• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.186-190
• /
• 2014

Nuclear Power Plants require the control ability of chemical condition (pH) because pH control during transient accident such as LOCA makes an able the fission product removal capability to be maintained, stress corrosion cracking of stainless steel equipment to be prevented and the production of hydrogen by aluminum and zinc to be minimized. An NPP is designed to control the pH of containment spray and sump coolant using the spray additives 30% NaOH in the event of loss of coolant accident. In this paper, the pH of sump coolant of an NPP during LOCA was analyzed and the fission products removal constant and decontamination factor were calculated according to Standard Review Plan 6.5.2 related to spray chemical conditions of pH. The calculated pH value of recirculation mode using the computer code corresponds to 8.09~9.67, which meets the chemical environment regulation requirements. The fission product removal capability caused by containment spray system is performed to provide input to radiation analysis.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
• /
• 1989.04a
• /
• pp.22-27
• /
• 1989

This paper presents a study of soil-structure interaction problems using infinite elements. The infinite elements are formulated for homogeneous and layered soil media, based on approximate expressions for three components of propagating waves, namely Rayleigh, compressive and shear waves. The integration scheme which was proposed for problems with single wave component by Zienkiewicz is expanded to the multi-wave problem. Verifications are carried out on rigid circular footings which are placed on and embedded in elastic half space. Numerical analysis is performed for a containment structure of a nuclear power plant subjected seismic excitation.

• Journal of the Korean Professional Engineers Association
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.86-93
• /
• 1999

원자력 발전소 격납 용기의 누설시험 방법들은 3가지 유형으로 나타난다. 그것들은 A형, B형 그리고 C형 시험들이다. 본 누설시험의 시험 대상과 절차에 관한 해설을 실었다. 이 글과 앞으로 소개할 내용은 나무지 B형과 C형에 관한 해설을 주로 다루게 될 것이다. B형 시험과 C형 시험의 주된 대상들은 격납용기의 관통부들이다. 이 글에서는 B형과 C형 시험의 일분 주의 사항들을 해설한다.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.31 no.5A
• /
• pp.369-378
• /
• 2011

In this paper, the response analysis of RC(Reinforced Concrete), SC(Steel-Plate Concrete) containment buildings subjected to a large aircraft impact is performed using Autodyn-3D as Hydrocode. Until now, the impact load in the analysis of aircraft impacts has been applied to target structures at the local area by using the impact load-time history function of Riera. However in this paper, the results of aircraft crash are analyzed by using an aircraft model similar to Boeing 767 and verified by comparing the generated history of the aircraft crash against the rigid target with another history by using the Riera's function. To estimate the resistivity of the impact, the response and safety of SC containment buildings, this study is performed by comparing the four cases of plane concrete, reinforced concrete, bonded containment liner plate at reinforced concrete, and SC structure. Thus, the different behaviors between SC and RC structures when they are subjected to the extreme impact load could be anticipated. Consequently, the improved safety is expected by replacing RC structure with SC structure for nuclear power plants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.41 no.5
• /
• pp.617-648
• /
• 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.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.297-310
• /
• 2012

Aging-related degradation of nuclear power plant components is an important aspect to consider in securing the long term safety of the plant, especially the seismic safety, since the degradation of the components affects not only their seismic capacity but their response. This can cause a change in the seismic margin of a component and the overall seismic safety of a system. To better understand the status and characteristics of degradation of components in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), the degradation occurrences of components in the U.S. NPPs were identified by reviewing recent publicly available information sources and the characteristics of these occurrences were evaluated and compared to observations from the past. Ten categories of components that are of high risk significance in Korean NPPs were identified, comprising anchorage, concrete, containment, exchanger, filter, piping systems, reactor pressure vessels, structural steel, tanks, and vessels. Software tools were developed to expedite the review process. Results from this review effort were compared to previous data in the literature to characterize the overall degradation trends.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.60 no.2
• /
• pp.337-350
• /
• 2016

