• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.1199-1210
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• 2017

A new in-line method for sampling neutrons emitted in (${\alpha}$,n) reactions based on alpha particle source information has been developed for continuous-energy Monte Carlo simulations. The new method uses a continuous-slowing-down model coupled with (${\alpha}$,n) cross section data to precompute the expected neutron yield over the alpha particle lifetime. This eliminates the complexity and computational cost associated with explicit charged particle transport. When combined with an integrated alpha particle decay source sampling capability, the proposed method provides an efficient and accurate method for sampling (${\alpha}$,n) neutrons based solely on nuclide inventories in the problem, with no additional user input required. Results from several example calculations show that the proposed method reproduces the (${\alpha}$,n) neutron yields and energy spectra from reference experiments and calculations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.29-33
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• 2017

In order to solve this sort of electrostatic failure in Display and Semiconductor process, Soft X-ray ionizer is mainly used. Soft X-ray Ionizer does not only generate electrical noise and minute particle but also is efficient to remove electrostatic as it has a wide range of ionization. There exist variable factors such as type of tungsten thickness deposited on target, Anode voltage etc., and it takes a lot of time and financial resource to find optimal performance by manufacturing with actual X-ray tube source. Here, MCNPX (Monte Carlo N-Particle Extended) is used for simulation to solve this kind of problem, and optimum efficiency of X-ray generation is anticipated. In this study, X-ray generation efficiency was compared according to target material thickness using MCNPX and actual X-ray tube source under the conditions that tube voltage is 5 keV, 10 keV, 15 keV and the target Material is Tungsten(W). At the result, In Tube voltage 5 keV and distance 100 mm, optimal target thickness is $0.05{\mu}m$ and fastest decay time appears + decay time 0.28 sec. - deacy time 0.30 sec. In Tube voltage 10keV and distance 100 mm, optimal target Thickness is $0.16{\mu}m$ and fastest decay time appears + decay time 0.13 sec. - deacy time 0.12 sec. In the tube voltage 15 keV and distance 100 mm, optimal target Thickness is $0.28{\mu}m$ and fastest decay time appears + decay time 0.04 sec. - deacy time 0.05 sec.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.1120-1125
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• 2016

The neutron decay constant, ${\alpha}$, and effective delayed neutron fraction, ${\beta}_{eff}$, are important parameters for the control of the dynamic behavior of nuclear reactors. For the heavy water zero power reactor (HWZPR), this document describes the measurements of the neutron decay constant by noise analysis methods, including variance to mean (VTM) ratio and endogenous pulse source (EPS) methods. The measured ${\alpha}$ is successively used to determine the experimental value of the effective delayed neutron fraction as well. According to the experimental results, ${\beta}_{eff}$ of the HWZPR reactor under study is equal to 7.84e-3. This value is finally used to validate the calculation of the effective delayed neutron fraction by the Monte Carlo methods that are discussed in the document. Using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP)-4C code, a ${\beta}_{eff}$ value of 7.58e-3 was obtained for the reactor under study. Thus, the relative difference between the ${\beta}_{eff}$ values determined experimentally and by Monte Carlo methods was estimated to be < 4%.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.29-34
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• 2020

Purpose: The interaction of various substances inserted into the human body and radiation can confirm the radiation enhancement effect. A Leksell frame inserted into the human body for gamma knife treatment will cause not only pain and inconvenience to the patient, but also additional exposure to the patient's normal tissues. In this study, we attempt to confirm the additional exposure caused by the interaction of the Leksell frame and thermoplastic mask, and ⁶⁰Co used for gamma knife treatment. Methods: A ⁶⁰Co energy of 1.17, 1.33 MeV is applied using Monte Carlo simulation, and fixation screws and thermoplastic mask are fabricated using aluminum and titanium alloy, and Carbon compounds. Results: Results show a dose enhancement of up to 396.27% higher compared with that without a Leksell frame and up to 391.25% in thermoplastic mask. Conclusions: Hence, appropriate treatment methods and materials must be used to reduce additional exposure to normal tissues.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.3401-3408
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• 2023

In this study, we used the Monte Carlo N-Particle program to simulate the gamma-ray spectra obtained from plastic scintillators holes filled with bismuth nanoparticles. We confirmed that the incorporation of bismuth nanoparticles into a plastic scintillator enhances its performance for gamma-ray spectroscopy using the subtraction method. The subtracted energy spectra obtained from the bismuth-nanoparticle-incorporated and the original plastic scintillator exhibit a distinct energy peak that does not appear in the corresponding original spectra. We varied the diameter and depth of the bismuth-filled holes to determine the optimal hole design for gamma-ray spectroscopy using the subtraction method. We evaluated the energy resolutions of the energy peaks in the gamma-ray spectra to estimate the effects of the bismuth nanoparticles and determine their optimum volume in the plastic scintillator. In addition, we calculated the peak-to-total ratio of the energy spectrum to evaluate the energy measuring limit of the bismuth nanoparticle-containing plastic scintillator using the subtraction method.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.34-37
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• 2017

