• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제39권4호
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• pp.287-298
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• 2007

As part of the $AP1000^{TM}$ pressurized water reactor design certification program, a series of integral systems tests of the nuclear steam supply system was performed at the APEX-1000 test facility at Oregon State University. These tests provided data necessary to validate Westinghouse safety analysis computer codes for AP1000 applications. In addition, the tests provided the opportunity to investigate the thermal-hydraulic phenomena expected to be important in AP1000 small-break loss of coolant accidents (SBLOCAs). The APEX-1000 facility is a 1/4-scale pressure and 1/4-scale height simulation of the AP1000 nuclear steam supply system and passive safety features. A series of eleven tests was performed in the APEX-1000 facility as part of a U.S. Department of Energy contract. In all, four SBLOCA tests representing a spectrum of break sizes and locations were simulated along with tests to study specific phenomena of interest. The focus of this paper is the SBLOCA tests. The key thermal-hydraulic phenomena simulated in the APEX-1000 tests, and the performance and interactions of the passive safety-related systems that can be investigated through the APEX-1000 facility, are emphasized. The APEX-1000 tests demonstrate that the AP1000 passive safety-related systems successfully combine to provide a continuous removal of core decay heat and the reactor core remains covered with considerable margin for all small-break LOCA events.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권6호
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• pp.2047-2052
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• 2023

Risk-informed approach has been widely applied in the safety design, regulation, and operation of nuclear reactors. It has been commonly accepted that risk-informed design optimization should be used in the innovative reactor designs to make nuclear system highly safe and reliable. In spite of the risk-informed approach has been used in some advanced nuclear reactors designs, such as Westinghouse IRIS, Gen-IV sodium fast reactors and lead-based fast reactors, the process of risk-informed design of nuclear reactors is hardly to carry out when passive system reliability should be integrated in the framework. A practical method for new passive safety reactors based on probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) and passive system reliability analyze linking is proposed in this paper. New three-dimension frequency-consequence curve based on risk concept with three variables is used in this method. The proposed method has been applied to the determination optimization of design options selection in a 10 MWth lead-based research reactor(LR) to obtain one optimized system design in conceptual design stage, using the integrated reliability and probabilistic safety assessment program RiskA, and the computation resources and time consumption in this process was demonstrated reasonable and acceptable.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권8호
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• pp.3435-3449
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• 2024

Considering that system analysis codes are used for the evaluation of the performance of Passive Safety Systems (PSSs), it is important to investigate the capability of the system analysis code to reliably predict the heat transfer and natural circulation flow, which are the main phenomena governing the performance of a PSS. Since MARS-KS has been widely validated for heat transfer models, this study focuses on evaluating its capability to predict the single and two-phase pressure drops and natural circulation flow. The straight pipe simulation results indicate that the pressure drop predictions are reliable within ±5 % error margin for the single-phase flow and the errors of pressure drop up to - 30 % for the two-phase flow. Through single-phase natural circulation flow analysis, it is concluded that the use of the appropriate K-factor modeling based on the flow regimes is important since the natural circulation flow rate in MARS-KS is mainly affected by the form loss factor modeling. With two-phase natural circulation flow analysis, this study emphasizes the behavior of the system could change significantly depending on the two-phase wall friction and pressure loss modeling. With the analysis results, modeling considerations for the PSS performance evaluation with the system analysis codes are proposed.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제32권6호
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• pp.81-88
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• 2017

This study deals with the optimal design of a hybrid control system composed of a combination of active control system and passive control system for effective seismic performance improvement of two adjacent structures. The proposed hybrid control system adopts a configuration of installing an active control device in one building and connecting two adjacent structures with a passive control device so that the one-side active control force can be bi-directionally applied to both buildings through the passive connecting devices. In order to derive the optimal performance of the proposed system, the design parameters of the passive and active control systems were searched using the genetic algorithm. Numerical simulations of 10-story and 8-story buildings have been performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed technique. For the purpose of comparison, the conventional independent control system with two identical active control systems being installed separately for each structure was also optimally designed and its seismic response has been evaluated as well. From the comparative results of the two control systems, it is demonstrated that the proposed hybrid control system requires larger control force for its one-side active control device than the conventional independent control system does for each of both-side active devices, but quite less than the total control force required for both-side devices of the independent control system, while maintaining similar seismic performance. Therefore, the proposed system is more economical and reliable than the conventional independent control system with two identical active devices.

• 설비공학논문집
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• 제26권10호
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• pp.491-496
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• 2014

In general, the entire air supply of a bio-safety laboratory (BSL) should be exhausted on the outside to ensure bio-safety, and the air conditioning system should always be operated to maintain a difference in the room pressure. As a result, the annual energy consumption of such a building is approximately five or ten times higher than that of an office building of the same magnitude. Thus, this study applies an actual operating system that targets BSL. The energy consumption is analyzed using the Energy Plus V8.0 program (an energy analysis program), and five kinds of cases that depend on the energy consumption of the basic BSL system are also analyzed. As a result, the energy consumption in Case 1 (basic system) is of 324.95 GJ. When the basic system of Case 1 is compared to that in Case 2 (basic system+passive design with exterior envelopes), an annual energy savings of is 6.9% is achieved. For Case 3 (basic system+Photovoltaic, PV) 12.7% is achieved, and for Case 4 (Solar Geothermal Hybrid System of renewable energy, SGHS) 49.5% is achieved. If a passive design with exterior envelopes and renewable energy system (PV+SGHS) is combined, as in Case 5, the energy consumption would be 118.15 GJ. Therefore, when this last system is compared to a basic system, the passive design with exterior envelopes and renewable energy system (PV+SGHS) can reduce energy consumption by 63.6%.

