• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.12
• /
• pp.4514-4521
• /
• 2022

In this study, the effects of heat and radiation on the degradation behaviour of fluoroelastomer under simulated normal operation and a severe accident environment were investigated using sequential testing of gamma irradiation and thermal degradation. Tensile properties and Shore A hardness were measured, and thermogravimetric analysis was used to evaluate the degradation behaviour of fluoroelastomer. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the structural changes of the fluoroelastomer. Heat and radiation generated in nuclear power plant break and deform the chemical bonds, and fluoroelastomer exposed to these environments have decreased C-H and functional groups that contain oxygen and double bonds such as C-O, C=O and C=C were generated. These functional groups were formed by auto oxidation by reacting free radicals generated from the cleaved bond with oxygen in the atmosphere. In this auto oxidation reaction, crosslinks were generated where bonded to each other, and the mobility of molecules was decreased, and as a result, the fluoroelastomer was hardened. This hardening behaviour occurred more significantly in the severe accident environment than in the normal operation condition, and it was found that thermal stability decreased with the generation of unstable structures by crosslinking.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.973-979
• /
• 2024

In the framework of the Generation IV research and development project, in which the French Commission of Alternative and Atomic Energies (CEA) is involved, a main objective for the design of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is to meet the safety goals for severe accidents. Among the severe ones, the Unprotected Transient OverPower (UTOP) accidents can lead very quickly to a global melting of the core. UTOP accidents can be considered either as slow during a Control Rod Withdrawal (CRW) or as fast. The paper focuses on fast UTOP accidents, which occur in a few milliseconds, and three different scenarios are considered: rupture of the core support plate, uncontrolled passage of a gas bubble inside the core and core mechanical distortion such as a core flowering/compaction during an earthquake. Several levels and rates of reactivity insertions are also considered and the thermal-mechanical behavior of an ASTRID fuel pin from the ASTRID CFV core is simulated with the GERMINAL code. Two types of fuel pins are simulated, inner and outer core pins, and three different burn-up are considered. Moreover, the feedback from the CABRI programs on these type of transients is used in order to evaluate the failure mechanism in terms of kinetics of energy injection and fuel melting. The CABRI experiments complete the analysis made with GERMINAL calculations and have shown that three dominant mechanisms can be considered as responsible for pin failure or onset of pin degradation during ULOF/UTOP accident: molten cavity pressure loading, fuel-cladding mechanical interaction (FCMI) and fuel break-up. The study is one of the first step in fast UTOP accidents modelling with GERMINAL and it has shown that the code can already succeed in modelling these type of scenarios up to the sodium boiling point. The modeling of the radial propagation of the melting front, validated by comparison with CABRI tests, is already very efficient.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.293-301
• /
• 2017

A Sub-kWe small-scale experimental test loop was manufactured to investigate characteristics of the supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle. A high-speed turbo-generator was also designed and manufactured. The designed rotational speed of this turbo-generator was 200,000 rpm. Because of the low expansion ratio through the turbine and low mass flowrate, the rotational speed of the turbo-generator was high. Therefore, it was difficult to select the rotating parts and design the turbine wheel, axial force balance and rotor dynamics in the lab-scale experimental test loop. Using only one channel of the nozzle, the partial admission method was adapted to reduce the rotational speed of the rotor. This was the world's first approach to the supercritical carbon dioxide turbo-generator. A cold-run test using nitrogen gas under an atmospheric condition was conducted to observe the effect of the partial admission nozzle on the rotor dynamics. The vibration level of the rotor was obtained using a gap sensor, and the results showed that the effect of the partial admission nozzle on the rotor dynamics was allowable.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.12 no.8
• /
• pp.3353-3359
• /
• 2011

The co-generation system consisted of gas a turbine, a steam turbine, heat recovery steam generator and a heat exchangers for district heating was investigated in the present study. A back-pressure steam turbine (non-condensing type) was used. A partial load analysis according to the outdoor temperature in winter was conducted and optimal thermal load and power conditions was examined using the commercial computing software Thermoflex. As a result, under a constant thermal load, the power outputs of gas turbine and overall system increased as an outdoor temperature decreased. On the other hand, the reduction in exhaust gas temperature led to the decrease in output of steam turbine. Considering the portion of gas turbine in overall system in terms of the power output, it can be known that the tendency in power output of overall system was similar to that of the gas turbine.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.29-36
• /
• 2017

In this study, acombined cogeneration power plant produced two types of thermal energy and electric or mechanical power in a single process. The performance of each component of the gas turbine-combined cogeneration system was expressed as a function of the fuel consumption of the entire system, and the heat and electricity performance of each component. The entire system consisted of two gas turbines in the upper system, and two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG), a steam turbine, and two district heat exchangers in the lower system. In the gas turbine combined cogeneration system, the performance test after 10,000 hours of operation time, which is subject to an ASME PTC 46 performance test, was carried out by the installation of various experimental facilities. The performance of the overall output and power plant efficiency was also analyzed. Based on the performance test data, the test results were compared to confirm the change in performance. This study performed thermodynamic system analysis of gas turbines, heat recovery steam generators, and steam turbines to obtain the theoretical results. A comparison was made between the theoretical and actual values of the total heat generation value of the entire system and the heat released to the atmosphere, as well as the theoretical and actual efficiencies of the electrical output and thermal output. The test results for the performance characteristics of the gas turbine combined cogeneration power plant were compared with the thermodynamic efficiency characteristics and an error of 0.3% was found.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.15-20
• /
• 2018

