• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.1323-1332
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• 2009

The IHX (Intermediate Heat eXchanger) for a pool-type SFR (Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor) system transfers heat from the primary high temperature sodium to the intermediate cold temperature sodium. The upper structure of the IHX is a coaxial structure designed to form a flow path for both the secondary high temperature and low temperature sodium. The coaxial structure of the IHX consists of a central downcomer and riser for the incoming and outgoing intermediate sodium, respectively. The IHX of a pool-type SFR is supported at the upper surface of the reactor head with an IHX support structure that connects the IHX riser cylinder to the reactor head. The reactor head is generally maintained at the low temperature regime, but the riser cylinder is exposed in the elevated temperature region. The resultant complicated temperature distribution of the co-axial structure including the IHX support structure may induce a severe thermal stress distribution. In this study, the structural feasibility of the current upper support structure concept is investigated through a preliminary stress analysis and an alternative design concept to accommodate the IHTS (Intermediate Heat Transport System) piping expansion loads and severe thermal stress is proposed. Through the structural analysis it is found that the alternative design concept is effective in reducing the thermal stress and acquiring structural integrity.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.586-592
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• 2016

The magnetic-jack type CRDM withdraws or inserts a control rod assembly from/to the reactor core to control the core reactivity. The CRDM housings form not only the path of the electromagnetic field but also the pressure boundary of a nuclear reactor, and a periodic in-service inspection should be carried out if there are welded or flange jointed parts on the pressure boundary. The in-service inspection is a time-consuming process during the reactor refueling, and moreover it is difficult to perform the inspection over the reactor head. A magnetic motor housing is applied for the current SMART CRDM and has several welding joints, however a nonmagnetic motor housing with fewer or no welding joints may improve the operational efficiency of the nuclear reactor by avoiding or simplifying the in-service inspection process. Prior to the development, the magnetic field transfer efficiency of the nonmagnetic housing was required to be assessed. It was verified and optimized by the electromagnetic analysis of the lifting force estimation. Magnetic flux rings were adopted to improve the efficiency. In this paper, the design and optimization process of a nonmagnetic motor housing with the magnetic flux rings for the SMART CRDM are introduced and the analyses results are discussed.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.357-364
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• 2022

The safety of a KTC-360 transport cask, a large-capacity pressurized heavy-water reactor transport cask that transports CANDU spent nuclear fuel discharged from the reactor after burning in a pressurized heavy-water reactor, must be demonstrated under the normal transport and accident conditions specified under transport cask regulations. To confirm the thermal integrity of this cask under normal transport and accident conditions, high-temperature and fire tests were performed using a one-third slice model of an actual KTC-360 cask. The results revealed that the surface temperature of the cask was 62℃, indicating that such casks must be transported separately. The highest temperature of the CANDU spent nuclear fuel was predicted to be lower than the melting temperature of Zircaloy-4, which was the sheath material used. Therefore, if normal operating conditions are applied, the thermal integrity of a KTC-360 cask can be maintained under normal transport conditions. The fire test revealed that the maximum temperatures of the structural materials, stainless steel, and carbon steel were 446℃ lower than the permitted maximum temperatures, proving the thermal integrity of the cask under fire accident conditions.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.433-436
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• 2016

In the area of environmental chemistry of power plant, flow analysis of the reactor with built-in impeller is a very important part from the perspective of the improvement of the efficiency of the entire process. As a wide range of methods are being proposed for the analysis of the flow pattern within the reactor, this study analyzed the flow within the reactor according to the baffle structure (height) installed on the internal wall of the reactor in order to improve the reaction efficiency through the inducing of the up and down stirring with the reactor. As the results of the execution of the flow analysis for each of a diverse range of cases by utilizing the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method, it was possible to confirm that the flow is markdely improved by inducing the up and down stirring among the reactants within the reactor if the baffle is elevated to the level below the water surface. In particular, as the results of the analysis of the general cases in which the baffle is elevated all 4 steps and the cases in which the baffle is elevated only 2 steps, elevating the baffle only 2 steps achieve the same effect as the elevating of the baffle by 4 steps. Therefore, it was possible to expect to improve the efficiency with out the need to increase the use of electric power substantially if the outcomes of this study is applied to the actual sites of power plants in the future.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.552-558
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• 2016

A control rod drive mechanism(CRDM) is a reactor regulating system, which inserts, withdraws or maintains a control rod within a reactor core to control the reactivity of the core. The CRDM for Jordan Research and Training Reactor with 5MW power has been designed and fabricated based on the HANARO’s experience through KAERI and DAEWOO consortium. This paper describes the seismic test results to demonstrate the operability, the drop performance and the structural integrity of CRDM during or after seismic excitations. The seismic tests are carried out under 5 OBE and 1 SSE loads at three Test Rigs simulating the reactor structure and the pool top. From the tests, the CRDM is smoothly driven without a malfunction of stepping motor under OBE load. The pure drop time under OBE and SSE loads is measured as 1.169s and 1.855s to meet the design requirement. Also, it is found that the CRDM maintains the structural integrity without a change of the function and natural frequency before and after seismic loads.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.1658-1668
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• 2019

