• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권5호
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• pp.617-648
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• 2009

Under the government supported long-term nuclear R&D program, the severe accident research program at KAERI is directed to investigate unresolved severe accident issues such as core debris coolability, steam explosions, and hydrogen combustion both experimentally and numerically. Extensive studies have been performed to evaluate the in-vessel retention of core debris through external reactor vessel cooling concept for APR1400 as a severe accident management strategy. Additionally, an improvement of the insulator design outside the vessel was investigated. To address steam explosions, a series of experiments using a prototypic material was performed in the TROI facility. Major parameters such as material composition and void fraction as well as the relevant physics affecting the energetics of steam explosions were investigated. For hydrogen control in Korean nuclear power plants, evaluation of the hydrogen concentration and the possibility of deflagration-to-detonation transition occurrence in the containment using three-dimensional analysis code, GASFLOW, were performed. Finally, the integrated severe accident analysis code, MIDAS, has been developed for domestication based on MELCOR. The data transfer scheme using pointers was restructured with the modules and the derived-type direct variables using FORTRAN90. New models were implemented to extend the capability of MIDAS.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.64-71
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• 2021

Experimental and analytical investigations are performed to explore the explosion characteristics of a hydrogen-air mixture in open atmosphere. A hydrogen-air mixture tent of total volume of 27 m³, with 40% hydrogen volume, is used to observe overpressure at a distance from the ignition source. Vapor cloud explosion analyses are performed using the TNO multi-energy model and Baker-Strehlow-Tang model. The results of these analyses are compared with experiment done from this study and references. The experimental results with and without obstacles indicate that the overpressure values measured at a distance of 4.5-21.5 m from the ignition source are about 9.4-3.6 kPa and 6.5-2 kPa, respectively. This implies that the overpressure with obstacles is approximately 1.7 times greater than that without obstacles. Analytical observation indicates that the results obtained with the Baker-Strehlow-Tang model with M_f = 0.2-0.35 are in good agreement with those of most of the previous studies, including that obtained from this study. Moreover, the TNO multi-energy model with a volume of 27 m³ well predicts the overpressure obtained from this study. Further studies should considered explosions in semi-confined spaces, which is more suitable for hydrogen refueling stations.

• 천문학회지
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.141-145
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• 2007

Here we analyze if the ionized shells associated with giant HII regions represent the progenitors of the larger neutral hydrogen supershells detected in the Milky Way and other spiral and dwarf irregular galaxies. We calculate the evolutionary tracks that 12 HII shells found by Relano et al. (2005, 2007) would have if they expanded into the interstellar medium because of multiple supernovae explosions occurring inside the cavity. We find, contrary to Relano et al. (2007), that the evolutionary tracks of these HII shells are inconsistent with the observed parameters of the largest and most massive neutral hydrogen supershells. Thus, an additional energy source to the multiple supernovae explosions is required in order to explain the origin of the most massive neutral hydrogen shells.

• 화약ㆍ발파
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.19-32
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• 2022

수소는 다른 연료에 비해 에너지효율이 높고 유해물질이 배출되지 않아 미래의 청정에너지원으로 인식되고 있다. 그러나 수소는 밀도가 낮아 운반 및 저장시에 부피가 커서 압축하거나 특별한 운반체를 사용해야 하며, 공기중에 노출 시 화재나 폭발의 위험성이 있다. 수소-공기 혼합물의 폭발에 관한 실험이나 수치해석적 연구가 진행되어 오고 실물 수소 충전소를 대상으로 한 폭발 시뮬레이션에 관한 연구사례는 극히 드물다. 본 연구에서는 실제 수소 충전소를 대상으로 Lidar 스캐닝을 수행하여 point cloud 데이터를 획득하고 수소 충전소 3 차원 구조 모델을 작성한다. 3 차원 구조모델은 Ansys 사 AUTODYN 에 적용되어 수소 충전소의 수소폭발을 가정한 TNT 등가량의 폭발 시뮬레이션을 실시하고 주변에 전파하는 폭발압력을 계산하여, 수소 충전소 폭발에의한 주변 보안 건물의 안전거리에 관한 정보를 제공한다.

• 한국수소및신에너지학회논문집
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• 제33권2호
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• pp.121-129
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• 2022

With the advent of the post-2020 climate regime, the hydrogen industry is growing rapidly around the world. In order to build the hydrogen economy, it is important to identify social issues related to hydrogen and prepare countermeasures for them. Accordingly, this study conducted a semantic network analysis on hydrogen news from NAVER. As a result of the analysis, the number of hydrogen news in 2020 increased by 4.5 times compared to 2016, and as of 2018, the hydrogen issue has shifted from an environmental aspect to an economic aspect. In addition, although the initial government-led hydrogen industry is expanding to the mobility field such as privately-led fuel cell electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel, terms showing concerns about the safety such as explosions are constantly being exposed. Thus, it is necessary not only to expand the hydrogen ecosystem through the participation of private companies, but also to promote hydrogen safety.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2021

