• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.197-204
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• 1994

In a PWR rod cluster control assembly(RCCA) for shutdown is released upon action of control rod drive mechanism and falls down through the guide thimble by its weight. Drop time and impact velocity of the RCCA are two key parameters with respect to reactivity insertion time and the mechanical integrity of fuel assembly. Therefore, the precise control of drop time and impact velocity is prerequisite to modifying the existing design features of the RCCA and guide thimble or newly designing them. During its falling down into the core, the RCCA is retarded by various forces acting on it such as fluid resistance caused by the RCCA movement, buoyance and mechanical friction caused by contacting inner surface of the guide thimble, etc. However, complicated coupling of the various forces makes it difficult to derive an analytical dynamic equation for the drop time and impact velocity. This paper deals with the development of a computer program containing an analytical dynamic equation applicable to the Korean Fuel Assembly(KOFA). The computer program is benchmarked with an available single control rod drop tests. Since the predicted values are in good agreement with the test results, the computer program developed in this paper can be employed to modify the exiting design features of the RCCA and guide thimble and to develope their new design features for advanced nuclear reactors.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.5-14
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• 2019

In this study, a prototype abutment was constructed to establish a safety assessment technique of pier and a series of non-destructive tests using impact load. The surcharge load was loaded from 0 tonf to 2.5 tonf on the prototype abutment, and maximum surcharge load was up to 25 tonf. To analyze the behavior of the piers according to the direction of impact, a total of three types of analysis were performed: the direction of the pier, the direction perpendicular to the pier, and the outer direction of the pier. The height of the impact was also tested at each top and bottom. The measuring instrument used an accelerometer to measure the acceleration response when impacted. Based on the series of experimental results, specific values were calculated according to the direction of an impact and the surcharge load using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). In addition, the phase difference was used to analyze the pier from the primary 1st mode to the 4th mode.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.26 no.2_2
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• pp.333-340
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• 2023

Environmental regulations are being strengthened worldwide to solve global warming. For this reason, interest in eco-friendly gas fuels such as LNG and hydrogen is continuously increasing. However, when adopting eco-friendly gas fuel, liquefying at a cryogenic temperature is essential to ensure economic feasibility in storage and transportation. Although austenitic stainless steel is typically applied to store cryogenic liquefied gas, structural steel can experience sudden heat shrinkage in the case of leakage in the loading and unloading process of LNG. In severe cases, the phase of the steel may change, so care is required. This study conducted Charpy impact tests on steel material in nine different temperature ranges, from room to cryogenic temperatures, to analyze the effects of cryogenic liquefied gas leaks. As a result of the study, it was not easy to find variations in ductile to brittle transition temperature (DBTT) due to the leakage of cryogenic liquefied gas. Still, the overall impact toughness tended to decrease, and these results were verified through fracture surface analysis. In summary, brittle fracture of the steel plate may occur when a secondary load is applied to steel for hull structural use exposed to a cryogenic environment of -40 ℃ or lower. Therefore, it needs to be considered in the ship design and operating conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.3068-3084
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• 2021

Investigations of large commercial aircraft impact effect on nuclear power plant (NPP) buildings have been drawing extensive attentions, particularly after the 9/11 event, and this paper aims to experimentally assess the damage and vibrations of NPP buildings subjected to aircraft crash. In present Part I, two shots of reduce-scaled model test of aircraft impacting on NPP building were carried out. Firstly, the 1:15 aircraft model (weighs 135 kg) and RC NPP model (weighs about 70 t) are designed and prepared. Then, based on the large rocket sled loading test platform, the aircraft models were accelerated to impact perpendicularly on the two sides of NPP model, i.e., containment and auxiliary buildings, with a velocity of about 170 m/s. The strain-time histories of rebars within the impact area and acceleration-time histories of each floor of NPP model are derived from the pre-arranged twenty-one strain gauges and twenty tri-axial accelerometers, and the whole impact processes were recorded by three high-speed cameras. The local penetration and perforation failure modes occurred respectively in the collision scenarios of containment and auxiliary buildings, and some suggestions for the NPP design are given. The maximum acceleration in the 1:15 scaled tests is 1785.73 g, and thus the corresponding maximum resultant acceleration in a prototype impact might be about 119 g, which poses a potential threat to the nuclear equipment. Furthermore, it was found that the nonlinear decrease of vibrations along the height was well reflected by the variations of both the maximum resultant vibrations and Cumulative Absolute Velocity (CAV). The present experimental work on the damage and dynamic responses of NPP structure under aircraft impact is firstly presented, which could provide a benchmark basis for further safety assessments of prototype NPP structure as well as inner systems and components against aircraft crash.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.918-923
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• 2018

