• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제53권5호
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• pp.1511-1518
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• 2021

In most countries, the thermal criteria for the engineered barrier system (EBS) is set to below 100 ℃ due to the possible illitization in the buffer, which will likely be detrimental to the performance and safety of the repository. On the other hand, if the thermal criteria for the EBS increases, the disposal density and the cost-effectiveness for the high-level radioactive wastes will dramatically increase. Thus, fundamentals on the thermal behavior of the buffer under the elevated temperatures is of crucial importance. Yet, the behaviors at the elevated temperatures of the bentonite under groundwater-saturated conditions have not been reported to-date. Here, we have developed an in-situ synchrotron-based method for the thermal behavior study of the buffer under the elevated temperatures (25-250 ℃), investigated dspacings of the montmorillonite in the Korean bentonite (i.e., Ca-type) at dry and KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) groundwater-saturated conditions (KJ-ii-dry and KJ-ii-wet), and compared the behaviors with that of MX-80 (i.e., Na-type, MX-80-wet). The hydration states analyzed show tri-, bi-, and mono-hydrated at 25, 120, and 250 ℃, respectively for KJ-ii-wet, whereas tri-, mono-, and de-hydrated at 25, 150, and 250 ℃, respectively for MX-80-wet. The Korean bentonite starts losing the interlayered water at lower temperatures; however, holds them better at higher temperatures as compared with MX-80.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.421-437
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• 2020

This study provides an assessment on a proposed method for separation of cesium, strontium, and barium using electrochemical reduction at a liquid bismuth cathode in LiCl-KCl eutectic salt, investigated via cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS). CV studies were performed at temperatures of 723-823 K and concentrations of the target species up to 4.0wt%. Redox reactions occurring during potential sweeps were observed. Concentration of BaCl2 in the salt did not seem to influence the diffusivity in the studied concentration range up to 4.0wt%. The presence of strontium in the system affected the redox reaction of lithium; however, there were no distinguishable redox peaks that could be measured. Impedance spectra obtained from EIS methods were used to calculate the exchange current densities of the electroactive active redox couple at the bismuth cathode. Results show the rate-controlling step in deposition to be the mass transport of Cs+ ions from the bulk salt to the cathode surface layer. Results from SEM-EDS suggest that Cs-Bi and Sr-Bi intermetallics from LiCl-KCl salt are not thermodynamically favorable.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권8호
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• pp.3043-3050
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• 2022

In Korea, all nuclear power plants (NPPs) participate in annual performance tests including in vivo measurements using the FastScan, a stand type whole body counter (WBC), manufactured by Canberra. In 2018, all Korean NPPs satisfied the testing criterion, the root mean square error (RMSE) ≤ 0.25, for the whole body configuration, but three NPPs which participated in an additional lung configuration test in the fission and activation product category did not meet the criterion. Due to the low resolution of the FastScan NaI(Tl) detectors, the conventional peak analysis (PA) method of the FastScan did not show sufficient performance to meet the criterion in the presence of interfering radioisotopes (RIs), ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs. In this study, we developed an artificial neural network (ANN) to improve the performance of the FastScan in the lung configuration. All of the RMSE values derived by the ANN satisfied the criterion, even though the photopeaks of ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs interfered with those of the analytes or the analyte photopeaks were located in a low-energy region below 300 keV. Since the ANN performed better than the PA method, it would be expected to be a promising approach to improve the accuracy and precision of in vivo FastScan measurement for the lung configuration.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.271-281
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• 2023

