• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.2
• /
• pp.637-646
• /
• 2021

The free-piston Stirling engine (FPSE) has been widely used in aerospace owing to its advantages of high efficiency, high reliability, and self-starting ability. In this paper, a 20-kW FPSE is proposed by analyzing the requirements of space nuclear power reactor. A code was developed based on an improved simple analysis method to evaluate the performance of the proposed FPSE. The code is benchmarked with experimental data, and the maximum relative error of the output power is 17.1%. Numerical results show that the output power is 21 kW, which satisfies the design requirements. The results show that: a) reducing the pressure shell's thickness can improve the output power significantly; b) the system efficiency increases with the wire porosity, while the growth of system efficiency decreases when the porosity is higher than 80%, and system efficiency exhibits a linear relationship with the temperatures of the cold and hot sides; c) the system efficiency increases with the compression ratio; the compression ratio increases by 16.7% while the system efficiency increases by 42%. This study can provide valuable theoretical support for the design and analysis of FPSEs for space nuclear power reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.44-60
• /
• 2021

In this paper, we validate the decay heat calculation capability via a two-step method to analyze spent nuclear fuel (SNF) discharged from pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The calculation method is implemented with a lattice code STREAM and a nodal diffusion code RAST-K. One of the features of this method is the direct consideration of three-dimensional (3D) core simulation conditions with the advantage of a short simulation time. Other features include the prediction of the isotope inventory by Lagrange non-linear interpolation and the use of power history correction factors. The validation is performed with 58 decay heat measurements of 48 fuel assemblies (FAs) discharged from five PWRs operated in Sweden and the United States. These realistic benchmarks cover the discharge burnup range up to 51 GWd/MTU, 23.2 years of cooling time, and spanning an initial uranium enrichment range of 2.100-4.005 wt percent. The SNF analysis capability of STREAM is also employed in the code-to-code comparison. Compared to the measurements, the validation results of the FA calculation with RAST-K are within ±4%, and the pin-wise results are within ±4.3%. This paper successfully demonstrates that the developed decay heat calculation method can perform SNF back-end cycle analyses.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.12
• /
• pp.2699-2708
• /
• 2020

Helical-coil steam generator (HCSG) technology is a major design candidate for small modular reactors due to its compactness and capability to produce superheated steam with high generation efficiency. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of the passively autonomous power maneuvering by coupling the 3-D transient multi-physics of a soluble-boron-free (SBF) core with a time-dependent HCSG model. The predictor corrector quasi-static method was used to reduce the cost of the transient 3-D neutronic solution. In the numerical system simulations, the feedwater flow rate to the secondary of the HCSGs is adjusted to extract the demanded power from the primary loop. This varies the coolant temperature at the inlet of the SBF core, which governs the passively autonomous power maneuvering due to the strongly negative coolant reactivity feedback. Here, we simulate a 100-50-100 load-follow operation with a 5%/minute power ramping speed to investigate the feasibility of the passively autonomous load-follow in a 450 MW_th SBF PWR. In addition, the passively autonomous frequency control operation is investigated. The various system models are coupled, and they are solved by an in-house Fortran-95 code. The results of this work demonstrate constant steam temperature in the secondary side and limited variation of the primary coolant temperature. Meanwhile, the variations of the core axial shape index and the core power peaking are sufficiently small.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.1303-1314
• /
• 2019

This paper studies the harmonic characteristics of ship electric propulsion systems and their treatment methods. It also adopts effective measures to suppress and prevent ship power systems from affecting ship operation due to the serious damage caused by harmonics. Firstly, the harmonic characteristics of a ship electric propulsion system are reviewed and discussed. Secondly, aiming at problems such as resonant frequency and filter characteristics variations, resonance point migration, and unstable filtering performances in conventional passive filters, a method for fully tuning of a passive dynamic tunable filter (PDTF) is proposed to realize harmonic suppression. Thirdly, to address the problems of the uncontrollable inductance L of traditional air gap iron core reactors and the harmonics of power electronic impedance converters (PEICs), this paper proposes an electromagnetic coupling reactor with impedance transformation and harmonic suppression characteristics (ECRITHS), with the internal filter (IF) designed to suppress the harmonics generated by PEICs. The ECRITHS is characterized by both harmonic suppression and impedance change. Fourthly, the ECRITHS is investigated. This investigation includes the harmonic suppression characteristics and impedance transformation characteristics of the ECRITHS at the fundamental frequency, which shows the good performance of the ECRITHS. Simulation and experimental evaluations of the PDTF are carried out. Multiple PDTFs can be configured to realize multi-order simultaneous dynamic filtering, and can effectively eliminate the current harmonics of ship electric propulsion systems. This is done to reduce the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the supply currents to well below the 5% limit imposed by the IEEE-519 standard. The PDTF also can eliminate harmonic currents in different geographic places by using a low voltage distribution system. Finally, a detailed discussion is presented, with challenges and future implications discussed. The research results are intended to effectively eliminate the harmonics of ship electric power propulsion systems and to improve the power quality of ship power systems. This is of theoretical and practical significance for improving the power quality and power savings of ship power systems.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.263-278
• /
• 2019

