• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2013

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a task complexity model combining task design aspects and complexity dimensions and to explain an approach to identifying and organizing task complexity factors based on the model. Background: Task complexity is a critical concept in describing and predicting human performance in complex systems such as nuclear power plants(NPPs). In order to understand the nature of task complexity, task complexity factors need to be identified and organized in a systematic manner. Although several methods have been suggested for identifying and organizing task complexity factors, it is rare to find an analytical approach based on a theoretically sound model. Method: This study regarded a task as a system to be designed. Three levels of design ion, which are functional, behavioral, and structural level of a task, characterize the design aspects of a task. The behavioral aspect is further classified into five cognitive processing activity types(information collection, information analysis, decision and action selection, action implementation, and action feedback). The complexity dimensions describe a task complexity from different perspectives that are size, variety, and order/organization. Combining the design aspects and complexity dimensions of a task, we developed a model from which meaningful task complexity factors can be identified and organized in an analytic way. Results: A model consisting of two facets, each of which is respectively concerned with design aspects and complexity dimensions, were proposed. Additionally, twenty-one task complexity factors were identified and organized based on the model. Conclusion: The model and approach introduced in this paper can be effectively used for examining human performance and human-system interface design issues in NPPs. Application: The model and approach introduced in this paper could be used for several human factors problems, including task allocation and design of information aiding, in NPPs and extended to other types of complex systems such as air traffic control systems as well.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.154-159
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• 2011

To evaluate the radiation exposure of workers participating in task where high radiation exposure is expected, two-dosimeter is typically provided radiation workers, one on the chest and the other on the back, at Korean nuclear power plants (NPPs). In a previous study, the NCRP (55:50) algorithm was selected as the optimal two-dosimeter algorithm (TDA) with various field tests and this TDA has been applied to all Korean NPPs since 2006. In 2007, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) published the new ICRP recommendation, ICRP 103, which provides the revised weighting factors for both radiation and tissues and the new reference phantom. In this study, the applicability of current NCRP (55:50) algorithm at Korean NPPs for ICRP 103 was analyzed. As a result, it was found that the NCRP (55:50) algorithm is still effective to estimate the effective dose of workers under ICRP 103.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 2012

Alternate alternating current (AAC) is used in nuclear power plants (NPPs) in order to cope with station black outs (SBOs). AAC has been provided using diesel engine drive types in Korea's NPPs. The structure of gas turbine generators (GTGs) is simpler than that of diesel generators (DGs), and GTGs have the advantage of longer maintenance intervals. However, GTG-AAC was not used in NPPs in Korea because of the lack of operation/maintenance experience. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the safety of APR+ considering a diversity of AAC types. This paper analyzes reliability data, mechanical specifications of DGs and GTGs, and the sensitivity of core damage frequency to the ACC type.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.185-201
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• 2018

Nuclear power plants(NPP) are constructed and operated to ensure safety against natural disasters and man-made disasters in all processes including site selection, site survey, design, construction, and operation. This paper will introduce a series of efforts conducted in Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., to assure the safety of nuclear power plant against earthquakes and other natural hazards. In particular, the present status of the earthquake, fault, and slope safety monitoring system for nuclear power plants is introduced. A earthquake observatory network for the NPP sites has been built up for nuclear safety and providing adequate seismic design standards for NPP sites by monitoring seismicity in and around NPPs since 1999. The Eupcheon Fault Monitoring System, composed of a strainmeter, seismometer, creepmeter, Global Positioning System, and groundwater meter, was installed to assess the safety of the Wolsung Nuclear Power Plant against earthquakes by monitoring the short- and long-term behavioral characteristics of the Eupcheon fault. Through the analysis of measured data, it was verified that the Eupcheon fault is a relatively stable fault that is not affected by earthquakes occurring around the southeastern part of the Korean peninsula. In addition, it was confirmed that the fault monitoring system could be very useful for seismic safety analysis and earthquake prediction study on the fault. K-SLOPE System for systematic slope monitoring was successfully developed for monitoring of the slope at nuclear power plants. Several kinds of monitoring devices including an inclinometer, tiltmeter, tension-wire, and precipitation gauge were installed on the NPP slope. A macro deformation analysis using terrestrial LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) was performed for overall slope deformation evaluation.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.257-262
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• 2012

Flow accelerated corrosion (FAC) of the carbon steel piping in nuclear power plants (NPPs) has been major issue in nuclear industry. Rotating cylinder FAC test facility was designed and fabricated and then performance of the facility was evaluated. The facility is very simple in design and economic in fabrication and can be used in material and chemistry screening test. The facility is equipped with on line monitoring of pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen(DO), and temperature. Fluid velocity is controlled with rotating speed of the cylinder with a test specimen. FAC test of SA106 Gr. B carbon steel under 4 m/s flow velocity was performed with the rotating cylinder at DO concentration of less than 1 ppb and of 1.3 ppm. Also a corrosion test of the carbon steel at static condition, that is at zero fluid velocity, of test specimen and solution was performed at pH from 8 to 10 for comparison with the FAC data. For corrosion test in static condition, the amount of non adherent corrosion product was almost constant at pH ranging from 8 to 10. But adherent corrosion product decreased with increasing pH. This trend is consistent with decrease of Fe solubility with an increase in pH. For FAC test with rotating cylinder FAC test facility, the amount of non adherent corrosion product was also almost same for both DO concentrations. The rotating cylinder FAC test facility will be further improved by redesigning rotating cylinder and FAC specimen geometry for future work.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.95-106
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• 2019

