• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.488-490
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• 2008

This study aims to design the high-capacity vol-oxidizer using simulated fuels instead of spent nuclear fuels. Simulated fuels are fabricated by blending tungsten powder with silicon carbide powder, and thereafter, paraffin coating covers simulated fuels to increase their strength. An oxidation experiment using simulated fuels have been carried out in order to analyze oxidation characteristics similar to spent fuels. After oxidation, simulated fuels were almost oxidized to be powders. Increased volume of simulated fuels approached to spent fuels. These results can be utilized as important informations for designing a high-capacity vol-oxidizer.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 1999

Based on the study of hydrolysis behaviour of U(Ⅵ) ion and major fission product metal ions such as Cs(Ⅰ), Ce(Ⅲ), Nd(Ⅲ), Mo(Ⅵ), Ru(Ⅱ), and ZR(Ⅳ) in the titration media, the performance of noncomplexing-alkalimetric titration method for the determination of free acid in the presence of these metal ions was investigated and its results were compared to those from the completing methods. The free acidities could be determined as low as 0.05 meq in uranium solutions in which the molar ratio of U(Ⅵ)/H+ was less than 5, when the end-point of titration was estimated by Gran plot. The biases in the determinations were less than 1% and about +3% respectively for 0.4 meq and 0.05 meq of free acid at the U(Vl)/H+ molar ratio of up to 5. Applicability of this method to the determination of free acid in spent fuel solutions was confirmed by the analysis of nitric acid content in simulated spent fuel solutions and in a real spent fuel solution.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.366-372
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• 1996

The simulated spent PWR fuel pellet which is corresponding to the turnup of 33,000 MWD/MTU is prepared by adding 11 fission-product elements to UO$_2$. The simulated spent fuel pellet is treated at 40$0^{\circ}C$ in air (oxidation), at 110$0^{\circ}C$ in air (high-temperature treatment), and at $600^{\circ}C$ in hydrogen (reduction). The product is treated through additional addition and reduction up to 3 cycles. Pellets are completely pulverized by the first oxidation, and the high-temperature treatment causes particle and crystallite to grow and surface to be smooth, and thus particle size significantly increases and surface area decreases. The reduction following the high-temperature treatment decreases much the particle size by means of the formation of intercrystalline cracks. The particle size decreases a little during the second oxidation and reduction cycle and then remains nearly constant during the third and fourth cycles. Surface area of pounder increases progressively with the repetition of oxidation and reduction cycles, mainly due to the formation of Surface cracks. The degradation of surface area resulting from high-temperature treatment is restored by too subsequent resulting oxidation and reduction cycles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.365-365
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.227.2-227.2
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.684-687
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• 2002

The authors have developed two devices which cuts the spend fuel rod to an optimal size and extracts fuel pellet from the pieces of cut fuel rods. These devices are so important to reduce radioactive wastes that some advanced countries developed their own methods and devices. The authors have benchmarked from these methods and devices. For spent fuel rod cutting, the tube cutting method has been chosen. some mechanical properties of the fuel tube and pellet has been carefully considered for an optimal cutting size. For fuel pellet extraction, a mechanically extracting method has been adopted. The existing chemical method have turned out to be inappropriate because it produced large amount of radioactive wastes, in spite of its high fuel recovery characteristics. The developed method has an advantage that it can be applied to other fuel rods that have different shapes and sizes. The two devices are set up and operated in the hot cell where people can not go in, so that the devices have been designed to be controlled remotely and modulated for easy maintenance. And the performance of the devices has been tested by using simulated fuel rod. From the experimental results, the devices are supposed to be useful for reducing radioactive wastes.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.129-137
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• 2024

To non-destructively determine the burnup of a spent nuclear fuel assembly, it is essential to analyze the nuclear isotopes present in the assembly and detect the neutrons and gamma rays emitted from these isotopes. Specifically, gamma-ray measurement methods can utilize a single radiation measurement value of ¹³⁷Cs or measure based on the energy peak ratio of Cs isotopes such as ¹³⁴Cs/¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁵⁴Eu/¹³⁷Cs. In this study, we validated the extent to which the results of gamma-ray measurements using cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) sensors based on ¹³⁷Cs could be accurately simulated by implementing identical conditions on MCNP. To simulate measurement scenarios using a lead collimator, we propose equations that represent radiation behavior that reaches the detector by assuming "Direct hit" and "Penetration with attenuation" situations. The results obtained from MCNP confirmed an increase in measurement efficiency by 0.47 times when using the CZT detector, demonstrating the efficacy of the measurement system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1999.10a
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• pp.292.2-292
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• 1999

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.99-111
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• 1998

Chemical composition of the insoluble residue in a simulated spent PWR fuel(SIMRJEL) were studied. SIMFUELS were prepared by adding calculated amount of FP(fission product) elements with a burnup of 3.6% FIMA(fission per initial metal atom) to uranium in nitrate solution, evaporating the mixed solution to dryness, calcining at 90$0^{\circ}C$ in a stream of 4% H$_2$ + 96% He, and heating the pellet at 140$0^{\circ}C$ under high and low oxygen potentials. Insoluble residue was obtained from the dissolution of the SIMFUEL with HNO$_3$(1 : 1). The chemical composition of the SIMFUELs and the insoluble residues was determined by EPMA(electron probe microanalysis), XPS(X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and by XRD (X-ray diffraction) measurements. All of the insoluble residues suspended and precipitated were composed mainly of Mo, Ru with a small amount of Zr, Rh, Pd and Cd. The amount of insoluble residue(<1 wt.%) and a Mo/Ru ratio decreased with increasing oxygen potential. Formation of the zirconium molybdate precipitate, ZrMo$_2$O$_{7}$(OH)$_2$($H_2O$)$_2$, was observed in the residues. The possible role of Mo on the phase formation was discussed in regard to oxygen potential.l.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.02a
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• pp.205-219
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• 2004

The remote operation of the Advanced Spent Fuel Conditioning Process (ACP) is analyzed by using the 3D graphic simulation tools. The ACP equipment operates in intense radiation fields as well as in a high temperature. Thus, the equipment should be designed in consideration of the remote handling and maintenance. As well as suitable remote handling and maintenance technology needs to be developed along with the design of the process concepts. To develop such remote operation technology, we developed the graphic simulator which provides the capability of verifying the remote operability of the ACP 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 the 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 developing a remote maintenance concept that is more reliable, easier to implement, and easier to understand.