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Tokunaga, Sho; Horiguchi, Hironori; Nakamura, Takemi
JAEA-Technology 2023-001, 37 Pages, 2023/05
The cold neutron source (CNS) of the research reactor JRR-3 converts thermal neutrons generated in the reactor into low-energy cold neutrons by moderating them with liquid hydrogen stored in the moderator cell. Cold neutrons generated by the CNS are transported to experimental instruments using neutron conduits, and are used for many studies of physical properties, mainly in life science, polymer science, environmental science, etc. Improvement of cold neutron intensity is essential to maintain competitiveness with the world's research reactors in neutron science, and we are developing a new CNS that incorporates new knowledge. The current moderator cell for the CNS of JRR-3 is a stainless-steel container which is a canteen bottle type, and the cold neutron intensity can be improved by changing the material and shape. Therefore, the basic specifications of the new moderator cell were changed to aluminum alloy which has a smaller neutron absorption cross section, and the shape was optimized using a Monte Carlo code MCNP. Since these changes in specifications will result in changes in heat generation and heat transfer conditions, the CNS of JRR-3 was re-evaluated in terms of self-regulating characteristic, heat transport limits, heat resistance and pressure resistance, etc., to confirm its feasibility in thermal-hydraulic design. This report summarizes the results of the thermal-hydraulic design evaluation of the new moderator cell.
Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Kyoto University*
JAEA-Review 2022-068, 90 Pages, 2023/05
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 FY2020. 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 thin SiC neutron detector with high radiation resistance" conducted from FY2018 to FY2021 (this contract was extended to FY2021). Since the final year of this proposal was FY2021, the results for four fiscal years were summarized. In the works for debris retrieval, it is required to install subcritical surveillance radiation monitors that can surely work for long time under extremely high gamma-ray radiation environment. However, there have been problems such as remote control of conventional neutron detectors is difficult because heavy radiation shields are needed.
Takino, Kazuo; Oki, Shigeo
JAEA-Data/Code 2023-003, 26 Pages, 2023/05
Since next-generation fast reactors aim to achieve a higher core discharge burn-up than conventional reactors do, core neutronics design methods must be refined. Therefore, a suitable analysis condition is required for the analysis of burn-up nuclear characteristics to accomplish sufficient estimation accuracy while maintaining a low computational cost. We investigated the effect of the analysis conditions on the accuracy of estimation of the burn-up nuclear characteristics of next-generation fast reactors in terms of neutron energy groups, neutron transport theory, and spatial mesh. This study treated the following burn-up nuclear characteristics: criticality, burn-up reactivity, control rod worth, breeding ratio, assembly-wise power distribution, maximum linear heat rate, sodium void reactivity, and Doppler coefficient for the equilibrium operation cycle. As a result, it was found that the following conditions were the most suitable: 18-energy-group structure, 6 spatial meshes per assembly with diffusion approximation. Additionally, these conditions should apply to correction factors for energy group structure, spatial mesh and transport effects.
Yasue, Ayumu*; Kawakami, Mayu*; Kobayashi, Kensuke*; Kim, J.; Miyazu, Yuji*; Nishio, Yuhei*; Mukai, Tomohisa*; Morooka, Satoshi; Kanematsu, Manabu*
Quantum Beam Science (Internet), 7(2), p.15_1 - 15_14, 2023/05
Suzuki, Kenji*; Miura, Yasufumi*; Shiro, Ayumi*; Toyokawa, Hidenori*; Saji, Choji*; Shobu, Takahisa; Morooka, Satoshi
Zairyo, 72(4), p.316 - 323, 2023/04
Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology*
JAEA-Review 2022-070, 70 Pages, 2023/03
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 FY2021. 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 FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Research and development of the sample-return technique for fuel debris using the unmanned underwater vehicle" conducted in FY2021. The present study aims to develop a fuel debris sampling device that comprises a neutron detector with radiation resistance and enhanced neutron detection efficiency, an end-effector with powerful cutting and collection capabilities, and a manipulator under the Japan-UK joint research team. We will also develop a fuel debris sampling system that can be mounted on an unmanned vehicle. In addition, we will develop a positioning system to identify the system position, and a technique to project the counting information of optical cameras, sonar, and neutron detectors to be developed
Endo, Shunsuke; Kimura, Atsushi; Nakamura, Shoji; Iwamoto, Osamu; Iwamoto, Nobuyuki; Rovira Leveroni, G.