A study was conducted on the vitrification of the rare earth oxide waste generated from the PyroGreen process. The target rare earth waste consisted of eight elements: Nd, Ce, La, Pr, Sm, Y, Gd, and Eu. The waste loading of the rare earth waste in the developed borosilicate glass system was 20wt%. The fabricated glass, processed at 1,200℃, exhibited uniform and homogeneous surface without any crystallization and precipitation. The viscosity and electrical conductivity of the melted glass at 1,200℃ were 7.2 poise and 1.1 S·cm^-1, respectively, that were suitable for the operation of the vitrification facility. The calculated leaching index of Cs, Co, and Sr were 10.4, 10.6, and 9.8, respectively. The evaluated Product Consistency Test (PCT) normalized release of the glass indicated that the glass satisfied the requirements for the disposal acceptance criteria. Furthermore, the pristine, 90 days water immersed, 30 thermal cycled, and 10 MGy gamma ray irradiated glasses exhibited good compressive strength. The results indicated that the fabricated glass containing rare earth waste from the PyroGreen process was acceptable for the disposal in the repository, in terms of chemical durability and mechanical strength.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권1호
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• pp.190-200
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• 2023

As the field of application of in-situ gamma spectroscopy is diversified, proficiency is required for consistent and accurate analysis. In this study, a program was developed to virtually create gamma energy spectra of artificial nuclides, which are difficult to obtain through actual measurements, for training. The virtual spectrum was created by synthesizing the spectra of the background radiation obtained through actual measurement and the theoretical spectra of the artificial radionuclides obtained by a Monte Carlo simulation. Since the theoretical spectrum can only be obtained for a given geometrical structure, representative major geometries for in-situ measurement (ground surface, concrete wall, radioactive waste drum) and the detectors (HPGe, NaI(Tl), LaBr₃(Ce)) were predetermined. Generated virtual spectra were verified in terms of validity and harmonization by gamma spectrometry and energy calibration. As a result, it was confirmed that the energy calibration results including the peaks of the measured spectrum and the peaks of the theoretical spectrum showed differences of less than 1 keV from the actual energies, and that the calculated radioactivity showed a difference within 20% from the actual inputted radioactivity. The verified data were assembled into a database and a program that can generate a virtual spectrum of desired condition was developed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권4호
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• pp.1225-1232
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• 2023

The ¹⁸⁰W is the lightest isotope of Tungsten with small abundance ratio. It is slightly radioactive (α decay), with an extremely long half-life. Its separation is possible by non-conventional single withdrawal cascades. The ¹⁸⁰W is used in radioisotopes production and study of metals through gamma-ray spectroscopy. In this paper, single withdrawal cascade model is developed to evaluate multicomponent separation in non-conventional transient cascades, and available experimental results are used for validation. Numerical studies for separation of ¹⁸⁰W in a transient single withdrawal cascade are performed. Parameters affecting the separation and equilibrium time of cascade such as number of stages, cascade arrangements, feed location and flow rate for a fixed number of gas centrifuges (GC) are investigated. The Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA) as a bio-inspired optimization algorithm is applied as a novel method to minimize the feed consumption to obtain desired concentration in the collection tank. Examining different cascade arrangements, it is observed in arrangements with more stages, the separation is further efficient. Based on the obtained results, with increasing feed flow rate, for fixed product concentration, the cascade equilibrium time decreases. Also, it is shown while the feed location is the farthest stage from the collection tank, the separation and cascade equilibrium time are well-organized. Finally, using SSA optimal parameters of the cascade is calculated, and optimal arrangement to produce 5 gr of ¹⁸⁰W with 90% concentration in the tank, is proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권5호
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• pp.1757-1762
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• 2023

Radiological hazards from external exposure of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) scales residues, generated during the extraction process of oil and gas production in southern Algeria, are evaluated. The activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K were measured using high-purity gamma-ray spectrometry (GeHP). Mean activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K, found in scale samples are 4082 ± 41, 1060 ± 38 and 568 ± 36 Bq kg^-1, respectively. Radiological hazard parameters, such as radium equivalent (Ra_eq), external and internal hazard indices (H_ex, H_in), and gamma index (I_γ) are also evaluated. All hazard parameter values were greater than the permissible and recommended limits and the average annual effective dose value exceeded the dose constraint (0.3 mSv y^-1). However, for occasionally exposed workers, the dose rate of 0.65 ± 0.02 mSv y^-1 is lower than recommended limit of 1 mSv y^-1 for public.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제21권4호
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• pp.427-438
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• 2023

