원자력발전소(원전) 내부에 설치되어 있는 주요 기기는 원전의 안정적인 운영을 돕는 주요 2차 구조 물이다. 경주 지진, 포항 지진과 같은 강한 지진이 발생하였을 때, 원전 주요 기기의 손상은 원전의 안정한 정지에 문제를 초래할 수 있다. 따라서, 원전 주요 기기의 지진응답을 저감시키기 위한 연구가 필수적으로 요구된다. 이러한 배경 아래, 본 연구에서는 원전 주요 기기의 내진성능 향상을 위하여 동 흡진장치(Dynamic Absorber)를 활용하였다. 연구에서 사용된 동흡진장치는 스프링, 댐퍼, 및 질량체로 구성된다. 이러한 동흡진장치를 설계하기 위하여 기존에 제안된 방법론들을 활용하였으며, 각 방법론 들을 기반으로 설계된 동흡진장치의 지진응답 저감효과를 비교 및 분석하였다. 구체적으로, 진동대 시 험 결과를 바탕으로 유한요소 모델을 검증하였다. 또한, 이를 기반으로 기존 동흡진장치의 설계방법론 에 따른 원전 주요 기기의 지진응답 저감 효과를 비교 및 분석하였다. 결과적으로 각 방법론들은 원전 주요기기의 가속도, 변위, 응력 응답을 평균적으로 약 30% 정도 감소시키는 효과를 보였다.

A comprehensive understanding of actinide coordination chemistry and its structure is essential in many aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, such as fuel reprocessing, waste management, reactor safety, and non-proliferation efforts. Managing radioactive waste generated during the nuclear fuel cycle has recently become more important, accordingly increasing the importance of designing appropriate waste forms and storage solutions for long-term waste disposal. Compared to the increase in the need for understanding the chemistry of major radioactive elements, the information on the local structure of the radioactive elements, especially actinides, remains unknown. To probe this issue, X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) can be applied. By analyzing the EXAFS (extended X-ray absorption fine structure) and XANES (X-ray absorption near edge structure), the local structure around atoms can be determined. However, the radioactive properties of the nuclides hindered the measurement of EXAFS and XANES, due to the difficulties of preparation, containment, and transfer of the sample. To measure the EXAFS of various compounds regarding the back-end nuclear fuel cycle, laboratory-based EXAFS (hiXAS, HP spectroscopy) has been introduced which can measure the EXAFS and XANES at the energy range of 5-18 keV. Compounds of Copper (Cu foil, CuO samples), Zirconium (Zr foil), and Europium (Eu2O3) were used for the verification of the laboratory -based EXAFS at a given energy range. The measured EXAFS spectrum of various compounds exhibit good agreement with the theoretical data, showing an R-factor of less than 0.02. It was found that each graph has a first peak corresponding to 2.55Å for Cu foil (Cu-Cu), 1.93Å for CuO samples (Cu-O), 3.23Å for Zr foil (Zr-Zr), and from 2.32Å to 2.34Å for Eu2O3 (Eu-O), which agree well with other values from the literature. From the result, it can be implied that this equipment can be used especially in the back-end nuclear fuel cycle field to enhance the understanding of local structure in radiochemistry.

The purpose of this study is to provide technical issues in upgrade and modification of fuel handling equipment at operating nuclear power plants. The improvement for safety function and performance enhancement of fuel handling equipment has been going on for 20 years since the early 2000’s. This improvement is recently focused on the replacement of components through the performance analysis and the operation and maintenance plan based on replacement cycle of its component. Additionally, it is required to secure spare parts so that it can be operated at all times with compatibility and standardization to other domestic nuclear power plants. The fuel handling equipment is consisted of refueling machine, upender and carriage of fuel transfer system, spent fuel handling machine, new fuel elevator and various tools, and the equipment are linked in systematic interlocks. Fuel handling is a critical task during a nuclear power plant refueling outage. Even minor component defects may stop operation of the whole system and have a significant impact on the overall system process. To achieve this goal, major components that are expected to be replaced for reliable operation are summarized as follows; 1) motor assembly with AC servomotors and driver for bridge, trolley and hoist of refueling machine and spent fuel handling machine, 2) winch motor and drive for upender and carriage of fuel transfer system, 3) operator control console with a HMI PC base PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) control system, 4) positioning and load weighing sensors such as an encoder and a load cell with its support for periodic calibration and maintenance, 5) main power drapped style festoon cable assembly for bridge of refueling machine, 6) pneumatic control assembly for gripper operation of refueling machine, 7) active components (e. g., air motor, hydraulic cylinder and limit switch) to be removable and reinstallable without requiring the water level to be lowered. It is advisable to utilize such various information as it can help to improve reliability of fuel handling as a critical path in upgrade and modification of fuel handling equipment at operating nuclear power plants.