Hydrogen is considered a cleaner energy source than fossil fuels. As a result, the use of hydrogen in daily life and economic industries is expected to increase. However, the use of hydrogen energy is currently limited because of safety issues. The rate of combustion of the hydrogen mixture is about seven times higher than that of hydrocarbon fuels. The hydrogen mixture is highly flammable and has a low minimum ignition energy. Therefore, it presents considerable risks for fire and explosions in all areas of hydrogen manufacturing, transportation, storage, and use. In this study, the auto-ignition characteristics of hydrogen were investigated numerically for diluted hydrogen mixtures. Auto-ignition temperature, a critical property predicting the fire and explosion risk in hydrogen combustion, was determined in well-stirred reactors. When N₂ and CO₂ were used to dilute the hydrogen/air mixture, the ignition delay time increased with increasing dilution ratios in both cases. The CO₂-diluted mixtures exhibited a longer ignition delay than the N₂-diluted mixtures. We also confirmed that lower initial ignition temperatures increased the ignition delay times at 950 K and above. Overall, the auto-ignition characteristics, such as the concentrations of participating species and ignition delay times, were primarily affected by the initial temperature of the mixture.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.158-165
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• 2022

Eco-friendly policies proposed by the government of The Republic of Korea have encouraged the use of eco-friendly vehicles. Hydrogen vehicles have exhibited the highest growth rate, although the current number of registered vehicles is low. In hydrogen vehicles, a thermally activated pressure relief device (TPRD) is installed to prevent explosions in the hydrogen gas cylinder. When discharged due to low ignition energy, hydrogen gas readily forms a jet flame. The risks induced by such jet flames were analyzed through a numerical analysis. Jet flames can activate TPRDs installed in nearby hydrogen gas cylinders. As a result, high-voltage cables exposed in the lower area of a vehicle can ignite within seconds. There was a 9.5-kW/m2 area around the vehicle (which can result in casualties) at a distance of ~5 m from the hydrogen gas cylinder, and a 37.5-kW/m2 area (which can cause significant damage) in the form of an inverted triangle toward the lower section of the vehicle. We believe that the risk factors analyzed herein should be considered for addressing accidents in hydrogen vehicles.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제37권6호
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• pp.18-24
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• 2022

Hydrogen is a clean fuel and is used in many applications in power systems such as fuel cells. It has unique properties such as wide flammability, high burning velocity, and difficulty to liquefy, which lead to critical safety issues. Fire and explosion are the most frequently occurring accidents and one of the major reasons is autoignition. In the ignition process, the chemistry of hydrogen combustion depends mainly on radical pools, and the temperature at which chain-branching and terminating rates are equal is called the crossover temperature. This study addresses the homogeneous autoignition of diluted hydrogen-air mixtures to investigate the effects of dilution on the crossover temperature to prevent explosions in the future. The new criterion for crossover temperature is introduced by only hydrogen radicals to adjust more simply. The detailed calculations indicate that the crossover temperatures are low at high dilutions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen because the concentrations of active radicals are reduced when an inert gas is added. This result is expected to contribute to hydrogen safety and realize a hydrogen society in the future.

• 한국안전학회지
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.27-32
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• 2024

This study analyzed cases of hydrogen (H₂) and natural gas (CH₄) leakage from a hydrogen-blended natural gas pipeline to determine a range of leakage characteristics, including leakage type, pipe material, pipe diameter, pressure, and damage size. Based on the results of this analysis, five hydrogen-blended natural gas leakage scenarios were selected. The national vision for a carbon-neutral society by 2050 is a very important strategic objective and promotes environmentally sustainable economic development in the age of the climate crisis. Accordingly, zero-carbon and low-carbon policies are being promoted in various fields, including energy production, consumption, and industrial processes. Hydrogen-blended natural gas is eco-friendly and is considered an important step towards carbon neutrality, with various countries including the United States and several European countries conducting empirical research to further investigate its potential. In Korea, a national research project commenced in April 2023 to verify and demonstrate the life cycle safety of blending hydrogen into the natural gas network. The results of this study will provide important data for the analysis of the damage impacts caused by the leakage of hydrogen-blended natural gas, such as the diffusion of gas clouds, fires, and gas explosions.

• 한국조명전기설비학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국조명전기설비학회 2005년도 춘계학술대회논문집
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• pp.385-390
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• 2005

This paper provided a counter measures against the troubles and accidents that are likely to take place in the power plant using hydrogen gas as a coolant for the cooling system of the generator. Because of the extremely wide flammability limits of hydrogen in comparison to the other flammable gases, the safety measures against the hydrogen accidents is very important to ensure the normal operation of electric-power facility. This study's purpose was a presentation of standard model of safety management of hydrogen equipments in the coal firing power plant such as following items: 1) providing the technical prevention manual of the hydrogen explosions and hydrogen fires occurring in the cooling system of power generator; 2) the selection of explosion-proof equipments in terms of the risk level of operating environment; 3) the establishment of regulations and counter measures, such as the incorporation of gas leakage alarm device, for preventing the accidents from arising; 4) the establishment of safety management system to ensure the normal operation of the power plant.