• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.459-468
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• 2013

During a station blackout (SBO), the initiating event is a loss of Class IV and Class III power, causing the loss of the pumps, used in systems such as the primary heat transporting system (PHTS), moderator cooling, shield cooling, steam generator feed water, and re-circulating cooling water. The reference case of the SBO case does not credit any of these active heat sinks, but only relies on the passive heat sinks, particularly the initial water inventories of the PHTS, moderator, steam generator secondary side, end shields, and reactor vault. The reference analysis is followed by a series of sensitivity cases assuming certain system availabilities, in order to assess their mitigating effects. This paper also establishes the strategies to mitigate SBO accidents. Current studies and strategies use the computer code of the Integrated Severe Accident Analysis Code (ISAAC) for Wolsong plants. The analysis results demonstrate that appropriate strategies to mitigate SBO accidents are established and, in addition, the symptoms of the SBO processes are understood.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3665-3676
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• 2023

The use of ion exchange resins to remove ionic impurities from solution is prevalent in industrial process systems, including in the primary heat transport system (PHTS) purification circuit of nuclear power plants. Despite its extensive use in the nuclear industry, our general understanding of ion exchange cannot fully explain the complex chemistry in ion exchange beds, particularly when operated at or near their saturation limit. This work investigates the behaviour of mixed-bed ion exchange resin, saturated with species representative of corrosion products in a CANDU (Canadian Deuterium Uranium) reactor PHTS, particularly with respect to iron chemistry in the resin bed and the removal of lithium ions from solution. Experiments were performed under deaerated conditions, analogous to normal PHTS operation. The results show interesting iron chemistry, suggesting the hydrolysis of cation resin bound ferrous species and the subsequent formation of either a solid hydrolysis product or the soluble, anionic Fe(OH)₃^-.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.179-184
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• 2009

The Fuel Test Loop(FTL) which is capable of an irradiation testing under a similar operating condition to those of PWR(Pressurized Water Reactor) and CANDU(CANadian Deuterium Uranium reactor) nuclear power plants has been developed and installed in HANARO, KAERI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). It consists of In-Pile Section(IPS) and Out-of Pile System(OPS). The IPS, which is located inside the pool is divided into 3-parts; the in-pool pipes, the IVA(IPS Vessel Assembly) and the support structures. The test fuel is loaded inside a double wall, inner pressure vessel and outer pressure vessel, to keep the functionality of the reactor coolant pressure boundary. The IVA is manufactured by local company and the functional test and verification were done through pressure drop, vibration, hydraulic and leakage tests. The brazing technique for the instrument lines has been checked for its functionality and performance. An IVA has been manufactured by local technique and have finally tested under high temperature and high pressure. The IVA and piping did not experience leakage, as we have checked the piping, flanges, assembly parts. We have obtained good data during the three cycle test which includes a pressure test, pressure and temperature cycling, and constant temperature.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.493-520
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• 2009

During the last four decades, 16 Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) and 4 Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) have been constructed and operated in Korea, and nuclear fuel technology has been developed to a self-reliant state. At first, the PWR fuel design and manufacturing technology was acquired through international cooperation with a foreign partner. Then, the PWR fuel R&D by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has improved fuel technology to a self-reliant state in terms of fuel elements, which includes a new cladding material, a large-grained $UO_2$ pellet, a high performance spacer grid, a fuel rod performance code, and fuel assembly test facility. The MOX fuel performance analysis code was developed and validated using the in-reactor test data. MOX fuel test rods were fabricated and their irradiation test was completed by an international program. At the same time, the PWR fuel development by Korea Nuclear Fuel (KNF) has produced new fuel assemblies such as PLUS7 and ACE7. During this process, the design and test technology of fuel assemblies was developed to a self-reliant state. The PHWR fuel manufacturing technology was developed and manufacturing facility was set up by KAERI, independently from the foreign technology. Then, the advanced PHWR fuel, CANFLEX(CANDU Flexible Fuelling), was developed, and an irradiation test was completed in a PHWR. The development of the CANFLEX fuel included a new design of fuel rods and bundles.. The nuclear fuel technology in Korea has been steadily developed in many national R&D programs, and this advanced fuel technology is expected to contribute to a worldwide nuclear renaissance that can create solutions to global warming.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.257-264
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• 2013

In Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU)-type nuclear power plants, the reactor is composed of 380 fuel channels and refueling is performed on one or two channels per day. At the time of refueling, the fluid force of the cooling water inside the channel is exploited. New fuel added upstream of the fuel channel is moved downstream by the fluid force of the cooling water, and the used fuel is pushed out. Through this process, refueling is completed. Among the 380 fuel channels, outer rows 1 and 2 (called the FARE channel) make the process of using only the internal fluid force impossible because of the low flow rate of the channel cooling water. Therefore, a Flow Assist Ram Extension (FARE) tool, a refueling aid, is used to refuel these channels in order to compensate for the insufficient fluid force. The FARE tool causes flow resistance, thus allowing the fuel to be moved down with the flow of cooling water. Although the existing FARE tool can perform refueling in Korean plants, the coolant flow rate is reduced to below 80% of the normal flow for some time during refueling. A Flow rate below 80% of the normal flow cause low flow rate alarm signal in the plant operation. A flow rate below 80% of the normal flow may cause difficulties in the plant operation because of the increase in the coolant temperature of the channel. A new and improved FARE tool is needed to address the limitations of the existing FARE tool. In this study, we identified the cause of the low flow phenomena of the existing FARE tool. A new and improved FARE tool has been designed and manufactured. The improved FARE tool has been tested many times using laboratory test apparatus and was redesigned until satisfactory results were obtained. In order to confirm the performance of the improved FARE tool in a real plant, the final design FARE tool was tested at Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2. The test was carried out successfully and the low flow rate alarm signal was eliminated during refueling. Several additional improved FARE tools have been manufactured. These improved FARE tools are currently being used for Korean CANDU plant refueling.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.226-233
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• 1995

