• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제45권2호
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• pp.125-140
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• 2013

This paper aims to give an overview of the methods to inherently prevent human errors and to effectively mitigate the consequences of such errors by securing defense-in-depth during plant management through the advanced man-machine interface system (MMIS). It is needless to stress the significance of human error reduction during an accident in nuclear power plants (NPPs). Unexpected shutdowns caused by human errors not only threaten nuclear safety but also make public acceptance of nuclear power extremely lower. We have to recognize there must be the possibility of human errors occurring since humans are not essentially perfect particularly under stressful conditions. However, we have the opportunity to improve such a situation through advanced information and communication technologies on the basis of lessons learned from our experiences. As important lessons, authors explained key issues associated with automation, man-machine interface, operator support systems, and procedures. Upon this investigation, we outlined the concept and technical factors to develop advanced automation, operation and maintenance support systems, and computer-based procedures using wired/wireless technology. It should be noted that the ultimate responsibility of nuclear safety obviously belongs to humans not to machines. Therefore, safety culture including education and training, which is a kind of organizational factor, should be emphasized as well. In regard to safety culture for human error reduction, several issues that we are facing these days were described. We expect the ideas of the advanced MMIS proposed in this paper to lead in the future direction of related researches and finally supplement the safety of NPPs.

• 산업공학
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.237-248
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to make an economic analysis of power plant utilities by examining electricity generating costs with environmental consideration. Economic growth has caused pollutant emission, and subsequent environmental pollution has been identified as a very real limit to sustainable development. Considering the enormous role of electricity in the national economy, it is thus very important to study the effect of environmental regulations on the electricity sector. Because power utilities need large investments during construction, operation and maintenance, and also require much construction lead time. Economic analysis is the very important process in the electric system expansion planning. In this study, the levelized generation cost method is used in comparing economic analysis of power plant utilities. Among the pollutants discharged of the electricity sector, this study principally deals with the control activities related only to $CO_2$, and $NO_2$, since the control cost of $SO_2$, and TSP (Total Suspended Particulates) is already included in the construction cost of utilities. The cost of electricity generation in a coal-fired power plant is compared with one in an LNG combined cycle power plant. Moreover this study surveys the sensitivity of fuel price, interest rate and carbon tax. In each case, this sensitivity can help to decide which utility is economically justified in the circumstance of environmental regulations.

• 대한설비공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한설비공학회 2008년도 하계학술발표대회 논문집
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• pp.3-9
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• 2008

Recently, the plant industries are being activated and plant control systems use various technologies. Because the optimized design for the plants is very important for the reducing of operation and maintenance costs, automatic control systems become more important. Plant control systems consist of the master controller, the plant networks, the programming environment for engineering, monitoring software and the field devices. The control systems should have reliability, availability and safety. Modular architecture of hardware and software makes flexible configuration of the control systems. Each component should have diagnostic functions. It follows industrial standards and makes open systems. Open systems increase accessibility against the data which is distributed in the plants. The controllers including processor and communication modules use the up-to-date technology. They have real time and fault tolerant function by duplicating processors or networks. It also enables to make the distributed control systems. The distributed architecture makes more scalable main control system. Automatic control systems can be operated with better performance. In this paper, we analyzed the requirements of the seawater desalination plants and made some consideration facts for developing the optimized controller. Also we described the design concept of the main controller, which consists of several modules. We should validate and complement the design for the reliability and better performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제36권5호
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• pp.475-484
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• 2004

Extending the lifetime of a nuclear power plant [(hereafter referred to simply as NPP)] is one of the most important concerns in the global nuclear industry. Cables are one of the long-life items that have not been considered for replacement during the design life of a NPP. To extend the cable life beyond the design life, it is first necessary to prove that the design life is too conservative compared with actual aging. Condition monitoring is useful means of evaluating the aging condition of cable. In order to simulate natural aging in a nuclear power plant. a study on accelerated aging must first be conducted. In this paper, evaluations of mechanical aging degradation for a neoprene cable jacket were performed after accelerated aging under tcontinuous and intermittent heating conditions. Contrary to general expectations, intermittent heating to the neoprene cable jacket showed low aging degradation, 50% break-elongation, and 60% indenter modulus, compared with continuous heating. With a plant maintenance period of 1 month after every 12 or 18 months operation, we can easily deduce that the life time of the cable jacket of neoprene can be extended much longer than extimated through the general EQ test. which adopts continuous accelerated aging for determining cable life. Therefore, a systematic approach that considers the actual environment conditions of the nuclear power plant is required for determining cable life.

• 대한기계학회논문집A
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• 제34권9호
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• pp.1265-1272
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• 2010

최근 들어 화력발전소는 잦은 기동과 부하 변동 하에서 안정적인 운전 및 관리에 대한 요구가 높아지고 있다. 특히 터빈, 보일러와 같이 고온 고압의 조건에서 운전되는 발전 설비의 경우 크리프 및 피로 손상의 영향으로 설비의 수명이 감소하게 된다. 보다 안전한 발전소 운영을 위해 설비의 정확한 수명평가가 중요하며 현재까지 다양한 방법이 개발되어 적용되고 있다. 그러나 현재까지는 표준화된 가이드라인이나 절차 없이 정성적/준정량적 분석에 의해 주요 설비의 수명을 평가하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 크리프 및 피로 손상기구에 근거하여 국내 화력발전 주요 설비의 수명 소비율을 평가하는 표준화된 기준을 개발하였고 실제 설비에 적용하여 평가 기준의 활용성을 검증하였다. 본 기준은 2010 전력기술기준에 수록될 예정으로 수명평가의 정확성 향상과 수명관리 표준화에 기여할 것이다.

