• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.281-287
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• 2011

We consider the uncertainty in the elastic buckling formula for a thin tube. We take into account the measurement uncertainty of Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio and the tolerance of the tube thickness and diameter. Elastic buckling must be prohibited for a thin tube such as a nuclear fuel rod that must satisfy a self-stand criterion. Since the predicted critical buckling pressure overestimated that found in the experiment, the determination of the minimum safety factor is crucial. The uncertainty in each parameter (i.e., Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, thickness, and diameter) is mutually independent, so the safety factor is evaluated as the sum of the inverse of each uncertainty. We found that the thickness variation greatly affects the uncertainty. The minimum safety factor of a thin tube of Zirconium alloy is evaluated as 1.547 for a thickness of 0.87 mm and 3.487 for a thickness of 0.254 mm.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1834-1845
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• 2021

Liquid lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor is one of the most promising reactor types among the fourth-generation nuclear energy systems. The flow and heat transfer characteristics of lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) are completely different from ordinary fluids due to its special thermal properties, causing that the traditional Reynolds analogy is no longer recommended and appropriate. More accurate turbulence flow and heat transfer model for the liquid metal lead-bismuth should be developed and applied in CFD simulation. In this paper, a specific CFD solver for simulating the flow and heat transfer of liquid lead-bismuth based on the k - 𝜀 - k_𝜃 - 𝜀_𝜃 model was developed based on the open source platform OpenFOAM. Then the advantage of proposed model was demonstrated and validated against a set of experimental data. Finally, the simulation of LBE turbulent flow and heat transfer in a 7-pin wire-wrapped rod bundle with the k - 𝜀 - k_𝜃 - 𝜀_𝜃 model was carried out. The influence of wire on the flow and heat transfer characteristics and the three-dimensional distribution of key thermal hydraulic parameters such as temperature, cross-flow velocity and Nusselt number were studied and presented. Compared with the traditional SED model with a constant Pr_t = 1.5 or 2.0, the k - 𝜀 - k_𝜃 - 𝜀_𝜃 model is more accurate on predicting the turbulence flow and heat transfer of liquid lead-bismuth. The average relative error of the k - 𝜀 - k_𝜃 - 𝜀_𝜃 model is reduced by 11.1% at most under the simulation conditions in this paper. This work is meaningful for the thermal hydraulic analysis and structure design of fuel assembly in the liquid lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.146-152
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• 1996

A small power reactor core of 108 MW$\_$th/ was designed with some design constraints: 2 year refueling cycle length, soluble boron free operation, low power density, and proven fuel assembly design - Uljin 3'||'&'||'4 design specifications. CASMO-3 and KINS-3 was used to evaluate operational capability for power level control via control rods. Cycle length, power peaking factor, M.T.C., and power coefficients were also checked. Designed core loaded with KOFAs satisfied all design goals. We found that much more burnable poisons are to be loaded with axial enrichment zoning. Control rod assemblies should be located at every other assemblies with more than 3 banks. Additional shutdown banks are proposed for the safe plant cooldown, which could be located at core periphery.

• International Journal of Safety
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2004

SMART-P is a promising advanced small and medium category nuclear power reactor. It is an integral type reactor with a sensible mixture of new innovative design features and proven technologies aimed at achieving a highly enhanced safety and improved economics. The enhancement of the safety and reliability is realized by incorporating inherent safety improving features and reliable passive safety systems. The improvement in the economics is achieved through a system simplification, and component modularization. Preliminary safety analyses on selected limiting accidents confirm that the inherent safety improving design characteristics and the safety system of SMART-P ensure the reactor's safety. SMART-P is an advanced integral pressurized water reactor. The purpose of this study is for the safety analysis of the steam generator module pipe break for the SMART-P. The integrity of the fuel rod is the major criteria of this analysis. As a result of this analysis, the safety of the RCS and the secondary system is guaranteed against the module pipe break of a steam generator of the SMART-P.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.132-138
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• 2011