In recent emerging industry, Display field becomes bigger and bigger, and also semiconductor technology becomes high density integration. In Flat Panel Display, there is an issue that electrostatic phenomenon results in fine dust adsorption as electrostatic capacity increases due to bigger size. Destruction of high integrated circuit and pattern deterioration occur in semiconductor and this causes the problem of weakening of thermal resistance. In order to solve this sort of electrostatic failure in this process, Soft X-ray ionizer is mainly used. Soft X-ray Ionizer does not only generate electrical noise and minute particle but also is efficient to remove electrostatic as it has a wide range of ionization. X-ray Generating efficiency has an effect on soft X-ray Ionizer affects neutralizing performance. There exist variable factors such as type of anode, thickness, tube voltage etc., and it takes a lot of time and financial resource to find optimal performance by manufacturing with actual X-ray tube source. MCNPX (Monte Carlo N-Particle Extended) is used for simulation to solve this kind of problem, and optimum efficiency of X-ray generation is anticipated. In this study, X-ray generation efficiency was measured according to target material thickness using MCNPX under the conditions that tube voltage is 5 keV, 10 keV, 15 keV and the target Material is Tungsten(W), Gold(Au), Silver(Ag). At the result, Gold(Au) shows optimum efficiency. In Tube voltage 5 keV, optimal target thickness is $0.05{\mu}m$ and Largest energy of Light flux appears $2.22{\times}10^8$ x-ray flux. In Tube voltage 10 keV, optimal target Thickness is $0.18{\mu}m$ and Largest energy of Light flux appears $1.97{\times}10^9$ x-ray flux. In Tube voltage 15 keV, optimal target Thickness is $0.29{\mu}m$ and Largest energy of Light flux appears $4.59{\times}10^9$ x-ray flux.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.527-536
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• 2022

The radiation shielding characteristic of neutron shielding material has been studied as the preliminary study in order to design cosmic-ray shielding material. Specially, Soft Magnetic Material, known to be effective in EMP and radiation shielding, has been investigated to check if the material would be applicable to cosmic-ray shielding. In this work, thermal neutron shielding experiment was conducted and the Monte Carlo N-Particle(MCNP) was applied to employ skymap.dat, which is cosmic-ray data embedded in MCNP. As a result, polyethylene, borated polyethylene, and carbon nano tube, containing carbon or hydrogen, have been found to be effective in reduction of neutron flux below 20 MeV (including thermal, epithermal, evaporation). In contrast, the materials composed of iron such as SS316 and Soft Magnetic Material show a good shielding performance in the cascade energy range (above 20 MeV). Since Soft Magnetic Material is consisting of 13% of boron, it can also decrease thermal neutron flux, so it is expected that it would show a significant reduction on the entire range of neutron energy if the Soft Magnetic Material is used with hydrogen and carbon, so called low Z material.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.546-558
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• 2015

Chord length sampling method in Monte Carlo simulations is a method used to model spherical particles with random sampling technique in a stochastic media. It has received attention due to the high calculation efficiency as well as user convenience; however, a technical issue regarding boundary effect has been noted. In this study, after analyzing the distribution characteristics of spherical particles using an explicit method, an alternative chord length sampling method is proposed. In addition, for modeling in finite media, a correction method of the boundary effect is proposed. Using the proposed method, sample probability distributions and relative errors were estimated and compared with those calculated by the explicit method. The results show that the reconstruction ability and modeling accuracy of the particle probability distribution with the proposed method were considerably high. Also, from the local packing fraction results, the proposed method can successfully solve the boundary effect problem. It is expected that the proposed method can contribute to the increasing of the modeling accuracy in stochastic media.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4244-4252
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• 2022

The accuracy of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations in estimating the computed tomography radiation dose is highly dependent on the accuracy of CT scanner model. A system was developed to observe the 3D model intuitively and to calculate the X-ray energy spectrum and the bowtie (BT) filter model more accurately in Monte Carlo N-particle (MCNP). Labview's built-in Open Graphics Library (OpenGL) was used to display basic surfaces, and constructive solid geometry (CSG) method was used to realize Boolean operations. The energy spectrum was calculated by simulating the process of electronic shooting and the BT filter model was accurately modeled based on the calculated shape curve. Physical data from a study was used as an example to illustrate the accuracy of the constructed model. RMSE between the simulation and the measurement results were 0.97% and 0.74% for two filters of different shapes. It can be seen from the comparison results that to obtain an accurate CT scanner model, physical measurements should be taken as the standard. The energy spectrum library should be established based on Monte Carlo simulations with modifiable input files. It is necessary to use the three-segment splicing modeling method to construct the bowtie filter model.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.191-199
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• 2021

The purpose of this research is to analyze the radiation shielding effect of soft magnetic material to confirm the applicability to the military facilities. The soft magnetic material is known to be effective in shielding EMP. If this material is also effective in radiation shielding, it is expected that it has a lot of applicability in military protection. In particular, this material contains boron, so it will be effective in shielding neutrons. In this research, experiments were conducted using Cs-137 and Co-60 sources to check the gamma ray shielding effect. In addition, the Monte Carlo N-Particle(MCNP) modeling was applied to evaluate the gamma ray and neutron shielding effect of a military command tent. As a result, as the soft magnetic thickness increased, the shielding performance improved according the linear attenuation law of gamma ray and neutron. Therefore, this research verified that the application of soft magnetic material for military purposes in radiation shielding would be effective.