• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.2878-2887
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• 2021

As the amount of fission product released from ISLOCA was overestimated because of conservative assumptions in the past, several studies have been recently conducted to evaluate the actual release amount. Among several pathways for the ISLOCA, most studies were focused on the pathway with the highest possibility. However, different ISLOCA pathways may have different fission product release characteristics. In this study, fission product behavior was analyzed for various pathways at the Westinghouse two-loop plant using MELCOR. Four pathways are considered: the pipes from a cold leg, from a downcomer, from a hot leg to the outlet of RHR heat exchanger, and the pipe from the hot leg to the inlet of RHR pump (Pathway 1-4). According to the analysis results, cladding fails at around 2.5 h in Pathways 1 and 2, and on the other hand, about 3.3 h in Pathways 3 and 4 because the ISLOCA pathways affect the safety injection flow path. While the release amount of cesium and iodine ranges between 20 and 26% in Pathways 1 to 3, Pathway 4 allows only 5% to the environment because the break location is submerged. Also, as more than 90% of cesium released to the environment passes through the personnel door, reinforcing the pressure capacity of the doors would be a significant factor in the accident management of the ISLOCA.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.1008-1016
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• 2019

In the SG (steam generator) of PWR (pressurized water reactor) for a nuclear plant, hundreds of U-shaped tubes are used for the heat exchanger system. They interact with primary pressurized cooling water flow, generating flow-induced vibration in the secondary flow region. A simplified U-tube model is proposed in this study to apply for experiment and its counterpart computation. Using the commercial code, ANSYS-CFX, we first verified the Moody chart, comparing the straight pipe theory with the results derived from CFD (computational fluid dynamics) analysis. Considering the virtual mass of fluid, we computed the major modes with the low natural frequencies through the comparison with impact hammer test, and then investigated the effect of pump flow in the frequency domain using FFT (fast Fourier transform) analysis of the experimental data. Using two-way fluid-structure interaction module in the CFD code, we studied the influence on mean flow rate to generate the displacement data. A feasible CFD method has been setup in this research that could be applied potentially in the field of nuclear thermal-hydraulics.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.192-200
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• 2024

Cu as a heat exchanger tube is an important component in thermal fluid transfer. However, Cu tubes are exposed to stress in certain environments, leading to stress corrosion cracking (SCC). In this study, the effect of Sn addition on microstructure and corrosion characteristics was examined. The microstructural examination revealed the presence of columnar crystal and a grain refinement due to the addition of Sn. Electrochemical measurements showed that the 5 wt.% NH₃ environment was the most vulnerable environment to Cu corrosion, and the corrosion current density increased as stress increased. The immersion test exhibited the formation of Cu2O and Cu(OH)₂ corrosion product in 3.5 wt.% NaCl and 5 wt.% NH₃ environments, respectively. Results indicated that Sn addition to Cu was an important factor in improving the mechanical strength.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2024

In this study, the influence of thermal aging on structural integrity is investigated for Gr. 91 steel. A commercial grade Gr. 91 steel is used for the virgin material, and service-exposed Gr. 91 steel is sampled from a steam pipe of a super critical plant. Time versus creep strain curves are obtained through creep tests with various stress levels at 600 ℃ for the virgin and service-exposed Gr. 91 steels, respectively. Based on the creep test results, the improved Omega model is characterized for describing the total creep strain curve for both Gr. 91 steels. The proposed parameters for creep deformation model are used for predicting the steady-state creep strain rate, creep rupture curve, and stress relaxation. Creep-fatigue damage is evaluated for the intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) in a large-scale sodium test facility of STELLA-2 by using creep deformation model with proposed creep parameters and creep rupture curve for both Gr. 91 steels. Based on the comparison results of creep fatigue damage for the virgin and service-exposed Gr. 91 steels, the thermal aging effect has been shown to be significant.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2332-2342
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• 2024

Lead-cooled fast reactors (LFRs) have a wide range of application scenarios, which require the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of LFRs to be reliable. In the present paper, the Lead-cooled fast reactor Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis Code LETHAC was developed, including the models of pipe, heat exchanger, and pool. To verify the correctness of LETHAC, two experimental facilities and three experimental cases were selected, including GFT and PLOFA tests for NACIE-UP and Test-1 for CIRCE. The calculated results show the same and consistent trend with the experimental data, but there are some discrepancies. It can be found that LETHAC is suitable and reliable in predicting the transient behavior of lead-cooled system.

• Journal of Korean Society of societal Security
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.43-50
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• 2010

Sliding accidents on the road have a high percentage by road freezing, especially, they often have appeared at bridges and Tunnel of freezing areas. Thus, the stability of road operations is enhanced by preventing partial freezing phenomenon. According to the geothermal snow melting system analysis, a pattern of thermal conductivity is found out; pavement materials of concrete and asphalt where the system is buried. The heat transfer simulation is essential when the geothermal snow melting system is applied according to heating exchanger pipe placed in the lower pavements. The model tests are conducted on low temperature in freezer using the manufactured test model which is equal to pavement materials. Many variables are discovered from numerical analyses under the same conditions with model test.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2021

High voltage impulse (HVI) has been gained attention as an alternative technique that could control the CaCO₃ scale problems encountered in water main, pipe, cooling tower and heat exchanger vessels. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of electric field (E) and contact time (t) of HVI on reduction of Ca²⁺ concentration at two different temperatures of 25℃ and 60℃. A kinetic model on the effect of E and t was investigated too. As the E and t increased, the Ca²⁺ concentration decreased more than that of the control (= no HVI). The Ca²⁺ concentration decreased up to 81% at 15 kV/cm at 60℃, which was nearly 2 times greater than the control. With these experimental data-set of reduction of Ca²⁺ concentration under different E and t, the kinetic model was developed. The relationship between E and t required to reduce the concentration of Ca²⁺ by 30% was modeled at each temperature. The empirical model equations were; E^0.83· t = 60.3 at 25℃ and E^0.08· t = 1.1 at 60℃. These equations state the products of Eⁿ and t is always constant, which means that the required contact time can be reduced in accordance with the increment of E and vice versa.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.227-232
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• 2012

Inconel 617 and Hastelloy X are the most promising candidate materials for the heat exchanger of next generation nuclear reactor. Surface coating and its effects on high temperature properties for the Inconel 617 and Hastelloy X under molten FLiNaK (LiF-NaF-KF) salt environment have been investigated. For TiAlN and $Al_2O_3$ overlay coatings, the two different PVD (physical vapor deposition) methods of an arc discharge and a sputtering were applied, respectively. A study for the thermal stability of the surface modified Ni-Cr alloy substrates has been conducted. To evaluate the corrosion mechanism of Ni-Cr alloys in the molten salt, a ruptured Inconel pipe used for the molten salt transportation has been analyzed. The thermal properties of morphological and structural properties each sample were characterized before and after heat-treatment at $600^{\circ}C$ in molten FLiNaK salt. The results showed that the TiAlN and $Al_2O_3$ overlay coated specimens had the enhanced high temperature stability.