• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.8
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• pp.3188-3198
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• 2024

Efficient and secure decommissioning of nuclear facilities demands advanced technologies. In this context, gamma-ray detection and imaging are crucial in identifying radioactive hotspots and monitoring radiation levels. Our study is dedicated to developing a gamma-ray detection system tailored for integration into robotic platforms for nuclear decommissioning, offering a safe and automated solution for this intricate task and ensuring the safety of human operators by mitigating radiation exposure and streamlining hotspot localization. Our approach integrates a Compton camera based 3D reconstruction algorithm with a single Timepix3 detector. This eliminates the need for a second detector and significantly reduces system weight and cost. Additionally, combining a 3D camera with the setup enhances hotspot visualization and interpretation, rendering it an ideal solution for practical nuclear decommissioning applications. In a proof-of-concept measurement utilizing a 137Cs source, our system accurately localized and visualized the source in 3D with an angular error of 1° and estimated the activity with a 3% relative error. This promising result underscores the system's potential for deployment in real-world decommissioning settings. Future endeavors will expand the technology's applications in authentic decommissioning scenarios and optimize its integration with robotic platforms. The outcomes of our study contribute to heightened safety and accuracy for nuclear decommissioning works through the advancement of cost-effective and efficient gamma-ray detection systems.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.299-307
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• 1997

The individual dose equivalent, $H_p$, effective dose, E, and gender specific effective dose, $E^m$ and E$^f$, were evaluated using the male and female phantoms of MIRD type located in the radial gamma radiation field near a point source. The point sources were placed at the distances of 15, 40 and 100 cm in front of the body at different heights. Two radionuclides, $^{137}Cs$ and $^{131}I$, were selected for the illustrative examples. In terms of the gender specific effective doses, $E^f$ is higher than $E^m$ with a few exceptions, e.g. the case where the point source is at the height of reproductive organs, but the differences from the sex- averaged values are not significant enough to justify use of gender specific dose conversion factors for the radial gamma field. The ratios $H_p$/E were in the range of 1 to 3 depending on the source and dosimeter positions when the dosimeter is worn on the front surface of the torso covering from chest to lower abdomen, but varied from 0.34 to 6.5 in extreme cases. When it is assumed that the typical handling procedure of radioactive source material and the typical dosimeter position(on the chest) be respected, the dosimeters calibrated against the broad parallel field appear to provide estimates with acceptable errors for the effective dose of workers exposed to radial broad gamma field around a point source.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.367-372
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• 1992

In order to measure the energy spectrum of a radioactive neutron source, the pulse shape discrimination (PSD) system with organic scintillator, NE-213, was characterized by using some of the gamma ray sources and neutron source, Am-Be. The figure of merit of the rise time spectrum of AmBe source measured by this system was about 1.13. This value agrees well with the value of 1.3 which is measured for monoenergetic source, $^{12}C(d,\;n)^{13}N$. The results of present experiment for performance test of NE213-PSD system will provide the useful technique to measure the spectrum of neutron-gamma mixed field and to establish the neutron energy spectrum and flux density standards.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1271-1276
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• 2020

The geometrical efficiency of a source-to-detector configuration is considered to be necessary in the calculation of the full energy peak efficiency, especially for NaI(Tl) and HPGe gamma-ray spectroscopy detectors. The geometrical efficiency depends on the solid angle subtended by the radioactive sources and the detector surfaces. The present work is basically concerned to establish a new mathematical approach for calculating the solid angle and geometrical efficiency, based on conversion of the geometrical solid angle of a non-axial radioactive point source with respect to a circular surface of the detector to a new equivalent geometry. The equivalent geometry consists of an axial radioactive point source with respect to an arbitrary elliptical surface that lies between the radioactive point source and the circular surface of the detector. This expression was extended to include coaxial radioactive circular disk source. The results were compared with a number of published data to explain how significant this work is in the efficiency calibration procedure for the γ-ray detection systems, especially in case of using isotropic radiating γ-ray sources in the form of point and disk shapes.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.58 no.7
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• pp.1450-1455
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• 2009

