• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.304-309
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• 2023

In the last decade, nuclear medicine appears to be a good choice of medicine. ⁵⁸Co, ⁹⁹Mo, ⁹⁹Tc, ⁹⁹Re, ¹³³Xe and ¹⁸⁶Re are very important radionuclides for nuclear medicine. In this study, the excitation functions of ⁵⁸Ni (n, p) ⁵⁸Co, ⁹⁹Tc (n, p) ⁹⁹Mo, ⁹⁹Ru (n, p) ⁹⁹Tc, ¹³¹Xe (n, p) ¹³¹I, ¹³³Cs (n, p) ¹³³Xe and ¹⁸⁶Os (n, p) ¹⁸⁶Re nuclear reactions were calculated at neutron energies between 1 and 20 MeV using TALYS 1.95 and EMPIRE 3.2 nuclear codes. Furthermore, the cross sections were calculated with the empirical formula derived in our past study at 14-15 MeV. The obtained results were compared with the measured values in EXFOR library, and with the evaluated data of (JENDL-4.0/HE, JEFF-3.3, TENDL-2019, ENDF/B-VIII.0, IRDFF-II, JENDL/ImPACT-18). The results are in good agreement with those of the evaluated data libraries and experimental results and indicates that these radioisotopes can be produced by smaller cyclotrons.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1593-1603
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• 2023

In deterministic and Monte Carlo transport codes, b-delayed emission is included using a group structure where all of the precursors are grouped together in 6 groups or families, but given the increase in computational power, nowadays there is no reason to keep this structure. Furthermore, there have been recent efforts to compile and evaluate all the available b-delayed neutron emission data and to measure new and improved data on individual precursors. In order to be able to perform a transient Monte Carlo simulation, data from individual precursors needs to be implemented in a transport code. This work is the first step towards the development of a tool to explore the effect of individual precursors in a fissile system. In concrete, individual precursor data is included by expanding the capabilities of the open source Monte Carlo code OpenMC. In the modified code - named Time Dependent OpenMC or OpenMC(TD)- time dependency related to β-delayed neutron emission was handled by using forced decay of precursors and combing of the particle population. The data for continuous energy neutron cross-sections was taken from JEFF-3.1.1 library. Regarding the data needed to include the individual precursors, cumulative yields were taken from JEFF-3.1.1 and delayed neutron emission probabilities and delayed neutron spectra were taken from ENDF-B/VIII.0. OpenMC(TD) was tested in a monoenergetic system, an energy dependent unmoderated system where the precursors were taken individually or in a group structure, and in a light-water moderated energy dependent system, using 6-groups, 50 and 40 individual precursors. Neutron flux as a function of time was obtained for each of the systems studied. These results show the potential of OpenMC(TD) as a tool to study the impact of individual precursor data on fissile systems, thus motivating further research to simulate more complex fissile systems.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.642-649
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• 2016

Important safety parameters such as the fuel temperature coefficient (FTC) and the power coefficient of reactivity (PCR) of the CANada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU-6) reactor have been evaluated using the Monte Carlo method. For accurate analysis of the parameters, the Doppler broadening rejection correction scheme was implemented in the MCNPX code to account for the thermal motion of the heavy uranium-238 nucleus in the neutron-U scattering reactions. In this work, a standard fuel lattice has been modeled and the fuel is depleted using MCNPX. The FTC value is evaluated for several burnup points including the mid-burnup representing a near-equilibrium core. The Doppler effect has been evaluated using several cross-section libraries such as ENDF/B-VI.8, ENDF/B-VII.0, JEFF-3.1.1, and JENDL-4.0. The PCR value is also evaluated at mid-burnup conditions to characterize the safety features of an equilibrium CANDU-6 reactor. To improve the reliability of the Monte Carlo calculations, we considered a huge number of neutron histories in this work and the standard deviation of the k-infinity values is only 0.5-1 pcm.

• Journal of the Korean Physical Society
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• v.73 no.10
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• pp.1535-1540
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• 2018

In this study, we prepared and characterized Nb-doped $Li_7La_3Zr_{2-x}O_{12}$ (LLZNO) powder and pellets with a cubic garnet structure by using a modified sol-gel synthesis and hot pressing. LLZNO powder with a very small grain size and cubic structure without secondary phases could be obtained by using a synthesis method in which Li and La sources in a propanol solvent were mixed together with Zr and Nb sources in 2-methoxy ethanol. A pure cubic phase LLZNO pellet could be fabricated from the prepared LLZNO and an additional 6-wt% of $Li_2CO_3$ powder by hot pressing at $1050^{\circ}C$ and 15.8 MPa. The hot-pressed LLZNO pellet with a relative density of 99% exhibited a very dense surface morphology. The total Li ionic conductivity of the hot-pressed LLZNO was $7.4{\times}10^{-4}S/cm$ at room temperature, which is very high level compared to other reported values. The activation energy for ionic conduction was estimated to be 0.40 eV.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.9
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• pp.2830-2838
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• 2021

