• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국원자력학회 2002년도 추계학술발표회요약집
• /
• pp.212-212
• /
• 2002

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제49권7호
• /
• pp.1513-1523
• /
• 2017

Improvement of numerical analysis methods has been required to solve complicated phenomena that occur in nuclear facilities. Particularly, fluid-structure interaction (FSI) behavior should be resolved for accurate design and evaluation of complex reactor vessel internals (RVIs) submerged in coolant. In this study, the FSI effect on dynamic characteristics of RVIs in a typical 1,000 MWe nuclear power plant was investigated. Modal analyses of an integrated assembly were conducted by employing the fluid-structure (F-S) model as well as the traditional added-mass model. Subsequently, structural analyses were carried out using design response spectra combined with modal analysis data. Analysis results from the F-S model led to reductions of both frequency and Tresca stress compared to those values obtained using the added-mass model. Validation of the analysis method with the FSI model was also performed, from which the interface between the upper guide structure plate and the core shroud assembly lug was defined as the critical location of the typical RVIs, while all the relevant stress intensities satisfied the acceptance criteria.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제46권2호
• /
• pp.207-216
• /
• 2014

This paper revisits the Fukushima accident to draw lessons in the aspect of nuclear safety considering the fact that the Fukushima accident resulted in core damage for three nuclear power plants simultaneously and that there is a high possibility of a failure of the integrity of reactor vessel and primary containment vessel. A brief review on the accident progression at Fukushima nuclear power plants is discussed to highlight the nature and characteristic of the event. As the severe accident management measures at the Fukushima Daiich nuclear power plants seem to be not fully effective, limitations of current severe accident management strategy are discussed to identify the areas for the potential improvements including core cooling strategy, containment venting, hydrogen control, depressurization of primary system, and proper indication of event progression. The gap between the Fukushima accident event progression and current understanding of severe accident phenomenology including the core damage, reactor vessel failure, containment failure, and hydrogen explosion are discussed. Adequacy of current safety goals are also discussed in view of the socio-economic impact of the Fukushima accident. As a conclusion, it is suggested that an investigation on a coherent integrated safety principle for the severe accident and development of innovative mitigation features is necessary for robust and resilient nuclear power system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제45권3호
• /
• pp.277-294
• /
• 2013

In the early 1980s, attention focused on the possibility that pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events could challenge the integrity of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel (RPV) because operational experience suggested that overcooling events, while not common, did occur, and because the results of in-reactor materials surveillance programs showed that RPV steels and welds, particularly those having high copper content, experience a loss of toughness with time due to neutron irradiation embrittlement. These recognitions motivated analysis of PTS and the development of toughness limits for safe operation. It is now widely recognized that state of knowledge and data limitations from this time necessitated conservative treatment of several key parameters and models used in the probabilistic calculations that provided the technical of the PTS Rule, 10 CFR 50.61. To remove the unnecessary burden imposed by these conservatisms, and to improve the NRC's efficiency in processing exemption and license exemption requests, the NRC undertook the PTS re-evaluation project. This paper provides a synopsis of the results of that project, and the resulting Alternate PTS rule, 10 CFR 50.61a.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국원자력학회 2002년도 추계학술발표회요약집
• /
• pp.413.1-413
• /
• 2002

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제35권6호
• /
• pp.537-546
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the buckling characteristics of a conceptually designed KALIMER-150(Korea Advanced LIquid MEtal Reactor, 150MWe) reactor vessel and verify the buckling behavior using the reduced scale cylindrical shell structures. To do this, nonlinear buckling analyses using finite element method and evaluation formulae are carried out. From the results, the KALIMER-150 reactor vessel exhibits a dominant bending buckling mode and is significantly affected by the plastic behavior. The interaction effects with the vertical seismic load cause the lateral buckling load to be slightly decrease. From the results of the buckling experiments using reduced scaled cylindrical shell structures, it is verified that the buckling modes such as pure bending, pure shear, and mixed(bending plus shear) mode clearly appear under a lateral load corresponding to the slenderness ratio of cylinder.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국원자력학회 1996년도 춘계학술발표회논문집(3)
• /
• pp.290-295
• /
• 1996

The purpose of this study is to establish the pressure/temperature curves of Reactor Coolant System for brittle fracture prevention. The pressure/temperature curve is the basis to select RC Pump and limits to operate the plant. Based on the plant operation experience, this curve should be re-generated periodically in order to ensure the structural integrity using data from the test of reactor vessel surveilance materials to compensate for the irradiation effects. This study provides the procedure of pressure/temperature curve generation in term of brittle fracture prevention of reactor vessel. Using the UCN 3&4 data, the sample pressure/temperature curve was generated, and it was compared with those of YGN 3&4 based on the stress and $RT_{NDT}$value.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 대한기계학회 2001년도 춘계학술대회논문집A
• /
• pp.782-787
• /
• 2001

This paper is concerned with the global rupture of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel(RPV) in a severe accident. During the severe reactor accident of molten core, the temperature and the pressure in the nuclear reactor rise to a certain level depending on the initial and subsequent condition of a severe accident. While the rise of the temperature cause the thermal softening of RPV material, the rise of the internal pressure could cause failure of the RPV lower head. The global rupture of an RPV is simulated by finite element limit analysis for the collapse pressure and mode and this analysis results have been compared with a variation of the internal pressure of RPV. The finite element limit method is a systematic tool to secure the safety criteria of a nuclear reactor and to evaluate the in-vessel corium retention.

• 대한전자공학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 대한전자공학회 2003년도 하계종합학술대회 논문집 Ⅳ
• /
• pp.2259-2262
• /
• 2003

This paper describes visual tracking procedure of the underwater mobile robot for nuclear reactor vessel inspection, which is required to find the foreign objects such as loose parts. The yellowish underwater robot body tend to present a big contrast to boron solute cold water of nuclear reactor vessel, tinged with indigo by Cerenkov effect. In this paper, we have found and tracked the positions of underwater mobile robot using the two color informations, yellow and indigo. The center coordinates extraction procedures is as follows. The first step is to segment the underwater robot body to cold water with indigo background. From the RGB color components of the entire monitoring image taken with the color CCD camera, we have selected the red color component. In the selected red image, we extracted the positions of the underwater mobile robot using the following process sequences: binarization labelling, and centroid extraction techniques. In the experiment carried out at the Youngkwang unit 5 nuclear reactor vessel, we have tracked the center positions of the underwater robot submerged near the cold leg and the hot leg way, which is fathomed to 10m deep in depth.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제39권4호
• /
• pp.257-272
• /
• 2007

Supercritical water-cooled reactors (SCWRs) are recognized as a Generation IV reactor concept. The Super LWR is a pressure-vessel type thermal spectrum SCWR with downward-flow water rods and is currently under study at the University of Tokyo. This paper reviews Super LWR safety. The fundamental requirement for the Super LWR, which has a once-through coolant cycle, is the core coolant flow rate rather than the coolant inventory. Key safety characteristics of the Super LWR inhere in the design features and have been identified through a series of safety analyses. Although loss-of-flow is the most important abnormality, fuel rod heat-up is mitigated by the "heat sink" and "water source" effects of the water rods. Response of the reactor power against pressurization events is mild due to a small change in the average coolant density and flow stagnation of the once-through coolant cycle. These mild responses against transients and also reactivity feedbacks provide good inherent safety against anticipated-transient-without-scram (ATWS) events without alternative actions. Initiation of an automatic depressurization system provides effective heat removal from the fuel rods. An "in-vessel accumulator" effect of the reactor vessel top dome enhances the fuel rod cooling. This effect enlarges the safety margin for large LOCA.