• 제어로봇시스템학회논문지
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• 제20권7호
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• pp.782-787
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• 2014

Due to the complicated steel structure and safety concern, it is very difficult to deploy wireless networks in power plants. This paper presents a hybrid network, named as $P^2HYMN$ (Power Plant HYbrid Maintenance Network), encompassing PLC (Power Line Communication), TLC (Telephone Line Communication), and Wireless LAN. The design goal of $P^2HYMN$ is to integrate multimedia data such as design drawings of control equipment, process data, and video image data for maintenance operation in electric power plants. A Multiplex Line Communication (MLC) device was designed and implemented to integrate PLC, TLC, and Wireless LAN into $P^2HYMN$. Performance test of $P^2HYMN$ has been conducted on a testbed under various conditions. The throughput of TLC was shown as 39 Mbps. Because the bandwidth requirement per camera is 8.5 Mbps on average, TLC is expected to support more thant four video camera at the same time.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권3호
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• pp.855-865
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• 2024

Commercial deployment of nuclear microreactors presents an opportunity for the industry to rethink its approach to manufacturing, siting, operation and maintenance, and fuel cycle management as certain principles used in grid-scale nuclear projects are not applicable to a decentralized microreactor economy. The success of this nascent industry is dependent on its ability to reduce infrastructure, logistical, regulatory and lifecycle costs. A utility-like 'Central Facility' that consolidates the services required and responsibilities borne by vendors into one or a few centralized locations will be necessary to support the deployment of a fleet of microreactors. This paper discusses the requirements for a Central Facility, its implications on the cost structures of owners and suppliers of microreactors, and the impact of the facility for the broader microreactor industry. In addition, this paper discusses the pre-requisites for eligibility as well as the opportunities for a Central Facility host site. While there are many suitable locations for such a capability across the U.S., this paper considers a facility co-located with the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant and Savannah River Sites to illustrate how a Central Facility can leverage the existing infrastructure and stimulate a local ecosystem.

• 환경위생공학
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.37-52
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• 1992

Since the first sewage treatment plant was constructed in 1976, the sewerage systems of Korea have been rapidly expanded. As of the end of 1991, 22 sewage treatment plants with total capacity of 5.4 million tons/day are in operation which is equivalent of 3395 total daily sewage generation. Total extension of sewer 39.534 km in 1990 which is 55% of the target extension for the year 2001. However, the most sewage treatment plants employ activated sludge process which may not be suitable for medium and/or small scale plants. The poor existing sewer systems do not effectively collect and transport sewage to adversely affect the function of sewage treatment plant. To select the appropriate treatment system, the cities are classified into 3 categories such as large and medium size inland cities, small size cities and coastal cities. Considering the criteria suggested during this study, appropriate treatment processes were selected for each category. Conventional activated sludge process and step aeration process were found to be the most appropriate for big inland cities while biological nutrient removal processes should be considered for the cities discharge the effluent to lakes or reservoirs. RBC or Oxidation Ditch process might be appropriate for the medium size cities while several processes which do not require skilled operation and maintenance were suggested for the small cities. Ocean discharge after primary treatment can be considered for some east coast cities, Appropriate methodology to rehabilitate the existing sewers and strategy to convert combined sewer system to separate sewer system were proposed. This paper also include the appropriate management system for industrial wastewater, sludge and nightsoil.

• 상하수도학회지
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.239-250
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• 2020

In this study, effects of five raw water quality parameters (turbidity, odor compounds caused by algae, filter clogging caused by algae, pH increase caused by algae, and organic matter) on improvements and operations costs of typical water treatment plant (WTP) were estimated. The raw water quality parameters were assumed the worst possible conditions based on the past data and costs were subsequently estimated. Results showed that new water treatment facilities were needed, such as a selective intake system, an advanced water treatment processes, a dual media filter, a carbonation facility, and a re-chlorination facility depending on water quality. Furthermore, changes needed to be made in WTP operations, such as adding powered activated carbon, increasing the injection of chlorine, adding coagulation aid, increasing the discharge of backwashed water, and increasing the operation time of dewatering facilities. Such findings showed that to reliably produce high-quality tap water and reduce water treatment costs, continuous improvements to the quality of water sources are needed.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2003년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.373-378
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• 2003

It is important that overheat protection of super heated tube in boiler operation and maintenance. The overheat of super heat tube can make damage and rupture of tube material, which causes accidental shutdown of boiler. The super heated tube overheat is almost due to the lack of uniformity of gas temperature distribution. There are two ways to protect overheat of super heated tube. The one is to control hot gas operation pattern which is temperature or flow distribution. the other is to control super heated steam flow distribution. The former is difficult than the later, because of control device design. In this paper steam flow control method which uses orifices is proposed to protect overheat of super heat tube.