• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2977-2983
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• 2023

During normal operation, some parts of the fission product in the defective fuel rods can release into the primary loops in PWR and the escape rate coefficients are widely used to assess quantitatively the release behaviors of fission products in the industry. The escape rate coefficients have been standardized and have been validated by some drilling experiments before the 1970s. In the paper, the model to determine the escape rate coefficients of fission products has been established and the typical escape rate coefficients of noble gas and iodine have been deduced based on the measured radiochemical data in one operating PWR. The result shows that the apparent escape rate coefficients vary with the release-to-birth and decay constants for different fission products of the same element. In addition, it is found that the escape rate coefficients from the defective rod with large defects are much higher than the standard escape rate coefficients, i.e., averagely 4.4 times and 1.8 times for noble gas and iodine respectively. The enhanced release of fission products from the severe secondary hydriding of several defective fuel rods in one cycle may lead to the potential risk of the temporary shutdown of the operating reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.259-267
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• 2018

Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope and electron backscattered diffraction examinations were conducted in the center of a $73\;GWd/t_U\;UO_2$ fuel. They showed the formation of subdomains within the initial grains. The local crystal orientations in these domains were close to that of the original grain. Most of the fission gas bubbles were located on the boundaries. Their shapes were far from spherical and far from lenticular. No interlinked bubble network was found. These observations shed light on previous unexplained observations. They plead for a revision of the classical description of fission gas release mechanisms for the center of high burn-up $UO_2$. Yet, complementary detailed observations are needed to better understand the mechanisms involved.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.6 no.1 s.17
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• pp.74-80
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• 2002

This study was carried out for the purpose of safety evaluation about the ventilation system (according to the structure of confined room, the position and size of vent window, the amount of blowing air, e.t.c.), which is equipped in one of KOGAS underground valve stations. Particularly, the effect of the fans placed in the upper region was focused in detail. Numerical simulation was conducted in order to predict the features of flow pattern and the diffusion of natural gas concentration. This work examined the ventilation system and resulted in proposing an optimal design of ventilation system.

• 한국가스학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1998.09a
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• pp.127-138
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• 1998

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2792-2800
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• 2022

In the core of the WWR-K reactor, a long-term irradiation of tristructural isotopic (TRISO)-coated fuel particles (CFPs) with a UO₂ kernel was carried out under high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR)-like operating conditions. The temperature of this TRISO fuel during irradiation varied in the range of 950-1100 ℃. A fission per initial metal atom (FIMA) of uranium burnup of 9.9% was reached. The release of gaseous fission products was measured in-pile. The release-to-birth ratio (R/B) for the fission product isotopes was calculated. Aspects of fuel safety while achieving deep fuel burnup are important and relevant, including maintaining the integrity of the fuel coatings. The main mechanisms of fuel failure are kernel migration, silicon carbide corrosion by palladium, and gas pressure increase inside the CFP. The formation of gaseous fission products and carbon monoxide leads to an increase in the internal pressure in the CFP, which is a dominant failure mechanism of the coatings under this level of burnup. Irradiated fuel compacts were subjected to electric dissociation to isolate the CFPs from the fuel compacts. In addition, nondestructive methods, such as X-ray radiography and gamma spectrometry, were used. The predicted R/B ratio was evaluated using the fission gas release model developed in the high-temperature test reactor (HTTR) project. In the model, both the through-coatings of failed CFPs and as-fabricated uranium contamination were assumed to be sources of the fission gas. The obtained R/B ratio for gaseous fission products allows the finalization and validation of the model for the release of fission products from the CFPs and fuel compacts. The success of the integrity of TRISO fuel irradiated at approximately 9.9% FIMA was demonstrated. A low fuel failure fraction and R/B ratios indicated good performance and reliability of the studied TRISO fuel.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.393-404
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• 1999

We have reported that hypoxia stimulates EDRF(s) release from endothelial cells and the release may be augmented by previous hypoxia. As a mechanism, it was hypothesized that reoxygenation can stimulate EDRF(s) release from endothelial cells and we tested the hypothesis via bioassay experiment. In the bioassay experiment, rabbit aorta with endothelium was used as EDRF donor vessel and rabbit carotid artery without endothelium as a bioassay test ring. The test ring was contracted by prostaglandin $F_{2a}\;(3{\times}10^{-6}\;M)$ which was added to the solution perfusing through the aorta. Hypoxia was evoked by switching the solution aerated with 95% $O_2/5%\;CO_2$ mixed gas to one aerated with 95% $O_2/5%\;CO_2$ mixed gas. Hypoxia/reoxygenation were interexchanged at intervals of 2 minutes (intermittent hypoxia). In some experiments, endothelial cells were exposed to 10-minute hypoxia (continuous hypoxia) and then exposed to reoxygenation and intermittent hypoxia. In other experiments, the duration of reoxygenation was extended from 2 minutes to 5 minutes. When the donor aorta was exposed to intermittent hypoxia, hypoxia stimulated EDRF(s) release from endothelial cells and the hypoxia-induced EDRF(s) release was augmented by previous hypoxia/reoxygenation. When the donor aorta was exposed to continuous hypoxia, there was no increase of hypoxia-induced EDRF(s) release during hypoxia. But, after the donor aorta was exposed to reoxygenation, hypoxia-induced EDRF(s) release was markedly increased. When the donor aorta was pretreated with nitro-L-arginine $(10^{-5}$ M for 30 minutes), the initial hypoxia-induced EDRF(s) release was almost completely abolished, but the mechanism for EDRF(s) release by the reoxygenation and subsequent hypoxia still remained to be clarified. TEA also blocked incompletely hypoxia-induced and hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced EDRF(s) release. EDRF(s) release by repetitive hypoxia and reoxygenation was completely blocked by the combined treatment with nitro-L-arginine and TEA. Cytochrome P450 blocker, SKF-525A, inhibited the EDRF(s) release reversibly and endothelin antgonists, BQ 123 and BQ 788, had no effect on the release of endothelium-derived vasoactive factors. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase inhibited the EDRF(s) release from endothelial cells. From these data, it could be concluded that reoxygenation stimulates EDRF(s) release and hypoxia/reoxygenation can release not only NO but also another EDRF from endothelial cells by the production of oxygen free radicals.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.21-26
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• 2022

