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Ohshima, Hiroyuki; Morishita, Masaki*; Aizawa, Kosuke; Ando, Masanori; Ashida, Takashi; Chikazawa, Yoshitaka; Doda, Norihiro; Enuma, Yasuhiro; Ezure, Toshiki; Fukano, Yoshitaka; et al.
Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors; JSME Series in Thermal and Nuclear Power Generation, Vol.3, 631 Pages, 2022/07
This book is a collection of the past experience of design, construction, and operation of two reactors, the latest knowledge and technology for SFR designs, and the future prospects of SFR development in Japan. It is intended to provide the perspective and the relevant knowledge to enable readers to become more familiar with SFR technology.
Yano, Yasuhide; Hashidate, Ryuta; Tanno, Takashi; Imagawa, Yuya; Kato, Shoichi; Onizawa, Takashi; Ito, Chikara; Uwaba, Tomoyuki; Otsuka, Satoshi; Kaito, Takeji
JAEA-Data/Code 2021-015, 64 Pages, 2022/01
From a view point of practical application of fast breeder reactor cycles, which takes advantage of safety and economic efficiency and makes a contribution of volume reduction and mitigation of degree of harmfulness of high-level radioactive waste, it is necessary to develop fuel cladding materials for fast reactors (FRs) in order to achieve high-burnup. Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel have been studied for use as potential fuel cladding materials in FRs owing to their excellent resistance to swelling and their high-temperature strength in Japan Atomic Energy Agency. It is very important to establish the materials strength standard in order to apply ODS steels as a fuel cladding. Therefore, it is necessary to acquire the mechanical properties such as tensile, creep rupture strength tests and so on. In this study, tensile and creep rupture strengths of 9Cr-ODS steel claddings were evaluated using by acquired these data. Because of the phase transformation temperature of 9Cr-ODS steel, temperature range for the evaluation was divided into two ones at AC1 transformation temperature of 850C.
Daido, Hiroyuki*; Yamada, Tomonori; Furukawa, Hiroyuki*; Ito, Chikara; Miyabe, Masabumi; Shibata, Takuya; Hasegawa, Shuichi*
Journal of Laser Applications, 33(1), p.012001_1 - 012001_16, 2021/02
Times Cited Count:2 Percentile:24.82(Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)Ito, Chikara; Maeda, Shigetaka; Inoue, Toshihiko; Tomita, Hideki*; Iguchi, Tetsuo*
Radiation Protection, 40(6), p.491 - 495, 2020/11
A highly accurate and precise technique for measurement of the Nb(n,n')Nb reaction rate was established for the material surveillance tests, etc. in fast reactors. The self-absorption effect on the measurement of the characteristic X-rays emitted by Nb was decreased by the solution and evaporation to dryness of niobium dosimeter. A highly precise count of the number of Nb atoms was obtained by measuring the niobium solution concentration using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. X-rays of Nb were measured accurately by means of comparing the X-ray intensity of irradiated niobium solution with that of the solution in which stable Nb was added. The difference between both intensities indicates the effect of Ta, which is generated from an impurity tantalum, and the intensity of X-rays from Nb was evaluated. Measurement error of the Nb(n,n')Nb reaction rate was reduced to be less than 4%, which was equivalent to the other reaction rate errors of dosimeters used for Joyo dosimetry. In addition, an advanced technique using Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry was proposed for the precise measurement of Nb yield, and Nb will be resonance-ionized selectively by discriminating the hyperfine splitting of the atomic energy levels between Nb and Nb at high resolution.
Otsuka, Satoshi; Tanno, Takashi; Oka, Hiroshi; Yano, Yasuhide; Tachi, Yoshiaki; Kaito, Takeji; Hashidate, Ryuta; Kato, Shoichi; Furukawa, Tomohiro; Ito, Chikara; et al.
2018 GIF Symposium Proceedings (Internet), p.305 - 314, 2020/05
Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) steel has been developed worldwide as a high-strength and radiation-tolerant steel used for advanced nuclear system. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been developing ODS steel as the primary candidate material of Sodium cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) high burn-up fuel cladding tube. Application of high burn-up fuel to SFR core can contribute to improvement of economical performance of SFR in conjunction with volume and hazardousness reduction of radioactive waste. This paper described the current status and future prospects of ODS tempered martensitic steel development in JAEA for SFR fuel application.
