Novel 4 field-of-view gamma-ray imaging

北山 佳治

IEEE NPSS Newsletter (Internet), 4 Pages, 2024/06

At the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station decommissioning site, there's a need for gamma-ray imaging technology that is compact and lightweight enough to be mounted on autonomous exploration robots, has a wide FOV and can operate in high-dose-rate environments. Coded masks and Compton cameras, although small and light, suffer from limitations such as a narrow FOV, susceptibility to background noise, or poor angular resolution and unsuitability for high-dose environments, respectively. Therefore, we developed a novel gamma-ray imaging technology that weighs about 600 g, has a cubic form measuring 8.6 cm on each side, offers a 4 FOV, has an angular resolution of approximately 5, and is expected to operate in environments with radiation levels up to 100 mSv/h with only eight readout channels.

Cu -edge X-ray absorption fine structure study of -type CuO ( = Rare Earth); Toward unified understanding of electronic state of -type cuprate

Chen, Y.*; 浅野 駿*; Wang, T.*; Xie, P.*; 北山 慎之介*; 石井 賢司*; 松村 大樹; 辻 卓也; 谷口 貴紀*; 藤田 全基*

JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 38, p.011050_1 - 011050_6, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSCP.38.011050

To investigate the variation of the electronic state of -type cuprate due to annealing, we performed Cu -edge X-ray absorption fine structure measurements on PrCuO (PCO) and PrLaCuO (PLCO). The induced electrons due to annealing () in PCO and PLCO were approximately 2, consistent with a model of electron doping to Mott insulator. Here, and represent the amount of excess oxygen from the stoichiometric composition in the as-sintered compound and that of oxygen loss due to annealing, respectively. Furthermore, the energy of the Einstein oscillator () for the Cu-O bond was evaluated by extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis. (O denotes the in-plane oxygen.) We found a small annealing effect on for both PCO and PLCO.

A Phoswich alpha/beta detector for monitoring in the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

森下 祐樹; 高崎 浩司; 北山 佳治; 田川 明広; 柴田 卓弥; 星 勝也; 金子 純一*; 樋口 幹雄*; 大浦 正利*

Radiation Measurements, 160, p.106896_1 - 106896_10, 2023/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2022.106896

福島第一原子力発電所のアルファおよびベータ汚染をリアルタイム弁別測定するためのPhoswichアルファ/ベータ検出器を開発した。検出器は、アルファ線とベータ線を検出する2層のシンチレータ(プラスチックシンチレータ及びGPSシンチレータ)で構成した。パルス波形弁別(PSD)法を使用して、高ベータ線および高ガンマ線環境でアルファ線をリアルタイムを弁別測定できた。さらに、この検出器は、最大9.0mSv/hのバックグラウンド線量下でアルファ線を識別することができた。

Simulation study of a shield-free directional gamma-ray detector using Small-Angle Compton Scattering

北山 佳治; 寺阪 祐太; 佐藤 優樹; 鳥居 建男

Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science, 7(4), p.042006_1 - 042006_7, 2021/10

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4048902

Gamma-ray imaging is a technique to visualize the spatial distribution of radioactive materials. Recently, gamma-ray imaging has been applied to research on decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident and environmental restoration, and active research has been conducted. This study is the elemental technology study of the new gamma-ray imager GISAS (Gamma-ray Imager using Small-Angle Scattering), which is assumed to be applied to the decommissioning site of FDNPS. GISAS consists of a set of directional gamma-ray detectors that do not require a shield. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of the shield free directional gamma-ray detector by simulation. The simulation result suggests that by measuring several keV of scattered electron energy by scatterer detector, gamma rays with ultra-small angle scattering could be selected. By using Compton scattering kinematics, a shield-free detector with directivity of about 10 could be feasible. By arranging the directional gamma-ray detectors in an array, it is expected to realize the GISAS, which is small, light, and capable of quantitative measurement.

