Integrated thermal power measurement in the modified STACY for the performance inspections

Araki, Shohei; Aizawa, Eiju; Murakami, Takahiko; Arakaki, Yu; Tada, Yuta; Kamikawa, Yutaka; Hasegawa, Kenta; Yoshikawa, Tomoki; Sumiya, Masato; Seki, Masakazu; et al.

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 217, p.111323_1 - 111323_8, 2025/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111323

JAEA has modified the STACY from a homogeneous system using solution fuel to a heterogeneous system using fuel rods in order to obtain criticality characteristics of fuel debris. The modification of the STACY was completed in December 2023. A series of performance inspections were conducted for the start of experimental operations. A new thermal power calibration is required for the performance inspections in order to operate at less than 200 W, which is the permitted thermal power. However, the thermal power measurement method and calibration data used in the former STACY is no longer available due to the modification of the modified STACY. We measured the thermal power of the STACY using the activation method that was improved to adapt to the measurement condition and calibrated the power meter system. Since the positions where activation foils could be installed were very limited, the thermal power was evaluated using numerical calculations supplemented by experimental data. Neutron flux data at the positions of the activation foil was measured by the activation method. Neutron distribution in the core was calculated by the Monte Carlo code MVP. A response function of the activation foil was calculated using the PHITS. The uncertainty of the thermal power measurement was conservatively estimated to be about 15%. Four operations were conducted for the thermal power measurement. The power meter was calibrated by using three operational data and tested with the one operational data. It was found that the indicated value of the meter adjusted by the STACY before the modification work would tend to overestimate the actual output by about 40%. In addition, the current calibration was able to calibrate the meter to within 3% accuracy.

Temperature-dependent deformation behavior of dual-phase medium-entropy alloy; In-situ neutron diffraction study

Gu, G. H.*; Jeong, S. G.*; Heo, Y.-U.*; Harjo, S.; Gong, W.; Cho, J.*; Kim, H. S.*; 4 of others*

Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 223, p.308 - 324, 2025/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2024.11.057

Uncertainty analysis of the inverse LASSO estimation scheme on radioactive source distributions inside reactor building rooms from air does rate measurements

Shi, W.*; Machida, Masahiko; Yamada, Susumu; Okamoto, Koji

Progress in Nuclear Energy, 184, p.105710_1 - 105710_10, 2025/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2025.105710

Very recently, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) has been proposed as a scheme capable to inversely estimate radioactive source distributions inside reactor building rooms from air dose rate measurements together with the predicted lower bound of the measurement numbers for successful reconstructions. However, no one has ever analyzed how the uncertainty of input data including the measurement errors influences the accuracy of the inverse estimation results. In this paper, we therefore perform uncertainty analysis of the LASSO scheme and suggest an uncertainty estimation function derived based on the theory of Candes. We actually demonstrate in two types of numerical tests with different input uncertainties obtained by using Monte Carlo code, Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) that the calculated errors obey the proposed uncertainty estimation function. Thus, the LASSO scheme allows to successfully estimate radioactive distributions within the predicted uncertainty.

On the role of austenite stability in yielding behavior of a medium Mn steel with a duplex austenite-martensite microstructure

Wang, Y.*; Gong, W.; Harjo, S.; 7 of others*

Acta Materialia, 288, p.120840_1 - 120840_14, 2025/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2025.120840

In situ neutron diffraction study of strain evolution and load partitioning during elevated temperature tensile test in HIP-Treated electron beam powder bed fusion manufactured Ti-6Al-4V

Pandian, K.*; Neikter, M.*; Ekh, M.*; Harjo, S.; Kawasaki, Takuro; Woracek, R.*; Hansson, T.*; Pederson, R.*

JOM, 77(4), p.1803 - 1815, 2025/04

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-025-07128-1

Mechanical multiplexer of nuclear spin states

Chudo, Hiroyuki; Yokoi, Naoto*; Matsuo, Mamoru; Harii, Kazuya*; Suzuki, Jun*; Imai, Masaki; Sato, Masahiro*; Maekawa, Sadamichi*; Saito, Eiji*