Zinc is emerging as a environment-friendly plating material to replace cadmium, which is harmful to the human body, to prevent hydrogen gas penetration or release from metal materials. Electroplating of Zn and Zn alloys, which is usually performed in an aqueous acidic atmosphere, has disadvantages such as low coulombic efficiency, corrosion, and hydrogen release, resulting in industrial use difficult. In this study, a deep-eutectic solvent was synthesized using choline chloride and ethylene glycol. Using this as a solvent, an electrolyte for Zn plating was prepared, and then zinc was plated on the STS 304 substrate. The surface microstructure and roughness were observed using SEM and AFM. The crystal structure of the electro-plated film was analyzed using XRD. Finally, the preventing effects of hydrogen release through Zn-based deep-eutectic plating on the STS 304 substrate were compared with the uncoated substrate.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.38-41
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• 2008

In this research, we propose a new method for tracking the release rate using the concentration data obtained from the sensor. We used a sensor network that has already been set surrounding the area where hazardous gas releases can occur. From the real-time sensor data, we detected and analyzed releases of harmful materials and their concentrations. Based on the results, the release rate is estimated using the neural network. This model consists of 14 input variables (sensor data, material properties, process information, meteorological conditions) and one output (release rate). The dispersion model then performs the simulation of the expected dispersion consequence by combining the sensor data, GIS data and the diagnostic result of the source term. The result of this study will improve the safety-concerns of residents living next to storage facilities containing hazardous materials by providing the enhanced emergency response plan and monitoring system for toxic gas releases.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.9
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• pp.918-922
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• 2015

As international environmental regulations for pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions discharged from ships are being reinforced, it is drawing attention to use LNG as ship fuel. This paper compares the explosion risk potential in the LNG fuel gas supply systems of two types used in marine LNG fuelled vessels. By selecting 8500 TEU class container ships as target, LNG storage tank was designed and pressure conditions were assumed for the use of each fuel supply type. The leak hole sizes were divided into three categories, and the leak frequencies for each category were estimated. The sizes of the representative leak holes and release rates were estimated. The release rate and the leak frequency showed an inverse relationship. The pump type fuel gas supply system showed high leak frequency, and the pressure type fuel gas supply system showed high release rate. Computational fluid dynamics simulation was applied to perform a comparative analysis of the explosion risk potential of each fuel supply system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.7
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• pp.2395-2407
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• 2022

The sodium-cooled fast reactor is among the innovative nuclear technologies selected in the framework of the development of Generation IV concepts, allowing the irradiation of uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuels (MOX). A fundamental step for the safety assessment of MOX-fuelled pins for fast reactor applications is the evaluation, by means of fuel performance codes, of the integral thermal-mechanical behaviour under irradiation, involving the fission gas behaviour and release in the fuel-cladding gap. This work is dedicated to the performance analysis of an inner-core fuel pin representative of the ASTRID sodium-cooled concept design, selected as case study for the benchmark between the GERMINAL and TRANSURANUS fuel performance codes. The focus is on fission gas-related mechanisms and integral outcomes as predicted by means of the SCIANTIX module (allowing the physics-based treatment of inert gas behaviour and release) coupled to both fuel performance codes. The benchmark activity involves the application of both GERMINAL and TRANSURANUS in their "pre-INSPYRE" versions, i.e., adopting the state-of-the-art recommended correlations available in the codes, compared with the "post-INSPYRE" code results, obtained by implementing novel models for MOX fuel properties and phenomena (SCIANTIX included) developed in the framework of the INSPYRE H2020 Project. The SCIANTIX modelling includes the consideration of burst releases of the fission gas stored at the grain boundaries occurring during power transients of shutdown and start-up, whose effect on a fast reactor fuel concept is analysed. A clear need to further extend and validate the SCIANTIX module for application to fast reactor MOX emerges from this work; nevertheless, the GERMINAL-TRANSURANUS benchmark on the ASTRID case study highlights the achieved code capabilities for fast reactor conditions and paves the way towards the proper application of fuel performance codes to safety evaluations on Generation IV reactor concepts.