Neutron/-ray discrimination based on the property and thickness controls of scintillators using Li glass and LiCAF(Ce) in a -ray field

Kaburagi, Masaaki; Shimazoe, Kenji*; Terasaka, Yuta; Tomita, Hideki*; Yoshihashi, Sachiko*; Yamazaki, Atsushi*; Uritani, Akira*; Takahashi, Hiroyuki*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1046, p.167636_1 - 167636_8, 2023/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2022.167636

We focus on the thickness and property controls of inorganic scintillators used for thermal neutron detection in intense -ray fields without considering pulse shape discrimination techniques. GS20 (a lithium glass) and LiCaAlF:Ce(LiCAF:Ce) cintillators with thicknesses of 0.5 and 1.0 mm, respectively, have been employed. Pulse signals generated by photomultiplier tubes, to which the scintillators were coupled, were inserted into a digital pulse processing unit with 1 Gsps, and the areas of waveforms were integrated for 360 ns. In a Co -ray field, the neutron detection for GS20 with a 0.5-mm thickness was possible at dose rates of up to 0.919 Gy/h; however, for LiCAF:Ce, neutron detection was possible at 0.473 Gy/h, and it failed at 0.709 Gy/h. Threfore, in a Co -ray field, the neutron/-ray discrimination of GS20 was better than that of LiCAF:Ce due to its better energy resolution and higher detection efficiency.

Design and actual performance of J-PARC 3 GeV rapid cycling synchrotron for high-intensity operation

Yamamoto, Kazami; Kinsho, Michikazu; Hayashi, Naoki; Saha, P. K.; Tamura, Fumihiko; Yamamoto, Masanobu; Tani, Norio; Takayanagi, Tomohiro; Kamiya, Junichiro; Shobuda, Yoshihiro; et al.

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(9), p.1174 - 1205, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2038301

In the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex, the purpose of the 3 GeV rapid cycling synchrotron (RCS) is to accelerate a 1 MW, high-intensity proton beam. To achieve beam operation at a repetition rate of 25 Hz at high intensities, the RCS was elaborately designed. After starting the RCS operation, we carefully verified the validity of its design and made certain improvements to establish a reliable operation at higher power as possible. Consequently, we demonstrated beam operation at a high power, namely, 1 MW. We then summarized the design, actual performance, and improvements of the RCS to achieve a 1 MW beam.

Development of the multi-cubic -ray spectrometer and its performance under intense Cs and Co radiation fields

Kaburagi, Masaaki; Shimazoe, Kenji*; Kato, Masahiro*; Kurosawa, Tadahiro*; Kamada, Kei*; Kim, K. J.*; Yoshino, Masao*; Shoji, Yasuhiro*; Yoshikawa, Akira*; Takahashi, Hiroyuki*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1010, p.165544_1 - 165544_9, 2021/09

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2021.165544

The number of nuclear facilities being decommissioned has been increasing worldwide, in particular following the accident of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011. In these nuclear facilities, proper management of radioactive materials is required. Then, A -ray spectrometer with four segmentations using small volume CeBr scintillators with a dimension of was developed. The four scintillators were coupled to a multi-anode photomultiplier tube specific to intense radiation fields. We performed the -ray exposure study under Cs and Co radiation fields. Under the Cs radiation field, the relative energy resolution at 1375 mSv/h was the relative energy resolution at 1375 mSv/h was 9.20.05%, 8.00.08%, 8.00.03%, and 9.00.04% for the four channels, respectively.

Incorporation of U, Pb and rare earth elements in calcite through crystallisation from amorphous calcium carbonate; Simple preparation of reference materials for microanalysis

Miyajima, Yusuke*; Saito, Ayaka*; Kagi, Hiroyuki*; Yokoyama, Tatsunori; Takahashi, Yoshio*; Hirata, Takafumi*

Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 45(1), p.189 - 205, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.1111/ggr.12367

Uncertainty for elemental and isotopic analyses of calcite by LA-ICP-MS is largely controlled by the homogeneity of the reference materials (RMs) used for normalization and validation. In order to produce calcite RMs with homogeneous elemental and isotopic compositions, we incorporated elements including U, Pb, and rare earth elements into calcite through heat- and pressure-induced crystallization from amorphous calcium carbonate that was precipitated from element-doped reagent solution. X-ray absorption spectra showed that U was present as U(VI) in the synthesized calcite, probably with a different local structure from that of aqueous uranyl ions. The uptake rate of U by our calcite was higher in comparison to synthetic calcite of previous studies. Variations of element mass fractions in the calcite were better than 12% 2RSD, mostly within 7%. The Pb/Pb ratio in the calcite showed 1% variations, while the U/Pb ratio showed 3-24% variations depending on element mass fractions. Using the synthetic calcite as primary RMs, we could date a natural calcite RM, WC-1, with analytical uncertainty as low as 3%. The method presented can be useful to produce calcite with controlled and homogeneous element mass fractions, and is a promising alternative to natural calcite RMs for U-Pb geochronology.

