• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.443-448
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• 2006

The OPAL (Open Pool Australian Light-water) reactor is currently being constructed to replace HIFAR (HI-Flux Australian Reactor, commissioned in 1958) in mid-2006. HIFAR will be shutdown for decommissioning after several months of simultaneous operation with OPAL for smooth transition of operating systems and business. OPAL is a 20 MW multipurpose research reactor for radioisotope production, irradiation services and neutron beam research. The OPAL reactor uses low enriched uranium fuel in a compact core, cooled by light water and moderated by heavy water, yielding maximum thermal flux not less than $4{\times}10^{14}ncm^{-2}s^{-1}$. The reactor containment building is constructed of reinforced concrete and has been designed to protect the reactor from all external events such as seismic occurrences and impact from a hypothetical light aircraft crash. This paper describes the main elements of the reactor design and its applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.249-256
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• 2007

Light water reactors operated under supercritical pressure conditions have been selected as one of the promising future reactor concepts to be studied by the Generation IV International Forum. Whereas the steam cycle of such reactors can be derived from modem fossil fired power plants, the reactor itself, and in particular the reactor core, still need to be developed. Different core design concepts shall be described here to outline the strategy. A first option for near future applications is a pressurized water reactor with $380^{\circ}C$ core exit temperature, having a closed primary loop and achieving 2% pts. higher net efficiency and 24% higher specific turbine power than latest pressurized water reactors. More efficiency and turbine power can be gained from core exit temperatures around $500^{\circ}C$, which require a multi step heat up process in the core with intermediate coolant mixing, achieving up to 44% net efficiency. The paper summarizes different core and assembly design approaches which have been studied recently for such High Performance Light Water Reactors.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 2012

The success history of Light Water Reactors (PWR and BWR) showed how a dominant technology could be shaped in a political and economical context. The american nuclear politics, the interest of american nuclear industry, and the accumulated technological know-hows made it possible that the not inherently safe reactor-Light Water Reactor- became a prominent reactor model. The path dependency of reactor technology on LWR kept the engineers from developing a new safer reactor, even if the severe reactor accidents occurred. In oder to increase safety of nuclear power system, we should understand the social shaping process of nuclear technology.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.279-286
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• 2016

To enhance the safety of nuclear reactors after the Fukushima accident, researchers are developing various types of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) to increase the coping time and reduce the generation of hydrogen by oxidation. Coated cladding, an ATF concept, can be a promising technology in view of its commercialization. We applied 3D printing technology to the fabrication of coated cladding as well as of coated pellets. Direct metal tooling (DMT) in 3D printing technologies can create a coated layer on the tubular cladding surface, which maintains stability during corrosion, creep, and wear in the reactor. A 3D laser coating apparatus was built, and parameter studies were carried out. To coat pellets with erbium using this apparatus, we undertook preliminary experiments involving metal pellets. The adhesion test showed that the coated layer can be maintained at near fracture strength.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1997.05a
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• pp.473-478
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• 1997

A severe accident management strategy, in-vessel retention corium through external reactor vessel cooling(ERVC) is being studied worldwide as a means to prevent reactor vessel failure following a core melt accident. An evaluation of feasibility of this ERVC for a large Advanced Light Water Reactor (ALWR) is presented. To account for the coolability of corium and metal in the reactor vessel, a thermal analysis is performed using an existing method. Results show that the peak heat flux along the inner surface of the reactor vessel lower head has a relatively smaller margin than a small capacity reactor such as AP600 in regards with the critical heat flux attainable at the outer surface of the reactor vessel lower head.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.7
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• pp.2133-2150
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• 2021

In this work, Esfahan light water subcritical reactor (ELWSCR) is analysed using experimental and theoretical diagnostic methods. Important neutronic parameters of the system such as prompt neutron lifetime, delayed neutron fraction, prompt neutron decay constant, negative reactivity of the core, fuel and moderator temperature coefficient of reactivity, and overall and local void coefficient of reactivity are estimated. Also, neutron flux distribution, reflector saving, water level effect, and lattice pitch of the core including operating point of the facility are studied in details. Theoretical results are calculated by MCNPX and measurements are performed utilizing zero power reactor noise method. Detailed descriptions of the results are explained in the text.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.603-616
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• 2009

The past two decades were mainly devoted to model validation and computer code verification against global corium experiments, code application to reactor situations, and investigation of the role of melt properties in steam explosion energetics. Corium data were essentially provided by JRC-Ispra in the FARO and KROTOS facilities and by KAERI in the TROI facility. Verification of code applicability to reactor situations was performed essentially in the frame of the international OECD/SERENA programme. The paper makes a synthesis of the findings made during the above-mentioned period and expresses a personal view of the author with respect to the progress made and expected for the resolution of the steam explosion issue for light water reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.148-156
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• 2015

Several vendors have recently been actively pursuing the development of integral pressurized water reactors (iPWRs) that range in power levels from small to large reactors. Integral reactors have the features of minimum vessel penetrations, passive heat removal after reactor shutdown, and modular construction that allow fast plant integration and a secure fuel cycle. The features of an integral reactor limit the options for placing control and safety system instruments. The development of instrumentation and control (I&C) strategies for a large 1,000 MWe iPWR is described. Reactor system modeling-which includes reactor core dynamics, primary heat exchanger, and the steam flashing drum-is an important part of I&C development and validation, and thereby consolidates the overall implementation for a large iPWR. The results of simulation models, control development, and instrumentation features illustrate the systematic approach that is applicable to integral light water reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2556-2563
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• 2021

Metaheuristic algorithms can work well in solving or optimizing problems, especially those that require approximation or do not have a good analytical solution. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is one of these algorithms. The response quality of these algorithms depends on the objective function and its regulated parameters. The nonlinear nature of the pressurized light-water nuclear reactor (PWR) dynamics is a significant target for PSO. The two-point kinetics model of this type of reactor is used because of fission products properties. The proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is intended to control the power level of the PWR at a short-time transient. The absolute error (IAE), integral of square error (ISE), integral of time-absolute error (ITAE), and integral of time-square error (ITSE) objective functions have been used as performance indexes to tune the PID gains with PSO. The optimization results with each of them are evaluated with the number of function evaluations (NFE). All performance indexes achieve good results with differences in the rate of over/under-shoot or convergence rate of the cost function, in the desired time domain.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.559-565
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• 2009

In this paper, we invented a new and unique technique for the sterilization of Escherichia coli(E. coli) in polluted water. We applied a rich ultra-violet(UV) light from pulsed xenon flashlamp and photocatalyst(TiO2) to sterilize E. coli in polluted water. This method based on the use of UV light and photocatalyst is eco-friendly and does not cause secondary pollution. The proposed elliptical reactor is able to concentrate on quartz sleeve coated TiO2 or general quartz sleeve. The primary objective of our research was to determine the important parameters such as pulse repetition rate and input voltage and to know on the sterilizing efficiency of quartz sleeve coated TiO2 and general quartz sleeve. We obtained to achieve 99.999% sterilization in as little as 6 pulses at 800V in case of quartz sleeve coated Ti02, and 10 pulses at 800V in case of general quartz sleeve for 5 minutes. Although transmitted light of quartz sleeve coated TiO2 is deceased, the sterilizing efficiency is increased by 40% than general quartz sleeve. The reason of high sterilizing efficiency is that generated hydroxyl radical(OH) by photocatalyst and is able to concentrate light at a focus by using elliptical reactor.