This work deals with the assessment of the burnup capabilities of the Serpent Monte Carlo code to predict spent nuclear fuel (SNF) isotopic concentrations for low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel at different burnup levels up to 47 MWd/kgU. The irradiation of six UO₂ experimental samples in three different VVER-1000 reactor units has been simulated and the predicted concentrations of actinides up to ²⁴⁴Cm have been compared with the corresponding measured values. The results show a global good agreement between calculated and experimental concentrations, in several cases within the margins of the nuclear data uncertainties and in a few cases even within the reported experimental uncertainties. The differences in the performances of the JEFF3.1.1, ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 nuclear data libraries (NDLs) have also been assessed and the use of the newly released ENDF/B-VIII.0 library has shown an increased accuracy in the prediction of the C/E's for some of the actinides considered, particularly for the plutonium isotopes. This work represents a step forward towards the validation of advanced simulation tools against post irradiation experimental data and the obtained results provide an evidence of the capabilities of the Serpent Monte-Carlo code with the associated modern NDLs to accurately compute SNF nuclide inventory concentrations for VVER-1000 type reactors.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.110-116
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• 2022

Human failure event (HFE) dependency analysis is a part of human reliability analysis (HRA). For efficient HFE dependency analysis, a maximum number of minimal cut sets (MCSs) that have HFE combinations are generated from the fault trees for the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) of nuclear power plants (NPPs). After collecting potential HFE combinations, dependency levels of subsequent HFEs on the preceding HFEs in each MCS are analyzed and assigned as conditional probabilities. Then, HFE recovery is performed to reflect these conditional probabilities in MCSs by modifying MCSs. Inappropriate HFE dependency analysis and HFE recovery might lead to an inaccurate core damage frequency (CDF). Using the above process, HFE recovery is performed on MCSs that are generated with a non-zero truncation limit, where many MCSs that have HFE combinations are truncated. As a result, the resultant CDF might be underestimated. In this paper, a new method is suggested to incorporate HFE recovery into the MCS generation stage. Compared to the current approach with a separate HFE recovery after MCS generation, this new method can (1) reduce the total time and burden for MCS generation and HFE recovery, (2) prevent the truncation of MCSs that have dependent HFEs, and (3) avoid CDF underestimation. This new method is a simple but very effective means of performing MCS generation and HFE recovery simultaneously and improving CDF accuracy. The effectiveness and strength of the new method are clearly demonstrated and discussed with fault trees and HFE combinations that have joint probabilities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.287-292
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• 2014

In this study, the neutron capture cross section of $^{180}Ta$(natural existence ratio: 0.012 %) obtain by measuring has been compared with the evaluated data for the capture data. In generally, the neutron capture resonance is defined as Breit-Wigner formula. The formula consists of the resonance parameters such as neutron width, total width and neutron width. However in the case of $^{180}Ta$, these are very poor experimental neutron capture cross section data and resonance information in below 10 eV. Therefore, in the study, we analyzed the neutron resonance of $^{180}Ta$ with the measuring the prompt gamma-ray from the sample. And the resonance was compared with the evaluated data by Mughabghab, ENDF/B-VII, JEFF-3.1 and TENDL 2012. Neutron sources from photonuclear reaction with 46-MeV electron linear accelerator at Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University used for cross section measurement of $^{180}Ta(n,{\gamma})^{181}Ta$ reaction. $BGO(Bi_4Ge_3O_{12})$ scintillation detectors used for measurement of the prompt gamma ray from the $^{180}Ta(n,{\gamma})^{181}Ta$ reaction. The BGO spectrometer was composed geometrically as total energy absorption detector.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.492-498
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• 2010

Both metabolic syndrome (MetS) and elevated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) increase the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We hypothesized that low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) would further increase CVD risk in women having both conditions. To assess this, we recruited 89 women with MetS (25-72 y) and LDL-C ${\geq}$ 2.6 mmol/L. To determine whether plasma HDL-C concentrations were associated with dietary components, circulating atherogenic particles, and other risk factors for CVD, we divided the subjects into two groups: high HDL-C (H-HDL) (${\geq}$ 1.3 mmol/L, n=32) and low HDL-C (L-HDL) (< 1.3 mmol/L, n=57). Plasma lipids, insulin, adiponectin, apolipoproteins, oxidized LDL, Lipoprotein(a), and lipoprotein size and subfractions were measured, and 3-d dietary records were used to assess macronutrient intake. Women with L-HDL had higher sugar intake and glycemic load (P< 0.05), higher plasma insulin (P< 0.01), lower adiponectin (P< 0.05), and higher numbers of atherogenic lipoproteins such as large VLDL (P < 0.01) and small LDL (P<0.001) than the H-HDL group. Women with L-HDL also had larger VLDL and both smaller LDL and HDL particle diameters (P<0.001). HDL-C was positively correlated with LDL size (r=0.691, P<0.0001) and HDL size (r=0.606, P<0.001), and inversely correlated with VLDL size (r=-0.327, P<0.01). We concluded that L-HDL could be used as a marker for increased numbers of circulating atherogenic lipoproteins as well as increased insulin resistance in women who are already at risk for CVD.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.38.2-39
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• 2021

