Visualization of radioactive substances using a freely moving gamma-ray imager based on Structure from Motion

佐藤 優樹; 峯本 浩二郎*; 根本 誠*; 鳥居 建男

Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science, 7(4), p.042003_1 - 042003_12, 2021/10

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4048843

Technology for measuring and identifying the positions and distributions of radioactive substances is important for decommissioning work sites at nuclear power stations. A three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction method that locates radioactive substances by integrating Structure-from-Motion (SfM) with a Compton camera (a type of gamma-ray imager) has been developed. From the photographs captured while freely moving in an experimental environment, a 3D structural model of the experimental environment was created. By projecting the radioactive substance image acquired by the Compton camera on the 3D structural model, the positions of the radioactive substance were visualized in 3D space. In a demonstration study, the Cs-radiation source was successfully visualized in the experimental environment captured by the freely moving cameras. In addition, how the imaging accuracy is affected by uncertainty in the self-localization of the Compton camera processed by SfM, and by positional uncertainty in the gamma-ray incidence determined by the sensors of the Compton camera was investigated. The created map depicts the positions of radioactive substances inside radiation work environments, such as decommissioning work sites at nuclear power stations.

3D position and radioactivity estimation of radiation source by a simple directional radiation detector combined with structure from motion

佐藤 優樹; 峯本 浩二郎*; 根本 誠*

Radiation Measurements, 142, p.106557_1 - 106557_6, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2021.106557

It is important to visualize radioactive substances' position and distribution and estimate their radioactivity levels to reduce the exposure dose of workers in radioactive areas (such as decommissioning worksites of nuclear power stations) and improve nuclear security functions. To visualize the radioactive substance's three-dimensional (3D) location, a directional radiation detector with a cylindrical shield on a simple single-pixel gamma-ray detector was applied to the structure from motion (SfM) technology using an ordinary digital camera. Verification was performed by a system that combines SfM with a CdTe sensor probe having narrow directivity. Am radiation source's position was visualized by drawing the radiation source's image acquired by the gamma-ray detector on the work area 3D model reconstructed through SfM. Furthermore, as SfM is a simultaneous localization and mapping technology, the system measures the gamma rays while measuring the gamma-ray detector's dynamic position and posture information. The measurements can be acquired while the gamma-ray detector is freely moving in the work area. These methods visualized the radiation source's position and quantitatively estimated the radiation source's radioactivity.

Automatic data acquisition for visualizing radioactive substances by combining a gamma-ray imager and an autonomous mobile robot

佐藤 優樹; 峯本 浩二郎*; 根本 誠*; 鳥居 建男

Journal of Instrumentation (Internet), 16(1), p.P01020_1 - P01020_18, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/16/01/P01020

To reduce the exposure doses of workers and to establish decontamination plans, it is important to understand and visualize the distribution of radioactive substances at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan, where an accident occurred on the 11th of March, 2011. In this decommissioning work environment, radioactive substances adhered to various objects, such as rubble and equipment, and it was necessary to visualize the distribution of these contaminants in all three dimensions. The technology used to automatically and remotely acquire data to visualize the distribution of radioactive substances in three dimensions was useful for reducing the exposure dose of the workers and to shorten the survey time. We constructed an automatic data acquisition system that consisted of a Compton camera and a 3D-light detection and ranging sensor mounted on an autonomously moving robot. We also evaluated the system feasibility using radiation sources and succeeded in automatically acquiring the data required for visualizing the radiation sources. For this data acquisition, the operator did not need to operate the system after the measurements were started. The effects of the imaging parameters of the Compton camera and the accuracy of the self-position estimation of the system on the radiation-imaging accuracy are also discussed.

