Real-time inversion of radioactive source distribution using air dose rate measurements via least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method

Shi, W.*; Machida, Masahiko; Okamoto, Koji*; Luo, X.*; Feng, W.*; Liu, X.*

Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 272, Part1, p.112538_1 - 112538_18, 2026/08

http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2026.112538

The reliability of emergency response in severe nuclear accidents critically depends on robust real-time monitoring of radioactive source distributions. However, this safety function is challenged by physical constraints that create monitoring blind spots and by the inadequacy of static methods in tracking dynamic releases. To enhance the reliability and robustness of source term estimation, this study proposes a dynamic reconstruction framework based on LASSO regression with temporal regularization. A sliding-window time-penalty mechanism is introduced, imposing -norm constraints on inter-step source variations to ensure physical continuity. The contribution matrix and measurement vector are normalized to counteract biases from radiation shielding and time-varying intensities. Validation using a two-room model with internal shielding, with PHITS Monte Carlo simulation, demonstrates accurate reconstruction of dynamic sources from remote measurements. Temporal regularization enhances situational awareness by suppressing spatial aliasing: at sliding-window width (no regularization), hotspot locations fluctuate significantly, with quantitative mean absolute error fluctuations at around , whereas yields improved spatial consistency and the fluctuation quantities decrease to the range. Comparative analysis identifies as optimal in balancing accuracy and computational cost. This work establishes a more reliable pathway for dynamic hazard assessment, enabling accurate localization and intensity tracking under challenging conditions. The proposed framework provides a decision-support tool enhancing the resilience and safety of emergency management in nuclear facilities.

Development of core technologies for a wireless communication chipset with radiation tolerance (RF analog circuit development) (Contract research); FY2024 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Institute of Science Tokyo*

JAEA-Review 2026-005, 51 Pages, 2026/07

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), has been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") from FY2019. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2024, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of core technologies for a wireless communication chipset with radiation tolerance (RF analog circuit development)" conducted in FY2024. The present study aims to establish a wireless communication system operable inside the reactor containment vessel and the reactor pressure vessel of 1F, and to develop key circuit technologies with radiation tolerance. The elemental developments will be carried out through the collaboration of two subthemes: RF analog circuit development and baseband circuit development. In this research, we are responsible for the RF analog circuit development, designing and implementing various circuits using radiation-tolerant silicon CMOS integrated circuit technology as well as diamond semiconductor devices. For silicon CMOS high-frequency analog circuits, RF analog signal processing circuits such as power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, mixers, and variable-gain amplifiers will be developed. For diamond semiconductor technology, device-level development of power amplifiers and power management circuits will be conducted. Ultimately, this project aims to realize prototype components of a wireless communication chipset capable of achieving a data rate of 2.5 Mbps or higher while withstanding a total ionizing dose exceeding 1 MGy.

NMR evidence for full-gap spin-triplet superconducting state in UBe

Minami, Shoko*; Matsuno, Haruki*; Morita, Kyohei*; Matsuki, Rintaro*; Kotegawa, Hisashi*; Harima, Hisatomo*; Haga, Yoshinori; Yamamoto, Etsuji; Onuki, Yoshichika*; Tou, Hideki*

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 95(7), p.074711_1 - 074711_11, 2026/07

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.95.074711

Human resource development for research based on fuel debris study and SEEM-ology buildup (Contract research); FY2024 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2026-003, 173 Pages, 2026/06

JAEA-Review-2026-003.pdf:12.5MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), has been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") from FY2019. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2024, this report summarizes the research results of the "Human resource development for research based on fuel debris study and SEEM-ology buildup" conducted in FY2024. The present study aims to buildup of "Severe Engineering Management (SEEM)-ology" that enables more rational decision-making in an uncertain and severe environment, and at the same time, to develop research personnel supporting the academic foundation of the extraction, long-term storage, treatment and disposal of fuel debris, which is a central issue in the decommissioning of 1F. Experts in different fields promote multiple research and human resource development tasks in organic collaboration. In the first fiscal year of this study, it was necessary to clarify specific research methods and set the direction in the [SEEM Fields] [Specialized Fields 12] and [Common Engineering Fields 13], as well as to prepare various conditions for necessary tests and analyses. It was also necessary to promote the operation of educational programs related to nuclear decommissioning and the planning of SEEM-related courses. For this reason, the purpose of this fiscal year was to obtain the prescribed results by examining specific research methods and making various preparations for conducting necessary tests, preparing various conditions, building and analyzing some measurement systems, and examining human resource development. Based on this objective, we set the performance targets and implementation methods for this fiscal year as an operational plan, implemented them as planned, and were able to achieve the targeted results in each technical field and education and human resource development activities.

