• 제목/요약/키워드: Fukushima nuclear accident

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Looking Back over a Decade "Final Decision Call after the Accidents of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant"

  • Nakajima, Isao;Kurokawa, Kiyoshi
    • Journal of Multimedia Information System
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    • 제7권2호
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    • pp.147-156
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    • 2020
  • The author Nakajima was involved in the field of disaster communications and emergency medical care as guest research scientist at the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission established by the National Diet of Japan and reviewer of the Commission's report, and Kurokawa was the chairman of this Commission. Looking back over a decade, we are on the liability issue of bureaucrats and telecom operators, so it's becoming clear what was hidden at the time. The battery of NTT DoCoMo's mobile phone repeaters had a capacity of only about 24 hours, and communication failures increased after one day. The Government also failed to issue an announcement of "Vent from reactor" under the Telecommunications Act Article No. 129. This mistake lost the opportunity to use the third-party telecommunications (e.g. taxi radios). Furthermore, as a result of LASCOM (telecommunications satellite network for local governments via GEO) and a variety of unexpected communication failures, the evacuation order "Escape!" could not be notified to the general public well. As a result, the general public was exposed to unnecessary radiation exposure. Such bureaucratic slow action in emergencies is common in the response to the 2020 coronavirus.

규조토 및 실리카겔을 혼입한 시멘트 경화체의 열전도율 특성 (Thermal conductivity properties of cement matrix utilizing diatomite and silica gel)

  • 김기훈;편수정;이상수;송하영
    • 한국건축시공학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 한국건축시공학회 2018년도 춘계 학술논문 발표대회
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    • pp.230-231
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    • 2018
  • Recently, the danger for radioactive materials has become a hot topic. Beginning with the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1996, in 2011, the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan suffered major damage such as large-scale casualties and radioactive dangerous area selection. Concerns about leakage of radioactive materials due to recent earthquakes have been deepening in Korea, such as Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in Gyeongju, and there is a growing interest in the safety of radioactive materials through the media and the media. However, the route to exposure to radioactive materials is not limited to these large-scale nuclear accidents. Typical examples of this are radioactive substances exposed in daily life. In the case of radon gas, the danger is being revealed through current events programs and news, and natural radiation exposure is attracting attention.

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Improving Accident Tolerance of Nuclear Fuel with Coated Mo-alloy Cladding

  • Cheng, Bo;Kim, Young-Jin;Chou, Peter
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제48권1호
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    • pp.16-25
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    • 2016
  • In severe loss of coolant accidents (LOCA), similar to those experienced at Fukushima Daiichi and Three Mile Island Unit 1, the zirconiumalloy fuel claddingmaterials are rapidlyheateddue to nuclear decay heating and rapid exothermic oxidation of zirconium with steam. This heating causes the cladding to rapidly react with steam, lose strength, burst or collapse, and generate large quantities of hydrogen gas. Although maintaining core cooling remains the highest priority in accident management, an accident tolerant fuel (ATF) design may extend coping and recovery time for operators to restore emergency power, and cooling, and achieve safe shutdown. An ATF is required to possess high resistance to steam oxidation to reduce hydrogen generation and sufficient mechanical strength to maintain fuel rod integrity and core coolability. The initiative undertaken by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is to demonstrate the feasibility of developing an ATF cladding with capability to maintain its integrity in $1,200-1,500^{\circ}C$ steam for at least 24 hours. This ATF cladding utilizes thin-walled Mo-alloys coated with oxidation-resistant surface layers. The basic design consists of a thin-walled Mo alloy structural tube with a metallurgically bonded, oxidation-resistant outer layer. Two options are being investigated: a commercially available iron, chromium, and aluminum alloy with excellent high temperature oxidation resistance, and a Zr alloy with demonstratedcorrosionresistance.Asthese composite claddings will incorporate either no Zr, or thin Zr outer layers, hydrogen generation under severe LOCA conditions will be greatly reduced. Key technical challenges and uncertainties specific to Moalloy fuel cladding include: economic core design, industrial scale fabricability, radiation embrittlement, and corrosion and oxidation resistance during normal operation, transients, and severe accidents. Progress in each aspect has been made and key results are discussed in this document. In addition to assisting plants in meeting Light Water Reactor (LWR) challenges, accident-tolerant Mo-based cladding technologies are expected to be applicable for use in high-temperature helium and molten salt reactor designs, as well as nonnuclear high temperature applications.