Corrosion resistance of a cast steel overpack for high-level radioactive waste disposal in Japan

Ogawa, Yusuke*; Suzuki, Satoru*; Taniguchi, Naoki; Kawasaki, Manabu*; Suzuki, Hiroyuki*; Takahashi, Rieko*

Materials and Corrosion, 72(1-2), p.52 - 66, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.1002/maco.202011781

Cast steel is one of the promising alternative to forged steel that is the current reference material for carbon steel overpack. In this study, the full-scale cast steel overpack was produced experimentally and the distribution of casting defects were investigated. The corrosion test regarding corrosion rate and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility were also conducted using samples taken from the full-scale cast steel overpack and the corrosion resistance of cast steel was compared with that of forged steel. From above two corrosion tests, it can be said that the corrosion resistance of cast steel is mostly the same as that of forged steel.

Giant spin hydrodynamic generation in laminar flow

Takahashi, Ryo*; Chudo, Hiroyuki; Matsuo, Mamoru; Harii, Kazuya*; Onuma, Yuichi*; Maekawa, Sadamichi; Saito, Eiji

Nature Communications (Internet), 11, p.3009_1 - 3009_6, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16753-0

Analysis of the high-dose-range radioresistance of prostate cancer cells, including cancer stem cells, based on a stochastic model

Saga, Ryo*; Matsuya, Yusuke; Takahashi, Rei*; Hasegawa, Kazuki*; Date, Hiroyuki*; Hosokawa, Yoichiro*

Journal of Radiation Research, 60(3), p.298 - 307, 2019/05

https://doi.org/10.1093/jrr/rrz011

In radiotherapy, it is recognized that cancer stem cells (CSCs) in tumor tissue shows radio-resistance. However, the relationship between content percentage of the CSCs and dose-response curve on cell survival remain unclear. In this study, we developed a stochastic model considering progeny cells and stem cells, and investigated the impact of stem cells on radio-sensitivity. From the flow-cytometric analysis (cell experiments), the content percentage of stem cells was 3.2% or less which agreed well with the model estimation from the cell survival curve. Based on the verification, it is suggested that cell survival in high-dose range is largely affected by the CSCs. In addition, regarding the sub-population of stem cells, the present model well reproduces the dose response on lethal lesions to DNA comparing with the conventional LQ model. This outcome indicates that the stem cells must be considered for describing the dose-response curve in wide dose range.

Gamma-ray imaging system for Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant using silicon strip detector

Kaburagi, Masaaki; Sato, Yuki; Yoshihara, Yuri*; Shimazoe, Kenji*; Takahashi, Hiroyuki*; Torii, Tatsuo

Reactor Dosimetry; 16th International Symposium on Reactor Dosimetry (ISRD-16) (ASTM STP 1608), p.405 - 414, 2018/11

https://doi.org/10.1520/STP160820170070

Field test around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant site using improved Ce:Gd(Al,Ga)O scintillator Compton camera mounted on an unmanned helicopter

Shikaze, Yoshiaki; Nishizawa, Yukiyasu; Sanada, Yukihisa; Torii, Tatsuo; Jiang, J.*; Shimazoe, Kenji*; Takahashi, Hiroyuki*; Yoshino, Masao*; Ito, Shigeki*; Endo, Takanori*; et al.

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 53(12), p.1907 - 1918, 2016/12

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2016.1185980

The Compton camera was improved for use with the unmanned helicopter. Increase of the scintillator array from 44 to 88 and expanse of the distance between the two layers contributed to the improvements of detection efficiency and angular resolution, respectively. Measurements were performed over the riverbed of the Ukedo river of Namie town in Fukushima Prefecture. By programming of flight path and speed, the areas of 65 m 60 m and 65 m 180 m were measured during about 20 and 30 minutes, respectively. By the analysis the air dose rate maps at 1 m height were obtained precisely with the angular resolution corresponding to the position resolution of about 10 m from 10 m height. Hovering flights were executed over the hot spot areas for 10-20 minutes at 5-20 m height. By using the reconstruction software the -ray images including the hot spots were obtained with the angular resolution same as that evaluated in the laboratory (about 10).

SENJU; A New time-of-flight single-crystal neutron diffractometer at J-PARC

Ohara, Takashi; Kiyanagi, Ryoji; Oikawa, Kenichi; Kaneko, Koji; Kawasaki, Takuro; Tamura, Itaru; Nakao, Akiko*; Hanashima, Takayasu*; Munakata, Koji*; Moyoshi, Taketo*; et al.

Journal of Applied Crystallography, 49(1), p.120 - 127, 2016/02

https://doi.org/10.1107/S1600576715022943