Assumed that an IPTV camera system is to be used as an ad-hoc sensor for the surveillance and diagnostics of safety-critical equipments installed in the in-containment building of the nuclear power plant, an major problem is the presence of high dose-rate gamma irradiation fields inside the one. In order to uses an IPTV camera in such intense gamma radiation environment of the in-containment building, the radiation-weakened devices including a CCD imaging sensor, FPGA, ASIC and microprocessors are to be properly shielded from high dose-rate gamma radiation using the high-density material, lead or tungsten. But the passive elements such as mirror, lens and window, which are placed in the optical path of the CCD imaging sensor, are exposed to a high dose-rate gamma ray source directly. So, the gamma-ray irradiation characteristics of the passive elements, is needed to test. A CCD camera lens, made of glass material, have been gamma irradiated at the dose rate of 4.2 kGy/h during an hour up to a total dose of 4 kGy. The radiation induced color-center in the glass lens is observed. The degradation performance of the gamma irradiated lens is explained using an color component analysis.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.9
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• pp.3872-3883
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• 2024

This study investigates the effects of Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), and Iron (Fe) additions on the microstructure, corrosion behaviour, biocompatibility, mechanical, and gamma-ray shielding properties of Magnesium (Mg) alloys prepared in various compositions using powder metallurgy (PM). The microstructure and mechanical properties of these alloys were analyzed using electron microscopes (SEM and FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The results showed positive changes in the material's structure when the percentage of zinc added to pure magnesium increased. It was observed that the material became ductile, and the ductile fracture increased when the zinc ratio increased. The gamma-ray shielding properties of newly produced Mg-based alloys have also been discussed since they have a high potential for use in space technologies. Radiation shielding measurements have been performed using a 3" × 3" NaI(Tl) scintillation detector NaI (Tl) gamma-ray spectrometer. The gamma-ray shielding parameters such as the linear attenuation coefficients (μ_l), mass attenuation coefficient (μ_m), effective atomic number (Z_eff), half-value layer (HVL), and tenth-value layer (TVL) have been determined experimentally at photon energies of 0.511 MeV (emitted from a²²Na radioactive point source) and 1.173 MeV and 1.332 MeV (emitting from a⁶⁰Co radioactive point source). The obtained parameters have been compared to the theoretical results of the XCOM software, and a satisfactory agreement has been found. It can be said from the results that the Mg30Zn alloy has the best shielding properties among the produced materials.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.95.2-95.2
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• 2012

We have compared the geoeffective parameters of halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs) to predict geomagnetic storms. For this we consider 50 front-side full halo CMEs whose asymmetric cone model parameters and earthward direction parameter were available. For each CME we use its projected velocity (Vp), radial velocity (Vr), angle between cone axis and sky plane (${\gamma}$) from the cone model, earthward direction parameter (D), source longitude (L), and magnetic field orientation (M) of the CME source region. We make a simple and multiple linear regression analysis to find out the relationship between CME parameters and Dst index. Major results are as follows. (1) $Vr{\times}{\gamma}$ has a higher correlation coefficient (cc = 0.70) with the Dst index than the others. When we make a multiple regression of Dst and two parameters ($Vr{\times}{\gamma}$, D), the correlation coefficient increases from 0.70 to 0.77. (2) Correlation coefficients between Dst index and $Vr{\times}{\gamma}$ have different values depending on M and L. (3) Super geomagnetic storms (Dst ${\leq}$ -200 nT) only appear in the western and southward events. Our results demonstrate that not only the cone model parameters together with the earthward direction parameter improve the relationship between CME parameters and Dst index but also the source longitude and its magnetic field orientation play a significant role in predicting geomagnetic storms.