The purpose of this study is to provide lessons learned in the experience of improvement work of fuel handling equipment at operating nuclear power plants. The upgrade of fuel handling equipment for safety enhancement and performance improvement has been going on for 15 years since the early 2000’s. The main goal is to increase fuel loading/unloading capability of the equipment from about 2.5 fuel assemblies per hour to more than six (6). It is achieved with sequential operations of three (3) fuel handling equipment, which consists of the refueling machine, the fuel transfer system and the spent fuel handling machine. The scope of the upgrade for fuel handling equipment is summarized as follows. The PC data control system based on PLC for interlocks and high speed motor drive system is introduced for better operating efficiency. The motors and drives for bridge, trolley, and hoist are replaced with AC servomotors and drivers, respectively. The fuel transfer system has an auto-initiation feature operating from the refueling machine or the spent fuel handling machine. The winch motor and drive for the carriage of fuel transfer system is also replaced with AC servomotors and drivers. And some of HPU (hydraulic power units) equipment for each building (reactor containment building and fuel handling building) are replaced to improve their function. The considerations for improvement of fuel handling equipment are as belows. 1) Fuel handling should be consistent with the instructions provided by the fuel designer and/or manufacturer, which are for Standard type fuel and Westinghouse type fuel, used in domestic nuclear power plants. Each fuel has unique design characteristics, which are PLC setpoints for overload and underload, slow speed zones for a bridge, trolley and hoist, allowable acceleration/deceleration value in handling, hoist elevation and manual speed in off-index operation at reactor. 2) The interlock system should be designed in accordance with design criteria specified by the utilities of nuclear power plant. 3) Performance should be improved according to the operating characteristics of the fuel handling equipment. High-speed and optimization of FTS upender and carriage are essential for operating performance so that its modification should be considered first. And the low speed and range in the operation mechanism of the hoist should be designed to comply with guidelines. 4) The accident analysis through self-diagnosis function and operation history in modification at domestic operating nuclear power plants would be good lessons learned. It is advisable to utilize such various information as it can help to improve reliability of nuclear fuel handling operation and power plant operation rate.

This study provides technical information about the nuclear fuel handling process, which consists of various subprocesses starting from new fuel receipt to spent fuel shipment at a nuclear power plant and the design requirements of fuel handling equipment. The fuel handling system is an integrated system of equipment, tools, and procedures that allow refueling, handling and storage of fuel assemblies, which comprise the fuel handling process. The understanding and reaffirming of detailed code requirements are requested for application to the design of the fuel handling and storage facility. We reviewed the design requirements of the fuel handling equipment for its adequate cooling, prevention of criticality, its operability and maintainability, and for the prevention of fuel damage and radiological release. Furthermore, we discussed additional technical issues related to upgrading the current code requirements based on the modification of the fuel handling equipment. The suggested information provided in this paper would be beneficial to enhance the safety and the reliability of the fuel handling equipment during the handling of new and spent fuel.

Analysis of the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake and the 2017 Pohang earthquake showed the characteristics of a typical high-frequency earthquake with many high-frequency components, short time strong motion duration, and large peak ground acceleration relative to the magnitude of the earthquake. Domestic nuclear power plants were designed and evaluated based on NRC's Regulatory Guide 1.60 design response spectrum, which had a great deal of energy in the low-frequency range. Therefore, nuclear power plants should carry out seismic verification and seismic performance evaluation of systems, structures, and components by reflecting the domestic characteristics of earthquakes. In this study, high-frequency amplification factors that can be used for seismic verification and seismic performance evaluation of nuclear power plant systems, structures, and equipment were analyzed. In order to analyze the high-frequency amplification factor, five sets of seismic time history were generated, which were matched with the uniform hazard response spectrum to reflect the characteristics of domestic earthquake motion. The nuclear power plant was subjected to seismic analysis for the construction of the Korean standard nuclear power plant, OPR1000, which is a reactor building, an auxiliary building assembly, a component cooling water heat exchanger building, and an essential service water building. Based on the results of the seismic analysis, a high-frequency amplification factor was derived upon the calculation of the floor response spectrum of the important locations of nuclear power plants. The high-frequency amplification factor can be effectively used for the seismic verification and seismic performance evaluation of electric equipment which are sensitive to high-frequency earthquakes.

