• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.233-240
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• 1991

U-235 enrichment has been measured non-destructively by passive gamma-ray pulse height analysis. Measurement source is 185.7 keV gamma-ray which is emitted from uranium sample during alpha decay of U-235 in it. Factors influencing the measurement such as sample composition, attenuation effect of container wall, collimation effect and counting efficiency were evaluated. Under the optimized counting system, the measured relative errors were~8%, ~8% and~1% from Tag values at 95% confidence level for depleted UF$_{6}$ cylinders, depleted UO$_2$powder, and natural UO$_2$powder respectively.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.443-448
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• 2010

In this work, the scintillation properties of CsI:Na crystal were investigated as radiation detection sensor. This scintillation material was grown by a 2-zone vertical Bridgman method. Under X-ray excitation the crystal shows a broad emission band between 280 nm and 690 nm wavelength range, peaking at 413 nm. Energy resolution for $^{137}Cs$ 662 keV $\gamma$-rays of the crystal was measured to be 6.9 %(FWHM). At room temperature, the crystal exhibits three exponential decay time components. The fast and major component of scintillation time profile of the crystal emission decays with a 457 ns time constant. Absolute light yield of the crystal was estimated to be 53,000 ph/MeV using LAAPD. The sample crystal shows proportionality of 30 % in the measured energy range from 31 to 1,333 keV. And the $\alpha/\beta$ ratio of the crystal was 0.14.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.313-317
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• 2018

Licenses for the storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and vitrified highly active waste in casks under dry conditions are limited to 40 years and have to be renewed for prolonged storage periods. If such a license renewal has to be expected since as in accordance with the new site selection procedure a final repository for spent fuel in Germany will not be available before the year 2050. For transport and possible unloading and loading in new casks for final storage, the integrity and the maintenance of the geometry of the cask's inventory is essential because the SNF rod cladding and the cladding of the vitrified highly active waste are stipulated as a barrier in the storage concept. For SNF, the cladding integrity is ensured currently by limiting the hoop stress and hoop strain as well as the maximum temperature to certain values for a 40-year storage period. For a prolonged storage period, other cladding degradation mechanisms such as inner and outer oxide layer formation, hydrogen pick up, irradiation damages in cladding material crystal structure, helium production from alpha decay, and long-term fission gas release may become leading effects driving degradation mechanisms that have to be discussed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.510-517
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• 2019

Increasing proliferation resistance of plutonium by way of increased $^{238}Pu$ content is of interest to the nuclear nonproliferation and international safeguards community. Considering the high alpha decay heat of $^{238}Pu$, increasing the isotopic fraction leads to a noticeably higher amount of heat generation within the plutonium. High heat generation is especially unattractive in the scenario of weaponization. Upon weaponization of the plutonium, the plutonium may generate enough heat to elevate the temperature in the high explosives to above its self-explosion temperature, rendering the weapon useless. In addition, elevated temperatures will cause thermal expansion in the components of a nuclear explosive device that may produce thermal stresses high enough to produce failure in the materials, reducing the effectiveness of the weapon. Understanding the technical limit of $^{238}Pu$ required to reduce the possibility of weaponization is key to reducing the current limit on safeguarded plutonium (greater than 80 at. % $^{238}Pu$). The plutonium vector evaluated in this study was found by simulating public information on Lightbridge's fuel design for pressurized water reactors. This study explores the temperature profile and maximum stress within a simple (first generation design) hypothetical nuclear explosive device of four unique scenarios over time. Analyzing the transient development of both the temperature profile and maximum stress not only establishes a technical limit on the $^{238}Pu$ content, but also establishes a time limit for which each scenario would be useable.

• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1359-1367
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• 2018

In this work, we investigated the spectroscopic properties of $LiY_xSr_yZrO_{3+{\alpha}:Eu^{3+}$, a red emitting nanophosphor based on $SrZrO_3$ perovskite. The synthesis process was an auto-combustion process. X-ray diffractograms show the orthorhombic structure of $SrZrO_3$. Photoluminescence (PL) excitation spectra display a split charge transfer band revealing the presence of two possible sites for the $Eu^{3+}$ ions. The emission spectra at 231 nm excitation illustrate the dominance of the $^5D_0-^7F_1$ transition, which is an indication that the smaller sized $Eu^{3+}$ ions are mostly situated at the more ordered (symmetric) $Sr^{2+}$ sites. The emission spectra at 292 nm & 397 nm excitations show the dominance of $^5D_0-^7F_2$ transition which suggests some of the $Eu^{3+}$ ions are also situated at the distorted $Zr^{4+}$ sites. Both the intensity parameters, asymmetry ratio and the decay lifetimes of the nanophosphors show dependence on $Y^{3+}$ concentration, signifying a modification in the host structure. Maximum quantum efficiency value of ${\approx}46%$ was obtained for the nanophosphors which indicate the need for improvement for practical applications. CIE coordinates show the suitability of this phosphor for both red emission in LED and as a complementary colour for white LED applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.12
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• pp.4644-4651
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• 2022

