• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.170-177
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• 2024

Transportable Micro Reactors (TMRs) harness the advantages of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) while addressing the need for mobility and transient power supply. These factory-manufactured reactors can be quickly installed and relocated, enhancing their practicality. This study evaluates radiation safety during transportation, focusing on exposure from radioactive sources within the reactor vessel. While significant radiation from fission products in the active core can be effectively shielded by the inner reflector, the induced radiation from surrounding components requires careful assessment to ensure compliance with exposure limits for operators. Given the constraints on the size and weight of the transport container, minimizing fast neutron leakage is crucial. Utilizing OpenMC for depletion calculations, we identify six key isotopes-Cr-51, Fe-59, Mn-54, Mn-56, Co-58, and Co-60-generated during a conservative operational scenario. Our findings indicate that maintaining surface doses below 10 mSv/h requires fast neutron leakage from the inner surface of the reactor vessel to be under 1.0E+8/cm²·sec. Therefore, optimizing core size and reflector thickness is essential for the effective design of TMRs without the need for additional shielding.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.281-291
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• 2013

A hypothetical repository was assumed to be located at the KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) site, and the travel times of radionuclides released from three source positions were calculated. The groundwater flow around the KURT site was simulated and the groundwater pathways from the hypothetical source positions to the shallow groundwater were identified. Of the pathways, three pathways were selected because they had highly water-conductive features. The transport travel times of the radionuclides were calculated by a TDRW (Time-Domain Random Walk) method. Diffusion and sorption mechanisms in a host rock matrix as well as advection-dispersion mechanisms under the KURT field condition were considered. To reflect the radioactive decay, four decay chains with the radionuclides included in the high-level radioactive wastes were selected. From the simulation results, the half-life and distribution coefficient in the rock matrix, as well as multiple pathways, had an influence on the mass flux of the radionuclides. For enhancing the reliability of safety assessment, this reveals that identifying the history of the radionuclides contained in the high-level wastes and investigating the sorption processes between the radionuclides and the rock matrix in the field condition are preferentially necessary.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.518-525
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• 2011

In this study, the natural ventilation pressure resulting from the large altitude difference which is a characteristic of high radioactive waste repository and the caloric value of the heat emitted by wastes was calculated and based on the results, natural ventilation quantities were calculated. A high radioactive waste repository can be considered as being operated through closed cycle thermodynamic processes similar to those of thermal engines. The heat produced by the heating of high radioactive wastes in the underground repository is added to the surrounding air, and the air goes up through the upcast vertical shaft due to the added heat while working on its surroundings. Part of the heat added by the work done by the air can be temporarily changed into mechanical energy to promote the air flow. Therefore, if a sustained and powerful heat source exists in the repository, the heat source will naturally enable continued cyclic flows of air. Based on this assumption, the quantity of natural ventilation made during the disposal of high radioactive wastes in a deep geological layer was mathematically calculated and based on the results, natural ventilation pressure of $74{\sim}183$Pa made by the stack effect was identified along with the resultant natural ventilation quantity of $92.5{\sim}147.7m^3/s$. The result of an analysis by CFD was $82{\sim}143m^3/s$ which was very similar to the results obtained by the mathematical method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.121-128
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• 2005

A study on the selective separation of $^{99}Tc,\;^{94}Nb,\;^{55}Fe,\;^{90}Sr$ and $^{59}Ni(^{63}Ni)$ from various radioactive wastes discharged from the nuclear power plants in Korea is being performed for use in their quantifications which are indispensible for the evaluation of the radionuclide inventory. Separation behaviour of Ce, Ca, Mg, Al, Cr, Ti, Mn and Cu recovered along with Ni during the separation of Re (as a surrogate of $^{99}Tc$), Nb, Fe and Sr by anion exchange and Sr-Spec extraction chromatography was investigated by cation exchange and Ni-Spec extraction chromatography using synthetic radioactive waste dissolved solutions containing matrix elements such as Re, Nb, Fe, Sr, Ni, B, Na, K, Ce, Co, Ca, Mg, Al, Zn, Cr, Pb, Cd, Mo, Mn, Cu, Zr, Ti and U. To purify the Ni fraction recovered and prepare a radionuclide source available for gas proportional counting, an application of the Ni precipitation procedure with dimethylglyoxime in the medium of ammonium citrate and tartaric acid solutions as a masking agent for co-existing metal ions was described in detail.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.474-483
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• 2000

An inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer/shielding system was specially designed and built for the analysis of radioactive materials. Both of an inductively coupled plasma source and a sample transfer system to be contacted with radioactive materials was installed in a stainless steel glove box. In terms of analytical capability and radiation safety, characteristic feature of the system was investigated. Its applicability to the determination of fission products and corrosion products in the radioactive materials such as spent fuel dissolver solution and the primary coolant of nuclear power reactors was evaluated. In the concentration range $0.01-0.1mgL^{-1}$, the relative standard deviation was found to be less than 5%.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.89-93
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• 2024

