• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.18 no.9
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• pp.52-57
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• 2019

The key technology of the fourth industrial revolution is artificial intelligence and machine learning. In this study, FMEA was performed on fuel pumps used as key items in most systems to identify major failure components, and artificial neural networks were built using big data. The main failure mode of the fuel pump identified by the test was coil damage due to overheating. Based on the artificial neural network built, machine learning was conducted to predict the failure and the mean error rate was 4.9% when the number of hidden nodes in the artificial neural network was three and the temperature increased to $140^{\circ}C$ rapidly.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.187-198
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• 2009

In this paper, three power ramp tests performed on high burn-up Re-crystallized Zircaloy2 - UO2 BWR fuel rods (56 to 63 MWd/kgU) within the SCIP project are simulated with METEOR and ALCYONE 3D. Two of the ramp tests are of staircase type up to Linear Heat Rates of 420 and 520 W/cm and with long holding periods. Failure of the 420 W/cm fuel rod was observed after 40 minutes. The third ramp test consisted of a more standard ramp test with a constant power rate of 80 W/cm/min up to 410 W/cm with a short holding time. The tests were first simulated with the METEOR 1D fuel rod code, which gave accurate results in terms of profilometry and fission gas releases. The behaviour of a fuel pellet fragment and of the cladding piece on top of it was then investigated with ALCYONE 3D. The size and the main characteristics of the ridges after base irradiation and power ramp testing were recovered. Finally, the failure criteria validated for PWR conditions and fuel rods with low-to-medium burn-ups were used to analyze the failure probability of the KKL rodlets during ramp testing.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2792-2800
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• 2022

In the core of the WWR-K reactor, a long-term irradiation of tristructural isotopic (TRISO)-coated fuel particles (CFPs) with a UO₂ kernel was carried out under high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR)-like operating conditions. The temperature of this TRISO fuel during irradiation varied in the range of 950-1100 ℃. A fission per initial metal atom (FIMA) of uranium burnup of 9.9% was reached. The release of gaseous fission products was measured in-pile. The release-to-birth ratio (R/B) for the fission product isotopes was calculated. Aspects of fuel safety while achieving deep fuel burnup are important and relevant, including maintaining the integrity of the fuel coatings. The main mechanisms of fuel failure are kernel migration, silicon carbide corrosion by palladium, and gas pressure increase inside the CFP. The formation of gaseous fission products and carbon monoxide leads to an increase in the internal pressure in the CFP, which is a dominant failure mechanism of the coatings under this level of burnup. Irradiated fuel compacts were subjected to electric dissociation to isolate the CFPs from the fuel compacts. In addition, nondestructive methods, such as X-ray radiography and gamma spectrometry, were used. The predicted R/B ratio was evaluated using the fission gas release model developed in the high-temperature test reactor (HTTR) project. In the model, both the through-coatings of failed CFPs and as-fabricated uranium contamination were assumed to be sources of the fission gas. The obtained R/B ratio for gaseous fission products allows the finalization and validation of the model for the release of fission products from the CFPs and fuel compacts. The success of the integrity of TRISO fuel irradiated at approximately 9.9% FIMA was demonstrated. A low fuel failure fraction and R/B ratios indicated good performance and reliability of the studied TRISO fuel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.241-245
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• 1988

It is very important to investigate the behaviors of the material parameters governing PCI fuel failure during power ramp because PCI fuel failure is considered to be related to the operations limits of power reactors. In this study, the behavior characteristics of the material parameters such as hoop stress, hoop strain, ridge height, creep strain rate and strain energy in cladding were studied as a function of the operating parameters such as power shock and ramp rate. The FEMAXI-IV fuel rod performance analysis code was used for this study.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.634-640
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• 2020

