• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2002.07d
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• pp.2252-2254
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• 2002

The Reactor internal structures which consist of many complex components are subjected to flow-induced vibration due to high temperature and pressure in Reactor coolant system. The above flow-induced vibration causes degradation of structural integrity of the Reactor and may result in loosing mechanical binding component which might impact other equipment and component or cause flow blockage. It is important to analyze reactor noise signal for the early detection of potential problem or failure in order to diagnosis reactor integrity in the point of view of safety and plant economics. Detailed composition of diagnostic system reactor internal structures using neutron noise(RIDS).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.566-573
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• 2002

Neutron activation analysis based on $textsc{k}$$_{o}$-standardization method＃ ($textsc{k}$o-NAA) is Com as one of the most remarkable progresses of the NAA with advantages of experimental simplicity, high accuracy, excellent flexibility with respect to irradiation and counting conditions, and suitability for computerization. This study was carried out to determine the reactor neutron spectrum parameters, i.e. $\alpha$ and f as the main factors of irradiation quality at NAA ＃1 irradiation hole on HANARO research reactor, to evaluate peak detection efficiency of the gamma-ray spectrometer for the use in the $textsc{k}$$_{o}$ experiments and to compare the measured concentration results with the certified values of some SRMs applying the experimentally determined to-parameters.ers.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.87-92
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• 2007

A thermal neutron beam facility utilizing a typical tangential beam port for Neutron Capture Therapy was installed at the HANARO, 30 MW multi-purpose research reactor. Mixed beams with different physical characteristics and relative biological effectiveness would be emitted from the BNCT irradiation facility, so a quantitative analysis of each component of the mixed beams should be performed to determine the accurate delivered dose. Thus, various techniques were applied including the use of activation foils, TLDs and ionization chambers. All the dose measurements were perform ed with the water phantom filled with distilled water. The results of the measurement were compared with MCNP4B calculation. The thermal neutron fluxes were $1.02E9n/cm^2{\cdot}s\;and\;6.07E8n/cm^2{\cdot}s$ at 10 and 20 mm depth respectively, and the fast neutron dose rate was insignificant as 0.11 Gy/hr at 10 mm depth in water The gamma-ray dose rate was 5.10 Gy/hr at 20 mm depth in water Good agreement within 5%, has been obtained between the measured dose and the calculated dose using MCNP for neutron and gamma component and discrepancy with 14% for fast neutron flux Considering the difficulty of neutron detection, the current study support the reliability of these results and confirmed the suitability of the thermal neutron beam as a dosimetric data for BNCT clinical trials.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.167-171
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• 2010

Fixed radiation portal monitors (RPMs) deployed at border, seaport, airport and key traffic checkpoints have played an important role in preventing the illicit trafficking and transport of nuclear and radioactive materials. However, the RPM is usually large and heavy and can't easily be moved to different locations. These reasons motivate us to develop a mobile radiation detection system. The objective of this paper is to report our experience on developing the mobile radiation detection system for search and detection of nuclear and radioactive materials during road transport. Field tests to characterize the developed detection system were performed at various speeds and distances between the radioactive isotope (RI) transporting car and the measurement car. Results of measurements and detection limits of our system are described in this paper. The mobile radiation detection system developed should contribute to defending public's health and safety and the environment against nuclear and radiological terrorism by detecting nuclear or radioactive material hidden illegally in a vehicle.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.8
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• pp.1964-1969
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• 2019

The safety and efficiency of nuclear reactors largely depend on the monitoring and control of nuclear radiation. Due to the unique nuclear-physical characteristics, Hf is one of the most promising materials for the manufacturing of the control rods and the emitters of neutron detectors. It is proposed to use the Compton neutron detector with the emitter made of Hf in the In-core Instrumentation System (ICIS) for monitoring the neutron field. The main advantages of such a detector in comparison the conventional β-emission sensors are the possibility of reaching of a higher cumulative radiation dose and the absence of signal delays. The response time of the detection is extremely important when a nuclear reactor is operating near its critical operational parameters. Taking Hf as an example, the general principles for calculating the chains of materials transformation under neutron irradiation are reported. The influence of ^179m1Hf on the Hf composition changing dynamics and the process of transmutants' (Ta, W) generation were determined. The effect of these processes on the absorbing properties of Hf, which inevitably predetermine the lifetime of the detector and its ability to generate a signal, is estimated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1964-1969
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• 2021

We developed a Dual-PPACs detector for fast neutron measurements that consists of two sets of PPAC: conventional PPAC and fission PPAC. A²³⁸U(U₃O₈) coating is placed in the fission PPAC's anode, which is used as the neutrons conversion layer. An experiment was performed to measure neutron time-of-flight (TOF) in which ²⁵²Cf spontaneous fission source was used. An excellent time resolution of 164ps has been observed at 6 mbar in isobutene gas. With the excellent time resolution of Dual-PPACs detector, exact neutron energy can be extracted from the timing measurement. The experimental detection efficiency was 1.9 × 10^-7, consistent with the efficiency of 2.5 × 10^-7 given by a Geant4 simulation. Ultimately, the results show that the Dual-PPACs detector is a suitable candidate for measuring fast neutrons in the future CiADS system.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.53-63
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• 2019