Due to its short half-life, thoron gas has been assumed to have negligible health hazards on humans compared to radon. But, one of the decay products with a long half-life can make it to be transported to a long distance and to cause a severe internal dose through respiration. Since most commercial radon detectors can not discriminate thoron signals from radon signals, it is very common to overestimate radon doses which in turn result in biased estimation of lung cancer risk in epidemiological studies. Though some methods had been suggested to measure thoron and radon separately, they could not be used for real-time measurement because of CR-39 or LR-115. In this study, an effective method was suggested to measure radon and thoron separately from the free air. It was observed that the activity of thoron decreases exponentially due to delay time caused by a long pipe between two chambers. Therefore from two ion chambers apart in time, it was demonstrated that thoron and radon could be measured separately and simultaneously. We also developed a collimated alpha source and with this source and an SBD, we could convert the ion chamber reading to count rate in cps.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.195-201
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• 2012

$Ce^{3+}$-doped yttrium aluminum gallium garnet (YAGG:$Ce^{3+}$), which is a green-emitting phosphor, was synthesized by solid state reaction using ${\alpha}$-phase or ${\gamma}$-phase of nano-sized $Al_2O_3$ as the Al source. The processing conditions and the chemical composition of phosphor for the maximum emission intensity were optimized on the basis of emission intensity under vacuum UV excitation. The optimum heating temperature for phosphor preparation was $1550^{\circ}C$. Photoluminescence properties of the synthesized phosphor were investigated in detail. From the excitation and emission spectra, it was confirmed that the YAGG:$Ce^{3+}$ phosphors effectively absorb the vacuum UV of 120-200 nm and emit green light positioned around 530 nm. The crystalline phase of the alumina nanoparticles affected the particle size and the luminescence property of the synthesized phosphors. Nano-sized ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ was more effective for the achievement of higher emission intensity than was nano-sized ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$. This discrepancy is considered to be because the diffusion of $Al^{3+}$ into $Y_2O_3$ lattice is dependent on the crystalline phase of $Al_2O_3$, which affects the phase transformation of YAGG:$Ce^{3+}$ phosphors. The optimum chemical composition, having the maximum emission intensity, was $(Y_{2.98}Ce_{0.02})(Al_{2.8}Ga_{1.8})O_{11.4}$ prepared with ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$. On the other hand, the decay time of the YAGG:$Ce^{3+}$ phosphors, irrespective of the crystalline phase of the nano-sized alumina source, was below 1 ms due to the allowed $5d{\rightarrow}4f$ transition of the $Ce^{3+}$ activator.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2017

Objectives: Radon may be second only to smoking as a cause of lung cancer. Radon is a colorless, tasteless radioactive gas that is formed via the radioactive decay of radium. Therefore, radon levels can build up based on the amount of radium contained in construction materials such as phospho-gypsum board or when ventilation rates are low. This study provides our findings from evaluation of radon gas at facilities and offices in an industrial complex. Methods: We evaluated the office rooms and processes of 12 manufacturing factories from May 14, 2014 to September 23, 2014. Short-term data were measured by using real-time monitoring detectors(Model 1030, Sun Nuclear Co., USA) indoors in the office buildings. The radon measurements were recorded at 30-minute intervals over approximately 48 hours. The limit of detection of this instrument is $3.7Bq/m^3$. Also, long-term data were measured by using ${\alpha}-track$ radon detectors(${\alpha}-track$, Rn-tech Co., Korea) in the office and factory buildings. Our detectors were exposed for over 90 days, resulting in a minimum detectable concentration of $7.4Bq/m^3$. Detectors were placed 150-220 cm above the floor. Results: Radon concentrations averaged $20.6{\pm}17.0Bq/m^3$($3.7-115.8Bq/m^3$) in the overall area. The monthly mean concentration of radon by building materials were in the order of gypsum>concrete>cement. Radon concentrations were measured using ${\alpha}-track$ in parallel with direct-reading radon detectors and the two metric methods for radon monitoring were compared. A t-test for the two sampling methods showed that there is no difference between the average radon concentrations(p<0.05). Most of the office buildings did not have central air-conditioning, but several rooms had window- or ceiling-mounted units. Employees could also open windows. The first, second and third floors were used mainly for office work. Conclusions: Radon levels measured during this assessment in the office rooms of buildings and processes in factories were well below the ICRP reference level of $1,000Bq/m^3$ for workplaces and also below the lower USEPA residential guideline of $148Bq/m^3$. The range of indoor annual effective dose due to radon exposure for workers working in the office and factory buildings was 0.01 to 1.45 mSv/yr. Construction materials such as phospho-gypsum board, concrete and cement were the main emission sources for workers' exposure.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.283-287
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• 2005

