• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.261-270
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• 2020

In diagnostic X-ray examinations, dose assessments for pregnant female and fetus are realistically difficult, and related research is also lacking. Therefore, in this study, the purpose of the simulation was to analyze the dose and fetal dose for pregnant female during abdominal X-ray examination. Based on the data presented in ICRP 89, this study produced phantom reconstructed of the existing prenatal phantom, which was used to analyze the evaluation of the organ dose and fetal dose of pregnant female according to pregnancy week and the difference between the dose of the existing phantom and the reconstructed phantom. As a result, the abdominal X-ray test showed a tendency to show higher doses for organs close to the direction of the source joining. In addition, it was confirmed that fetal doses in posteroanterior position were reduced by more than 65% compared with anteroposterior position.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.661-668
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• 2020

One of the causes of death for pregnant female is embolism, when a chest PA examination is performed. In addition, due to small doses, the examinations are performed for the purpose of preparing for pre-delivery emergency surgery or basic examination for pregnant female. Evaluating fetal doses through actual measurements is subject to ethical problems, Monte Carlo simulations assesses the organ and fetal doses of pregnant females according to week of pregnancy. The results of the simulations showed that the fetal dose decreased according to weeks of pregnancy and it showed a dose of about 0.1 mGy. The higher the density and thickness of the shielding material, the better the shielding effect. In addition, the dose reduction effect for each shielding material is between 40 and 98%. Afterwards, it is deemed necessary to study the reduction of fetal doses through various shielding characteristics and methods.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.385-390
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• 2016

Radioactive iodine treatment that uses the 2 people isolation room is to cause unnecessary radiation exposure between patients. This research is to be tested safety of 2 people Isolation treatment room and dose-rate through conservative perspective except physiology characteristic and biology information on the assumption that patient have iodine without excretion in 2 people isolation treatment room. This research shows that 364 keV gamma rays emitted by the radioiodine was to determine that the air layer about 30 cm or lead shield 3 mm a half-layer. In addition, In addition, patients in the distance, and lead shielding, length of hospital stay (48 hours) for external radiation exposure that is received from the other patients, two of treatment as appears to be lower than the legal isolation standard dose less than 5 mSv isolation room effective analyzed that manageable.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.380-387
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• 2015

A lead slowing-down spectrometer (LSDS) system is a promising nondestructive assay technique that enables a quantitative measurement of the isotopic contents of major fissile isotopes in spent nuclear fuel and its pyroprocessing counterparts, such as $^{235}U$, $^{239}Pu$, $^{241}Pu$, and, potentially, minor actinides. The LSDS system currently under development at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (Daejeon, Korea) is planned to utilize a high-flux ($>10^{12}n/cm^2{\cdot}s$) neutron source comprised of a high-energy (30 MeV)/high-current (~2 A) electron beam and a heavy metal target, which results in a very intense and complex radiation field for the facility, thus demanding structural shielding to guarantee the safety. Optimization of the structural shielding design was conducted using MCNPX for neutron dose rate evaluation of several representative hypothetical designs. In order to satisfy the construction cost and neutron attenuation capability of the facility, while simultaneously achieving the aimed dose rate limit (< $0.06{\mu}Sv/h$), a few shielding materials [high-density polyethylene (HDPE)eBorax, $B_4C$, and $Li_2CO_3$] were considered for the main neutron absorber layer, which is encapsulated within the double-sided concrete wall. The MCNP simulation indicated that HDPE-Borax is the most efficient among the aforementioned candidate materials, and the combined thickness of the shielding layers should exceed 100 cm to satisfy the dose limit on the outside surface of the shielding wall of the facility when limiting the thickness of the HDPE-Borax intermediate layer to below 5 cm. However, the shielding wall must include the instrumentation and installation holes for the LSDS system. The radiation leakage through the holes was substantially mitigated by adopting a zigzag-shape with concrete covers on both sides. The suggested optimized design of the shielding structure satisfies the dose rate limit and can be used for the construction of a facility in the near future.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.81-88
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• 2013

Neutron spectrum analyses of spallation neutrons are conducted in the accelerator-driven system (ADS) facility at the Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA). High-energy protons (100 MeV) obtained from the fixed field alternating gradient accelerator are injected onto a tungsten target, whereby the spallation neutrons are generated. For neutronic characteristics of spallation neutrons, the reaction rates and the continuous energy distribution of spallation neutrons are measured by the foil activation method and by an organic liquid scintillator, respectively. Numerical calculations are executed by MCNPX with JENDL/HE-2007 and ENDF/B-VI libraries to evaluate the reaction rates of activation foils (bismuth and indium) set at the target and the continuous energy distribution of spallation neutrons set in front of the target. For the reaction rates by the foil activation method, the C/E values between the experiments and the calculations are found around a relative difference of 10%, except for some reactions. For continuous energy distribution by the organic liquid scintillator, the spallation neutrons are observed up to 45 MeV. From these results, the neutron spectrum information on the spallation neutrons generated at the target are attained successfully in injecting 100 MeV protons onto the tungsten target.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.531-544
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• 2009