A Study of directional gamma-ray detector without shield by Monte Carlo simulation

北山 佳治; 寺阪 祐太; 佐藤 優樹; 鳥居 建男

Proceedings of International Youth Nuclear Congress 2020 (IYNC 2020) (Internet), 4 Pages, 2020/05

At the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), various works are under-way for decommissioning. Depending on work places, there are radioactive hotspot. Therefore measuring the position of the hotspot in advance is important for safety of the worker. The system that can easily measure the dose rate distribution in work place has been demanded. There are two methods for imaging a dose rate distribution: a pinhole camera and a Compton camera. A pinhole camera can determine direction of radiation source in one event, but the weight becomes heavy because a shield is required. On the other hand, since the Compton camera does not require a shield, it can be reduced in the size and weight. However, Compton imaging method generate many ghosts of cone traces, which reduce the signal-to-noise ratio. We propose a new gamma-ray imager that works like a pinhole camera without a shield. This is achieved by arranging directional gamma ray detectors that does not require a shield. In this work, we have performed principle verification of a directional gamma-ray detector that is a basic component of the new gamma-ray imager by using Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation.

Extraction behavior of rutherfordium as a cationic fluoride complex with a TTA chelate extractant from HF/HNO acidic solutions

横山 明彦*; 北山 雄太*; 福田 芳樹*; 菊永 英寿*; 村上 昌史*; 小森 有希子*; 矢納 慎也*; 羽場 宏光*; 塚田 和明; 豊嶋 厚史*

Radiochimica Acta, 107(1), p.27 - 32, 2019/01

https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2018-2949

The aim of this study was to identify relevant Rf chemical species by using reversed-phase extraction chromatography with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) resin as the stationary phase. Because TTA can be used to extract specific metal ions, the distribution ratios of the system enabled determination of the specific complex formation constant of Rf. We performed several experiments on chemical systems with Zr, Hf, No, and Rf, determined their adsorption coefficients, and deduced the K values for Rf.

Atmospheric modeling of Cs plumes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant; Evaluation of the model intercomparison data of the Science Council of Japan

北山 響*; 森野 悠*; 滝川 雅之*; 中島 映至*; 速水 洋*; 永井 晴康; 寺田 宏明; 斉藤 和雄*; 新堀 敏基*; 梶野 瑞王*; et al.

Journal of Geophysical Research; Atmospheres, 123(14), p.7754 - 7770, 2018/07

https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JD028230

日本学術会議のモデル相互比較プロジェクト(2014)で提供された、福島第一原子力発電所事故時に大気中に放出されたCsの計算に用いられた7つの大気輸送モデルの結果を比較した。本研究では、東北及び関東地方に輸送された9つのプルームに着目し、モデル結果を1時間間隔の大気中Cs濃度観測値と比較することにより、モデルの性能を評価した。相互比較の結果は、Cs濃度の再現に関するモデル性能はモデル及びプルーム間で大きく異なることを示した。概してモデルは多数の観測地点を通過したプルームを良く再現した。モデル間の性能は、計算された風速場と使用された放出源情報と一貫性があった。また、積算Cs沈着量に関するモデル性能についても評価した。計算されたCs沈着量の高い場所はCsプルームの経路と一致していたが、大気中Cs濃度を最も良く再現したモデルは、沈着量を最も良く再現したモデルとは異なっていた。全モデルのアンサンブル平均は、Csの大気中濃度と沈着量をともに良く再現した。これは、多数モデルのアンサンブルは、より有効で一貫したモデル性能を有することを示唆している。

Temperature of thermal spikes in amorphous silicon nitride films produced by 1.11 MeV C impacts

北山 巧*; 中嶋 薫*; 鈴木 基史*; 鳴海 一雅; 齋藤 勇一; 松田 誠; 左高 正雄*; 辻本 将彦*; 磯田 正二*; 木村 健二*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 354, p.183 - 186, 2015/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2014.11.002