The wall thickness of a pressure tube is increased in order to reduce the probability of failure in a pressure tube of CANDU type reactor. It is presented here that the variation of wall thickness changes stress, hydrogen concentration and delayed hydride cracking in Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube. When the wall thickness is increased from 4.2 mm to 5.2 mm, the stress exerted on the tube and the deuterium taken up during operation are reduced by 19％. Further, the calculated allowable depth of the surface flaw over which delayed hydride cracking(DHC) is susceptible increases by 50％. DHC initiation is controlled by the stress and by the hydrogen concentration in the pressure tube. The results are therefore very significant in such a respect that increased wall thickness may reduce DHC initiation. Ac the wall thickness increases the hydrostatic tension will increase. Its impact on the acceleration of the crack growth rate of DHC deserves further studies.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.373-384
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• 2006

Spent ion-exchanged resin generated from various purification systems in CANDU reactor was contaminated with high activity of $^{14}C$ radionuclide. This paper describes the results of fundamental study to develop the applicable technology for the treatment of this spent resin. Based on the adsorption capacity of inactive $HCO_3$ ion and other anions on IRN-150 mixed resin, the removal characteristics of $HCO_3$ ion adsorbed on to IRN-150 by various stripping solutions were evaluated. Maximum adsorption amount of the $HCO_3$ ion onto IRN-150 raw resin was about 11 mg-C/g-resin which agrees with the theoretical adsorption amount of this resin. Adsorption affinity of various anions such as $CS,\;CO,\;Na\;NH_4$ was analyzed in single and multi-component systems. From the results of removal characteristics of the $HCO_3$ ion adsorbed on IRN-150 by various stripping solutions, $NH_4H_2PO_4$ stripping solution is more effective than $NaNO_3,\;Na_3PO_3$ solutions for the complete removal of $^{14}C$ radionuclide from the IRN-150 spent resin.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.263-274
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• 1979

A statistical approach is used to investigate the relative economic advantages of pressurized water reactor (PWR) and pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR-CANDU) nuclear power plants for hypothetical 900Mwe systems with the throwaway fuel cycle to be built in the Republic of Korea. Power cost is decomposed into the cost components related to the plant capital, operation and maintenance, working capital requirements and fuel cycle operation. The calculation of construction cost is performed with the modified version of computer code ORCOST, and the modified POWERCO-50 is used to evaluate the cost components. Most of economic parameters are treated as statistical variables, each being given with a certain range. Through a random sampling procedures. the probability histograms on unit plant construction costs and power generating costs are obtained. The power cost probability histograms of the PWR and the PHWR plants overlap considerably, and the power costs of two systems appear to be almost same with the PHWR power cost being 0.4mil1/kwh lower compared with 39.4 mills/kwh for the PWR plant (July 1986 US-dollars). When a construction period of PHWR plant is longer by one year than that of PWR plant, there is no difference in the unit power cost of two plants. This comparison leads to no definite conclusion on the cost advantage of the PWR plant versus the PHWR plant. We conclude that the selection issue of nuclear power plants in Korea still remains an open question and that future effort to solve this question should be made toward economic quantification of those factors such as technology transfer and localization.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.40-44
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• 2015

Sensitivity on the reactor safety was evaluated for the safety margin and time delay applied to the opening pressure of liquid relief valve(LRV) of the primary heat transport system(PHTS) in the pressurized heavy water reactor(PHWR) type nuclear power plant. Since the LRV is the pressure boundary for the PHTS in the safety analysis, the operating of LRV has a significant effect on the safety analysis results. Therefore it is required during the regulatory review of Wolsong Unit 1 safety analysis to find the safety effect of the application of safety margin and time delay to the LRV opening pressure for the safety analysis of PHTS pressurizing events.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05a
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• pp.185-190
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• 1996

RFSP is a computer program to do fuel management calculations for CANDU reactors. Its main function is to calculate neutron flux and power distributions using two-energy-group, three dimensional neutron diffusion theory. However, up to now the treatment has not been true two-group but actually "one-and-half groups". In other words, the previous (1.5-group) version of RFSP lumps the fast fission term into the thermal fission term. This is based on the POWDERPUFS-V Westcott convention. Also, there is no up-scattering term or bundle power over cell flux (H1 factor) for the fast group. While POWDERPUFS-V provides only 1.5 group properties, true two-group cross sections for the design and analysis of CAUDU reactors can be obtained from WIMS-AECL. To treat the full two-group properties, the previous RFSP version was modified by adding the fast fission, up-scatter terms, and H1 factor. This two-group version of RFSP is a convenient tool to accept lattice properties from any advanced lattice code (e.g. WIMS-AECL DRAGON, HELIOS...) and to apply to advanced fuel cycles. In this study, the modification to implement the true two-group treatment was performed only in the subroutines of the ＊SIMULATE module of RFSP. This module is the appropriate one to modify first, since it is used for the tracking of reactor operating histories. The modified two-group RFSP was evaluated with true two-group cross sections from WIMS-AECL. Some tests were performed to verify the modified two-group RFSP and to evaluate the effects of fast fission and up-scatter for three core conditions and four cases corresponding to each condition. The comparisons show that the two-group results are quite reasonable and serve as a verification of the modifications made to RFSP. To assess the long-term impact of the full 2-group treatment, it is necessary to simulate a long period (several months) of reactor history. It will also be necessary to implement the full two-group treatment of reactivity devices and assess the reactivity-device worths.ce worths.