• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.380-387
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• 2015

A lead slowing-down spectrometer (LSDS) system is a promising nondestructive assay technique that enables a quantitative measurement of the isotopic contents of major fissile isotopes in spent nuclear fuel and its pyroprocessing counterparts, such as $^{235}U$, $^{239}Pu$, $^{241}Pu$, and, potentially, minor actinides. The LSDS system currently under development at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (Daejeon, Korea) is planned to utilize a high-flux ($>10^{12}n/cm^2{\cdot}s$) neutron source comprised of a high-energy (30 MeV)/high-current (~2 A) electron beam and a heavy metal target, which results in a very intense and complex radiation field for the facility, thus demanding structural shielding to guarantee the safety. Optimization of the structural shielding design was conducted using MCNPX for neutron dose rate evaluation of several representative hypothetical designs. In order to satisfy the construction cost and neutron attenuation capability of the facility, while simultaneously achieving the aimed dose rate limit (< $0.06{\mu}Sv/h$), a few shielding materials [high-density polyethylene (HDPE)eBorax, $B_4C$, and $Li_2CO_3$] were considered for the main neutron absorber layer, which is encapsulated within the double-sided concrete wall. The MCNP simulation indicated that HDPE-Borax is the most efficient among the aforementioned candidate materials, and the combined thickness of the shielding layers should exceed 100 cm to satisfy the dose limit on the outside surface of the shielding wall of the facility when limiting the thickness of the HDPE-Borax intermediate layer to below 5 cm. However, the shielding wall must include the instrumentation and installation holes for the LSDS system. The radiation leakage through the holes was substantially mitigated by adopting a zigzag-shape with concrete covers on both sides. The suggested optimized design of the shielding structure satisfies the dose rate limit and can be used for the construction of a facility in the near future.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2015

The monitor chamber is a real time dosimetry device for the measurement and the control of radiation beam intensity of the linac system. The monitor chamber prototype was developed for monitoring and controlling radiation beam from the linac based radiation generator. The thin flexible printed circuit boards were used for electrodes of the two independent plane-parallel ionization chambers to minimize the attenuation of radiation beam. The dosimetric characteristics, saturation and linearity of the measured charge, were experimentally evaluated with the Co-60 gamma rays. The performance of the developed monitor chamber prototype was in an acceptable range and this study shows the possibility of the further development of the chamber with additional functions.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.69-77
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• 1998

When a high energy photon beam is used to treat lesions located in the upper respiratory air passages or in maxillary sinus, the beams often must traverse an air cavity before it reaches the lesion. Because of this traversal of air, it is not clear that the surface layers of the lesion forming the air-tumor tissue interface will be in a state of near electronic equilibrium; if they are not, underdosing of these layers could result. Although dose corrections at large distances beyond an air cavity are accountable by attenuation differences, perturbations at air-tissue interfaces are complex to measure or calculate. This problem has been investigated for 4MV and 10MV X-ray beams which are becoming widely available for radiotherapy with linear accelerator. Markus chamber was used for measurement with variouse air cavity geometries in X-ray beams. Underdosing effects occur at both the distal and proximal air cavity interface. The magnitude depended on geometry, energy, field sizes and distance from the air-tissue interfaces. As the cavity thickness increased, the central axis dose at the distal interface decreased. Increasing field size remedied the underdosing, as did the introduction of lateral walls. Fellowing a $20{\times}2{\times}2\;cm^3$\;air\;cavity,\;4{\times}4\;cm\;field\;there\;was\;an\;11.5\%\;and\;13\%\;underdose\;at\;the\;distal\;interface,\;while\;a\;20{\times}20{\times}2\;cm^3\;air\;cavity\;yielded\;a\;24\%\;and\;29\%$ loss for the 4MV and 10MV beams, respectively. The losses were slightly larger for the 10MV beams. The measurements reported here can be used to guide the development of new calculation models under non-equilibrium conditions. This situation is of clinical concern when lesions such as larynx and maxillary carcinoma beyond air cavities are irradiated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.3855-3863
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• 2022