Ito, Chikara; Naito, Hiroyuki; Ishikawa, Takashi; Ito, Keisuke; Wakaida, Ikuo
JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 24, p.011038_1 - 011038_6, 2019/01
A high-radiation resistant optical fiber has been developed in order to investigate the interiors of the reactor pressure vessels and the primary containment vessels at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The tentative dose rate in the reactor pressure vessels is assumed to be up to 1 kGy/h. We developed a radiation resistant optical fiber consisting of a 1000 ppm hydroxyl doped pure silica core and 4 % fluorine doped pure silica cladding. We attempted to apply the optical fiber to remote imaging technique by means of fiberscope. The number of core image fibers was increased from 2000 to 22000 for practical use. The transmissive rate of infrared images was not affected after irradiation of 1 MGy. No change in the spatial resolution of the view scope by means of image fiber was noted between pre- and post-irradiation. We confirmed the applicability of the probing system, which consists of a view scope using radiation-resistant optical fibers.
Yamamoto, Takahiro; Ito, Chikara; Maeda, Shigetaka; Ito, Hideaki; Sekine, Takashi
JAEA-Technology 2017-036, 41 Pages, 2018/02
In the experimental fast reactor Joyo, the damaged upper core structure (UCS) was retrieved into the cask in May 2014 The dose rate on UCS surface was quite high due to the activation for over 30 years operation. In order to attain the optimum safety design, manufacture and operation of equipment for UCS replacement, the method to evaluate UCS surface dose rate was developed on the basis of C/E obtained by the in-vessel dose rate measurement in Joyo. In order to verify the evaluation method, the axial gamma-ray distribution measurement on the surface of the cask, which contained UCS, was conducted using a plastic scintillating optical fiber (PSF) detector. This paper describes the comparison results between calculation and measurement as follows. (1) The measured axial gamma-ray distribution on the cask surface had a peak on proper location with considering the cask shielding structure and agree well with the calculated distribution. (2) The C/E of axial gamma-ray distribution on the cask surface was ranged from 1.1 to 1.7. It was confirmed that the calculation for UCS replacement equipment design had a margin conservatively. Then, the results showed that the developed evaluation method for UCS replacement equipment design was sufficiently reliable.
Iwata, Yoshihiro; Sekiya, Hiroyuki*; Ito, Chikara
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 797, p.64 - 69, 2015/10
Times Cited Count:3 Percentile:25.85(Instruments & Instrumentation)An ultrasensitive resonance ionization mass spectrometer that can be applied to evaluate krypton (Kr) contamination in xenon (Xe) dark matter detectors has been developed for measuring Kr at the parts-per-trillion (ppt) or sub-ppt level in Xe. The gas sample is introduced without any condensation into a time-of-flight mass spectrometer through a pulsed supersonic valve. Using a nanosecond pulsed laser at 212.6 nm, Kr atoms in the sample are resonantly ionized along with other Kr isotopes. Kr ions are then mass separated and detected by the mass spectrometer in order to measure the Kr impurity concentration. With our current setup, approximately 0.4 ppt of Kr impurities contained in pure argon (Ar) gas are detectable with a measurement time of 1,000 s. Although Kr detection sensitivity in Xe is expected to be approximately half of that in Ar, our spectrometer can evaluate Kr contamination in Xe to the sub-ppt level.
Takamatsu, Kuniyoshi; Takegami, Hiroaki; Ito, Chikara; Suzuki, Keiichi*; Onuma, Hiroshi*; Hino, Ryutaro; Okumura, Tadahiko*
Annals of Nuclear Energy, 78, p.166 - 175, 2015/04
Times Cited Count:10 Percentile:64.63(Nuclear Science & Technology)In our study, we focused on a nondestructive inspection method by which cosmic-ray muons could be used to observe the internal reactor from outside the RPV and the CV. We conducted an observation test on the HTTR to evaluate the applicability of the method to the internal visualization of a reactor. We also analytically evaluated the resolution of existing muon telescopes to assess their suitability for the HTTR observation, and were able to detect the major structures of the HTTR based on the distribution of the surface densities calculated from the coincidences measured by the telescopes. Our findings suggested that existing muon telescopes could be used for muon observation of the internal reactor from outside the RPV and CV.
Oguri, Shugo*; Kuroda, Yasuhiro*; Kato, Yo*; Nakata, Ryoko*; Inoue, Yoshizumi*; Ito, Chikara; Minowa, Makoto*
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 757, p.33 - 39, 2014/09
Times Cited Count:42 Percentile:95.71(Instruments & Instrumentation)We developed a segmented reactor antineutrino detector made of plastic scintillators for the nuclear safeguard application and demonstrate almost unmanned field operation at a commercial power plant reactor. We observed the difference of the reactor antineutrino flux with the reactor ON and OFF above the ground outside the reactor building.