Physical Review Letters, 134(13), p.130603_1 - 130603_5, 2025/04

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.130603

Evaluating sulfur-impurity removal and modern carbon contamination in different preparation methods for radiocarbon dating of soil samples by accelerator mass spectrometry

Koarashi, Jun; Takeuchi, Erina; Kokubu, Yoko; Atarashi-Andoh, Mariko

Radiocarbon, 67(2), p.307 - 317, 2025/04

https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2024.137

Radiocarbon (C) dating of soil samples by accelerator mass spectrometry has been proven useful for studying carbon (C) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. There are, however, two main difficulties in sample preparation for this application: contamination of samples with modern C and inhibition of graphite formation due to sulfur (S)-containing impurities. Here we evaluated these effects from three different sample preparation methods, by conducting C measurements of C-dead sample and S-rich soil samples. The preparation methods were all successful in graphite formation and C measurement for soil samples with an organic S content 6.9%. The different methods showed different percent Modern Carbon (pMC) values ranging from 0.19% to 0.64% for C-dead sample. However, the three methods had little influence on the determination of C age for samples at least younger than 12,000 yr BP. The methods examined in the present study can be used for C dating with sufficient accuracy in the application to C cycle studies.

Electronic approach to understand the wettability of surface treated titanium with liquid sodium

Namie, Masanari; Saito, Junichi; Oka, Ryotaro*; Kim, J.-H.*

Vacuum, 234, p.114038_1 - 114038_9, 2025/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2025.114038

Development of technology for separating Am-241 in aged plutonium

Emori, Tatsuya; Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro; Ban, Yasutoshi

JAEA-Technology 2024-025, 20 Pages, 2025/03

JAEA-Technology-2024-025.pdf:1.65MB

Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) using the decay heat of Pu-238 has been applied for outer planet missions far from Jupiter, where solar power is limited. However, no facilities are available to produce Pu-238 for space probes in Japan. Moreover, the use of nuclear materials for the space exploration is difficult in term of the regulation. Thus, we focused on Am-241 whose half-life is around 432 years as an alternative heat source for RTGs. This report describes the procedure of separating Am-241 decayed from Pu-241 in aged plutonium oxide. Two experiments were performed: one using solid-liquid extraction and the other combining liquid-liquid extraction and solid-liquid extraction. Packed columns were used in the experiments, with their number reduced by less than one-fifth in the latter experiment compared to the former. Furthermore, the time required for separation in the latter experiment was less than half that of the former. We performed the separation experiments six times, collecting a total of approximately 0.43 g of Am-241 as an oxalate salt.

Update of fire receiver panel (The Waste Safety Testing Facility)

Hatakeyama, Yuichi; Hirai, Koki; Ikegami, Yuta*; Sano, Naruto; Tomita, Takeshi; Usami, Koji; Tagami, Susumu

JAEA-Technology 2024-020, 33 Pages, 2025/03

JAEA-Technology-2024-020.pdf:2.21MB

The Waste Safety Testing Facility (WASTEF) is a facility that began operation in December 1982 with the aim of conducting safety testing research on the long-term storage and subsequent geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste generated by the reprocessing of spent fuel. This facility is composed of five concrete cells, one lead cell, six glove boxes, and seven hoods, and is a large-scale facility capable of using nuclear fuel materials including uranium and plutonium, as well as radioisotopes such as neptunium and americium. The facility is equipped with an automatic fire alarm system for the entire building in accordance with the Fire Service Act and regulations on technical standards for facilities used. This is an important aspect of safety management, and it is required that the equipment be sufficiently sound and reliable. However, after more than 30 years of use since its installation, the fire receiving panel, one of the components of the automatic fire alarm system, has deteriorated significantly. Furthermore, many of the parts used have been discontinued and are no longer available, making it difficult to procure them, making it difficult to maintain the equipment's performance. Therefore, in order to ensure the safe and stable operation of WASTEF, the fire receiving panel was updated. This report summarizes the update of the fire receiving panel among the automatic fire alarm equipment that was implemented in FY2022.