• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.550-554
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• 2023

Fossil energy sources are limited in their sustainable use and expansion due to global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions. Hydrogen is considered as a promising alternative to traditional fossil fuels. To ensure the stable long-term storage, it is necessary to accurately predict its thermodynamic properties at cryogenic temperatures. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate thermodynamic properties, such as saturated vapor pressure and density, enthalpy, and entropy of liquid and gas, using cubic equations of state that demonstrate relatively simple relationships. Among the three types of equations of state (Redlich-Kwong (RK), Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK), and Peng-Robinson (PR)), the SRK model exhibited relatively accurate prediction results for various physical properties.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.105-112
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• 2023

Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) exhibits enhanced strength and superior energy dissipation capacity compared to normal concrete, and it can also reduce crack propagation and fragmentation of concrete even when subjected to blast loads. In this study, the parameters defining failure surface and damage function of the K&C concrete nonlinear model were proposed to be applied for the properties of SFRC in LS-DYNA. Single element analysis has been conducted to validate the proposed parameters in the K&C model, which provided very close simulations on the compressive behavior of SFRC. In addition, blast analysis was performed on SFRC columns with different volume fractions of steel fibers, and the blast resistance of SFRC columns was quantitatively analyzed with Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency (KOSHA) guidelines.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.116-122
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• 2023

As the number of hydrogen filling stations for hydrogen supply increases with the progress of low-carbon eco-friendly energy policies, the risk of accidents is also increasing. Actual pressure vessels may have defects such as notches, pores, and inclusions that may occur during the manufacturing process. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the integrity of pressure vessels in the case where cracks exist in pressure vessels under internal pressure. In this paper, 3D finite element analysis was used to evaluate the structural safety of hydrogen-filled pressure vessels with surface cracks, and the shape of surface cracks was compared with the commonly used semi-elliptical shape. In the future, these results will be used to predict the remaining life of the pressure vessel in consideration of fracture mechanics.

• Composites Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.32-39
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• 2024

Solid-state hydrogen storage is gaining prominence as a crucial subject in advancing the hydrogen-based economy and innovating energy storage technology. This storage method shows superior characteristics in terms of safety, storage, and operational efficiency compared to existing methods such as compression and liquefied hydrogen storage. In this study, we aim to evaluate the solid hydrogen storage performance on the nanotube surface by various structural design factors. This is accomplished through molecular dynamics simulations (MD) with the aim of uncovering the underlying ism. The simulation incorporates diverse carbon nanotubes (CNTs) - encompassing various diameters, multi-walled structures (MWNT), single-walled structures (SWNT), and boron-nitrogen nanotubes (BNNT). Analyzing the storage and effective release of hydrogen under different conditions via the radial density function (RDF) revealed that a reduction in radius and the implementation of a double-wall configuration contribute to heightened solid hydrogen storage. While the hydrogen storage capacity of boron-nitrogen nanotubes falls short of that of carbon nanotubes, they notably surpass carbon nanotubes in terms of effective hydrogen storage capacity.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2024

This paper employs stochastic processing techniques to analyze explosion risks in plant facilities based on explosion return periods. Release probability is calculated using data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), along with annual leakage frequency per plant provided by DNV. Ignition probability, derived from various researchers' findings, is then considered to calculate the explosion return period based on the release quantity. The explosion risk is assessed by examining the volume, radius, and blast load of the vapor cloud, taking into account the calculated explosion return period. The reference distance for the design blast load model is determined by comparing and analyzing the vapor cloud radius according to the return period, historical vapor cloud explosion cases, and blast-resistant design guidelines. Utilizing the multi-energy method, the blast load range corresponding to the explosion return period is presented. The proposed return period serves as a standard for the design blast load model, established through a comparative analysis of vapor cloud explosion cases and blast-resistant design guidelines. The outcomes of this study contribute to the development of a performance-based blast-resistant design framework for plant facilities.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2024

Recently, smart buildings that can efficiently manage energy using ICT technology and operate and control through the building automation system by collecting data from a large number of IoT sensors in real time are attracting attention. However, as data management is carried out through an open environment, the safety of smart buildings is threatened by the security vulnerability of the existing building automation protocol. Therefore, in this paper, we analyze the major data link technology of BACnet, which is used universally, and propose OWE-based efficient BACnet/SC that can ensure the reliability of data in a wireless environment. The proposed protocol enables safe communication even in an open network by applying OWE and provides the same level of security as BACnet/SC in a TLS environment. As a result, it reduces the connection process twice and reduces the average time required by 40%, enabling more efficient communication than before.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.973-979
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• 2024

