• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.35-42
• /
• 2018

This article presents clean core criticality calculations and control rod worth calculations for TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotope production-General Atomics) Mark II research reactor benchmark cores using Winfrith Improved Multi-group Scheme-D/4 (WIMS-D/4) and Program for Reactor In-core Analysis using Diffusion Equation (PRIDE) codes. Cores 133 and 134 were analyzed in 2-D (r, ${\theta}$) and 3-D (r, ${\theta}$, z), using WIMS-D/4 and PRIDE codes. Moreover, the influence of cross-section data was also studied using various libraries based on Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF/B-VI.8 and VII.0), Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion File (JEFF-3.1), Japanese Evaluated Nuclear Data Library (JENDL-3.2), and Joint Evaluated File (JEF-2.2) nuclear data. The simulation results showed that the multiplication factor calculated for all these data libraries is within 1% of the experimental results. The reactivity worth of the control rods of core 134 was also calculated with different homogenization approaches. A comparison was made with experimental and reported Monte Carlo results, and it was found that, using proper homogenization of absorber regions and surrounding fuel regions, the results obtained with PRIDE code are significantly improved.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.49 no.8
• /
• pp.1610-1616
• /
• 2017

To validate the new Evaluated Nuclear Data File $(ENDF)/B-VIII.0{\beta}4$ library, 31 different critical cores were selected and used for a benchmark test of the important parameter keff. The four utilized libraries are processed using Nuclear Data Processing Code (NJOY2016). The results obtained with the $ENDF/B-VIII.0{\beta}4$ library were compared against those calculated with ENDF/B-VI.8, ENDF/B-VII.0, and ENDF/B-VII.1 libraries using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP(X)) code. All the MCNP(X) calculations of keff values with these four libraries were compared with the experimentally measured results, which are available in the International Critically Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project. The obtained results are discussed and analyzed in this paper.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.340-355
• /
• 2018

The methods and performance of a fast reactor multigroup cross section (XS) generation code EXUS-F are described that is capable of directly processing Evaluated Nuclear Data File format nuclear data files. RECONR of NJOY is used to generate pointwise XS data, and Doppler broadening is incorporated by the Gauss-Hermite quadrature method. The self-shielding effect is incorporated in the ultrafine group XSs in the resolved and unresolved resonance ranges. Functions to generate scattering transfer matrices and fission spectrum matrices are realized. The extended transport approximation is used in zero-dimensional calculations, whereas the collision probability method and the method of characteristics are used for one-dimensional cylindrical geometry and two-dimensional hexagonal geometry problems, respectively. Verification calculations are performed first for various homogeneous mixtures and cylindrical problems. It is confirmed that the spectrum calculations and the corresponding multigroup XS generations are performed adequately in that the reactivity errors are less than 50 pcm with the McCARD Monte Carlo solutions. The nTRACER core calculations are performed with the EXUS-F-generated 47 group XSs for the two-dimensional Advanced Burner Reactor 1000 benchmark problem. The reactivity error of 160 pcm and the root mean square error of the pin powers of 0.7% indicate that EXUF-F generates properly the broad-group XSs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.8
• /
• pp.2785-2796
• /
• 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
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.787-791
• /
• 2017

Americium-beryllium (Am-Be; n, ${\gamma}$) is a neutron emitting source used in various research fields such as chemistry, physics, geology, archaeology, medicine, and environmental monitoring, as well as in the forensic sciences. It is a mobile source of neutron activity (20 Ci), yielding a small thermal neutron flux that is water moderated. The aim of this study is to develop a model to increase the neutron thermal flux of a source such as Am-Be. This study achieved multiple advantageous results: primarily, it will help us perform neutron activation analysis. Next, it will give us the opportunity to produce radio-elements with short half-lives. Am-Be single and multisource (5 sources) experiments were performed within an irradiation facility with a paraffin moderator. The resulting models mainly increase the thermal neutron flux compared to the traditional method with water moderator.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.1022-1028
• /
• 2024

A neutronics study of a supercritical CO₂-cooled fast reactor core for nuclear propulsion has been performed in this work. The thermal power of the reactor core is 30 MWth and a ceramic UO₂ fuel can be used to achieve a 20-year lifetime without refueling. In order to make a compact core with inherent safety features, the drum-type reactivity control system and folding-type shutdown system are adopted. In addition, we suggest a cold shutdown system using gadolinium as a spectral shift absorber (SSA) against flooding. Although there is a penalty of U-235 enrichment for the core embedded with the cold shutdown system, it effectively mitigates the increment of reactivity at the flooding of seawater. In this study, the neutronics analyses have been performed by using the continuous energy Monte Carlo Serpent 2 code with the evaluated nuclear data file ENDF/B-VII.1 Library. The supercritical CO₂-cooled fast reactor core is characterized in view of important safety parameters such as the reactivity worth of reactivity control systems, fuel temperature coefficient (FTC), coolant temperature coefficient (CTC), and coolant temperature-density coefficient (CTDC). We can say that the suggested core has inherent safety features and enough flexibility for load-following operation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.447-453
• /
• 2020

