Research of core characteristics of the Package-Reactor

A new small reactor concept called the Package-Reactor has been jointly developed by Hitachi, Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. The reactor technology was based on that of conventional LWRs. The reactor core consists of 12 cassettes containing fuel rods with a similar design to that of PWR fuel rods. Cassettes are placed in air at atmospheric pressure. Tube-type control clusters placed outside the pressure boundary are used as the core shutdown system. Natural circulation with two-phase flow is employed for the core cooling system and no re-circulation pumps are required. With these concepts the Package-Reactor eliminates any active components that operate in high pressure regions of the reactor and its capital costs can be reduced. The feasibility of reactivity control by using moderator void feedback and burnable poisons was studied to reduce operational and maintenance costs. It was found that a continuous operation of more than 5 years without any operations to control reactivity would be feasible with a UO₂ fuel enrichment of 5.0 wt%, which is the upper limit for UO₂ fuel enrichment under the current regulations in Japan. In addition, we researched the core reflectors' characteristics of the Package-Reactor.     

Application of the relativistic DV-Xα molecular orbital method to γ-uranium alloys with transition metals

The alloying behavior of 4d and 5d transition metals (TMs) in γ-phase solid uranium (U) has been investigated using the discrete-variational Dirac–Fock–Slater (DV-DFS) method. We examined the d-orbital energy (Md value) of these TMs, the orbital overlap population (OOP) between the d-orbital of these TMs and the 5f or 6d orbital of γ-U, and the effective charge on each atom of the γ-U/TM alloy, and the effect of these parameters on alloying. It was found that the maximum solid solubility (MSS) of TMs into γ-U was exponentially proportional to both the Md and the OOP (U5f–TMd and U6d–TMd), except for Ta and W elements. We found a good correlation between the MSS and Md, the effective charge, or OOP.     

Effect of Raw and Heat‐Moisture Treated High‐Amylose Corn Starch on Fermentation by the Rat Cecal Bacteria

Resistant starch content of high‐amylose corn starch (HAS) was doubled by heat‐moisture treatment. Resistant starch content of HAS and heat‐moisture treated high‐amylose corn starch (HMT‐HAS) were 31.8 and 67.3%, respectively, as determined by enzymatic‐gravimetric method. Effects of the two types of high‐amylose corn starches, HAS and HMT‐HAS, on starch fermentation, microflora, pH, short chain fatty acid (SCFA) content and β‐glucuronidase activity in the cecal content have been investigated. Rats were given ordinary corn starch (OCS; control), HAS or HMT‐HAS at 10% level for 10 13 days. The cecal and colorectal content s weights were larger in HAS and HMT‐HAS groups than in the OCS group. The cecal content s weight did not differ between HAS and HMT‐HAS groups, while the colorectal content s weight was higher in the HMT‐HAS group than in the HAS group. The upper and lower small intestinal and cecal starch contents were significantly higher in the HAS and HMT‐HAS groups than in the OCS group, whereas there were no differences between colorectal starch content in group OCS and HAS. Starch excretion in feces was significantly higher in groups HAS and HMT‐HAS than in group OCS, the increase in the HMT‐HAS group was especially remarkable. The composition of the cecal microflora was not effected by the diet. β‐Glucuronidase activities in rats fed HAS or HMT‐HAS decreased. SCFA concentration was higher in groups HAS and HMT‐HAS than in group OCS, and the cecal pH was lower in groups HAS and HMT‐HAS than in group OCS.     

Lagrangian‐based equivalent circuit of basic electric‐field coupling wireless power transfer system

Electric‐field coupling wireless power transfer has been commonly analyzed using the circuit model. However, the circuit behavior of this model is not necessarily apparent because their resonant modes can be far complicated than the basic LC oscillation. This issue is addressed in this paper by proposing a novel equivalent circuit for a basic wireless power transfer system. This equivalent circuit has a simpler topology than the conventional circuit model. Furthermore, the equivalent circuit allows intuitive understanding of three types of the resonant modes. Along with theoretical derivation of the proposed equivalent circuit, this paper also presents simulation results, which verified the appropriateness of the equivalent circuit. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

SiC SBDs selection method based on loss analysis of boost converter

Silicon carbide schottky barrier diodes (SiC SBDs) have much better characteristic than Si PiN diode in high voltage applications because SiC SBDs do not have recovery effect. However, simple replacing is not the most effective way. In a boost converter, the power loss caused by the SiC SBD can be divided into the conduction loss of the SiC SBD and the loss caused by the energy stored in the junction capacitance of the SiC SBD. Therefore analysis of not only the conduction loss but also the loss caused by the energy stored in the junction capacitance of the SiC SBD can realize the SiC SBD selection to improve the efficiency of the boost converter. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The effect of lubricants on deep drawability of zinc-coated steel sheets

The effect of lubricants on deep drawability was studied for two types of zinc-coated steel sheets on a high-speed deep-drawing machine. The drawability of galvannealed steel sheet, GA, at low speeds is significantly improved by friction modifiers, due to reduction in frictional forces around the die radius. In contrast to the results for GA, double layered steel, GAE, which has an Fe-rich alloy coating on the top, and is superior to GA in terms of drawability, is insensitive to changes in the additives. This is mainly because the hardness of the upper coating layer of GAE decreases frictional resistance through a decline in the boundary contact area.