Pyrochemical processing and molten-salt reactors have recently garnered significant attention as they are promising options for future nuclear technologies, such as those for recycling spent nuclear fuels and the next generation of nuclear reactors. Both of these technologies require the use of high-temperature molten salt. To implement these technologies, one must understand the electrochemical behavior of fission products in molten salts, lanthanides, and actinides. In this study, a rotating-disk-electrode (RDE) measurement system for high-temperature molten salts is constructed and tested by investigating the electrochemical reactions of Sm3+ in LiCl–KCl melts. The results show that the reduction of Sm3+ presents the Levich behavior in LiCl–KCl melts. Using the RDE system, not only is the diffusion-layer thickness of Sm3+ measured in high-temperature molten salts but also various electrochemical parameters for Sm3+ in LiCl–KCl melts, including the diffusion coefficient, Tafel slope, and exchange current density, are determined.

MCCI, one of the ex-vessel phenomena during a severe accident, is generally caused by mutual reactions between molten core and reactor building basemat concrete, but occurs between sacrificial materials made by concrete and corium in APR nuclear power plant with PECS applied. In this paper, MCCI analysis was performed to design and apply a device to block the core melt at the junction connected to the ICI cavity sump from the core catcher installed in the reactor cavity of the APR. Unlike the sacrificial material, which has a cooling effect by inducing erosion of the ex-vessel core melt, the device is composed of concrete applied as a barrier to protect the ICI cavity sump. The decent thickness of the barrier wall of the device was calculated.

Magnesium alloy is the lightest practical metal. It has excellent specific strength and recyclability as well as abundant reserves, and is expected to be a next-generation structural metal material following aluminum alloy. This paper investigated the possibility of thin plate fabrication by applying a overheating treatment to the melt drag method, and investigating the surface shape of the thin plate, grain size, grain size distribution, and Vickers hardness. When the overheating treatment was applied to magnesium alloy, the grains were refined, so it is expected that further refinement of grains can be realized if the overheating treatment is applied to the melt drag method. By applying overheating treatment, it was possible to fabricate a thin plate of magnesium alloy using the melt drag method, and a microstructure with a minimum grain size of around 12 μm was obtained. As the overheating treatment temperature increased, void defects increased on the roll surface of the thin plate, and holding time had no effect on the surface shape of the thin plate. The fabricated thin plate showed uniform grain size distribution. When the holding times were 0 and 30 min, the grain size was refined, and the effect of the holding time became smaller as the overheating treatment temperature increased. As the overheating temperature becomes higher, the grain size becomes finer, and the finer the grain size is, the higher the Vickers hardness.

Radioactive mixed waste (RMW) is containing radioactive materials and hazardous materials. Radioactive wastes containing asbestos are include in RMW. These wastes thus must be treated considering both radioactive and hazardous aspects. In this study, a high temperature melt oxidation system consisting of an electric arc furnace and a molten salt oxidation furnace has been developed for the treatment of of radioactive waste containing asbestos. A surrogate waste of the radioactive waste containing asbestos (content of asbestos: 13wt%) was treated in this system. It was melted and fabricated into a glass waste form in the system. Asbestos was not detected in this glass waste form. This means that the asbestos was converted to a glass component in the glass waste form. The waste form was homogeneous glass, and it had a high value of compressive strength (475.13 MPa). It was also confirmed through a leaching test (ANS 16.1) that the waste form had a high chemical durability (Leaching Index > 6). Based on these results, it is considered that the high temperature melt oxidation system will be utilized for the treatment of a significant amount of radioactive waste containing asbestos generated from decommissioning a nuclear power plant.

