• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.15-24
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• 1997

The design and evaluation of a digital U-tube steam generator level controller of nuclear power plants, which uses model-based compensators to offset the inverse response behavior of water level, is described. Included is a review of steam generator level dynamics, a simulation model that replicates the effects of feedwater and steam flowrate as well as temperature on steam generator level, the design of both the compensators and the overall controller, and the results of simulation studies in which the performances of this model-based controller and existing analog ones were compared. The proposed digital steam generator level controller is stable and its use significantly improves the controllability of steam generator level.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.358-369
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• 2002

Abundant information about analyses of single steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) events is available because of its importance in terms of safety. However, there are few literatures available on analyses of multiple steam generator tube rupture (MSGTR) events. In addition, knowledge of transients and consequences following a MSGTR event are very limited as there has been no occurrence of MSGTR event in the commercial operation of nuclear reactors. In this study, a postulated MSGTR event in an APR1400 is analyzed using thermal-hydraulic system code MARSI.4. The present study aims to examine the effects of affected steam generator selection. The main steam safety valve (MSSV) lift time for four cases are compared in order to examine how long operator response time is allowed depending on which steam generate. (S/G) is affected. The comparison shows that the cases where two steam generators are simultaneously affected allow longer time for operator action compared with the cases where a single steam generator is affected. Furthermore, the tube ruptures in the steam generator where a pressurizer is connected leads to the shortest operator response time.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.1132-1135
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• 2008

The sludge grown up in steam generators of nuclear power plants shortens the life-cycle of steam generators and reduces the output of power plants. So KHNP(Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power), the only nuclear power utility in Korea, removes it periodically using a steam generator lancing system during the outage of plants for an overhaul. KEPRI(Korea Electric Power Research Institute) has developed lancing systems with high pressured water nozzle for steam generators of nuclear power plants since 2001. In this paper, the design of a partial inter-tube lancing system for model F type steam generators will be described. The system is actuated without a DC motor inner steam generators because the motors in a steam generator make a trouble from high intensity of radioactivity as a break down.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.465-476
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• 2000

In a nuclear power plant, steam generator tubes cover a major portion of the primary pressure-retaining boundary. Thus very conservative approaches have been taken in the light of steam generator tube integrity According to the present criteria, tubes wall-thinned in excess of 40% should be plugged whatever causes are. However, many analytical and experimental results have shown that no safety problems exist even with thickness reductions greater than 40%. The present criterion was developed about twenty years ago when wear and pitting were dominant causes for steam generator tube degradation. And it is based on tubes with single cracks regardless of the fact that the appearance of multiple cracks is more common in general. The objective of this study is to review the conservatism of the present plugging criteria of steam generator tubes and to propose a new coalescence model for two adjacent through-wall cracks existing in steam generator tubes. Using the existing failure models and experimental results, we reviewed the conservatism of the present plugging criteria. In order to verify the usefulness of the proposed new coalescence model, we performed finite element analysis and some parametric studies. Then, we developed a coalescence evaluation diagram.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.8
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• pp.911-918
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• 2012

Steam generator level control at low power is difficult due to its adverse thermal hydraulic properties, and is usually conducted by an operator. The basic model predictive control (MPC) is similar to the action of an operator in that the operator knows the desired reference trajectory for a finite period of time and takes the necessary control actions needed to ensure the desired trajectory. An MPC is based on a model; the performance as well as the efficiency of the MPC depends heavily on the exactness of the model. In this study, steam generator models that can describe in detail its thermal hydraulic behaviors, particularly at low power, are used in the MPC design. The design scope is divided into two parts. First, the MPC feedwater controller of the feedwater station is determined, and then the MPC level controller for the overall system is designed. Because the dynamic properties of a steam generator change with the power levels, a realistic situation is simulated by changing the transfer functions of the steam generator at every time step. The resulting MPC controller shows good performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.102-110
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• 2001

In this work, the model predictive control method was applied to a linear model and a nonlinear model of steam generators. The parameters of a linear model for steam generators are very different according to the power levels. The model predictive controller was designed for the linear steam generator model at a fixed power level. The proposed controller at the fixed power level showed good performance for any other power levels by designed changing only the input-weighting factor. As the input-weighting factor usually increases, its relative stability does so. The steam generator has some nonlinear characteristics. Therefore, the proposed algorithm has been implemented for a nonlinear model of the nuclear steam generator to verify its real performance and also, showed good performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1577-1586
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• 2023

Safety qualification of a steam generator is a crucial issue related to faulted condition design loads, including earthquake loads, and it should be ensured that the structural integrity of a steam generator does not exceed its design load. Using data from the Gyeongju and Pohang earthquakes, the two most powerful recorded seismic events in Korea, seismic analyses of a typical steam generator are conducted in this study. The modal characteristics are used to develop an input deck for these analyses. With a time history analysis, the responses of the steam generator in the event of an earthquake are obtained. In particular, the displacement, velocity, and acceleration responses are obtained in the time domain, with these outcomes then used for a detailed structural analysis as part of the ensuing assessment. The response spectra are also generated to determine the response characteristics in the frequency domain, focusing on the response comparisons between the Gyeongju and Pohang earthquakes. Structural integrity can be ensured by performing additional analysis using results obtained from the time history analysis considering the input excitations of various earthquakes considered in the design.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.870-880
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• 2016

A steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) event with a stuck-open safety relief valve constitutes one of the most serious accident sequences in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) because it may create an open path for radioactive aerosol release into the environment. The release may be mitigated by the deposition of fission product particles on a steam generator's (SG's) dry tubes and structures or by scrubbing in the secondary coolant. However, the absence of empirical data, the complexity of the geometry, and the controlling processes have, until recently, made any quantification of retention difficult to justify. As a result, past risk assessment studies typically took little or no credit for aerosol retention in SGTR sequences. To provide these missing data, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) initiated the Aerosol Trapping In Steam GeneraTor (ARTIST) Project, which aimed to thoroughly investigate various aspects of aerosol removal in the secondary side of a breached steam generator. Between 2003 and 2011, the PSI has led the ARTIST Project, which involved intense collaboration between nearly 20 international partners. This summary paper presents key findings of experimental and analytical work conducted at the PSI within the ARTIST program.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1996.10b
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• pp.101-104
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• 1996

In nuclear power plants, workers are reluctant of works in steam generator because of the high radiation environment and limited working space. It is strongly recommended that the examination and maintenance works be done by an automatic system for the protection of the operator from the radiation exposure. In this paper, it is proposed a new approach to the development of the automatic vision system to examine and repair the steam generator tubes at remote distance. Digital signal processors are used in implementing real time recognition and examination of steam generator holes in the proposed vision system. Performance of proposed digital vision system is illustrated by experiment for similar steam generator model.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.658-665
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• 1998

In this paper, we propose a new approach to the development of the automatic vision system to examine and repair the steam generator tubes at remote distance. In nuclear power plants, workers are reluctant of works in steam generator because of the high radiation environment and limited working space. It is strongly recommended that the examination and maintenance works be done by an automatic system for the protection of the operator from the radiation exposure. Digital signal processors are used in implementing real time recognition and examination of steam generator tubes in the proposed vision system. Performance of the proposed digital vision system is illustrated by simulation and experiment for similar steam generator model.