• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.573-590
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• 2020

This study presents the current status of DECOVALEX-2023 project Task G and our research results so far. Task G, named 'Safety ImplicAtions of Fluid Flow, Shear, Thermal and Reaction Processes within Crystalline Rock Fracture NETworks (SAFENET)' aims at developing a numerical method to simulate the fracture creation and propagation, and the coupled thermohydro-mechanical processes in fracture in crystalline rocks. The first research step of Task G is a benchmark simulation, which is designed for research teams to make their modelling codes more robust and verify whether the models can represent an analytical solution for displacements of a single rock fracture. We reproduced the mechanical behavior of rock and embedded single fracture using a three-dimensional grain-based distinct element model for the simulations. In this method, the structure of the rock was represented by an assembly of rigid tetrahedral grains moving independently of each other, and the mechanical interactions at the grains and their contacts were calculated using 3DEC. The simulation results revealed that the stresses induced along the embedded fracture in the model were relatively low compared to those calculated by stress analysis due to stress redistribution and constrained fracture displacements. The fracture normal and shear displacements of the numerical model showed good agreement with the analytical solutions. The numerical model will be enhanced by continuing collaboration and interaction with other research teams of DECOVALEX-2023 Task G and validated using various experiments in a further study.

• Atmosphere
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.103-118
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• 2022

This study evaluates the simulated meteorological fields with a particular focus on the low-level wind, which plays an important role in air pollutants dispersion, under the varying synoptic environment. Additionally, the effects of subgrid-scale orography parameterization and improved topography/land-use data on the simulated low-level wind is investigated. The WRF model version 4.1.3 is utilized to simulate two cases that were affected by different synoptic environments. One case from 2 to 6 April 2012 presents the substantial low-level wind speed over the Korean peninsula where the synoptic environment is characterized by the baroclinic instability. The other case from 14 to 18 April 2012 presents the relatively weak low-level wind speed and distinct diurnal cycle of low-level meteorological fields. The control simulations of both cases represent the systematic overestimation of the low-level wind speed. The positive bias for the case under the baroclinic instability is considerably alleviated by applying the subgrid-scale orography parameterization. However, the improvement of wind speed for the other case showing relatively weak low-level wind speed is not significant. Applying the high-resolution topography and land-use data also improves the simulated wind speed by reducing the positive bias. Our analysis shows that the increased roughness length in the high-resolution topography and land-use data is the key contributor that reduces the simulated wind speed. The simulated wind direction is also improved with the high-resolution data for both cases. Overall, our study indicates that wind forecasts can be improved through the application of the subgrid-scale orography parameterization and high-resolution topography/land-use data.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.842-848
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• 2022

Parametric studies of heat transfer and fluid flow are very important research of interest because the design and operation of fluid flow and heat transfer systems are guided by these parametric studies. The safety of the system operation and system optimization can be determined by decreasing or increasing particular fluid flow and heat transfer parameter while keeping other parameters constant. The parameters that can be varied in order to determine safe and optimized system include system pressure, mass flow rate, heat flux and coolant inlet temperature among other parameters. The fluid flow and heat transfer systems can also be enhanced by the presence of or without the presence of particular effects including gravity effect among others. The advanced Generation IV reactors to be deployed for large electricity production, have proven to be more thermally efficient (approximately 45% thermal efficiency) than the current light water reactors with a thermal efficiency of approximately 33 ℃. SCWR is one of the Generation IV reactors intended for electricity generation. High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR) is a SCWR type which is under consideration in this study. One-eighth of a proposed fuel assembly design for HPLWR consisting of 7 fuel/rod bundles with 9 coolant sub-channels was the geometry considered in this study to examine the effects of system pressure and mass flow rate on wall and fluid temperatures. Gravity effect on wall and fluid temperatures were also examined on this one-eighth fuel assembly geometry. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code, STAR-CCM+, was used to obtain the results of the numerical simulations. Based on the parametric analysis carried out, sub-channel 4 performed better in terms of heat transfer because temperatures predicted in sub-channel 9 (corner subchannel) were higher than the ones obtained in sub-channel 4 (central sub-channel). The influence of system mass flow rate, pressure and gravity seem similar in both sub-channels 4 and 9 with temperature distributions higher in sub-channel 9 than in sub-channel 4. In most of the cases considered, temperature distributions (for both fluid and wall) obtained at 25 MPa are higher than those obtained at 23 MPa, temperature distributions obtained at 601.2 kg/h are higher than those obtained at 561.2 kg/h, and temperature distributions obtained without gravity effect are higher than those obtained with gravity effect. The results show that effects of system pressure, mass flowrate and gravity on fluid flow and heat transfer are significant and therefore parametric studies need to be performed to determine safe and optimum operating conditions of fluid flow and heat transfer systems.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.2935-2940
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• 2023

