Design modification of the in-pile test section for increase of sealing capability

Since KAERI established the fuel test loop (FTL) at HANARO in 2009, KAERI has carried out several experiments to verify the performances of the equipment. Based on the experiments, the design modification of the In-Pile test Section (IPS) has been processed to improve some difficulties such as difficulty in ejecting the inner assembly of the IPS from the pressure vessel, difficulty of the sealing process of the cooling water, etc. At first, because the cooling water of HANARO in KAERI consists of an open-pool type, if a certain shock is generated during the disassembly process, the cooling water can be spattered out of the pool. Therefore, two jacking bolts will be added on the top flange part of the inner assembly to decrease the shock. Second, at the pressure boundary of the IPS where MI-cables go through, the brazing process has been used to seal out the cooling water. However, because the length of the IPS is up to 5.5 meters, it is too difficult and time consuming to carry out the brazing process at the end part of the IPS. Therefore, the brazing process will be replaced with the mechanical sealing structure to simplify the assembly process. (author)