Development of inspection technology for pipes in high background radiation environments (Contract research); FY2023 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; University of Fukui*

JAEA-Review 2025-036, 88 Pages, 2025/11

JAEA-Review-2025-036.pdf:6.36MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2023. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 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 FY2023, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of inspection technology for pipes in high background radiation environments" conducted in FY2023. The following two studies are being conducted with the aim of comprehensively developing technologies to address the three needs indicated in the hearing with TEPCO regarding observation of the inside of piping: (1) Hydrogen content, (2) Presence of precipitates, (3) Presence or absence of / radiation emitting nuclides. First, by downsizing existing nondestructive inspection equipment and developing a dedicated radiation detector capable of nondestructively imaging the inside of piping, we aim to obtain information on the inside of piping by nondestructive inspection using lasers, etc., and to clarify the presence or absence of -nuclides in piping and the internal conditions of piping, etc. In addition, we will develop equipment to visualize -nuclides and discriminate -nuclides in high dose rate environments, as well as technology to investigate the contents of the piping. Deployment of the developed technology is expected to be put into practical use by TEPCO and private companies.

Evaluation of radiation dose caused by bremsstrahlung photons generated by high-energy beta rays using the PHITS and GEANT4 simulation codes

Shikaze, Yoshiaki

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 61(7), p.894 - 910, 2024/07

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2023.2285934

Among the radioactive nuclides inside the nuclear reactor buildings emitted by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor accident, high-energy beta-ray sources, such as strontium-90 and yttrium-90, generate bremsstrahlung photons in the building materials, comprising the wall, floor, and interior structure. Therefore, evaluating the radiation dose of the bremsstrahlung to the workers in the nuclear reactor building is crucial for radiation protection. The precision of the evaluation calculation of the bremsstrahlung dose was investigated by comparing the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) and the GEometry ANd Tracking (GEANT4) simulation code results. In the calculation, behind various shielding plates (lead, copper, aluminum, glass, and polyethylene, with thicknesses ranging from 1.0 to 40 mm), the water cylinder was set as the evaluated material, the absorbed dose and the deposited energy spectrum by the bremsstrahlung photons were obtained, and the characteristics and differences for both simulation codes were investigated. In the comparison results of the deposited energy spectrum, the spectral shapes have consistent trends. In the energy range below several tens of keV, a peak is seen in the PHITS spectrum for the lead shielding material. In comparing the absorbed dose under various conditions of the shielding plate for generating bremsstrahlung photons, most results for both codes correlate within an 10% difference for 2.280 MeV beta-ray sources and an 20% difference for 0.5459 MeV beta-ray sources, except for 30% for 20 mm thick lead. Although there were differences in some cases, the evaluation results of the two simulation codes were concluded to correlate well with the above precision.

Spattering behavior induced by cavitation bubble collapsing nearby gas-liquid interface

Kawashima, Hiroyuki; Kurosawa, Takuma*; Teshigawara, Makoto; Naoe, Takashi; Tanaka, Nobuatsu*; Futakawa, Masatoshi; Kogawa, Hiroyuki

Advanced Experimental Mechanics, 7, p.43 - 48, 2022/08

https://doi.org/10.11395/aem.7.0_43

Laser cutting is expected for reducing the volume of radioactive components by taking account of radioactive levels. The scattering of radioactive dust such as fume and spatter, which is generated throughout the laser cutting process, gets to be a major issue for practical usage in cutting highly radioactive substances. One of driving forces of the spatter is likely to be attributed to the cavitation bubble collapsing caused by rapid thermal loading due to laser irradiation. In order to elucidate the mechanism of spattering, the technique of spark discharge in water was availed to generate the cavitation bubble. The growth and collapse behaviors influenced by the interaction between a free surface and bubbles resulting the spattering phenomena are observed by using an ultra-high-speed video camera, and the numerical simulation was carried out as well.

Development of high-resolution imaging camera for alpha dust (Contract research); FY2019 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2020-039, 59 Pages, 2021/01

JAEA-Review-2020-039.pdf:4.18MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in 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, 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 FY2018, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of high-resolution imaging camera for alpha dust" conducted in FY2019. We have developed an imaging camera with a position resolution of less than approximately 10 m to monitor alpha dust in the nuclear plant during the decommissioning process, because the operators avoid to drawing in such dusts. Moreover, we have developed real-time monitor system with optical fiber and scintillator under high dose-rate condition.

