• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1974-1987
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• 2023

The load-following operation of small modular reactors (SMRs) requires accurate prediction of transient behaviors that can occur in the balance of plants (BOP) and the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS). However, 1-D thermal-hydraulics analysis codes developed for safety and performance analysis have conventionally excluded the BOP from the simulation by assuming ideal boundary conditions for the main steam and feed water (MS/FW) systems, i.e., an open loop. In this study, we introduced a lumped model of BOP fluid system and coupled it with NSSS without any ideal boundary conditions, i.e., in a closed loop. Various methods for coupling boundary conditions at MS/FW were tested to validate their combination in terms of minimizing numerical instability, which mainly arises from the coupled boundaries. The method exhibiting the best performance was selected and applied to a transient simulation of an integrated NSSS and BOP system of a SMART. For a transient event with core power change of 100-20-100%, the simulation exhibited numerical stability throughout the system without any significant perturbation of thermal-hydraulic parameters. Thus, the introduced boundary-condition coupling method and BOP fluid system model can expectedly be employed for the transient simulation and performance analysis of SMRs requiring daily load-following operations.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.81-91
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• 2013

A novel design process of a parallel multi-flow type air-cooled condenser of a dual-loop waste heat recovery system with Rankine steam cycles for improving the fuel efficiency of gasoline automobiles has been investigated focusing on reduction of the pressure drop inside the micro-tubes. The low temperature condenser plays a role to dissipate heat from the system by condensing the low temperature loop working fluid sufficiently. However, the refrigerant has low evaporation temperature enough to recover the waste from engine coolant of about $100^{\circ}C$ but has small saturation enthalpy so that excessive mass flow rate of the LT working fluid, e.g., over 150 g/s, causes enormously large pressure drop of the working fluid to maintain the heat dissipation performance of more than 20 kW. This paper has dealt with the scheme to design the low temperature condenser that has reduced pressure drop while ensuring the required thermal performance. The number of pass, the arrangement of the tubes of each pass, and the positions of the inlet and outlet ports on the header are most critical parameters affecting the flow uniformity through all the tubes of the condenser. For the purpose of the performance predictions and the parametric study for the LT condenser, we have developed a 1-dimensional user-friendly performance prediction program that calculates feasibly the phase change of the working fluid in the tubes. An example is presented through the proposed design process and compared with an experiment.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.209-219
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• 2015

A robust multi-fidelity optimization methodology has been developed, focusing on efficiently handling industrial runner design of hydraulic Francis turbines. The computational task is split between low- and high-fidelity phases in order to properly balance the CFD cost and required accuracy in different design stages. In the low-fidelity phase, a physics-based surrogate optimization loop manages a large number of iterative optimization evaluations. Two derivative-free optimization methods use an inviscid flow solver as a physics-based surrogate to obtain the main characteristics of a good design in a relatively fast iterative process. The case study of a runner design for a low-head Francis turbine indicates advantages of integrating two derivative-free optimization algorithms with different local- and global search capabilities.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.589-598
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• 2004

Flow condensation heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) of R22 and R134a were measured on a horizontal 9 hole aluminum multi-channel tube. The main test section in the refrigerant loop was made of a flat multi-channel aluminum tube of 1.4 mm hydraulic diameter and 0.53 m length. Refrigerant was cooled by passing cold water through an annulus surrounding the test section. Data were obtained in the vapor qualities of 0.1∼0.9 at mass flux of 200∼400 kg/$m^2$s and heat flux of 7.3∼7.7 ㎾/$m^2$ at the saturation temperature of 4$0^{\circ}C$. All popular correlations in single-phase subcooled liquid and flow condensation originally developed for large single tubes predicted the present data of the flat tube within 20% deviation when effective heat transfer area is used in determining experimental data. This suggests that there is little change in flow characteristics and patterns when the tube diameter is reduced down to 1.4 mm diameter range. Thermal insulation for the outer tube section surrounding the test tube for the transport of heat transfer fluid is very important in fluid heat-ing or cooling type heat transfer experimental apparatus.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.140-149
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• 2011

For a certain operating point of a horizontal shaft bulb turbine (i.e. volume flow, net head, blade angle, guide vane angle) the efficiency for different pressure levels (i.e. different Thoma-coefficient ${\sigma}$) is calculated using a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD-)-code including two-phase flow and a cavitation model. The results are compared with experimental results achieved at a closed loop test rig for model turbines. The comparison of the experimentally and numerically obtained efficiency and the visual impression of the cavitation show a good agreement. Especially the drop in efficiency is calculated with satisfying accuracy. This drop in efficiency in combination with the visual impression is of high practical importance since it contributes to determine the admissible cavitation in a bulb-turbine. It is seen that the incipient cavitation in Kaplan type turbines has no major importance in determing this admissible amount of cavitation.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.648-656
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• 2002