This study accurately measured the half-life of the ¹⁷⁹Re radioactive isotope using the 100 MeV proton and high-purity HPGe gamma ray measurement system generated from a high-energy proton linear accelerator at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The result obtained is 19.64 ± 0.26 min. Compared with the past results of the half-life of the ¹⁷⁹Re radioisotope known to date, the results of B. Harmatz published in 1960 and B. J. Meijer published in 1975 measured the median value higher than the results obtained in this study. In the case of K. J. Hofstetter, published in 1966, a very large error is also characteristic. This result showed a tendency that the center value was very consistent with the result of this study. The results of Coral M. Baglin's 19.5 min published in 2009 are very consistent with the error range. The obtained measured result was compared with the result of ENSDF (Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File). Through this study, more reliable values were measured for the results of the half-life of the ¹⁷⁹Re, which was previously incorrect, and the validity of the recently published results of Coral M. Baglin was confirmed.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.107-116
• /
• 2011

Respiratory gated radiation therapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy require identical tumor motions during each treatment with the motion detected in treatment planning CT. Therefore, this study developed a tumor motion monitoring and analysis system during the treatments employing RPM data, gated setup OBI images and a data analysis software. A respiratory training and guiding program which improves the regularity of breathing was used to patients. The breathing signal was obtained by RPM and the recorded data in the 4D console was read after treatment. The setup OBI images obtained gated at 0% and 50% of breathing phases were used to detect the tumor motion range in crenio-caudal direction. By matching the RPM data recorded at the OBI imaging time, a factor which converts the RPM motion to the tumor motion was computed. RPM data was entered to the institute developed data analysis software and the maximum, minimum, average of the breathing motion as well as the standard deviation of motion amplitude and period was computed. The computed result is exported in an excel file. The conversion factor was applied to the analyzed data to estimate the tumor motion. The accuracy of the developed method was tested by using a moving phantom, and the efficacy was evaluated for 10 stereotactic body radiation therapy patients. For the sine wave motion of the phantom with 4 sec of period and 2 cm of peak-to-peak amplitude, the measurement was slightly larger (4.052 sec) and the amplitude was smaller (1.952 cm). For patient treatment, one patient was evaluated not to qualified to SBRT due to the usability of the breathing, and in one patient case, the treatment was changed to respiratory gated treatment due the larger motion range of the tumor than treatment planed motion. The developed method and data analysis program was useful to estimate the tumor motion during treatment.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.53 no.12
• /
• pp.1159-1172
• /
• 2020

This study applied deep convolution neural network based on U-Net and SegNet using long period weather radar data to very short-term rainfall prediction. And the results were compared and evaluated with the translation model. For training and validation of deep neural network, Mt. Gwanak and Mt. Gwangdeoksan radar data were collected from 2010 to 2016 and converted to a gray-scale image file in an HDF5 format with a 1km spatial resolution. The deep neural network model was trained to predict precipitation after 10 minutes by using the four consecutive radar image data, and the recursive method of repeating forecasts was applied to carry out lead time 60 minutes with the pretrained deep neural network model. To evaluate the performance of deep neural network prediction model, 24 rain cases in 2017 were forecast for rainfall up to 60 minutes in advance. As a result of evaluating the predicted performance by calculating the mean absolute error (MAE) and critical success index (CSI) at the threshold of 0.1, 1, and 5 mm/hr, the deep neural network model showed better performance in the case of rainfall threshold of 0.1, 1 mm/hr in terms of MAE, and showed better performance than the translation model for lead time 50 minutes in terms of CSI. In particular, although the deep neural network prediction model performed generally better than the translation model for weak rainfall of 5 mm/hr or less, the deep neural network prediction model had limitations in predicting distinct precipitation characteristics of high intensity as a result of the evaluation of threshold of 5 mm/hr. The longer lead time, the spatial smoothness increase with lead time thereby reducing the accuracy of rainfall prediction The translation model turned out to be superior in predicting the exceedance of higher intensity thresholds (> 5 mm/hr) because it preserves distinct precipitation characteristics, but the rainfall position tends to shift incorrectly. This study are expected to be helpful for the improvement of radar rainfall prediction model using deep neural networks in the future. In addition, the massive weather radar data established in this study will be provided through open repositories for future use in subsequent studies.