• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.981-988
• /
• 2018

An experiment was performed for the OECD/NEA ROSA-2 Project with the large-scale test facility (LSTF), which simulated a steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) accident due to a double-ended guillotine break of one of steam generator (SG) U-tubes with operator recovery actions in a pressurized water reactor. The relief valve of broken SG opened three times after the start of intact SG secondary-side depressurization as the recovery action. Multi-dimensional phenomena specific to the SGTR accident appeared such as significant thermal stratification in a cold leg in broken loop especially during the operation of high-pressure injection (HPI) system. The RELAP5/MOD3.3 code overpredicted the broken SG secondary-side pressure after the start of the intact SG secondary-side depressurization, and failed to calculate the cold leg fluid temperature in broken loop. The combination of the number of the ruptured SG tubes and the HPI system operation difference was found to significantly affect the primary and SG secondary-side pressures through sensitivity analyses with the RELAP5 code.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.19-25
• /
• 2011

Steam Generator(SG) tube is an important component of Nuclear Power Plant(NPP), which is the pressure boundary between the primary and secondary systems. The integrity of SG tube has been confirmed by the eddy current test every outage. The eddy current technique adopting bobbin probe is currently the primary technique for the steam generator tubing integrity assesment. The bobbin probe is one of the essential components which consist of the whole ECT examination system and provides us a decisive data for the evaluation of tube integrity. Until now, all of the ECT bobbin probes in Korea which is necessary to carry out inspection are imported from overseas. However, KHNP has recently developed the bobbin probe design technology and transferred it to domestic manufacturers to fabricate the probes. This study has been conducted to establish technical requirements applicable to the steam generator tube inspection using the bobbin probes fabricated by the domestic manufactures. The results have been compared with the results obtained by using foreign probe to identify the availability to the steam generator tube inspection. As a result, it is confirmed that the domestic bobbin probe is generally applicable to SG tube inspection in the NPPs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.46 no.1
• /
• pp.39-46
• /
• 2014

A total loss of all heat sinks is considered a severe accident with a low probability of occurrence. Following a total loss of all heat sinks, the degasser/condenser relief valves (DCRV) become the sole means available for the depressurization of the primary heat transport system. If a nuclear power plant has a total loss of heat sinks accident, high-temperature steam and differential pressure between the primary heat transport system (PHTS) and the steam generator (SG) secondary side can cause a SG tube creep rupture. To protect the PHTS during a total loss of all heat sinks accident, a sufficient depressurization capability of the degasser/condenser relief valve and the SG tube integrity is very important. Therefore, an accurate estimation of the discharge through these valves is necessary to assess the impact of the PHTS overprotection and the SG tube integrity of the primary circuit. This paper describes the analysis of DCRV discharge capacity and the SG tube integrity under a total loss of all heat sink using the CATHENA code. It was found that the DCRV's discharge capacity is enough to protect the overpressure in the PHTS, and the SG tube integrity is maintained in a total loss of all heat accident.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.25-31
• /
• 2009

Steam Generator(SG) tube is an important component of Nuclear Power Plant(NPP), which comprises of the pressure boundary of primary system. The integrity of SG tube has been confirmed by the eddy current test every outage. In Korea, Bobbin probe and MRPC probe have been generally used for the eddy current test. Meanwhile the usage of Array probe has gradually increased in U.S., Japan and other countries. In this study, we investigated the defect detection capability of the Array probe through its preliminary application to SG tube inspection. The Array probe has the equivalent capability in the defect detection and sizing as the conventional methods. Thus it is desirable that the Array probe is generally applied to SG tube inspection in the domestic NPPs.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.16-24
• /
• 2024

Denting of steam generator (SG) tube is defined as the reduction in tube diameter due to the stresses exerted by the corrosion products formed on the outer diameter surface. This phenomenon is mostly observed in the crevices between SG tube and the top-of tubesheet or tube support plate. Despite the replacement of SG tube with Alloy 690, which has better corrosion resistance than Alloy 600, the denting of SG tube still remains a potential problem that could decrease the SG integrity. Deformation of SG tube by denting phenomenon can affect the surface properties and microstructure of SG tube. In this study, the effects of plastic deformation on surface properties and microstructure of Alloy 690 thermally treated (TT) tube was investigated by using the various analysis techniques. The plastic deformation of Alloy 690 increased the surface roughness and area. Many surface defects such as ripped surface and micro-cracks were observed on the deformed Alloy 690TT specimen. Based on the electron backscatter diffraction analysis, the dislocation density of deformed SG tube increased compared to non-deformed SG tube. In addition, the effects of changes in surface properties and microstructure of SG tube on general corrosion behavior were discussed.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2003.04a
• /
• pp.610-616
• /
• 2003