Nuclear power generates a large portion of the energy used today and plays an important role in energy development. To ensure safe nuclear power generation, it is essential to conduct an accurate analysis of reactor structural integrity. Accordingly, in this study, a methodology for obtaining accurate structural responses to the combined seismic and reactor coolant loads existing prior to the shutdown of a nuclear reactor is proposed. By applying the proposed analysis method to the reactor vessel internals, it is possible to derive the seismic responses considering the influence of the hydraulic loads present during operation for the first time. The validity of the proposed methodology is confirmed in this research by using the finite element method to conduct seismic and hydraulic load analyses of the advanced APR1400 1400 MWe power reactor, one of the commercial reactors. The structural responses to the combined applied loads are obtained using displacement-based and stress-based superposition methods. The safety of the subject nuclear reactor is then confirmed by analyzing the design margin according to the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME) evaluation criteria, demonstrating the promise of the proposed analysis method.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.117-123
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• 2015

To remove heat generated during a burn-up test of nuclear fuels, the heat generation rate of nuclear fuels should be calculated accurately, and a coolant should be circulated in the test loop at an adequate flow rate. HANARO is an open pool-type reactor with an independent test loop for the burn-up test of nuclear fuels. A test rig is installed in the test loop, and a coolant is circulated through the test loop to maintain the temperature of the nuclear fuel rods within a desired temperature during an irradiation test. The components and sensors in the test rig can be broken or malfunction owing to the flow-induced vibration. In this study, a coolant flow simulation system was developed to verify and confirm the soundness of components and sensors assembled in the test rig with a high flow rate of the coolant.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.48-57
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• 2015

In a sodium-cooled fast reactor, which is a Generation-IV reactor, refueling is conducted by rotating, but not opening, the reactor head to prevent a reaction between the sodium, water and air. Therefore, an inspection technique that checks for the presence of any obstacles between the reactor core and the upper internal structure, which could disturb the rotation of the reactor head, is essential prior to the refueling of a sodium-cooled fast reactor. To this end, an ultrasound-based inspection technique should be employed because the opacity of the sodium prevents conventional optical inspection techniques from being applied to the monitoring of obstacles. In this study, a ranging inspection technique using a plate-type ultrasonic waveguide sensor was developed to monitor the presence of any obstacles between the reactor core and the upper internal structure in the opaque sodium. Because the waveguide sensor installs an ultrasonic transducer in a relatively cold region and transmits the ultrasonic waves into the hot radioactive liquid sodium through a long waveguide, it offers better reliability and is less susceptible to thermal or radiation damage. A 10 m horizontal beam waveguide sensor capable of radiating an ultrasonic wave horizontally was developed, and beam profile measurements and basic experiments were carried out to investigate the characteristics of the developed sensor. The beam width and propagation distance of the ultrasonic wave radiated from the sensor were assessed based on the experimental results. Finally, a feasibility test using cylindrical targets (corresponding to the shape of possible obstacles) was also conducted to evaluate the applicability of the developed ranging inspection technique to actual applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.4477-4490
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• 2023

Fuel locking mechanisms (FLMs) are essential in upward-flow research reactors to prevent accidental fuel separation from the core during reactor operation. This study presents a novel design concept for a remotely controlled plate-type nuclear fuel locking mechanism. By employing electromagnetic field analysis, we optimized the design of the electromagnet for fuel unlocking, allowing the FLM to adapt to various research reactor core designs, minimizing installation space, and reducing maintenance efforts. Computational flow analysis quantified the drag acting on the fuel assembly caused by coolant upflow. Subsequently, we performed finite element analysis and evaluated the structural integrity of the FLM based on the ASME boiler and pressure vessel (B&PV) code, considering design loads such as dead weight and flow drag. Our findings confirm that the new FLM design provides sufficient margins to withstand the specified loads. We fabricated a prototype comprising the driving part, a simplified moving part, and a dummy fuel assembly. Through basic operational tests on the assembled components, we verified that the manufactured products meet the performance requirements. This remote-controlled micro locking mechanism holds promise in enhancing the safety and efficiency of plate-type nuclear fuel operation in upflow research reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.1275-1284
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• 2009

A directly heated $SO_3$ decomposer for the sulfur-iodine and hybrid-sulfur processes has been introduced and analyzed using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code CFX 11. The use of a directly heated decomposition reactor in conjunction with a very high temperature reactor (VHTR) allows for higher decomposition reactor operating temperatures. However, the high temperatures and strongly corrosive operating conditions associated with $SO_3$ decomposition present challenges for the structural materials of decomposition reactors. In order to resolve these problems, we have designed a directly heated $SO_3$ decomposer using RA330 alloy as a structural material and have performed a CFD analysis of the design based on the finite rate chemistry model. The CFD results show the maximum temperature of the structural material could be maintained sufficiently below 1073 K, which is considered the target temperature for RA 330. The CFD simulations also indicated good performance in terms of $SO_3$ decomposition for the design parameters of the present study.