Development of Virtual Gamma-Ray Energy Spectrum Simulator Program for Training

Yoomi Choi,Young-Yong Ji,Sungyeop Joung,Eunjoong Lee 한국방사성폐기물학회 2022 한국방사성폐기물학회 학술논문요약집 Vol.20 No.2

Gamma spectrometry is one of the main analysis methods used to obtain information about unknown radioactive materials. In gamma-ray energy spectrometry, even for the same gamma-ray spectrum, the analysis results may be slightly different depending on the skill of the analyst. Therefore, it is important to increase the proficiency of the analyst in order to derive accurate analysis results. This paper describes the development of the virtual spectrum simulator program for gamma spectrometry training. This simulator program consists of an instructor module and trainee module program based on an integrated server, in which the instructor transmits a virtual spectrum of arbitrarily specified measurement conditions to the students, allowing each student to submit analysis results. It can reproduce a virtual gamma-ray energy spectrum based on virtual reality and augmented reality technique and includes analysis function for the spectrum, allowing users to experience realistic measurement and analysis online. The virtual gamma-ray energy spectrum DB program manages a database including theoretical data obtained by Monte Carlo simulation and actual measured data, which are the basis for creating a virtual spectrum. The currently developed database contains data on HPGe laboratory measurement as well as in-situ measurements (ground surface, decommissioned facility wall, radiowaste drum) of portable HPGe detectors, LaBr3(Ce) detector and NaI detector. The analysis function can be applied not only to the virtual spectrum, but also to the input measured spectrum. The parameters of the peak analysis algorithm are customizable so that even low-resolution spectra can be properly analyzed. The validity of the database and analysis algorithm was verified by comparing with the results derived by the existing analysis programs. In the future, the application of various in-situ gamma spectrometers will be implemented to improve the profiling of the depth distribution of deposited nuclides through dose rate assessment, and the applicability of the completed simulator in actual in-situ gamma spectrometry will be verified.

감마핵종 In-Situ 측정 연구 동향 분석 및 방사능 측정 효율 민감도 평가

라현준,김혁재,이성연,곽민우,김광표 (사)한국방사선산업학회 2023 방사선산업학회지 Vol.17 No.1

Since a large amount of radioactive waste is expected to be generated due to permanentshutdown of many nuclear power plants, it is necessary to prepare efficient management methods forradioactive waste. Therefore, there is a need for a based study to apply the In-Situ gamma spectrometry,which can simplify the measurement procedure. The purpose of this study is to analyze research casesof In-Situ gamma spectrometry and to analyze the sensitivity of measurement according to influencingfactors on In-Situ gamma spectrometry. Research cases of five institutions, including the CERN and theImperial College Reactor Centre (ICRC), were selected as the institutions to be investigated. Researchon the In-Situ gamma spectrometry was conducted on the satisfaction of the acceptance criteria forradioactive waste and the analysis of residual radioactivity in the site. In-Situ Objective Counting System(ISOCS) was used as a major measuring device. Sampling and computer code were used to verify theanalysis results. For evaluation of measuring sensitivity according to influencing factors on In-Situgamma spectrometry, the thickness of the measurement target, the distance between the detector andthe target, the angle of the collimator, and the contamination location were performed using ISOCS’sGeometry Composer. In every case, based on 122 keV, the efficiency decreased as the energy increased inthe high energy region, and the efficiency decreased as the energy decreased in the low energy region. Asthe target thickness increased, the efficiency decreased, and as the distance between target and detectorincreased, the efficiency decreased. As the distance between contamination and detector increased, theefficiency decreased, and as the angle of the collimator increased, the measurement efficiency increased. However, when simulating the measurement situation using Geometry Composer, the background is notconsidered, and the probability of incident in the background increases as the angle increases, so furtherresearch needs to be conducted in consideration of these. This study can be utilized when applying the In-Situ gamma spectrometry of radioactive waste clearance in the future.

