• 방사선산업학회지
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.93-100
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• 2023

This study analyzes the neutron shielding performance of Soft Magnetic Material and proposes a military application. In general, the military protection facility has been constructed with thick concrete, so Soft Magnetic Material, consisting of boron, was used with concrete in this study. To do so, Monte-Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) was applied to simulate the Watt-fission neutron spectrum of ²³⁵U and ²³⁹Pu. As a result, a configuration of polyethylene and Soft Magnetic Material is evaluated about four times better than borated polyethylene concerning the atomic weight of boron inside each shielding material. Also, when a nuclear weapon explosion is simulated in MCNP, 1 mm of Soft Magnetic Material with 20 cm of concrete shows about 55% more additional neutron shielding performance compared to when Soft Magnetic Material is not used. In this work, the neutron shielding performance of Soft Magnetic Material could be identified and Soft Magnetic Material would be useful for neutron shielding if applicable to concrete structure.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권9호
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• pp.3545-3552
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• 2024

Polymers have become widely used substrate materials for shielding neutron rays because of their high hydrogen content and easy processing procedures. Rare-earth materials are also being gradually adopted as neutron absorbers because of their considerable thermal neutron absorption cross-sections. This paper utilizes the FLUKA Monte Carlo simulation program to compare the shielding effects of various polymers and rare-earth oxides on neutron rays across different energy ranges. The study investigates the superior shielding materials for neutron radiation in each energy range. Subsequently, a series of materials are simulated by combining the preferred shielding materials for neutron rays in each energy range, exploring the influence of material composition and composite structure on the effectiveness of neutron ray shielding. It is revealed that the preferred material for shielding neutron rays changes for different energy ranges. For low-energy neutron rays, rare-earth oxides such as Sm₂O₃ and Gd₂O₃ demonstrate the most effective shielding, whereas for high-energy neutron rays, polyethylene (PE) provides the best shielding performance. Materials with different compositions show varying preferred structures when dealing with a ²⁵²Cf neutron source. However, in mitigating the secondary gamma rays generated during the neutron shielding process, stacked-type materials exhibit the most effective shielding performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권6호
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• pp.2153-2162
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to develop a high-energy neutron shielding material applied in proton therapy environment. Composite shielding material consisting of 10.00 wt% boron carbide particles (B₄C), 13.64 wt% surface-modified cross-linked polyethylene (PE), and 76.36 wt% tungsten particles were fabricated by hot-pressure sintering method, where the optimal ratio of the composite is determined by the shielding effect under the neutron field generated in typical proton therapy environment. The results of Differential Scanning Calorimetry measurements (DSC) and tensile experiment show that the composite has good thermal and mechanical properties. In addition, the high energy-neutron shielding performance of the developed material was evaluated using cyclotron proton accelerator with 100 MeV proton. The simulation shows a 99.99% decrease in fast neutron injection after 44 cm shielding, and the experiment result show a 99.70% decrease. Finally, the shielding effect of replacing part of the shielding material of the proton therapy hall with the developed material was simulated, and the results showed that the total neutron injection decreased to 0.99‰ and the neutron dose reduced to 1.10‰ before the enhanced shielding. In summary, the developed material is expected to serve as a shielding enhancement material in the proton therapy environment.

• 한국방사선학회논문지
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• 제16권5호
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• pp.527-536
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• 2022

본 연구는 우주방사선 차폐물질 설계를 위한 선행연구 차원에서 우주방사선에 대한 물질별 방사선 차폐특성을 분석하였다. 특히 EMP 및 방사선 차폐에 효과가 있다고 알려진 경량 연자성 복합소재에 대한 우주방사선 차폐물질 활용 가능성을 확인하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 Monte Carlo N-Particle(MCNP) 모델링 기법과 열중성자 차폐실험을 수행하였으며, MCNP의 우주방사선 모델인 Skymap.dat를 활용하였다. 연구결과 폴리에틸렌, 붕소폴리에틸렌, 탄소나노튜브 등 탄소와 수소를 함유한 물질의 경우 증발 중성자 에너지 영역 대 이하의 중성자 감소에 효과적인 것으로 나타났으며 SS316, 경량 연자성 물질 등 철을 함유한 물질은 캐스케이드 중성자 차폐성능이 뛰어난 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 특히 경량 연자성 물질의 경우 붕소를 함유하고 있어 저속중성자 영역의 중성자 감소에도 효과적인 것으로 나타났으며, 향후 탄소 및 수소 등 탄성산란 물질을 보강한다면 우주방사선 중성자 전 영역에서 유의미한 차폐효과를 보여줄 것으로 기대된다.

