• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1579-1587
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• 2022

The effects of hydride amount (20-850 wppm), orientation (circumferential and radial), and temperature (room temperature, 100 ℃, 200 ℃) on the axial mechanical properties of Zircaloy-4 cladding were comprehensively examined. The fraction of radial hydride fraction in the cladding was quantified using PROPHET, an in-house radial hydride fraction analysis code. Uniaxial tensile tests (UTTs) were conducted at various temperatures to obtain the axial mechanical properties. Hydride orientation has a limited effect on the axial mechanical behavior of hydrided Zircaloy-4 cladding. Ultimate tensile stress (UTS) and associated uniform elongation demonstrated limited sensitivity to hydride content under UTT. Statistical uncertainty of UTS was found small, supporting the deterministic approach for the load-failure analysis of hydrided Zircaloy-4 cladding. These properties notably decrease with increasing temperature in the tested range. The dependence of yield strength on hydrogen content differed from temperature to temperature. The ductility-related parameters, such as total elongation, strain energy density (SED), and offset strain decrease with increasing hydride contents. The abrupt loss of ductility in UTT was found at ~700 wppm. Demonstrating a strong correlation between total elongation and offset strain, SED can be used as a comprehensive measure of ductility of hydrided zirconium alloy.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.208-215
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• 2023

Deep learning techniques provide powerful solutions to several pattern-recognition problems, including Raman spectral classification. However, these networks require large amounts of labeled data to perform well. Labeled data, which are typically obtained in a laboratory, can potentially be alleviated by data augmentation. This study investigated various data augmentation techniques and applied multiple deep learning methods to Raman spectral classification. Raman spectra yield fingerprint-like information about chemical compositions, but are prone to noise when the particles of the material are small. Five augmentation models were investigated to build robust deep learning classifiers: weighted sums of spectral signals, imitated chemical backgrounds, extended multiplicative signal augmentation, and generated Gaussian and Poisson-distributed noise. We compared the performance of nine state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks with all the augmentation techniques. The LeNet5 models with background noise augmentation yielded the highest accuracy when tested on real-world Raman spectral classification at 88.33% accuracy. A class activation map of the model was generated to provide a qualitative observation of the results.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2823-2834
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• 2023

Austenitic stainless steel welds (ASSWs) of nuclear components undergo aging-related degradations caused by high temperature and neutron radiation. Since irradiation leads to the change of material characteristics, relevant quantification is important for long-term operation, but limitations exist. Although ion irradiation is utilized to emulate neutron irradiation, its penetration depth is too shallow to measure bulk properties. In this study, a systematic approach was suggested to estimate mechanical properties of ion irradiated 308 ASSW. First of all, weld specimens were irradiated by 2 MeV proton to 1 and 10 dpa. Microstructure evolutions due to irradiation in δ-ferrite and austenite phases were characterized and micropillar compression tests were performed. In succession, dislocation density based stress-strain (S-S) relationships and quantification models of irradiation defects were adopted to define phases in finite element analyses. Resultant microscopic S-S curves were compared to verify material parameters. Finally, macroscopic behaviors were calculated by multiscale simulations using real microstructure based representative volume element (RVE). Validity of the approach was verified for the unirradiated specimens such that the estimated S-S curves and 0.2% offset yield strengths (YSs) which was 363.14 MPa were in 10% agreement with test. For irradiated specimens, the estimated YS were 917.41 MPa in 9% agreement.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.114-122
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• 2024

Irradiation-induced defects and the precipitates in the wrapper material of the Indian Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), SS 316 are analyzed using the synchrotron source-based Angle Dispersive X-Ray Diffraction (ADXRD) technique with X-rays of energy 17.185 keV (wavelength ~0.72146 Å). The differences and similarities in the high displacement damage samples as a function of dpa (displacement per atom) and dpa rate in the range of 2.9 × 10^-7- 9 × 10^-7 dpa/s are studied. Ferrite and M₂₃C₆ are commonly observed in the present set of high displacement damage 40-74 dpa SS 316 samples irradiated at temperatures in the range of 400-483 ℃. Also, the dislocation density has increased as a function of the irradiation dose. The X-ray diffraction peak profile parameters quantified such as peak shift and asymmetry show that the irradiation-induced defects are sensitive to the dpa rate-irradiation temperature combinations. The increase in yield strength as a function of displacement damage is also correlated to the dislocation density.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.4554-4560
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• 2023

Continuous monitoring of radioactive substances over a prolonged duration can yield crucial insights into the levels of radiation exposure through inhalation, both in the vicinity of nuclear facilities and/or general environments. In this study, we evaluated long-term measurements (2012-2022) of gross alpha-beta activities in the air in the vicinity of nuclear facilities and reference site, distribution characteristics of temporal trends and spatial fluctuations, and factors affecting radioactivity levels. The average airborne gross-α (in mBq m^-3) for onsite and off-site were 0.124 and 0.117, respectively, and the average airborne gross-β (in mBq m^-3) measurements were 1.10 and 1.04, respectively. The activity ratio (AR) of gross-α and gross-β were calculated as a ratio of 0.12. The distribution characteristics of gross-α and gross-β activities in this study area are likely influenced by the meteorological factors and variations in airborne PM concentrations rather than the operation of the nuclear facility.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.4647-4658
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• 2023

