STAKEHOLDERMANAGEMENT IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN SRI LANKA: A CONTRACTOR PERSPECTIVE

Possessing rights and abilities to influence the project activities, project stakeholders have become a major source of uncertainty in construction projects. Road construction projects are associated with such a varied range of stakeholders and it is necessary to recognize and manage them properly to complete projects successfully. Being in constant interactions with many of the project stakeholders daily within the project lifecycle, contractor requires a proper management of stakeholders from their standpoint. Thus, this research intends to analyse the power (importance level of impact) and interest (influence probability of those impacts) of stakeholders in road construction projects and recommend suitable strategies to manage them. This aim was approached through a quantitative research methodology using a questionnaire survey including a random sample of 43 contractors’ personnel from different construction projects in Sri Lanka. The research findings revealed that client, consultant, government authorities, funding bodies and subcontractors are imposing a high level of impact on project decisions and are with a high probability of having an impact on project decisions. Thereby, contactors suggest adaptation and compromising strategy to manage those stakeholders. Further, suppliers, environmental pressure groups and general public are unable to impose a high level of impact on project decisions but they are with a high probability of bringing in some sort of impact on project decisions. Thus, contractors suggest compromising and influence strategy to manage them. Finally, a matrix developed incorporating the aforementioned findings would serve as a guideline for contractors to manage stakeholders in road construction projects in Sri Lanka

Optimal design of passive containment cooling system for innovative PWR

Using the Generation of Thermal-Hydraulic Information for Containments (GOTHIC) code, thermal-hydraulic phenomena that occur inside the containment have been investigated, along with the preliminary design of the passive containment cooling system (PCCS) of an innovative pressurized water reactor (PWR). A GOTHIC containment model was constructed with reference to the design data of the Advanced Power Reactor 1400, and report related PCCS. The effects of the design parameters were evaluated for passive containment cooling tank (PCCT) geometry, PCCS heat exchanger (PCCX) location, and surface area. The analyzed results, obtained using the single PCCT, showed that repressurization and reheating phenomena had occurred. To resolve these problems, a coupled PCCT concept was suggested and was found to continually decrease the containment pressure and temperature without repressurization and reheating. If the installation level of the PCCX is higher than that of the PCCT, it may affect the PCCS performance. Additionally, it was confirmed that various means of increasing the external surface area of the PCCX, such as fins, could help improve the energy removal performance of the PCCS. To improve the PCCS design and investigate its performance, further studies are needed

Performance evaluation of METAMIC neutron absorber in spent fuel storage rack

High-density spent fuel (SF) storage racks have been installed to increase SF pool capacity. In these SF racks, neutron absorber materials were placed between fuel assemblies allowing the storage of fuel assemblies in close proximity to one another. The purpose of the neutron absorber materials is to preclude neutronic coupling between adjacent fuel assemblies and to maintain the fuel in a subcritical storage condition. METAMIC neutron absorber has been used in high-density storage racks. But, neutron absorber materials can be subject to severe conditions including long-term exposure to gamma radiation and neutron radiation. Recently, some of them have experienced degradation, such as white spots on the surface. Under these conditions, the material must continue to serve its intended function of absorbing neutrons. For the first time in Korea, this article uses a neutron attenuation test to examine the performance of METAMIC surveillance coupons. Also, scanning electron microscope analysis was carried out to verify the white spots that were detected on the surface of METAMIC. In the neutron attenuation test, there was no significant sign of boron loss in most of the METAMIC coupons, but the coupon with white spots had relatively less B-10 content than the others. In the scanning electron microscope analysis, corrosion material was detected in all METAMIC coupons. Especially, it was confirmed that the coupon with white spots contains much more corrosion material than the others. Keywords: Blister, Criticality, METAMIC, Neutron Absorber, Neutron Attenuation Test, Scanning Electron Microscop

Spent resin treatment technology for radiocarbon recycling by using microwave desorption system

This study developed a separation and desorption system for the treatment of spent resin that can be applied to both decommissioning and decontamination (D&D) and operation of a nuclear power plant (NPP). The separation system maximized efficiency by separating the resin mixture according to particle size, whereas microwave technology was applied for the first time to maximize 14C desorption efficiency while minimizing secondary waste generation. The resin mixture was sampled from spent resin tank #2 of Wolseong NPP unit 1. The separation efficiency of the vertical structure was 95.16%, which was higher than that of the horizontal structure (32.16%). The desorption system in the resin treatment device exhibited an estimated average desorption rate of 92.8%. These results indicate that the proposed system could be developed for future commercialization. It has important practical applications for the recycling of resin containing 14C and the disposal of separated activated carbon and zeolite. Moreover, 14C can be recovered from the separated resin and exported, generating substantial economic benefits