• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.24-32
• /
• 2018

System Complexity one of the most common cause failure of the projects, it leads to a lack of understanding about the functions of the system. Hence, the model is developed for communication and furthermore modeling help analysis, design, and understanding of the system. On the other hand, the text-based specification is useful and easy to develop but is difficult to visualize the physical composition, structure, and behaviour or data exchange of the system. Therefore, it is necessary to transform system description into a diagram which clearly depicts the behaviour of the system as well as the interaction between components. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety Glossary, The safety system is a system important to safety, provided to ensure the safe shutdown of the reactor or the residual heat removal from the reactor core, or to limit the consequences of anticipated operational occurrences and design basis accidents. Core Protection Calculator System (CPCS) in Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR 1400) Nuclear Power Plant is a safety critical system. CPCS was developed using systems engineering method focusing on Departure from Nuclear Boiling Ratio (DNBR) calculation. Due to the complexity of the system, many diagrams are needed to minimize the risk of ambiguities and lack of understanding. Using Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) software for modeling the DNBR algorithm were used. These diagrams then serve as the baseline of the reverse engineering process and speeding up the development process. In addition, the use of MBSE ensures that any additional information obtained from auxiliary sources can then be input into the system model, ensuring data consistency.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.73-82
• /
• 2018

In this work, a hardware based cryptographic module for the cyber security of nuclear power plant is developed using a system engineering approach. Nuclear power plants are isolated from the Internet, but as shown in the case of Iran, Man-in-the-middle attacks (MITM) could be a threat to the safety of the nuclear facilities. This FPGA-based module does not have an operating system and it provides protection as a firewall and mitigates the cyber threats. The encryption equipment consists of an encryption module, a decryption module, and interfaces for communication between modules and systems. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)-128, which is formally approved as top level by U.S. National Security Agency for cryptographic algorithms, is adopted. The development of the cyber security module is implemented in two main phases: reverse engineering and re-engineering. In the reverse engineering phase, the cyber security plan and system requirements are analyzed, and the AES algorithm is decomposed into functional units. In the re-engineering phase, we model the logical architecture using Vitech CORE9 software and simulate it with the Enhanced Functional Flow Block Diagram (EFFBD), which confirms the performance improvements of the hardware-based cryptographic module as compared to software based cryptography. Following this, the Hardware description language (HDL) code is developed and tested to verify the integrity of the code. Then, the developed code is implemented on the FPGA and connected to the personal computer through Recommended Standard (RS)-232 communication to perform validation of the developed component. For the future work, the developed FPGA based encryption equipment will be verified and validated in its expected operating environment by connecting it to the Advanced power reactor (APR)-1400 simulator.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.89-103
• /
• 2016

Due to safety of the plant, it became very clear the importance of study occurrence reactor coolant system (RCS) issues specially the primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC). The Systems Engineering (SE) approach is characterized by the application of a structured engineering methodology for the design of a complex system or component. Robotic devices have been used for internal inspection, maintenance and performing remote welding and inspection in high-radiation areas. In this paper, PWSCC overview and inlay and over lay welding methodology introduced, concept of robotic device that can be inserted into the piping via Steam Generator (SG) main way to access to primary piping of pressurized water reactor (PWR) is developed based on SE methodology. A 3D model of the inspection system was developed along with the APR1400 (Advanced Power Reactor)reactor coolant systems (RCS) and internals with virtual 3D simulation of the operation for visualization to prove the validity of the concept.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.363-374
• /
• 2005