Development of imaging system with ultra-high spatial resolution aiming to detect alpha-dust (Contract research); FY2018 Center of World Intelligence Project for Nuclear Science/Technology and Human Resource Development

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2019-038, 57 Pages, 2020/03

JAEA-Review-2019-038.pdf:4.6MB

JAEA/CLADS, had been conducting the Center of World Intelligence Project for Nuclear Science/Technology and Human Resource Development (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2018. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. 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. Among the adopted proposals in FY2018, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of Imaging System with Ultra-high Spatial Resolution Aiming to Detect Alpha-dust". In the present study, we have developed a prototype of a system aiming to elucidate the behavior of alpha-dust generated at the time of debris retrieval. In this system, alpha-ray is first converted to visible light by novel scintillator. Then, imaging with ultra-high resolution will be possible using a lens and an Si-semiconductor camera (CMOS camera). Also, it will be possible to identify the species of alpha-ray emitting nuclides by unfolding of the spectra. The demonstration tests of the system will be conducted for dust samplers at the Plutonium Fuel Development Center, JAEA. In the development of the present system, it is important to use scintillator whose emission wavelength is sensitive to the CMOS camera as well as high emission scintillator. Considering these conditions, the key technology will be the improvement of the purity of crystals and optimization of the shapes of the materials including powers.

Effect of nitrogen concentration on nano-structure and high-temperature strength of 9Cr-ODS steel

Oka, Hiroshi; Tanno, Takashi; Otsuka, Satoshi; Yano, Yasuhide; Kaito, Takeji

Nuclear Materials and Energy (Internet), 16, p.230 - 237, 2018/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nme.2018.05.010

Measurement of void fraction distribution in steam-water two-phase flow in a 44 bundle at 2 MPa

Liu, W.; Nagatake, Taku; Shibata, Mitsuhiko; Takase, Kazuyuki; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, 114, p.875 - 878, 2016/06

To contribute to the clarification of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident, JAEA is working on getting instantaneous void fraction distribution data in steam water two - phase flow in rod bundle geometry under high pressure, high temperature condition, with using Wire Mesh Sensor (WMS) developed at JAEA for high pressure, high temperature condition, focusing on the low flow rate condition after the reactor scram. This paper reports the experimental results for the measured void fraction distribution in steam vapor two-phase flow in a 4 4 bundle under 1.6 MPa (202 C), 2.1 MPa (215 C) and 2.6 MPa (226 C) conditions. The data is expected to be used in the validation of the detailed two-phase flow codes TPFIT and ACE3D developed at JAEA. The time and space averaged void fraction data is also expected being used in the validation of the drift flux models implemented in the two fluids codes, such as TRACE code.

Local-scale high-resolution atmospheric dispersion model using large-eddy simulation; LOHDIM-LES

Nakayama, Hiromasa; Nagai, Haruyasu

JAEA-Data/Code 2015-026, 37 Pages, 2016/03

JAEA-Data-Code-2015-026.pdf:2.48MB

We developed LOcal-scale High-resolution atmospheric DIspersion Model using Large-Eddy Simulation (LOHDIM-LES). This dispersion model is designed based on LES which is effective to reproduce unsteady behaviors of turbulent flows and plume dispersion. The basic equations are the continuity equation, the Navier-Stokes equation, and the scalar conservation equation. Buildings and local terrain variability are resolved by high-resolution grids with of a few meters and these turbulent effects are represented by immersed boundary method. In simulating atmospheric turbulence, boundary layer flows are generated by a recycling turbulent inflow technique in a driver region set up at the upstream of the main analysis region. This turbulent inflow data are imposed at the inlet of the main analysis region. By this approach, the LOHDIM-LES can provide detailed information on wind velocities and plume concentration in the investigated area.

Development of residual thermal stress-relieving structure of CFC monoblock target for JT-60SA divertor

Tsuru, Daigo; Sakurai, Shinji; Nakamura, Shigetoshi; Ozaki, Hidetsugu; Seki, Yohji; Yokoyama, Kenji; Suzuki, Satoshi

Fusion Engineering and Design, 98-99, p.1403 - 1406, 2015/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2015.02.052

Development of a calculation method for estimating specific energy distribution in complex radiation fields

Sato, Tatsuhiko; Yokoya, Ritsuko; Niita, Koji*

Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 122(1-4), p.41 - 45, 2006/12

https://doi.org/10.1093/rpd/ncl407

Estimation of biological effects due to exposure of HZE particles is one of the key issues in the planning of long-term space missions and heavy ion cancer therapies. Detailed information on the specific energy distributions around their tracks is indispensable in the issue. We therefore calculated the specific energy distributions in liquid water around the tracks of protons and several kinds of heavy ions with energies from 1 MeV/n to 100 GeV/n. The calculations were performed by a Monte Carlo electron track structure simulation code coupled with the Katz's delta-ray production model. An analytical function to reproduce the simulation results has been developed in order to predict the distribution for all kinds of heavy ions with wide energy ranges. By incorporated into the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System PHITS, the function enables us to calculate the specific energy distribution in macroscopic matters such as specified organs of astronauts or tumor of patients within a short computational time.