• 한국소음진동공학회논문집
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.474-479
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• 2012

A comprehensive vibration assessment program for the advanced power reactor 1400(APR1400) reactor vessel internals is established in accordance with the united states nuclear regulatory commission regulatory guide 1.20 revision 3. This paper is related to instruments and measurement locations based on the vibration and stress response analysis results of the inner barrel assembly top plate in APR1400. The analysis results of the inner barrel assembly top plate in the reactor show that the deterministic stress and deformation due to the reactor coolant pump induced pressure pulsations are larger than the random stress and deformation induced by the flow turbulence. The selection of the instruments and measurement locations at inner barrel assembly top plate in the reactor is essential requirements and very important study process for the vibration and stress measurement program in comprehensive vibration assessment program for APR1400 reactor vessel internals.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제48권5호
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• pp.1174-1183
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• 2016

Hydrogen release during severe accidents poses a serious threat to containment integrity. Mitigating procedures are necessary to prevent global or local explosions, especially in large steel shell containments. The management of hydrogen safety and prevention of over-pressurization could be implemented through a hydrogen reduction system and spray system. During the course of the hypothetical large break loss-of-coolant accident in a nuclear power plant, hydrogen is generated by a reaction between steam and the fuel-cladding inside the reactor pressure vessel and also core concrete interaction after ejection of melt into the cavity. The MELCOR 1.8.6 was used to assess core degradation and containment behavior during the large break loss-of-coolant accident without the actuation of the safety injection system except for accumulators in Beznau nuclear power plant. Also, hydrogen distribution in containment and performance of hydrogen reduction system were investigated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권7호
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• pp.929-944
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• 2009

The present study is concerned with the extension of the Effective Convectivity Model (ECM) to the phase-change problem to simulate the dynamics of the melt pool formation in a Light Water Reactor (LWR) lower plenum during hypothetical severe accident progression. The ECM uses heat transfer characteristic velocities to describe turbulent natural convection of a melt pool. The simple approach of the ECM method allows implementing different models of the characteristic velocity in a mushy zone for non-eutectic mixtures. The Phase-change ECM (PECM) was examined using three models of the characteristic velocities in a mushy zone and its performance was compared. The PECM was validated using a dual-tier approach, namely validations against existing experimental data (the SIMECO experiment) and validations against results obtained from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The results predicted by the PECM implementing the linear dependency of mushy-zone characteristic velocity on fluid fraction are well agreed with the experimental correlation and CFD simulation results. The PECM was applied to simulation of melt pool formation heat transfer in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) and Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) lower plenum. The study suggests that the PECM is an adequate and effective tool to compute the dynamics of core melt pool formation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권3호
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• pp.980-992
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• 2024

Steam line break accident (SLB) in the nuclear reactor is one of the representative Non-LOCA accidents in which thermal-hydraulics and neutron kinetics are strongly coupled each other. Thus, the multi-scale and multi-physics approach is applied in this study in order to examine a realistic safety margin. An entire reactor coolant system is modelled by system scale node, whereas sub-channel scale resolution is applied for the region of interest such as the reactor core. Fuel performance code is extended to consider full core pin-wise fuel behaviour. The MARU platform is developed for easy integration of the codes to be coupled. An initial stage of the steam line break accident is simulated on the MARU platform. As cold coolant is injected from the cold leg into the reactor pressure vessel, the power increases due to the moderator feedback. Three-dimensional coolant and fuel behaviour are qualitatively visualized for easy comprehension. Moreover, quantitative investigation is added by focusing on the enhancement of safety margin by means of comparing the minimum departure from nucleate boiling ratio (MDNBR). Three factors contributing to the increase of the MDNBR are proposed: Various geometric parameters, realistic power distribution by neutron kinetics code, Radial coolant mixing including sub-channel physics model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.410-423
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• 2000

A two-dimensional numerical model is developed and applied to the LAVA-EXV tests performed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) to investigate the external cooling effect on the thermal margin to failure of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) during a severe accident. The computational program was written to predict the temperature profile of a two-dimensional spherical vessel segment accounting for the conjugate heat transfer mechanisms of conduction through the debris and the vessel, natural convection within the molten debris pool, and the possible ablation of the vessel wall in contact with the high temperature melt. Results of the sensitivity analysis and comparison with the LAVA-EXV test data indicated that the developed computational tool carries a high potential for simulating the thermal behavior of the RPV during a core melt relocation accident. It is concluded that the main factors affecting the RPV failure are the natural convection within the debris pool and the ablation of the metal vessel, The simplistic natural convection model adopted in the computational program partly made up for the absence of the mechanistic momentum consideration in this study. Uncertainties in the prediction will be reduced when the natural convection and ablation phenomena are more rigorously dealt with in the code, and if more accurate initial and time-dependent conditions are supplied from the test in terms of material composition and its associated thermophysical properties.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권1호
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• pp.357-373
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• 2022