This paper is intended to provide key issues and current research outcomes on accelerator-based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). Accelerator-based neutron sources are efficient to provide epithermal neutron beams for BNCT; hence, much research, worldwide, has focused on the development of components crucial for its realization: neutron-producing targets and cooling equipment, beam-shaping assemblies, and treatment planning systems. Proton beams of 2.5 MeV incident on lithium target results in high yield of neutrons at relatively low energies. Cooling equipment based on submerged jet impingement and micro-channels provide for viable heat removal options. Insofar as beam-shaping assemblies are concerned, moderators containing fluorine or magnesium have the best performance in terms of neutron accumulation in the epithermal energy range during the slowing-down from the high energies. NCT_Plan and SERA systems, which are popular dose distribution analysis tools for BNCT, contain all the required features (i.e., image reconstruction, dose calculations, etc.). However, detailed studies of these systems remain to be done for accurate dose evaluation. Advanced research centered on accelerator-based BNCT is active in Korea as evidenced by the latest research at Hanyang University. There, a new target system and a beam-shaping assembly have been constructed. The performance of these components has been evaluated through comparisons of experimental measurements with simulations. In addition, a new patient-specific treatment planning system, BTPS, has been developed to calculate the deposited dose and radiation flux in human tissue. It is based on MCNPX, and it facilitates BNCT efficient planning based via a user-friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI).

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.69-76
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• 2017

This study evaluated the activation of the shielding wall and the components around the accelerator by using the medical linear accelerator. We performed simulations for energy values of 20 MV with the operating time ranging from day 1 to 30 years, and linear accelerator head and shielding wall concrete were also evaluated. The results showed that neutrons in large quantities were analyzed using high energy around thetarget point where photons were formed. Based on the activation analysis with these results, radioactivity increased with an increase in operation time and activated nuclides usually start saturating in10 years. Furthermore, the general types of nuclides formed owingto the activation were Co-60, W-181, 185, 187, Na-24, Ca-45, Mn-54, 56, and Fe-55, 59.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.325-330
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• 2011

To predict the details of flow in industrial process unit, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a promising technique. Recently, industrial SPECT based on medical system has developed by researchers of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and Hanyang University. In the present study, to confirm the effect of the number of detectors on image quality, and determine the optimal number of detectors in industrial SPECT, industrial SPECT system with various geometries were evaluated by the Monte Carlo simulation. CsI(Tl) detectors ($12mm{\times}12mm{\times}20mm$) with collimators (the geometric resolution of collimator $R_g$ was 4 cm at the center of the 30 cm diameter cylindrical vessel object) were modeled in a hexagonal array, and the point sources of $^{99m}Tc$, $^{68}Ga$, and $^{137}Cs$ were simulated at the center of the cylindrical vessel object using the MCNPX code. Then, the reconstruction images of each geometry were reconstructed using the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. In this study, the reciprocity theorem was used to improve computation time required for system matrix of the EM algorithm. The result shows that the resolution of the reconstructed image was significantly improved by increasing the number of detectors in industrial SPECT system and more than 60 detectors will be required for the resolution of the reconstructed image.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.7
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• pp.875-883
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• 2015

The use of subcritical aqueous homogenous reactors driven by accelerators presents an attractive alternative for producing $^{99}Mo$. In this method, the medical isotope production system itself is used to extract $^{99}Mo$ or other radioisotopes so that there is no need to irradiate common targets. In addition, it can operate at much lower power compared to a traditional reactor to produce the same amount of $^{99}Mo$ by irradiating targets. In this study, the neutronic performance and $^{99}Mo$, $^{89}Sr$, and $^{131}I$ production capacity of a subcritical aqueous homogenous reactor fueled with low-enriched uranyl nitrate was evaluated using the MCNPX code. A proton accelerator with a maximum 30-MeV accelerating power was used to run the subcritical core. The computational results indicate a good potential for the modeled system to produce the radioisotopes under completely safe conditions because of the high negative reactivity coefficients of the modeled core. The results show that application of an optimized beam window material can increase the fission power of the aqueous nitrate fuel up to 80%. This accelerator-based procedure using low enriched uranium nitrate fuel to produce radioisotopes presents a potentially competitive alternative in comparison with the reactor-based or other accelerator-based methods. This system produces ~1,500 Ci/wk (~325 6-day Ci) of $^{99}Mo$ at the end of a cycle.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.3413-3420
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• 2021

Applying the available neutron flux for medical and industrial purposes is the most important application of research reactors. The neutron radiography system is used for non-destructive testing (NDT) of materials so that it is one of the main applications of nuclear research reactors. One of these research reactors is the 5 MW pool-type light water research reactor of Tehran (TRR). This work aims to investigate on materials and location of the beam tube (BT) of the TRR radiography system to improve the index parameters of BT. Our results showed that a through-type BT with 20 cm thick carbon neutron filter, 1.2 cm and 9.4 cm of the diameter of inlet (D₁) and output (D₂) BT, respectively gives thermal neutron flux almost 25.7, 5.6 and 1.1 times greater than the former design of the TRR (with D₁ = 1.8 cm and D₁ = 9.4 cm), previous design of the TRR with D₁ = 3 cm and D₁ = 9.4 cm, and another design with D₁ = 5 cm and D₁ = 9.4 cm, respectively. Therefore, the design proposed in this paper could be a better alternative to the current BT of the TRR.