• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권5호
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• pp.1634-1641
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• 2021

Exposure to gamma-rays is hazardous for humans and other living beings because of their high penetration through the materials. For this reason, shielding materials (usually lead, copper and stainless steel) are used to protect against gamma rays. This study's objective was to prepare ceramic materials for gamma radiation shielding by using different natural bentonite clays. Gamma-ray attenuation performances of the prepared shielding materials at different thicknesses were investigated and evaluated for different gamma-ray energies from different standard point gamma radiation sources (²⁵¹Am, ⁵⁷Co, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁶⁰Co, and ⁸⁸Y). The mass and linear attenuation coefficients of the prepared ceramics vary between 0.238 and 0.443 cm² g^-1 and between 0.479 and 1.06 cm^-1, respectively, depending on their thicknesses. Results showed that these materials could be prioritized because of their evidential properties of gamma radiation protection in radiation applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권1호
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• pp.282-293
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• 2021

This paper examines gamma-ray shielding properties of SBC-Bx glass system with the chemical composition of 40SiO₂-10B₂O₃-xBaO-(45-x)CaO- yZnO- zMgO (where x = 0, 10, 20, 30, and 35 mol% and y = z = 6 mol%). Mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) which is an essential parameter to study gamma-ray shielding properties was obtained in the photon energy range of 0.015-15 MeV using PHITS Monte Carlo code for the proposed glasses. The obtained results were compared with those calculated by WinXCOM program. Both the values of PHITS code and WinXCOM program were observed in very good agreement. The (µ/ρ values were then used to derive mean free path (MFP), electron density (N_eff), effective atomic number (Z_eff), and half value layer (HVL) for all the glasses involved. Additionally, G-P method was employed to estimate exposure buildup factor (EBF) for each glass in the energy range of 0.015-15 MeV up to penetration depths of 40 mfp. The results reveal that gamma-ray shielding effectiveness of the SBC-Bx glasses evolves with increasing BaO content in the glass sample. Such that SBC-B35 glass has superior shielding capacity against gamma-rays among the studied glasses. Gamma-ray shielding properties of SBC-B35 glass were compared with different conventional shielding materials, commercial glasses, and newly developed HMO glasse. Therefore, the investigated glasses have potential uses in gamma shielding applications.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.129-134
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• 2018

The present study made a phantom for gamma ray of 140 keV radiated from $^{99m}Tc$, examined shielding effect of lead by thickness of the shielding material, and measured surface dose and depth dose by body depth. The OSL Nano Dot dosimeter was inserted at 0, 3, 15, 40, 90, and 180 mm depths of the phantom, and when there was no shield, 0.2 mm lead shield, 0.5 mm lead shield, The depth dose was measured. Experimental results show that the total cumulative dose of dosimeters with depth is highest at 366.24 uSv without shield and lowest at 94.12 uSv with 0.5 mm lead shield. The shielding effect of 0.2 mm lead shielding was about 30.18% and the shielding effect of 0.5 mm lead shielding was 74.30%, when the total sum of the accumulated doses of radiation dosimeter was 100%. The phantom depth and depth dose measurements showed the highest values at 0 mm depth for all three experiments and the dose decreases as the depth increases. This study proved that the thicker a shielding material, the highest its shielding effect is against gamma ray of 140 keV. However, it was known that shielding material can't completely shield a body from gamma ray; it reached deep part of a human body. Aside from the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) recommending depth dose by 10 mm in thickness, a plan is necessary for employees working in department of nuclear medicine where they deal with gamma ray, which is highly penetrable, to measure depth dose by body depth, which can help them manage exposed dose properly.

• 비파괴검사학회지
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.228-236
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• 1995

본 연구에서는 비파괴검사 방법의 하나인 gamma scanning test에 의한 대단위 차폐체의 결함을 평가하는 방법을 제시하고 방사선 차폐를 해석하는 유용한 방법중의 하나인 Monte Carlo 코드로 이에 대한 검증을 하였다. Gamma scanning test로 차폐체의 결함을 평가하기 위한 모델은 원통형 차폐체를 대상으로 하였다. 먼저 방사성물질 운반용기에 대한 설계기준에 따라 기준차폐체를 설치하여 Co-60 선원과 섬광계수기로 기준치를 측정하고, 그 다음 실물의 원통형 차폐체를 측정하였다. 기준치로 원통형 차폐체의 납두께를 환산한 결과 결함두께는 최대 12mm로 평가되었다. 이를 검증하기 위한 MCNP 코드의 계산에서는 결함두께가 실험적 결과에 비해 4.1%에 해당하는 최대 11.6mm를 나타내었으며, 두 결과가 만족할 정도로 일치함을 보여주고 있다. 따라서 이러한 평가방법은 방사성물질을 사용하는 시설에 설치되는 대단위 방사선 차폐체나 대용량의 운반용기 차폐능 검사시 현장에서 적용시킬 수 있으며 측정치의 신뢰도를 제고할 수 있다. 앞으로 보다 정확한 측정을 위하여 차폐체의 두께 측정결과가 화면에 직접 표시되는 측정장치의 연구 개발이 요구된다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권11호
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• pp.2613-2619
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• 2020

This work investigated the gamma-ray shielding performance, and the physical and mechanical properties of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites embedded with 0-44.0 wt% bismuth trioxide (Bi₂O₃) fabricated by the fast ultraviolet (UV) curing method. The results showed that the addition of Bi₂O₃ had significantly improved the gamma shielding ability of PMMA composites. Mass attenuation coefficient and half-value layer were examined using five gamma sources (Cs-137, Ba-133, Cd-109, Co-57, and Co-60). The high loading of Bi₂O₃ in the PMMA samples improved the micro-hardness to nearly seven times that of the pure PMMA. With these enhancements, it was demonstrated that PMMA/Bi₂O₃ composites are promising gamma shielding materials. Furthermore, the fast UV curing exerts its great potential in significantly shortening the production cycle of shielding material to enable rapid manufacturing.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권7호
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• pp.2613-2620
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• 2023