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed module project is the first commercial Generation-IV NPP(Nuclear Power Plant) in China. A new joint is used for the vertical support of RPV(Reactor Pressure Vessel). The steel corbel is integrally embedded into the reactor-cabin wall through eight asymmetrically arranged pre-stressed high-strength bolts, achieving the different path transmission of shear force and moment. The vertical monotonic loading test of two specimens is conducted. The results show that the failure mode of the joint is bolt fracture. There is no prominent yield stage in the whole loading process. The stress of bolts is linearly distributed along the height of corbel at initial loading. As the load increases, the height of neutral axis of bolts gradually decreases. The upper and lower edges of the wall opening contact the corbel plate to restrict the rotation of the corbel. During the loading, the pre-stress of some bolts decreases. The increase of the pre-stress strength ratio of bolts has no noticeable effect on the structure stiffness, but it reduces the ultimate bearing capacity of the joint. A simplified calculation model for the elastic stage of the joint is established, and the estimation results are in good agreement with the experimental results.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1997년도 춘계학술발표회논문집(1)
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• pp.166-171
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• 1997

LPMS(Loose Part Monitoring System)는 원자로 및 냉각재계통내에서 발생하는 금속파편의 검출 및 분석을 위하여 사용되는 진단 장비이다. 본 논문에서는 RPV(Reactor Pressure Vessel)의 상부헤드(closure head)와 하부헤드(lower head)에서의 금속파편의 충격위치를 평가하는 LPMS를 위한 새로운 기법을 제안하고, Mock-up에서의 실험을 통하여 그 효용성을 검증하였다. 즉, 수정된 원교차법을 제안하고, 이를 반구로 모델링된 RPV의 상ㆍ하부헤드에 존재하는 금속파편의 위치평가에 적용하므로써 정확한 충격위치를 찾을 수 있음을 보였다. 이들 결과는 충격물질의 질량이나 에너지를 계산하는데 정확한 정보를 제공해 줄 수가 있다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권12호
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• pp.4477-4490
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• 2023

Fuel locking mechanisms (FLMs) are essential in upward-flow research reactors to prevent accidental fuel separation from the core during reactor operation. This study presents a novel design concept for a remotely controlled plate-type nuclear fuel locking mechanism. By employing electromagnetic field analysis, we optimized the design of the electromagnet for fuel unlocking, allowing the FLM to adapt to various research reactor core designs, minimizing installation space, and reducing maintenance efforts. Computational flow analysis quantified the drag acting on the fuel assembly caused by coolant upflow. Subsequently, we performed finite element analysis and evaluated the structural integrity of the FLM based on the ASME boiler and pressure vessel (B&PV) code, considering design loads such as dead weight and flow drag. Our findings confirm that the new FLM design provides sufficient margins to withstand the specified loads. We fabricated a prototype comprising the driving part, a simplified moving part, and a dummy fuel assembly. Through basic operational tests on the assembled components, we verified that the manufactured products meet the performance requirements. This remote-controlled micro locking mechanism holds promise in enhancing the safety and efficiency of plate-type nuclear fuel operation in upflow research reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.401-414
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• 2013

HTR50S is a small modular reactor system based on HTGR. It is designed for a triad of applications to be implemented in successive stages. In the first stage, a base plant for heat and power is constructed of the fuel proven in JAEA's $950^{\circ}C$, 30MWt test reactor HTTR and a conventional steam turbine to minimize development risk. While the outlet temperature is lowered to $750^{\circ}C$ for the steam turbine, thermal power is raised to 50MWt by enabling 40% greater power density in 20% taller core than the HTTR. However the fuel temperature limit and reactor pressure vessel diameter are kept. In second stage, a new fuel that is currently under development at JAEA will allow the core outlet temperature to be raised to $900^{\circ}C$ for the purpose of demonstrating more efficient gas turbine power generation and high temperature heat supply. The third stage adds a demonstration of nuclear-heated hydrogen production by a thermochemical process. A licensing approach to coupling high temperature industrial process to nuclear reactor will be developed. The low initial risk and the high longer-term potential for performance expansion attract development of the HTR50S as a multipurpose industrial or distributed energy source.

• 대한기계학회논문집A
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• 제38권6호
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• pp.637-647
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• 2014

국내 가압경수로형 원자로의 압력용기 상부헤드에는 많은 제어봉구동장치(CRDM) 노즐이 분포한다. 이들 노즐은 억지끼워맞춤(Shrink fitting) 방식으로 결합되어 용접 처리 된다. 용접에 의해 발생되는 인장잔류응력은 일차수응력부식균열을 발생시키는 주요 요인이다. 이러한 이유로 최근 15 여 년 동안 관통노즐 용접부 부위에서 균열 발생 사례가 증가하고 있으며, 이를 극복하기 위해 다양한 방안이 모색되고 있다. 또한 용접과정에서 발생되는 불필요한 결함은 일차수응력부식균열(PWSCC)을 가속화 시키는 원인이 되기도 한다. 원자로 제작과정에서 용접에 의한 결함은 보수용접에 의해 즉시 수리가 이루어 진다. 기존의 연구에서는 정상적인 용접과정에서 발생되는 잔류응력을 예측하였으나, 본 연구에서는 용접과정에서 발생되는 결함을 보수하기 위해 실시되는 보수용접이 용접잔류응력에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다.