The decommissioning of nuclear power plants should be prepared by quantitative and qualitative risk assessment. Radiological and non-radiological hazards arising during decommissioning activities must be assessed to ensure the safety of decommissioning workers and the public. Decommissioning experiences by U.S. operators have mainly focused on deterministic risk assessment, which is standardized by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory commission (NRC) and focuses only on the consequences of risk. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has suggested an alternative to the deterministic approach, called the risk matrix technique. The risk matrix technique considers both the consequence and likelihood of risk. In this study, decommissioning stages, processes, and activities are organized under a work breakdown structure. Potential accidents in the decommissioning process of NPPs are analyzed using the composite risk matrix to assess both radiological and non-radiological hazards. The levels of risk for all potential accidents considered by U.S. NPP operators who have performed decommissioning were estimated based on their consequences and likelihood of events.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.183-196
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• 2008

The internal dose by food consumption mostly accounts for radiological dose of public around nuclear power plants (NPPs). But, food consumption rates applied to off-site dose calculation in Korea which are the result of field investigation around Kori NPP by the KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) in 1988, are not able to reflect the latest dietary characteristics of Korean. The food consumption rates to be used for radiological dose assessment in Korea are based on the maximum individual of US NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commssion) Regulatory Guide 1.109. However, the representative individual of the critical group is considered in the recent ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) recommendation and European nations' practice. Therefore, the study on the re-establishment of the food consumption rates for individual around nuclear power plant sites in Korea was carried out to reflect on the recent change of the Korean dietary characteristics and to apply the representative individual of critical group to domestic regulations. The Ministry of Health and Welfare Affairs has investigated the food and nutrition of nations every 3 years based on the Law of National Health Improvement. The statistical data such as mean, standard deviation, various percentile values about food consumption rates to be used for the representative individual of the critical group were analyzed by using the raw data of the national food consumption survey in $2001{\sim}2002$. Also, the food consumption rates for maximum individual are re-estimated.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2009

Whole body counters (WBCs) are used to monitor radiation workers for internal contamination of radionuclides at domestic nuclear power plants (NPPs). A WBC is a scintillation detector using sodium iodide (NaI) and provides the identification of inhaled radionuclide and the measurement of its internal radioactivity in a short time. However, it is often possible to estimate external contamination as internal contamination due to radionuclides attached to the skin of radiation workers and this leads to an excessively conservative estimation of radioactive contamination. In this study, several experiments using a WBC and the Korean humanoid phantom were performed to suggest the more systematic method of discrimination between external and internal contamination. Furthermore, a WBC geometry experiment was conducted to suggest the optimal WBC geometry in consideration of deposited areas inside the body for dominant radionuclides at NPPs. The procedure of measurement and estimation of internal radioactivity for radiation workers at NPPs was improved on the basis of experimental results. Thus, it is expected to prevent from estimating internal exposure dose conservatively owing to the application of accurate whole body counting program to NPPs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.784-790
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• 2020

The accelerated corrosion by Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) has caused unexpected rupture of piping, hindering the safety of nuclear power plants (NPPs) and sometimes causing personal injury. For the safety, it may be necessary to select some pipes in terms of condition monitoring and to measure the change in thickness of pipes in real time. Direct current potential drop (DCPD) method has advantages in on-line monitoring of pipe wall thinning. However, it has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to quantify thinning due to various thinning shapes and thus there is a limitation in application. The machine learning approach has advantages in that it can be easily applied because the machine can learn the signals of various thinning shapes and can identify the thinning using these. In this paper, finite element analysis (FEA) was performed by applying direct current to a carbon steel pipe and measuring the potential drop. The fundamental machine learning was carried out and the piping thinning model was developed. In this process, the features of DCPD to thinning were proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.873-880
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• 2017

To identify the feasibility of disposing of spent activated carbon as a clearance level waste, we performed characterization of radioactive pollution for spent activated carbon through radioisotope analysis; results showed that the C-14 concentrations of about half of the spent activated carbon samples taken from Korean NPPs exceeded the clearance level limit. In this situation, we selected thermal treatment technology to remove C-14 and analyzed the moisture content and thermal characteristics. The results of the moisture content analysis showed that the moisture content of the spent activated carbon is in the range of 1.2-23.9 wt% depending on the operation and storage conditions. The results of TGA indicated that most of the spent activated carbon lost weight in 3 temperature ranges. Through py-GC/MS analysis based on the result of TGA, we found that activated carbon loses weight rapidly with moisture desorption reaching to $100^{\circ}C$ and desorbs various organic and inorganic carbon compounds reaching to $200^{\circ}C$. The result of pyrolysis analysis showed that the experiment of C-14 desorption using thermal treatment technology requires at least 3 steps of heat treatment, including a heat treatment at high temperature over $850^{\circ}C$, in order to reduce the C-14 concentration below the clearance level.