Recently, the common concern of nuclear power industry in the development of technology mitigating and preventing the aging of steam generator tubes prevails, because the trends of steam generator flaws at Uljin unit #1,2 and KSNP(Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant) impose a burden on the operation of nuclear power plant. While the regulatory agency is demanding the establishment of the advanced general performance maintenance system, the steam generator management program adapting advanced technology is being developed which may comply with EPRI PWR SG Guidelines based on NEI 97-06 ‘ General Guidelines including all the maintenance aspects consist of the tube integrity assessment criteria, repair limit, allowable leakage level, water chemistry will be composed in order to obtain the approval of regulatory agency and be applied to Nuclear power plant early 2005. This presentation is to introduce maintenance state including SG tube degradation and main contents of advanced SG management program being developed, and futhermore update present and future plan, and estimate the alternation after the completion.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.61-68
• /
• 2023

The phenomenon of fretting wear due to the flow-induced vibration in steam generator (SG) tube is a significant degradation mechanism in nuclear power plants. Fretting wear in SG tube is primarily attributed to the friction and impact forces between the SG tube and the tube support structures, experienced during nuclear power plants operation. While the Archard model has generally been used for the prediction of fretting wear in SG tube, it is limited by its linear nature. In this study, we introduced an "Impact Shear Work-rate" (ISW) model, which takes into account the combined effects of impact and sliding. The ISW model was evaluated using existing experimental data on fretting wear in SG tube and was compared against the Archard model. The prediction results using the ISW model were more accurate than those using the Archard model, particularly for impact forces.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.452-459
• /
• 2003

The characteristics of fluid-elastic instability and effects of turbulent excitations for the KSNP steam generator tubes were investigated numerically. The information for the thermal-hydraulic data of the steam generator has been obtained by using the ATHOS3-MOD1 code and the flow-induced vibration(FIV) analysis has been conducted by using the PIAT(program for Integrity assessment of SG tube) code. The KSNP steam generator has the concentrated plugging zone at the vicinity of the stay cylinder inside the SG. To investigate the cause of the concentrated tube plugging zone, the FIV analysis has been performed for various column and row number of the steam generator tubes. From the results of FIV analysis the stability ratio due to the fluid-elastic instability and vibrational amplitude due to the turbulent excitation in the concentrated plugged zone have a trend of larger values than those of the outer concentrated tube Plugging zone.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.3
• /
• pp.1029-1040
• /
• 2021

For the structural integrity evaluation of pressurized water reactor (PWR) steam generator (SG) tubes subjected to transient hydraulic loading, determination of the tube-to-tube gap velocity and static pressure distributions along the tubes is prerequisite. This paper addresses both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and analytical approaches for predicting the tube-to-tube gap velocity and static pressure distributions during blowdown following a feedwater line break (FWLB) accident at a PWR SG. First of all, a comparative study on CFD calculations of the transient velocity and pressure distributions in the SG secondary sides for two different models having 30 or no tubes is performed. The result shows that the velocities of sub-cooled water flowing between any adjacent two tubes of a tubed SG model during blowdown can be roughly estimated by applying the specified SG secondary side porosity to those of the no-tubed SG model. Secondly, simplified analytical approximate solutions for the steady two-dimensional SG secondary flow velocity and pressure distributions under a given discharge flowrate are derived using a line sink model. The simplified analytical solutions are validated by comparing them to the CFD calculations.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
• /
• 2004.04a
• /
• pp.2047-2052
• /
• 2004

Inconel-600 alloy has been used as steam generator tube material for current pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The long-term operation of steam generators showed that the use of this material induced localized corrosion damages and increased tube wear of steam generator. To protect these problems, steam generator tube material is being changed to Inconel-690 alloy. Based on the current trend, we have chosen Inconel 690 as the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400) steam generator(SG) tube material and performed the design optimization of preventive measure against tube fretting wear for the APR1400 steam generator. In this paper, we examined the technical consideration in this modification : the selection of material, wear characteristics, effect of the Egg-crate Flow Distribution Plate installation, and effect analysis of vertical strip installation.