Annual report for FY2022 on the activities of Naraha Center for Remote Control Technology Development (April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023)

Naraha Center for Remote Control Technology Development

JAEA-Review 2024-046, 52 Pages, 2025/01

JAEA-Review-2024-046.pdf:3.6MB

Naraha Center for Remote Control Technology Development (NARREC) was established in Japan Atomic Energy Agency to promote a decommissioning work of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (Fukushima Daiichi NPS). NARREC consists of a Full-scale Mock-up Test Building and Research Management Building. Various test facilities are installed in these buildings for the decommissioning work of Fukushima Daiichi NPS. These test facilities are intended to be used for various users, such as companies engaged in the decommissioning work, research and development institutions, educational institutions and so on. The number of NARREC facility uses was 113 in FY2022. We participated booth exhibitions and presentations on the decommissioning related events. Moreover, we also contributed to the development of human resources by supporting the 7th Creative Robot Contest for Decommissioning. As a new project, "Narahakko Children's Classroom" was implemented for elementary school students in Naraha Town. This report summarizes the activities of NARREC in FY2022, such as the utilization of facilities and equipment of NARREC, arrangement of the remote-control machines for emergency response, and training for operators by using the machines.

In-situ detection of high-energy beta ray emitter Sr/Y inside the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 3 reactor building using a liquid light guide Cherenkov counter

Terasaka, Yuta; Sato, Yuki; Furuta, Yoshihiro*; Kubo, Shin*; Ichiba, Yuta*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1070(2), p.170021_1 - 170021_9, 2025/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2024.170021

Proceedings of the 9th "Conference for R&D Initiative on Nuclear Decommissioning Technology by the Next Generation"

Usami, Hiroshi; Ito, Rintaro; Tagawa, Akihiro

JAEA-Review 2024-045, 49 Pages, 2024/12

JAEA-Review-2024-045.pdf:13.38MB

The decommissioning of the TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is a long-term project, and the training of young engineers and researchers who will be responsible for future decommissioning is a necessary and urgent task. Since 2016, Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science has been continuously organizing "Conferences for R&D Initiative on Nuclear Decommissioning Technology by the Next Generation (NDEC)" for students who are engaged in research activities for decommissioning. NDEC is a forum for students to present their research for the purpose of human resource development and networking among young researchers, and to increase their motivation for decommissioning research. NDEC-9 was held at "Manabi-no-Mori" in Tomioka-machi, Fukushima Prefecture, from March 21-22, 2024. This proceeding compiles the contents of report papers in the conference.

Study on the specifications of the basic core configurations of the modified STACY

Gunji, Satoshi; Araki, Shohei; Izawa, Kazuhiko; Suyama, Kenya

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 209, p.110783_1 - 110783_7, 2024/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2024.110783

Since the compositions and properties of the fuel debris are uncertain, critical experiments are required to validate calculation codes and nuclear data used for the safety evaluation. For this purpose, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been modifying a critical assembly called "STACY." The first criticality of the modified STACY is scheduled for spring 2024. This paper reports the consideration results of the specifications of the basic core configurations of the modified STACY at the first criticality. We prepared two types of gird plates with different neutron moderation conditions (their intervals are 1.50 cm and 1.27 cm). However, there is a limitation on the number of available UO fuel rods. The core configurations for the first criticality satisfying these experimental constraints were designed by computational analysis. A cylindrical core configuration with a 1.50 cm grid plate close to the optimum moderation condition needs 253 fuel rods to reach criticality. As to the 1.27 cm grid plate, we considered core configurations with 2.54 cm intervals by using doubled pitches of the grid plate. It will need 213 fuel rods for the criticality. In addition, we considered the experimental core configuration with steel/concrete simulant rods to simulate fuel debris conditions. This paper shows these core configurations and their evaluated specifications.

