• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.22-27
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• 2022

In accordance with the growing trend of decommissioning nuclear facilities, research on the cutting process is actively proceeding worldwide. In general, a thermal cutting process, such as plasma cutting is applied to decommissioning a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV). Plasma cutting has the advantage of removing the radioactive materials and being able to cut thick materials. However, when operating under water, the molten metal remains in the cut plane and re-solidifies. Hence, cutting is not entirely accomplished. For these environmental reasons, it is difficult to cut thick metal. The contact arc metal cutting (CAMC) process can be used to cut thick metal under water. CAMC is a process that cuts metal using a plate-shaped electrode based on a high-current arc plasma heat source. During the cutting process, high-pressure water is sprayed from the electrode to remove the molten metal, known as rinsing. As the CAMC is conducted without using a shielding gas, such as Argon, the electrode is consumed during the process. In this study, CAMC is introduced as a method for dismantling nuclear vessels and the relationship between the metal removal and electrode consumption is investigated according to the cutting conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2628-2641
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• 2023

Nuclear safety is the lifeline for the development and application of nuclear energy. In severe accidents of pressurized water reactor (PWR), aerosols, as the main carrier of fission products, are suspended in the containment vessel, posing a potential threat of radioactive contamination caused by leakage into the environment. The gas-phase aerosols suspended in the containment will settle onto the wall or sump water through the natural deposition mechanism, thereby reducing atmospheric radioactivity. Aiming at the low accuracy of the aerosol model in the ISAA code, this paper improves the natural deposition model of aerosol in the containment. The aerosol dynamic shape factor was introduced to correct the natural deposition rate of non-spherical aerosols. Moreover, the gravity, Brownian diffusion, thermophoresis and diffusiophoresis deposition models were improved. In addition, ABCOVE, AHMED and LACE experiments were selected to validate and evaluate the improved ISAA code. According to the calculation results, the improved model can more accurately simulate the peak aerosol mass and respond to the influence of the containment pressure and temperature on the natural deposition rate of aerosols. At the same time, it can significantly improve the calculation accuracy of the residual mass of aerosols in the containment. The performance of improved ISAA can meet the requirements for analyzing the natural deposition behavior of aerosol in containment of advanced PWRs in severe accident. In the future, further optimization will be made to address the problems found in the current aerosol model.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.403-411
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• 2008

Dimethyldibutyltetradecylmalonamide (DMDBTDMA) extractant was used in a solvent extraction process for a radioactive liquid waste treatment. For the study of radiolysis phenomena, DMDBTDMA was synthesized and the degradation compounds (n-methylbutylamine, tetradecane, 1-tetradecanol) in the DMDBTDMA extractant, irradiated with $^{60}Co$ gamma ray, were identified and determined as radiolysis products by a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) analysis and GC/MS with selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Retention behavior of n-methylbutylamine, n-dodecane, tetradecane and 1-tetradecanol in the total ion chromatogram with the standard materials and n-dodecane as the internal standard (ISTD) were 2.35 min., 8.83 min., 10.68 min. and 12.75 min., respectively. In the case of tetradecane, there was a linear relationship between the concentration of the tetradecane and the absorbed dose of the ${\gamma}$-ray irradiated DMDBTDMA.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.211-218
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• 2015

The reaction rates of ZIRLO cladding hulls with cross-section openings were investigated using a thermo-gravimetric analysis system in order to identify whether selective recovery of Zr from oxidized cladding hulls is possible. The experimental results showed that an oxidized ZIRLO cladding hull was not reactive with chlorine gas at 400℃. However, providing fresh cross-sections on one or both ends of the ZIRLO hulls enabled a chlorination reaction. This reaction was completed after 8 hours; a 14% increase on the 7 hours seen with a bare ZIRLO cladding hull. The Sharp-Hancock plot analysis results revealed that the contracting volume model is the best for describing the reaction between the cross-section opened ZIRLO hulls and chlorine gas under the condition of this work. It was concluded that the chlorination process can be employed for oxidized ZIRLO cladding hulls by providing cross-section openings.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2008

In this study, plasma processing of metal surface is experimentally investigated to enhance the surface decontamination efficiency and to find out the reaction mechanism. Cobalt, the major contaminant in the nuclear facilities, and three fluorine-containing gases, $CF_4/O_2$, $SF_6/O_2$, and $NF_3$ are chosen for the investigation. Thin metallic disk specimens are prepared and their surface etching reactions with the three plasma gases are examined. Results show that the maximum etching rate of $17.2\;{\mu}m/min.$ is obtained with NF3 gas at $420^{\circ}C$, while with $CF_4/O_2$, $SF_6/O_2$ gas plasmas those of $2.56\;{\mu}m/min.$ and $1.14\;{\mu}m/min.$ are obtained, respectively. Along with etching experiments, constituent elements of the reaction products are identified to be cobalt, oxygen, and fluorine by AES (Auger Electron Spectroscopy) analysis. It turns out that the oxygen atoms are physically adsorbed ones to the surface from the ambient not participation ones during the analysis after reaction, which supports that the surface reaction of cobalt is mainly to be a fluorination reaction.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.279-291
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• 2009