AZ31 magnesium alloy was used to manufacture a thin plate using a melt drag method. The effects of roll speed, molten metal temperature, and molten metal height, which are the basic factors of the melt drag method, on the surface shape, the thickness of the thin plate, Vickers hardness, and microstructure of the thin plate were investigated. It was possible to manufacture AZ31 magnesium alloy thin plate at the roll speed range of 1 to 90 m/min. The thickness of the thin plate, manufactured while changing only the roll speed, was about 1.8 to 8.8 mm. The shape of the solidified roll surface was affected by two conditions, the roll speed and the molten metal height, and the Vickers hardness of the manufactured magnesium alloy thin plate value ranged from Hv38~Hv60. The microstructure of the thin plate produced by this process was an equiaxed crystal and showed a uniform grain size distribution. The grain size was greatly affected by the contact state between the molten metal and the solidification roll, and the amount of reactive solids and liquids scraped at the same time as the thin plate. The average grain size of the thin plate fabricated in the range of these experimental conditions changed to about 50-300 μm.

To improve the shortcomings and expand the advantages of the single-roll melt drag method, which is a type of continuous strip casting method, the melt drag method with a molding belt is applied to AZ31 magnesium alloy. By attaching the forming belt to the melt drag method, the cooling condition of the thin plate is improved, making it possible to manufacture thin plates even at high roll speed of 100 m/min or more. In addition, it is very effective for continuous production of thin plates to suppress oxidation of the molten metal on the roll contact surface by selecting the protective gas. As a result of investigating the relationship between the contact time between the molten metal and the roll and the thickness of the sheet, it is possible to estimate the thickness of the sheet from the experimental conditions. The relationship between the thin plate thickness and the grain size is one in which the thinner the thin plate is, the faster the cooling rate of the thin plate is, resulting in finer grain size. The contact state between the molten metal and the roll greatly affects the grain size, and the minimum average grain size is 72 μm. The thin plate produced using this experimental equipment can be rolled, and the rolled sample has no large cracks. The tensile test results show a tensile strength of 303 MPa.

An investigation is performed to clarify the manufacturing conditions of pure magnesium and AZ31 magnesium alloy thin plate using the melt drag method. By the melt drag method, suitable for magnesium molten metal, pure magnesium can be produced as a continuous thin plate with a thickness of 1.4 mm to 2.4 mm in the range of 5 m/min to 20 m/min of roll speed, and the width of the thin plate to the nozzle outlet width. AZ31 magnesium alloy is able to produce a continuous sheet of thickness in the range of 5 m/min to 30 m/min in roll circumferential speed, with a thickness of 0.6 mm to 1.6 mm and a width of the sheet matching the nozzle outlet width. In the magnesium melt drag method, the faster the circumferential speed of the roll, the shorter the contact time between the molten metal and the roll, and it is found that the thickness of the produced thin plate becomes thinner. The effect of the circumferential roll speed on the thickness of the thin plate is evident in the low roll circumferential region, where the circumferential speed is 30 m/min or less. The AZ31 thin plate manufactured by the melt drag method has a finer grain size as the thickness of the thin plate decreases, but it is currently judged that this is not the effect of cooling by the roll.

In this study, we used a numerical analysis program to study the molding conditions that affect the flow rate at the time of injection, using a spiral mold, which is mainly used for the evaluation of the flow rate of plastic resin. The mold temperature, melt temperature, and flow rate are composed of experimental factors. The three plastic forming factors were divided into five to six levels each. Since then, changes in the flow rate temperature were analyzed as the level of each forming factor increased. Experiments showed that all three forming factors increased the filling length of the spiral mold and the temperature of the flow front by a total of 34.53°C, melt temperatures increased the temperature of the flow front by a total of 34.53°C, the temperature increased by the flow rate was 23.5°C, and the temperature increased by the mold temperature was 1.99°C. It was shown that the melt temperature was the largest, followed by the flow rate and mold temperature. It was also possible to check the effect of plastic forming factors on the speed of the flow front.