Accidents at nuclear facilities and nuclear power plants led to leaks of large amounts of radioactive substances. Of the various radioactive nuclides released, ¹³⁷Cs are radioactive substances generated during the fission of uranium. Therefore, due to the high fission yield (6.09%), strong gamma rays, and a relatively long half-life (30 years), a rapid and efficient removal method and a study of adsorbents are needed. Accordingly, an adsorbent was prepared using Prussian blue (PB), a material that selectively adsorbs radioactive cesium. As a result of evaluating the adsorption performance with the prepared adsorbent, it was confirmed that 82% of the removal efficiency was obtained, and most of the cesium was rapidly adsorbed within 10 to 15 minutes. The purpose of this study was to adsorb cesium using the Prussian blue alginate bead and to compare the change in detection efficiency according to the amount of adsorbent added for quantitative evaluation. However, in this case, it is difficult to determine the detection efficiency using a standard source with the same conditions as the measurement sample, so the efficiency change of the HPGe detector according to the different heights of Prussian blue was calculated through MCNP simulation using certified standard materials (1 L, Marinelli beaker) for radioactivity measurement. It is expected to derive a relational equation that can calculate detection efficiency through an efficiency curve according to the volume of Prussian blue, quantitatively evaluate the activity at the same time as the adsorption of radioactive nuclides in actual contaminated water and use it in the field of nuclear facility operation and dismantling in the future.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.1130-1132
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• 2007

In this research, 3D position exploring system was developed to detect direction and position of radiation source by using two general CCD camera. This system consists of a radiation detection device, a controlling device, and a monitoring device. A radiation detection device is composed of a collimator, a scintillator, CCD sensor, and radiation shielding part. Incident radiation is firstly collimated with direction and converted into visual lights in a scintillator. The CCD sensor detect the converted visual light and send a signal as an image. This can explore a radiation source with direction and distance from geometrical structure of two sensors. From these information, the developed 3D position exploring system can provide 3D radiation source information. This research will be useful for managing and processing radioactive materials in remote.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.347-354
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• 2020

Site characterization for decommissioning Kori Unit 1 is ongoing in South Korea after 40 years of successful operation. Kori Unit 1's containment building is assumed to be mostly radioactively contaminated, and therefore radiation exposure management and detailed contamination investigation are required for decommissioning and dismantling it safely. In this study, site-specific Derived Concentration Guideline Levels (DCGLs) were derived using the residual radioactivity risk evaluation tool, RESRAD-BUILD code. A conceptual model of containment building for Kori Unit 1 was set up and limited occupational worker building inspection scenario was applied. Depending on the source location, the maximum contribution source and exposure pathway of each radionuclide were analyzed. The contribution of radionuclides to dose and exposure pathways, by source location, is expected to serve as basic data in the assessment criteria of survey areas and classification of impact areas during further decommissioning and decontamination of sites.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.245-249
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• 2012

Demand of fluid flow visualization has increased in industrial processes, because medical imaging technology is highly developed. As a part of the industrial process imaging technology, industrial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system was developed to measure the cross-sectional distribution of the process fluid. The SPECT consists of 36 NaI (Tl) detectors with the hexagonal configuration. Reconstructed images were acquired for various positions of radioactive source to estimate SPECT device performance. To evaluate the reliability of the experimental results, the Monte Carlo simulation results are compared with experimental results. In general, the experimental and simulation results were consistent. However, as the source position was getting far from the center of the reactor, the accuracy of reconstructed images was compromised. It seems to be due to the inconsistent spatial resolution of the collimators according to the source position.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.53-72
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• 1991

An integrated model is developed in this paper for the performance assessment of high level radioactive waste repository. This integrated model consists of two simple mathematical models. One is a multiple-barrier failure model of the repository system based on constant failure rates which provides source terms to biosphere. The other is a biosphere model which has multiple pathways for radionuclides to reach to human. For the parametric uncertainty and sensitivity analysis for the risk assessment of high level radioactive waste repository, Latin hypercube sampling and rank correlation techniques are applied to this model. The former is cost-effective for large computer programs because it gives smaller error in estimating output distribution even with smaller number of runs compared to crude Monte Carlo technique. The latter is good for generating dependence structure among samples of input parameters. It is also used to find out the most sensitive, or important, parameter groups among given input parameters. The methodology of the mathematical modelling with statistical analysis will provide useful insights to the decision-making of radioactive waste repository selection and future researches related to uncertain and sensitive input parameters.