How to start a network? Experience in networking and achievements of the IRPA Young Generation Network

Andresz, S.*; Betos, C. M.*; Ha, W. H.*; Hamida, T.*; Hussain, B. S.*; Kabrt, F.*; Nusrat, O.*; Michaelidesova, A.*; Lima, T. V.*; Movsisyan, N.*; et al.

Annals of the ICRP, 53(1_Suppl), p.38 - 45, 2024/12

https://doi.org/10.1177/01466453241283931f

Since its establishment in 2018, the IRPA (International Radiation Protection Association) Young Generation Network (YGN) has created several dynamics under the framework of its Strategic Agenda to promote the representation of the young generation, professional development, experience transfer, relationship and communication of students, young professionals and scientists in radiation protection and its allied fields. This article first reports on the activities performed from 2018 until today, with highlights on some important events, collaborations and publications. The IRPA YGN have made these achievements with the essential support of its Leadership Committee, the various national Young Generation Networks, and the IRPA organization and its Associate Societies. Then, the insights and experiences obtained from these activities are discussed and used to inform how the IRPA YGN aims to achieve its on-going activities and continue to follow the ways paved in the Strategic Agenda 2022-2024. It is expected that the identification of the backbone elements supporting a young generation network and also the very specific challenges can be useful for the future management of the IRPA YGN and existing national YGN and inspire the creation of other young generation networks.

Predictive and inverse modeling of a radionuclide diffusion experiment in crystalline rock at ONKALO (Finland)

Soler, J. M.*; Keklinen, P.*; Pulkkanen, V.-M.*; Moreno, L.*; Iraola, A.*; Trinchero, P.*; Hokr, M.*; ha, J.*; Havlov, V.*; Trpkoov, D.*; et al.

Nuclear Technology, 209(11), p.1765 - 1784, 2023/11

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2209234

Predictive modeling of a simple field matrix diffusion experiment addressing radionuclide transport in fractured rock. Is it so straightforward?

Soler, J. M.*; Neretnieks, I.*; Moreno, L.*; Liu, L.*; Meng, S.*; Svensson, U.*; Iraola, A.*; Ebrahimi, K.*; Trinchero, P.*; Molinero, J.*; et al.

Nuclear Technology, 208(6), p.1059 - 1073, 2022/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.1988822

The SKB Task Force is an international forum on modelling of groundwater flow and solute transport in fractured rock. The WPDE experiments are matrix diffusion experiments in gneiss performed at the ONKALO underground facility in Finland. Synthetic groundwater containing several conservative and sorbing tracers was injected along a borehole interval. The objective of Task 9A was the predictive modelling of the tracer breakthrough curves from the WPDE experiments. Several teams, using different modelling approaches and codes, participated in this exercise. An important conclusion from this exercise is that the modelling results were very sensitive to the magnitude of dispersion in the borehole opening, which is related to the flow of water. Focusing on the tails of the breakthrough curves, which are more directly related to matrix diffusion and sorption, the results from the different teams were more comparable.

The IRPA Young Generation Network; Activity report from the middle of 2018 to the beginning of 2021

Andresz, S.*; Sakoda, Akihiro; Ha, W.-H.*; Kabrt, F.*; Kono, Takahiko; Sez Muoz, M.*; Nusrat, O.*; Papp, C.*; Qiu, R.*; Bryant, P.*

Journal of Radiation Protection and Research, 46(3), p.143 - 150, 2021/09

https://doi.org/10.14407/jrpr.2021.00080

The Young Generation Network (YGN) was officially established as part of the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) in the spring of 2018. Since then, it has been dedicated to a variety of activities to promote communication, collaboration and professional development of students and young professionals in the area of radiation protection and its allied fields. This article reports our recent activities from the middle of 2018 to the beginning of 2021, with highlights on some important events: (1) Joint JHPS-SRP-KARP Workshop of Young Generation Network (December 2019 in Japan); (2) Contribution to Nuclear Energy Agency Workshop on Optimization - Rethinking the Art of Reasonable (January 2020 in Portugal); (3) Survey on the impact of COVID-19 on radiation protection among IRPA YGN members (March 2020); (4) Contribution to IRPA15 (January-February 2021; online). The discussion and insight obtained from each activity are also summarized. The IRPA YGN will aim to achieve its on-going activities and continue to follow the ways paved in the Strategic Agenda and despite the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Namely, running an international survey (for example, on the usage of social media in radiation protection, and on the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic), engaging national YGNs, extending the network, finding new relationships with networks with an interest in the young generation and participation in (remote) events will be aspired for.

Mechanism of hardening and damage initiation in oxygen embrittlement of body-centred-cubic niobium

Yang, P.-J.*; Li, Q.-J.*; Tsuru, Tomohito; Ogata, Shigenobu*; Zhang, J.-W.*; Sheng, H.-W.*; Shan, Z.-W.*; Sha, G.*; Han, W.-Z.*; Li, J.*; et al.