Development of phenomenological degradation models for Cr-Coated Zr alloy cladding under high-temperature oxidation conditions

Taniguchi, Yoshinori; Luu, V. N.; Tasaki, Yudai; Udagawa, Yutaka; Katsuyama, Jinya

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 231, p.112177_1 - 112177_16, 2026/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2026.112177

Potential and solution conductivity inside stainless steel crevices in a very dilute bulk solution

Soma, Yasutaka; Komatsu, Atsushi; Igarashi, Takahiro

Corrosion Science, 265, p.113182_1 - 113182_13, 2026/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2026.113812

Investigation of differences in the mean time between beam trips between normal-conducting and superconducting acceleration cavities

Takei, Hayanori

JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 45, p.011175_1 - 011175_7, 2026/06

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSCP.45.011175

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency is working on the research and development of an accelerator-driven nuclear transmutation system (ADS) for transmuting minor actinides. This system is a combination of a subcritical nuclear reactor and a high-power superconducting proton linear accelerator (JADS-linac). One of the challenges in developing the JADS-linac is to reduce the number of beam trips. Until now, the beam trip frequency of the JADS-linac has been estimated from the operation data of the J-PARC linac, which uses the normal-conducting acceleration (NC) cavities. Recently, data on beam trips in the superconducting acceleration (SRF) cavities of the Spallation Neutron Source of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (SNS) have been published. These data are important for the estimation of the beam trip frequency of the JADS-linac. Rather, the SNS data are more appropriate than the J-PARC data, because the JADS-linac uses the SRF cavities. On the other hand, the calculation methods in the published data for the NC cavities of J-PARC and the SRF cavities of SNS are different, so it is not possible to simply compare the two. In this study, the mean time between beam trips (MTBT) of the J-PARC NC cavity and the SNS SRF cavity are compared using the same condition. Specifically, the MTBT of the acceleration cavities connected to a single klystron system was calculated and compared. As a result, the MTBT of the SNS SRF cavity was 5.0 and 8.8 times longer than that of the J-PARC NC cavity for and h, respectively, where is the beam trip duration.

Cold sintering of whitlockite-based phosphate ceramics for ALPS carbonate slurry waste immobilization

Gubarevich, A.*; Kubo, Ryotaro*; Arisaka, Makoto; Osugi, Takeshi; Yoshida, Katsumi*; Takeshita, Kenji*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 63(6), p.667 - 676, 2026/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2025.2592963

To immobilize and solidify carbonate-based Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) sediment wastes, this study introduces a chemical transformation process that converts these wastes into calcium and magnesium phosphate phases, followed by densification using a novel cold sintering press (CSP) technique. Simulated calcium-magnesium carbonate slurries were treated with phosphoric acid to synthesize calcium and magnesium phosphates, which were then sintered at 300-500C using CSP. The effects of the calcium-to-magnesium ratio, strontium incorporation, and sodium chloride addition on phase composition and CSP densification were investigated. Dense bulk samples were successfully fabricated and characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and the Archimedes method. The results showed that the chemical transformation process led to the formation of whitlockite and newberyite, with the calcium-to-magnesium ratio determining the relative proportions of these phases. Strontium was effectively incorporated into the whitlockite crystal structure, while newberyite enhanced densification through a dehydration-driven process. Sodium chloride had no effect on chemical transformation and was not found in the final solid product. These results show that direct conversion of calcium-magnesium carbonate slurries to whitlockite-based phosphate ceramics, followed by CSP, enables stable solidification, making this method promising for ALPS sediment waste management.

Ice IV from supercooled water; Reproducible crystallization, structure, and ordering

Kobayashi, Hiroki*; Komatsu, Kazuki*; Ito, Hayate*; Machida, Shinichi*; Hattori, Takanori; Kagi, Hiroyuki*

Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 130(25), p.8795 - 8805, 2026/06

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c00737

Ice IV, a metastable high-pressure phase of ice, rarely crystallizes from water and has therefore been called by a nickname, "will-o'-the-wisp," a tentative, ghostly form of ice. Here we report by experiments using water-in-oil emulsions that liquid water reproducibly and selectively crystallizes into ice IV at the homogeneous nucleation temperature () at pressures between 0.45 and 1.1 GPa. By tracking pressure-induced melting of ice Ih and immediate recrystallization, we show that liquid water preferentially crystallizes into ice IV even below . Thanks to high hydrostaticity and suppressed crystal growth in emulsified ice samples, reliable structure analyses for both ice IV and its potentially hydrogen-ordered state were achieved by neutron diffraction. The achievable degree of ordering in experiments was extremely low and nearly independent of the crystallization methods.

Transient behavior of a boiling water reactor-type offshore floating nuclear power plant during platform motion

Fukuda, Kodai; Obara, Toru*

Nuclear Technology, 212(6), p.1567 - 1578, 2026/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2025.2502266