The slow evolution of global magnetic fields and other dynamical processes in atmospheres of CP magnetic stars lead to the development of induced electric currents in all conductive atmospheric layers. The Lorentz force, which results from the interaction between a magnetic field and the induced currents, may modify the atmospheric structure and provide insight into the formation and evolution of stellar magnetic fields. This modification of the pressure-temperature structure influences the formation of absorption spectral features producing characteristic rotational variability of some spectral lines, especially the Balmer lines (Valyavin et al., 2004 and references therein). In order to study these theoretical predictions we began systematic spectroscopic survey of Balmer line variability in spectra of brightest CP magnetic stars. Here we present the first results of the program. A0p star $\Theta$ Aur revealed significant variability of the Balmer profiles during the star's rotation. Character of this variablity corresponds to that classified by Kroll (1989) as a result of an impact of significant Lorentz force. From the obtained data we estimate that amplitudes of the variation at H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, H$\gamma$ and H$\delta$ profiles reach up to $2.4\%$during full rotation cycle of the star. Using computation of our model atmospheres (Valyavin et al., 2004) we interpret these data within the framework of the simplest model of the evolution of global magnetic fields in chemically peculiar stars. Assuming that the field is represented by a dipole, we estimate the characteristic e.m.f. induced by the field decay electric current (and the Lorentz force as the result) on the order of $E {\~} 10^{-11}$ cgs units, which may indicate very fast (< < $10^{10}$ years) evolution rate of the field. This result strongly contradicts the theoretical point of view that global stellar magnetic fields of CP stars are fossil and their the characteristic decay time of about $10^{10}$ yr. Alternatively, we briefly discuss concurring effects (like the ambipolar diffusion) which may also lead to significant atmospheric currents producing the observable Lorentz force.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2016

Background: Ingestion of $^{210}Po$ laden seafood accounts for a substantial amount of the effective dose of $^{210}Po$. Among seafood items, mollusks, especially domestically produced oysters and mussels, are highly enriched in $^{210}Po$ and are consumed in large quantities in Korea. Materials and Methods: Oysters and mussels around the Korean coasts were collected from major farm areas in November 2013. Samples were spiked with an aliquot of $^{209}Po$ as a yield tracer, and they were digested with $6mol{\cdot}L^{-1}$ $HNO_3$ and $H_2O_2$. The $^{210}Po$ and $^{209}Po$ were spontaneously deposited onto a silver disc in an acidic solution of $0.5mol{\cdot}L^{-1}$ HCl and measured using an alpha spectrometer. The activity concentrations of $^{210}Pb$ and $^{210}Po$ were decay corrected to the sampling date, accounting for the possible in-growth and decay of $^{210}Po$. Results and Discussion: $^{210}Po$ activity concentrations in oysters were in a range from 41.3 to $206Bq{\cdot}(kg-ww)^{-1}$ and mussels in a range from 42.9 to $46.7Bq{\cdot}(kg-ww)^{-1}$. The $^{210}Po$ activity concentration of oysters in the turbid Western coast was higher than the Southern coast. The $^{210}Po$ activity concentration of the oysters was positively correlated ($R^2=0.89$) with those of the suspended particulate matter in the surface water. The calculated annual effective dose of $^{210}Po$ from oysters and mussels consumed by the Korean population was 21-104 and $5.01-5.46{\mu}Sv{\cdot}y^{-1}$. The combined effective dose due to the consumption of oysters and mussels appears to account for about $35{\pm}19%$ of that arising from seafood consumption in the Korean population. Conclusion: The annual effective dose of $^{210}Po$ for oysters in the Korean population was found to be higher than other countries. The total annual effective dose of $^{210}Po$ due to consumption of oysters and mussels consumed in Korea was found to be $76{\pm}42{\mu}Sv{\cdot}y^{-1}$, accounting for $28{\pm}16%$ of the total effective dose of $^{210}Po$ from food in Korea.