A heterogeneous thorium-based Kyung Hee Thorium Fuel (KTF) assembly design was assessed for application in the APR-1400 to study the feasibility of using thorium fuel in a conventional pressurized water reactor (PWR). Thermal hydraulic safety was examined for the thorium-based APR-1400 core, focusing on the Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR) and Large Break Loss of Coolant Accident (LBLOCA) analysis. To satisfy the minimum DNBR (MDNBR) safety limit condition, MDNBR>1.3, a new grid design was adopted, that enabled grids in the seed and blanket assemblies to have different loss coefficients to the coolant flow. The fuel radius of the blanket was enlarged to increase the mass flow rate in the seed channel. Under transient conditions, the MDNBR values for the Beginning of Cycle (BOC), Middle of Cycle (MOC), and End of Cycle (EOC) were 1.367, 1.465, and 1.554, respectively, despite the high power tilt across the seed and blanket. Anticipated transient for the DNBR analysis were simulated at conditions of $112\%$ over-power, $95\%$ flow rate, and $2^{\circ}C$ higher inlet temperature. The maximum peak cladding temperature (PCT) was 1,173K for the severe accident condition of the LBLOCA, while the limit condition was 1,477K. The proliferation resistance potential of the thorium-based core was found to be much higher than that of the conventional $UO_2$ fuel core, $25\%$ larger in Bare Critical Mass (BCM), $60\%$ larger in Spontaneous Neutron Source (SNS), and $155\%$ larger in Thermal Generation (TG) rate; however, the radio-toxicity of the spent fuel was higher than that of $UO_2$ fuel, making it more environmentally unfriendly due to its high burnup rate.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.907-915
• /
• 2024

Various core designs with multi-batch fuel management (FM) are proposed and optimized for an innovative small modular reactor (iSMR), focusing on enhancing the inherent safety and neutronic performance. To achieve soluble-boron-free (SBF) operation, cylindrical centrally-shielded burnable absorbers (CSBAs) are utilized, reducing the burnup reactivity swing in both two- and three-batch FMs. All 69 fuel assemblies (FAs) are loaded with 2-cylindrical CSBA. Furthermore, the neutron economy is improved by deploying a truly-optimized PWR (TOP) lattice with a smaller fuel radius, optimized for neutron moderation under the SBF condition. The fuel shuffling and CSBA loading patterns are proposed for both 2- and 3-batch FM with the aim to lower the core leakage and achieve favorable power profiles. Numerical results show that both FM configurations achieve a small reactivity swing of about 1000 pcm and the power distributions are within the design criteria. The average discharge burnup in the two-batch core is comparable to three-batch commercial PWR like APR-1400. The proposed checker-board CR pattern with extended fingers effectively assures cold shutdown in the two-batch FM scenario, while in the three-batch FM, three N-1 scenarios are failed. The whole evaluation process is conducted using Monte Carlo Serpent 2 code in conjunction with ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear library.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.149-157
• /
• 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the significant duration of ground motions on responses of base-isolated nuclear power plants (NPPs). Two sets of ground motion records with short duration (SD) and long duration (LD) motions, scaled to match the target response spectrum, are used to perform time-history analyses. The reactor containment building in the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400) NPP is numerically modeled using lumped-mass stick elements in SAP2000. Seismic responses of the base-isolated NPP are monitored in forms of lateral displacements, shear forces, floor response spectra of the containment building, and hysteretic energy of the lead rubber bearing (LRB). Fragility curves for different limit states, which are defined based on the shear deformation of the base isolator, are developed. The numerical results reveal that the average seismic responses of base-isolated NPP under SD and LD motion sets were shown to be mostly identical. For PGA larger than 0.4g, the mean deformation of LRB for LD motions was bigger than that for SD ones due to a higher hysteretic energy of LRB produced in LD shakings. Under LD motions, median parameters of fragility functions for three limit states were reduced by 12% to 15% compared to that due to SD motions. This clearly indicates that it is important to select ground motions with both SD and LD proportionally in the seismic evaluation of NPP structures.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.85-96
• /
• 2006

Main control room(MCR) man-machine interface(MMI) design of advanced nuclear power plants(NPPs) such as APR(advanced power reactor)-1400 can be validated through performance-based tests to determine whether it acceptably supports safe operation of the plant. In this work, plant performance, personnel task, situation awareness, workload, teamwork, and anthropometric/physiological factor are considered as factors for the human performance evaluation. For development of measures in each of the factors, techniques generally used in various industries and empirically proven to be useful are adopted as main measures and some helpful techniques are developed in order to complement the main measures. Also the development of the measures is addressed based on the theoretical background. Finally we discuss the way in which the measures can be effectively integrated and then HUPESS(HUman Performance Evaluation Support System) which is in development based on the integrated way is briefly introduced.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.2002-2010
• /
• 2024