Acta Materialia, 168, p.331 - 342, 2019/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2019.02.030

Body-centred-cubic metallic materials, such as niobium (Nb) and other refractory metals, are prone to embrittlement due to low levels of oxygen solutes. The mechanisms responsible for the oxygen-induced rampant hardening and damage are unclear. Here we illustrate that screw dislocations moving through a random repulsive force field imposed by impurity oxygen interstitials readily form cross-kinks and emit excess vacancies in Nb. The vacancies bind strongly with oxygen and screw dislocation in a three-body fashion, rendering dislocation motion difficult and hence pronounced dislocation storage and hardening. This leads to unusually high strain hardening rates and fast breeding of nano-cavities that underlie damage and failure.

Measurement of the neutron capture cross section of the -only isotope Pb from 1 eV to 440 keV

Domingo-Pardo, C.*; Abbondanno, U.*; Aerts, G.*; lvarez, H.*; Alvarez-Velarde, F.*; Andriamonje, S.*; Andrzejewski, J.*; Assimakopoulos, P.*; Audouin, L.*; Badurek, G.*; et al.

Physical Review C, 75(1), p.015806_1 - 015806_9, 2007/01

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.75.015806

The neutron capture cross section of Pb has been measured at the CERN n_TOF installation with high resolution in the energy range from 1 eV to 440 keV. In the interval between 100 keV and 440 keV we report the average cross section. The background in the entire energy range was reliably determined from the measurement of a Pb sample. We obtain a Maxwellian average capture cross section for Pb at = 30 keV of 79(3) mb, in agreement with previous experiments. However our cross section at = 5 keV is about 35 % larger than the values reported so far. The implications of the new cross section for the -process abundance contributions in the Pb/Bi region are discussed.

New measurement of neutron capture resonances in Bi

Domingo-Pardo, C.*; Abbondanno, U.*; Aerts, G.*; lvarez, H.*; Alvarez-Velarde, F.*; Andriamonje, S.*; Andrzejewski, J.*; Assimakopoulos, P.*; Audouin, L.*; Badurek, G.*; et al.

Physical Review C, 74(2), p.025807_1 - 025807_10, 2006/08

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.74.025807

The neutron capture cross section of Bi has been measured at the CERN n_TOF facility by employing the pulse-height-weighting technique. Improvements over previous measurements are mainly because of an optimized detection system, which led to a practically negligible neutron sensitivity. Because Bi is the last stable isotope in the reaction path of the stellar s-process, the Maxwellian averaged capture cross section is important for the recycling of the reaction flow by alpha decays. In the relevant stellar range of thermal energies between = 5 and 8 keV our new capture rate is about 16% higher than the presently accepted value used for nucleosynthesis calculations. The present cross section measurement is also of relevance for the design of accelerator driven systems based on a liquid metal Pb/Bi spallation target.

Neutron capture cross section of Th measured at the n_TOF facility at CERN in the unresolved resonance region up to 1 MeV

Aerts, G.*; Abbondanno, U.*; lvarez, H.*; Alvarez-Velarde, F.*; Andriamonje, S.*; Andrzejewski, J.*; Assimakopoulos, P.*; Audouin, L.*; Badurek, G.*; Baumann, P.*; et al.

Physical Review C, 73(5), p.054610_1 - 054610_10, 2006/05

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.73.054610

We have measured the neutron capture reaction yield of Th at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF at CERN in the energy range from 1 eV to 1 MeV. The average capture cross section has been extracted in the energy range from 4 keV up to 1 MeV with an overall accuracy better than 4%. An independent IAEA evaluation shows good agreement with the data.

Measurement of La(,) cross section

Terlizzi, R.*; Abbondanno, U.*; Aerts, G.*; lvarez, H.*; Alvarez-Velarde, F.*; Andriamonje, S.*; Andrzejewski, J.*; Assimakopoulos, P.*; Audouin, L.*; Badurek, G.*; et al.

AIP Conference Proceedings 819, p.283 - 287, 2006/03

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2187872

We measured the neutron capture cross section of La relative to Au in the energy range of 0.6 eV to 9 keV at n_TOF, the neutron time-of-flight facility at CERN. The data were fitted using R-matrix formalism to extract resonance parameters which were used to calculate average level spacings. The data were used to determine Maxwellian-averaged neutron capture cross sections which, in turn, were used to calculate the La abundance synthesized in a steller model of the main component of the process.

Measurements at n_TOF of the neutron capture cross section of minor actinides relevant to the nuclear waste transmutation

Cano-Ott, D.*; Abbondanno, U.*; Aerts, G.*; lvarez, H.*; lvarez-Velarde, F.*; Andriamonje, S.*; Andrzejewski, J.*; Assimakopoulos, P.*; Audouin, L.*; Badurek, G.*; et al.

AIP Conference Proceedings 769, p.1442 - 1445, 2005/05

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1945275

Accurate and reliable neutron cross section data for actinides are necessary for the proper design, safety reguartion and precise performance assessment of transmutaion devices. In particular, the neutron capture cross sections of Np, Pu and Am play a key role in the design and optimization of a strategy for the Nuclear Waste Transmutation. The listed cross sections have been measured in 2004 at n_TOF with a high accuracy due to a combination of features unique in the world.