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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2

A Study on Radionuclides Selection for DCGLs Development for Site Release of KRR Units 1 and 2 site in Korea - 20256

The selection of Derived Concentration Guideline Levels (DCGLs) in nuclear facilities decommissioning is important because they serve as criteria for site characterization and final status surveys. DCGLs should be derived for KAERI TRIGA Mark II and III research reactor site clearance and prior to the work, a radionuclides list for DCGLs consideration was created. Radionuclides selection for DCGLs was performed according to the procedure proposed by the US NRC based on the characterization survey related to the decommission site. By evaluating the dose contribution of each radionuclide using D and D computer code, radionuclides with a dose contribution fraction of 0.1% or more for the entire radionuclide were selected. As a result, the selected radionuclides were beta radionuclides H-3, C-14 and Sr-90 and gamma radionuclides Co-60, Cs-137, Eu-152 and Eu-154. The selected radionuclides can be presented for consultation with domestic regulatory agencies in the future and will be used as the technical base of DCGLs for the final status survey. (authors)

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

The 2017 Pohang, South Korea, Mw 5.4 main shock was either natural or triggered, but not induced

Understanding the cause of the November 2017 Pohang main shock is of considerable importance to the future of the geothermal industry because of its large magnitude compared to prior expectations based on case histories of other projects involving underground fluid injection. Of the three possibilities – induced, triggered or natural, “induced” can be ruled out based on the disproportionately large seismic moment of the main shock. Furthermore, whether natural or triggered, the source of seismic hazard at Pohang was tectonic strain accumulation, not fluid injection. Arguably, the most timely indicator of seismic hazard and risk in the environs of Pohang was the September 2016 Mw 5.4 Gyeongju earthquake, which was natural and located about 40 km south of Pohang along the same active fault system.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Diatom influence on the production characteristics of hydrate-bearing sediments: Examples from Ulleung Basin, offshore South Korea

The Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate field expeditions in 2007 (UBGH1) and 2010 (UBGH2) sought to assess the Basin's gas hydrate resource potential. Coring operations in both expeditions recovered evidence of gas hydrate, primarily as fracture-filling (or vein type) morphologies in mainly silt-sized, fine-grained sediment, but also as pore-occupying hydrate in the coarser-grained layers of interbedded sand and fine-grained systems. A commonality across many of these occurrences is the presence of diatoms in the fine-grained sediment. Here we tested fine-grained sediment (median grain size <12.5 μm) associated with hydrate occurrences at four UBGH2 sites (UBGH2-2-2, UBGH2-3, UBGH2-6 and UBGH2-11) to investigate potential impacts of diatoms on efforts to extract methane from hydrate, or to tap hydrocarbon reservoirs beneath hydrate-bearing sediment. Two key considerations are: the extent to which diatoms control sediment mechanical properties, and the extent to which pore-water freshening, which occurs as gas hydrate breaks down during resource extraction, alters the diatom control on sediment mechanical properties. We conducted experiments to measure sediment index properties, sedimentation behavior and compressibility to address these considerations. We relied on scanning electron microscope (SEM) imagery and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) to characterize the sediment mineralogy. Our high-level findings are that at the ~20–45% (by volume) diatom concentrations observed at these UBGH2 sites, sediment compressibility increases with diatom content, but diatoms only appear to increase porosity and permeability at the highest diatom concentration (~45%). Our measurements suggest in situ compression indices of 0.35–0.55 and permeabilities on the order of 0.01milliDarcies (1 × 10 -17 m 2 ) can be anticipated at these sites. Importantly, these properties are not expected to vary significantly upon pore water freshening that accompanies gas hydrate dissociation during production.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Effect of supplementary cementitious materials on the degradation of cement-based barriers in radioactive waste repository: A case study in Korea

This study focuses on investigating the chemical degradation characteristics of cementitious barriers used in low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste repository by reactive transport modeling. The impact of the blending with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in the barriers on the chemical degradation was evaluated to find the optimum barrier design. A number of different barrier designs were examined by replacing ordinary Portland cement (OPC) by SCMs (i.e., fly ash, silica fume, and blast-furnace slag). The simulation results showed that silica fume blended barrier has better durability against chemical degradation by rainwater compared to fly ash or blast-furnace slag blended barriers. In addition, the chemical durability of silica fume-based barrier increased with increasing replacement level up to about 20 %. It seems that the amount of formed calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) in the initial cement-based barrier highly affects the overall chemical durability. The newly developed reactive transport model demonstrated its capability for understanding the barrier performance and investigating the optimal design of the barrier system.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Differential patterns of reproductive and lifestyle risk factors for breast cancer according to birth cohorts among women in China, Japan and Korea

