• Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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• 2003.10c
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• pp.473-478
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• 2003

The hydraulic buffer stop placed on the end of the railway brakes the train could not reduce the velocity sufficiently because of the braking system troubles or driver's mistakes. The hydraulic buffer stop is composed of 2 operating parts; hydraulic buffers and rail clamps. Hydraulic buffers brake trains non-destructively in low speed, otherwise rail clamps begin to work in higher speed. In this paper, The braking process of the hydraulic buffer stop is investigated by numerical methods. The hydraulic buffer is numerically analyzed and designed to absorb the kinematic energy of the train below 3.2km/h speed. The hydraulic buffer stop crushed by the train with 5km/h speed is analyzed by FEM package-PAM CRASH in order to obtain the stress profile in rail clamps and buffer stop frame.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.107-114
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• 2010

Coupling systems for trains need more complicated buffer equipments than existing systems because the recent tendency of the regulations enforces trains to be safe for collisions even when the driving speed is higher than before. Using hydraulic buffer is an effective way to satisfy the requirement while it causes the increase of the cost for the coupling system. In this study, we introduce the methodology to build a simulation model for the hydraulic buffer, which could be installed into the coupling systems. In the simulation model of the hydraulic buffer, the reacting force is determined by both buffer stroke and speed whereas the elastic buffer model is designed by using only the buffer stroke in other studies. The simulation results with the advanced hydraulic buffer model shows that the simulating results can be close the real experimental results around 10%, and, if we considers friction forces, the simulation calculates the maximum force within 10% comparing to the experimental.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.89-102
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• 2012

The buffer and backfill are important components of the engineered barrier system in a high-level waste repository, which should be constructed in a hard rock formation at a depth of several hundred meters below the ground surface. The primary function of the buffer and backfill is to seal the underground excavation as a preferred flow path for radionuclide migration from the deposited high-level waste. This study investigates the hydraulic conductivity and swelling pressure of Kyungju Ca-bentonite, which is the candidate material for the buffer and backfill in the Korean reference high-level waste disposal system. The factors that influence the hydraulic conductivity and swelling pressure of the buffer and backfill are analyzed. The factors considered are the dry density, the temperature, the sand content, the salinity and the organic carbon content. The possibility of deterioration in the sealing performance of the buffer and backfill is also assessed.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.225-234
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• 2023

In the design of HLW repositories, it is important to confirm the performance and safety of buffer materials at high temperatures. Most existing models for predicting hydraulic conductivity of bentonite buffer materials have been derived using the results of tests conducted below 100℃. However, they cannot be applied to temperatures above 100℃. This study suggests a prediction model for the hydraulic conductivity of bentonite buffer materials, valid at temperatures between 100℃ and 125℃, based on different test results and values reported in literature. Among several factors, dry density and temperature were the most relevant to hydraulic conductivity and were used as important independent variables for the prediction model. The effect of temperature, which positively correlates with hydraulic conductivity, was greater than that of dry density, which negatively correlates with hydraulic conductivity. Finally, to enhance the prediction accuracy, a new parameter reflecting the effect of dry density and temperature was proposed and included in the final prediction model. Compared to the existing model, the predicted result of the final suggested model was closer to the measured values.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2016

The rolling stock is composed of several cars. In order to operate in combination, it is necessary to connect the device, called coupler, between the rolling stocks. When the collision occurs between cars, couplers should be able to absorb the shock. Urban railway has used only rubber absorbers. But recently, the hydraulic buffer has been considered in general railway. In order to know the performance of the buffer it should be conducted to experiments. But whenever this combination change, we should experiments to know a lot of the dynamic behavior of each coupler. These experiments are generally replaced by the simulation, since a lot of time and cost consuming. The quasi-static map of hydraulic buffer obtained by the experiments is required for the simulation. However, the experiments for obtaining such a quasi-static map is costly and time consuming. In this paper, it proposes a method for deriving the quasi-static map of hydraulic buffer from the theoretical model.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.1191-1198
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• 2023