An evaluation of the radiation shielding performance of high-Z-particle-loaded polylactic acid (PLA) composite materials was pursued. Specimens were produced via fused deposition modeling (FDM) using copper-PLA, steel-PLA, and BaSO₄-PLA composite filaments containing 82.7, 75.2, and 44.6 wt% particulate phase contents, respectively, and were tested under broad-band flash x-ray conditions at the Sandia National Laboratories HERMES III facility. The experimental results for the mass attenuation coefficients of the composites were found to be in good agreement with GEANT4 simulations carried out using the same exposure conditions and an atomistic mixture as a model for the composite materials. Further simulation studies, focusing on the Cu-PLA composite system, were used to explore a shield design parameter space (in this case, defined by Cu-particle loading and shield areal density) to assess performance under both high-energy photon and electron fluxes over an incident energy range of 0.5-15 MeV. Based on these results, a method is proposed that can assist in the visualization and isolation of shield parameter coordinate sets that optimize performance under targeted radiation characteristics (type, energy). For electron flux shielding, an empirical relationship was found between areal density (AD), electron energy (E), composition and performance. In cases where ${\frac{E}{AD}}{\geq}2MeV{\bullet}cm{\bullet}g^{-1}$, a shield composed of >85 wt% Cu results in optimal performance. In contrast, a shield composed of <10 wt% Cu is anticipated to perform best against electron irradiation when ${\frac{E}{AD}}<2MeV{\bullet}cm{\bullet}g^{-1}$.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.278-284
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• 2023

The synthetic B₂O₃-As₂O₃ glass ceramic are prepared to investigate the physical properties and the radiation shielding capabilities with the variation of concentration of the As₂O₃ with 10, 20, 30, and 40%, respectively. XRD analyses are performed on the fabricated glass-ceramic and depicted the improvement of crystallinity by adding As₂O₃. The radiation shielding properties are studied for the B₂O₃-As₂O₃ glass ceramic. The values of linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) are varied with the variation of incident photon gamma energy (23.1-103 keV). The LAC values enhanced from 12.19 cm^-1-37.75 cm^-1 by raising the As₂O₃ concentration from 10 to 40 mol% at low gamma energy (23.1 keV) for BAs10 and BAs40, respectively. Among the shielding parameters, the half-value layer, transmission factor, and radiation protection efficiency are estimated. Furthermore, the fabricated samples of glass ceramic have low manufacturing costs and good shielding features compared to the previous work. It can be concluded the B₂O₃-As₂O₃ glass ceramic is appropriate to apply in X-ray or low-energy gamma-ray shielding applications.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.227-232
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• 2023

Underwater noise pollution has a significant impact on the marine environment. This study proposed a simple approach to estimate the acoustic radiation efficiency of structures with air bubble layers. The method considered the insertion loss caused by the air bubble layer through post-processing of numerical results, assuming that insertion loss is equivalent to attenuation as demonstrated by previous studies. The proposed approach was validated by comparing it with a fully coupled analysis for plate structure models. The commercial finite element program COMSOL Multiphysics was used for the acoustic-structure interaction analysis, and the acoustic characteristics of air bubble layer for the fully coupled analysis was simulated by on the Commander and Prosperetti theory. The trends indicated good agreement between the simple approach and the fully coupled analysis in terms of radiation efficiency. It is confirmed that the proposed method is providing insight into the principal mechanism of underwater noise reduction for the bubble layer on the wedge-shaped structure.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.65-75
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• 1971

The gamma-ray shielding effects of magnetite concretes have been measured using a broad beam Co-60 gamma-ray source. Mathematical formulae for a trans-mission ratio-to-shield thickness relation were derived from the attenuation curve obtained experimentally and are I (x) = I (ο) exp(-$\mu$X) exp(1.03$\times$10$^{-1}$ X-3.38$\times$10$^{-3}$ X$^2$＋5.29$\times$10$^{-5}$ X$^3$) when X< 20 cm, I (x) =I (ο) exp(-$\mu$X) exp(4.66$\times$10$^{-2}$ X＋2.12$\times$10$^{-1}$ ) when X＞20 cm. Here I (x) is radiation intensity after passing through a thickness X of absorber, I(o) is the initial radiation intensity, $\mu$ is the linear attenuation coefficient of magnetite concrete and is given by (0.0532$\rho$＋ 0.0083)$^{4)}$ $cm^{-1}$ / in accordance with an earlier study, and X is the thickness of absorber. In addition, a model shield which is a rectangular magnetite concrete box with walls of 8cm thickness walls and internal demensions of 40$\times$40$\times$40 cm was constructed and its shielding effect has been measured. The emergent radiation flux appears to be greater with this configuration than with a slab shield of equal thickness.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.1061-1070
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• 2023

