• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.255-266
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• 2024

The uranium nuclear fuel used in nuclear power generation needs to be replaced with new fuel after a certain period. In South Korea, the spent nuclear fuel generated during this process is temporarily stored within the nuclear power plant site, and there are ongoing issues with the saturation of storage capacity. To address these problems, the South Korea government has established a plan to manage high-level radioactive waste, including provisions for securing interim storage facilities. An interim storage facility is designed to safely store spent nuclear fuel for certain period before its permanent disposal. This study analyzed leading international cases of interim storage facilities that are technically feasible and can reduce the operating period of temporary storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel within nuclear power plant sites. It also presented the technical concepts required for the operation of interim storage facilities for spent fuel from PWR(Pressurized Water Reactor), reflecting the situation in South Korea.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.2198-2203
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• 2022

As robotics become more sophisticated, there are a growing number of generic systems being used for routine tasks in nuclear environments to reduce risk to radiation workers. The nuclear sector has called for more commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices and components to be used in preference to nuclear specific hardware, enabling robotic operations to become more affordable, reliable, and abundant. To ensure reliable operation in nuclear environments, particularly in high-gamma facilities, it is important to quantify the tolerance of electronic systems to ionizing radiation. To deliver their full potential to end-users, mobile robots require sophisticated autonomous behaviors and sensing, which requires significant computational power. A popular choice of computing system, used in low-cost mobile robots for nuclear environments, is the UP Core single board computer. This work presents estimates of the total ionizing dose that the UP Core running the Robot Operating System (ROS) can withstand, through gamma irradiation testing using a Co-60 source. The units were found to fail on average after 111.1 ± 5.5 Gy, due to faults in the on-board power management circuitry. Its small size and reasonable radiation tolerance make it a suitable candidate for robots in nuclear environments, with scope to use shielding to enhance operational lifetime.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.37-41
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• 2016

The recent prevalence of PET examinations in Korea has led to an increase in the number of cyclotrons. The medical isotope $^{18}F$ produced in most cyclotron facilities currently operating in Korea is emitted into the environment during the production of [$^{18}F$]FDG, a cancerdiagnosis reagent. The amount of [$^{18}F$]FDG synthesized determines the radioactive concentration of $^{18}F$ in the exhaust. At some facilities, this amount temporarily exceeds the emission limit. In this study, we evaluated the $^{18}F$ radioactivity concentration in the exhaust from the cyclotron facility at Chosun University. The $^{18}F$ radioactivity concentration was measured using an air sampler and a HPGe semiconductor detector. The measurements showed that the radioactive concentration of $^{18}F$ in the exhaust at the cyclotron facility at Chosun University was the highest during [$^{18}F$]FDG synthesis but remained under the legal limit of $2,000Bq\;m^{-3}$.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.203-210
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• 2010

The $\underline{H}igh$ flux $\underline{A}dvanced$ $\underline{N}eutron$ $\underline{A}pplication$ $\underline{R}eact\underline{O}r$ (HANARO), an open-tank-in-pool type reactor, is one of the multi-purpose research reactors in the world. Since the commencement of HANARO's operations in 1995, a significant number of experimental facilities have been developed and installed at HANARO, and continued efforts to develop more facilities are in progress. Owing to the stable operation of the reactor and its frequent utilization, more experimental facilities are being continuously added to satisfy various fields of study and diverse applications. The irradiation testing equipment for nuclear fuels and materials at HANARO can be classified into capsules and the Fuel Test Loop (FTL). Capsules for irradiation tests of nuclear fuels in HANARO have been developed for use under the dry conditions of the coolant and materials at HANARO and are now successfully utilized to perform irradiation tests. The FTL can be used to conduct irradiation testing of a nuclear fuel under the operating conditions of commercial nuclear power plants. During irradiation tests conducted using these capsules in HANARO, instruments such as the thermocouple, Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT), small heater, Fluence Monitor (F/M) and Self-Powered Neutron Detector (SPND) are used to measure various characteristics of the nuclear fuel and irradiated material. This paper describes not only the status of HANARO and the status and perspective of irradiation devices and instrumentation for carrying out nuclear fuel and material tests in HANARO but also some results from instrumentation during irradiation tests.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.233-238
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• 2011

In piping design of nuclear power plant facilities, the load stress according to self-weight is important for design values in test run(shutdown and starting). But sometimes it needs more studies, such as seismic analysis of an earthquake of power plant area and fatigue life and stress of thermal expansion and anchor displacement in operating run. In this paper, seismic evaluations were performed to nuclear piping system of Shin-Kori NO. 3&4 being built in Pusan lately. Results of seismic analysis are evaluated on basis of KEPIC MN code. The structural integrity on RCB piping system was proved.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.2704-2710
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• 2024

