• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.279-280
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• 2017

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.401-402
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• 2017

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2489-2497
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• 2023

Co and Eu impurities in the SSCs are nuclides that dominantly influence the neutron-induced radioactive inventory in metal and concrete radwastes (radioactive wastes) during NPP decommission. The impurity concentrations provided by NUREG/CR-3474 were used for the practical range of Co and Eu impurity concentrations to be applied to the code calculations. Metal structures near the core were evaluated to be ILW (intermediate-level waste) for the whole range of Co impurity concentration, so the boundary line between ILW and LLW (low-level waste) has no change for the whole concentration range provided by NUREG/CR-3474. Also, the boundary line between VLLW (very low-level waste) and CW (clearance waste) in the concrete shield could alter a little depending on the Eu impurity concentration within the range provided by NUREG/CR-3474. From this work, it is found that the concentration of material impurities of SSCs gives no critical impact on determining radwaste levels.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.65-82
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• 2018

With the significant increase in spent ion-exchange resin generation, to meet the requirements of Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) of the Wolsong disposal facility in Korea, blending is considered as a method for enhancing disposal options for intermediate level waste from nuclear reactors. A mass balance formula approach was used to enable blending process with an appropriate mixing ratio. As a result, it is estimated around 44.3% of high activity spent resins can be blended with the overall volume of low activity spent resins at a 1:7.18 conservative blending ratio. In contrast, the reduction of high activity spent resins is considered a positive solution in reducing the amount of spent resins stored. In an economic study, the blending process has been proven to lower the disposal cost by 10% compared to current APR1400 treatment. Prior to commencing use of this blending method in Korea, coordinated discussion, and safety and health assessment should be undertaken to investigate the feasibility of fitting this blending method to national policy as a means of waste predisposal processing and management in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.105-114
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• 2004

This study investigated the thermal behavior of the nuclear graphite waste generated from the decommissioning of the Korean nuclear research reactor, The first part study investigated the decomposition rate of the nuclear graphite waste up to $1000^{\circ}C$ under various oxygen partial pressures using a thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA). Tested graphite waste sample not easily destroyed in the oxygen-deficient condition. However, the gas-solid oxidation reaction was found to be very effective in the presence of oxygen. No significant amount of the product of incomplete combustion was formed even in the limited oxygen concentration of 4% $O_2$. The influence of temperature and oxygen partial pressure was evaluated by the theoretical model analysis of the thermo-gravimetric data. The activation energy and the reaction order of graphite oxidation were evaluated as 128 kJ/mole and 1.1, respectively. The second part of this study investigated the behavior of radioactive elements under graphite oxidation atmosphere using thermodynamic equilibrium model. $^{22}Na$, $^{134}Cs$ and $^{137}Cs$ were found be the semi-volatile elements. Since volatile uranium species can be formulated at high temperatures above $1050^{\circ}C$, the temperature of incinerator furnace should be minimized. Other corrosion/activation products, fission products and uranium were found to be the non-volatile species.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3242-3249
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• 2022

As Kori unit 1 is undergoing the decommissioning process, estimating the disposal amount of waste from the decommissioned nuclear reactor has become one of the challenging issues. Since the waste disposal amount estimation depends on the packing of the waste, it is highly desirable to optimize the waste packing plan. In this study, we developed an efficient scheme for packing waste component segments. The scheme consists of 1) preparing three-dimensional models of segments, 2) orienting each segment in such a way to minimize the bounding box volume, and 3) applying hybrid genetic algorithm to pack the segments in the disposal containers. When the packing solution converges in the algorithm, it comes up with the number of containers used and the placement of segments in each container. The scheme was applied to Kori-1 reactor pressure vessel. The required number of containers calculated by the developed scheme was 24 compared to 42 that was the estimation of the prior packing plan, resulting in disposal volume savings by more than 40%. The developed method is flexible for applications to various packing problems with waste segments from different cutting options and different sizes of containers.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.469-488
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• 2022

Technology for high-level-waste disposal employing a multibarrier concept using engineered and natural barrier in stable bedrock at 300-1,000 m depth is being commercialized as a safe, long-term isolation method for high-level waste, including spent nuclear fuel. Managing heat generated from waste is important for improving disposal efficiency; thus, research on efficient heat management is required. In this study, thermal management methods to maximize disposal efficiency in terms of the disposal area required were developed. They efficiently use the land in an environment, such as Korea, where the land area is small and the amount of waste is large. The thermal effects of engineered barriers and natural barriers in a high-level waste disposal repository were analyzed. The research status of thermal management for the main bedrocks of the repository, such as crystalline, clay, salt, and other rocks, were reviewed. Based on a characteristics analysis of various heat management approaches, the spent nuclear fuel cooling time, buffer bentonite thermal conductivity, and disposal container size were chosen as efficient heat management methods applicable in Korea. For each method, thermal analyses of the disposal repository were performed. Based on the results, the disposal efficiency was evaluated preliminarily. Necessary future research is suggested.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.876-883
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• 2023

Radioactive waste should be solidified before being disposed of in the repository to eliminate liquidity or dispersibility. Cement is a widely used solidifying media for radioactive waste, and cement solidified waste should satisfy the minimum compressive strength of the waste acceptance criteria of a radioactive repository. Although the compressive strength of waste should be measured by the test method provided by the waste acceptance criteria, the method differs depending on the operating repository of different countries. Considering the measured compressive strength changes depending on test conditions, the effect of test conditions should be analyzed to avoid overestimation or underestimation of the compressive strength during disposal. We selected test conditions such as the height-to-diameter ratio, loading rate, and porosity as the main factors affecting the compressive strength of cement solidified radioactive waste. Owing to the large variance in measured compressive strength, the effects of the test conditions were analyzed via statistical analyses using parametric and nonparametric methods. The results showed that the test condition of the lower loading rate, with a height-to-diameter ratio of two, reflected the actual cement content well, while the porosity showed no correlation. The compressive strength assessment method that reflects the large variance of strengths was suggested.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.283-284
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• 2017

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.541-541
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• 2011