• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4026-4031
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• 2023

In this article, we report a new empirical formula for quick calculation of cross sections of (n, α) reactions with 14-15 MeV neutrons. Cross sections are analysed in terms of the compound nucleus model. A systematic trend for 14-15 MeV neutrons is found in the variation of (n, α) reaction cross sections with the parameters (N - Z + 1), (E_n + Q)^0.5 and N/Z. The empirical relation between the cross sections and these parameters has been obtained, which give fairly good fits with the experimental data. We have also investigated the odd-even effects on (n, α) cross sections considering binding energy systematic of the shell model. The present formula is very useful in predicting of the (n, α) cross sections, where the measurements are not available as well as in testing new experimental data.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.219-230
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• 1974

The previous expression for the diffracted neutron intensity by a highly oriented polycrystalline is modified using the Kunitomi's formula of the crystal reflectivity The method of studying the preferred orientation in metals with white neutron is proposed utilizing the above formula and the fact that the real position of the diffraction of certain grain in the sample can be found by the comparison of the smaller angle part of the maxwellian curve of the calculated intensity of neutrons diffracted and the experimenal curves. The most probable wavelength of thermal neutrons from the reactor is found by the measurement of the neutron spectrum with the correction for the crystal about the multiple reflection and the absorption of neutrons and turned out to be 1.025 $\pm$ 0.001$\AA$. The preferred orientations of some electric steel sheets, mostly with the cube-on-face orientations, are investigated by the present method. The orientations of most grains relative to the rolling directions are found to be within 5 degrees. It is found the most of theories for large crystals may be extended to highly oriented polycrystalline materials without extensive modification.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.97-103
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• 2005

The energy spectra and dose calculations were performed for secondary neutrons from a 24 MV LINAC using MCNPX code (V2, 4, 0). The energy spectra for neutrons and photons emitted from the LINAC head, and absorbed dose to water were calculated in water phantom. The absorbed doses calculated with Monte Carlo were $0.66\~0.35$ mGy/photon Gy at the surface to d=5 cm, and calculated with interaction data was 0.52 mGy/photon Gy at the depth of electron equilibrium in water. We have shown that this work can be applied to dose estimation of neutrons from high energy LINAC through the comparison of our results with other results.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.162-168
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• 2016

Proton therapy is increasingly being actively used in the treatment of cancer. In contrast to photons, protons have the potential advantage of delivering higher doses to the cancerous tissue and lower doses to the surrounding normal tissue. However, a range shifter is needed to degrade the beam energy in order to apply the pencil beam scanning technique to tumors located close to the minimum range. The secondary neutrons are produced in the beam path including within the patient's body as a result of nuclear interactions. Therefore, unintended side effects may possibly occur. The research related to the secondary neutrons generated during proton therapy has been presented in a variety of studies worldwide, since 2007. In this study, we measured the magnitude of the secondary neutron dose depending on the location of the detector and the use of a range shifter at the beam nozzle of the proton scanning mode, which was recently installed. In addition, the production of secondary neutrons was measured and estimated as a function of the distance between the isocenter and detector. The neutron dose was measured using WENDI-II (Wide Energy Neutron Detection Instruments) and a Plastic Water phantom; a Zebra dosimeter and 4-cm-thick range shifter were also employed as a phantom. In conclusion, we need to consider the secondary neutron dose at proton scanning facilities to employ the range shifter reasonably and effectively.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.48-53
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• 1987

The manganous sulphate bath method is widely used for measurements of neutron source strength. In this study, the analytical chemistry method based on the argon supported inductively coupled plasmas emission spectrometry was used for examining the impurity contents of domestic $MnSO_4{\cdot}H_2O$ the product of Chemical Industry, to induce $^{55}Mn(n,{\gamma})^{56}$ Mn reactions. From the analytical results, mainly potassium, cobalt, and zinc as well as trace amounts of cadmium, lithium, etc. have turned out to be the relevant impurities absorbing the neutrons, and the fraction of neutrons absorbed by the total impurities was calculated. The value obtained was about 1.37% of the neutrons captured by manganese.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.384-388
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• 2016

Background: For a verification of newly-developed neutron absorbers, one of guidelines on the qualification and acceptance of neutron absorbers is the neutron attenuation test. However, this approach can cause a problem for the qualifications that it cannot distinguish how the neutron attenuates from materials. Materials and Methods: In this study, an estimation method of neutron absorption performances for materials is proposed to detect both direct penetration and back-scattering neutrons. For the verification of the proposed method, MCNP simulations with the experimental system designed in this study were pursued using the polyethylene, iron, normal glass and the vitrified form. Results and Discussion: The results show that it can easily test neutron absorption ability using single absorber model. Also, from simulation results of single absorber and double absorbers model, it is verified that the proposed method can evaluate not only the direct thermal neutrons passing through materials, but also the scattered neutrons reflected to the materials. Therefore, the neutron absorption performances can be accurately estimated using the proposed method comparing with the conventional neutron attenuation test. Conclusion: It is expected that the proposed method can contribute to increase the reliability of the performance of neutron absorbers.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2017

