Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Performance evaluation of Yonsei Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography (YSECT) for partial-defect inspection within PWR-type spent nuclear fuel

  • Hyung-Joo Choi (Department of Radiation Convergence Engineering, Yonsei University) ;
  • Yoon Soo Chung (Department of Radiation Convergence Engineering, Yonsei University) ;
  • Hojik Kim (Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control) ;
  • Sung-Woo Kwak (Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control) ;
  • Heejun Chung (Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control) ;
  • Hee-Kyun Baek (NeosisKorea Co. Ltd) ;
  • Jung-ki Shin (NeosisKorea Co. Ltd) ;
  • Yong Hyun Chung (Department of Radiation Convergence Engineering, Yonsei University) ;
  • Chul Hee Min (Department of Radiation Convergence Engineering, Yonsei University)
  • Received : 2024.03.18
  • Accepted : 2024.06.08
  • Published : 2024.11.25
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Abstract

As the amount of power generated by nuclear power plants increases, the importance of managing Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) to prevent proliferation increases as well. In a previous study, we optimally designed the gamma emission tomography instrument named Yonsei Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography version 2 (YSECT.v.2) based on Monte Carlo (MC) simulation for inspection and detection of defects in SNF. The objective of the current study was to fabricate a prototype YSECT.v.2 instrument and to evaluate its performance. The YSECT.v.2 instrument consists of scintillator-based detection modules, a multi-channel data acquisition (DAQ) module, a heat reduction module, and a waterproof housing. Based on the experimental results for a mock-up of fresh nuclear fuel rods, the spatial resolution of the prototype YSECT.v.2 instrument was determined to be 10.8 mm. In the experiment with 137Cs test sources, a high-quality image could be obtained with the exclusion of the pixel value below the threshold. For a 6 × 6 array, the spatial resolution for 137Cs was analyzed to be 7.2 mm. Considering these results, we expected that source distribution could be distinguishable using the YSECT.v.2. In the future, further experimentation will validate the performance of the fabricated instrument for a mock-up of SNF rods in water.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Nuclear Safety Research Program through the Korea Foundation Of Nuclear Safety (KoFONS) using financial resources granted by the Nuclear Safety and Security Com mission (NSSC) of the Republic of Korea (No. 2106073), the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), the Ministry of Trade Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20214000000070), and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (RS-2023-00257279).

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