• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2002.08a
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• pp.295-298
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• 2002

In the analysis of the mass distribution and SMD (Sauter Mean Diameter), planar laser imaging technique Is a convenient and useful one when compared to the mechanical patternator or PDPA (Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer). But for the accurate usage of this laser technique, it is required to compensate the signal attenuation and to find the attenuation coefficients. In the present research, we considered effects of the spray distributions on the attenuation coefficient and improved the accuracy of planar laser imaging technique by the reduction of errors issuing from the signal attenuation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.3808-3815
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• 2021

In this paper, the EPICS2017 photoatomic database was used to evaluate the photon mass attenuation coefficients and buildup factors of soils collected at different depths in the Philippine islands. The extraction and interpolation of the library was accomplished at the recommended linear-linear scales to obtain the incoherent and total cross section and mass attenuation coefficient. The buildup factors were evaluated using the G-P fitting method in ANSI/ANS-6.4.3. An agreement was achieved between XCOM, MCNP5, and EPICS2017 for the calculated mass attenuation coefficient values. The buildup factors were reported at several penetration depths within the standard energy grid. The highest values of both buildup factor classifications were found in the energy range between 100 and 400 keV where incoherent scattering interaction probabilities are predominant, and least at the region of predominant photoionization events. The buildup factors were examined as a function of different soil silica contents. The soil samples with larger silica concentrations were found to have higher buildup factor values and hence lower shielding characteristics, while conversely, those with the least silica contents have increased shielding characteristics brought by the increased proportions of the abundant heavier oxides.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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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.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3470-3477
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• 2022

Soils are porous materials with high shielding capability to attenuate gamma and X-rays. The disposal of radionuclides throughout the soil profile can expose the living organisms to ionizing radiation. Thus, studies aiming to analyze the shielding properties of the soils are of particular interest for radiation shielding. Investigations on evaluating the shielding capabilities of highly weathered soils are still scarce, meaning that additional research is necessary to check their efficiency to attenuate radiation. In this study, the radiation shielding properties of contrasting soils were evaluated. The radiation interaction parameters assessed were attenuation coefficients, mean free path, and half- and tenth-value layers. At low photon energies, the photoelectric absorption contribution to the attenuation coefficient predominated, while at intermediate and high photon energies, the incoherent scattering and pair production were the dominant effects. Soils with the highest densities presented the best shielding properties, regardless of their chemical compositions. Increases in the attenuation coefficient and decreases in shielding parameters of the soils were associated with increases in clay, Fe₂O₃, Al₂O₃, and TiO₂ amounts. In addition, this paper provides a comprehensive description of the shielding properties of weathered soils showing the importance of their granulometric fractions and oxides to the attenuation of the radiation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.701-708
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• 2022

The mass attenuation coefficients (μ_m) of polyethylene glycol (PEG) of different molecular weights (1000-200,000) were measured using single-beam photon transmission. The X-ray fluorescent (XRF) photons from Zinc (Zn), Zirconium (Zr), Molybdenum (Mo), Silver (Ag) and Cadmium (Cd) targets were used to determine the attenuation of gamma radiation of energy range between 8.67 and 23.19 keV in PEG samples. The results were compared to theoretical values using XCOM and Monte Carlo simulation using Geant4 toolkit which was developed to validate the experiment at those certain energies. The mass attenuation coefficients were then used to compute the effective atomic numbers, electron density and half value layers for the studied samples. The outcomes showed good agreement between experimental and simulated results with those calculated theoretically by XCOM within 5% deviation. The PEG 1000 sample showed slightly higher μ_m value compared with the other samples. The dependence of the photon energy and PEG composition on the values of μ_m and HVL were investigated and discussed. In addition, the values of Z_eff and N_eff for all PEG samples behaved similarly in the given photon energy range, and they decreased as the photon energy increased.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.957-962
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• 2018

The gamma radiation shielding capability (GRSC) of two clay-materials (Ball clay and Kaolin)of Southwestern Nigeria ($7.49^{\circ}N$, $4.55^{\circ}E$) have been investigated by determine theoretically and experimentally the mass attenuation coefficient, ${\mu}/{\rho}(cm^2g^{-1})$ of the clay materials at photon energies of 609.31, 1120.29, 1173.20, 1238.11, 1332.50 and 1764.49 keV emitted from $^{214}Bi$ ore and $^{60}Co$ point source. The mass attenuation coefficients were theoretically evaluated using the elemental compositions of the clay-materials obtained by Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) elemental analysis technique as input data for WinXCom software. While gamma ray transmission experiment using Hyper Pure Germanium (HPGe) spectrometer detector to experimentally determine the mass attenuation coefficients, ${\mu}/{\rho}(cm^2g^{-1})$ of the samples. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations of WinXCom software. Linear attenuation coefficient (${\mu}$), half value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP) were also evaluated using the obtained ${\mu}/{\rho}$ values for the investigated samples. The GRSC of the selected clay-materials have been compared with other studied shielding materials. The cognizance of various factors such as availability, thermo-chemical stability and water retaining ability by the clay-samples can be analyzed for efficacy of the material for their GRSC.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.247-256
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• 2024