A polystyrene phantom was developed following the guidance of the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) for gamma knife (GK) quality assurance. Its performance was assessed by measuring the absorbed dose rate to water and dose distributions. The phantom was made of polystyrene, which has an electron density (1.0156) similar to that of water. The phantom included one outer phantom and four inner phantoms. Two inner phantoms held PTW T31010 and Exradin A16 ion chambers. One inner phantom held a film in the XY plane of the Leksell coordinate system, and another inner phantom held a film in the YZ or ZX planes. The absorbed dose rate to water and beam profiles of the machine-specific reference (msr) field, namely, the 16 mm collimator field of a GK Perfexion^TM or Icon^TM, were measured at seven GK sites. The measured results were compared to those of an IAEA-recommended solid water (SW) phantom. The radius of the polystyrene phantom was determined to be 7.88 cm by converting the electron density of the plastic, considering a water depth of 8 g/cm². The absorbed dose rates to water measured in both phantoms differed from the treatment planning program by less than 1.1%. Before msr correction, the PTW T31010 dose rates (PTW Freiberg GmbH, New York, NY, USA) in the polystyrene phantom were 0.70 (0.29)% higher on average than those in the SW phantom. The Exradin A16 (Standard Imaging, Middleton, WI, USA) dose rates were 0.76 (0.32)% higher in the polystyrene phantom. After msr correction factors were applied, there were no statistically significant differences in the A16 dose rates measured in the two phantoms; however, the T31010 dose rates were 0.72 (0.29)% higher in the polystyrene phantom. When the full widths at half maximum and penumbras of the msr field were compared, no significant differences between the two phantoms were observed, except for the penumbra in the Y-axis. However, the difference in the penumbra was smaller than variations among different sites. A polystyrene phantom developed for gamma knife dosimetry showed dosimetric performance comparable to that of a commercial SW phantom. In addition to its cost effectiveness, the polystyrene phantom removes air space around the detector. Additional simulations of the msr correction factors of the polystyrene phantom should be performed.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2015

Compton cameras overcome several limitations of conventional mechanical collimation based gamma imaging devices, such as pin-hole imaging devices, due to its electronic collimation based on coincidence logic. Especially large-scale Compton camera has wide field of view and high imaging sensitivity. Those merits suggest that a large-scale Compton camera might be applicable to monitoring nuclear materials in large facilities without necessity of portability. To that end, our research group have made an effort to design a large-scale Compton camera for safeguard application. Energy resolution or position resolution of large-area detectors vary with configuration style of the detectors. Those performances directly affect the image quality of the large-scale Compton camera. In the present study, a series of Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations were performed in order to examine the effect of those detector parameters. Performance of the designed large-scale Compton camera was also estimated for various monitoring condition with realistic modeling. The conclusion of the present study indicates that the energy resolution of the component detector is the limiting factor of imaging resolution rather than the position resolution. Also, the designed large-scale Compton camera provides the 16.3 cm image resolution in full width at half maximum (angular resolution: $9.26^{\circ}$) for the depleted uranium source considered in this study located at the 1 m from the system when the component detectors have 10% energy resolution and 7 mm position resolution.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2009

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among korean woman. Therefore, the early detection activities of breast cancer such as breast self-examinations, clinical breast examinations, mammography are important. A yearly mammography examination has been recommended for women aged 40 and older for the early detection of breast cancer in asymptomatic periods. However, the glandular tissue of breast is the most radiation-sensitive tissue, and the determination of average glandular dose (AGD) forms an important part of the quality control of the mammographic systems. Because of the difficulty of estimating AGD directly, it is often estimated from the measurements of the incident air kerma and by applying the appropriate conversion factors. The primary objective of this study was to standardize the method of measuring AGD. The secondary objective was to evaluate the relationships between AGD per various composition and thickness of the breast using Monte Carlo simulations. As a result, we standardized the method of measuring AGD according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines (CoP: an international code of practice). Overall, AGD for mammographic practice in Korea was less than 3.0 mGy recommended by the Korea Food and Drug Adminstration (KFDA) protocol, and Korean Institute for Accreditation of Medical Image (KIAMI). The measured and simulated AGD for a given condition were calculated as 1.7 and 1.6 mGy, respectively. For the AGDs obtained, there was no significant difference between them. The simulated AGD was dependent on the fraction of glandular tissue of the breast. The AGD increases with increasing of the breast glandularity due to increasing absorption of low energy photons. The AGD also increases as a function of breast thickness. In conclusion, the results of this study could be used as a baseline to establish a reference level of radiation dose in mammography.