• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.3580-3596
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• 2021

An integral test facility, PILLAR, was commissioned, aiming to provide valuable experimental results which can be referenced by system and component designers and used for the performance demonstration of liquid-metal-cooled, passive small modular reactors (SMRs) toward their licensing. The setup was conceptualized by a scaling analysis which allows the vertical arrangements to be conserved from its prototypic reactor, scaled uniformly in the radial direction achieving a flow area reduction of 1/200. Its final design includes several heater rods which simulate the reactor core, and a single heat exchanger representing the steam generators in the prototype. The system behaviors were characterized by its data acquisition system implementing various instruments. In this paper, we present not only a detailed description of the facility components, but also selected experimental results of both steady-state and transient cases. The obtained steady-state test results were utilized for the benchmark of a system code, achieving a capability of accurate simulations with ±3% of maximum deviations. It was followed by qualitative comparisons on the transient test results which indicate that the integral system behaviors in passive LBE-cooled systems are able to be predicted by the code.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.1125-1130
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• 2017

The tooth shapes of serration-type and spline-type reactors are optimized using finite element methods to improve the working life of the part and to lower the stress concentration during rotation resulting from contact with the outer race for a reactor operating with $170^{\circ}C$ transmission oil. The results of thermal expansion analyses between an Al reactor and the steel outer race indicate that, before optimization, the gap between the two parts increases further as the serration-type reactor expands by 0.1 mm and the spline-type one strains by 0.08 mm. Because of shape optimization, a trapezoidal shape is obtained from the initial triangular serration and the rectangular spline of the two reactors. The maximum von Mises stress of the serration-type convertor decreased by 24.5 ％, and by 9.3 ％ for the spline-type convertor. In addition, there is a 13 ％ reduction in the axial thickness, as compared to the initially designed model.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.92-100
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• 2017

Due to the presence of ferrite phase in the finished welds, austenitic stainless steel welds (ASSWs) are considered susceptible to the thermal aging embrittlement during long-term service in light water reactor environment. In this study, the thermal aging embrittlement of typical ASSWs, E308 and ER316L welds, were evaluated after the long-term exposure up to 20,000 h at $400^{\circ}C$, which is considered as an accelerated thermal aging condition. After thermal aging, the decrease of tensile ductility and fracture toughness was observed. The microstructure observation with high resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that spinodal decomposition in ferrite phase of both E308 and ER316L welds would be the main cause of the degradation of mechanical properties. Also, it was shown that the difference of thermal ageing embrittlement between ER316L and E308 welds was significant, such that the reduction of fracture resistance for ER316L weld was much larger than that of E308 weld.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.979-988
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• 2017

The feasibility of cooling in a pressurized heavy water reactor after a large break loss-of-coolant accident has been analyzed using Multidimensional Analysis of Reactor Safety-KINS Standard code during the recirculation phase. Through evaluation of sensitivity of the fuel channel temperature to various effective recirculation flow areas, it is determined that proper cooling of the fuel channels in the broken loop is feasible if the effective flow area remains above approximately 70% of the nominal flow area. When the flow area is reduced by more than approximately 25% of the nominal value, however, incipience of boiling is expected, after which the thermal integrity of the fuel channel can be threatened. In addition, if a dramatic reduction of the recirculation flow occurs, excursions and frequent fluctuations of temperature in the fuel channels are likely to be unavoidable, and thus damage to the fuel channels would be anticipated. To resolve this, emergency coolant supply through the newly installed external injection path can be used as one alternative means of cooling, enabling fuel channel integrity to be maintained and permanently preventing severe accident conditions. Thus, the external injection flow required to guarantee fuel channel coolability has been estimated.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.1465-1472
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• 2009

The effect of heat loss rate on NOx formation of $CH_4/air$premixed flame were examined numerically in a perfectly stirred reactor. The following conclusions were drawn. Under the adiabatic wall condition, an increase in the residence time causes a remarkable increases in NOx emission. Under the heat loss conditions, however, NOx decreases significantly as the heat transfer coefficient and residence time increase. As the heat loss rate increases, Thermal NO mechanism and Re-burning NO mechanism play an important role in the NOx reduction, but Prompt NO mechanism and $N_2O$-intermediate NO mechanism lead to the increase in NOx production. Although the NOx formation is actually related to complex NOx mechanism with the changes in the heat transfer coefficient and residence time, it was found that NOx concentration can be represented by independent Thermal NO mechanism. From these results, new NOx correlation combined with the heat loss rate and residence time was suggested for predicting the NOx concentration in a practical $CH_4/air$premixed combustor.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.387-394
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• 2011

