• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.79-86
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• 2014

This paper describes an integrity evaluation method for emergency diesel generator(EDG) and rotor part of EDG. EDG is a very important equipment in the nuclear power plant(NPP). EDG supplies electricity to the safety-related equipments for the safety shut down of NPP in an emergency situation of earthquake. The safety of the rotor part of EDG is also important during seismic impact from earthquake. The finite element modelling of the EDG including rotor part was constructed. The modal analysis of EDG was firstly performed. The first natural frequency was calculated and revealed higher than the cutoff frequency of seismic spectrum. Then the stress analysis was done to compare with the allowable stress. The safety of the rotor part was investigated by the finite element analysis of the rotor and journal bearing interaction to find film thickness and critical speed. The seismic load was applied to rotor part in a manner that the load was a weighted static load. Analysis results showed that the maximum stress was within the range of allowable stress and the film thickness is larger than the permissible minimum thickness, and the critical speed was out of the operating speed. Hence, the structural and dynamic integrity of EDG could be confirmed by the numerical analysis method used in this paper. However, dynamic analysis of a rotating rotor and supporting bearing with the seismic impact needs to be investigated in a more rigorous method since the seismic load to the rotating part complicates the behavior of rotating system.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.135-142
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• 2017

Selenium (Se), which is natural materials existing was known as an important component of selenoprotein, one of the important proteins responsible for the redox pump of a living body. Selenium was orally administered to Rat and irradiated with 10 Gy of radiation. Then, the thyroid gland was used as a target organ for 1 day, 7 days and 21 days to investigate the radiation protection effect of selenium (Se) through changes of blood components, thyroid hormones (T3, T4), antioxidant enzyme (GPx) activity and thyroid tissue changes. As a result, there was a significant protective effect of hematopoietic immune system(hemoglobin concentration, neutrophil, platelet)(p<0.05). The activity of Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx), the antioxidant enzyme, and the activity of the target organ, thyroid hormone (T3, T4), also showed significant activity changes (p<0.05). In the observation of tissue changes, it was confirmed that there was a protective effect of thyroid cell damage which caused the cell necrosis by radiation treatment. Therefore, it is considered that selenium(Se) can be utilized as a radiation defense agent by inducing immunogenic activity effect of a living body.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.54-70
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• 2017

The accumulator is a passive safety injection device for emergency core cooling systems. As an important safety feature for providing a high-speed injection flow to the core by compressed nitrogen gas pressure during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), the accumulator injects its precharged nitrogen into the system after its coolant has been emptied. Attention has been drawn to the possible negative effects caused by such a nitrogen injection in passive safety nuclear power plants. Although some experimental work on the nitrogen injection has been done, there have been no comparative tests in which the effects on the system responses and the core safety have been clearly assessed. In this study, a new thermal hydraulic integral test facility-the advanced core-cooling mechanism experiment (ACME)-was designed and constructed to support the CAP1400 safety review. The ACME test facility was used to study the nitrogen injection effects on the system responses to the small break loss-of-coolant accident LOCA (SBLOCA) transient. Two comparison test groups-a 2-inch cold leg break and a double-ended direct-vessel-injection (DEDVI) line break-were conducted. Each group consists of a nitrogen injection test and a nitrogen isolation comparison test with the same break conditions. To assess the nitrogen injection effects, the experimental data that are representative of the system responses and the core safety were compared and analyzed. The results of the comparison show that the effects of nitrogen injection on system responses and core safety are significantly different between the 2-inch and DEDVI breaks. The mechanisms of the different effects on the transient were also investigated. The amount of nitrogen injected, along with its heat absorption, was likewise evaluated in order to assess its effect on the system depressurization process. The results of the comparison and analyses in this study are important for recognizing and understanding the potential negative effects on the passive core cooling performance caused by nitrogen injection during the SBLOCA transient.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.321-328
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• 2019

The detection performances of the NaI(Tl), $LaBr_3$(Ce) and $CeBr_3$ scintillation detectors, which can be used to rapidly evaluate the major artificial radionuclides deposited on the soil surface in a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, were compared. Detection performance was assessed by calculating the minimum detectable activity (MDA). The detection efficiency of each detector for artificial radionuclides was semi-empirically determined using mathematical modelling and point-like sources having certified radioactivity. The background gamma-ray energy spectrum for MDA evaluation was obtained from relatively wide and flat grassland, and the MDA values of each detector for the major artificial radionuclides that could be released in nuclear accidents were calculated. As a result, the relative MDA values of each detector regarding surface deposition distribution at normal environmental radiation level were evaluated as high in the order of the NaI(Tl), $LaBr_3$(Ce), and $CeBr_3$ detectors. These results were compared based on each detector's intrinsic and measurement environment background, detection efficiency, and energy resolution for the gamma-ray energy region of the radionuclide of interest.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.31-38
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• 1999

A real-time dose assessment system(FADAS : Following Accident Dose Assessment System) has been developed for the real-time accident consequence assessment against a nuclear accident. Field tracer experiment near Younggwang nuclear power plant was performed to improve the accuracy of developed system and to parameterize the site-specific parameters into the FADAS. The mean values and turbulent components of wind profile obtained through field experiment have been reflected to FADAS with site-specific conditions. The simulated results of diffusion model agreed well with the measured data through tracer experiment. The developed system is being used as a basic module of emergency preparedness system in Korea. The diffusion model which can be reflected site-specific parameters will be improved through field experiments continuously.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.625-636
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• 2013