A Copper Shield for the Reduction of X-γ True Coincidence Summing in Gamma-ray Spectrometry

Byun, Jong-In The Korean Association for Radiation Protection 2018 방사선방어학회지 Vol.43 No.4

Background: Gamma-ray detectors having a thin window of a material with low atomic number can increase the true coincidence summing effects for radionuclides emitting X-rays or gamma-rays. This effect can make efficiency calibration or spectrum analysis more complicated. In this study, a Cu shield was tested as an X-ray filter to neglect the true coincidence summing effect by X-rays and gamma-rays in gamma-ray spectrometry, in order to simplify gamma-ray energy spectrum analysis. Materials and Methods: A Cu shield was designed and applied to an n-type high-purity germanium detector having an $X-{\gamma}$ summing effect during efficiency calibration. This was tested using a commercial, certified mixed gamma-ray source. The feasibility of a Cu shield was evaluated by comparing efficiency calibration results with and without the shield. Results and Discussion: In this study, the thickness of a Cu shield needed to avoid true coincidence summing effects due to $X-{\gamma}$ was tested and determined to be 1 mm, considering the detection efficiency desired for higher energy. As a result, the accuracy of the detection efficiency calibration was improved by more than 13% by reducing $X-{\gamma}$ summing. Conclusion: The $X-{\gamma}$ summing effect should be considered, along with ${\gamma}-{\gamma}$ summing, when a detection efficiency calibration is implemented and appropriate shielding material can be useful for simplifying analysis of the gamma-ray energy spectra.

Miniaturization and Applicability Evaluation of Collimating Device for the Self-Attenuation Correction in Low-Energy Gamma-Ray Spectrometry

Jun-Ho Lee,Jong-In Byun 한국방사성폐기물학회 2022 한국방사성폐기물학회 학술논문요약집 Vol.20 No.2

In gamma-ray spectrometry for volume samples, the self-attenuation effect should be considered in the case of differences in chemical composition and density between the efficiency calibration source for quantitative analysis of sample and the sample actually measured. In particular, the lower the gamma-ray energy, the greater the gamma-ray attenuation due to the self-attenuation effect of the sample. So, the attenuation effect of low-energy gamma-rays in the sample should be corrected to avoid over- or under-estimation of its radioactivity. One of the most important factors in correcting the self-attenuation effect of the sample is the linear attenuation coefficient for the sample, which can be directly calculated using a collimator. The larger the size of the collimator, the more advantageous it is to calculate the linear attenuation coefficient of the sample, but excessive size may limit the use of the collimator in a typical environmental laboratory due to its heavy weight. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the collimator size and structure according to the measurement environment and purpose. This study is to optimize a collimator that can determine the effective linear attenuation coefficient of low-energy gamma-rays, and verify its applicability. The overall structure of the designed collimator was optimized for gamma-ray energy of less than 100 keV and cylindrical plastic bottle with diameter of 60 mm and a height of 40 mm. The materials of optimized collimator consisted of tungsten. Acryl and acetal were used to form the housing of the collimator, which fixes the central axis of the bottle, collimator and point-like source. In addition, using the housing, the height of the tungsten is adjusted according to the height of the sample. For applicability evaluation of the optimized collimator, IAEA reference material in solid form were used. The sample was filled in the bottle with heights of 1, 2, 3 and 4 cm respectively. Using the collimator and point-like source of 210Pb (46.5 keV), 241Am (59.5 keV), and 57Co (121.1 keV), the linear attenuation coefficient and the radioactivity for the samples were calculated. As a result, to calculate the linear attenuation coefficient using the optimized collimator, a relatively high sample height is required. However, the optimized collimator can be used to determine the linear attenuation coefficients of low-energy gamma-rays for the self-attenuation correction regardless of the sample height. It is concluded that the optimized collimator can be useful to correct the sample selfattenuation effect.

