• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.4
• /
• pp.734-741
• /
• 2020

A new air-cooled waste heat removal system with a direct contact heat exchanger was designed for SMRs requiring 200 MW of waste heat removal. Conventional air-cooled systems use fin structure causing high thermal resistance; therefore, a large cooling tower is required. The new design replaces the fin structure with a vertical string type direct contact heat exchanger which has the most effective performance among tested heat exchangers in a previous study. The design results showed that the new system requires a cooling tower 50% smaller than that of the conventional system. However, droplet formation on a falling film along a string caused by Rayleigh-Plateau instability decreases heat removal performance of the new system. Analysis of Rayleigh-Plateau instability considering drag force on the falling film surface was developed. The analysis results showed that the instability can be prevented by providing thick string. The instability is prevented when the string radius exceeds the capillary length of liquid by a factor of 0.257 under stagnant air and 0.260 under 5 m/s air velocity.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.390-398
• /
• 2022

Recently, considerable attention has been given to nickel-based superalloys used in additive manufacturing. However, additive manufacturing is limited by a slow build rate in obtaining optimal densities. In this study, optimal volumetric energy density (VED) was calculated using optimal process parameters of IN718 provided by additive manufacturing of laser powder-bed fusion. The laser power and scan speed were controlled using the same ratio to maintain the optimal VED and achieve a fast build rate. Cube samples were manufactured using seven process parameters, including an optimal process parameter. Analysis was conducted based on changes in density and melt-pool morphology. At a low laser power and scan speed, the energy applied to the powder bed was proportional to ${\frac{P}{\sqrt{V}}}$ and not ${\frac{P}{V}}$. At a high laser power and scan speed, a curved track was formed due to Plateau-Rayleigh instability. However, a wide melt-pool shape and continuous track were formed, which did not significantly affect the density. We were able to verify the validity of the VED formula and succeeded in achieving a 75% higher build rate than that of the optimal parameter, with a slight decrease in density and hardness.