• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3692-3699
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• 2023

The Rare isotope Accelerator complex for ON-line experiments in Korea houses several accelerator complexes. Among them, the µSR facility will be initially equipped with a 600 MeV and 100 kW proton beam to generate surface muons, and will be upgraded to 400 kW with the same energy. Accelerated proton beams lose approximately 20% of the power at the target, and the remaining power is concentrated in the beam direction. Therefore, to ensure safe operation of the facility, concentrated protons must be distributed and absorbed at the beam dump. Additionally, effective dose levels must be lower than the legal standard, and the beam dumps used at 100 kW should be reused at 400 kW to minimize the generation of radioactive waste. In this study, we introduce a tailored method for designing beam dumps based on the characteristics of the µSR facility. To optimize the geometry, the absorbed power and effective dose were calculated using the MCNP6 code. The temperature and stress were determined using the ANSYS Mechanical code. Thus, the beam dump design consists of six structures when operated at 100 kW, and a 400 kW beam dump consisting of 24 structures was developed by reusing the 100 kW beam dump.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.161-165
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• 2001

We have developed a position-sensitive proton recoil telescope (PSPRT) which employs a position-sensitive photomultiplier (PS-PMT) and a scintillator for both a radiator and a proton-detector. This system is expected to achieve high energy resolution under a large solid angle, because it enables to obtain the information not only on the proton energy but also the recoil angle from the position data for both detectors. The response of the PSPRT for 14.1 MeV mono-energetic neutrons was measured, and the PSPRT proved to be operating as expected.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1998.05b
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• pp.957-962
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• 1998

As the first stage accelerator of the Korea Multipurpose Accelerator Complex (KOMAC) 1GeV proton linac, a 350MHZ, cw Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) will be built to produce 20㎃ of 3Mev. High current RFQ with cw operation is a major program in the KOMAC project to understand beam dynamics, engineering design, construction, control and diagnostics techniques. The beam dynamics and the engineering design of RFQ are described and the present status of the KOMAC RFQ project is discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.819-824
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• 2019

In this study, we proposed a method for identifying isotopes generated from high-energy proton $^{nat}Pb$(p,xn) nuclear reactions through the difference of gamma rays generated through nuclear reactions using different proton energies. The experiment was performed by using a high energy proton generated from a 100 MeV proton linear accelerator of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Gamma rays generated by various nuclides generated through proton nuclear reactions were measured using a gamma-ray spectroscopy system composed of HPGe detectors. Gamma-ray standard sources were used for accurate energy calibration and efficiency measurements of HPGe gamma-ray detectors. For the proposed method, 100 and 60 MeV proton energy beams were used for the same natural lead samples. This method was found to be very effective in identifying nuclides produced by comparing gamma rays generated from the same sample with each other. The results of this study are expected to be very effective in obtaining other proton nuclear reaction results in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.623-625
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• 2022

In this paper, the proton induced attenuation characteristics were evaluated for 5 types of commercial single-mode optical fibers using a proton accelerator. The proton beam used in the irradiation test has a high energy of 100 MeV class, and the test was performed by setting the uniformity of the beam irradiation area to 10% or less. According to the type of optical fiber (internal material, impurities), the radiation induced attenuation by the proton irradiation showed a noticeable difference.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.2153-2162
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to develop a high-energy neutron shielding material applied in proton therapy environment. Composite shielding material consisting of 10.00 wt% boron carbide particles (B₄C), 13.64 wt% surface-modified cross-linked polyethylene (PE), and 76.36 wt% tungsten particles were fabricated by hot-pressure sintering method, where the optimal ratio of the composite is determined by the shielding effect under the neutron field generated in typical proton therapy environment. The results of Differential Scanning Calorimetry measurements (DSC) and tensile experiment show that the composite has good thermal and mechanical properties. In addition, the high energy-neutron shielding performance of the developed material was evaluated using cyclotron proton accelerator with 100 MeV proton. The simulation shows a 99.99% decrease in fast neutron injection after 44 cm shielding, and the experiment result show a 99.70% decrease. Finally, the shielding effect of replacing part of the shielding material of the proton therapy hall with the developed material was simulated, and the results showed that the total neutron injection decreased to 0.99‰ and the neutron dose reduced to 1.10‰ before the enhanced shielding. In summary, the developed material is expected to serve as a shielding enhancement material in the proton therapy environment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.133-138
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• 2018

