller for the nuclear reactor power control system is designed. The nuclear reactor is modeled by use of the point kinetics equations and the singly lumped energy balance equations, Since the model is not exact, the controller which can make the actual system robust is necessary. The perturbed plant is investigated by employing the uncertainties of the initial power level and the physical properties, and by introducing the delay into the modeled plant The overall system is configured into the two port model and the H$\infty$ controller is designed. In designing the H$\infty$ controller, two factors of the loop shaping and the permissible magnitude of control input are taken into account The designed controller provides the sufficient margins for the robustness, and the transients of the system output power and the control input satisfy their associated requirement.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1995년도 추계학술발표회논문집(1)
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• pp.475-479
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• 1995

During the hypothetical loss of coolant accident in the nuclear power plant the emergency core cooling water could not penetrate to the reactor core when the steam flow rate from the reactor core exceeds CCFL (Countercurrent flow limitation). The CCFL generated by earlier investigators are developed under the steady gas flow. However the flow instability in the reactor loop could generate oscillatory steam flow, hence their applicability under oscillating flow should be investigated. In this work, an experimental investigation of countercurrent flow in the vertical flow channel has been conducted under oscillatory gas flow. Pulsation of gas under oscillatory flow disturbs the flow pattern significantly and prevents flooding (CCFL) when its minimum value is less than the threshold gas flow rate value.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.304-308
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• 1994

A suitable culture method and bioreactor type for itaconic acid production were chosen by comparing the maximal concentration of itaconic acid produced in various systems. In batch culture, the maximal concentration of itaconic acid produced in a bubble column reactor was about 5% greater than that produced in stirred-tank or external-loop airlift reactor. These results were thought to be due to lower shear force and higher mass transfer efficiency in a bubble column reactor in comparison with other reactors. Moreover, the fed-batch mode in a bubble column was found to be a suitable one, producing about 25% higher concentration of itaconic acid compared to batch mode.