• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.117-126
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• 2008

In this paper, a new reactor core design is proposed on the basis of a mixed core concept consisting of a thermal zone and a fast zone. The geometric structure of the fuel assembly of the thermal zone is similar to that of a conventional thermal supercritical water-cooled reactor(SCWR) core with two fuel pin rows between the moderator channels. In spite of the counter-current flow mode, the co-current flow mode is used to simplify the design of the reactor core and the fuel assembly. The water temperature at the exit of the thermal zone is much lower than the water temperature at the outlet of the pressure vessel. This lower temperature reduces the maximum cladding temperature of the thermal zone. Furthermore, due to the high velocity of the fast zone, a wider lattice can be used in the fuel assembly and the nonuniformity of the local heat transfer can be minimized. This mixed core, which combines the merits of some existing thermal SCWR cores and fast SCWR cores, is proposed for further detailed analysis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권4호
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• pp.1526-1533
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• 2022

Small modular reactors have garnered considerable attention in the recent years. Plate fuel elements exhibit a good application prospect in small modular pressurized water reactors for marine applications. Further, improved economic benefits can be achieved by extending the core lifetime of small modular reactors. However, it is necessary to realize a large initial residual reactivity for achieving a relatively long burnup depth finally. Thus, the selection of a suitable burnable poison (BP) is a crucial factor that should be considered in the design of small modular reactors. In this study, some candidate BPs are selected to realize the effective control of reactivity. The results show that ²³¹Pa₂O₃, ²⁴⁰Pu₂O₃, ¹⁶⁷Er₂O₃, PACS-J, and PACS-L are ideal candidates of BP, and since the characteristics of BP can increase the final burnup depth of assembly, the economic benefits are gained. Additionally, an optimal combination scheme of BPs is established. Specifically, it is proved that through a reasonable combination of BPs, a low reactivity fluctuation during the lifetime can be achieved, leading to a large final burnup depth.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 2004년도 요약집 춘계학술발표대회
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• pp.303-303
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• 2004

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.424-429
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• 1993

핵연료 소결체가 장전되는 핵연료봉의 끝부분에는 각각의 핵연료봉을 구분해주는 고유의 문자가 인쇄되어 있다. 핵연료 집합체 제조 과정에서 각각의 핵연료봉은 고유 문자에 의해 구분되어 체계적으로 관리되고 있으며 아울러 핵연료 연소 이상상태 감시 및 사용후 핵연료 검사 분야에서 핵연료봉 제조과정 추적에 이용되고 있다. 핵연료봉 문자 자동인식은 핵연료 집합체 제조과정의 자동화를 위한 핵심 기술이다. 본 연구에서는 핵연료봉 문자인식 시스템을 개발하여, 핵 연료봉단에 기록된 각 문자로 부터 추출한 메쉬 특징값을 데이타베이스에 저장된 특정 문자의 특징값과 비교하여 자동으로 문자인식을 수행하도록 하였다. 실험 결과, 95.83 퍼센트의 양호한 인식률을 기록하였다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권10호
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• pp.3207-3216
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• 2021

Three-dimensional structures of a vortical flow field and heat transfer characteristics in a partially blocked 7-pin fuel assembly mock-up of sodium-cooled fast reactor have been investigated through a numerical analysis using a commercial computational fluid dynamics code, ANSYS CFX. The simulation with the SST turbulence model agrees well with the experimental data of outlet and cladding wall temperatures. From the analysis on the limiting streamline at the wall, multi-scale vortexes developed in axial direction were found around the blockage. The vortex core has a high cladding wall temperature, and the attachment line has a low cladding wall temperature. The small-scale vortex structures significantly enhance the convective heat transfer because it increases the turbulent mixing and the turbulence kinetic energy. The large-scale vortex structures supply thermal energy near the heated cladding wall surface. It is expected that control of the vortex structures in the fuel assembly plays a significant role in the convective heat transfer enhancement. Furthermore, the blockage plate and grid spacer increase the pressure drop to about 36% compared to the bare case.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제50권6호
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• pp.899-906
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• 2018

The irradiation performance of $U_3Si$ dispersion fuel in an Al matrix, $U_3Si-Al$, under the Hi-Flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO) design full-power condition of 30 MW was tested for full-power qualification of the fuel. A test assembly was fabricated containing 18 fuel rods made with atomized $U_3Si$ powder manufactured at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The test assembly was irradiated for 188 full-power operation days in the HANARO subject to the normal fuel-loading scheme and achieved about 60 at% U-235 average burnup and 75 at% U-235 peak burnup. The maximum linear power of the test assembly was 98 kW/m. Nondestructive and destructive postirradiation examinations were conducted. The measured postirradiation examination data were compared with data from previous irradiations and the design criteria required for HANARO fuel. Consequently, it was concluded that in-pile performance was acceptable and fuel integrity was maintained, and the behavior satisfied the fuel design requirements.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2004년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.383-387
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• 2004