Background: As neutron fields are always accompanied by gamma rays, it is essential to distinguish neutrons from gamma rays in the detection of neutrons. Neutrons and gamma rays can be separated by pulse shape discrimination (PSD) methods. Recently, we performed characterization of a stilbene scintillator detector and an EJ-301 liquid scintillator detector with a high-speed digitizer DT5730 and investigated optimized PSD variables for both detectors. This study is for providing a basis for developing fast neutron/gamma-ray dual-particle imager. Materials and Methods: We conducted PSD experiments using stilbene scintillator and EJ-301 liquid scintillator and evaluated neutron and gamma ray discriminability of each PSD method with a $^{137}Cs$ gamma source and a $^{252}Cf$ neutron source. We implemented digital signal processing techniques to apply two PSD methods - the charge comparison (CC) method and the constant time discrimination (CTD) method - to distinguish neutrons from gamma rays. We tried to find optimized PSD variables giving the best discriminability in a given experimental condition. Results and Discussion: For the stilbene scintillator detector, the charge comparison method and the constant time discrimination method both delivered the PSD FOM values of 1.7. For the EJ-301 liquid scintillator detector, both PSD methods delivered the PSD FOM values of 1.79. With the same PSD variables, PSD performance was excellent in $300{\pm}100keVee$, $500{\pm}100keVee$, and $700{\pm}100keVee$ energy regions. This result shows that we can achieve an effective discrimination of neutrons from gamma rays using these scintillator detector systems. Conclusion: We applied both PSD methods to a stilbene and a liquid scintillator and optimized the PSD performance represented by FOM values. We observed a good separation performance of both scintillators combined with a high-speed digitizer and digital PSD. These results will provide reference values for the dual-particle imager we are developing, which can image both fast neutrons and gamma rays simultaneously.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.99-107
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• 2008

When a new counting experiment is proposed, it is crucial to predict whether the desired source signal will be detected, or how much observation time is required in order to detect the signal at a certain significance level. The concept of the a priori prediction of the detection limit in a newly proposed experiment should be distinguished from the a posteriori claim or decision whether a source signal was detected in an experiment already performed, and the calculation of statistical significance of a measured source signal. We formulate precise definitions of these concepts based on the statistical theory of hypothesis testing, and derive an approximate formula to estimate quickly the a priori detection limit of expected Poissonian source signals. A more accurate algorithm for calculating the detection limits in a counting experiment is also proposed. The formula and the proposed algorithm may be used for the estimation of required integration or observation time in proposals of new experiments. Applications include the calculation of integration time required for the detection of faint emission lines in a newly proposed spectroscopic observation, and the detection of faint sources in a new imaging observation. We apply the results to the calculation of observation time required to claim the detection of the surface thermal emission from neutron stars with two virtual instruments.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2004

The detection efficiencies of the several solid track detectors were investigated for the determination of boron content in aqueous solution by using the alpha muti-Radioisotope(RI) source. Polycarbonate (Lexan and CR-39) and cellulose nitrate (CN-85 and LR-115) were selected as materials for alpha track detection of boron. Alpha muti-RI source, uranium metal particles and boron standard solution were used for alpha emission. In this study, four solid track detectors(CN-85, LR-115, Lexan and CR-39) were characterized under various etching conditions as well as neutron irradiation conditions. As a result, the CN-85 was turned out to be best to provide good efficiency among the four detectors. The selected solid track detector was utilized for the determination of trace amount of boron in aqueous sample and its results were discussed in the text.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 2022

CZT detectors, which are compound semiconductors that have been widely used recently for gamma-ray detection purposes, are difficult to detect neutrons because direct interaction with them does not occur unlike gamma-rays. In this paper, a method of detecting and determining energy levels (fast neutrons and thermal neutrons) of neutrons, in addition of identifying energy and nuclide of gamma-rays, and evaluating gamma dose rates using a CZT semiconductor detector is described. Neutrons may be detected by a secondary photoelectric effect or compton scattering process with a characteristic gamma-ray of 558.6 keV generated by a capture reaction (¹¹³Cd + ¹n → ¹¹⁴Cd + 𝛾) with cadmium (Cd) in the CZT detector. However, in the case of fast neutrons, the probability of capture reaction with cadmium (Cd) is very low, so it must be moderated to thermal neutrons using a moderator and the material and thickness of moderator should be determined in consideration of the portability and detection efficiency of the equipment. Conversely, in the case of thermal neutrons, the detection efficiency decreases due to shielding effect of moderator itself, so additional CZT detector that do not contain moderator must be configured. The CZT detector that does not contain moderator can be used to evaluate energy, nuclide, and gamma dose-rate for gamma-rays. The technology proposed in this paper provides a method for detecting both neutrons and gamma-rays using a CZT detector.