Saeki, Morihisa; Iwanade, Akio; Ito, Chikara; Wakaida, Ikuo; Thornton, B.*; Sakka, Tetsuo*; Oba, Hironori
Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 51(7-8), p.930 - 938, 2014/07
Times Cited Count:70 Percentile:98.67(Nuclear Science & Technology)To inspect post-accident nuclear core reactor of the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, a transportable fiber-coupled LIBS instrument was developed. The developed LIBS instrument was designed to analyze the underwater sample in high-radiation field by single-pulse breakdown with gas flow or double-pulse breakdown. To check the feasibility of the assembled fiber-coupled LIBS instrument to the inspection inside Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, we investigated (1) influence of radiation dose on optical transmittance of the laser delivery fiber, (2) survey of the LIBS techniques to analyze the underwater sample and (3) candidates of emission lines for analysis of the debris. By employing the selected emission lines, we demonstrated that the developed LIBS instrument can analyze the simulated debris underwater by the single-pulse breakdown with the gas flow with high signal to noise ratio.
Ito, Chikara; Naito, Hiroyuki; Nishimura, Akihiko; Oba, Hironori; Wakaida, Ikuo; Sugiyama, Akira; Chiyatani, Keiji
Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 51(7-8), p.944 - 950, 2014/07
Times Cited Count:30 Percentile:90.86(Nuclear Science & Technology)In the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, it is necessary to survey the locations and conditions of fuel debris inside reactor pressure vessels or primary containment vessels under water and radiation environment in preparation for removing fuel debris. An optical fiber is well known for features such as signal transmission, light weight, superior insulation performance, water resistance and electromagnetic noise resistance. These features allow the optical fiber to simplify the instrumentation systems for in-vessel inspection, as long as provide that the optical fiber can be used under high radiation dose environment. The radiation resistance of an optical fiber was improved by increasing the amount of hydroxyl up to 1000 ppm in pure silica fiber. The improved optical fibers were irradiated with -ray up to 1 10 Gy using a Co source. They indicated a large peak around 600 nm and a peak tail from ultraviolet region, but no large absorption in infrared region except a hydroxyl absorption peak of 945 nm. We have confirmed that the optical fiber containing 1000 ppm hydroxyl has enough radiation resistance for radiation induced transmission losses and the infrared imaging is effective for observation under high radiation doses.
Ito, Chikara; Naito, Hiroyuki; Oba, Hironori; Saeki, Morihisa; Ito, Keisuke; Ishikawa, Takashi; Nishimura, Akihiko; Wakaida, Ikuo; Sekine, Takashi
Proceedings of 22nd International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE-22) (DVD-ROM), 7 Pages, 2014/07
A high-radiation resistant optical fiber has been developed in order to investigate the interiors of the reactor pressure vessels and the primary containment vessels of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The radiation resistance of an optical fiber was improved by increasing the amount of hydroxyl up to 1000 ppm in pure silica fiber. The improved image fiber consists of common cladding and a large number of fiber cores made from pure silica that contains 1000 ppm hydroxyl. The transmissive rate of an infrared image was not affected after the irradiation of 1 MGy. We have developed the fiber-coupled LIBS system to detect plasma emission efficiently in near-infrared region. In addition, we have performed a ray dose rate measurement using an optical fiber of which scintillator is attached to the tip. As a result, the concept of applicability of a probing system using the high-radiation resistant optical fibers has been confirmed.
Iwata, Yoshihiro; Ito, Chikara; Harano, Hideki*; Iguchi, Tetsuo*
Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 51(4), p.465 - 475, 2014/04
Times Cited Count:5 Percentile:36.96(Nuclear Science & Technology)To prevent a fuel failure event from becoming a serious radiation accident, sodium-cooled fast reactors are equipped with a system for failed fuel detection and location (FFDL). The FFDL instrument employed in the prototype fast breeder reactor Monju is based on the gas tagging method, in which precise and accurate measurements of krypton and xenon isotope ratios (Kr/Kr, Kr/Kr and Xe/Xe) must be performed in a short time. Burnup measurements also contribute to accurate determination of Kr/Kr. We have developed a highly sensitive resonance ionization mass spectrometer for the isotopic analyses, which uses resonance ionization of Kr and Xe atoms by a pulsed laser at wavelengths of 216.7 nm and 249.6 nm, respectively. In evaluating the performance of our spectrometer, we find that systematic errors caused by isotope shifts can be reduced to negligible levels, and that statistical errors of 3% at a nuclide concentration of 7 ppt can be achieved with a single measurement time of about 40 minutes for each Kr and Xe isotope ratio. This means that, within one hour, about 200 fuel assemblies can be individually identified with a probability of 99%, verifying the applicability of our spectrometer to the FFDL system of fast reactors.