The glass series modified by tungsten oxide was created using the compounds (75-x) B₂O₃- 10SrCO₃- 8TeO₂- 7ZnO - xWO₃, where x = 0, 1, 5, 10, 22, 27, 34, and 40% mole percentage. A UV-visible spectrophotometer and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) methods were employed to characterize the specimen's optical and phase transition attributes, respectively. The mass-attenuation coefficient (AC) of all created glasses from BSTZW0 to BSTZ7 was estimated using Geant4 code from 0.05 to 3 MeV and compared to the XCOM software results, with a relative difference of less than 2% between the two results. The increase of WO₃ percentage lead to an increase in the Linear-AC at each studied energy, and this is mainly due to the fact that the higher the percentage of WO₃ in the glass increases its density which causes an increase in the Linear-AC, so an energy of 0.06 MeV, as an example, the values of the Linear-AC was 4.009, 4.509, 5.442, 6812, 8.564, 9.856, 10.999 and 11.628 cm^-1 form BSTZW0 too BSTZW7, respectively. The Half-VL (value layer), Mean-FP (free path), Tenth-VL, and Radiation attenuation performance (RAP) were also calculated for the current BSTZW-glass samples and revealed that BSTZW7 had the best gamma ray attenuation performance at all discussed energies when compared to other studied glass samples.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2014

Coastal water including estuaries has distinctive environmental characteristics where sediments are transported and deposited by flowing river water, providing an environment in which fluid mud layers can be formed. Acoustic method is mostly used to detect or monitor the fluid mud layer. However, since sound propagating in this layer suffers severe attenuation, it is important to estimate the accurate attenuation coefficient for various concentrations of fluid mud layer for the successful use of the acoustic method. In this paper, measurement results of attenuation coefficient for 3.5, 5, and 7.5 MHz ultrasounds were presented. The measurements were made in a small-size water tank in which suspended sediment samples with various sediment concentrations were formed using kaolinite powder. The results were compared to the model predictions obtained by attenuation coefficient model in which the mean grain size (called as Mass-median-diameter, D50) was used as input parameter. There were reasonable agreements between measured attenuation coefficients and model outputs predicted using the particle range of D50 ${\pm}20%$. The comparison results imply that although the suspended sediments consist of various-sized particles, sound attenuation might be greatly influenced by amount of particle with a size which has a larger attenuation than that of any particle in the suspended sediments for the frequency used.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3440-3447
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• 2022

The accuracy of the photoatomic cross-section data is of great importance in the field of radiation protection, particularly in the characterization of radiation shielding materials. With the release of the latest and probably the most accurate photoatomic data library, EPDL2017, the need to re-evaluate all the existing and already established mass attenuation coefficients (MACs) of all radiation shielding materials arises. The MACs of several polymers, alloy-based, glasses, and building materials used in a nuclear medicine facility were investigated using the EPDL2017 library embedded in EpiXS software and were compared to MACs available in the literature. The relative differences between MAC_EpiXS and MACXCOM were negligible, ranging from 0.02% to 0.36% for most materials. However, for material like a glass comprising of elements Te and La evaluated near their corresponding K-edge energies, the relative differences in MACs increased up to 1.46%. On the other hand, a comparison with MACs calculated based on EPDL97 (a predecessor of EPDL2017) revealed as much as a 6.61% difference. Also, it would seem that the changes in MACs were more evident in the materials composed of high atomic number elements evaluated at x-ray energies compared to materials composed of low atomic number elements evaluated at gamma-ray energies.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.2253-2261
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• 2022

In this study, nano-scaled shielding materials were assembled and fabricated by doping different weight percentages of Nano-mercuric oxide (N-HgO) into Nano-Bentonite (N-Bent) based on using (100-x% N-Bent + x% N-HgO, x = 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt %). The fabricated N-HgO/N-Bent nanocomposites were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, and SEM and evaluated to evaluate their shielding properties toward gamma radiation by using four different γ-ray energies form three point sources; 356 keV from ¹³³Ba, 662 keV from ¹³⁷Cs as well as 1173, and 1332 keV from ⁶⁰Co. The γ-rays mass attenuation coefficients were plotted as a function of the doped N-HgO concentrations into N-HgO/N-Bent nanocomposites. The computed values of mass attenuation coefficients (µ_m), effective atomic number (Z_eff) and electron density (N_el) by the as-prepared samples were found to increase, while the half value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP) were identified to decrease upon increasing the N-HgO contents. It was concluded also that the increase in N-HgO concentration led to a direct increase in the mass attenuation coefficient from 0.10 to 0.17 cm²/g at 356 keV and from 0.08 to 0.09 cm²/g at 662 keV. However, a slight increase was observed in the identified mass attenuation coefficients at (1172 and 1332 keV).