Radon is a natural radionuclide originated from radioactive decay of radium in rocks and soil. It is colorless, odorless and tasteless elements that mainly distributed as gaseous phase in soil pore space. The present study analyzed the characteristics of long-term radon variation in granitic residual soil at Mt. Guemjeong in Guemjeong-gu, Busan and determined the effects of atmospheric temperature, rainfall and soil temperature and moisture. Periodic measurements of radon concentrations in soil gas were conducted by applying two types of in-situ monitoring methods (chamber system and tubing system). Radon concentration in soil gas was highest in summer and lowest in winter. The variations in soil temperature and atmospheric temperature were most effective factors in the long-term radon variations and showed positive co-relations. The air circulation between soil air and atmosphere by the temperature difference between soil and atmosphere was analyzed a major cause of the variation. However, other factors such as atmospheric pressure, rainfall and soil moisture were analyzed relatively less effective.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.71-84
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• 2017

Radon, which enters the interior environment from soil, rocks, and groundwater, is a radioactive gas that poses a serious risk to humans. Indoor radon concentrations are measured to investigate the risk of radon gas exposure and reliable radon concentration mapping is then performed for further analysis. In this study, we compared the predictive performance of various univariate kriging algorithms, including ordinary kriging and three nonlinear transform-based kriging algorithms (log-normal, multi-Gaussian, and indicator kriging), for mapping radon concentrations with an asymmetric distribution. To compare and analyze the predictive performance, we carried out jackknife-based validation and analyzed the errors according to the differences in the data intervals and sampling densities. From a case study in South Korea, the overall nonlinear transform-based kriging algorithms showed better predictive performance than ordinary kriging. Among the nonlinear transform-based kriging algorithms, log-normal kriging had the best performance, followed by multi-Gaussian kriging. Ordinary kriging was the best for predicting high values within the spatial pattern. The results from this study are expected to be useful in the selection of kriging algorithms for the spatial prediction of data with an asymmetric distribution.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.237-243
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• 1995

An estimate is made on the potential generation rate of H: from radiolysis of the Paraffin-wax encapsulant Proposed for the solidified liquid concentrate wasteform. The results show that the radiolytic Production of $H_2$ from paraffin-wax-encapsulated waste is dominated by the radiation energy released from $^{60}Co$. The radiolytic production of $H_2$ will proceed at an initial rate equivalent to aproximately $4.4{\times}10^2cm^3yr^1$ in 200 litre drums that are partly filled with 120 litres of encapsulated waste. The gas production rate will fall to a value of $7.2cm^3yr^1$ after 100 years. The lower flammable limit for $H_2$ in air will be reached in about 25 years and the lower explosive limit for $H_2$ in air would not be reached in 1000years. The timescale in which these safety-related limits are reached is strongly dependent on the level of filling of each waste drum. A reduction of the air space inside each drum would reduce the time required to reach the lower flammable limit.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.69-76
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• 2006

TRISO(tri-isotropic)-coated fuel particle technology is utilized owing to its higher stability at a high temperature and Its efficient retention capability for fission products In the HTGR(high temperature gas-reeled reactor). The typical spherical TRISO fuel panicle with a diameter of about 1mm is composed of a nuclear fuel kernel and outer coating layers. The outer coating layers consist of a buffer PyC(pyrolytic carbon) layer, Inner PyC(1-PyC) layer, SiC layer, and outer PyC(O-PyC) layer Most of the Inspection Items for the TRTSO-coated fuel particle depend on destructive methods. The coating thickness of the TRISO fuel particle can be nondestructively measured by the X-ray radiography without generating radioactive wastel. In this study, the coaling thickness for the simulated TRISO-coated fuel particle with $ZrO_2$ kernel Instead of $%UO_2$ kernel was measured by using micro-focus X-ray radiography with micro-focus X-ray generator and flat panel detector The radiographic image was also enhanced by image processing technique to acquire clear boundary lines between coating layers. The coaling thickness wat effectively measured by applying the micro-focus X-ray radiography The inspection process for the TRISO-coated fuel particles will be improved by the developed micro-focus X-ray radiography and digital image processing technology.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.301-307
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• 2005

The morphology of the high burnup $UO_2$ spent fuel, which was oxidized and annealed in a PIA (Post Irradiation Annealing) apparatus, has been observed. The high burnup fuel irradiated in Ulchin Unit 2, average rod burnup 57,000 MWd/tU, was transported to the KAERI's PIEF. The test specimen was used with about 200 mg of the spent $UO_2$ fuel fragment of the local burnup 65,000 MWd/tU. This specimen was annealed at $1400^{\circ}C$ for 4hrs after the oxidation for 3hrs to grain boundary using the PIA apparatus in a hot-cell. In order to oxidize the grain boundary, the oxidation temperature increased up to $500^{\circ}C$ and held for 3hrs in the mixed gas (60 ml He and 100 ml STD-air) atmosphere. The amount of 85Kr during the whole test process was measured to know the fission gas release behavior using the online system of a beta counter and a gamma counter. The detailed micro-structure was observed by a SEM to confirm the change of the fuel morphology after this test. As the annealing temperature increased, the fission products were observed to move to the grain surface and grain boundary of the $UO_2$ matrix. This specimen was re-structured through the reduction process, and the grain sizes were distributed from 5 to $10\;{\mu}m$.