The Fuel Test Loop (FTL) consists of In-Pile Test Section (IPS) and Out-of-Pile System (OPS). The test condition in IPS such as pressure, temperature and quality of the main cooling water, can be controlled by the OPS. The FTL has been developed to be able to irradiate three pins to the core irradiation hole (IR1 hole) by considering for its utility and user's irradiation requirement. The IPS vessel assembly (IVA) consists of IPS head, outer pressure vessel, inner pressure vessel, inner assembly and test fuel carrier. The IVA is approximately 5.6 m long and fits within a 74 mm in diameter envelope over the full height of the chimney. Above the top of the chimney, the head of the IPS is enlarged to allow the closure flanges and pipe work connections. IVA was designed to test the CANDU and PWR nuclear fuel pin together. Specially, wished to minimize interference by nuclear fuel change in design and synthesize these items and shape design for IVA.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권8호
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• pp.2682-2695
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• 2021

This paper aims to evaluate the structural dynamic responses and damage/failure of the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant under the free drop impact of spent fuel cask (SFC) and fuel assembly (FA) during the on-site transportation. At the present Part I of this paper, the large-scale SFC model free drop test and the corresponding numerical simulations are performed. Firstly, a composite target which is composed of the protective structure, i.e., a thin RC plate (representing the inverted U-shaped slab in the loading shaft) and/or an autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks sacrificial layer, as well as a thick RC plate (representing the bottom slab in the loading shaft) is designed and fabricated. Then, based on the large dropping tower, the free drop test of large-scale SFC model with the mass of 3 t is carried out from the height of 7 m-11 m. It indicates that the bottom slab in the loading shaft could not resist the free drop impact of SFC. The composite protective structure can effectively reduce the damage and vibrations of the bottom slab, and the inverted U-shaped slab could relieve the damage of the AAC blocks layer dramatically. Furthermore, based on the finite element (FE) program LS-DYNA, the corresponding refined numerical simulations are performed. By comparing the experimental and numerical damage and vibration accelerations of the composite structures, the present adopted numerical algorithms, constitutive models and parameters are validated, which will be applied in the further assessment of drop impact effects of full-scale SFC and FA on prototype nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the next Part II of this paper.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.11-18
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• 2022

In this research, curium oxide (CmO₂) is studied as fuel for VVER-1200 reactor to get an attention to its energy value and possibilities. For this purpose, CmO₂ is used in fuel rods or integrated burnable absorber (IBA) rods with and without UO₂ and then compared with the conventional fuel assembly of VVER-1200 reactor. It is burned to 60 GWd/t by using SRAC-2006 code and JENDL-4.0 data library. From these studies, it is found that CmO₂ is competent like UO₂ as a fuel due to higher fission cross-section of ²⁴³Cm and ²⁴⁵Cm isotopes and neutron capture cross-section of ²⁴⁴Cm and ²⁴⁶Cm isotopes. As a result, when some or all of the UO₂ of fuel rods or IBA rods are replaced by CmO₂, we get a similar k-inf like the reference even with lower enrichment UO₂ fuels. These studies show that the use of CmO₂ as IBA rods is more effective than the fuel rods considering the initially loaded amount, power peaking factor (PPF), fuel temperature and void coefficient, and the quality of spent fuel. From a detailed study, 3% CmO₂ with inert material ZrO₂ in IBA rods are recommended for the VVER-1200 reactor assembly from the once through concept.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권11호
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• pp.4030-4048
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• 2022

In this study, road transportation tests were conducted with surrogate fuel assemblies under normal conditions of transport to evaluate the vibration and shock load characteristics of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The overall test data analysis was conducted based on the measured acceleration and strain data obtained from the speed bump, lane-change, deceleration, obstacle avoidance, and circular tests. Furthermore, representative shock response spectrums and power spectral densities of each test mode were acquired. Amplification or attenuation characteristics were investigated according to the load transfer path. The load attenuated significantly as it transferred from the trailer to the cask. By contrast, the load amplified as it transferred from the cask to the surrogate SNF assembly. The fuel loading location on the cask disk assembly did not exhibit a significant influence on the strain measured from the fuel rods. The principal strain was in the vertical direction, and relatively large strain values were obtained in spans with large spacing between spacer grids. The influence of the lateral location of fuel rods was also investigated. The fuel rods located at the side exhibited relatively large strain values than those located at the center. Based on the strain data obtained from the test results, a hypothetical road transportation scenario was established. A fatigue evaluation of the SNF rod was performed based on this scenario. The evaluation results indicate that no fatigue damage occurred on the fuel rods.