According to an inelastic-thermal-spike (i-TS) model, which is regarded as the most promising among several models proposed to explain the formation of an ion track, a part of the energy deposited to electrons in a solid by a swift heavy ion is gradually transferred to target atoms via electron-phonon coupling. The temperature of target atoms rises along the ion path and consequently an ion track is formed when the temperature exceeds the melting point. Therefore, the temperature of target atoms along the ion path is regarded as a key parameter for the i-TS model; however, such a spatiotemporally-localized temperature is difficult to measure because the processes involved occur in a very short period ( 10 s) and in a very localized area. In this study, the temperature of target atoms along the ion path is estimated experimentally with transmission-electron-microscope (TEM) observation of desorption of Au nanoclusters (the melting point 1300 K) on an amorphous SiN thin film under 1.1-MeV C-ion irradiation to the fluence of 510 ions/cm. TEM images show that Au nanoclusters, deposited at the areal density of 1.1610 particles/cm, disappear in a surface area with a diameter of 20 nm around each ion track, whose diameter is 4 nm, after irradiation. This indicates that the temperature at the film surface rises locally to at least 1300 K by the ion bombardment.

Probing strongly correlated 4-orbital symmetry of the ground state in Yb compounds by linear dichroism in core-level photoemission

森 健雄*; 北山 賢*; 金井 惟奈*; 内免 翔*; 藤原 秀紀*; 東谷 篤志*; 玉作 賢治*; 田中 新*; 寺嶋 健成*; 今田 真*; et al.

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 83(12), p.123702_1 - 123702_5, 2014/12

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.83.123702

正方晶YbRhSi及びYbCuSiに対して、角度分解内殻光電子分光における直線偏光線二色性を発見し、それにより、基底状態の強相関4軌道の対称性を明らかにした。理論計算から、この線二色性は結晶場効果に由来する異方的な電荷分布を反映することが示された。結晶場の第一励起エネルギーよりもはるかに低温での測定により、両物質の基底状態の4波動関数の決定に成功した。更に、温度依存性測定により、励起状態の対称性についても調べた。

Burning of MOX fuels in LWRs; Fuel history effects on thermal properties of hull and end piece wastes and the repository performance

平野 史生; 佐藤 正知*; 小崎 完*; 稲垣 八穂広*; 岩崎 智彦*; 大江 俊昭*; 加藤 和之*; 北山 一美*; 長崎 晋也*; 新堀 雄一*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 49(3), p.310 - 319, 2012/03

AA2011-0278.pdf:0.56MB

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2012.660021

軽水炉から取り出したMOX使用済燃料を再処理した後に発生するハルエンドピース廃棄体について、地層処分に対する廃棄体の発熱の影響を検討した。MOX使用済燃料の発熱率と、その再処理後に生じるハルエンドピース廃棄体の発熱率は、MOX燃料を軽水炉に装荷する前の履歴に依存して変化する。ここでの履歴とは、再処理してプルトニウムを取り出す前のウラン燃料の燃焼度,冷却期間、及び再処理後に製造されたMOX燃料の貯蔵期間を指す。これらMOX使用済燃料の再処理に伴い発生するハルエンドピース廃棄体の発熱率は、使用済ウラン燃料を長期に渡り冷却した後に(例えば50年間)再処理し、MOX燃料を製造する場合等においても、燃焼度45GWd/tのウラン燃料の再処理で発生するハルエンドピース廃棄体と比較すると極めて高い。こうした廃棄体をセメント固化して地層処分する場合、セメントの温度上限値を80Cとし、MOX燃料の燃焼度を45GWd/tとすると、1体の廃棄体パッケージに収納できるハルエンドピース廃棄体の量は、キャニスターの本数に換算すると0.7-1.6本となり、ウラン燃料の場合の4本と比較すると極めて少ないとの結果が得られた。