• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2008

In order to investigate a nitriding process of spent oxide fuel and the subsequent change in thermal properties after nitriding, simulated spent fuel powder was converted into a nitride pellet with simulated fission product elements through a carbothermic reduction process. Nitriding rate of simulated spent fuel was decreased with increasing of the amount of fission products. Contents of Ba and Sr in simulated spent fuel were decreased after the carbothermic reduction process. The thermal conductivity of the nitride pellet was decreased by an addition of fission product element but was higher than that of the oxide fuel containing fission product elements.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.123-130
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• 2000

The simulated DUPIC fuel provides a convenient way to investigate fuel properties and behaviours such as thermal conductivity, thermal expansion, fission gas release, leaching and so on. Several pellets simulating the composition and microstructure of the DUPIC fuel were fabricated from resintering powder through the OREOX process of the simulated spent fuel pellets, which were prepared from the mixture of stable forms of constituent nuclides. This study describes the powder treatment, OREOX, compaction and sintering to fabricate simulated DUPIC fuel using the simulated spent fuel. The homogeneity of additives in the powder was observed after attrition milling. The microstructure of the simulated spent fuel was in agreement with the previous studies. The densities and the grain size of simulated DUPIC fuel was pellets are higher than those of simulated spent fuel pellets. Small metallic precipitates and oxide precipitates were observed on matrix grain boundaries.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.209-214
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• 1999

The oxidation behavior of the simulated spent fuel of burn up 33 MWD/kgU was investigated to predict that of the spent fuel in the temperature ranges of 400 to $700^{\circ}C$ and was compared with those of $UO_2$. The forms of uranium oxides after the oxidation were conformed by XRD analyses. The oxidation rate at each the temperature and the activation energy were obtained. After complete oxidation, the simulated spent fuel was converted to $U_3O_8$ and pulverized to powder due to the density difference between the simulated spent fuel and uranium oxides. The activation energies were 85.35 and 30.77kJ/mol in the temperature ranges of 400$\leq$T($^{\circ}C$)$\leq$500 and 500$\leq$T($^{\circ}C$)$\leq$700, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2006.05a
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• pp.141-144
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• 2006

In this study, we developed a decladding device which separates 250 mm length of simulated nuclear spent fuel rod into the pallets and the pieces of the hulls after inserting the rod cut into the module with several pairs of blades. To improve the performance of the equipment, we considered some mechanisms to prevent the rod cut from being exposed or bounced into the hot-cell, to reduce the operation time, and to insert the rods automatically. It is expected that the newly developed system will contribute to prevent radioactive pollution in the hot-cell, reduce the operation time, and to increase the safety of the operators. As a result of the performance test for some mockup fuel rod cuts in the ACP(Advanced Spent Fuel Control Process) facility, it was verified that the decladding device could be applied to the actual fuel rod cut. And it will be able to use for a scale-up facility in the future.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.2407-2409
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• 2005

As the cumulative amount of spent fuel increases, the reliable and effective management of the spent fuel has become a world-wide mission. For this mission, KAERI is developing the Advanced Spent Fuel Conditioning Process (ACP) as a pre-disposal treatment process for spent fuel. Conventional approach to the development of the process and the remote operation technology is to fabricate the process equipment on the same scale as the real environment and demonstrate the remote handling operation using simulated fuel called a mock-up test. But this mock-up test is expensive and time consuming, since the design may need to be modified and the equipment fabricated again to account for the problems found during a testing. To deal with this problem, we developed a digital mockup for the ACP. Also, for an effective utilization of the digital mockup, we developed user interface modules such as the data acquisition and display module and the external input device interface module. The result of this implementation shows that a continuous motion of the manipulator using the external device interface can be represented easily and the information display screens responded well to the simulation situation.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.1319-1322
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• 2003

KAERI is developing the Advanced Spent Fuel Conditioning Process (ACP) as a pre-disposal treatment process for spent fuel. Equipment used for such a spent fuel recycling and management process must operate in intense radiation fields as well as in a high temperature. Therefore, remote maintenance has a played a significant role in this process because of combined chemical and radiological contamination. Hence suitable remote handling and maintenance technology needs to be developed along with the design of the process concepts. To do this, we developed the graphic simulator for the ACP. The graphic simulator provides the capability of verifying the remote operability of the process without fabrication of the process equipment. In other words, by applying virtual reality to the remote maintenance operation, a remote operation task can be simulated in the graphic simulator, not in a real environment. The graphic simulator will substantially reduce the cost of the development of the remote handling and maintenance procedure as well as the process equipment, while at the same time producing a process and a remote maintenance concept that is more reliable, easier to implement, and easier to understand.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.245-250
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• 2014