The conversion of all carbon preforms to dense SiC by liquid infiltration can become a low-cost and reliable method to form SiC-Si composites of complex shape and high density. Reactive sintered silicon carbide (RBSC) is prepared by covering Si powder on top of 0.5-5.0 wt% Y2O3-added carbon preforms at 1,450 and 1,500°C for 2 hours; samples are analyzed to determine densification. Reactive sintering from the Y2O3-free carbon preform causes Si to be pushed to one side and cracking defects occur. However, when prepared from the Y2O3-added carbon preform, an SiC-Si composite in which Si is homogeneously distributed in the SiC matrix without cracking can be produced. Using the Si + C = SiC reaction, 3C and 6H of SiC, crystalline Si, and Y2O3 phases are detected by XRD analysis without the appearance of graphite. As the content of Y2O3 in the carbon preform increases, the prepared RBSC accelerates the SiC conversion reaction, increasing the density and decreasing the pores, resulting in densification. The dense RBSC obtained by reaction sintering at 1,500 oC for 2 hours from a carbon preform with 2.0 wt% Y2O3 added has 0.20% apparent porosity and 96.9% relative density.

The conversion of carbon preforms to dense SiC by liquid infiltration is a prospectively low-cost and reliable method of forming SiC-Si composites with complex shapes and high densities. Si powder was coated on top of a 2.0wt .% Y2O3-added carbon preform, and reaction bonded silicon carbide (RBSC) was prepared by infiltrating molten Si at 1,450oC for 1-8 h. Reactive sintering of the Y2O3-free carbon preform caused Si to be pushed to one side, thereby forming cracking defects. However, when prepared from the Y2O3-added carbon preform, a SiC-Si composite in which Si is homogeneously distributed in the SiC matrix without cracking can be produced. Using the Si + C → SiC reaction at 1,450oC, 3C and 6H SiC phases, crystalline Si, and Y2O3 were generated based on XRD analysis, without the appearance of graphite. The RBSC prepared from the Y2O3-added carbon preform was densified by increasing the density and decreasing the porosity as the holding time increased at 1,450oC. Dense RBSC, which was reaction sintered at 1,450oC for 4 h from the 2.0wt.% Y2O3-added carbon preform, had an apparent porosity of 0.11% and a relative density of 96.8%.

This study is aimed at improving the plasma resistance of Al2O3 ceramics on which plasma resistant YAS(Y2O3- Al2O3-SiO2) frit is melt-coated using a simple heat-treatment process. For this purpose, the results of phase analysis and microstructural observations of the prepared YAS frits and the coating layers on the Al2O3 ceramics according to the batch compositions are compared and discussed with regard to the results of plasma resistance test. The prepared YAS frits consist of crystalline or amorphous or co-existing crystalline and amorphous phases according to the batch compositions, depending on the role and content of each raw material. The prepared YAS frit is melt-coated on the densely sintered Al2O3 ceramics, resulting in a dense coating layer with a thickness of at least ~ 80 m. The YAS coating layer consists of crystalline YAG(Y3Al5O12), Y2Si2O7, and Al2O3 phases, and YAS glass phase. Plasma resistance of YAS coated Al2O3 ceramics is strongly dependent on the content of the YAG(Y3Al5O12) and Y2Si2O7 crystalline phases in the coating layer, especially on the content of the YAG phase. Comparing the weight loss of YAS coating ceramics with values obtained for commercial Y2O3, Al2O3, and quartz ceramics, the plasma resistance of the YAS coating ceramics is 6 times higher than that of quartz, 2 times higher than that of Al2O3, and 50 % of the resistance of Y2O3.

Carbon fibers (CF) are predominantly being manufactured from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based precursors which require solution spinning utilizing health hazardous organic solvent. This also adds to the cost of production due to the investment for the solvent recovery. Study of melt processable precursors has long been sought as a solution for health and environmental problems associated with the use of hazardous solvent. No use of solvent for spinning will also reduce the cost of manufacturing. Our coworker Deng et al. reported the possibility of using acrylonitrile-co-1-vinylimidazole (AN/VIM) copolymer as melt processable CF precursor. Here we report a successful preparation of carbon fiber from the co-polymer. We successfully demonstrated the preparation of thinner precursor fibers and carbon fibers through our optimization study of melt spinning, annealing, stabilization and carbonization.