Construction of virtual reality system for radiation working environment reproduced by gamma-ray imagers combined with SLAM technologies

佐藤 優樹; 峯本 浩二郎*; 根本 誠*; 鳥居 建男

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 976, p.164286_1 - 164286_6, 2020/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164286

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc., experienced a meltdown as a result of a large tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. At that time, it was necessary to understand the aspects of the decommissioning working environment inside the FDNPS, such as establishing how the radioactive substances were distributed across the site, for work to be done efficiently without exposure to large amounts of radiation. Therefore, virtual reality (VR) emerged as a solution. There have been previous reports done on a technique for visualizing the distribution of radioactive substances in three dimensions utilizing a freely moving gamma-ray imager combined with simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology. In this paper, we introduce imaging technologies for the acquisition of image data from radioactive substances and three-dimensional (3D) structural models of the working environment, using a freely moving gamma-ray imager combined with SLAM technology. For this research, we also constructed a VR system and displayed the 3D data in a VR space, which enables users to experience the actual working environment without radiation exposure. In creating the VR system, any user can implement this method by donning an inexpensive head-mounted display apparatus and using a free, or low-cost, application software.

Key factors controlling radiocesium sorption and fixation in river sediments around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, 1; Insights from sediment properties and radiocesium distributions

舘 幸男; 佐藤 智文*; 赤木 洋介*; 川村 淳*; 中根 秀二*; 寺島 元基; 藤原 健壮; 飯島 和毅

Science of the Total Environment, 724, p.138098_1 - 138098_11, 2020/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138098

福島第一原子力発電所周辺の河川流域における放射性Csの環境動態評価に資するため、汚染レベルが高い請戸川と小高川から採取された河川堆積物の特性を、放射性Csの収着と固定を支配する粒径サイズ, 粘土鉱物, 有機物に着目して評価した。

Examination of analytical method of rare earth elements in used nuclear fuel

小澤 麻由美; 深谷 洋行; 佐藤 真人; 蒲原 佳子*; 須山 賢也; 外池 幸太郎; 大木 恵一; 梅田 幹

Proceedings of 53rd Annual Meeting of Hot Laboratories and Remote Handling Working Group (HOTLAB 2016) (Internet), 9 Pages, 2016/11

For criticality safety of used nuclear fuel, it is necessary to determine amounts of such rare earth elements as gadolinium(Gd), samarium(Sm), europium(Eu) since those rare earth elements involve the isotopes having particularly large neutron absorption cross sections. However, it is difficult to measure those isotopes simultaneously by mass spectrometry because some of them have same mass numbers. Thus fine chemical separation of those rare earth elements is indispensable for accurate determination prior to measurement. The conventional separation method with anion exchange resin has been utilized in JAEA mainly for the separation of uranium and plutonium. Therefore rare earth elements such as Gd, Sm and Eu except Nd are wasted without being separated in the conventional method. The authors have examined to improve the conventional method in order to separate those rare earth elements mutually.

Rapid measurement scheme for texture in cubic metallic materials using time-of-flight neutron diffraction at iMATERIA

小貫 祐介*; 星川 晃範*; 佐藤 成男*; 徐 平光; 石垣 徹*; 齋藤 洋一*; 轟 秀和*; 林 眞琴*

Journal of Applied Crystallography, 49(5), p.1579 - 1584, 2016/10

AA2016-0186.pdf:1.13MB

https://doi.org/10.1107/S160057671601164X

The authors have developed texture measurement system on a time-of flight neutron diffractometer, iMATERIA (BL20, MLF/J-PARC, Japan). Quantitative Rietveld texture analysis for a duplex stainless steel was possible with one neutron beam exposure for several minutes without sample rotation. The minimum number of diffraction spectra required for the Rietveld texture analysis was experimentally determined as 100. The suggested rapid measurement scheme used 132 spectra and determined volume fractions of texture components in both ferrite and austenite phases, quantitatively. This quantitative and rapid measurement scheme was established by utilizing the features of iMATERIA as a powder diffractometer, i.e. fairly high resolution in d-spacing and numerous detectors equipped in a wide range of scattering angle.