This paper presents the identification of temperature-dependent hysteresis of an electro-rheological (ER) fluid under various operating temperatures using the Preisach model. As a first step, polymethylaniline (PMA) particles are prepared and mixed with silicone oil to make an ER fluid. A couette type electroviscometer is then employed to obtain the field-dependent shear stress. In order to show the suitability of the Preisach model to predict a physical hysteresis phenomenon of the ER fluid, two significant properties; the minor loop property and the wiping-out property are experimentally examined under three dominant temperature conditions. Subsequently, the Preisach model for the PMA-based ER fluid is identified using experimental multiple first order descending (FOD) curves. The effectiveness of the identified hysteresis model is verified in the time domain by comparing the predicted field-dependent shear stress with the measured one under the both specified and unspecified temperatures. In addition, the hysteresis model proposed in this work is compared to Bingham model.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.21-26
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• 2008

Recently, small and medium-sized buildings have employed a multi-heat pump. The major benefits of the multi-heat pump over a conventional system are that it is easier system to maintain along with a diversification of facility use, and high comfortability. The performance of multi-heat pump systems can be enhanced by using geothermal energy instead of air source energy. This paper describes the multi-heat pumps applied in an ground source heat pump system for an actual building. The performance of a ground source multi-heat pump installed in the field was investigated in cooling mode. The maximum COP of the systems with single U-tube and double tube ground loop heat exchangers were 6.6 and 6.0, respectively. It is suggested that the new algorithms to control the flow rate of secondary fluid for ground loop heat exchanger have to be developed in order to enhance the performance of the system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.981-988
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• 2018

An experiment was performed for the OECD/NEA ROSA-2 Project with the large-scale test facility (LSTF), which simulated a steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) accident due to a double-ended guillotine break of one of steam generator (SG) U-tubes with operator recovery actions in a pressurized water reactor. The relief valve of broken SG opened three times after the start of intact SG secondary-side depressurization as the recovery action. Multi-dimensional phenomena specific to the SGTR accident appeared such as significant thermal stratification in a cold leg in broken loop especially during the operation of high-pressure injection (HPI) system. The RELAP5/MOD3.3 code overpredicted the broken SG secondary-side pressure after the start of the intact SG secondary-side depressurization, and failed to calculate the cold leg fluid temperature in broken loop. The combination of the number of the ruptured SG tubes and the HPI system operation difference was found to significantly affect the primary and SG secondary-side pressures through sensitivity analyses with the RELAP5 code.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.338-353
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• 2016

Information on the surge behaviors and stall stagnation boundaries for a nine-stage axial flow compressor are summarized on the basis of analytical data in comparison with those for a single-stage one, with attention to the pressure ratio effect. The general trends of the surge loop behaviors of the pressure-mass flow are similar for both compressors including the fact that the subharmonic surges tend to appear very near the stall stagnation boundaries. With respect to the nine-stage compressor, however, the mild loops in the subharmonic surges tend to be very small in size relative to the deep loops, and at the same time, insufficient surge recovery phenomenon, which is a kind of subharmonic surge, appears also far from the stagnation boundary for relatively short delivery flow-paths. The latter is found to be a rear-stage surge caused by unstalling and re-stalling of the rear stages with the front-stages kept in stall in the stalled condition of the whole compressor, which situation is caused by stage-wise mismatching in the bottom pressure levels of the in-stall multi-stage compressor. The fundamental information on the stall stagnation boundaries is given by a group of normalized geometrical parameters including relative delivery flow-path length, relative suction flow-path length, and sectional area-pressure ratio, and by another group of normalized frequency parameters including relative surge frequencies, modified reduced resonance frequencies, and modified reduced surge frequencies. Respective groups of the normalized parameters show very similar tendency of behaviors for the nine-stage compressor and the single-stage compressor. The modified reduced resonance frequency could be the more reasonable parameter suggesting the flow-induced oscillation nature of the surge phenomena. It could give the stall stagnation boundary in a more unified manner than the Greitzer's B parameter.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1584-1602
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• 2024

It is vital to output the required electrical power following various task requirements when the space reactor power supply is operating in orbit. The dynamic performance of the closed Brayton cycle thermoelectric conversion system is initially studied and analyzed. Based on this, a load tracking power regulation method is developed for the liquid metal cooled space reactor power system, which takes into account the inlet temperature of the lithium on the hot side of the intermediate heat exchanger, the filling quantity of helium and xenon, and the input amount of the heat pipe radiator module. After comparing several methods, a power regulation method with fast response speed and strong system stability is obtained. Under various changes in power output, the dynamic response characteristics of the ultra-small liquid metal lithium-cooled space reactor concept scheme are analyzed. The transient operation process of 70 % load power shows that core power variation is within 30 % and core coolant temperature can operate at the set safety temperature. The second loop's helium-xenon working fluid has a 65K temperature change range and a 25 % filling quantity. The lithium at the radiator loop outlet changes by less than ±7 K, and the system's main key parameters change as expected, indicating safety. The core system uses less power during 30 % load power transient operation. According to the response characteristics of various system parameters, under low power operation conditions, the lithium working fluid temperature of the radiator circuit and the high-temperature heat pipe operation temperature are limiting conditions for low-power operation, and multiple system parameters must be coordinated to ensure that the radiator system does not condense the lithium working fluid and the heat pipe.