• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.219-224
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• 2023

A high-efficiency underwater radiation monitoring system, HydroGamma, has been developed for detecting ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³¹I in the event of waterborne radiation contamination. The system consists of a 3-inch NaI (Tl) detector, solar panels for power supply, data acquisition and transmission modules, and batteries. HydroGamma also includes a ⁴⁰K calibration source for remote performance evaluation and energy calibration. In this study, some simulations and experiments were carried out to evaluate the minimum detectable activities (MDA) of HydroGamma. We installed the HydroGamma at Tapjeongho Lake in Nonsan-si and acquired background data since MDA is calculated based on the experimental background data. The results show that the minimum detectable activities for ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³¹I were 1.78Bq L^-1 and 1.81Bq L^-1, respectively even though the gamma rays emitted from ⁴⁰K(1,460 keV) affect the minimum detectable activities for them.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1266-1276
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• 2021

The mask parameters of a coded aperture are critical design features when optimizing the performance of a gamma-ray camera. In this paper, experiments and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to derive the minimum detectable activity (MDA) when one seeks a real-time imaging capability. First, the impact of the thickness of the modified uniformly redundant array (MURA) mask on the image quality is quantified, and the imaging of point, line, and surface radiation sources is demonstrated using both cross-correlation (CC) and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) methods. Second, the minimum detectable activity is also derived for real-time imaging by altering the factors used in the image quality assessment, consisting of the peak-to-noise ratio (PSNR), the normalized mean square error (NMSE), the spatial resolution (full width at half maximum; FWHM), and the structural similarity (SSIM), all evaluated as a function of energy and mask thickness. Sufficiently sharp images were reconstructed when the mask thickness was approximately 2 cm for a source energy between 30 keV and 1.5 MeV and the minimum detectable activity for real-time imaging was 23.7 MBq at 1 m distance for a 1 s collection time.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4077-4082
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• 2023

Large areas must be rapidly screened to monitor radiation in marine environments. For this purpose, this study developed a mobile real-time gamma-ray measurement system for shipboard use and evaluated its performance. The system was developed to measure engine or generator cooling water by installing a canister inside the ship. The minimum detectable activity of the system is about 0.8 Bq/L for a 60 s measurement period, and real-time data transmission and remote control are possible. The system was tested in the field and is currently being installed and operated on ships in service. Such a ship-based real-time gamma-radiation measurement system is suitable for a wide range of marine radiation surveillance applications and is expected to be rapidly deployed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.164-169
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• 2020

Use of SiPM has been considered as an alternative to PMT, because of its compact size, low-operating voltage, non-sensitive to electromagnetic, low costs and so on. The main limitation for the use of SiPM is due to its small sensitive area compared to PMT that limits the light collection, and therefore the sensor energy resolution. In this article we studied the effect of increasing the number of SiPM by connecting them in parallel to increase the active detection area. This allowed us to compare the different energy resolution measurements. ¹³⁷Cs has been selected as reference to study the energy resolution for 662 keV gamma-rays. Another investigation was to compare the minimum detectable gamma energy under various SiPM configurations. It has been found that the use of 4 SiPM arrays can greatly improve the energy resolution up to 4% than only one SiPM array, meanwhile use of more than 2 SiPM arrays does not increase the energy resolution significantly. Thus we can conclude that for a large area of cylindrical scintillator (3 × 3 inches), the use of SiPMs are limited to a certain number or certai active area depending on the commercial SiPMs, and its cost should be less than traditional PMT for the cost-effective and compact size considerations. It is well known that the gain of SiPM varies with temperature. In this article, we also calibrated gain to guarantee the same position of photoelectric peak in response of different temperatures.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.171-184
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• 1999

In this paper, using statistical theory the basic concepts and the formulars of lower limit of detection were deasribed. Assuming that risks of 5% are acceptable (95% confidence level), lower limits of detection were calculated on the measuring apparatus for alpha, beta and gamma nuclides. Also, on the basis concepts of lower limit of detection, the MDA values were calculated for the radionuclides detected easily in the environment. These results make it possible to evaluate confidence limits on the radioanalytical results in the environmental sample.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1259-1265
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• 2021