A study on the removal of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide was carried out using a non-thermal nano-pulse corona discharger at different gas temperatures. Pulse voltage with a high voltage of 50 kV, a pulse rising time of about 100 ns, a full width at half maximum of about 500 ns and a frequency of 1 kHz was applied to a wire-cylinder corona reactor. Ammonia and propylene gases were added into the corona reactor as additives with a static mixer. Ammonia addition had less effect on $SO_2$ reduction at the higher temperature because of the retardation of ammonium sulfate formation. However, propylene addition enhanced NO reduction at higher temperature due to increased gas mixture. $SO_2$ was further removed at the mixed $SO_2$ and NO gas due to increased $NO_2$ by the conversion of NO. The addition of ammonia and propylene gases was more highly dominant for the removal of sulfur dioxide compared to the sole pulse corona without the additives. However, the specific energy density per unit concentration of pulse corona as well as propylene additive was an important factor to remove NO gas. Therefore, the specific energy density per unit concentration of 0.04 Wh/($m^3{\cdot}ppm$) was necessary for the NO removal of more than 80% with the concentration ratio of 2.0 for propylene and NO. Hydrogen peroxide was another alternative additive to remove both $SO_2$ and NO in the nano-pulse corona discharger.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.9
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• pp.1171-1180
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• 2009

The internal core baffle structure of a French Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) consists of a collection of baffles and formers that are attached to the barrel. The connections are done thanks to a large number of bolts (about 1500). After inspection, some of the bolts have been found cracked. This has been attributed to the Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (IASCC). The $Electricit\acute{e}$ De France (EDF) has set up a research program to gain better knowledge of the temperature distribution, which may affect the bolts and the whole structure. The temperature distribution in the structure was calculated thanks to the thermal code SYRTHES that used a finite element approach. The heat transfer between the by-pass flow inside the cavities of the core baffle and the structure was accounted for thanks to a strong thermal coupling between the thermal code SYRTHES and the CFD code named Code_Saturne. The results for the CP0 plant design show that both the high temperature and strong temperature gradients could potentially induce mechanical stresses. The CPY design, where each bolt is individually cooled, had led to a reduction of temperatures inside the structures. A new parallel version of SYRTHES, for calculations on very large meshes and based on MPI, has been developed. A demonstration test on the complete structure that has led to about 1.1 billion linear tetraedra has been calculated on 2048 processors of the EDF Blue Gene computer.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.126-133
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• 2005

Mechanical properties of zirconium cladding were evaluated by ring tension test to simulate Reactivity-Initiated Accident (RIA) at high burnup situation as an out-reactor test. Zircaloy-4 cladding was hydrided up to 1000 ppm as well as oxidized up to $100\;{\mu}m$ to simulate high-burnup situation. After simulated high-burnup treatment, ring tension test was carried out from 0.01 to 1/sec to correlate with actual RIA event. The results showed that ductility and circumferential toughness decreased with the hydrogen content and oxide thickness. Hydride generated inside cladding acted as brittle failure. Oxygen influenced cladding tube by the reduction of load bearing area, oxygen embrittlement, and thermal aging. Correlation between in-reactor RIA parameter like fuel enthalpy and out-reactor toughness was performed and showed a reasonable result.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.110-115
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• 2024

Global sustainable energy needs and carbon neutrality goals make hydrogen a key future energy source. South Korea and Japan lead with proactive hydrogen policies, including South Korea's Hydrogen Law and Japan's strategy updates aiming for a hydrogen-centric society by 2050. A notable advance is the solar thermal chemical water-splitting cycle for green hydrogen production, spotlighted by Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) and Niigata University's joint initiative. This method uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, offering a carbon-neutral hydrogen production route. The study focuses on international collaboration in solar energy for thermochemical water-splitting and E-fuel production, highlighting breakthroughs in catalyst and reactor design to enhance solar thermal technology's commercial viability for sustainable fuel production. Collaborations, like ARENA in Australia, target global carbon emission reduction and energy system sustainability, contributing to a cleaner, sustainable energy future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Combustion
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.8-12
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• 2015

The CO reduction characteristics of hot air stream diluted with exhaust gas in a perfectly stirred reactor (PSR) were investigated numerically. The dilution ratio ($\Omega$), inlet temperature ($T_{in}$), and residence time ($\tau$) were considered as parameters to investigate the effects of those on the emission indices for CO and $CO_2$ (EICO and $EICO_2$). The roles of dominant reactions and the production rates of major species were analyzed. It was found from the EICO trend that the supplied CO in the air stream was consumed. The EICO increased negatively with $T_{in}$ at fixed $\tau$ regardless of $\Omega$. However, the magnitude of EICO and minimum inlet temperature for CO reduction showed complicated trend according to the variation of $\tau$. It was identified that the OH radical, generated from the reactions, $O_2+H{\leftrightarrow}O+OH$ and $2OH{\leftrightarrow}H+H_2O$, affected the CO reduction by the reaction, $CO+OH{\leftrightarrow}H+CO_2$. However, the CO emission ratio increased at sufficiently high inlet temperature range due to the thermal dissociation of $CO_2$.