I will presents the analysis of the gas properties of the protoplanetary disk surrounding the young low-mass (about 1.2M_sun) triple star, GG Tau A. This work makes use of ALMA observations of rotational lines of CO (¹²CO, ¹³CO and C¹⁸O) together NOEMA observations of a few dozens of other molecules. While the CO emission gives information on the molecular layer close to the disk atmosphere, its less abundant isotopologues ¹³CO and C¹⁸O bring information much deeper in the molecular layer. I will present the analysis of the morphology and kinematics of the gas disk using the CO isotopologues. A radiative transfer model of the ring in CO isotopologues will also be presented. The subtraction of this model from the original data reveals the weak emission of the molecular gas lying inside the cavity. Thus, I am able to evaluate the properties of the gas inside the cavity, such as the gas dynamics, excitation conditions, and the amount of mass in the cavity. High angular resolution observations of CO reveals sprials induced by embedded planet(s) located near the 3:2:1 mean-motion resonance that help to explain the special morphology of the circumbinary disk. I also discuss some chemical properties of the GG Tau A disk. I report the first detection of H2S and C₂S in a protoplanetary disk. The molecule abundance relative to ¹³CO of about twenties other molecules will also be given. In GG Tau A, the detections of rare molecules such as H₂S and C₂S have been probably possible because the disk is more massive (a factor about 3-5) than other disks where the molecules was searched. Such a large disk mass makes the system suitable to detect rare molecules and to study cold-chemistry in protoplanetary disks.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.8-9
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• 2011

On 4 September 2010 an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale occurred on the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand. The Canterbury Plains are an area of extensive groundwater and spring fed surface water systems. Since the September earthquake there have been several thousand aftershocks (Fig. 1), the largest being a 6.3 magnitude quake which occurred close to the centre of Christchurch on 22February 2011. This second quake caused extensive damage to the city of Christchurch including the deaths of 189 people. Both of these quakes had marked hydrological impacts. Water is a vital natural resource for Canterburywith groundwater being extracted for potable supply and both ground and surface water being used extensively for agricultural and horticultural irrigation.The groundwater is of very high quality so that the city of Christchurch (population approx. 400,000) supplies untreated artesian water to the majority of households and businesses. Both earthquakes caused immediate hydrological effects, the most dramatic of which was the liquefaction of sediments and the release of shallow groundwater containing a fine grey silt-sand material. The liquefaction that occurred fitted within the empirical relationship between distance from epicentre and magnitude of quake described by Montgomery et al. (2003). . It appears that liquefaction resulted in development of discontinuities in confining layers. In some cases these appear to have been maintained by artesian pressure and continuing flow, and the springs are continuing to flow even now. In spring-fed streams there was an increase in flow that lasted for several days and in some cases flows remained high for several months afterwards although this could be linked to a very wet winter prior to the September earthquake. Analysis of the slope of baseflow recession for a spring-fed stream before and after the September earthquake shows no change, indicating no substantial change in the aquifer structure that feeds this stream.A complicating factor for consideration of river flows was that in some places the liquefaction of shallow sediments led to lateral spreading of river banks. The lateral spread lessened the channel cross section so water levels rose although the flow might not have risen accordingly. Groundwater level peaks moved both up and down, depending on the location of wells. Groundwater level changes for the two earthquakes were strongly related to the proximity to the epicentre. The February 2011 earthquake resulted in significantly larger groundwater level changes in eastern Christchurch than occurred in September 2010. In a well of similar distance from both epicentres the two events resulted in a similar sized increase in water level but the slightly slower rate of increase and the markedly slower recession recorded in the February event suggests that the well may have been partially blocked by sediment flowing into the well at depth. The effects of the February earthquake were more localised and in the area to the west of Christchurch it was the earlier earthquake that had greater impact. Many of the recorded responses have been compromised, or complicated, by damage or clogging and further inspections will need to be carried out to allow a more definitive interpretation. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to provisionally conclude that there is no clear evidence of significant change in aquifer pressures or properties. The different response of groundwater to earthquakes across the Canterbury Plains is the subject of a new research project about to start that uses the information to improve groundwater characterisation for the region. Montgomery D.R., Greenberg H.M., Smith D.T. (2003) Stream flow response to the Nisqually earthquake. Earth & Planetary Science Letters 209 19-28.