• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.493-520
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• 2009

During the last four decades, 16 Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) and 4 Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) have been constructed and operated in Korea, and nuclear fuel technology has been developed to a self-reliant state. At first, the PWR fuel design and manufacturing technology was acquired through international cooperation with a foreign partner. Then, the PWR fuel R&D by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has improved fuel technology to a self-reliant state in terms of fuel elements, which includes a new cladding material, a large-grained $UO_2$ pellet, a high performance spacer grid, a fuel rod performance code, and fuel assembly test facility. The MOX fuel performance analysis code was developed and validated using the in-reactor test data. MOX fuel test rods were fabricated and their irradiation test was completed by an international program. At the same time, the PWR fuel development by Korea Nuclear Fuel (KNF) has produced new fuel assemblies such as PLUS7 and ACE7. During this process, the design and test technology of fuel assemblies was developed to a self-reliant state. The PHWR fuel manufacturing technology was developed and manufacturing facility was set up by KAERI, independently from the foreign technology. Then, the advanced PHWR fuel, CANFLEX(CANDU Flexible Fuelling), was developed, and an irradiation test was completed in a PHWR. The development of the CANFLEX fuel included a new design of fuel rods and bundles.. The nuclear fuel technology in Korea has been steadily developed in many national R&D programs, and this advanced fuel technology is expected to contribute to a worldwide nuclear renaissance that can create solutions to global warming.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.547-554
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• 2018

Torrefaction is the promising process of pretreating biomass materials to increase the quality of their energy, especially to upgrade the materials' grindability so that it is suitable for a commercial pulverizer machine. In this study, torrefaction of oak, bamboo, oil palm trunk, and rice husk was carried out under different torrefaction temperatures ($300^{\circ}C$, $330^{\circ}C$, and $350^{\circ}C$) and different torrefaction residence times (30, 45, and 60 minutes). Complete characterization of the torrefied biomass, including proximate analysis, calorific value, thermogravimetric analysis, mass yield, energy yield, and grindability properties (Hardgrove Grindability Index) was carried out. Increasing the torrefaction temperature and residence time significantly improved the calorific value, energy density (by reducing the product mass), and grindability of the product. Furthermore, for commercial purposes, the torrefaction conditions that produced the desired grindability properties of the torrefied product were $330^{\circ}C-30minutes$ and $300^{\circ}-45minutes$, and the latter condition produced a higher energy yield for bamboo, oil palm trunk, and rice husk; however, torrefaction of oak did not achieve the targeted grindability property values.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.131-137
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• 2007

This is an experimental study on characteristics of engine performance and discharged materials in common-rail type diesel engine. The bio-diesel fuel is mixed with the diesel fuel in common use at the ratio of 20% or 100%. The diesel fuel and blended fuel is irradiated by ultrasonic wave energy. The diese1 fuel, blended fuel, reformed diesel fuel and reformed blended fuel by ultrasonic wave energy are applied to the experimental engine individually. The results are compared with one of the diesel fuel in common use and analyzed.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.3-12
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• 2013

This paper proposes the hybrid fuel cell system that can solve disadvantages of existing fuel cell system and ensure high reliability and high stability. The system consists of PEM fuel cell, Ni-MH battery and power management system. In this system, when the power provided from the fuel cell is higher than the load power, the extra energy may be used to charge the Ni-MH battery. When the fuel cell can not provide enough energy to the load, the shortage of energy will be supplied by the Ni-MH battery. Experimental results show that the output voltage is regulated well during load variations. Also, high system efficiency is achieved.

• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.213-222
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• 2022

Our overdependence on the limited supply of fossil fuel with the burden of emission as a consequence of its utilization has been a major concern. Biodiesel is emerging as a potential diesel substitution for its similar performance, with the additional benefits of emitting lesser emissions. Due to the easy availability of feedstock for Biogas production, Biogas is studied for its use in CI engines. In this study, we considered Linseed Biodiesel and Biogas to run on dual fuel mode in a CI engine. An energy and exergy analysis was conducted to study the rate of fuel energy and exergy transformation to various other processes. Exergy relocation to exhaust gases was observed to be an average of 5% more for dual fuel mode than the diesel mode, whereas exergy relocation to the diesel mode was observed to be more than the dual fuel modes. Also, exergy loss to exhaust gas is observed to be more than the exergy transferred to cooling water or shaft. The exergy efficiency observed for biodiesel-biogas mode is only lesser by 3% compared to diesel-biogas mode, suggesting Biodiesel can be a substitute fuel for diesel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.253-258
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• 2018

A microcell $UO_2$ pellet, as an accident-tolerant fuel pellet, is being developed to enhance the accident tolerance of nuclear fuels under accident conditions as well as the fuel performance under normal operation conditions. Improved capture-ability for highly radioactive and corrosive fission product (Cs and I) is the distinct feature of a ceramic microcell $UO_2$ pellet, and the enhanced pellet thermal conductivity is that of a metallic microcell $UO_2$ pellet. The fuel temperature can be effectively decreased by enhanced thermal conductivity. In this study, the material concepts of metallic and ceramic microcell $UO_2$ pellets were designed, and the fabrication process of microcell $UO_2$ pellets embodying the designed concept was developed. We successfully implemented the microcell $UO_2$ pellets and produced microcell $UO_2$ pellets. In addition, an assessment of the out-of-pile properties of a microcell $UO_2$ pellet was performed, and the in-reactor performance and behavior of the developed microcell pellets were evaluated through a Halden irradiation test. According to the expectations, the excellent performance of the microcell $UO_2$ pellets was confirmed by the online measurement data of the Halden irradiation test.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.847-858
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• 2013

Since 2001, a series of five irradiation test campaigns for atomized U-Mo dispersion fuel rods, KOMO-1, -2, -3, -4, and -5, has been conducted at HANARO (Korea) in order to develop high performance low enriched uranium dispersion fuel for research reactors. The KOMO irradiation tests provided valuable information on the irradiation behavior of U-Mo fuel that results from the distinct fuel design and irradiation conditions of the rod fuel for HANARO. Full size U-Mo dispersion fuel rods of 4-5 $g-U/cm^3$ were irradiated at a maximum linear power of approximately 105 kW/m up to 85% of the initial U-235 depletion burnup without breakaway swelling or fuel cladding failure. Electron probe microanalyses of the irradiated samples showed localized distribution of the silicon that was added in the matrix during fuel fabrication and confirmed its beneficial effect on interaction layer growth during irradiation. The modifications of U-Mo fuel particles by the addition of a ternary alloying element (Ti or Zr), additional protective coatings (silicide or nitride), and the use of larger fuel particles resulted in significantly reduced interaction layers between fuel particles and Al.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.250-255
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• 2012

In this paper, the development and performance analysis of a fuel cell-powered unmanned aerial vehicle is described. A fuel cell system featuring 1 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell combined with a highly pressurized fuel supply system is proposed. For the higher fuel consumption efficiency and simplification of overall system, dead-end type operation is chosen and each individual system such as purge system, fuel supply system, cooling system is developed. Considering that fluctuation of exterior load makes it hard to stabilize fuel cell performance, the power management system is designed using a fuel cell and lithium-ion battery hybrid system. After integration of individual system, the performance of unmanned aerial vehicle is analyzed using data from flight and laboratory test. In the result, overall system was properly operated but for more duration of flight, research on weight lighting and improvement of fuel efficiency is needed to be progressed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.2990-3002
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• 2021

The mechanical interaction between the fuel pellet and the cladding tube of a nuclear fuel rod is a very important for safety studies as this phenomenon could lead to fuel failure and release of radioactivity. To investigate the ductility of cladding tubes used in WWER type nuclear power plants, several mandrel tests were performed in the Centre for Energy Research (EK). This modified mandrel test was used to model the mechanical interaction between the fuel pellet and the cladding using a segmented tool. The tests were conducted at room temperature and at 300 ℃ with inactive as-received and hydrogenated cladding ring samples. The results show a gradual decrease in ductility as the hydrogen content increases, the ductile-brittle transition was seen above 1500 ppm hydrogen absorbed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.909-910
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• 2004