• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.163-169
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• 2015

In many nuclear power plant sites in Korea, high density storage racks were installed in the spent fuel pool to expand the spent fuel storage capacity. Nevertheless, the capability of the Hanbit nuclear site will be saturated by 2024. Also, 10 NPPs will reach their design life expiration date by 2029. In the case of the US, SFPI (Spent Fuel Pool Island) operated temporarily as a spent fuel storage option before spent nuclear fuels were transported to an interim storage facility or a final disposal facility. As a spent fuel storage option after shutdown during decommissioning, the SFPI concept can be expected to have the following effects: reduced occupational exposure, lower cost of operation, strengthened safety, and so on. This paper presents a case study associated with the regulations, operating experiences, and systems of SFPI in the US. In conclusion, the following steps are recommended for applying SFPI during decommissioning in Korea: confirmation of design change scope of SFPI and expected final cost, the submission of a decommissioning plan which is reflected in SFPI improvement plans, safety assessment using PSR, application of an operating license change for design change, regulatory body review and approval, design change, inspection by the regulatory body, education and commissioning for SFPI, SFPI operation and periodic inspection, and dismantling of SFPI.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.156-166
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• 2001

A stochastic continuum(SC) modeling technique was developed to simulate the groundwater flow pathway in fractured rocks. This model was developed to overcome the disadvantageous points of discrete fracture network(DFN) modes which has the limitation of fracture numbers. Besides, SC model is able to perform probabilistic analysis and to simulate the conductive groundwater pathway as discrete fracture network model. The SC model was formulated based on the discrete fracture network(DFN) model. The spatial distribution of permeability in the stochastic continuum model was defined by the probability distribution and variogram functions defined from the permeabilities of subdivided smaller blocks of the DFN model. The analysis of groundwater travel time was performed to show the consistency between DFN and SC models by the numerical experiment. It was found that the stochastic continuum modes was an appropriate way to provide the probability density distribution of groundwater velocity which is required for the probabilistic safety assessment of a radioactive waste disposal facility.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.117-131
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• 2006

A coupled T-H-M(Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical) analysis was carried out for KENTEX (KAERI Engineering-scale T-H-M Experiment for Engineered Barrier System), which is a facility for validating the coupled T-H-M behavior in the engineered barrier system of the Korean reference HLW(high-level waste) disposal system. The changes of temperature, water saturation, and stress were estimated based on the coupled T-H-M analysis, and the influence of the types of mechanical constitutive material laws was investigated by using elastic model, poroelastic model, and poroelastic-plastic model. The analysis was done using ABAQUS, which is a commercial finite element code for general purposes. From the analysis, it was observed that the temperature in the bentonite increased sharply for a couple of days after heating the heater and then slowly increased to a constant value. The temperatures at all locations were nearly at a steady state after about 37.5 days. In the steady state, the temperature was maintained at $90^{\circ}C$ at the interface between the heater and the bentonite and at about $70^{\circ}C$ at the interface between the bentonite and the confining cylinder. The variation of the water saturation with time in bentonite was almost same independent of the material laws used in the coupled T-H-M processes. By comparing the saturation change of T-H-M and that of H-M(Hydro-Mechanical) processes using elastic and poroelastic material mod31 respectively, it was found that the degree of saturation near the heater from T-H-M calculation was higher than that from the coupled H-M calculation mainly because of the thermal flux, which seemed to speed up the saturation. The stresses in three cases with different material laws were increased with time. By comparing the stress change in H-M calculation using poroelasetic and poroelasetic-plastic model, it was possible to conclude that the influence of saturation on the stress change is higher than the influence of temperature. It is, therefore, recommended to use a material law, which can model the elastic-plastic behavior of buffer, since the coupled T-H-M processes in buffer is affected by the variation of void ratio, thermal expansion, as well as swelling pressure.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2003

A study on the electrolytic dissolution of SUS-304 and Inconel-600 specimen was carried out in neutral salt electrolyte to evaluate the applicability of electrochemical decontamination process for recycle or self disposal with authorization of large amount of metallic wastes contaminated with uranium compounds generated by dismantling a retired uranium conversion plant in Korea. Although the best electrolytic dissolution performance for the specimens was observed in a Na2s04 electrolyte, a NaNO$_3$ neutral salt electrolyte, in which about 30% for SUS-304 and the same for Inconel-600 in the weight loss was shown in comparison with that in a Na$_2$SO$_4$ solution, was selected as an electrolyte for the electrochemical decontamination of metallic wastes with the consideration on the surface of system components contacted with nitric acid and the compatibility with lagoon wastes generated during the facility operation. The effects of current density, electrolytic dissolution time, and concentration of NaNO$_3$ on the electrolytic dissolution of the specimens were investigated. On the basis of the results obtained through the basic inactive experiments, electrochemical decontamination tests using the specimens contaminated with uranium compounds such as UO$_2$, AUC (ammonium uranyl carbonate) and ADU (ammonium diuranate) taken from an uranium conversion facility were performed in 1M NaNO$_3$ solution with the current density or In mA/$\textrm{cm}^2$. it was verified that the electrochemical decontamination of the metallic wastes contaminated uranium compounds was quite successful in a NaNO$_3$ neutral salt electrolyte by reducing $\alpha$ and $\beta$ radioactivities below the level of self disposal within 10 minutes regardless of the type of contaminants and the degree of contamination.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.42-56
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• 2023

In deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), the natural barrier must physically support the disposal facility and delay the movement of radionuclides for at least hundreds of thousands of years. To evaluate the long-term geological evolution of the natural barriers, it is essential to analyze the long-term behavior of rock joints, including the frictional healing behavior. This study aimed to experimentally analyze the frictional healing behavior of rock joints under hydro-mechanical (H-M) conditions through the slide-hold-slide (SHS) test. The SHS tests were performed under mechanical and H-M conditions for joint specimens of different roughness. In the H-M conditions, the frictional healing rate tended to increase, which was more evident in the specimens with large roughness. In addition, it was confirmed that the effect of the hydro-mechanical conditions was more significant when the effective normal stress acting on the joint surface was small. These results are expected to be used as fundamental data to understand the frictional healing behavior of rock joints in the natural barriers.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.155-169
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• 2007

A transport container for a 500 kCi tritium storage vessel was developed, which could be used for the transport of metal tritide from Wolsong TRF facility to a disposal site. The structural, thermal, shielding, and confinement analyses were performed for the container in a view of Type B. As a result of structural analysis, the developed container sustained its integrity under normal and accidental conditions. The maximum temperature increase of the inner storage vessel by radiation was evaluated at $134.8^{\circ}C at room temperature. In $800^{\circ}C$ fire test, The thermal barrier of container sustained the inner vessel at $405^{\circ}C after 30 min, which temperature was allowable for the container integrity since maximum design temperature of inner vessel was $550^{\circ}C. In the evaluation of the shielding, the activity of radiation was nearly zero on the outer surface of inner vessel. Consequently the transport container for a 500 kCi tritium was evaluated to pass all the safety tests including accidental condition, so it was concluded that the designed transport container is proper to be used.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.121-126
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• 2010

Current technology for radioactive waste disposal facility is operated as part of KURT site characterization in terms of reliability assessment is conducted to expand. In this study, a geological model of KURT surrounding area on the basis of flow characteristics of the site-scale hydrogeological study was about. Distributed in the study area into four boreholes were plotted using the stereo net NS, NW, EW, Low-angle fracture group was able to identify the components of geological models and include top soil layer, belt of weathering, Low-angle fracture zone, fracture zone was divided into. Separated by fracture of the hydraulic test of through the groundwater aquifer that provides the flow hydraulic conductivity and insulation hydraulic affecting the slope of the normal distribution for the size and direction by performing statistical analysis of fracture in the direction of local ns The advantage was confirmed. In addition, Low-angle fracture hydraulic conductivity of the value of 3.61e-07 m/s has a value greater than the major fracture, the fracture zones exist in the base rock and base rock and the hydraulic characteristics of the different methods applied and had to have a different interpretation judged by was.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2024

Currently, there are no interim storage facilities and permanent disposal facilities in Korea, so all spent nuclear fuels are temporarily stored. However, the temporary storage facility is approaching saturation, and as a measure to this, the 2nd Basic Plan for the Management of High-Level Radioactive Waste presented an operation plan for dry interim storage facilities and dry temporary storage facilities on the NPP on-site. The dry storage can be operated in various ways, and to select the optimal dry storage method, the reduction of exposure for workers must be considered. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop a worker exposure scenario according to the dry storage method and evaluate and compare the radiological impact for each method. The purpose of this study is to develop an exposure scenario for workers transporting spent nuclear fuel by dry storage method. To this end, first, the operation procedure of the foreign commercial spent nuclear fuel dry storage system was analyzed based on the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). 1) the concrete overpack-based system, 2) the metal overpack-based system, and 3) the vertical storage module-based system were selected for analysis. Factors were assumed that could affect the type of work (working distance, working hours, number of workers, etc.) during transportation work. Finally, the work type of the processes involved in transporting spent nuclear fuel by dry storage method was set, and an exposure scenario was developed accordingly. The concrete overpack method, the metal overpack method, and the vertical storage module method were classified into a total of 31, 9, and 23 processes, respectively. The work distance, work time, and number of workers for each process were set. The product of working hours and number of workers (Man-hour) was set high in the order of concrete overpack method, vertical storage module method, and metal overpack method, and short-range work (10 cm) was most often applied to the concrete overpack method. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for performing radiological comparisons of transport workers by dry storage method of spent nuclear fuel.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.339-346
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• 2019

Based on the $8^{th}$ Basic Plan for Electric Power Demand and Supply, an estimation has been made for inventories and characteristics of spent fuel (SF) to be generated from existing and planned nuclear power plants. The characteristics under consideration in this study are dimensions, fuel array, $^{235}U$ enrichment, discharge burnup, and cooling time for each fuel assembly. These are essentially needed for designing a disposal facility for SFs. It appears that the anticipated quantity by the end of 2082 is about 62,500 assemblies for PWR SFs. The inventories of Westinghouse-type and Korean-type SFs were revealed to be 60% and 40%, respectively as of the end of 2018. The proportion of SFs with initial $^{235}U$ enrichment below 4.5 weight percent (wt%) was shown to be approximately 90% in total as of the end of 2018. As of 2077, more than 97% of SFs generated from Westinghouse-type nuclear reactors were shown to have cooling time of over 50 years. As of 2125, more than 98% of SFs generated from Korean-type nuclear reactors were shown to have cooling time of over 45 years. Based on these results, for the efficient design of a disposal system, it is reasonable to adopt two types of reference spent fuel. SF of KSFA with $^{235}U$ enrichment of 4.5 wt%, discharge burnup of 55 GWd/tU, and cooling time of 50 years was determined as reference fuel for Westinghouse-type SFs; SF of PLUS7 with $^{235}U$ enrichment of 4.5 wt%, discharge burnup of 55 GWd/tU, and cooling time of 45 years was determined as reference fuel for Korean-type SFs.