Since the 1970s, aircraft crash accidents have been considered as one of the severest external events that should be evaluated for license application of nuclear reactors. After the 9.11 terrorist attacks, many countries have performed safety assessment against intentional or targeted aircraft crashes into nuclear related facilities. In some countries, assessment against targeted aircraft crash was enforced by regulation and considered an important task for license approval. Safety assessment against aircraft crash is a technically difficult task and many countries manage R&D programs to improve its reliability. In this paper, regulations of many countries regarding safety assessment against aircraft crash are summarized, separating regulations for accident aircraft crash and those for targeted aircraft crash. Research performed in various countries on safety assessment of nuclear facility against aircraft crash are summarized, with a focus on spent nuclear fuel dry storage facilities.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.5-13
• /
• 2019

This study is conducted to investigate the effects of anaerobic treatments of swine manure slurry alone and combination of livestock manure slurry and fruit pomace on biogas production. Anaerobic co-digestion was evaluated in mesophilic tank reactors for 96 day-incubation period. The organic matter loading of anaerobic digestion was 1 kg of volatile solids(VS) per $1m^3{\cdot}day$. The highest methane production was achieved from the combination of swine manure slury and mandarin pomace(70:30) treatment, whereas the lowest daily and cumulative methane yields was observed in swine manure slurry alone treatment. More than two-fold increase in bio-gas and methane production was obtained by combination of livestock manure slurry and mandarin pomace treatment, compared to the swine manure slurry alone treatment. The co-digestion of livestock manure and fruits pomace has advantages to enhance the production of methane gas, compared to digestion of swine manure slurry alone.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.356-368
• /
• 2019

This paper presents the verification and validation (V&V) of the STREAM/RAST-K 2.0 code system for a pressurized water reactor (PWR) analysis. A lattice physics code STREAM and a nodal diffusion code RAST-K 2.0 have been developed by a computational reactor physics and experiment laboratory (CORE) of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) for an accurate two-step PWR analysis. The calculation modules of each code were already verified against various benchmark problems, whereas this paper focuses on the V&V of linked code system. Three PWR type reactor cores, OPR-1000, three-loop Westinghouse reactor core, and APR-1400, are selected as V&V target plants. This code system, for verification, is compared against the conventional code systems used for the calculations in nuclear design reports (NDRs) and validated against measured plant data. Compared parameters are as follows: critical boron concentration (CBC), axial shape index (ASI), assembly-wise power distribution, burnup distribution and peaking factors. STREAM/RAST-K 2.0 shows the RMS error of critical boron concentration within 20 ppm, and the RMS error of assembly power within 1.34% for all the cycles of all reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.7
• /
• pp.1138-1147
• /
• 2018

Delayed hydride cracking (DHC) is an important failure mechanism for Zircaloy tubes in the demanding environment of nuclear reactors. The threshold stress intensity factor, $K_{IH}$, and critical hydride length, $l_C$, are important parameters to evaluate DHC. Theoretical models of them are developed for Zircaloy tubes undergoing non-homogenous temperature loading, with new stress distributions ahead of the crack tip and thermal stresses involved. A new stress distribution in the plastic zone ahead of the crack tip is proposed according to the fracture mechanics theory of second-order estimate of plastic zone size. The developed models with fewer fitting parameters are validated with the experimental results for $K_{IH}$ and $l_C$. The research results for radial cracking cases indicate that a better agreement for $K_{IH}$ can be achieved; the negative axial thermal stresses can lessen $K_{IH}$ and enlarge the critical hydride length, so its effect should be considered in the safety evaluation and constraint design for fuel rods; the critical hydride length $l_C$ changes slightly in a certain range of stress intensity factors, which interprets the phenomenon that the DHC velocity varies slowly in the steady crack growth stage. Besides, the sensitivity analysis of model parameters demonstrates that an increase in yield strength of zircaloy will result in a decrease in the critical hydride length $l_C$, and $K_{IH}$ will firstly decrease and then have a trend to increase with the yield strength of Zircaloy; higher fracture strength of hydrided zircaloy will lead to very high values of threshold stress intensity factor and critical hydride length at higher temperatures, which might be the main mechanism of crack arrest for some Zircaloy materials.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.121-126
• /
• 2019

The radionuclide inventory prediction of a nuclear power plant can help establish decommissioning plan by providing information of radiation environment. Accumulated radionuclides in reactors and related facilities after reactor shutdown can be divided into neutron activated materials and contaminated materials. Among the neutron activated radionuclides, $^{36}Cl$ and $^{41}Ca$ are important from the viewpoint of disposal because of its long half-life and physiochemical characteristics. In this research, we calculated the radionuclides of $^{36}Cl$ and $^{41}Ca$ in bioshielding concrete by estimating the neutron flux and cross section using the MCNPX. And we evaluated the inventories of $^{36}Cl$ and $^{41}Ca$ using the activation calculation code ORIGEN2.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.59 no.4
• /
• pp.596-610
• /
• 2021

For application in adsorption process, we synthesized silica nanospheres by Stober method, and silica particles with wrinkled surface as well as macroporous silica particles were also fabricated by utilizing emulsion droplet as micro-reactors, followed by modification of the particle surface using suitable coupling agents containing amine groups. These particles exhibited improved adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions and anionic dyes, which were difficult to be removed by conventional silica particles without surface modification. Anionic dye, methyl orange could be removed almost completely by adsorption using porous silica particles modified using APTES. The adsorption efficiency of heavy metal like copper ions was close to 100%, when porous silica was used as adsorbent particles modified with AAPTS.