The objective of this study is to numerically investigate the thermal characteristics of an automobile exhaust-based heat exchanger for automotive thermoelectric power generation with various exhaust gas mass flow rates and temperatures. The heat exchanger for automotive thermoelectric power generation has a square-type pin installed inside, so the maximum amount of heat can be transferred to the thermoelectric element from the heat energy coming from the automobile exhaust gas. The exhaust gas mass flow rate changed from 0.01, to 0.02, to 0.03 kg/s, and the exhaust gas temperature changed from 400, to 450, to 500, to 550, to $600^{\circ}C$, respectively. A numerical simulation was conducted by using the commercial program ANSYS CFX v17.0. Consequently, the exhaust gas pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet of the heat exchanger is determined according to the flow rate of the exhaust gas. When the mass flow rate of the exhaust gas increased, the pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet of the heat exchanger increased, but the exhaust gas pressure difference between the inlet of the heat exchanger and the outlet did not vary with the exhaust gas temperature. Therefore, in order to obtain the maximum surface temperature from the heat exchanger, the exhaust gas mass flow rate should be lower, and the exhaust gas temperature should be higher.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.356-373
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study is to empirically analyze whether performance-oriented remuneration systems in public thermal power generation companies substantially induces organizational commitment of employees, and contributes to organizational performance. According to the study, adequacy of salary and individual work evaluation have significant effects on organizational commitment, whereas external and internal evaluations for pay-for-performance remuneration systems do not have a significant effect. Annual salary for performance and pay-for-performance systems have a significant influence on organizational performance. In addition, because annual salary and individual work evaluation of the performance-oriented remuneration system have significant effects on both the indirect effect, through organizational commitment, as well as the direct effect on organizational performance, there exists a partially mediated effect on organizational commitment. Conversely, because external and internal evaluations do not significantly affect organizational commitment, there is no means of verifying the mediating effect. Studies suggest that a fair annual salary system for performance employed in conjunction with a pay-for-performance system will provide positive impacts on organizational performance and employee loyalty.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.85-112
• /
• 2022

This study analyzed the influence of domestic and Chinese factors on fine dust(PM10 & PM2.5) in Korea by using the panel quantile regression. Daily analysis was conducted for 11 regions in Korea. For domestic factors, electricity demand and traffic volume, and for Chinese factors, interaction term of Chinese three cities' fine dust and the domestic west wind are used. As a result, the influence of domestic factors was different when the domestic fine dust concentration was high and low. When the fine dust concentration was low, electricity demand had a positive effect only on PM2.5, and didn't affect PM10 in the national analysis. In regional analysis, the amount of electricity demand had a significant effect on fine dust and ultrafine dust only in the capital area and Chungcheong. Electricity demand was found to significantly increase both PM2.5 and PM10 when it was high. On the other hand, it was confirmed that the Chinese factor always had a significant effect regardless of the concentration of PM10 and PM2.5. Therefore, in order to solve the problem of high concentration of fine dust, in addition to international cooperation, the reduction of PM2.5 generated by domestic thermal power generation should also be strengthened compared to the present.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.197-204
• /
• 2023

Heat stress causes a decrease in immunity and disease occurrence in livestock, increasing mortality and impairing productivity. In particular, chickens are very vulnerable to high temperatures compared to other livestock species because their entire body is covered with feathers and sweat glands are not developed. Currently, air conditioning systems are essential in broiler houses to prevent high-air temperature damage to broilers, but conventional cooling facilities are greatly affected by the external environment, so there are limits to their use. In this study, to propose a cooling method, thermal insulation paint and a heat pump were apply in the broiler houses to evaluate the temperature reduction effect. The heat pump experiment was to analyze the cooling effect according to the change in ventilation rate and propose an appropriate. As a result of the experiment, the heat-insulating paint reduced the temperature of the broiler houses by maximum 1-2℃, and in the broiler houses where the heat pump was operated, the temperature decrease was the largest when the ventilation rate was the lowest. When the air temperature in the house is similar to or lower than the outside air temperature, it is considered to be most effective to use a heat pump while maintaining only the minimum ventilation rate.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.02a
• /
• pp.622-622
• /
• 2013

Piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) device refers to a power device for acquiring mechanical energy from the environment surrounding us which would otherwise be wasted and for converting it into usable electrical energy. While much work has been done on developing ZnO nanogenerator (NG) with nanowire arrays, there are some issues of not only scaling up its output power but also optimizing structure for operating feasibly in various conditions. Efficiency of NG is highly dependent on fixed orientation. But in many cases, it is not easy to predict where the pressure and vibration may come from. Furthermore, the direction of the applied mechanical stress is usually non-stationary and can be random in various practical applications. Therefore an omnidirectional PEH is needed.In this work, we investigate an omnidirectional PEH device consisting ZnO nanowires. We deposited spiral patterned ZnO seed layer on Kapton film. We deposited thin Cr layer on the ZnO seed layer using DC-sputter to form a passivation layer to retard un-expected growth of ZnO nanowires. We grew ZnO nanowires along the spiral arms using hydrothermal method. ZnO nanowires have been selectively grown from the ZnO sidewall without Cr layer and have the average length of$5{\mu}m$ and the average diameter of 40nm. We reduced the defect in the as-grown ZnO nanowires by O2 plasma using asher and by thermal treatment using RTA. Consequently, each nanowire has different directions to each other. This isotropic design can lead to the omnidirectional power generation. The morphology of NG is characterized with FESEM. Maximum output power of the device is measured by using a picoammeter and a nanovoltmeter.