OPR1000형 원전의 최종열제거원 상실사고 대처전략 및 운전원 조치 시간에 따른 열수력 거동 분석 (Thermal-hydraulic Analysis of Operator Action Time on Coping Strategy of LUHS Event for OPR1000)

  • 송준규
    • 한국안전학회지
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    • 제35권5호
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    • pp.121-127
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    • 2020
  • Since the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the public were concerned about the safety of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) in extreme natural disaster situations, such as earthquakes, flooding, heavy rain and tsunami, have been increasing around the world. Accordingly, the Stress Test was conducted in Europe, Japan, Russia, and other countries by reassessing the safety and response capabilities of NPPs in extreme natural disaster situations that exceed the design basis. The extreme natural disaster can put the NPPs in beyond-design-basis conditions such as the loss of the power system and the ultimate heat sink. The behaviors and capabilities of NPPs with losing their essential safety functions should be measured to find and supplement weak areas in hardware, procedures and coping strategies. The Loss of Ultimate Heat Sink (LUHS) accident assumes impairment of the essential service water system accompanying the failure of the component cooling water system. In such conditions, residual heat removal and cooling of safety-relevant components are not possible for a long period of time. It is therefore very important to establish coping strategies considering all available equipment to mitigate the consequence of the LUHS accident and keep the NPPs safe. In this study, thermal hydraulic behavior of the LUHS event was analyzed using RELAP5/Mod3.3 code. We also performed the sensitivity analysis to identify the effects of the operator recovery actions and operation strategy for charging pumps on the results of the LUHS accident.

공정 개선에 따른 사고저항성 CrAl 코팅 피복관의 내마모성 향상 (Improved Coating Process for Enhanced Wear Resistance of CrAl Coated Claddings for Accident Tolerant Fuel)

  • 김성은;이영호;김대호;김현길
    • Tribology and Lubricants
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    • 제38권4호
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    • pp.136-142
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    • 2022
  • This paper investigates the enhanced wear performance of a CrAl coated accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding. In the wake of the Fukushima accident, extensive research on ATF with respect to improving the oxidation resistance of cladding materials is ongoing. Since coated Zr claddings can be applied without major changes to the criteria for reactor core design, many researchers are studying coatings for claddings. To improve the quality of the CrAl coating layer, optimization of the manufacturing process is imperative. This study employs arc ion plating to obtain improved CrAl coated claddings using CrAl binary alloy targets through an improved coating method. Surface roughness and adhesion are improved, and droplets are reduced. Furthermore, the coated layer has a dense and fine microstructure. In scratch tests, all the tested CrAl coated claddings exhibit a superior resistance compared to the Zr cladding. In a fretting wear test, the wear volume of the CrAl coated claddings is smaller compared to the Zr cladding. Furthermore, the coated cladding manufactured through the improved process exhibits better wear resistance than other CrAl coated claddings. Based on these results, we suggest that fine microstructure is attributed to a mechanically and microstructurally robust CrAl coating layer, which enhances wear resistance.

Analysis of Korea's nuclear R&D priorities based on private Sector's domestic demand using AHP

  • Lee, Yunbaek;Son, Seungwook;Park, Heejun
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제52권11호
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    • pp.2660-2666
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    • 2020
  • Korea successfully achieved energy independence in the shortest period of time from being the poorest country in terms of energy 50 years ago through steady development of nuclear technology. In the past, the nuclear industry has been driven through government-centered policy development, public institution-based research, and industrial facility and infrastructure construction. Consequently, South Korea became a nuclear energy powerhouse exporting nuclear power plants to the UAE, surpassing the level of domestic technological independence. However, in recent years, the nuclear industry in Korea has experienced a decline in new plant construction since the Fukushima accident in Japan, which caused changes in public perspectives regarding nuclear power plant operation, more stringent safety standards on the operation of nuclear power plants, and a shift in governmental energy policy. These changes are expected to change the domestic nuclear industry ecosystem. Therefore, in this study, we investigate the priority of technology development investment from the perspective of experts in private nuclear power companies, shifting the focus from government-led nuclear R&D policies. To establish a direction in nuclear technology development, a survey was conducted by applying an analytic hierarchy analysis to experts who have worked in nuclear power plants for more than 15 years. The analysis items of focus were the 3 attributes of strategic importance, urgency, and business feasibility of four major fields related to nuclear energy: nuclear safety, decommissioning, radioactive waste management, and strengthening industrial competitiveness.