In this paper, elastic-plastic fracture mechanics analysis is performed to determine the critical crack sizes of the multipurpose canister (MPC) manufactured using austenitic stainless steel under dynamic loading conditions that simulate drop accidents. Firstly, dynamic finite element (FE) analysis is performed using Abaqus v.2018 with the KORAD (Korea Radioactive Waste Agency)-21 model under two drop accident conditions. Through the FE analysis, critical locations and through-thickness stress distributions in the MPC are identified, where the maximum plastic strain occurs during impact loadings. Then, the evaluation using the failure assessment diagram (FAD) is performed by postulating an external surface crack at the critical location to determine the critical crack depth. It is found that, for the drop cases considered in this paper, the principal failure mechanism for the circumferential surface crack is found to be the plastic collapse due to dominant high bending axial stress in the thickness. For axial cracks, the plastic collapse is also the dominant failure mechanism due to high membrane hoop stress, followed by the ductile tearing analysis. When incorporating the strain rate effect on yield strength and fracture toughness, the critical crack depth increases from 10 to 20%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1754-1761
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• 2024

In hadrontherapy, secondary fragments are generated by nuclear interactions of the incident heavy ion beam with the atomic nuclei of the target. It is important to determine the yield of production and the dose contribution of these secondary fragments in order to determine the radiobiological effectiveness more accurately. This work aims to fully identify the secondary fragments generated by nuclear interactions of proton and helium (⁴He) ion beams in a High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) target and to investigate the dose contributions by secondary fragments. Incident protons with energies of 55.90 MeV and 105.20 MeV and helium ions with energies of 52.55 MeV/u and 103.50 MeV/u in the HDPE phantom have been investigated by the means of Geant4 Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Simulated results were validated using NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) Bragg curves experimental data. The results showed that the dose contribution of secondary fragments deriving from helium ion beams is three times higher than in the case of proton beams. This is due to a higher production of nuclear fragments in the case of helium ion beams. This work contributes to a better understanding of secondary fragments generated by protons and helium ions in the HDPE target.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.267-274
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• 2024

This study aims to propose a simplified equation for estimating the bond strength of corroded reinforcing bars. To this end, extensive parametric analyses were performed using the detailed analysis method presented in the authors' previous study, where a wide range of critical variables were considered, such as compressive strength of concrete, net cover thickness, and reinforcing bar diameter. The sensitivity in bond strength of the corroded reinforcing bar according to each variable was evaluated. On this basis, a simplified formula for the bond strength of the corroded reinforcing bar was derived through regression analysis. The proposed equation was rigorously tested and verified using the bond test results of corroded reinforcing bars collected from the literature. The results confirmed that the proposed equation could estimate the bond strengths of specimens with better accuracy than the existing models, providing a reliable tool for engineers and researchers. In addition, the proposed equation was used to analyze the development length required for corroded tensile reinforcement to exert its yield strength, and it showed that the cover thickness of concrete must be at least four times the diameter of the reinforcing bar to achieve the yielding strength of reinforcing bar even at a corrosion degree of more than 5.0%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.9
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• pp.3528-3535
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• 2024

SA508 Gr.1A low-alloy steel is being considered as a candidate material for main steam line piping in nuclear power plants. Therefore, improving its strength and toughness is essential for enhancing the leak-before-break (LBB) margin. In this study, six types of model alloys were fabricated by varying the contents of microalloying elements (C, Cu, B, Ti, and Nb) to enhance the mechanical properties of the specimens. The addition of a few ppm of B led to the formation of a fine-grained low-temperature transformation microstructure, resulting in the highest strength among the model alloys. However, the addition of Nb and Ti increased the formation of coarse ferrite, significantly decreasing the strength of the alloys. Reducing the C content while adding a small amount of B simultaneously maintained strength and enhanced toughness. Furthermore, the LBB margins of model alloys and commercial steel were evaluated to validate the influence of varying microalloying content. The model alloys exhibited a substantial increase in yield strength and fracture resistance, resulting in a more than 10% increase in the LBB margin. Notably, the LBB margin of the alloy with 15 ppm B was 1.39, approximately 25% higher than that of commercial steels.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.441-457
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• 2009

This study estimated ultimate load by the determination methods based on ultimate load, yield load and settlement using experimental data from static load tests that applied load to driven piles used in sandy grounds at home and overseas until failure appeared markedly. Estimated ultimate load was normalized with actually measured failure load, and was compared among the determination methods according to the characteristics of pile. In addition, I have identified to the determination methods suitable for estimating ultimate load, and reevaluated the safety factor when determining allowable load. From the results of this study were drawn conclusions as follows. Among ultimate loads estimated by the ultimate-load-based determination methods, the value interpreted by Chin's method tended to overestimate actual measurements, and B. Hansen 80% standard and the stability plot method were considered most reliable as their results were closest to actual measurements. According to the results of this study, in calculating the allowable load, if the safety factor to be applied to failing load obtained by the method of determining extreme load is converted to the safety factor applied to the Standards for Structure Foundation Design, a value larger than 3.0 should be applied except the B. Hansen 90% method, and a value larger than 2.0 should be applied in the methods of determining yield load. In addition, if the safety factor to be applied to load obtained by the settlement standard is converted based on safety factor 3.0 for extreme load, a value smaller than 3.0 should be applied to the total settlement standard and the net settlement standard.