The measurement of gamma-ray spectrum of $^{nat}W(p,xn)$ reaction with natural tungsten were performed by using a high energy proton generated from a 100-MeV proton linear accelerator of the Korea Multi-purpose Accelerator Complex (KOMAC). Gamma rays generated by various nuclides generated through the nuclide were measured using a gamma-ray spectroscopy system composed of HPGe detector. A gamma-ray standard source was used for energy calibration and efficiency measurement of the detector. Analysis of the gamma rays observed in the measured spectra showed that the radionuclides produced were $^{167}Re$, $^{178}Re$, $^{179}Re$, $^{180}Re$, $^{181}Re$, $^{182}Re$, $^{184}Re$, $^{172}Ta$, $^{174}Ta$, $^{178}Ta$, $^{182}Ta$, $^{184}Ta$, $^{175}W$, $^{176}W$, $^{177}W$ and $^{179}W$. Nuclides were generated. The results of this study will be applied to nuclear fusion, astrophysics, and nuclear medicine applications in the future.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.141-145
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• 2017

Background: The concrete walls inside the vaults of cyclotron facilities are activated by neutrons emitted by the targets during radioisotope production. Reducing the amount of radioactive waste created in such facilities is very important in case they are decommissioned. Thus, we proposed a strategy of reducing the neutron activation of the concrete walls in cyclotrons during operation. Materials and Methods: A polyethylene plate and B-doped Al sheet (30 wt% of B and 2.5 mm in thickness) were placed in front of the wall in the cyclotron room of a radioisotope production facility for pharmaceutical use. The target was Xe gas, and a Cu block was utilized for proton dumping. The irradiation time, proton energy, and beam current were 8 hours, 30 MeV, and $125{\mu}A$, respectively. To determine a suitable thickness for the polyethylene plate set in front of the B-doped Al sheet, the neutron-reducing effects achieved by inserting such sheets at several depths within polyethylene plate stacks were evaluated. The neutron fluence was monitored using an activation detector and 20-g on de Au foil samples with and without 0.5-mm-thick Cd foil. Each Au foil sample was pasted onto the center of a polyethylene plate and B-doped Al sheet, and the absolute activity of one Au foil sample was measured as a standard using a Ge detector. The resulting relative activities were obtained by calculating the ratio of the photostimulated luminescence of each foil sample to that of the standard Au foil. Results and Discussion: When the combination of a 4-cm-thick polyethylene plate and B-doped Al sheet was employed, the thermal neutron rate was reduced by 78%. Conclusion: The combination of a 4-cm-thick polyethylene plate and B-doped Al sheet effectively reduced the neutron activation of the investigated concrete wall.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.55-59
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• 2015

Research about the proton nuclear reaction is actively achieving on the proton therapy including material development of fusion reactor. The proton induced gamma ray energy(2754, 1386 keV) spectrum of 27Al(p,3p+n)24Na reaction was measured with 100 MeV high energy proton beam. The proton beam in the experiment was derived from 100 MeV proton linear accelerator in the KOMAC. We measured the gamma ray intensity ratio of the decay level from the energy spectrum. The previous results have been compared with the current result. Strength of measured gamma rays will provide very important information though decide high energy gamma radiation detection efficiency.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.216-221
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• 2016

Background: Very fine radiation-induced aerosol particles are produced in intense radiation fields, such as high-intensity accelerator rooms and containment vessels such as those in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP). Size measurement of the aerosol particles is very important for understanding the behavior of radioactive aerosols released in the FDNPP accident and radiation safety in high-energy accelerators. Materials and Methods: A combined technique using wire screens and imaging plates was developed for size measurement of fine radioactive aerosol particles smaller than 100 nm in diameter. This technique was applied to the radiation field of a proton accelerator room, in which radioactive atoms produced in air during machine operation are incorporated into radiation-induced aerosol particles. The size of $^{11}C$-bearing aerosol particles was analyzed using the wire screen technique in distinction from other positron emitters in combination with a radioactive decay analysis. Results and Discussion: The size distribution for $^{11}C$-bearing aerosol particles was found to be ca. $70{\mu}m$ in geometric mean diameter. The size was similar to that for $^7Be$-bearing particles obtained by a Ge detector measurement, and was slightly larger than the number-based size distribution measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer. Conclusion: The particle size measuring method using wire screens and imaging plates was successfully applied to the fine aerosol particles produced in an intense radiation field of a proton accelerator. This technique is applicable to size measurement of radioactive aerosol particles produced in the intense radiation fields of radiation facilities.