A comparison and validation between the analysis and vibration test data of a nuclear fuel assembly were conducted. During the comparison and validation process, various parameters that govern the vibration behavior of the fuel assembly were determined, including nuclear fuel rod’s stiffness, spring constants of the dimple and spring of support structures, and damping coefficients. The calibration of the vibration analysis model aimed to find analysis parameters that can accurately simulate the vibration behavior of the test data. For calibration, power spectral density (PSD) diagrams were generated for both the measured signals from the test and the calculated signals from the analysis. The correlation coefficient between these two PSD plots was calculated. To find the analysis parameters, each parameter was defined as a variable with an appropriate range. Latin hypercube sampling was used to generate multiple sample points in the variable space. Analysis was performed for the generated sample points, and PSD plot correlation coefficients were calculated. Using the generated sample points and their corresponding results, a Gaussian Process Regression model was implemented for PSD plot correlation coefficients and the maximum PSD value. Based on the constructed surrogate model, the optimal analysis parameters were easily found without additional computations. Through this method, it was confirmed that the analysis model using the optimal parametes appropriately simulates the vibration behavior of the test.

To ensure radiological safety margin in the transport and storage of spent nuclear fuel, it is crucial to perform source term and shielding analyses in advance from the perspective of conservation. When performing source term analysis on UO2 fuel, which is mostly used in commercial nuclear power plants, uranium and oxygen are basically considered to be the initial materials of the new fuel. However, the presence of impurities in the fuel and structural materials of the fuel assembly may influence the source term and shielding analyses. The impurities could be radioactive materials or the stable materials that are activated by irradiation during reactor power operation. As measuring the impurity concentration levels in the fuel and structural materials can be challenging, publicly available information on impurity concentration levels is used as a reference in this evaluation. To assess the effect of impurities, the results of the source term and shielding analyses were compared depending on whether the assumed impurity concentration is considered. For the shielding analysis, generic cask design data developed by KEPCO-E&C was utilized.

In this paper, a structural integrity on the test rig with assembly plug to perform intermediate examination is evaluated. Structural analysis results between the test rig with non assembly plug and assembly plug are compared, because the assembly plug has an effect on the flow of the coolant in the test rig. A equivalent stress value on the test rig with assembly plug is increased more than the stress on the test rig with non-assembly plug. A shape optimization of the assembly plug is performed to decrease the stress. Considering a connection with the transport tool, a optimized shape of the assembly plug is presented to minimize the stress on the test rig. Using the optimized assembly plug, the equivalent stress on the test rig with the optimized plug is less than the stress on the test rig with the non-optimized plug.

본 논문에서는 MDO기법에 의한 핵연료교환장치의 구조해석 단계 중 핵연료교환장치의 휨 변형을 구하는 재료역학해석을 수행하였다. 이는 액체 금속로(LMR) 핵연료교환장치의 기본설계를 위하여 매우 중요하다. 해석대상 핵연료교환장치의 정적구조는 기 수행한 핵연료교환장치의 기구 동역 학 해석 결과를 활용하였다. 네 가지 핵연료교환동작에 대하여 핵연료 봉의 무게를 100㎏에서 500㎏까지 100㎏씩 증가시켜 휨 변형의 크기를 구하였다. 그 결과 회전 중심 축에서 가장 멀리 있는 핵연료 봉을 교환하는 핵연료교환동작에서 최대 휨 변형이 발생함이 밝혀졌다. 또한 이 최대 휨 변형이 발생하는 핵연료교환장치구조에 대하여 부재의 단면두께를 축소하면서, 또 단면형상을 여러 가지로 바꾸면서 휨 변형크기를 구하여 비교하였다. 비교결과 비교대상 단면형상 중에서 중공직사각형 단면이 최소 휨 변형이 발생하는 최적단면형상임이 밝혀졌다.

액체 금속로(LMIR) 핵연료교환장치의 기본설계를 위해서는 여러 분야(예를 들면, 기구학, 동역 학, 재료역학 등)의 해석을 동시에 수행해야 한다. 그러나 이와 같은 해석들은 각각 별개로 연속적으로 수행되는 것이 아니라, 상호 유기적인 연관을 갖고 수행되어야 한다. 이와 같은 해석에 적합한 기법이 MDO 기법이다. 본 논문에서는 MDO기법에 의한 핵연료교환장치 구조해석의 한 단계로 핵연료교환장치의 기구 동역 학 해석을 수행하여 핵연료 교환장치 작동에 대한 기구운동학적 특성 및 동역학적 특성을 분석하였다. 분석결과 해석대상 핵연료교환장치는 예상한대로 원활하게 작동됨이 확인되었다. 아울러 이 분석 결과를 토대로 핵연료교환장치의 정적 휨 변형을 구하기 위한 재료역학해석에서 요구되는 정적구조를 결정하였다.