• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권10호
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• pp.3824-3832
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• 2022

Prompt capture gammas are an important part of the fission reactor gamma field. Because some of the structural materials after neutron capture can emit photons with high energies forming the dominant component of the gamma spectrum in the high energy region, the following study of the high energy capture gamma was carried out. High energy gamma radiation may play a major role in areas of the radiation sciences as reactor dosimetry. The HPGe measurements and calculations of the high-energy aluminum capture gamma were performed at two moderator levels in the VR-1 pool-type reactor. The result comparison for nominal levels was within two sigma uncertainties for the major 7.724 MeV peak. A larger discrepancy of 60% was found for the 7.693 MeV peak. The spectra were also measured using a stilbene detector, and a good agreement between HPGe and stilbene was observed. This confirms the validity of stilbene measurements of gamma flux. Additionally, agreement of the wide peak measurement in 7-9.2 MeV by stilbene detector shows the possibility of using the organic scintillators as an independent power monitor. This fact is valid in these reactor types because power is proportional to the thermal neutron flux, which is also proportional to the production of capture gammas forming the wide peak.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권5호
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• pp.1491-1510
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• 2021

This work presents an illustration of Nagra's AMAC (Advanced Methodology for Activation Characterization) approach to the South Korean pressurized water reactor Kori-1 decommissioning. The results achieved are supported by the existing experience from the detailed AMAC applications to Swiss NPPs and are used not only for a demonstration of the applicability of AMAC to South Korean NPPs, but also for a first approximation of the activated waste volumes to be expected from Kori-1. A packaging concept based on the above activation characterization is also presented, using the AMAC algorithmic optimization software ALGOPACK leading to the minimum number of waste containers needed given the selected packaging constraints. Nagra's AMAC enables effective planning before and during NPP decommissioning, including recommendations for cutting profiles for diverse reactor components and building structures. Finally, it is expected to lead to significant cost savings by reducing the number of expensive waste containers, by optimizing a potential melting strategy for metallic waste as well as by significantly limiting the number of radiological measurements. All information about Kori-1 used for the purpose of this study was collected from publicly available sources.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권7호
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• pp.2151-2161
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• 2021

Nuclear data (ND) sensitivity and uncertainty (S/U) quantification in shielding applications is performed using deterministic and probabilistic approaches. In this paper the validation of the newly developed deterministic program package ASUSD (ADVANTG + SUSD3D) is presented. ASUSD was developed with the aim of automating the process of ND S/U while retaining the computational efficiency of the deterministic approach to ND S/U analysis. The paper includes a detailed description of each of the programs contained within ASUSD, the computational workflow and validation results. ASUSD was validated on two shielding benchmark experiments from the Shielding Integral Benchmark Archive and Database (SINBAD) - the fission relevant ASPIS Iron 88 experiment and the fusion relevant Frascati Neutron Generator (FNG) Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) Test Blanket Module (TBM) mock-up experiment. The validation process was performed in two stages. Firstly, the Denovo discrete ordinates transport solver was validated as a standalone solver. Secondly, the ASUSD program package as a whole was validated as a ND S/U analysis tool. Both stages of the validation process yielded excellent results, with a maximum difference of 17% in final uncertainties due to ND between ASUSD and the stochastic ND S/U approach. Based on these results, ASUSD has proven to be a user friendly and computationally efficient tool for deterministic ND S/U analysis of shielding geometries.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권12호
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• pp.2717-2724
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• 2020

Silicon, especially silicon in the form of SiO₂, is a major component of rocks. Final spent fuel storages, which are being designed, are located in suitable rock formations in the Earth's crust. Reduction of the uncertainty of silicon neutron scattering and capture is needed; improved silicon evaluations have been recently produced by the ORNL/IAEA collaboration within the INDEN project. This paper deals with the nuclear data validation of that evaluation performed at the LR-0 reactor by means of critical experiments and measurement of reaction rates. Large amounts of silicon were used both as pure crystalline silicon and SiO₂ sand. The critical moderator level was measured for various core configurations. Reaction rates were determined in the largest core configuration. Simulations of the experimental setup were performed using the MCNP6.2 code. The obtained results show the improvement in silicon cross-sections in the INDEN evaluations compared to existing evaluations in major libraries. The new Thermal Scattering Law for SiO₂ published in ENDF/B-VIII.0 additionally reduces the discrepancy between calculation and experiments. However, an unphysical peak is visible in the neutron spectrum in SiO₂ obtained by calculation with the new Thermal Scattering Law.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권8호
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• pp.2785-2796
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• 2023