In the framework of the Generation IV research and development project, in which the French Commission of Alternative and Atomic Energies (CEA) is involved, a main objective for the design of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is to meet the safety goals for severe accidents. Among the severe ones, the Unprotected Transient OverPower (UTOP) accidents can lead very quickly to a global melting of the core. UTOP accidents can be considered either as slow during a Control Rod Withdrawal (CRW) or as fast. The paper focuses on fast UTOP accidents, which occur in a few milliseconds, and three different scenarios are considered: rupture of the core support plate, uncontrolled passage of a gas bubble inside the core and core mechanical distortion such as a core flowering/compaction during an earthquake. Several levels and rates of reactivity insertions are also considered and the thermal-mechanical behavior of an ASTRID fuel pin from the ASTRID CFV core is simulated with the GERMINAL code. Two types of fuel pins are simulated, inner and outer core pins, and three different burn-up are considered. Moreover, the feedback from the CABRI programs on these type of transients is used in order to evaluate the failure mechanism in terms of kinetics of energy injection and fuel melting. The CABRI experiments complete the analysis made with GERMINAL calculations and have shown that three dominant mechanisms can be considered as responsible for pin failure or onset of pin degradation during ULOF/UTOP accident: molten cavity pressure loading, fuel-cladding mechanical interaction (FCMI) and fuel break-up. The study is one of the first step in fast UTOP accidents modelling with GERMINAL and it has shown that the code can already succeed in modelling these type of scenarios up to the sodium boiling point. The modeling of the radial propagation of the melting front, validated by comparison with CABRI tests, is already very efficient.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.1310-1319
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• 2024

The reactor cavity cooling system (RCCS) is a passive reactor safety system commonly present in the designs of High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGR) that removes heat from the reactor pressure vessel by means of natural convection and radiation. It is one of the factors responsible for ensuring that the reactor does not melt down under any plausible accident scenario. For the simulation of accident scenarios, which are transient phenomena unfolding over a span of up to several days, intermediate fidelity methods and system codes must be employed to limit the models' execution time. These models can quantify radiation heat transfer well, but heat transfer caused by natural convection must be quantified with the use of correlations for the heat transfer coefficient. It is difficult to obtain reliable correlations for HTGR RCCS heat transfer coefficients experimentally due to such a system's size. They could, however, be obtained from high-fidelity steady-state simulations of RCCSs. The Rayleigh number in RCCSs is too high for using a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) technique; thus, a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach must be employed. There are many RANS models, each performing best under different geometry and fluid flow conditions. To find the most suitable one for simulating an RCCS, the RANS models need to be validated. This work benchmarks various RANS models against three experiments performed on the HTTR RCCS Mockup by the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) in 1993. This facility is a 1/6 scale model of a vessel cooling system (VCS) for the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), which is operated by JAEA. Multiple RANS models were evaluated on a simplified 2d-axisymmetric geometry. They were found to reproduce the experimental temperature profiles with errors of up to 22% for the lowest temperature benchmark and 15% for the higher temperature benchmarks. The results highlight that the pragmatic turbulence models need to be validated for high Rayleigh natural convection-driven flows and improved accordingly, more publicly available experimental data of RCCS resembling experiments is needed and indicate that a 2d-axisymmetric geometry approximation is likely insufficient to capture all the relevant phenomena in RCCS simulations.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.167-179
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• 2024

This study explores the feasibility of employing (U, Th)-based accident tolerant fuels (ATFs), specifically (_0.8UO₂, _0.2ThO₂), (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN), and (_0.8UC, _0.2ThC). The investigation assesses the overall performance of these proposed fuel materials in comparison to the conventional UO₂, focusing on deep neutronic and thermal-hydraulic (Th) analyses. Neutronic analysis utilized the MCNPX code, while COMSOL Multiphysics was employed for thermal-hydraulic analysis. The primary objective of this research is to overcome the limitations associated with traditional UO₂ fuel by exploring alternative fuel materials that offer advantages in terms of abundance and potential improvements in performance and safety. Given the limited abundance of UO₂, long-term sustainable nuclear energy production faces challenges. From a neutronic standpoint, the U-Th based fuels demonstrated remarkable fuel cycle lengths, except (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN), which exhibited the minimum fuel cycle length and, consequently, the lowest fuel burn-up. Regarding thermal-hydraulic performance, (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN) exhibited outstanding performance with significant margins against fuel melting compared to the other materials. Overall, when considering the integrated performance, the most favourable results were obtained with the use of the (_0.8UC, _0.2ThC) fuel configurations. This study contributes valuable insights into the potential benefits of (U, Th)-based ATFs as a promising avenue for enhanced nuclear fuel performance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.207-212
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• 2024

Recently, with the strengthening of environmental regulations, there has been an increasing interest in eco-friendly energy sources, leading to a trend of the increasing scale of Cargo Containment Systems (CCS) for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers. Among these systems, membrane tanks have gained popularity in LNG transport vessels due to their superior spatial utilization and competitiveness. However, due to high initial investment costs and the difficulty in repair in case of damage, a safety layer, the secondary barrier, must be installed without fail. In this study, in order to apply a new secondary barrier to the existing membrane-type LNG CCS, tests were conducted on the fiberglass layer previously used in the Triplex-Flexible Secondary Barrier (FSB), substituting it with basalt fiber. Tensile and vertical tensile tests were performed to assess the newly applied material. Environmental tests were conducted at room temperature (25℃) and extremely low temperatures (-170℃), considering the temperatures to which substances may be exposed during LNG vessel operations. The basalt-FSB produced in this study demonstrated superior results compared to the specifications of the existing product, confirming its potential applicability for implementation.