Assessment of individual external exposure doses based on environmental radiation in areas affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident

Sato, Rina; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Sanada, Yukihisa; Mikami, Satoshi; Yamada, Tsutomu*; Nakasone, Takamasa*; Kanaizuka, Seiichi*; Sato, Tetsuro*; Mori, Tsubasa*; Takagi, Marie*

Environmental Science & Technology, 194, p.109148_1 - 109148_8, 2024/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.109148

Assessment of individual external doses from ambient dose equivalents is used for predictive and retrospective assessments where personal dosimeters are not applicable. However, it tends to contain more errors than assessment by personal dosimetry due to various parameters. Therefore, in order to accurately assess the individual dose from ambient dose equivalents, a model that estimates effective doses considering life patterns and the shielding effects by buildings and vehicles, were developed in this study. The model parameters were examined using robust datasets of environmental radiation measured in the areas affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in 2020 to 2021. The accuracy of the model was validated by comparison with 106 daily personal doses measured in Fukushima Prefecture in 2020. The measured personal dose was well reproduced by the model-estimated effective dose, showing that the model can be used to assess the individual exposure dose, similar to personal dosimetry. Furthermore, this model is an effective tool for radiation protection, as it can estimate the individual dose predictively and retrospectively by using environmental radiation data.

Image selection method from image sequence to improve computational efficiency of 3D reconstruction; Application of fixed threshold to remove redundant images

Hanari, Toshihide; Nakamura, Keita*; Imabuchi, Takashi; Kawabata, Kuniaki

Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 36(6), p.1537 - 1549, 2024/12

https://doi.org/10.20965/jrm.2024.p1537

This paper describes three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction processes introducing the image selection method for efficiently generating a 3D model from an image sequence. To obtain suitable images for efficient 3D reconstruction, we tried to apply the image selection method to remove the redundant images in the image sequence. By the proposed method, the suitable images were selected from the image sequence based on optical flow measures and a fixed threshold. As a result, the proposed method can reduce the computational cost for the 3D reconstruction processes based on the image sequence acquired by the camera. We confirmed that the computational cost of the 3D reconstruction processes can reduce while keeping the 3D reconstruction accuracy at a constant level.

Development and evaluation of a real-time 3D positioning embedded system combining wireless UWB and camera image analysis (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokai National Higher Education and Research System*

JAEA-Review 2024-027, 77 Pages, 2024/11

JAEA-Review-2024-027.pdf:6.0MB

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 FY2022. 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 FY2022, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development and evaluation of a real-time 3D positioning embedded system combining wireless UWB and camera image analysis" conducted in FY2022. The present study aims to realize an embedded system that combines two of the latest popular technologies, "wireless UWB (Ultra Width Band)" and "multi-camera object recognition," with the goal of simple realtime 3D positioning with less than 10 cm accuracy by a human or robot for measuring air doses in nuclear reactor buildings.

Study on water stopping, repair and stabilization of lower PCV by geopolymer, etc. (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; The University of Tokyo*

JAEA-Review 2024-021, 126 Pages, 2024/11

JAEA-Review-2024-021.pdf:6.51MB

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 FY2022. 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 FY2021, this report summarizes the research results of the "Study on water stopping, repair and stabilization of lower PCV by geopolymer, etc" conducted in FY2022. The present study aims to propose a construction method to stop jet deflectors by improved geopolymer and ultra-heavy muddy water, and to repair the lower part of the dry well. In addition, in order to increase the options for on-site construction in unknown situations such as deposition conditions, we will examine a wide range of construction outside the pedestal, and evaluate the feasibility of the construction method by the latest thermal flow simulation method.

Performance study of a new LiCAF:Ce detector developed for high-efficient neutron detection in intense -ray fields

Kaburagi, Masaaki; Kamada, Kei*; Ishii, Junya*; Matsumoto, Tetsuro*; Manabe, Seiya*; Masuda, Akihiko*; Harano, Hideki*; Kato, Masahiro*; Shimazoe, Kenji*

Journal of Instrumentation (Internet), 19(11), p.P11019_1 - P11019_16, 2024/11

https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/19/11/P11019

Study on degradation of fuel debris by combined effects of radiological, chemical, and biological functions (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

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

JAEA-Review 2024-026, 80 Pages, 2024/10

JAEA-Review-2024-026.pdf:1.96MB

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 FY2022. 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 FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "Study on degradation of fuel debris by combined effects of radiological, chemical, and biological functions" conducted from FY2019 to FY2022. In the project, radiochemists, nuclear chemists, nuclear physicists, material scientists, and environmental biologists are teamed to elucidate the mechanism of the degradation of fuel debris by combined effects of radiological, chemical, and biological functions.