The probabilistic seismic safety assessment is one of the methodology to evaluate the seismic safety of the nuclear power plants. The site characteristics of the nuclear power plant should be reflected when evaluating the seismic safety of the nuclear power plant. The Korea seismic characteristics are strong in high frequency region and may be different from NRC Regulatory Guide 1.60, which is the design spectrum of nuclear power plants. In this study, seismic response of a nuclear power plant structure by Pohang earthquake (2017.11.15. (KST)) is investigated. The Pohang earthquake measured at the Cheongsong seismic observation station (CHS) is scaled to the peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.2 g and the seismic acceleration time history curve corresponding to the design spectrum is created. A nuclear power plant of the containment building and the auxiliary buildings are modeled using OPENSEES to analyze the seismic response of the Pohang earthquake. The seismic behavior of the nuclear power plant due to the Pohang earthquake is investigated. And the seismic performances of the equipment of a nuclear power plant are evaluated by the HCLPF. As a result, the seismic safety evaluation of nuclear power plants should be evaluated based on site-specific characteristics of nuclear power plants.

본 연구에서는 방사성폐기물의 화학처리공정에 자주 사용되는 유동관식 장치 중 튜브형 반응기, 다단식 용매추출 장치, 흡착탑 등 물질전달이 수반되는 장치에 있어 각종 매개변수들이 반응수율이나 물질전달수율에 미치는 영향과 민감도를 살펴보았다. 먼저 각 장치에 대한 거동을 묘사하기 위하여 수학적 모델링을 수행하였고 전산모사를 통하여 해당 장치의 거동을 예측하였다. 그리고 그 결과로부터 해당 공정의 고유한 매개변수들이 반응수율 또는 물질전달수율에 미치는 영향과 민감도를 분석하였다. 튜브형 반응기에서는 확산계수, 반응속도상수 등이 반응수율에 미치는 영향을, 다단식 용매추출 장치에서는 연속상과 분산상의 분배계수, 연속상 흐름의 역혼합 등이 추출수율 및 장치 내 농도 분포에 미치는 영향을 고찰하였다. 또 흡착탑에 있어서는 흡착평형상수 및 유체-흡착재간 물질전달계수 등이 흡착 속도에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다.

원전의 정상운전이나 해체시 발생될 수 있는 토양의 제염을 위한 토양제염장치를 개발하였으며 실증 실험을 수행하였다. 제염장치를 이용한 제염실험을 종합해본 결과 제염조건에 큰 상관없이 이상의 제염율을 얻을 수 있었다. 방사능 준위 및 토양입도에 의한 실험결과를 보면 낮은 방사능 농도 및 고입도의 제염율이 다소 높음을 알 수 있었다. 제염용액과 토양질량의 비에 따른 제염율은 제염제 부피를 두배로 높였을 경우 방사능 농도가 높은 경우에 큰 것으로 나타났다. 반복 제염은 의 다소 작은 입자에 더욱 효과적으로, 제염이 어려운 작은 입자의 반복제염시 방사능 저감 효과가 비교적 크게 나타났다. 본 오염토양 제염장치를 활용하면 원전에서 발생되는 오염토양의 방사능 농도를 줄일 뿐 아니라 처분양을 줄여 저장공간의 확보에 기여할 뿐만 아니라 향후 원전의 해체시에도 유용하게 활용될 수 있으리라 생각된다.

Most of equipment in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is anchored to the concrete structure or other components with concrete anchors. It is need to be considering the boundary condition by concrete-anchor connection. In this paper, the seismic analysis was conducted varying anchoring type as non-linear stiffness condition from preliminary analysis.