• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권5호
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• pp.1634-1641
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• 2021

Exposure to gamma-rays is hazardous for humans and other living beings because of their high penetration through the materials. For this reason, shielding materials (usually lead, copper and stainless steel) are used to protect against gamma rays. This study's objective was to prepare ceramic materials for gamma radiation shielding by using different natural bentonite clays. Gamma-ray attenuation performances of the prepared shielding materials at different thicknesses were investigated and evaluated for different gamma-ray energies from different standard point gamma radiation sources (²⁵¹Am, ⁵⁷Co, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁶⁰Co, and ⁸⁸Y). The mass and linear attenuation coefficients of the prepared ceramics vary between 0.238 and 0.443 cm² g^-1 and between 0.479 and 1.06 cm^-1, respectively, depending on their thicknesses. Results showed that these materials could be prioritized because of their evidential properties of gamma radiation protection in radiation applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권2호
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• pp.690-695
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• 2023

Recommendations are given to improve the efficiency of radiation protection of transport casks for SNF transportation. The attenuation of ${\gamma}$-quanta of long-lived isotopes ¹³⁴Cs, ^137mBa(¹³⁷Cs), ¹⁵⁴Eu and ⁶⁰Co by optimizing the thicknesses and arrangement of layers of Fe and Pb radiation shields of transport casks is studied. The fixed radiation shielding mass (fixed mass thickness) is chosen as the main optimization criterion. The effect of the placement order of Fe and Pb layers in a combined two-layer radiation shield with an equivalent thickness of 30 cm is studied in detail. It is shown that with the same mass thicknesses of the Fe and Pb layers, the placement of Fe in the first layer, and Pb - in the second one provides more than twofold attenuation of ${\gamma}$-quanta compared to the reverse placement: Pb - in the first layer, Fe - in the second. The increase in the efficiency of attenuation of ${\gamma}$-quanta for TC with combined shielding of Fe and Pb is shown to be achieved by designing the first layer of radiation shielding around the canister with SNF from Fe of the maximum possible thickness.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제41권4호
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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.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권4호
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• pp.1544-1551
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• 2024

A unique brick series based on Vietnamese clay was manufactured at 114.22 MPa pressure rate for γ-ray attenuation purposes, consisting of (x) metallic waste & (90%-x) red clay mineral & 10% (hardener mixed with epoxy resin), where (x) is equal to the values 0%, 20%, 40%, 50%, and 70%. The impacts of industrial metal waste ratio in the structure and radiation protective characteristics were evaluated experimentally. The increase in metallic waste doping concentrations from 0% to 70% was associated with an increase in the manufactured brick's density (ρ) from 2.103 to 2.256 g/cm³ while the fabricated samples' porosity (Φ) decreased from 11.7 to 1.0%, respectively. Together with a rise in fabricated brick's density and a decrease in their porosities, the manufactured bricks' γ-ray attenuation capacities improved. The measured linear attenuation coefficient (μ, cm^-1) was improved by 30.8%, 22.1%, 21.6%, and 19.7%, at E_γ equal to the values respectively 0.662, 1.173, 1.252, and 1.332 MeV, when the metallic waste concentration increased from 0% to 70%, respectively. The study demonstrates that manufactured bricks exhibit superior radiation shielding properties, with radiation protection efficiencies of 88.4%, 90.0%, 91.7%, 92.1%, and 92.4% for bricks with industrial metal waste contents of 0%, 20%, 40%, 50%, and 70%, respectively, at γ-ray energy (E_γ) of 1.332 MeV.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권9호
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• pp.3051-3057
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• 2021

The concrete is considered as an important radiation shielding material employed widely in nuclear reactors, particle accelerators, laboratory hot cells and other different radiation sources. The present research is dedicated to the shielding properties study of the ordinary concrete reinforced with different weight fractions of lead oxide micro/nano particles. Lead oxide particles were fabricated by chemical synthesis method and their properties including the average size, morphological structure, functional groups and thermal properties were characterized by XRD, FESEM-EDS, FTIR and TGA analysis. The gamma ray mass attenuation coefficient of concrete composites has been calculated and measured by means of the Monte Carlo simulation and experimental methods. The simulation process was based on the use of MCNP Monte Carlo code where the mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) has been calculated as a function of different particle sizes and filler weight fractions. The simulation results showed that the employment of the lead oxide filler particles enhances the mass attenuation coefficient of the ordinary concrete, drastically. On the other hand, there are approximately no differences between micro and nano sized particles. The mass attenuation coefficient was increased by increasing the weight fraction of nanoparticles. However, a semi-saturation effect was observed at concentrations more than 10 wt%. The experimental process was based on the fabrication of concrete slabs filled by different weight fractions of nano lead oxide particles. The mass attenuation coefficients of these slabs were determined at different gamma ray energies using ²²Na, ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co sources and NaI (Tl) scintillation detector. The experimental results showed that the HVL parameter of the ordinary concrete reinforced with 5 wt% of nano PbO particles was reduced by 64% at 511 keV and 48% at 1332 keV. Reasonable agreement was obtained between simulation and experimental results and showed that the employment of nano PbO particles is more efficient at low gamma energies up to 1Mev. The proposed concrete is less toxic and could be prepared in block form instead of toxic lead blocks.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권8호
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• pp.2005-2012
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• 2019