In the present article, we investigate numerically turbulent flow of air through compound rectangular channels. Large eddy simulation(LES) is employed for unsteady turbulence modeling. LES gives better predictions for the axial mean velocity distribution than those of other turbulent models. Strong large-scale quasi-periodic flow oscillations are observed in most of the geometries investigated. Such large-scale flow oscillations in compound rectangular channels are similar to the quasi-periodic flow pulsation through the gaps between fuel rod bundle in nuclear reactor. It exists in any longitudinal connecting gap between two flow channels. The frequency of this flow oscillation is determined by the geometry of the gap. The large scale cross motions through the rectangular compound channels induce significant heat transfer enhancement of the compound channel flow.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.326-336
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• 1990

Recent experiments show the existence of spacer grid improves the heat removal from the fuel rods during the reflood phase of LOCA. The local heat transfer within and downstream of the grid is increased due to the earlier quenching than rod surface, shattering of the entrained droplets into smaller ones which can be more easily evaporated and enhanced turbulent effect. Therefore, the consideration of these phenomena is necessary for the DFFB regime which prevails above the water level during the reflood. In this paper, droplet breakup model at spacer grid has been developed and incorporated into RELAP5/MOD2. Verification calculations are carried out for FEBA tests which examine the thermalhydraulic performance of grid spacer during reflood.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.79-84
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• 2007

Inventories of soluble elements in the gap and grain boundaries of domestic used PWR fuel pellets were measured to estimate the quantities of radionuclides that are liable to be rapidly released into the groundwater of a disposal site. The gap inventory of cesium for the pellets in the used fuel with a burn-up range of 45 to 66 GWD/MTU showed 0.85 to 1.7% of its total inventory, which was close to 1/6 to 1/3 of the fission gas release fraction (FGRF). However, the amounts of cesium released from the gaps of the pellets below 40 GWD/MTU of a burn-up and less than 1% FGRF were so erratic that the gap inventory could not be defined by ie FGRF. Strontium inventories in the gap and grain boundaries of the pellets in the same rod were not significantly varied, and the iodine inventory in the gap of the used PWR fuels was estimated to be less than or the same as the FGRF.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2012

A molten salt technology using $Li_2O$-LiCl has been extensively investigated to recover uranium metal from spent fuels in the field of nuclear energy. In the reduction process, it is an important point to maintain the concentration of $Li_2O$. $ZrO_2$ is inevitably contained in the spent fuels because Zr is one of the main components of fuel rod hulls. Therefore, the fate of $ZrO_2$ in $Li_2O$-LiCl molten salt has been investigated. It was found that $Li_2ZrO_3$ and $Li_4ZrO_4$ were formed chemically and electrochemically and they were not reduced to Zr. The recycling of $Li_2O$ is the key mechanism ruling the total reaction in the electrolytic reduction process. However, $ZrO_2$ will have a role as a $Li_2O$ sink.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.342-348
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• 2003

Ultrasonic backscattering profiles of the Zr plates(with a thickness of 1.32mm) with/without Be-Zr alloy layer(with a thickness of $100{\mu}m$) were measured at various incidence positions to evaluate the characteristics of Be diffusion layer. Four principal subprofiles were observed in the backward ultrasound radiated from leaky Lamb waves. The angles and the intensities of the subprofile peaks decreased by the stiffening effect of Be layer. Generation and change of the subprofiles were explained by the acoustical property, collective group velocity and leaky factor difference of the plates under consideration. Backward radiation subprofiles turned out to be an useful method for evaluating thin diffusion layers on plates.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.17 no.5 s.54
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• pp.66-75
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• 2003

Long cylinder, subjected to internal pressure, is important in the analysis and design of nuclear fuel rod structures. In many cases, long cylinder problems have been considered as a plane strain condition. However, strictly speaking, long cylinder problems are not plane strain problems, but rather a general plane strain (GPS) condition, which is a combination of a plane strain state and a uniform strain state. The magnitude of the uniform axial strain is required, in order to make the summation of the axial force zero. Although there has been the GPS element, this paper proposes a general technique to solve long cylinder problems, using several pseudo-general plane strain (PGPS) elements. The conventional GPS elements and PGPS elements employed are as follows: axisymmetric GPS element (GA3), axisymmetric PGPS element (PGA8/6), 2-D GPS element (GIO), 3-D PGPS element (PG20/16), and reduced PGPS elements (RPGA6, RPG20/16). In particular, PGPS elements (PGA8/6, PG20/16) can be applied in periodic structure problems. These finite elements are tested, using several kinds of examples, thereby confirming the validity of the proposed finite element models.