• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.71-79
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• 2023

Air ingress incidents are major safety accidents in very-high-temperature reactors (VHTRs). Air containing a high volume fraction of oxygen may cause severe oxidation of core components at the VHTR, especially for the significantly thin alloy tube wall in the intermediate heat exchanger (IHE). The research objects of this study are Inconel 617 and Incoloy 800H, two candidate alloys for IHE in VHTR. The air ingress accident scenario is simulated with high-temperature air flow at 950 ℃. A continuous oxide scale was formed on the surfaces of both the alloys after the experiment. Because the oxide scale of Inconel 617 has a loose structure, whereas that of Incoloy 800H is denser, Inconel 617 exhibited significantly more severe internal oxidation than Incoloy 800H. Further, Inconel 617 showed a significant decrease in ultimate tensile strength and plasticity after aging for 200 h, whereas Incoloy 800H maintained its tensile properties satisfactorily. Through control experiment under vacuum, we preliminarily concluded that serious internal oxidation is the primary reason for the decline in the tensile properties of Inconel 617.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.419-425
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• 2017

In this study, the performance characteristics of the K-based sorbents (KEP-CO2P2, KEPCO RI, Korea) has been studied in relation with the heat exchanger structure and shape in a mixing zone of the carbonator in the bench-scale dry $CO_2$ capture process. Two types of heat exchangers (different structure and shape) were used in the carbonator as CASE 1 and CASE 2, in which the experiment has been continuously performed under the same operating conditions. During the continuous operation, working temperature of carbonator was 75 to $80^{\circ}C$, that of regenerator was 190 to $200^{\circ}C$, and $CO_2$ inlet concentration of the feed gas was 12 to 14 vol%. Especially, to compare the dynamic sorption capacity of sorbents, the differential pressure of the mixing zone in the carbonator was maintained around 400 to 500 mm $H_2O$. Also, solid samples from the carbonator and the regenerator were collected and weight variation of those samples was evaluated by TGA. The $CO_2$ removal efficiency and the dynamic sorption capacity were 64.3% and 2.40 wt%, respectively for CASE 1 while they were 81.0% and 4.66 wt%, respectively for CASE 2. Also, the dynamic sorption capacity of the sorbent in CASE 1 and CASE 2 was 2.51 wt% and 4.89 wt%, respectively, based on the weight loss of the TGA measurement results. Therefore, It was concluded that there could be a difference in the performance characteristics of the same sorbents according to the structure and type of heat exchanger inserted in the carbonator under the same operating conditions.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.403-410
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• 2020

This paper focuses on the design of a 12-kW small-scale supercritical CO₂ test loop. A theoretical study, stabilization, and optimization of carbon dioxide were carried out with the application of a solar heat source based on solar thermal data in Pohang. The thermodynamic cycle of the test facility is a Rankine cycle (transcritical cycle), which contains liquid, gas, and supercritical CO₂. The system is designed to achieve 6.98% efficiency at a maximum pressure of 12 MPa and a maximum temperature of 70℃. In addition, the optimum turbine inlet temperature and pressure were calculated to increase the cycle efficiency, and the application of an internal heat exchanger (IHX) was simulated. It was found that the maximum efficiency increases to 18.75%. The simulation confirmed that the efficiency of the cycle is 6.7% in May and 6.26% in June.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.72-78
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• 2015

In the present study, a recuperator to improve the thermal efficiency of a micro gas turbine is considered. The counter flow plate-fin heat exchanger with offset strip fins is chosen as the type of the recuperator. From the optimization study as varying design parameters of the recuperator determined from the ideal cycle analysis, the internal structure of the recuperator is determined. The recuperator is made from stainless steel 304. In order to evaluate performance of the recuperator, experimental investigation is performed. The effects of inlet temperature of hot-side of the recuperator on the thermal performance of the recuperator are investigated. As a result, effectiveness of the recuperator obtained from the experiments is well consistent with that obtained from the correlations.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.9
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• pp.659-667
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• 2012

Alloy 617 is a Ni-base superalloy and a candidate material for the intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) of a very high temperature gas reactor (VHTR) which is one of the next generation nuclear reactors under development. The high operating temperature of VHTR enables various applications such as mass production of hydrogen with high energy efficiency. Alloy 617 has good creep resistance and phase stability at high temperatures in an air environment. However, it was reported that the mechanical properties decreased at a high temperature in an impure helium environment. In this study, high-temperature corrosion tests were carried out at $850^{\circ}C-950^{\circ}C$ in a helium environment containing the impurity gases $H_2$, CO, and $CH_4$, in order to examine the corrosion behavior of Alloy 617. Until 250 h, Alloy 617 specimens showed a parabolic oxidation behavior at all temperatures. The activation energy for oxidation in helium environment was 154 kJ/mol. The SEM and EDS results elucidated a Cr-rich surface oxide layer, Al-rich internal oxides and depletion of grain boundary carbides. The thickness and depths of degraded layers also showed a parabolic relationship with time. A normal grain growth was observed in the Cr-rich surface oxide layer. When corrosion tests were conducted in a pure helium environment, the oxidation was suppressed drastically. It was elucidated that minor impurity gases in the helium would have detrimental effects on the high-temperature corrosion behavior of Alloy 617 for the VHTR application.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.69-78
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• 1978

It is well known that the aluminizing steel is excellent in corrosion resistance and heat resistance. Therefore it has been used as boiler parts, heat exchanger parts and guide rails which are used under comparatively simple conditions. Recently, it has been noticed that aluminizing steel has high resistance to various atmosphere, high temperature oxidation and seawater resistance. So its usage has been extended widely to the production of parts such as intake and exhaust valve of internal combustion engine, turbine blade and pipelines On ships which required such properties. It is considered that aluminium coated steel is excellent in wear resistance because of high hardness on main ingredient FezAIs of Fe-AI alloy layer existed in diffusion coating layer. And it will beused as a new material taking wear resitance with seawater resistance in marine field. However it is difficult to findout any report concering the wear behaviors or properties of alum in izing steel. In this study the experiment was carried out under the condition of rolling-sliding contact using an Amsler-type wear testing machine at 0.80, 0.91, 1. 10, 1. 25% of slip ratio and 55.43, 78.38, 110.85 kg/mm^2 of Hertz's contact stress in run-in period for the purpose of service-ability test of aluminizing steel as a wear resisting material and obtaining the available design data. The followings are the obtained results from the experimen tal study; 1) The 2nd diffusion material has most excellent wear resistance. This material has brought out about 18% decrease of wear weight in a lower friction load level and 40~G decrease in a higher level comparing to the raw material. 2) Satisfactory effect of wear resistivity cannot be much expected in 2nd diffusion specimens. This is considered due to the formation of fine void in the alloy layer near the boundary to the aluminium layer. 3) Fracture on friction surface of aluminizing steel by the rolling-sliding contact is spalling, and spalling crack occurres initially beneath the specimen surface near the boundary in diffusion coating layer.