• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.8
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• pp.3030-3038
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• 2023

Nowadays, mobile robots have been used to search for uncontrolled radioactive source in indoor environments to avoid radiation exposure for technicians. However, in the indoor environments, especially in the presence of obstacles, how to make the robots with limited sensing capabilities automatically search for the radioactive source remains a major challenge. Also, the source search efficiency of robots needs to be further improved to meet practical scenarios such as limited exploration time. This paper proposes an automatic source search strategy, abbreviated as ACA: the location of source is estimated by a convolutional neural network (CNN), and the path is planned by the A-star algorithm. First, the search area is represented as an occupancy grid map. Then, the radiation dose distribution of the radioactive source in the occupancy grid map is obtained by Monte Carlo (MC) method simulation, and multiple sets of radiation data are collected through the eight neighborhood self-avoiding random walk (ENSAW) algorithm as the radiation data set. Further, the radiation data set is fed into the designed CNN architecture to train the network model in advance. When the searcher enters the search area where the radioactive source exists, the location of source is estimated by the network model and the search path is planned by the A-star algorithm, and this process is iterated continuously until the searcher reaches the location of radioactive source. The experimental results show that the average number of radiometric measurements and the average number of moving steps of the ACA algorithm are only 2.1% and 33.2% of those of the gradient search (GS) algorithm in the indoor environment without obstacles. In the indoor environment shielded by concrete walls, the GS algorithm fails to search for the source, while the ACA algorithm successfully searches for the source with fewer moving steps and sparse radiometric data.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.1153-1164
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• 2024

In recent years, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) have been used to search for lost or stolen radioactive sources to avoid radiation exposure for operators. To achieve autonomous localization of radioactive sources, the UGVs must have the ability to automatically determine the next radiation measurement location instead of following a predefined path. Also, the radiation field of radioactive sources has to be reconstructed or inverted utilizing discrete measurements to obtain the radiation intensity distribution in the area of interest. In this study, we propose an effective source localization framework and method, in which UGVs are able to autonomously explore in the radiation area to determine the location of radioactive sources through an iterative process: path planning, radiation field reconstruction and estimation of source location. In the search process, the next radiation measurement point of the UGVs is fully predicted by the design path planning algorithm. After obtaining the measurement points and their radiation measurements, the radiation field of radioactive sources is reconstructed by the Gaussian process regression (GPR) model based on machine learning method. Based on the reconstructed radiation field, the locations of radioactive sources can be determined by the peak analysis method. The proposed method is verified through extensive simulation experiments, and the real source localization experiment on a Cs-137 point source shows that the proposed method can accurately locate the radioactive source with an error of approximately 0.30 m. The experimental results reveal the important practicality of our proposed method for source autonomous localization tasks.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.238-247
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• 2023

The present work represents a technical guideline for decommissioning a disused teletherapy machine model Theratron-780 and contains category one ⁶⁰Co radioactive source. The first section predicts the dose rate from the source in case of normal and radiological emergency situations via FLUKA-MC simulation code. Moreover, the dose assessment for the occupational during the whole process is calculated and compared to the measured values. A suggested cordoned area for safety and security in a radiological emergency is simulated. The second section lists the whole process's technical procedures, including (preview, dismantle, securing, transport and storage) of the disused teletherapy machine. Results show that the maximum obtained accumulated dose for occupational were found to be 24.5 ± 4.9 μSv in the dismantle and securing process in addition to 3.5 ± 1.8 μSv during loading on the transport vehicle and unloading at the storage facility. It was found that the measured accumulated dose for workers is in good agreement with the estimated one by uncertainty not exceeding 5% in normal operating conditions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1271-1276
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• 2020

The geometrical efficiency of a source-to-detector configuration is considered to be necessary in the calculation of the full energy peak efficiency, especially for NaI(Tl) and HPGe gamma-ray spectroscopy detectors. The geometrical efficiency depends on the solid angle subtended by the radioactive sources and the detector surfaces. The present work is basically concerned to establish a new mathematical approach for calculating the solid angle and geometrical efficiency, based on conversion of the geometrical solid angle of a non-axial radioactive point source with respect to a circular surface of the detector to a new equivalent geometry. The equivalent geometry consists of an axial radioactive point source with respect to an arbitrary elliptical surface that lies between the radioactive point source and the circular surface of the detector. This expression was extended to include coaxial radioactive circular disk source. The results were compared with a number of published data to explain how significant this work is in the efficiency calibration procedure for the γ-ray detection systems, especially in case of using isotropic radiating γ-ray sources in the form of point and disk shapes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.461-466
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• 2014

Security of radioactive sources has been an issue since the earliest days of safety regulation of such materials. Since the events of September 11 2001, some governments and regulatory bodies have been much more focussed on these issues and have introduced extensive and enhanced security arrangements. International organisations like the IAEA and WINS have worked hard to help States in this regard. However, only a minority of States have implemented statutory security systems for radioactive source security. Why have so many States still to take action? What can be done to encourage and support these changes? This paper will offer some possible explanations for the lack of action in so many States and some potential answers to these questions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.343-344
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• 2019

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.243-244
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• 2017

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.141-146
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• 2001

It is well known that assurance of the radiation therapy needs for an accuracy of $\pm$ 5 % in the delivery of an absorbed dose to target volume. Therefore, the dose evaluation of brachytherapy source and/or linear accelerate beam must be a stability with accuracy. In an advanced country, they recommended to use the radioactive check source for reference air ionization chamber for a stable response of radiation field chamber. In this experiments, the radioactive source Sr-90 and PR-05 air ionization chamber were used for standard source and reference ion chamber. The response of reference ion chamber showed as an 1.000$\pm$ 0.010 uncertainty for 10 years long and the evaliuation f dose discrepancy of clinical field ion chamber showed as 0.997 $\pm$0.011 in a $^{60}$ Co brachytherapy soruce. In our experiments, we can assuarance the long halflife standard source is reliable to preserve the calibration factor of reference chamber in stability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.27 no.2_2
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• pp.437-443
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• 2024

The purpose of radiological Dispersal Device(RDD) is to kill people by explosives and to cause radiation exposure by dispersing radioactive materials. And It is a form of explosive that combines radioactive materials such as Co-60 and Ir-192 with improvised explosives. In this study, we tested and evaluated whether it was possible to read the internal structure of an explosive using X-rays in a radioactive explosive situation. The improvised explosive device was manufactured using 2 lb of model TNT explosives, one practice detonator, one 9V battery, and a timer switch in a leather briefcase measuring 41×35×10 cm³. The radioactive material used was the Co-60 source used in the low-level gamma ray irradiation device operated at the Advanced Radiation Research Institute of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The radiation dose used was gamma ray energy of 1.17 MeV and 1.33 MeV from a Co-60 source of 2208 Ci. The dose rates are divided into 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 Gy/h, and the exposure time was divided into 1, 3, 5, and 10 minutes. Co-60 source was mixed with the manufactured explosive and X-ray image reading was performed. As a result of the experiment, the X-ray image appeared black in all conditions divided by dose rate and time, and it was impossible to confirm the internal structure of the explosive. This is because γ-rays emitted from radioactive explosives have higher energy and stronger penetrating power than X-rays, so it is believed that imaging using X-rays is limited By blackening the film. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for research and development of X-ray imaging that can read the internal structure of explosives in radioactive explosive situations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.115-116
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• 2008