When the charged particle travels in transparent medium with a velocity greater than that of light in the same medium, the electromagnetic field close to the particle polarizes the medium along its path, and then the electrons in the atoms follow the waveform of the pulse which is called as Cerenkov light or radiation. This type of radiation can be easily observed in a spent fuel storage pit. In optical fibers, the Cerenkov light also can be generated due to their dielectric components. Accordingly, the radiation-induced light signals can be obtained using optical fibers without any scintillating material. In this study, to measure the intensities of Cerenkov radiation induced by gamma-rays, we have fabricated the fiber-optic Cerenkov radiation sensor system using silica optical fibers, plastic optical fibers, multi-anode photomultiplier tubes, simulated spent fuel assembly and a scanning system. To characterize the Cerenkov radiation generated in optical fibers, the intensities of Cerenkov radiation generated in the silica and plastic optical fibers were measured. Also, we measured the longitudinal distribution of gamma rays emitted from the Ir-192 isotope by using the fiber-optic Cerenkov radiation sensor system and simulated spent fuel assembly.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.637-643
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• 2022

Uranium and plutonium are required to be accounted in spent fuel head-end and major recovery area in pyro-process for safeguards purpose. The possibility of neutron resonance technique, as a nondestructive analysis, was simulated on isotopic fissile analysis for large scale process. Neutron resonance technique has advantage to distinguish uranium from plutonium directly in mixture. Simulation was performed on U235 and Pu239 assay in spent fuel and for scoping examination of assembly type. The resonance energies were determined for U235 and Pu239. The linearity in the neutron transmission was examined for the selected resonance energies. In addition, the limit for detection was examined by changing sample density, thickness and content for actual application. Several factors were proposed for neutron production and the moderated neutron source was simulated for effective and efficient transmission measurement. From the simulation results, neutron resonance technique is promising to analyze U235 and Pu239 for spent fuel assembly. An accurate fissile assay will contribute to an increased safeguards for the pyro-processing system and international credibility on the reuse of fissile materials in the fuel cycle.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4499-4513
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• 2022

Spent fuel behavior of dry storage was simulated in a continuous state from steady-state operation by modifying FRAPCON-4.0 to incorporate spent fuel-specific fuel behavior models. Spent fuel behavior of a typical PWR was compared with that of NuScale Power Module (NPM^TM). Current PWR discharge burnup (60 MWd/kgU) gives a sufficient margin to the hoop stress limit of 90 MPa. Most hydrogen precipitation occurs in the first 50 years of dry storage, thereby no extra phenomenological safety factor is identified for extended dry storage up to 100 years. Regulation for spent fuel management can be significantly alleviated for LWR-based SMRs. Hydride embrittlement safety criterion is irrelevant to NuScale spent fuels; they have sufficiently lower plenum pressure and hydrogen contents compared to those of PWRs. Cladding creep out during dry storage reduces the subchannel area with burnup. The most deformed cladding outer diameter after 100 years of dry storage is found to be 9.64 mm for discharge burnup of 70 MWd/kgU. It may deteriorate heat transfer of dry storage by increasing flow resistance and decreasing the view factor of radiative heat transfer. Self-regulated by decreasing rod internal pressure with opening gap, cladding creep out closely reaches the saturated point after ~50 years of dry storage.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.02a
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• pp.191-204
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• 2004

The research and development of effective management technologies of the spent fuels discharged from power reactors are an important and essential task of KAERI. In resent several years KAERI has focused on a project named "development and demonstration of the Advanced spent fuel Conditioning Process (ACP) in a laboratory scale." The Facility for ACP demonstration consists of two Hot Cells and auxiliary facilities. It is now in the final design stage and will be constructed in 2004. After construction of the facility the ACP equipments will be installed in Hot Cells. The ACP will be demonstrated by some simulated spent fuels first and then by spent fuels.