EPJ Web of Conferences, 281, p.00012_1 - 00012_5, 2023/03
Yanagisawa, Hiroshi; Umeda, Miki; Motome, Yuiko; Murao, Hiroyuki
JAEA-Technology 2022-030, 80 Pages, 2023/02
Nuclear criticality benchmark analyses were carried out for TRIGA-type reactor systems in which uranium-zirconium hydride fuel rods are loaded by using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP with the evaluated nuclear data library JENDL-5. The analyses cover two sorts of benchmark data, the IEU-COMP-THERM-003 and IEU-COMP-THERM-013 in the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook, and effective neutron multiplication factors, reactivity worths for control rods etc. were calculated by JENDL-5 in comparison with those by the previous version of JENDL. As the results, it was confirmed that the effective neutron multiplication factors obtained by JENDL-5 were 0.4 to 0.6% greater than those by JENDL-4.0, and that there were no significant differences in the calculated reactivity worths by between JENDL-5 and JENDL-4.0. Those results are considered to be helpful for the confirmation of calculation accuracy in the analyses on NSRR control rod worths, which are planned in the future.
Harjo, S.; Gong, W.; Aizawa, Kazuya; Kawasaki, Takuro; Yamasaki, Michiaki*; Mayama, Tsuyoshi*; Kawamura, Yoshihito*
Materials Transactions, 64(4), p.766 - 773, 2023/02
Times Cited Count:0 Percentile:0.01(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)Sawaguchi, Takahiro*; Tomota, Yo*; Yoshinaka, Fumiyoshi*; Harjo, S.
Acta Materialia, 242, p.118494_1 - 118494_14, 2023/01
Times Cited Count:0 Percentile:0.01(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)Teshigawara, Makoto; Ikeda, Yujiro*; Yan, M.*; Muramatsu, Kazuo*; Sutani, Koichi*; Fukuzumi, Masafumi*; Noda, Yohei*; Koizumi, Satoshi*; Saruta, Koichi; Otake, Yoshie*
Nanomaterials (Internet), 13(1), p.76_1 - 76_9, 2023/01
Times Cited Count:0 Percentile:0.01(Chemistry, Multidisciplinary)To enhance neutron intensity below cold neutrons, it is proposed that nanosized graphene aggregation could facilitate neutron coherent scattering under particle size conditions similar to nanodiamond. It might also be possible to use it in high neutron radiation conditions due to graphene's strong sp2 bonds. Using the RIKEN accelerator-driven compact neutron source and iMATERIA at J-PARC, we performed neutron measurement experiments, total neutron cross-section, and small-angle neutron scattering on nanosized graphene aggregation. The measured data revealed, for the first time, that nanosized graphene aggregation increased the total cross-sections and small-angle scattering in the cold neutron energy region, most likely due to coherent scattering, resulting in higher neutron intensities, similar to nanodiamond.
Wu, P.*; Murai, Naoki; Li, T.*; Kajimoto, Ryoichi; Nakamura, Mitsutaka; Kofu, Maiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Xia, K.*; Peng, K.*; Zhang, Y.*; et al.
New Journal of Physics (Internet), 25(1), p.013032_1 - 013032_11, 2023/01
Times Cited Count:0 Percentile:0.02(Physics, Multidisciplinary)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
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.
Tsuchiya, Harufumi; Toh, Yosuke; Ozu, Akira; Furutaka, Kazuyoshi; Kitatani, Fumito; Maeda, Makoto; Komeda, Masao
Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 12 Pages, 2023/00
Times Cited Count:0 Percentile:0.04(Nuclear Science & Technology)Nakamura, Shoji; Shibahara, Yuji*; Endo, Shunsuke; Kimura, Atsushi
Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 11 Pages, 2023/00
Times Cited Count:0The thermal-neutron capture cross section () and resonance integral (I
) for
Nb among nuclides for decommissioning were measured by an activation method and the half-life of
Nb by mass analysis. Niobium-93 samples were irradiated with a hydraulic conveyer installed in the research reactor in Institute for Integral Radiation and Nuclear Science, Kyoto University. Gold-aluminum, cobalt-aluminum alloy wires were used to monitor thermal-neutron fluxes and epi-thermal Westcott's indexes at an irradiation position. A 25-
m-thick gadolinium foil was used to sort out reactions ascribe to thermal-and epi-thermal neutrons. Its thickness provided a cut-off energy of 0.133 eV. In order to attenuate radioactivity of
Ta due to impurities, the Nb samples were cooled for nearly 2 years. The induced radio activity in the monitors and Nb samples were measured by
-ray spectroscopy. In analysis based on Westcott's convention, the
and I
values were derived as 1.11
0.04 barn and 10.5
0.6 barn, respectively. After the
-ray measurements, mass analysis was applied to the Nb sample to obtain the reaction rate. By combining data obtained by both
-ray spectroscopy and mass analysis, the half-life of
Nb was derived as (2.00
0.15)
10
years.