The main function of a fuel tank is to store fuel. On the other hand, the structural soundness of the fuel tank is related directly to the survival of the crew in an emergency situation, such as an aircraft crash, and the relevant performance is demonstrated by a crash impact test. Because crash impact tests have a high risk of failure due to the high impact loads, various efforts have been made to minimize the possibility of trial and error in the actual test at the beginning of the design. Numerical analysis performed before the actual test is a part of such efforts. For the results of numerical analysis to be reflected in the design, however, the reliability of numerical analysis needs to be ensured. In this study, the results of numerical analysis and actual test data were compared to ensure the reliability of numerical analysis for the crash impact test of a rotorcraft fuel tank. For the numerical analysis of a crash impact test, LS-DYNA, crash analysis software, was used and the ALE (arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian) technique was applied as the analysis method. To obtain actual test data, strain gages were installed on the metal fittings of the fuel tank and linked to the data acquisition equipment. The strain and stress of the fuel tank fitting were calculated by numerical analysis. The reliability of the numerical analysis was enhanced by assessing the error between the strain measurement of the upper fitting obtained from an actual fuel tank and the strain calculated from numerical analysis.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.30 no.6A
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• pp.543-560
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• 2010

Safety-related concrete structures in a nuclear power plant must be protected against the impact of flying objects, referred to in the profession as missiles. In practice, the structural verification is usually carried out by means of empirical formulas, which relate the velocity of the impinging missile to the wall thickness needed to prevent scabbing or perforation. The purpose of this study is to reevaluate the predictability of the local effect prediction formulas for the penetration and scabbing depths and perforation thickness. Therefore, available formulas for predicting the penetration depth, scabbing thickness, and perforation thickness of concrete structures impacted by solid missiles are summarized, reviewed, and compared. A series of impact analyses is performed to predict the local effects of the projectile at impact velocities varing from 95 to 215 m/s. The results obtained from the numerical simulations have been compared with tests that were carried out at Kojima to validate numerical modelling. The simulation results show reasonable agreement with the Kojima test results for the overall impact response of the RC slabs. From these results, it seems that the Degen equation give a very good estimate of perforation thickness against a tornado projectile for test data. Finally, the results obtained from the impact analysis have been compared with Degen formula to determine the perforation thickness of the RC slab.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.5-16
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• 2018

In the current study, the engineering behaviour of prebored and precast steel pipe piles was examined from a series of full-scale field measurements by conducting static pile load tests, dynamic pile load tests (EOID and restrike tests) and Class-A and Class-C1 type numerical analysis. The study includes the pile load - settlement relations, allowable pile capacity and shear stress transfer mechanism. Compared to the allowable pile capacity obtained from the static pile load tests, the dynamic pile load tests and the numerical simulation showed surprisingly large variations. Overall among these the restrike tests displayed the best results, however the reliability of the predictions from the numerical analysis was lower than those estimated from the dynamic pile load tests. The allowable pile capacity obtained from the EOID tests and the restrike tests indicated 20.0%-181.0% (avg: 69.3%) and 48.2%-181.1% (avg: 92.1%) of the corresponding measured values from the static pile loading tests, respectively. Furthermore, the computed results from the Class-A type analysis showed the largest scatters (37.1%-210.5%, avg: 121.2%). In the EOID tests, a majority of the external load were carried by the end bearing pile capacity, however, similar skin friction and end bearing capacity in magnitude were mobilised in the restrike tests. The measured end bearing pile capacity from the restrike tests were smaller than was measured from the EOID tests. The present study has revealed that if the impact energy is not sufficient in a restrike test, the end bearing pile capacity most likely will be underestimated. The shear stresses computed from the numerical analysis deviated substantially from the measured pile force distributions. It can be concluded that the engineering behaviour of the pile is heavily affected if a slime layer exists near the pile tip, and that the smaller the stiffness of the slime and the thicker the slime, the greater the settlement of the pile.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.37-47
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• 2017