Bentonite buffer material is a critical component in an engineered barrier system (EBS) for disposing high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The bentonite buffer material protects the disposal canister from groundwater penetration and releases decay heat to the surrounding rock mass; thus, it should possess high thermal conductivity, low hydraulic conductivity, and moderate swelling pressure to safely dispose the HLWs. Bentonite clay is a suitable buffer material because it satisfies the safety criteria. Several additives have been suggested as mixtures with bentonite to increase the thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical (THMC) properties of bentonite buffer materials. Therefore, this study investigated the geotechnical, mineralogical, and THMC properties of several candidate additives such as sand, graphite, granite, and SiC powders. Datasets obtained in this study can be used to select adequate additives to improve the THMC properties of the buffer material.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.69-77
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• 2014

Unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the bentonite-buffer was evaluated using the relative humidity data. The method for calculating unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was deduced from the general analytical equation representing the movement of water in unsaturated media, which was applied to the experimental results of water infiltration tests for identifying the behavior of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity according to the water saturation. Unlike the saturated condition, the hydraulic gradient and water flux were irregularly changed, and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity was increased with increasing the experimental time. Swelling of bentonite grains due to the water absorption increased the volume and size of pore within bentonite, resulting in the increase of water velocity and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. This result suggested the necessity of further investigation on the correlation between the swelling degree of bentonite-buffer and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The method used in this study can be useful technique for evaluating long-term hydraulic performance of bentonite-buffer in the radioactive waste disposal system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2016

Coupling systems under train's collision should take the impact by absorbing the impact energy caused from the collision, so the systems are very important parts for the safety of the trains. However, it is not easy to evaluate the performance of the system because it requires a huge testing facility, which is able to control the impact and to handle many safety issues. In this paper, test results are provided, which are obtained from collision tests of a single train having a coupling system in the front, and the results are analyzed in order to understand the characteristics and the dynamic behaviors of energy absorbing materials in the coupling system, such as a hydraulic buffer, and two rubber buffers. The results show that the force of each component could be empirically described by the compression displacement and velocity. The analyzed results will be applied to simulation models, and advanced studies wouuld be available if the simulation models are well validated with the test results.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.39-50
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• 1999

The physicochemical, mineralogical, hydraulic, swelling and mechanical properties of a domestic bentonite for use as the buffer material in a high-level waste repository have been measured. The bentonite is identified to be a Ca-bentonite, and the hydraulic conductivity of the compacted bentonite with the dry density higher than 1.4 Mg/㎥ is lower than 10$^{-11}$ m/s When the dry densities are 1.4 to 1.8 Mg/㎥, the swelling pressures are in the range of 6.6 to 143.5 kg/$\textrm{cm}^2$. The unconfined compressive strength is about 94 kg/$\textrm{cm}^2$, and the coefficient of volume change and the coefficient of consolidation are in the range of 0.O0249 to 0.02142 $m^2$/MN and 0.018 to 0.115$m^2$/year, respectively.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2020

A geological repository comprises a natural barrier and an engineered barrier system. Its design components consist of canisters, buffers, backfill, and near-field rock. Among the engineered barrier system components, bentonite buffers minimize the groundwater flow from near-field rock and prevent the release of nuclide. Investigation of the hydraulic conductivity of the buffer to groundwater flow is an important factor in the performance evaluation of the stability and integrity of the engineered barrier of the repository. In this study, saturated hydraulic conductivity tests were performed using Gyeongju bentonite at various dry densities and temperatures, and a hydraulic conductivity prediction model was developed through multiple regression analysis using the 120 result sets of hydraulic conductivity. The test results showed that the hydraulic conductivity tends to decrease as the dry density increases. In addition, the hydraulic conductivity increased with increasing temperature. The multiple regression analysis results showed that the coefficient of determination (R²) of the hydraulic conductivity prediction equation was as high as 0.93. The hydraulic conductivity prediction equation presented in this study could be used for the design of engineered barrier systems.