Over the last few years, lead-free inorganic metal perovskites have gained impressive ground in empowering satellites in space exploration owing to their material stability and performance evolution under extreme space environments. The present work has examined the versatility of eight such perovskites as space radiation shielding materials by computing their photon, charged particles and neutron interaction parameters. Photon interaction parameters were calculated for a wide energy range using PAGEX software. The ranges of heavy charged particles (H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe ions) in these perovskites were estimated using SRIM software in the energy range 1 keV-10 GeV, and that of electrons was computed using ESTAR NIST software in the energy range 0.01 MeV-1 GeV. Further, the macroscopic fast neutron removal cross-sections were also calculated to estimate the neutron shielding efficiencies. The examined shielding parameters of the perovskites varied depending on the radiation type and energy. Among the selected perovskites, Cs₂TiI₆ and Ba₂AgIO₆ displayed superior photon attenuation properties. A 3.5 cm thick Ba₂AgIO₆-based shield could reduce the incident radiation intensity to half its initial value, a thickness even lesser than that of Pb-glass. Besides, CsSnBr₃ and La_0.8Ca_0.2Ni_0.5Ti_0.5O₃ displayed the highest and lowest range values, respectively, for all heavy charged particles. Ba₂AgIO₆ showed electron stopping power (on par with Kovar) better than that of other examined materials. Interestingly, La_0.8Ca_0.2Ni_0.5Ti_0.5O₃ demonstrated neutron removal cross-section values greater than that of standard neutron shielding materials - aluminium and polyethylene. On the whole, the present study not only demonstrates the employment prospects of eco-friendly perovskites for shielding space radiations but also suggests future prospects for research in this direction.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.273-280
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• 2014

Purpose : To verify the skin dose in Tomotherapy-based radiation treatment according to the change in tumor locations, skin dose was measured by using Gafchromic EBT3 film and compared with the planned doses to find out the gap between them. Materials and Methods : In this study, to measure the skin dose, I'm RT Phantom(IBA Dosimetry, Germany) was utilized. After obtaining the 2.5mm CT images, tumor locations and skin dose measuring points were set by using Pinnacle(ver 9.2, Philips Medical System, USA). The tumor location was decided to be 5mm and 10mm away from surface of the phantom and center. Considering the attenuation of a Tomo-couch, we ensured a symmetric placement between the ceiling and floor directions of the phantom. The measuring point of skin doses was set to have 3mm and 5mm thickness from the surface. Measurement was done 3 times. By employing TomoHD(TomoHD treatment system, Tomotherapy Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, USA), we devised Tomotherapy plans, measured 3 times by inserting Gafchromic EBT3 film into the phantom and compared the measurement with the skin dose treatment plans. Results : The skin doses in the upper part of the phantom, when the tumor was located in the center, were found to be 7.53 cGy and 7.25 cGy in 5mm and 3mm respectively. If placed 5mm away from the skin in the ceiling direction, doses were 18.06 cGy and 16.89 cGy; if 10mm away, 20.37 cGy and 18.27 cGy, respectively. The skin doses in the lower part of the phantom, when the tumor was located in the center, recorded 8.82 cGy and 8.29 cGy in 5mm and 3mm, each; if located 5mm away from the lower part skin, 21.69 cGy and 19.78 cGy were respectively recorded; and if 10mm away, 20.48 cGy and 19.57 cGy were recorded. If the tumor was placed in the center, skin doses were found to increase by 3.2~17.1% whereas if the tumor is 5mm away from the ceiling part, the figure decreased to 2.8~9.0%. To the Tomo-couch direction, skin doses showed an average increase of 11% or over, compared to the planned treatment. Conclusion : This study found gaps between planned skin doses and actual doses in the Tomotherapy treatment planning. Especially to the Tomo-cocuh direction, skin doses were found to be larger than the planned doses. Thus, during the treatment of tumors near the Tomo-couch, doses will need to be more accurately calculated and more efforts to verify skin doses will be required as well.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.11
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• pp.2613-2619
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• 2020

This work investigated the gamma-ray shielding performance, and the physical and mechanical properties of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites embedded with 0-44.0 wt% bismuth trioxide (Bi₂O₃) fabricated by the fast ultraviolet (UV) curing method. The results showed that the addition of Bi₂O₃ had significantly improved the gamma shielding ability of PMMA composites. Mass attenuation coefficient and half-value layer were examined using five gamma sources (Cs-137, Ba-133, Cd-109, Co-57, and Co-60). The high loading of Bi₂O₃ in the PMMA samples improved the micro-hardness to nearly seven times that of the pure PMMA. With these enhancements, it was demonstrated that PMMA/Bi₂O₃ composites are promising gamma shielding materials. Furthermore, the fast UV curing exerts its great potential in significantly shortening the production cycle of shielding material to enable rapid manufacturing.