• Biomedical Engineering Letters
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.383-392
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• 2018

For prompt gamma ray imaging for biomedical applications and environmental radiation monitoring, we propose herein a multiple-scattering Compton camera (MSCC). MSCC consists of three or more semiconductor layers with good energy resolution, and has potential for simultaneous detection and differentiation of multiple radio-isotopes based on the measured energies, as well as three-dimensional (3D) imaging of the radio-isotope distribution. In this study, we developed an analytic simulator and a 3D image generator for a MSCC, including the physical models of the radiation source emission and detection processes that can be utilized for geometry and performance prediction prior to the construction of a real system. The analytic simulator for a MSCC records coincidence detections of successive interactions in multiple detector layers. In the successive interaction processes, the emission direction of the incident gamma ray, the scattering angle, and the changed traveling path after the Compton scattering interaction in each detector, were determined by a conical surface uniform random number generator (RNG), and by a Klein-Nishina RNG. The 3D image generator has two functions: the recovery of the initial source energy spectrum and the 3D spatial distribution of the source. We evaluated the analytic simulator and image generator with two different energetic point radiation sources (Cs-137 and Co-60) and with an MSCC comprising three detector layers. The recovered initial energies of the incident radiations were well differentiated from the generated MSCC events. Correspondingly, we could obtain a multi-tracer image that combined the two differentiated images. The developed analytic simulator in this study emulated the randomness of the detection process of a multiple-scattering Compton camera, including the inherent degradation factors of the detectors, such as the limited spatial and energy resolutions. The Doppler-broadening effect owing to the momentum distribution of electrons in Compton scattering was not considered in the detection process because most interested isotopes for biomedical and environmental applications have high energies that are less sensitive to Doppler broadening. The analytic simulator and image generator for MSCC can be utilized to determine the optimal geometrical parameters, such as the distances between detectors and detector size, thus affecting the imaging performance of the Compton camera prior to the development of a real system.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.1633-1637
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• 2019

While considering the photon attenuation coefficient (${\mu}$) and its related parameters for photons shielding, it is necessary to account for its transmitted and reflected photons energy spectra and dose contribution. Monte Carlo simulation was used to study the efficiency of clay ($1.99g\;cm^{-3}$) as a shielding material below 150 keV photon. Am-241 gamma source and an X-ray of 150 kVp were calculated. The calculated value of ${\mu}$ for Am-241 is higher within 5.61% compared to theoretical value for a single-energy photon. The calculated half-value layer (HVL) is 0.9335 cm, which is lower than that of ordinary concrete for X-ray of 150 kVp. A thickness of 2 cm clay was adequate to attenuate 90% and 85% of the incident photons from Am-241 and X-ray of 150 kVp, respectively. The same thickness of 2 cm could shield the gamma source dose rate of Am-241 (1 MBq) down to $0.0528{\mu}Sv/hr$. For X-ray of 150 kVp, photons below 60 keV were significantly decreased with 2 cm clay and a dose rate reduction by ~80%. The contribution of reflected photons and dose from the clay is negligible for both sources.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.45.1-45.1
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• 2017

A Korean VLBI Network Key Science Program, the Interferometric Monitoring of Gamma-ray Bright AGNs (iMOGABA) program continues to aim at revealing the origins of the gamma-ray flares that are often detected in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Here in this presentation, we would like to present what we have learned about the Gamma-ray bright AGNs based on the recent results of the Korean VLBI Network Key Science Program: the iMGOABA. The results will include a) the source properties of the whole samples obtained from a single-epoch observation, and b) some of scientific highlights for the iMOGAGBA on specific sources. From those highlighted works, we find that the Gamma-ray bright AGNs become fainter at higher frequencies, yielding optically thin spectra at mm wavelengths. Based on the studies on specific sources, taking into account the synchrotron self-absorption model of the relativistic jet, we estimated the magnetic field strength in the mas emission region during the observing period.