Takegami, Hiroaki; Takamatsu, Kuniyoshi; Ito, Chikara; Hino, Ryutaro; Suzuki, Keiichi*; Onuma, Hiroshi*; Okumura, Tadahiko*
Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai Wabun Rombunshi, 13(1), p.7 - 16, 2014/03
One of the important problems for controlling of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is removing of fuel debris. As this preparation, the nondestructive inspection method for grasping the position of fuel debris is required. Therefore, we focused on a nondestructive inspection method using cosmic-ray muons. In this study, the applicability of this method for internal visualization of reactor was confirmed by preliminary test of internal visualization of High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR). By using cosmic-ray muons, major components in the HTTR, such as concrete wall and reactor core, can be observed from the outside of a containment vessel. From the results, it appears that the inspection method with muons is a candidate method for searching the fuel debris in a reactor. Based on the results, we also proposed some improvements of this system for inspection at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
Takasaki, Koji; Yasumune, Takashi; Onishi, Takashi; Nakamura, Keisuke; Ishimi, Akihiro; Ito, Chikara; Osaka, Masahiko; Ono, Masashi*; Hatakeyama, Shuichi*; Takahashi, Hiroyuki*; et al.
JAEA-Research 2013-043, 33 Pages, 2014/01
In the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, it is assumed that the core fuels melted partially or wholly, and the normal technique of accounting for a fuel assembly is not applicable. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the transparent and rational technique of accounting in the process of collection and storage of fuel debris. In this research, an application of the superconducting phase Transition Edge Sensor microcalorimeter (TES microcalorimeter) is studied for the accounting of nuclear materials in the fuel debris. It is expected that the detailed information of nuclear materials and fission products in fuel debris is obtained by using a high-resolution characteristic of TES microcalorimeter. In this report, the principle of TES microcalorimeter, the measurement experiment using TES in JAEA, and the simulated calculation using the EGS5 code system are summarized.
Takegami, Hiroaki; Terada, Atsuhiko; Noguchi, Hiroki; Kamiji, Yu; Ono, Masato; Takamatsu, Kuniyoshi; Ito, Chikara; Hino, Ryutaro; Suzuki, Keiichi*; Onuma, Hiroshi*; et al.
JAEA-Research 2013-032, 25 Pages, 2013/12
We focused on a non-destructive inspection method using cosmic-ray muons as a candidate method for observation of internal the reactor from the outside of a reactor building. In this study, the applicability of this method for the reactor investigation was confirmed by a preliminary examination with High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR). From the results of this examination, it appears that high density structures, such as the core and concrete walls, were able to observe by using muon telescope with coincidence method from the outside of the pressure vessel. Furthermore, we proposed some improvements of this muon inspection system for on-site investigation at the Fukushima Daiichi NPS.
Kamiji, Yu; Akai, Naoki*; Ozaki, Koichi*; Ito, Chikara
JAEA-Research 2013-018, 18 Pages, 2013/11
Preliminary examination of image processing was conducted using existing reactor inside images through a fiber scope in order to confirm applicability of 3D-mapping in a reactor as a part of development of 3D-measurement technology. The Upright SURF (Speeded Up Robust Features) was used to find corresponding points between two captured images. In case of images showing many similar textures or lack of texture, it was difficult to find corresponding points using SURF only. By coupling with a canny algorithm to detect edges of the inside structure, it was found that 3D-structure could be measured for rectilinear objects. Also, image acquisition model was examined in order to clarify camera specs.
Ito, Chikara; Ito, Keisuke; Ishikawa, Takashi; Yoshida, Akihiro; Sanada, Yukihisa; Torii, Tatsuo; Notomi, Akihiro*; Wakabayashi, Genichiro*; Miyazaki, Nobuyuki*
Hoshasen, 39(1), p.7 - 11, 2013/09
no abstracts in English
Kuroda, Yasuhiro*; Oguri, Shugo*; Kato, Yo*; Nakata, Ryoko*; Inoue, Yoshizumi*; Ito, Chikara; Minowa, Makoto*
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 690, p.41 - 47, 2012/10
Times Cited Count:36 Percentile:91.73(Instruments & Instrumentation)We propose a new type segmented antineutrino detector made of plastic scintillators for the nuclear safeguard application. A small prototype was built and tested to measure background events. A satisfactory unmanned field operation of the detector system was demonstrated. Besides, a detailed Monte Carlo simulation code was developed to estimate the antineutrino detection efficiency of the detector.