Takagi, Hirotaka*; Takagi, Rina*; Minami, Susumu*; Nomoto, Takuya*; Oishi, Kazuki*; Suzuki, Michito*; Yanagi, Yuki*; Hirayama, Motoaki*; Khanh, N.*; Karube, Kosuke*; et al.
Nature Physics, p.1 - 8, 2023/00
Times Cited Count:0Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; High Energy Accelerator Research Organization*
JAEA-Review 2022-031, 89 Pages, 2022/12
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 FY2021. 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 FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Technology development of diamond-base neutron sensors and radiation-resistive integrated-circuits for shielding-free criticality approach monitoring system" conducted in FY2021. The present study aims to develop key components of neutron detection system without a radiation shield for a criticality approach monitoring system. It is required high neutron detection efficiency for a few cps/nv under 1 kGy/h and compact-light-weight to fit constraints of the penetration size and the payload. The project aims to design and evaluate neutron detection devices based on diamond sensors and a high radiation resistive signal-processing data-transfer system based on radiation resistive integrated circuit technologies and
Kawasaki, Takuro; Takahashi, Miwako*; Kiyanagi, Ryoji; Ohara, Takashi
Acta Crystallographica Section C; Structural Chemistry (Internet), 78(12), p.743 - 748, 2022/12
Times Cited Count:0 Percentile:0.01(Chemistry, Multidisciplinary)Iwamoto, Hiroki; Nakano, Keita; Meigo, Shinichiro; Satoh, Daiki; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Ishi, Yoshihiro*; Uesugi, Tomonori*; Kuriyama, Yasutoshi*; Yashima, Hiroshi*; Nishio, Katsuhisa; et al.
JAEA-Conf 2022-001, p.129 - 133, 2022/11
For accurate prediction of neutronic characteristics for accelerator-driven systems (ADS) and a source term of spallation neutrons for reactor physics experiments for the ADS at Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA), we have launched an experimental program to measure nuclear data on ADS using the Fixed Field Alternating Gradient (FFAG) accelerator at Kyoto University. As part of this program, the proton-induced double-differential thick-target neutron-yields (TTNYs) and cross-sections (DDXs) for iron have been measured with the time-of-flight (TOF) method. For each measurement, the target was installed in a vacuum chamber on the beamline and bombarded with 107-MeV proton beams accelerated from the FFAG accelerator. Neutrons produced from the targets were detected with stacked, small-sized neutron detectors composed of the NE213 liquid organic scintillators and photomultiplier tubes, which were connected to a multi-channel digitizer mounted with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), for several angles from the incident beam direction. The TOF spectra were obtained from the detected signals and the FFAG kicker magnet's logic signals, where gamma-ray events were eliminated by pulse shape discrimination applying the gate integration method to the FPGA. Finally, the TTNYs and DDXs were obtained from the TOF spectra by relativistic kinematics.
Nakamura, Shoji; Shibahara, Yuji*; Endo, Shunsuke; Kimura, Atsushi
Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(11), p.1388 - 1398, 2022/11
Times Cited Count:0 Percentile:0.01(Nuclear Science & Technology)The present study selected Np among radioactive nuclides and aimed to measure the thermal-neutron capture cross-section for
Np in a well-thermalized neutron field by an activation method. A
Np standard solution was used for irradiation samples. A thermal-neutron flux at an irradiation position was measured with neutron flux monitors:
Sc,
Co,
Mo,
Ta and
Au. The
Np sample and flux monitors were irradiated together for 30 minutes in the graphite thermal column equipped with the Kyoto University Research Reactor. The similar irradiation was carried out twice. After the irradiations, the
Np samples were quantified using 312-keV gamma ray emitted from
Pa in a radiation equilibrium with
Np. The reaction rates of
Np were obtained from gamma-ray peak net counts given by
Np, and then the thermal-neutron capture cross-section of
Np was found to be 173.8
4.4 barn by averaging the results obtained by the two irradiations. The present result was in agreement with the reported data given by a time-of-flight method within the limit of uncertainty.