Radiation monitoring via manned helicopter around the nuclear power station in the fiscal year 2022 (Contract research)

Futemma, Akira; Sanada, Yukihisa; Nagakubo, Azusa; Kawasaki, Yoshiharu*; Iwai, Takeyuki*; Hiraga, Shogo*; Haginoya, Masashi*; Matsunaga, Yuki*; Akutsu, Yuichiro*; Arai, Yoshinori*; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2023-027, 146 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Technology-2023-027.pdf:18.12MB

By the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO's) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), caused by tsunami triggered by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake, a large amount of radioactive material was released into the surrounding environment. After the accident, Airborne Radiation Monitoring (ARM) via manned helicopter has been applied as a method to quickly and extensively measure the distribution of radiation. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has continuously conducted ARM via manned helicopter around FDNPS. In this report, we summarize the results of the ARM around FDNPS in the fiscal year 2022, evaluate the changes of ambient dose rates and other parameters based on the comparison to the past ARM results, and discuss the causes of such changes. In order to contribute to improve the accuracy of ambient dose rate conversion, we analyzed the ARM data taking into account undulating topography, and evaluated the effect of this method. Furthermore, the effect of radon progenies in the air on the ARM was evaluated by applying the discrimination method to the measurement results.

R&D progress of thermochemical hydrogen production iodine-sulfur process in JAEA

Kubo, Shinji

Nihon Enerugi Gakkai Kikan-Shi Enerumikusu, 102(4), p.428 - 438, 2023/07

https://doi.org/10.20550/jieenermix.102.4_428

no abstracts in English

Development of nondestructive elemental analysis system for Hayabusa2 samples using muonic X-rays

Osawa, Takahito; Nagasawa, Shunsaku*; Ninomiya, Kazuhiko*; Takahashi, Tadayuki*; Nakamura, Tomoki*; Wada, Taiga*; Taniguchi, Akihiro*; Umegaki, Izumi*; Kubo, Kenya*; Terada, Kentaro*; et al.

ACS Earth and Space Chemistry (Internet), 7(4), p.699 - 711, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.2c00303

The concentrations of carbon and other major elements in asteroid samples provide very important information on the birth of life on the Earth and the solar-system evolution. Elemental analysis using muonic X-rays is one of the best analytical methods to determine the elemental composition of solid materials, and notably, is the only method to determine the concentration of light elements in bulk samples in a non-destructive manner. We developed a new analysis system using muonic X-rays to measure the concentrations of carbon and other major elements in precious and expectedly tiny samples recovered from the asteroid Ryugu by spacecraft Hayabusa2. Here we report the development process of the system in 4 stages and their system configurations, The analysis system is composed of a stainless-steel analysis chamber, an acrylic glove box for manipulating asteroid samples in a clean environment, and Ge semiconductor detectors arranged to surround the analysis chamber. The performance of the analysis system, including the background level, which is crucial for the measurement, was greatly improved from the first stage to the later ones. Our feasibility study showed that the latest model of our muonic X-ray analysis system is capable of determining the carbon concentration in Hayabusa2's sample model with an uncertainty of less than 10 percent in a 6-day measurement.

Present status of JAEA's R&D toward HTGR deployment

Shibata, Taiju; Nishihara, Tetsuo; Kubo, Shinji; Sato, Hiroyuki; Sakaba, Nariaki; Kunitomi, Kazuhiko

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 398, p.111964_1 - 111964_4, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2022.111964

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been promoting the research and development (R&D) of High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR). R&D on reactor technologies is carried out by using High Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR). The HTTR was resumed without significant reinforcements in 2021. On January 2022, a safety demonstration test under the OECD/NEA LOFC project was carried out. JAEA is promoting R&D on a carbon-free hydrogen production by thermochemical water splitting Iodine-Sulfur process (IS process). JAEA conducts design study for various HTGR systems toward commercialization. A new test program about demonstration of hydrogen production by the HTTR was launched. Steam methane reforming hydrogen production system was selected for the first demonstration by 2030.

Development of high temperature LBE corrosion test loop "OLLOCHI"

Saito, Shigeru; Wan, T.*; Okubo, Nariaki; Kita, Satoshi*; Obayashi, Hironari; Sasa, Toshinobu

