Background radiation monitoring via manned helicopter and development of technology for radiation monitoring via unmanned airplane for application of nuclear emergency response technique in the fiscal year 2022 (Contract research)

Futemma, Akira; Sanada, Yukihisa; Sasaki, Miyuki; Kawasaki, Yoshiharu*; Iwai, Takeyuki*; Hiraga, Shogo*; Haginoya, Masashi*; Matsunaga, Yuki*; Akutsu, Yuichiro*; Arai, Yoshinori*; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2023-026, 161 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Technology-2023-026.pdf:14.66MB

By the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO's) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), caused by tsunami triggered by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake, a large amount of radioactive material was released into the surrounding environment. After the accident, Airborne Radiation Monitoring (ARM) via manned helicopter has been utilized as a method to quickly and extensively measure radiation distribution surrounding FDNPS. In order to utilize ARM and to promptly provide the results during a nuclear emergency, information on background radiation levels, topographical features, and controlled airspace surrounding nationwide nuclear facilities have been prepared in advance. In the fiscal year 2022, we conducted ARM around the Mihama Nuclear Power Station of Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO), the Tsuruga Power Station of Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC), and the Ikata Power Station of Shikoku Electric Power Company (YONDEN), and prepared information on background radiation doses and controlled airspace. In addition, we have developed an aerial radiation detection system via unmanned airplane, which is expected to be an alternative to ARM, during a nuclear emergency. This report summarizes the results and technical issues identified.

The Role of collision ionization of K-shell ions in nonequilibrium plasmas produced by the action of super strong, ultrashort PW-class laser pulses on micron-scale argon clusters with intensity up to 5 10 W/cm

Skobelev, I. Yu.*; Ryazantsev, S. N.*; Kulikov, R. K.*; Sedov, M. V.*; Filippov, E. D.*; Pikuz, S. A.*; Asai, Takafumi*; Kanasaki, Masato*; Yamauchi, Tomoya*; Jinno, Satoshi; et al.

Photonics (Internet), 10(11), p.1250_1 - 1250_11, 2023/11

https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics10111250

It is challenging to clearly distinguish the impacts of the optical field and collisional ionization in the evolution of the charge state of a plasma produced when matter interacts with high-intensity laser pulses. In this work, time-dependent calculations of plasma kinetics are used to show that it is possible only when low-density gaseous targets with sufficiently small clusters are used. In the case of Ar plasma, the upper limit of the cluster radius was estimated to be m.

Raman identification and characterization of chemical components included in simulated nuclear fuel debris synthesized from uranium, stainless steel, and zirconium

Kusaka, Ryoji; Kumagai, Yuta; Watanabe, Masayuki; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kirishima, Akira*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(5), p.603 - 613, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2128460

Phase analysis of simulated nuclear fuel debris synthesized using UO, Zr, and stainless steel and leaching behavior of the fission products and matrix elements

Tonna, Ryutaro*; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Kodama, Yuji*; Kobayashi, Taishi*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kirishima, Akira*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Watanabe, Masayuki

Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 55(4), p.1300 - 1309, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2022.12.017

Simulated debris was synthesized using UO, Zr, and stainless steel and a heat treatment method under inert or oxidizing conditions. The primary U solid phase of the debris synthesized at 1473 K under inert conditions was UO, whereas a (U,Zr)O solid solution formed at 1873 K. Under oxidizing conditions, a mixture of UO and (Fe,Cr)UO phases formed at 1473 K whereas a (U,Zr)O solid solution formed at 1873 K. The leaching behavior of the fission products from the simulated debris was evaluated using two methods: the irradiation method, for which fission products were produced via neutron irradiation, and the doping method, for which trace amounts of non-radioactive elements were doped into the debris. The dissolution behavior of U depended on the properties of the debris and aqueous medium the debris was immersed in. Cs, Sr, and Ba leached out regardless of the primary solid phases. The leaching of high-valence Eu and Ru ions was suppressed, possibly owing to their solid-solution reaction with or incorporation into the uranium compounds of the simulated debris.

Background radiation monitoring via manned helicopter for application of technique of nuclear emergency response in the fiscal year 2021 (Contract research)

Futemma, Akira; Sanada, Yukihisa; Sasaki, Miyuki; Kawasaki, Yoshiharu*; Iwai, Takeyuki*; Hiraga, Shogo*; Haginoya, Masashi*; Matsunaga, Yuki*; Akutsu, Yuichiro*; Hokama, Tomonori; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2022-028, 127 Pages, 2023/02

JAEA-Technology-2022-028.pdf:15.21MB

A large amount of radioactive material was released by the nuclear disaster of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), Tokyo Electric Power Company, caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the following tsunami on March 11, 2011. After the nuclear disaster, airborne radiation monitoring via manned helicopter has been utilized to grasp rapidly and widely the distribution of the radioactive materials surrounding FDNPS. We prepare the data of background radiation dose, geomorphic characteristics and the controlled airspace surrounding nuclear facilities of the whole country in order to make effective use of the monitoring technique as a way of emergency radiation monitoring and supply the results during an accident of a facility. This report has summarized the knowledge noted above achieved by the aerial radiation monitoring around Ohi and Takahama nuclear power stations. In addition, the examination's progress aimed at introducing airborne radiation monitoring via an unmanned plane during a nuclear disaster and the technical issues are summarized in this report.