Background: The birth cohort effect has been suggested to influence the rate of breast cancer incidence and the trends of associated reproductive and lifestyle factors. We conducted a cohort study to determine whether a differential pattern of associations exists between certain factors and breast cancer risk based on birth cohorts. Methods: This was a cohort study using pooled data from 12 cohort studies. We analysed associations between reproductive (menarche age, menopause age, parity and age at first delivery) and lifestyle (smoking and alcohol consumption) factors and breast cancer risk. We obtained hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using the Cox proportional hazard regression analysis on the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and 1950s birth cohorts. Results: Parity was found to lower the risk of breast cancer in the older but not in the younger birth cohort, whereas lifestyle factors showed associations with breast cancer risk only among the participants born in the 1950s. In the younger birth cohort group, the effect size was lower for parous women compared to the other cohort groups (HR [95% CI] 0.86 [0.66–1.13] compared to 0.60 [0.49–0.73], 0.46 [0.38–0.56] and 0.62 [0.51–0.77]). Meanwhile, a higher effect size was found for smoking (1.45 [1.14–1.84] compared to 1.25 [0.99–1.58], 1.06 [0.85–1.32] and 0.86 [0.69–1.08]) and alcohol consumption (1.22 [1.01–1.48] compared to 1.10 [0.90–1.33], 1.15 [0.96–1.38], and 1.07 [0.91–1.26]). Conclusion: We observed different associations of parity, smoking and alcohol consumption with breast cancer risk across various birth cohorts.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Thinking the Other Unthinkable: Disarmament in North Korea and Beyond

The P5 have defined nuclear disarmament as both a process and an end state. Differences of view about the latter are sharp, bitter, and abiding. This has stripped the discussion about the former of much of its potential content and value. Where might we get, practically and conceptually, if we were to set aside for now questions about the ultimate feasibility and desirability of the long-term goal and focus instead on the process? Further, what if we were also to posit that there will be no “fundamental transformation” of the international political system of a kind that would make the nuclear-armed states, and their unarmed neighbors, unconcerned about the effectiveness of mechanisms for peace and security in a disarmed and disarming world? In this context, might it be possible to give states the confidence they would require to take more ambitious incremental steps on the disarmament pathway? How could such steps contribute to the relaxation of international tensions that the NPT itself describes as a critical enabler of disarmament? These questions motivate this timely and innovative new work by Toby Dalton and George Perkovich of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Their core objective is to “infuse needed realism into disarmament discussions.” Using North Korean disarmament as a test case, they explore a series of practical challenges and associated conceptual issues to frame a discussion of the possible disarming nucleararmed states. They begin by rightly noting that neither the advocates of the Ban treaty nor the advocates of North Korean disarmament have set our practical agendas for achieving their aims. They conclude that without an infusion of realism the “two polarized blocks” will continue to “stonewall and repel each other” and thus that “the risks of global nuclear disorder will grow.” This is the latest in the series of Livermore Papers begun in 2017 to stimulate the development of new strategic thought on emerging nuclear challenges. Conceptually, it is a follow-on to the inaugural Livermore Paper by Lewis Dunn on disarmament pathways. The views expressed in these papers are those of the authors and should not be attributed to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory or any of its sponsors.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between National Energy Technology Laboratory and Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) [Abstract]

KIER and NETL will collaborate to study hydrate-based technologies to enhance desalination, gas separation, and hydrocarbon flow through pipelines and wellbores. With optimized selections of hydrate formers and reactors, gas hydrates can be effective and economic mechanisms of separation for solid-water and gas mixtures, and gas hydrate formation or dissociation can be significantly delayed or expedited with suitably selected additives. Comprehensive laboratory studies, including identifying novel hydrate formers or inhibitors to control temperature and pressure requirements and understanding their working mechanism or developing reactor systems for production of large quantities of hydrates, will be performed at both KIER and NETL either parallelly or serially.

03 NATURAL GAS↗