How to generate the precise broad group cross section is important for the fast reactor design. In this study, a fast reactor multi-group cross-section generation code MGGC2.0 are developed in-house for processing ultrafine group MATXS format library. Validation and verification are performed for MGGC2.0 code by applying the benchmarks of ICSBEP handbook, and the results of MGGC2.0 agree well with that of MCNP. The consistent P_N method with critical buckling search is in good agreement that condensed with TWODANT flux and flux moment for the inner core and outer core region. For the radial blanket and reflector, two region approximation method has been applied in MGGC2.0 by using collision Probability Method neutron flux solver. The RBEC-M benchmark was used to verify the power distribution calculation, and the relative error of power distribution comparison with the reference are less than 0.8% in the fuel region and the maximum relative error is 5.58% in the reflector region. Therefore, the precise broad cross section can be generated by MGGC2.0 for fast reactor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권11호
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• pp.4084-4094
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• 2022

The Advanced Fuels Campaign Fission Accelerated Steady-state Test (FAST) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) completed its first irradiation cycle within the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). The test focused on the irradiation of alloy fuel forms for use in sodium fast reactors. The first cycle of FAST testing was completed and four rodlets were removed for the initial post irradiation examination (PIE). The rodlet design and irradiation conditions were evaluated using Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) for as-run power history and COMSOL for temperature analysis. These rodlets include a set of low burnups (~2.5 % fissions per initial metal atoms [%FIMA]), control rodlets, and a helium-bonded annular rodlet (4.7 %FIMA). Nondestructive PIE has been completed and includes visual inspection, neutron radiography and gamma scanning of the FAST capsules and rodlets. Radiography confirmed the integrity of the experiments, revealed that the annulus in the annular fuel was filled at a modest burnup (4.7 %FIMA), and indicated potential slumping of the cooler rodlets at lower burnup. Precision gamma scanning indicated mostly usual fission product behavior, except for cesium in the He-bonded annular fuel. Future destructive PIE will be necessary to fully interpret the effects of accelerated irradiation on U-Zr metallic fuel behavior.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권11호
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• pp.4226-4230
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• 2022

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has designed a Hybrid-Low Power Research Reactor (H-LPRR) which can be used for critical assembly and conventional research reactor as well. It is an open tank-in-pool type research reactor (Thermal Power: 50 kW_th) of which the most important applications are Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), Radioisotope (RI) production, education and training. There are eight irradiation holes on the edge of the reactor core: IR (6 holes for RI production) and NA (2 holes for NAA) holes. In order to quantify the elemental concentration in target samples through the Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), it is necessary to measure neutron spectrum parameters such as thermal neutron flux, the deviation from the ideal 1/E epithermal neutron flux distribution (α), and the thermal-to-epithermal neutron flux ratio (f) for the irradiation holes. In this study, the MCNP6.1 code and FORTRAN 90 language are applied to determine the parameters for the two irradiation holes (NA-SW and NA-NW) in H-LPRR, and in particular its α and f parameters are compared to values of other research reactors. The results confirmed that the neutron irradiation holes in H-LPRR are designed to be sufficiently applied to neutron activation analysis, and its performance is comparable to that of foreign research reactors including the TRIGA MARK II.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권10호
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• pp.3591-3598
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• 2023

Photoneutron background spectroscopy observations at linac are essential for directing accelerator shielding and subtracting background signals. Therefore, we constructed a Bonner Sphere Spectrometer (BSS) system based on an array of BF₃ gas proportional counter tubes. Initially, the response of the BSS system was simulated using the MCNP5 code. Next, the response of the system was calibrated by using neutrons with energies of 2.86 MeV and 14.84 MeV. Then, the system was employed to measure the spectrum of the ²⁴¹Am-Be neutron source, and the results were unfolded by using the Gravel and EM algorithms. Using the validated system, the undesirable neutron spectrum of the 120 MeV electron linac was finally measured and acquired. In addition, it is demonstrated that the equivalent undesirable neutron dose at a distance of 3.2 m from the linac is 19.7 mSv/h. The results measured by the above methods could provide guidance for linac-related research.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제21권4호
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• pp.481-487
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• 2023

Concerning the apprehensions about naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) residues, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its member nations have acknowledged the imperative to ensure the radiation safety of NORM industries. Residues with elevated radioactivity concentrations are predominantly produced during NORM processing, in the form of scale and sludge, referred to as technically enhanced NORM (TENORM). Substantial quantities of TENORM residues have been released externally due to the dismantling of NORM processing factories. These residues become concentrated and fixed in scale inside scrap pipes. To assess the radioactivity of scales in pipes of various shapes, a Monte Carlo simulation was employed to determine dose rates corresponding to the action level in TENORM regulations for different pipe diameters and thicknesses. Onsite gamma spectrometry was conducted on a scrap iron pipe from the titanium dioxide manufacturing factory. The measured dose rate on the pipe enabled the estimation of NORM concentration in the pipe scale onsite. The derived action level in dose rate can be applied in the NORM regulation procedure for on-site judgments.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권10호
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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.