Even though extensive researches have been performed for steam explosion due to their complex mechanisms and inherent uncertainties, establishment of severe accident management guidelines and strategies is one of state-of-the arts in nuclear industry. The goal of this research is primarily to examine effects of vessel failure modes and locations on nuclear facilities under typical steam explosion conditions. Both discrete and integrated models were employed from the viewpoint of structural integrity assessment of steel components and evaluation of the cracking and crushing in reinforced concrete structures. Thereafter, comparison of systematic analysis results was performed; despite the vessel failure modes were dominant, resulting maximum stresses at the all steel components were sufficiently lower than the corresponding yield strengths. Two failure criteria for the reinforced concrete structures such as the limiting failure ratio of concrete and the limiting strains for rebar and liner plate were satisfied under steam explosion conditions. Moreover, stresses of steel components and reinforced concrete structures were reduced with maximum difference of 12% when the integrated model was adopted comparing to those of discrete models.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.89-98
• /
• 2013

In recent years steel-concrete composite shear walls have been widely used in enormous high-rise buildings. Due to high strength and ductility, enhanced stiffness, stable cycle characteristics and large energy absorption, such walls can be adopted in the auxiliary building; surrounding the reactor containment structure of nuclear power plants to resist lateral forces induced by heavy winds and severe earthquakes. This paper demonstrates a set of nonlinear numerical studies on I-shaped composite steel-concrete shear walls of the nuclear power plants subjected to reverse cyclic loading. A three-dimensional finite element model is developed using ABAQUS by emphasizing on constitutive material modeling and element type to represent the real physical behavior of complex shear wall structures. The analysis escalates with parametric variation in steel thickness sandwiching the stipulated amount of concrete panels. Modeling details of structural components, contact conditions between steel and concrete, associated boundary conditions and constitutive relationships for the cyclic loading are explained. Later, the load versus displacement curves, peak load and ultimate strength values, hysteretic characteristics and deflection profiles are verified with experimental data. The convergence of the numerical outcomes has been discussed to conclude the remarks.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.4
• /
• pp.1518-1527
• /
• 2023

A method was proposed for in-situ evaluating the thickness and resistivity of the oxide/hydroxide film formed on the surface of aluminum alloy exposed to sump water formed in the containment after a loss-of-coolant accident. The evaluation entailed fitting a model for the film impedance, which has film thickness and other variables describing the resistivity profile of the film along its thickness direction as fitting parameters, to the practically measured electrochemical impedance data. The obtained resistivity profiles implied that the films formed at pHs_25℃ 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 all had a duplex structure; compared to the outer layer in contact with the solution, the inner layer of the film had a much higher resistivity and was inferred to be denser and provide most of the protectiveness of the film. Both the thickness and the total resistance of the film decreased with the increasing solution pH_25℃, suggesting that the films formed in more alkaline solutions had less protectiveness against corrosion, consistent with the increasing aluminum alloy corrosion rates previously identified.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.1052-1065
• /
• 2024

Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (APWRs) and Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) employ a suppression pool as a heat sink to prevent containment overpressure. Steam can be discharged into the pool through multi-hole spargers or blowdown pipes in both normal and accident conditions. Direct Contact Condensation (DCC) creates sources of momentum and heat. The competition between these two sources determines the development of thermal stratification or mixing of the pool. Thermal stratification is of safety concern as it reduces the cooling capability compared to a completely mixed pool condition. In this work we develop a scaling approach to prediction of the thermal stratification in a water pool induced by steam injection through spargers. Experimental data obtained from large-scale pool tests conducted in the PPOOLEX and PANDA facilities, as well as simulation results obtained using validated codes are used to develop the scaling. Two injection orientations, namely radial injection through multi-hole Sparger Head (SH) and vertical injection through Load Reduction Ring (LRR), are considered. We show that the erosion rate of the cold layer can be estimated using the Richardson number. In this work, scaling laws are proposed to estimate both the (i) transient erosion velocity and (ii) the stable position of the thermocline. These scaling laws are then implemented into a 1D model to simulate the thermal behavior of the pool during steam injection through the sparger.