In this study, a series of full-scale field tests on prebored and precast steel pipe piles and the corresponding numerical analysis have been conducted in order to study the characteristics of pile load-settlement relations and shear stress transfer at the pile-soil interface. Dynamic pile load tests (EOID and restrike) have been performed on the piles and the estimated design pile loads from EOID and restrike tests were analysed. Class-A type numerical analyses conducted prior to the pile loading tests were 56~105%, 65~121% and 38~142% respectively of those obtained from static load tests. In addition, design loads estimated from the restrike tests indicate increases of 12~60% compared to those estimated in the EOID tests. The EOID tests show large end bearing capacity while the restrike tests demonstrate increased skin friction. When impact energy is insufficient during the restrike tests, the end bearing capacity may be underestimated. It has been found that total pile capacity would be reasonably estimated if skin friction from the restrike tests and end bearing capacity from the EOID are combined. The load-settlement relation measured from the static pile load tests and estimated from the numerical modelling is in general agreement until yielding occurs, after which results from the numerical analyses substantially deviated away from those obtained from the static load tests. The measured pile behaviour from the static load tests shows somewhat similar behaviour of perfectly-elastic plastic materials after yielding with a small increase in the pile load, while the numerical analyses demonstrates a gradual increase in the pile load associated with strain hardening approaching ultimate pile load. It has been discussed that the load-settlement relation mainly depends upon the stiffness of the ground, whilst the shear transfer mechanism depends on shear strength parameters.

• Carbon letters
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• v.22
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• pp.36-41
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• 2017

Biodegradable epoxy (B-epoxy) was prepared from diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A and epoxidized linseed oil. The mechanical properties of B-epoxy composites reinforced with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs/B-epoxy) were examined by employing dynamic mechanical analysis, critical stress intensity factor ($K_{IC}$) tests, and impact strength tests. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI-SE) of the composites was evaluated using reflection and absorption methods. Mechanical properties of MWCNTs/B-epoxy were enhanced with an increase in the MWCNT content, whereas they deteriorated when the MWCNT content was >5 parts per hundred resin (phr). This can likely be attributed to the entanglement of MWCNTs with each other in the B-epoxy due to the presence of an excess amount of MWCNTs. The highest EMI-SE obtained was ~16 dB for the MWCNTs/B-epoxy composites with a MWCNT content of 13 phr at 1.4 GHz. The composites (13 phr) exhibited the minimum EMI-SE (90%) when used as shielding materials at 1.4 GHz. The EMI-SE of the MWCNTs/B-epoxy also increased with an increase in the MWCNT content, which is a key factor affecting the EMI-SE.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.321-333
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• 2018

Flat-slabs, being a significant structural component, not only reduce the dead load of the structure but also reduce the amount of concrete required for construction. Moreover the use of recycled aggregates lowers the impact of large scale construction to nearby ecosystems. Recycled aggregate based concrete being a quasi-brittle material shows enormous cracking during failure. Crack growth in flat-slabs is mostly in sliding mode (Mode II). Therefore sufficient sections need to be provided for resistance against such failure modes. The main objective of the paper is to numerically determine the ultimate load carrying capacity of two self-similar flat-slab specimens and validate the results experimentally for the natural aggregate as well as recycled aggregate based concrete. Punching shear experiments are carried out on circular flat-slab specimen on a rigid circular knife-edge support built out of both normal (NAC) and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC, with full replacement). Uniaxial compression and bending tests have been conducted on cubes, cylinders and prisms using both types of concrete (NAC and RAC) for its material characterization and use in the numerical scheme. The numerical simulations have been conducted in ABAQUS (a known finite element software package). Eight noded solid elements have been used to model the flat slab and material properties have been considered from experimental tests. The inbuilt Concrete Damaged Plasticity model of ABAQUS has been used to monitor crack propagation in the specimen during numerical simulations.