• 한국건축시공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국건축시공학회 2017년도 추계 학술논문 발표대회
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• pp.155-156
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• 2017

Borosilicate glass was incorporated to improve the neutron shielding capability of concrete. Boron is a typical neutron shielding material, and it is contained in borosilicate glass. However, borosilicate glass causes alkali-silica reaction, which damages the concrete. Therefore, studied to reduce the expansion due to alkali-silica reaction and to improve the neuton shielding capability. The measurement of the expansion due to the alkali-silica reaction was based on ASTM C 1260. Experimental results show that the expansion due to alkali-silica reaction is reduced when borosilicate glass powder incorporated. In addition, the neutron shielding capability was significantly improved when the fine aggregate replaced with borosilicate glass.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권9호
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• pp.3448-3451
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• 2022

Biochar is a novel carbon based material derived from waste that shows promising properties for several applications. In this paper we investigate its potential use as a low cost, greener alternative to commonly used aggregates employed to enhance the neutron shielding performance of concrete. Monte Carlo simulations are performed with the PHITS code to estimate the neutron attenuation of blank and biochar-reinforced concrete exposed to high energy neutrons. We find that the shielding performance of concrete with 15% biochar is comparable with commonly used materials such as Boron Carbide at 20% and exceeds that of Basalt fibers with the same concentration, making these composites an interesting greener alternative to current solutions. A combination of biochar and heavier fillers also show extremely promising performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제52권3호
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• pp.647-653
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• 2020

Stainless steel is used commonly in nuclear applications for shielding radiation, so in this study, three different types of new stainless steel samples were designed and developed. New stainless steel compound ratios were determined by using Monte Carlo Simulation program Geant 4 code. In the sample production, iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), silicium (Si), sulphur (S), carbon (C), molybdenum (Mo), manganese (Mn), wolfram (W), rhenium (Re), titanium (Ti) and vanadium (V), powder materials were used with powder metallurgy method. Total macroscopic cross sections, mean free path and transmission number were calculated for the fast neutron radiation shielding by using (Geant 4) code. In addition to neutron shielding, the gamma absorption parameters such as mass attenuation coefficients (MACs) and half value layer (HVL) were calculated using Win-XCOM software. Sulfuric acid abrasion and compressive strength tests were carried out and all samples showed good resistance to acid wear and pressure force. The neutron equivalent dose was measured using an average 4.5 MeV energy fast neutron source. Results were compared to 316LN type stainless steel, which commonly used in shielding radiation. New stainless steel samples were found to absorb neutron better than 316LN stainless steel at both low and high temperatures.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권5호
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• pp.1763-1774
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• 2023

In this study, a series of flexible neutron/gamma shielding composites are fabricated through the doping of Gd₂O₃ into the matrix of SEBS with (M_Gd2O3: M_SEBS) % from 5% to 100%. Neutron transmittance test shows an exponential attenuation with the increase of areal density of Gd, in which the transmittance T ranges from 59.1440% to 35.3026%, with standard deviation less than 2.2743%, mass attenuation coefficient 𝜇_m from 0.3194 cm²/g to 0.4999 cm²/g, and half value layer-HVL value from 2.4530 mm to 1.1313 mm. Shielding efficiency of the Gd₂O₃/SEBS composites is basically improved in comparison with that of B₄C/SEBS. The transmittance T, mass/linear attenuation coefficient 𝜇_m and 𝜇, HVL and effective atomic number Z_eff for the shielding of γ rays (39 keV, 59 keV and 122 keV) are measured and calculated with XCOM as well as MCX programs. Finally, plots of the three dimensional relationships between transmittance, doping amount and thickness are provided to the guidance for engineering shielding design. In summary, the Gd₂O₃/SEBS composite is proved to be an effective flexible neutron/low energy γ rays shielding material, which could be of potential applications in the field of nuclear technology and nuclear engineering.

• 한국건축시공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국건축시공학회 2018년도 추계 학술논문 발표대회
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• pp.114-115
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• 2018

To develop an effective shielding material for spent fuel that emits fast neutrons is necessary. In this study, thermal neutron and fast neutron shielding performance of polyethylene coated boron carbide-incorporated cement paste was quantitatively analyzed by Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code (MCNP) simulations. As the results of the simulations, fast neutrons were effectively shielded through large quantity of hydrogen and boron elements in polyethylene and boron carbide.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제9권4호
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• pp.404-408
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• 1999

Effects of heating time and radiation under high temperature on the properties of thermal, mechanical and shielding ability of modified (KNS-101), hydrogenated bisphenol-A(KNS-201) type epoxy resin and phenol-novolac(KNS-301) type epoxy resin based neutron shielding materials that are used for shipping casks for radioactive material have been investigated. At early stages, the offset temperatures of KNS-101, KNS-201 and KNS-301 increased with the heating time under high temperature, but it was rarely affected by the heating time in the later stages. In addition, the thermal conductivities of KNS-101 and KNS-201 decreased with heating time, but that of KNS-301 increased with the heating time. On the contrary, the thermal expansion coefficients of neutron shielding materials decreased with heating time. At the high temperature, the tensile strength and flexural strength of the shielding materials decreased with heating time. On the contrary, the thermal expansion coefficients of neutron shielding materials decreased with heating time. At the high temperature, the tensile strength and flexural strength of the shielding materials of KNS-101 and KNS-301 increased with heating time, but those of KNS-201 decreased with heating time. The shielding ability of neutron shielding materials slightly increased with the radiation dose, and shielding abilities of shielding materials of KNS-101 and KNS-201 were affected to a more extent than that of KNS-301 by radiation dose under high temperature.