The Development of Petri Net-based continuous Markov Chain Monte Carlo methodology applying to dynamic probability risk assessment for multi-state resilience systems with repairable multi-component interdependency under longtermly thereat

Li, C.-Y.; Watanabe, Akira*; Uchibori, Akihiro; Okano, Yasushi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 23 Pages, 2023/00

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2023.2290067

Birchite CdCu(PO)SO 5HO as a model antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Heisenberg - chain

Fujihara, Masayoshi; Jeschke, H. O.*; Morita, Katsuhiro*; Kuwai, Tomohiko*; Koda, Akihiro*; Okabe, Hirotaka*; Matsuo, Akira*; Kindo, Koichi*; Mitsuda, Setsuo*

Physical Review Materials (Internet), 6(11), p.114408_1 - 114408_8, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.6.114408

= 1/2 Heisenberg - chain antiferromagnets have been investigated extensively due to their exotic magnetic states. Here, we report the magnetic behavior of birchite CdCu(PO)SO5HO and its effective spin model. Experimental studies by magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, heat capacity, and SR measurements indicate the absence of long-range order down to 0.4 K. Theoretical studies reveal that birchite is a model compound for the - antiferromagnetic chain: the intrachain interactions and are antiferromagnetic and their magnitude is about 100 times larger than the interchain interactions. The magnitude of is two to three times larger than that of , thus the spin gap is expected to be only a few percent of that of . The temperature dependence of the specific heat shows a broad peak at about 1 K ( 0.036 ), which suggests the presence of a spin gap.

Study on the relation between the crystal structure and thermal stability of FeUO and CrUO

Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kusaka, Ryoji; Kumagai, Yuta; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Nagai, Takayuki; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kirishima, Akira*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 568, p.153847_1 - 153847_10, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.153847

FeUO, CrUO, and FeCrUO are monouranates containing pentavalent U. Even though these compounds have similar crystal structures, their formation conditions and thermal stability are significantly different. To determine the factors causing the difference in thermal stability between FeUO and CrUO, their crystal structures were evaluated in detail. A Raman band was observed at 700 cm in all the samples. This Raman band was derived from the stretching vibration of the O-U-O axis band, indicating that FeCrUO was composed of a uranyl-like structure in its lattice regardless of its "x"' value. Mssbauer measurements indicated that the Fe in FeUO and FeCrUO were trivalent. Furthermore, FeCrUO lost its symmetry around Fe with increasing electron densities around Fe, as the abundance of Cr increased. These results suggested no significant structural differences between FeUO and CrUO. Thermogravimetric measurements for UO, FeUO, and CrUO showed that the temperature at which FeUO decomposed under an oxidizing condition (approximately 800 C) was significantly lower than the temperature at which the decomposition of CrUO started (approximately 1250 C). Based on these results, we concluded that the decomposition of FeUO was triggered by an "in-crystal" redox reaction, i.e., Fe U Fe U, which would not occur in the CrUO lattice because Cr could never be reduced under the investigated condition. Finally, the existence of Cr in FexCrUO effectively suppressed the decomposition of the FeCrUO crystal, even at a very low Cr content.

Uranium dissolution and uranyl peroxide formation by immersion of simulated fuel debris in aqueous HO solution

Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kirishima, Akira*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Sasaki, Takayuki*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(8), p.961 - 971, 2022/08

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2021.2023055

We investigated potential degradation of fuel debris caused by HO, which is the oxidant of major impact from water radiolysis. We performed leaching experiments on different kinds of simulated debris comprising U, Fe, Cr, Ni, and Zr in an aqueous HO solution. Chemical analysis of the leaching solution showed that U dissolution was induced by HO. Raman analysis after the leaching revealed that uranyl peroxides were formed on the surface of the simulated debris. These results demonstrate that uranyl peroxides are possible alteration products of fuel debris from HO reaction. However, the sample in which the main uranium-containing phase was a U-Zr oxide solid solution showed much less uranium dissolution and no Raman signal of uranyl peroxides. Comparison of these results indicates that formation of an oxide solid solution of Zr with UO improves the stability of fuel debris against HO reaction.

Theoretical and experimental estimation of the relative optically stimulated luminescence efficiency of an optical-fiber-based BaFBr:Eu detector for swift ions

Hirata, Yuho; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Watanabe, Kenichi*; Ogawa, Tatsuhiko; Parisi, A.*; Uritani, Akira*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(7), p.915 - 924, 2022/07

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2021.2017372

The reliability of dose assessment with radiation detectors is an important feature in various fields, such as radiotherapy, radiation protection, and high-energy physics. However, many detectors irradiated by high linear energy transfer (LET) radiations exhibit decreased efficiency called the quenching effect. This quenching effect depends not only on the particle LET but strongly on the ion species and its microscopic pattern of energy deposition. Recently, a computational method for estimating the relative efficiency of luminescence detectors was proposed following analysis of microdosimetric specific energy distributions simulated using the particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS). This study applied the model to estimate the relative optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) efficiency of BaFBr:Eu detectors. Additionally, we measured the luminescence intensity of BaFBr:Eu detectors exposed to He, C and Ne ions to verify the calculated data. The model reproduced the experimental data in the cases of adopting a microdosimetric target diameter of approximately 30-50 nm. The calculated relative efficiency exhibit ion-species dependence in addition to LET. This result shows that the microdosimetric calculation from specific energy is a successful method for accurately understanding the results of OSL measurements with BaFBr:Eu detectors irradiated by various particles.