Thermodynamic sorption modeling can enhance confidence in assessing and demonstrating the radionuclide sorption phenomena onto various mineral adsorbents. In this work, Ca-montmorillonite was successfully purified from Bentonil-WRK bentonite by performing the sequential physical and chemical treatments, and its geochemical properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, cesium-saturation method, and controlled continuous acid-base titration. Further, batch experiments were conducted to evaluate the adsorption properties of Cs(I) and Sr(II) onto the homoionic Ca-montmorillonite under ambient conditions, and the diffuse double layer model-based inverse analysis of sorption data was performed to establish the relevant surface reaction models and obtain corresponding thermodynamic constants. Two types of surface reactions were identified as responsible for the sorption of Cs(I) and Sr(II) onto Ca-montmorillonite: cation exchange at interlayer site and complexation with edge silanol functionality. The thermodynamic sorption modeling provides acceptable representations of the experimental data, and the species distributions calculated using the resulting reaction constants accounts for the predominance of cation exchange mechanism of Cs(I) and Sr(II) under the ambient aqueous conditions. The surface complexation of cationic fission products with silanol group slightly facilitates their sorption at pH > 8.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제33권10호
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• pp.385-392
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• 2023

A solution combustion process for the synthesis of hollandite (BaAl₂Ti₆O₁₆) powders is described. SYNROC (synthetic rock) consists of four main titanate phases: perovskite, zirconolite, hollandite and rutile. Hollandite is one of the crystalline host matrices used for the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes because it immobilizes Sr and Lns elements by forming solid solutions. The solution combustion synthesis, which is a self-sustaining oxi-reduction reaction between a nitrate and organic fuel, generates an exothermic reaction and that heat converts the precursors into their corresponding oxide products in air. The process has high energy efficiency, fast heating rates, short reaction times, and high compositional homogeneity. To confirm the combustion synthesis reaction, FT-IR analysis was conducted using glycine with a carboxyl group and an amine as fuel to observe its bonding with metal element in the nitrate. TG-DTA, X-ray diffraction analysis, SEM and EDS were performed to confirm the formed phases and morphology. Powders with an uncontrolled shape were obtained through a general oxide-route process, confirming hollandite powders with micro-sized soft agglomerates consisting of nano-sized primary particles can be prepared using these methods.

• 지질공학
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.461-468
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• 2019

휴대용 감마선분광분석기를 이용하여 괴산지역 옥천하부천매암대(og2) 주변 일대 77개 지점에서 감마선량을 측정하였다. 전체 시료의 ⁴⁰K 함량은 1.8-8.8% 범위(평균 4.6%)로 Kgr에서 함량이 가장 높았으 며, eU의 함량 범위는 0.2-217.9 ppm (평균 16.7 ppm)인데 og2에서 가장 높았으며(중앙값 29.6 ppm)다. eTh의 함량 범위는 11.9-76.5 ppm (평균 29.5 ppm) 이었는데 Kgr의 평균 함량은 45.4 ppm으로 og1, og2, og3의 함량(26.6-30.6 ppm)보다 높았다. og2에 속하는 일부 고 우라늄 지점을 제외한 연구지역의 감마선량에 기여하는 방사성물질은 ⁴⁰K가 절대적이다. 연구지역의 옥외 유효선량률은 0.08-1.71 mSv/y (평균 0.28 mSv/y)의 범위로 나타났다. 유효선량률이 1 mSv를 넘는 지점은 함 우라늄 층이 협재된 og2의 덕평리지역 3지점이며 이를 제외한 나머지 대부분 지역은 정상적인 자연방사선지역에 해당한다.