Deuterium permeation behavior for damaged tungsten by ion implantation

大矢 恭久*; Li, X.*; 佐藤 美咲*; 湯山 健太*; 小柳津 誠; 林 巧; 山西 敏彦; 奥野 健二*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 53(3), p.402 - 405, 2016/03

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2015.1052583

3keV重水素イオンと10keV炭素イオンを照射したタングステンの重水素透過挙動を調べた。重水素イオンと炭素イオンを照射したタングステンにおいては、未照射タングステンと比して、重水素透過が明確に減少した。しかし、重水素のみを照射したタングステンでは1173Kまで加熱することにより未照射タングステンと同等にまで重水素透過が回復した一方で炭素イオンのみを照射したタングステンでは回復しなかった。このことから、タングステン中の炭素の存在はタングステン中の重水素の透過経路回復を妨げることが示唆された。さらに、TEM分析から1173Kではボイドの成長がみられるものの消滅していないことから、タングステン中の照射ダメージが回復してないことがわかり、この照射ダメージが水素透過挙動に大きな影響は及ぼさないことが示された。

Demonstrative experiments on the migration of radiocesium from buried soil contaminated by the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

山口 徹治; 島田 太郎; 石橋 純*; 赤木 洋介*; 黒沢 満*; 松原 諒宜*; 松田 祐紀*; 佐藤 滋芳*

原子力バックエンド研究(CD-ROM), 22(2), p.21 - 27, 2015/12

https://doi.org/10.3327/jnuce.22.2_21

福島第一原子力発電所事故で汚染された土壌を穴に埋設し、清浄な土壌で覆土すれば、放射性セシウムは汚染土壌から周りの土壌や地下水にほとんど移行しないことは過去の研究から推定できる。本研究では、茨城県美浦村の1つの公園と埼玉県三郷市の2つの公園において一年にわたって核種移行試験を行って、その推定を実証した。実際に汚染土壌を埋設し、散水によって放射性セシウムの移行を加速した。ボーリングコアの切断分析結果や、土壌水の分析結果からは、放射性セシウムの動きは見られなかった。また、実験室におけるカラム移行試験および収着試験によって、放射性セシウムが汚染土壌からほとんど溶け出さないことや、たとえ溶け出しても周囲の土壌に収着されてほとんど移行しないことを示すデータを得た。試験は1年間で終了したが、移流拡散モデルによるシミュレーション解析を100年間について行ったところ、セシウム-137はほとんど移行せずにその場で減衰することが示された。

Stabilization of a high-order harmonic generation seeded extreme ultraviolet free electron laser by time-synchronization control with electro-optic sampling

冨澤 宏光*; 佐藤 尭洋*; 小川 奏*; 渡川 和晃*; 田中 隆次*; 原 徹*; 矢橋 牧名*; 田中 均*; 石川 哲也*; 富樫 格*; et al.

High Power Laser Science and Engineering, 3, p.e14_1 - e14_10, 2015/04

https://doi.org/10.1017/hpl.2015.9

自由電子レーザー(FEL)は、共振器を使用しない自己増幅自発放射(SASE)方式を用いている。この方式では、自然放射光を種光としてレーザー発振・増幅するため、発振したレーザー光のスペクトルや時間波形がスパイク状構造になる欠点がある。この問題点を解決するために、短波長光源である高次高調波をFELにインジェクションし、スペクトルや時間波形にスパイク構造のないフルコヒーレント化された極端紫外領域(波長61.2nm)のシードFEL光の発生に成功した。しかしながら、外部からのコヒーレント光をシード光として用いる場合、電子バンチとシード光のタイミングドリフトにより、シードFEL光の出力ゆらぎが大きくなり、発生頻度も減少する問題がある。この問題点を解決するために、電気光学(Electro-Optic: EO)効果を利用したタイミングモニターを開発し、FEL装置の診断セクションに導入した。これにより、シードFEL光(波長61.2nm)の発生頻度が約0.3%から約25%に向上し、最大出力20Jが得られた。また、検討中の水の窓領域でのシードFELについても報告する。