Nuclear archaeology research provides scientific methods to reconstruct the operating histories of fissile material production facilities to account for past fissile material production. While it has typically focused on analyzing material in permanent reactor structures, spent fuel or high-level waste also hold information about the reactor operation. In this computational study, we explore a Bayesian inference framework for reconstructing the operational history from measurements of isotope ratios from a sample of nuclear waste. We investigate two different inference models. The first model discriminates between three potential reactors of origin (Magnox, PWR, and PHWR) while simultaneously reconstructing the fuel burnup, time since irradiation, initial enrichment, and average power density. The second model reconstructs the fuel burnup and time since irradiation of two batches of waste in a mixed sample. Each of the models is applied to a set of simulated test data, and the performance is evaluated by comparing the highest posterior density regions to the corresponding parameter values of the test dataset. Both models perform well on the simulated test cases, which highlights the potential of the Bayesian inference framework and opens up avenues for further investigation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.9
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• pp.2025-2033
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• 2020

Signature-based safeguards (SBS) is being developed to assist tradition nuclear material accountancy methods in tracking material in pyroprocessing facilities. SBS involves identifying off-normal scenarios that would result in improper movement of material in a pyroprocessing facilities and determining associated sensor response signatures. SBS investigations are undertaken in the computational space utilizing an electrochemical transport code known as enhanced REFIN with anodic dissolution (ERAD) to calculate the affect of off-normal conditions in the electrorefiner (ER) on material movement. Work is undertaken to experimentally validate the predictions and assumptions made by ERAD for off-normal occurrences. These experiments were undertaken on a benchtop scale and involved operating an electrochemical cell at 10 separate current densities for constant current operations to deposit U and Gd at a W cathode. These experiments were then modeled using ERAD to compare calculated predictions versus analytical experimental results it was found. It was discovered both the experimental and calculated results reflect a trend of increased codeposition of U and Gd with increasing current density. ERAD was thus demonstrated to be useful for predicting trends from anomalous operation but will require further optimization to be utilized as a quantitative design tool.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.177-186
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• 2021

Radioactive materials from nuclear power facilities can be released into the atmosphere through various channels. Recently, the dispersion of radioactive materials has become critical issue in Korea after Kori Unit 1 and Wolsong Unit 1 were permanently shut down. In this study, annual atmospheric dispersion factors were compared based on the continuous release and purge release using the XOQDOQ computer program, a method for calculating atmospheric dispersion factors at commercial nuclear power stations. The meteorological data analyzed in this study was based on the Shin Kori nuclear power meteorological tower which has the largest operating nuclear power plants in Korea, for three years (from 2008 to 2010). The analysis results of the dispersion factor of the radioactive material release obtained using the XOQDOQ program showed that the difference between the continuous release and purge release was within two times. This study will be valuable helpful for revealing the uncertainty of the predictive atmospheric dispersion factor to achieve regulation.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.225-233
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• 2010

At this point in time South Korea is rapidly metastasizing to a aging society. A major cause of aging can be summarized as increased life expectancy, decrease of nuclear family and birthrate, and South Korea's progress is faster than any other country. From the 1970s, western society has changed social welfare to deinstitutionalization and community care because of problems about economic reason and facilities protection, so the type of elderly social service has also changed from the facility welfare service which is accommodated old people in certain facility to community welfare service which provides various welfare services with living together. Public facilities for low income group which are supported by government are lower, 6.6%, than the United States or Japan, 50%. They are divided into private manage facilities and subscription elderly facilities. These subscription elderly residential facilities show poor administration because of focusing on development and market analysis for investment returns. Therefore, in order to vitalize the elderly welfare residential facilities in Korea, we need plans about systematic services facilities for welfare and phased medical treatments. Therefore, the purpose of this study is that (1) the types and functions of residents for community elderly residential facilities in elderly welfare policies of U.S., and supported policies are researched as a transcendental model, (2) data about operating system with the principles of the market is analyzed, and (3) basic data about welfare facility plan for community residential elderly people is provided.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.151-163
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• 1977

Being based on the Segal method, calculation was carried out for the natural uranium nuclear fuel cost with Zircaloy-4 cladding having design Parameters of Wolsung Nuclear Power Plant, CANDU-PHWR (Unit 1) , currently under construction in Korea aiming at its completion in 1982. An attempt was also made for tile sensitivity analysis of each fuel component; j. e., depreciation of fuel manufacturing plant caused by its life time, its load factor, production scale expansion of plant facilities, variations of construction and operating costs of fuel manufacturing plant, fluctuation of interest rates, extent of uranium ore price increases and effect of learning factor.