Background: Simultaneous detection of neutrons and gamma rays have become much more practicable, by taking advantage of good gamma-ray discrimination properties using pulse shape discrimination (PSD) technique. Recently, we introduced a commercial CLYC system in Korea, and performed an initial characterization and simulation studies for the CLYC detector system to provide references for the future implementation of the dual-mode scintillator system in various studies and applications. Materials and Methods: We evaluated a CLYC detector with 95% $^6Li$ enrichment using various gamma-ray sources and a $^{252}Cf$ neutron source, with validation of our Monte Carlo simulation results via measurement experiments. Absolute full-energy peak efficiency values were calculated for gamma-ray sources and neutron source using MCNP6 and compared with measurement experiments of the calibration sources. In addition, behavioral characteristics of neutrons were validated by comparing simulations and experiments on neutron moderation with various polyethylene (PE) moderator thicknesses. Results and Discussion: Both results showed good agreements in overall characteristics of the gamma and neutron detection efficiencies, with consistent ~20% discrepancy. Furthermore, moderation of neutrons emitted from $^{252}Cf$ showed similarities between the simulation and the experiment, in terms of their relative ratios depending on the thickness of the PE moderator. Conclusion: A CLYC detector system was characterized for its energy resolution and detection efficiency, and Monte Carlo simulations on the detector system was validated experimentally. Validation of the simulation results in overall trend of the CLYC detector behavior will provide the fundamental basis and validity of follow-up Monte Carlo simulation studies for the development of our dual-particle imager using a rotational modulation collimator.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.89-97
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• 2016

As previous studies to proceed with the evaluation of the radioactive at linear accelerator's shielding concrete wall. And the shielding wall was evaluated the characteristics for the incoming neutron. As a result, the shielding wall is the average amount of incoming neutrons 10 MV 4.63E-7%, 15 MV 9.69E-6%, showed the occurrence of 20 MV 2.18E-5%. The proportion of thermal neutrons of which are found to be approximately 18-33%. The neutron generation rate can be seen as a slight numerical order. However, in consideration of the linear accelerator operating time we can not ignore the effects of neutrons. Accordingly radioactive problem of the radiation shield wall of the treatment room will be this should be considered.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.7
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• pp.939-944
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• 2015

The calibration methods of neutron-measuring devices such as the neutron survey meter have advantages and disadvantages. To compare the calibration factors obtained by the shadow cone method and semi-empirical method, 10 neutron survey meters of five different types were used in this study. This experiment was performed at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI; Daejeon, South Korea), and the calibration neutron fields were constructed using a $^{252}Californium$ ($^{252}Cf$) neutron source, which was positioned in the center of the neutron irradiation room. The neutron spectra of the calibration neutron fields were measured by a europium-activated lithium iodide scintillator in combination with KAERI's Bonner sphere system. When the shadow cone method was used, 10 single moderator-based survey meters exhibited a smaller calibration factor by as much as 3.1-9.3% than that of the semi-empirical method. This finding indicates that neutron survey meters underestimated the scattered neutrons and attenuated neutrons (i.e., the total scatter corrections). This underestimation of the calibration factor was attributed to the fact that single moderator-based survey meters have an under-ambient dose equivalent response in the thermal or thermal-dominant neutron field. As a result, when the shadow cone method is used for a single moderator-based survey meter, an additional correction and the International Organization for Standardization standard 8529-2 for room-scattered neutrons should be considered.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1964-1969
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• 2021

We developed a Dual-PPACs detector for fast neutron measurements that consists of two sets of PPAC: conventional PPAC and fission PPAC. A²³⁸U(U₃O₈) coating is placed in the fission PPAC's anode, which is used as the neutrons conversion layer. An experiment was performed to measure neutron time-of-flight (TOF) in which ²⁵²Cf spontaneous fission source was used. An excellent time resolution of 164ps has been observed at 6 mbar in isobutene gas. With the excellent time resolution of Dual-PPACs detector, exact neutron energy can be extracted from the timing measurement. The experimental detection efficiency was 1.9 × 10^-7, consistent with the efficiency of 2.5 × 10^-7 given by a Geant4 simulation. Ultimately, the results show that the Dual-PPACs detector is a suitable candidate for measuring fast neutrons in the future CiADS system.