Dong-Keun Cho

Concept of a Korean Reference Disposal System for Spent Fuels

A deep geologic disposal system for the spent fuels from nuclear power plants has been developed since this program was launched in 1997 in Korea. In this paper, the concept of a Korean reference high-level waste (HLW) vertical disposal system (KRS-V1) is described. Though no site for the underground repository has yet been specified in Korea, a generic site with a granitic rock is considered for a reference spent fuel repository design. The depth of the repository is assumed to be 500 m. The repository consists of a disposal area, a controlled area, and an uncontrolled area. The disposal area consists of disposal tunnels, panel tunnels, and a central tunnel. In the controlled area and the uncontrolled area, there are technical rooms and tunnels and/or shafts to connect them to the ground level, respectively. The repository will be excavated, operated, and backfilled in several phases including an underground research laboratory (URL) phase. The result of this concept development will be used for an evaluation of its feasibility, analyses of its long-term safety, information for public communication, and a cost estimation, among others.

Sensitivity of Physics Parameters for Establishment of a Burned CANDU Full-Core Model for Decommissioning Waste Characterization

The sensitivity of parameters related with reactor physics on the source terms of decommissioning wastes from a CANDU reactor was investigated in order to find a viable, simplified burned core model of a Monte Carlo simulation for decommissioning waste characterization. First, a sensitivity study was performed for the level of nuclide consideration in an irradiated fuel and implicit geometry modeling, the effects of side structural components of the core, and structural supporters for reactive devices. The overall effects for computation memory, calculation time, and accuracy were then investigated with a full-core model. From the results, it was revealed that the level of nuclide consideration and geometry homogenization are not important factors when the ratio of macroscopic neutron absorption cross section (MNAC) relative to a total value exceeded 0.95. The most important factor affecting the neutron flux of the pressure tube was shown to be the structural supporters for reactivity devices, showing an 10% difference. Finally, it was concluded that a bundle-average homogeneous model considering a MNAC of 0.95, which is the simplest model in this study, could be a viable approximate model, with about 25% lower computation memory, 40% faster simulation time, and reasonable engineering accuracy compared with a model with an explicit geometry employing an MNAC of 0.99.

Characteristics of a Geological Disposal System for the Increasing Burn-up of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Korea

The characteristics of a geological disposal system that can accommodate increasingly higher burn-up levels of spent fuel were assessed based on the Korea reference disposal system concept. First, a status investigation that included a projection of spent fuel quantity versus burn-up was carried out to demonstrate the trend toward higher burn-up levels. Next, the main features of the Korea reference disposal system were introduced. Finally, the disposal tunnel length, excavation volume, and raw materials (e.g., a cast insert, copper, bentonite and backfill) necessary for a disposal system were comprehensively analyzed to define the characteristics and overall effects on geological disposal at increasingly higher burn-up levels. Our study determined that it is reasonable to use a canister containing 4 spent fuel assemblies with burn-up levels up to 50GWD/MTU, while a canister containing 3 spent fuel assemblies can accommodate burn-up levels beyond 50GWD/MTU. A remarkable increase of 33% in disposal tunnel length and that of 30% in excavation volume were observed as the burn-up increased from 50 to 60GWD/MTU. However, this was offset by a reduction of 17% in raw materials used in canister fabrication. Therefore, it seems that spent fuel at increasingly higher burn-up levels is not a serious concern for deep geological disposal in Korea.

Verification of Source Term Estimation Method against Measured Data for Decommissioning Waste from a CANDU Reactor

The method for the establishment of an equilibrium core model proposed in the previous paper and the source term calculation method proposed in this paper for the characterization of decommissioning waste were verified by comparing the nuclide inventory estimated by MCNP/ORIGEN2 simulations with the measured nuclide inventory according to a chemical assay in an irradiated pressure tube discharged from Wolsong Unit 1 in 1994. At first, the time-average pseudoequilibrium full-core model of Wolsong Unit 1 was developed on the basis of the previously proposed modeling method for the activation of in-core and ex-core structural components. Then, the application level of the neutron flux and cross section in the radionuclide buildup calculation were compromised. Fourteen major actinides and fission products were considered to represent the irradiated fuel condition, and a geometry simplification was also introduced in the burned full-core model for MCNP simulation. The assumption of a constant neutron flux and capture cross section as a function of the irradiation time was applied in the radionuclide buildup calculation in ORIGEN2. As a result, the values estimated from the analysis system agreed with the measured data within a difference range of 30%. Therefore, it was found that the MCNP/ORIGEN system and source term characterization method proposed can be viable to estimate the source terms of the decommissioning waste from a CANDU reactor.