Excellent thermal neutron absorption performance of boron expands the potential use of boron rich slag to prepare epoxy resin matrix nuclear shielding composites. However, shielding attenuation behaviors and mechanism of the composites against gamma rays are unclear. Based on the radiation protection theory, Phy-X/PSD, XCOM, and ⁶⁰Co gamma ray source were integrated to obtain the shielding parameters of boron rich slag/epoxy resin composites at 0.015-15 MeV, which include mass attenuation coefficient (µ_t), linear attenuation coefficient (µ), half value thickness layer (HVL), electron density (N_eff), effective atomic number (Z_eff), exposure buildup factor (EBF) and exposure absorption buildup factor (EABF).µ_t, µ, HVL, N_eff, Z_eff, EBF and EABF are 0.02-7 cm²/g, 0.04-17 cm^-1, 0.045-20 cm, 5-14, 3 × 10²³-8 × 10²³ electron/g, 0-2000, and 0-3500. Shielding performance is BS4, BS3, BS3, BS1 in descending order, but worse than ordinary concrete. µ and HVL of BS1-BS4 for ⁶⁰Co gamma ray is 0.095-0.110 cm^-1 and 6.3-7.2 cm. Shielding mechanism is main interactions for attenuation gamma ray by BS1-BS4 are elements with higher content or higher atomic number via Photoelectric Absorption at low energy range, and elements with higher content via Compton Scattering and Pair Production in Nuclear Field at middle and higher energy range.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권9호
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• pp.3058-3067
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• 2021

Sodium zinc borate glasses doped with dysprosium and modified with different concentrations of barium oxide (0-50 mol %) were fabricated using the melting quenching technique. The structural properties of the prepared glass systems were characterized using XRD and FTIR methods. The absorption spectra of the prepared glasses were measured to determine their energy gap and their related optical properties. The density of the glasses and other physical parameters were also reported. Additionally, with the help of Photon Shielding and Dosimetry (PSD) software, we investigated the radiation shielding parameters of the prepared glass systems at different energy values. It was found that an increase in the density of the glasses by increasing the concentration of BaO significantly improved the gamma ray shielding ability of the samples. For practical results, a compatible irradiation set up was designed to check the shielding capability of the obtained glasses using a gamma ray source at 662 keV. The experimentally obtained results strongly agreed with the data obtained by PDS software at the same energy. These results demonstrated that the investigated glass system is a good candidate for several radiation shielding applications when comparing it with other commercial shielding glasses and concretes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.792-800
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• 2017

The essential requirement of a material to be used for engineering purposes at nuclear establishments is its ability to attenuate the most penetrating ionizing radiations, gamma $({\gamma})-rays$. Mostly, high-Z materials such as heavy concrete, lead, mercury, and their mixtures or alloys have been used in the construction of nuclear establishments and thus termed as nuclear engineering materials (NEM). The NEM are classified into two categories, namely opaque and transparent, depending on their behavior towards the visible spectrum of EM waves. The majority of NEM are opaque. By contrast, various types of glass, which are transparent to visible light, are necessary at certain places in the nuclear establishments. In the present study, ${\gamma}-ray$ shielding behaviors (GSB) of six glass samples (transparent NEM) were evaluated and compared with some opaque NEM in a wide range of energy (15 keV-15 MeV) and optical thickness (OT). The study was performed by computing various ${\gamma}-ray$ shielding parameters (GSP) such as the mass attenuation coefficient, equivalent atomic number, and buildup factor. A self-designed and validated computer-program, the buildup factor-tool, was used for various computations. It has been established that some glass samples show good GSB, thus can safely be used in the construction of nuclear establishments in conjunction with the opaque NEM as well.

• 한국건축시공학회지
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.129-135
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• 2020

핵 및 방사능전 상황에서 방사선에 의한 인명피해를 줄이기 위한 방안으로서 유개호에 자철석이 포함된 중량 콘크리트의 적용 가능성을 확인해보았다. 이에 본 연구에서는 자철광 콘크리트의 방사선 차폐효과를 분석하기 위하여 감마선원을 사용하여 차폐실험을 진행하였고 실험조건과 동일한 몬테칼로 모델링도 하였다. 그 결과 자철광의 함량이 증가할수록 감마선에 대한 차폐효과가 향상됨을 확인할 수 있었다. 향후 자철광 콘크리트가 군사적 목적의 시설물에 적용될 경우 방사선 차폐 측면에서 효과를 얻을 수 있을 것이라 기대한다.

• Journal of Ceramic Processing Research
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• 제20권4호
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• pp.363-371
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• 2019

In this study, physical properties of normal concrete, magnetite concrete, EAF concrete, and EAF concrete with added iron powder were evaluated and a feasibility of radiation shielding is also evaluated through irradiation tests against X-rays and gamma-rays. While the unit weight of EAF concrete (3.21 t/㎥) appeared lower than that of magnetite concrete (3.50 t/㎥), the results in compressive strength of EAF concrete were greater than those in magnetite and normal concrete. While the radiation transmission rate of normal concrete reaches 26.0% in the X-ray irradiation test, only 6.0% and 9.0% of transmission rate were observed in magnetite concrete and linear relationship with unit volume weight and radiation shielding. In the gamma-ray irradiation test, the performance of EAF and magnetite concretes appeared to be similar. Through the results on the excellent physical properties and radiation shielding performance a potential applicability of EAF concrete to radiation shielding was verified.