• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.3133-3150
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• 2021

This work deals with the validation of a high-fidelity multiphysics system coupling the Serpent 2 Monte Carlo neutron transport code with SUBCHANFLOW, a subchannel thermalhydraulics code, and TRANSURANUS, a fuel-performance analysis code. The results for a full-core pin-by-pin burnup calculation for the ninth operating cycle of the Temelín II VVER-1000 plant, which starts from a fresh core, are presented and assessed using experimental data. A good agreement is found comparing the critical boron concentration and a set of pin-level neutron flux profiles against measurements. In addition, the calculated axial and radial power distributions match closely the values reported by the core monitoring system. To demonstrate the modeling capabilities of the three-code coupling, pin-level neutronic, thermalhydraulic and thermomechanic results are shown as well. These studies are encompassed in the final phase of the EU Horizon 2020 McSAFE project, during which the Serpent-SUBCHANFLOW-TRANSURANUS system was developed.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.179-189
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• 2021

Conditional spectra (CS) are applied to the seismic fragility assessment of a nuclear power plant (NPP) containment building for comparison with a relevant conventional uniform hazard response spectrum (UHRS). Three different control frequencies are considered in developing conditional spectra. The contribution of diverse magnitudes and epicentral distances is identified from deaggregation for the UHRS at a control frequency and incorporated into the conditional spectra. A total of 30 ground motion records are selected and scaled to simulate the probability distribution of each conditional spectra, respectively. A set of lumped mass stick models for the containment building are built considering nonlinear bending and shear deformation and uncertainty in modeling parameters using the Latin hypercube sampling technique. Incremental dynamic analysis is conducted for different seismic input models in order to estimate seismic fragility functions. The seismic fragility functions and high confidence of low probability of failure (HCLPF) are calculated for different seismic input models and analyzed comparatively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.917-925
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• 2022

Steam generator (SG) tubes in a nuclear power plant can undergo rapid changes in pressure and temperature during an accident; thus, an accurate model to predict short-term creep damage is essential. The theta (𝜃) projection method has been widely used for modeling creep-strain behavior under constant stress. However, many creep test data are obtained under constant load, so creep rupture behavior under a constant load cannot be accurately simulated due to the different stress conditions. This paper proposes a novel methodology to obtain the creep curve under constant stress using a modified 𝜃 projection method that considers the increase in true stress during creep deformation in a constant-load creep test. The methodology is validated using finite element analysis, and the limitations of the methodology are also discussed. The paper also proposes a creep-strain model for alloy 690 as an SG material and a novel creep hardening rule we call the damage-fraction hardening rule. The creep hardening rule is applied to evaluate the creep rupture behavior of SG tubes. The results of this study show its great potential to evaluate the rupture behavior of an SG tube governed by creep deformation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.131-143
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• 2023

Constitutive equations in a nuclear reactor safety analysis code are mostly empirical correlations developed from experiments, which always accompany uncertainties. The accuracy of the code can be improved by modifying the constitutive equations fitting wider range of data with less uncertainty. Thus, the sensitivity of the code with respect to the constitutive equations is evaluated quantitatively in the paper to understand the room for improvement of the code. A new methodology is proposed which first starts by dividing the thermal hydraulic conditions into multiple sub-regimes using self-organizing map (SOM) clustering method. The sensitivity analysis is then conducted by multiplying an arbitrary set of coefficients to the constitutive equations for each sub-divided thermal-hydraulic regime with SOM to observe how the code accuracy varies. The randomly chosen multiplier coefficient represents the uncertainty of the constitutive equations. Furthermore, the set with the smallest error with the selected experimental data can be obtained and can provide insight which direction should the constitutive equations be modified to improve the code accuracy. The newly proposed method is applied to a steady-state experiment and a transient experiment to illustrate how the method can provide insight to the code developer.

• The Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.82-91
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• 1997

In this paper, a design method of the boiler-turbine control system in the coal fired power plant is proposed. We need to control electric output and drum pressure and water level in drum to guarantee stable operation and save energy for generating electricity and decrease air pollution in the boiler-turbine system. This boiler-turbine control system is composed of reference model part and model following part. The multivariable boiler-turbine system is separated into 3 SISO(Single Input Single Output) systems applying the concept of relative gain matrix. Each 3 reference models for separated boiler-turbine system are composed of 1st order nominal plant and hysteresis integral control system and they make good dy¬namic response with no overshoot and fast rising time. Each fuzzy controller to follow as close as possible to the response of each reference model is designed. The robustness and the good tracking property can be achieved using 5150 fuzzy controllers when there are modeling errors, disturbances and parameter pertur¬bations. The effectiveness of the proposed design method is verified through simulations.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2427-2444
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• 2021

The lack of plant-side energy storage analysis to support nuclear power plants (NPP), has setup this research endeavor to understand the characteristics and role of specific storage technologies and the integration to an NPP. The paper provides a qualitative review of a wide range of configurations for integrating the energy storage system (ESS) to an operating NPP with pressurized water reactor (PWR). The role of ESS technologies most suitable for large-scale storage are evaluated, including thermal energy storage, compressed gas energy storage, and liquid air energy storage. The methods of integration to the NPP steam cycle are introduced and categorized as electrical, mechanical, and thermal, with a review on developments in the integration of ESS with an operating PWR. By adopting simplified off-design modeling for the steam turbines and heat exchangers, the results show the performance of the PWR steam cycle changes with respect to steam bypass rate for thermal and mechanical storage integration options. Analysis of the integrated system characteristics of proposed concepts for three different ESS suggests that certain storage technologies could support steady operation of an NPP. After having reviewed what have been accomplished through the years, the research team presents a list of possible future works.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.247-270
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• 2009