In the present study, a large-area hybrid gamma imaging system was designed by adopting coded aperture imaging on the basis of a large-area Compton camera to achieve high imaging performance throughout a broad energy range (100-2000 keV). The system consisting of a tungsten coded aperture mask and monolithic NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors was designed through a series of Geant4 Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations, in consideration of both imaging sensitivity and imaging resolution. Then, the performance of the system was predicted by Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations for point sources under various conditions. Our simulation results show that the system provides very high imaging sensitivity (i.e., low values for minimum detectable activity, MDA), thus allowing for imaging of low-activity sources at distances impossible with coded aperture imaging or Compton imaging alone. In addition, the imaging resolution of the system was found to be high (i.e., around 6°) over the broad energy range of 59.5-1330 keV.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.1667-1671
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• 2024

This paper presents a neutron/gamma detector based on a micropixel avalanche photodiode and a plastic scintillator that monitors the status of the accelerator-driven intense resonance neutron source (IREN) facility by measuring the neutron/gamma intensity in the target hall. The electronics of the neutron/gamma detector has been designed and developed. The size of the plastic scintillator was selected to be 3.7 × 3.7 × 30 mm³ due to the sensitive area of the MAPD. The experimental results demonstrated a dependence between the count rate of the detector and the frequency of the accelerator. The detector is sensitive to intermediate and fast neutrons. The minimum detectable energy was determined to be 200 keV using Cs-137 point gamma source. The maximum counting rate of the detector from TTL out is about 2.2⋅10⁶ counts/sec, but for analogue output it is about 2⋅10⁷ counts/sec. The detector can not allow discriminating neutrons and gamma rays by charge integration method.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.414-420
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• 2011

In this study, radiation measurement system has been investigated to set up for the radioisotopes analysis in the radioactive waste samples after selecting the radiation counters of alpha beta and gamma nuclides. The counting efficiencies for alpha, beta and gamma measurement systems were calibrated. To obtain stability of the radiation detectors, quality control program has been established. Also, minimum detectable activities (MDAs) depending on the type of samples were calculated for increasing the confidence level for analytical result.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.111-117
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• 1997

Recently, the conclusion of Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty(CTBT) is globally constructing a network system for nuclear test monitoring. The radionuclide experts of the Conference on Disarmament recommended that the detection of nuclear debris in the atmosphere was an essential factor of nuclear test monitoring and proposed the technical requirements. Based on those requirements, atmospheric radionuclide monitoring system to detect nuclear debris generated from the nuclear explosion test was composed. The system is comprised of high volume air sampler(HVAS), filter paper presser and high purity germanium detector(HPGe). Minimum detectable concentrations(MDCs) of the key nuclides requiring in CTBT monitoring strategies are determined by considering of decay time, counting time and flow rate of the high volume air sampler for the rapid explosion and the optimum measurement condition. The results were selected $10{\pm}$2h, $20{\pm}$2h and $850{\pm}50m^3$/h as parameters, respectively. The relation between the natural air-borne radionuclide concentration of $^{212}Pb$ and MDC were calculated which gave effect in the Compton continuum baseline due to those nuclides in the gamma-ray spectroscopy. These results can be used as an actually tool in the CTBT monitoring strategies.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.321-328
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• 2019

The detection performances of the NaI(Tl), $LaBr_3$(Ce) and $CeBr_3$ scintillation detectors, which can be used to rapidly evaluate the major artificial radionuclides deposited on the soil surface in a nuclear accident or radiological emergency, were compared. Detection performance was assessed by calculating the minimum detectable activity (MDA). The detection efficiency of each detector for artificial radionuclides was semi-empirically determined using mathematical modelling and point-like sources having certified radioactivity. The background gamma-ray energy spectrum for MDA evaluation was obtained from relatively wide and flat grassland, and the MDA values of each detector for the major artificial radionuclides that could be released in nuclear accidents were calculated. As a result, the relative MDA values of each detector regarding surface deposition distribution at normal environmental radiation level were evaluated as high in the order of the NaI(Tl), $LaBr_3$(Ce), and $CeBr_3$ detectors. These results were compared based on each detector's intrinsic and measurement environment background, detection efficiency, and energy resolution for the gamma-ray energy region of the radionuclide of interest.