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has operated an integral effect test facility, the Advanced Thermal-Hydraulic Test Loop for Accident Simulation (ATLAS), with reference to the APR1400 (Advanced Power Reactor 1400) for tests for transient and design basis accidents simulation. A test for a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) at the top of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) had been conducted at ATLAS to address the impact of the loss of safety injections (LSI) and to evaluate accident management (AM) actions during the postulated accident. The experimental data has been utilized to validate system analysis codes within a framework of the domestic standard problem program organized by KAERI in collaboration with Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety. In this study, the test has been analyzed by using thermal-hydraulic system analysis codes, MARS-KS 1.5 and TRACE 5.0 Patch 6, and a comparative analysis with experimental and calculation results has been performed. The main objective of this study is the investigation of the thermal-hydraulic phenomena during a small break LOCA at the RPV upper head with the LSI as well as the predictability of the system analysis codes after the AM actions during the test. The results from both codes reveal that overall physical behaviors during the accident are predicted by the codes, appropriately, including the excursion of the peak cladding temperature because of the LSI. It is also confirmed that the core integrity is maintained with the proposed AM action. Considering the break location, a sensitivity analysis for the nodalization of the upper head has been conducted. The sensitivity analysis indicates that the nodalization gave a significant impact on the analysis result. The result emphasizes the importance of the nodalization which should be performed with a consideration of the physical phenomena occurs during the transient.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.7
• /
• pp.1791-1798
• /
• 2019

Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs) have been continuously digitalized. These systems have a critical role in the operation of nuclear facilities by functioning as the brain of NPPs. In recent years, as cyber security threats to NPP systems have increased, regulatory and policy-related organizations around the world, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC), have emphasized the importance of nuclear cyber security by publishing cyber security guidelines and recommending cyber security requirements for NPP facilities. As described in NRC Regulatory Guide (Reg) 5.71 and KINAC RS015, challenge response authentication should be applied to the critical digital I&C system of NPPs to satisfy the cyber security requirements. There have been no cases in which the most robust response authentication technology like challenge response has been developed and applied to nuclear I&C systems. This paper presents a challenge response authentication mechanism for a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) system used as a control system in the safety system of the Advanced Power Reactor (APR) 1400 NPP.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.4
• /
• pp.755-763
• /
• 2020

The critical flow phenomenon has been studied because of its significant effect for design basis accidents in nuclear power plants. Transition points from thermal non-equilibrium to equilibrium are different according to the geometric effect on the critical flow. This study evaluates the uncertainty parameters of the critical flow model for analysis of DBA (Design Basis Accident) with the MARS-KS (Multi-dimensional Analysis for Reactor Safety-KINS Standard) code used as an independent regulatory assessment. The uncertainty of the critical flow model is represented by three parameters including the thermal non-equilibrium factor, discharge coefficient, and length to diameter (L/D) ratio, and their ranges are determined using large-scale Marviken test data. The uncertainty range of the thermal non-equilibrium factor is updated by the MCDA (Model Calibration through Data Assimilation) method. The updated uncertainty range is confirmed using an LBLOCA (Large Break Loss of Coolant Accident) experiment in the LOFT (Loss of Fluid Test) facility. The uncertainty ranges are also used to calculate an LBLOCA of the APR (Advanced Power Reactor) 1400 NPP (Nuclear Power Plants), focusing on the effect of the PCT (Peak Cladding Temperature). The results reveal that break flow is strongly dependent on the degree of the thermal non-equilibrium state in a ruptured pipe with a small L/D ratio. Moreover, this study provides the method to handle the thermal non-equilibrium factor, discharge coefficient, and length to diameter (L/D) ratio in the system code.