This paper reviews studies on information searching behavior in process control systems and discusses some implications learned from previous studies for use in human factors studies on nuclear power plants (NPPs) main control rooms (MCRs). Information searching behavior in NPPs depends on expectancy, value, salience, and effort. The first quantitative scanning model developed by Senders for instrument panel monitoring considered bandwidth (change rate) of instruments as a determining factor in scanning behavior. Senders' model was subsequently elaborated by other researchers to account for value in addition to bandwidth. There is also another type of model based on the operator's situation awareness (SA) which has been developed for NPP application. In these SA-based models, situation-event relations or rules on system dynamics are considered the most significant factor forming expectancy. From the review of previous studies it is recommended that, for NPP application, (1) a set of symptomatic information sources including both changed and unchanged symptoms should be considered along with bandwidth as determining factors governing information searching (or visual sampling) behavior; (2) both data-driven monitoring and knowledge-driven monitoring should be considered and balanced in a systematic way; (3) sound models describing mechanisms of cognitive activities during information searching tasks should be developed so as to bridge studies on information searching behavior and design improvement in HMI; (4) the attention-situation awareness (A-SA) modeling approach should be recognized as a promising approach to be examined further; and (5) information displays should be expected to have totally different characteristics in advanced control rooms. Hence much attention should be devoted to information searching behavior including human-machine interface (HMI) design and human cognitive processes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.84-96
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• 2022

In the worst case, a temporary ignition source (also known as transient combustibles) between two electrical panels can damage both panels. Mitigation strategies for electrical panel fires were previously developed using fire modeling and risk analysis. However, since they do not comply with deterministic fire protection requirements, it is necessary to analyze the boundary values at which combustibles may damage targets depending on various factors. In the present study, a sensitivity analysis of input variables related to the damage threshold of two electrical panels was performed for dimensionless geometry using a Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). A new methodology using a damage evaluation map was developed to assess the damage of the electrical panel. The input variables were the distance between the electrical panels, the vertical height of the fuel, the size of the fire, the wind speed and the wind direction. The heat flux was determined to increase as the vertical distance between the fuel and the panel decreased, and the largest heat flux was predicted when the vertical separation distance divided by one half flame length was 0.3-0.5. As the distance between the panels increases, the heat flux decreases according to the power law, and damage can be avoided when the distance between the fuel and the panel is twice the length of the panel. When the wind direction is east and south, to avoid damage to the electrical panel the distance must be increased by 1.5 times compared to no wind. The present scale model can be applied to any configuration where combustibles are located between two electrical panels, and can provide useful guidance for the design of redundant electrical panels.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4195-4208
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• 2022

In this study, operator habitability was numerically evaluated in the event of a fire at the main control bench board (MCB) in a reference main control room (MCR). It was investigated if evacuation variables including hot gas layer temperature (HGLT), heat flux (HF), and optical density (OD) at 1.8 m from the MCR floor exceed the reference evacuation criteria provided in NUREG/CR-6850. For a fire model validation, the simulation results of the reference MCR were compared with existing experimental results on the same reference MCR. In the simulation, various input parameters were applied to the MCB panel fire scenario: MCR height, peak heat release rate (HRR) of a panel, number of panels where fire propagation occurs, fire propagation time, door open/close conditions, and mechanical ventilation operation. A specialized-average HRR (SAHRR) concept was newly devised to comprehensively investigate how the various input parameters affect the operator's habitability. Peak values of the evacuation variables normalized by evacuation criteria of NUREG/CR-6850 were well-correlated as the power function of the SAHRR for the various input parameters. In addition, the evacuation time map was newly utilized to investigate how the evacuation time for different SAHRR was affected by changing the various input parameters. In the previous studies, it was found that the OD is the most dominant variable to determine the MCR evacuation time. In this study, however, the evacuation time map showed that the HF is the most dominant factor at the condition of without-mechanical ventilation for the MCR with a partially-open false ceiling, but the OD is the most dominant factor for all the other conditions. Therefore, the method using the SAHRR and the evacuation time map was very useful to effectively and comprehensively evaluate the operator habitability for the various input parameters in the event of MCB fires for the reference MCR.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.1-12
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• 2021

Technologies for an MVDC(medium voltage direct current) distribution system are being considered as an effective alternative to overcome the interconnection delay issues of PV systems. However, the implementation of a DC distribution system might lead to economic problems because of the development of DC devices. Therefore, this paper deals with the scale of a PV plant based on its capacity and proposes hosting-capacity models for PV systems to establish a network to evaluate the feasibility of an MVDC distribution system. The proposed models can be classified as AC and DC distribution systems by the power-supply method. PV systems with hundreds of MW, dozens of MW, and a few MW can be categorized as large-scale, medium-scale, and small-scale models, respectively. This paper also performed modeling for an economic evaluation of MVDC distribution system by considering both the cost of AC and DC network construction, converter replacement, operation, etc. The profit was composed of the SMP and REC rate of a PV plant. A simulation for economic evaluation was done for the MVDC distribution system using the present worth and equal-principal costs repayment method. The results confirmed that the proposed model is a useful tool to evaluate economic issues of a DC distribution system.