Failure analysis and heat-resistant were performed for an electric fuel pump that is installed in the fuel tank to transfer fuel to the engine of combat vehicles. The fuel pump with a DC motor was disassembled and inspected to determine the cause of failure. The failure phenomenon was classified into three categories based on observations of the inside of the housing: burnt winding, quick brush abrasion, and fuel leak into the pump. Based on the inspection results, it was estimated that overheating was the main cause of failure. The thermal test was conducted under the no-load condition in 24 hours, and the thermal sensor was installed on the stator surface and the brush holder to check the possibility of damage to the winding due to overheating. When the ambient temperature of the fuel pump was set to 68 ℃, the stator temperature increased to 135.9 ℃, and the winding of the motor was almost damaged. The test results confirmed the lack of heat resistance of fuel pump windings, and suggested that the type F of insulation class (below 155 ℃) of the windings and varnish should be replaced with type C or higher that can be used above 180 ℃.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.8
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• pp.717-723
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• 2010

The degradation behavior of fuel cladding is a very import concern in nuclear power generation, because the operation of nuclear plants can be limited by fuel cladding degradation. In order to evaluate the hydride effect on failure of zirconium fuel claddings, a ring tensile test for the circumferential direction was carried out at room temperature for claddings having different hydride characteristics such as density and orientation; microstructural evaluation was also performed for those claddings. The circumferential failure of the claddings was promoted by increasing the hydride concentration in the matrix; however, the failure of the claddings was affected by the hydride orientation rather than by the hydride concentration in the matrix. From fracture surface observation, the cladding failure during the ring tensile test was matched with the hydride orientation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.143-148
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• 2010

A Statistical methods are used to determine the reliability of a Fuel Boost Pump for aviation. Failures are referenced from failure reports. The failure-free periods between successive failure events are evaluated in the form of weibull distribution. The results of analysis were calculated shape factor, scale parameter and mean time to failure. It found that the reason of failure is wear-out period.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05c
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• pp.21-26
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• 1996

Recently several PWR Nuclear Plant experienced fuel rod fretting wear failures due to Flow Induced Vibration. When such multi-span supported fuel assembly has vibration excitation, it is important to know how fretting wears are progress and when the fuel rods are start to failure. In this study, we estimate the amount of wear depth using Archard theory when the fuel rod starts to relative motion against spacer grid dimples.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1997.10a
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• pp.244-250
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• 1997

The mean time to failure (MTTF) expressing the mean value of the system life is a measure of system effectiveness. To estimate the remaining life of component and/or system, the dynamic mean time to failure concept is suggested. It is the time-dependent Property depending on the status of components. The Kalman filter is used to estimate the reliability of components using the on-line information (directly measured sensor output or device-specific diagnostics in the intelligent sensor) in form of the numerical value (state factor). This factor considers the persistency of the fault condition and confidence level in measurement. If there is a complex system with many components, each calculated reliability's or components are combined, which results in the dynamic MTTF or system. The illustrative examples are discussed. The results show that the dynamic MTTF can well express the component and system failure behaviour whether any kinds of failure are occurred or not.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.12
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• pp.2887-2900
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• 2020

Cladding failure in a fuel rod during operation in a BWR is analyzed using a FALCON code-based model. Comparative calculation with a neighbouring, intact rod is presented, as well. A considerable 'hot spot' effect in cladding temperature is predicted with the SLICE-DO model due to a thermal barrier caused by the localized crud deposition. Particularly significant overheating is expected to occur on the affected side of the cladding of the failed rod, in agreement with signs of significant localized crud deposition as revealed by Post Irradiation Examination. Different possibilities (criteria) are checked, and Pellet-Cladding Mechanical Interaction (PCMI) is shown to be one of the plausible potential threats. It is shown that PCMI could lead to discernible concentrated inelastic deformation in the overheated part of the cladding. None of the specific mechanisms considered can be experimentally or analytically identified as an only cause of the rod failure. However, according to the current calculation, a possibility of cladding failure by PCMI cannot be excluded if the crud thickness exceeded 300 ㎛.