This work investigated the radiation attenuation characteristics of three series of tellurite glass systems with the following compositions: 30PbO-10ZnO-xTeO₂-(60-x)B₂O₃ where x = 10, 30, 40, 50 and 60 mol%, xBaO-xB₂O₃-(100-2x)TeO₂ with x = 15-40 mol% and 50ZnO-(50-x)P₂O₅-xTeO₂, where x = 0, 10, .40 mol%. The results revealed that the attenuation parameters in all the samples decrease with increase in the energy, which implied that all the samples have better interaction with gamma photons at low energies and thus higher photon attenuating efficiency. From the three systems, the samples coded as PbZnBTe60, BaBTe70 and ZnPTe40 have the lowest half value layer values and accordingly have superior photon attenuation efficacy. The maximum effective atomic number values were found for energy less than 0.1 MeV particularly near the K-edges absorption of the heavy atomic number elements such as Te, Ba and Pb. At the lowest energy, the Z_eff values are found in the range of 62.33-66.25, 49.43-50.81 and 24.99-35.83 for series 1-3 respectively. Also, we found that the density of the glass remarkably affects the photon attenuation ability of the selected glasses. The mean free path results showed that the PbO-ZnO-TeO₂-B₂O₃ glass system has better radiation shielding efficiency than the glass samples in series 2 and 3.

• 한국의학물리학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국의학물리학회 2003년도 제27회 추계학술대회
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• pp.41-41
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• 2003

Purpose: Even if the wedge filter is widely used for the radiation therapy to modify the photon beam intensity, the wedged photon beam dose calculation is not so easy. Radiation therapy planning systems (RTPS) have been used the empirical or semi-analytical methods such as attenuation method using wedge filter parameters or wedge filter factor obtained from measurement. However, these methods can cause serious error in penumbra region as well as in edge region. In this study, we propose the dose calculation algorithm for wedged field to minimize the error especially in the outer beam region. Materials and Method: Modified intensity by wedge filter was calculated using tissue-maximum ratio (TMR) and scatter-maximum ratio (SMR) of wedged field. Profiles of wedged and non-wedged direction was also used. The result of new dose calculation was compared with measurement and the result from attenuation method. Results: Proposed algorithm showed the good agreement with measurement in the high dose-gradient region as well as in the inner beam region. The error was decreased comparing to attenuation method. Conclusion: Although necessary beam data for the RTPS commissioning was increased, new algorithm would guarantee the improved dose calculation accuracy for wedged field. In future, this algorithm could be adopted in RTPS.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제56권1호
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• pp.301-308
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• 2024

Ceramic materials are being explored as alternatives to toxic lead sheets for radiation shielding due to their favorable properties like durability, thermal stability, and aesthetic appeal. However, crafting effective ceramics for radiation shielding entails complex processes, raising production costs. To investigate local viability, this study evaluated Malaysian ceramic tiles for shielding in diagnostic X-ray rooms. Different ceramics in terms of density and thickness were selected from local manufacturers. Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) characterized ceramic compositions, while Monte Carlo Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (MC PHITS) simulations determined Linear Attenuation Coefficient (LAC), Half-value Layer (HVL), Mass Attenuation Coefficient (MAC), and Mean Free Path (MFP) within the 40-150 kV energy range. Comparative analysis between MC PHITS simulations and real setups was conducted. The C3-S9 ceramic sample, known for homogeneous full-color structure, showcased superior shielding attributes, attributed to its high density and iron content. Notably, energy levels considerably impacted radiation penetration. Overall, C3-S9 demonstrated strong shielding performance, underlining Malaysia's potential ceramic tile resources for X-ray room radiation shielding.

• 한국정보통신학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국정보통신학회 2022년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.620-622
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• 2022

광섬유가 방사선에 노출되면 코어 내에 컬러센터가 형성되어 광 투과성이 저하된다. 방사선 유도 손실이라 하며, 소재, 구조 등의 변화를 통해 방사선 유도 손실을 줄이고 내방사선 특성을 개선한 광섬유가 활발히 연구되고 있다. 우주, 원자력 발전소 등 극한 환경에서도 통신 및 광응용 시스템을 구축하는데 내방사 광섬유를 활용할 수 있다는 장점 때문이다. 본 발표에서는 상용 내방사 광섬유의 감마선 조사에 의한 영향을 분석한 결과를 보인다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권12호
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• pp.4708-4714
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• 2022

The novelty in the present search, the Soda-Lime-Silica (SLS) glass waste to prepare free lead glass shielding was used in order to limit the accumulation of glass waste, which requires extensive time to decompose. This also saves on the consumption of pure SiO₂, which is a finite resource. Furthermore, the combining of BaO with Bi₂O₃ into a glass network leads to increased optical properties and improved attenuation. The UV-Visible Spectrophotometer was used to investigate the optical properties and the radiation shielding properties were reported for current glass samples utilizing the PhysX/PDS online software. The optical property results indicate that when BaO content increases in glass structure, the Urbach energy ΔE, and refractive index n increases while the energy optical band gap E_opt decreases. The result of the metallisation criteria (M) revealed that the present glass samples are nonmetallic (insulators). Furthermore, the radiation shielding parameter findings suggest that when BaO was increased in the glass structure, the linear attenuation coefficient and effective atomic number (Z_eff) rose. But the half-value layer HVL declined as the BaO concentration grew. According to the research, the glass samples are non-toxic, transparent to visible light, and efficient radiation shielding materials. The Ba5 sample is considered the best among all the samples due to its higher attenuation value and lower HVL and MFP values, which make it a suitable candidate as transparent glass shield shielding.