• 한국산업보건학회지
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.359-370
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• 2022

Objective: This study is intended to design a commercially available passive sampler and conduct performance test on its use as a media for evaluating a working environment. Methods: This study was conducted to select adsorbents, design models, and evaluate storage stability and sampling rates for the development of new types of passive samplers. Results: The impurity detection, adsorbent capacity and breakthrough volume of five types of activated carbon were tested for selection of an adsorbent. One product was selected in consideration of the efficiency of purchase. A number of passive samplers were designed in a radial style and a badge style using plastic as a material. The final two prototypes were made using molds or 3D printing. For the storage stability evaluation, samples were stored at different temperature for 1~21 days and then analyzed. Most of the chemicals had excellent storage stability when refrigerated. However, some chemicals such as dichloromethane and methyl ethyl ketone need to be analyzed as soon as possible after sampling. Conclusion: In this study, new types of passive samplers for 66 chemical compounds were developed. The evaluation of storage stability and sampling rates showed different results depending on the properties of the chemical substance. For some chemicals such as methyl ethyl ketone and dimethylformamide, activated carbon is inappropriate as an absorbent. In future studies, additional experiments are required on chemicals that are difficult to collect with activated carbon.

• 대한기계학회논문집B
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.165-172
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• 2016

노심보충탱크(Core Makeup Tank, CMT), 안전주입탱크(SafetyInjection Tank, SIT)와 자동감압계통(Auto Depressurization System, ADS)로 구성된 1 계열의 SMART 피동안전주입계통의 주입특성을 파악하기 위한 소형냉각재상실사고(SBLOCA) 모의에 대한 실험적 연구가 수행되었다. SBLOCA의시험은 0.4 인치 안전주입수 배관파단에 대해 수행되었으며, 정상상태 조건은 실험요건서에 제시된 시험 초기 조건을 만족시키도록 746초 동안 운전되었다. 노심 출력 및 안전주입 유량 등의 경계 조건도 적절히 모의되었으며, 안전주입계통 배관에서의 파단, 히터 트립 및 잔열곡선 인가, 원자로냉각재펌프 관성서행(Coastdown), 급수 중단, CMT 및 SIT의 주입, ADS #1 개방이 SBLOCA 시나리오에 따라 적절히 모의되었다. 노심지지원통 내부의 액체환산수위는 파단 초반에 감소하다가 CMT와 SIT가 주입되면서 서서히 회복되었으며, 피동안전주입계통의 주입유량이 노심 수위를 회복하기에 충분한 것으로 판단할 수 있다.

• 한국유체기계학회 논문집
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.49-54
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• 2016

A conceptual study of an air-cooled heat exchanger is conducted to achieve the long-term passive cooling of an integral reactor. A newly designed air-cooled heat exchanger is introduced in the present study and preliminary thermal sizing is demonstrated. This study mainly focuses on feasibility of an innovative air-cooled heat exchanger to extend the cooling period of the passive residual heat removal system(PRHRS) only in passive manners. A vertical shell-and-tube air-cooled heat exchanger is installed at the top of the emergency cooldown tank(ECT) to collect evaporated steam into condensate, which enables water inventory of the ECT to be kept. Finally, thermal sizing of an air-cooled heat exchanger is presented. The length and the number of tubes required, and also the height of a stack are calculated to remove the designated heat duty. The present study will contribute to an enhancement of the passive safety system of an integral reactor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권6호
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• pp.2375-2387
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• 2024

The passive safety systems (PSSs) within water-cooled reactors are meticulously engineered to function autonomously, requiring no external power source or manual intervention. They depend exclusively on inherent natural forces and the fundamental principles of reactor physics, such as gravity, natural convection, and phase changes, to manage, alleviate, and avert the release of radioactive materials into the environment during accident scenarios like a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). PSSs are already integrated into such operating commercial reactors as the Advanced Pressurized Reactor-1000 MWe (AP1000) and the Water-Water Energetic Reactor-1200 MWe (WWER-1200) are adopted in most of the upcoming small modular reactor (SMR) designs. Examples of water-cooled SMR PSSs are the passive emergency core-cooling system (ECCS), passive containment cooling system (PCCS), and passive decay-heat removal system, the designs of which vary based on reactor system-design requirements. However, understanding the accident-event progression and phases of a LOCA is pivotal for adopting a specific PSS for a new SMR design. This study covers the accident-event progression for direct vessel injection (DVI) small-break loss-of-coolant accident (SB-LOCA), associated physics phenomena, knowledge gaps, and important figures of merit (FOMs) that may need to be evaluated and assessed to validate thermal-hydraulics models with an available experimental dataset to support new SMR design and development.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권1호
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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.