JAEA-Technology 2021-034, 94 Pages, 2022/03

JAEA-Technology-2021-034.pdf:5.91MB

Lead-bismuth eutectic alloy (LBE) is a major candidate for a spallation target material and core coolant of an accelerator driven system (ADS) which has been developed in the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to transmute high-level radioactive wastes. A proton irradiation facility to build a material irradiation database for future ADS development is under considering in the J-PARC. To realize both the ADS and the above-mentioned facility, there are many issues on operational safety of LBE to be solved. Especially, corrosion data for the major materials such as T91 (Modified 9Cr-1Mo steel) and SS316L at the temperature range between 400 and 550 C under the conditions of flowing LBE with a controlled oxygen are not sufficient to design the ADS and the facility. JAEA developed a new large-scale corrosion test loop named "OLLOCHI (Oxygen-controlled LBE LOop for Corrosion tests in HIgh-temperature)" aiming to perform the compatibility tests between the LBE and the steels, as well as to develop the LBE operation technology. OLLOCHI has a function to automatically control the oxygen concentration in LBE. The maximum temperature at the regions of high-temperature and low-temperature of the OLLOCHI are 550 C and 450 C respectively to cover the ADS designed condition. As a result of 2,000 hours operation, it was demonstrated that the OLLOCHI showed the designed performance. In this report, outline of the OLLOCHI, details of the components, results of characteristic tests, and the future experimental plan are described.

Durability of secondary electron emission for high-intensity beam on SiC wire

Meigo, Shinichiro; Nakano, Keita; Okubo, Nariaki; Yuyama, Takahiro*; Ishii, Yasuyuki*

Proceedings of 18th Annual Meeting of Particle Accelerator Society of Japan (Internet), p.296 - 301, 2021/10

no abstracts in English

Fabrication, permeation, and corrosion stability measurements of silica membranes for HI decomposition in the thermochemical iodine-sulfur process

Myagmarjav, O.; Shibata, Ai*; Tanaka, Nobuyuki; Noguchi, Hiroki; Kubo, Shinji; Nomura, Mikihiro*; Takegami, Hiroaki

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(56), p.28435 - 28449, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.06.079

Deexcitation dynamics of muonic atoms revealed by high-precision spectroscopy of electronic X rays

Okumura, Takuma*; Azuma, Toshiyuki*; Bennet, D. A.*; Caradonna, P.*; Chiu, I. H.*; Doriese, W. B.*; Durkin, M. S.*; Fowler, J. W.*; Gard, J. D.*; Hashimoto, Tadashi; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 127(5), p.053001_1 - 053001_7, 2021/07

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.053001

We observed electronic X rays emitted from muonic iron atoms using a superconducting transition-edge-type sensor microcalorimeter. The energy resolution of 5.2 eV in FWHM allowed us to observe the asymmetric broad profile of the electronic characteristic and X rays together with the hypersatellite X rays around 6 keV. This signature reflects the time-dependent screening of the nuclear charge by the negative muon and the -shell electrons, accompanied by electron side-feeding. Assisted by a simulation, this data clearly reveals the electronic - and -shell hole production and their temporal evolution during the muon cascade process.

Hydrogen production using thermochemical water-splitting iodine-sulfur process test facility made of industrial structural materials; Engineering solutions to prevent iodine precipitation

Noguchi, Hiroki; Kamiji, Yu; Tanaka, Nobuyuki; Takegami, Hiroaki; Iwatsuki, Jin; Kasahara, Seiji; Myagmarjav, O.; Imai, Yoshiyuki; Kubo, Shinji

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(43), p.22328 - 22343, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2021.02.071

An iodine-sulfur process offers the potential for mass producing hydrogen with high-efficiency, and it uses high-temperature heat sources, including HTGR, solar heat, and waste heat of industries. R&D tasks are essential to confirm the integrity of the components that are made of industrial materials and the stability of hydrogen production in harsh working conditions. A test facility for producing hydrogen was constructed from corrosion-resistant components made of industrial materials. For stable hydrogen production, technical issues for instrumental improvements (i.e., stable pumping of the HIx solution, improving the quality control of glass-lined steel, prevention of I precipitation using a water removal technique in a Bunsen reactor) were solved. The entire process was successfully operated for 150 h at the rate of 30 L/h. The integrity of components and the operational stability of the hydrogen production facility in harsh working conditions were demonstrated.

Meteorological aspects of gamma-ray glows in winter thunderstorms

Wada, Yuki*; Enoto, Teruaki*; Kubo, Mamoru*; Nakazawa, Kazuhiro*; Shinoda, Taro*; Yonetoku, Daisuke*; Sawano, Tatsuya*; Yuasa, Takayuki*; Ushio, Tomoo*; Sato, Yosuke*; et al.

Geophysical Research Letters, 48(7), 11 Pages, 2021/04

https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091910

During three winter seasons from November 2016 to March 2019, 11 gamma-ray glows were detected at a single observation site of our ground-based gamma-ray monitoring network in Kanazawa, Japan. These events are analyzed with observations of an X-band radar network, a ceilometer, a disdrometer, and a weather monitor. All the detected glows were connected to convective high-reflectivity regions of more than 35 dBZ, developed up to an altitude of 2 km. They were also accompanied by heavy precipitation of graupels. Therefore, graupels in the lower layer of thunderclouds that correspond to high-reflectivity regions can form strong electric fields producing gamma-ray glows. Also, these events are compared with a limited sample of nondetection cases, but no significant differences in meteorological conditions were found between detection and nondetection cases in the present study.