A Systems Engineering Approach for Predicting NPP Response under Steam Generator Tube Rupture Conditions using Machine Learning

  • Tran Canh Hai, Nguyen;Aya, Diab
    • 시스템엔지니어링학술지
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    • 제18권2호
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    • pp.94-107
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    • 2022
  • Accidents prevention and mitigation is the highest priority of nuclear power plant (NPP) operation, particularly in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi accident, which has reignited public anxieties and skepticism regarding nuclear energy usage. To deal with accident scenarios more effectively, operators must have ample and precise information about key safety parameters as well as their future trajectories. This work investigates the potential of machine learning in forecasting NPP response in real-time to provide an additional validation method and help reduce human error, especially in accident situations where operators are under a lot of stress. First, a base-case SGTR simulation is carried out by the best-estimate code RELAP5/MOD3.4 to confirm the validity of the model against results reported in the APR1400 Design Control Document (DCD). Then, uncertainty quantification is performed by coupling RELAP5/MOD3.4 and the statistical tool DAKOTA to generate a large enough dataset for the construction and training of neural-based machine learning (ML) models, namely LSTM, GRU, and hybrid CNN-LSTM. Finally, the accuracy and reliability of these models in forecasting system response are tested by their performance on fresh data. To facilitate and oversee the process of developing the ML models, a Systems Engineering (SE) methodology is used to ensure that the work is consistently in line with the originating mission statement and that the findings obtained at each subsequent phase are valid.

Big Data Analysis of Public Acceptance of Nuclear Power in Korea

  • Roh, Seungkook
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제49권4호
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    • pp.850-854
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    • 2017
  • Public acceptance of nuclear power is important for the government, the major stakeholder of the industry, because consensus is required to drive actions. It is therefore no coincidence that the governments of nations operating nuclear reactors are endeavoring to enhance public acceptance of nuclear power, as better acceptance allows stable power generation and peaceful processing of nuclear wastes produced from nuclear reactors. Past research, however, has been limited to epistemological measurements using methods such as the Likert scale. In this research, we propose big data analysis as an attractive alternative and attempt to identify the attitudes of the public on nuclear power. Specifically, we used common big data analyses to analyze consumer opinions via SNS (Social Networking Services), using keyword analysis and opinion analysis. The keyword analysis identified the attitudes of the public toward nuclear power. The public felt positive toward nuclear power when Korea successfully exported nuclear reactors to the United Arab Emirates. With the Fukushima accident in 2011 and certain supplier scandals in 2012, however, the image of nuclear power was degraded and the negative image continues. It is recommended that the government focus on developing useful businesses and use cases of nuclear power in order to improve public acceptance.

원자력발전소 운전경험 활용 증진을 위한 KHNP-JIT 개발 (KHNP-JIT Development for the Effective Use of Nuclear Power Plant Operating Experiences)

  • 허남용;이상훈;김제헌
    • 한국압력기기공학회 논문집
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    • 제9권1호
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    • pp.31-34
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    • 2013
  • According to the increase in numbers and operation time of domestic Nuclear Power Plants, KHNP(Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power) has many operating experiences. These show that most of the accidents repeatedly occurred not by the new sources or mechanism like the Fukushima Accident, but by the human and equipment errors from normal habits, process, design, maintenance etc.. These lessons show that the well-established systematic approach is requested to take lessons from past experiences. For this reason, developed countries established INPO, WANO, COG as a non-profit professional organizations to actively share their operating experiences. KHNP is also trying to promote the utilization of operating experiences. As part of this effort, KHNP is developing the KHNP-JIT, reflecting the overseas JIT and the domestic experiences.

소외전원상실사고 빈도수 분석을 통한 원전 신뢰도 검토기준 (Review Criteria for Reliability from Analysis of LOOP frequency in NPPs)

  • 문수철;김건중
    • 전기학회논문지
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    • 제62권3호
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    • pp.300-305
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    • 2013
  • LOOP(Loss of Offsite Power) and SBO(Station Blackout) events have been occurring in nuclear power plants should be reviewed and be controlled on important electrical equipments by professional engineer to prevent and to safety improvement from safety assessment and reliability analysis report. LOOP and SBO occasionally happened by internal or external causes. This paper contained that LOOP frequency in the United States NPPs and in the domestic NPPs have compared and analyzed data by the past lessons and probabilistic statistics. Additionally will be installed MG(Mobile Generator) according to the lessons of Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, which CDF(Core Damage Frequency) and LOOP frequency have reconsidered. And this paper proposed to reduce reliability criteria using PSA(Probabilistic Safety Analysis).