Pressing demands of economic competitiveness, the need for large-scale deployment, minimizing the need of human intervention, and experience from the past events and incidents at operating reactors have guided the evolution and innovations in reactor technologies. Indian innovative reactor 'AHWR' is a pressure-tube type natural circulation based boiling water reactor that is designed to meet such requirements, which essentially reflect the needs of next generation reactors. The reactor employs various passive features to prevent and mitigate accidental conditions, like a slightly negative void reactivity coefficient, passive poison injection to scram the reactor in event of failure of the wired shutdown systems, a large elevated pool of water as a heat sink inside the containment, passive decay heat removal based on natural circulation and passive valves, passive ECC injection, etc. It is designed to meet the fundamental safety requirements of safe shutdown, safe decay heat removal and confinement of activity with no impact in public domain, and hence, no need for emergency planning under all conceivable scenarios. This paper examines the role of the various passive safety systems in prevention and mitigation of severe plant conditions that may arise in event of multiple failures. For the purpose of demonstration of the effectiveness of its passive features, postulated scenarios on the lines of three major severe accidents in the history of nuclear power reactors are considered, namely; the Three Mile Island (TMI), Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents. Severe plant conditions along the lines of these scenarios are postulated to the extent conceivable in the reactor under consideration and analyzed using best estimate system thermal-hydraulics code RELAP5/Mod3.2. It is found that the various passive systems incorporated enable the reactor to tolerate the postulated accident conditions without causing severe plant conditions and core degradation.

• The Journal of Information Technology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.81-94
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• 2002

When a alarm is happened in nuclear power plant, operator tries to identify the direct and specific causes of the alarm and to do proper actions to mitigate the effect of it. To recognize the specific causes of it, the operator uses his experiences, alarm procedures, logic diagrams and so on. But, if the alarm procedure described many causes of the alarm unfortunately, it is very difficult for the operator who has no experience on the alarm to search the causes of it in hundreds of logic diagrams when emergency. In this study, a system is proposed, which tracks and displays the causes of alarms on-line from computerized logic diagrams.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.151-164
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• 2013

A key input for the assessment of Human Error Probabilities (HEPs) with Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) methods is the evaluation of the factors influencing the human performance (often referred to as Performance Shaping Factors, PSFs). In general, the definition of these factors and the supporting guidance are such that their evaluation involves significant subjectivity. This affects the repeatability of HRA results as well as the collection of HRA data for model construction and verification. In this context, the present paper considers the TAsk COMplexity (TACOM) measure, developed by one of the authors to quantify the complexity of procedure-guided tasks (by the operating crew of nuclear power plants in emergency situations), and evaluates its use to represent (objectively and quantitatively) task complexity issues relevant to HRA methods. In particular, TACOM scores are calculated for five Human Failure Events (HFEs) for which empirical evidence on the HEPs (albeit with large uncertainty) and influencing factors are available - from the International HRA Empirical Study. The empirical evaluation has shown promising results. The TACOM score increases as the empirical HEP of the selected HFEs increases. Except for one case, TACOM scores are well distinguished if related to different difficulty categories (e.g., "easy" vs. "somewhat difficult"), while values corresponding to tasks within the same category are very close. Despite some important limitations related to the small number of HFEs investigated and the large uncertainty in their HEPs, this paper presents one of few attempts to empirically study the effect of a performance shaping factor on the human error probability. This type of study is important to enhance the empirical basis of HRA methods, to make sure that 1) the definitions of the PSFs cover the influences important for HRA (i.e., influencing the error probability), and 2) the quantitative relationships among PSFs and error probability are adequately represented.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2022

Background: This study aims to derive the characteristics of each work type for industrial radiography based on empirical evidence through expert advice and a survey of radiation workers of various types of industrial radiography. Materials and Methods: According to a Korean report, work types of industrial radiography are classified into indoor tests, underground pipe tests, tests in a shielded room (radiographic testing [RT] room test), outdoor field tests, and outdoor large structure tests. For each work type, exposure geometry and radiation sources were mainly identified through the expert advice and workers' survey as reliable empirical evidence. Results and Discussion: The expert advice and survey results were consistent as the proportion of the work types were high in the order of RT room test, outdoor large structure test, underground pipe test, outdoor field test, and indoor test. The outdoor large structure test is the highest exposure risk work type in the industrial radiography. In most types of industrial radiography, radiation workers generally used ¹⁹²Ir as the main source. In the results of the survey, the portion of sources was high in the order of ¹⁹²Ir, X-ray generator, ⁶⁰Co, and ⁷⁵Se. As the exposure geometry, the antero-posterior geometry is dominant, and the rotational and isotropic geometry should be also considered with the work type. Conclusion: In this study, through expert advice and a survey, the external exposure characteristics for each work type of industrial radiography workers were derived. This information will be used in the reconstruction of organ dose for health effects assessment of Korean radiation workers.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.3512-3517
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• 2007

Nuclear power plant has many external fire hydrants that have to operate in the state of emergency such as facility fire, forest fire. The valve stem of one among them was broken 3 times for 4 years. It had long valve stem and operated under high water pressure. The elongation and the tensile strength for the broken valve stem was measured to examine the defect of material property. And the vibration level and the natural frequencies was detected to check the resonance. As the result of a diagnosis, the cause of this fault is proven buckling of long valve stem.