Development of Virtual Gamma-ray Energy Spectrum Database for KHNP Detectors by MCNP Simulation

Yoomi Choi,Young-yong Ji,Sungyeop Joung 한국방사성폐기물학회 2022 한국방사성폐기물학회 학술논문요약집 Vol.20 No.1

To obtain the gamma-ray energy spectrum of artificial radionuclides which is difficult to obtain practically, virtual gamma-ray energy spectrum simulator program was developed. It can be applied for the predetermined measurement condition for which the database was developed through computational simulation and actual measurement of background radiation. For gamma spectrometry training for KHNP HPGe detectors using this program, the database for KNPG HPGe detectors was developed. First, the geometry of the detector in the simulation was adjusted to resemble the real structure by comparing the actually measured net counts rate at the main gamma peak with the value simulated by MCNP6. The Certified Reference material (CRM) of 137Cs and 60Co were used for verification. The comparison was made with respect to the situation where CRM was attached to the top and side of the detection part of the considered detector. The geometry structures of detectors were simulated by reflecting the design drawing of the products, and the simulation was performed for several thicknesses of the Ge/Li dead layer in consideration of the change in the thickness over time. As the results, the simulation geometry was tuned so that the results for 137Cs showed a difference within 10% for all detectors. At this time, in some detectors, the result for 60Co shows a 10% higher error, which is estimated to be due to the random summing. It was not considered in tuning the simulation geometry, but it was found that improvements were needed to reflect the coincidence summing when construction the virtual spectrum in the future. The determined simulation geometry was applied to generate theoretical gamma-ray energy spectra of representative artificial radionuclides. In order to create a virtual spectrum similar to the real one, the background spectrum was measured for each detector without a source, and the simulation results were calculated in the form of having the same energy channel as the background spectrum. The background spectrum and theoretical spectra of artificial radionuclides for each detector were databased so that virtual spectra could be generated under desired conditions. The virtual spectrum was generated by adding a background spectrum and a spectrum obtained by multiplying the spectrum of the desired nuclide by the concentration of the nuclide. The validity of generated virtual spectra was verified using the pre-developed gamma spectrometry program. As a results of gamma spectrometry of virtual spectra, the virtual spectra was verified by showing a difference within 20% from the radioactivity value input when generating the virtual spectra.

Determination of ²²⁶Ra in TENORM Sample Considering Radon Leakage Correction

Lim, Sooyeon,Syam, Nur Syamsi,Maeng, Seongjin,Lee, Sang Hoon The Korean Association for Radiation Protection 2021 방사선방어학회지 Vol.46 No.3

Background: Phosphogypsum is material produced as a byproduct in fertilizer industry and is generally used for building materials. This material may contain enhanced radium-226 (²²⁶Ra) activity concentration compared to its natural concentration that may lead to indoor radon accumulation. Therefore, an accurate measurement method is proposed in this study to determine ²²⁶Ra activity concentration in phosphogypsum sample, considering the potential radon leakage from the sample container. Materials and Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) phosphogypsum reference material was used as a sample in this study. High-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometry was used to measure the activity concentration of the ²²⁶Ra decay products, i.e., ²¹⁴Bi and ²¹⁴Pb. Marinelli beakers sealed with three different sealing methods were used as sample containers. Due to the potential leakage of radon from the Marinelli beaker (MB), correction to the activity concentration resulted in gamma spectrometry is needed. Therefore, the leaked fraction of radon escaped from the sample container was calculated and added to the gamma spectrometry measured values. Results and Discussion: Total activity concentration of ²²⁶Ra was determined by summing up the activity concentration from gamma spectrometry measurement and calculated concentration from radon leakage correction method. The results obtained from ²¹⁴Bi peak were 723.4 ± 4.0 Bq·kg^-1 in MB1 and 719.2 ± 3.5 Bq·kg^-1 in MB2 that showed about 5% discrepancy compared to the certified activity. Besides, results obtained from ²¹⁴Pb peak were 741.9 ± 3.6 Bq·kg^-1 in MB1 and 740.1 ± 3.4 Bq·kg^-1 in MB2 that showed about 2% difference compared to the certified activity measurement of ²²⁶Ra concentration activity. Conclusion: The results show that radon leakage correction was calculated with insignificant discrepancy to the certified values and provided improvement to the gamma spectrometry. Therefore, measuring ²²⁶Ra activity concentration in TENORM (technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material) sample using radon leakage correction can be concluded as a convenient and accurate method that can be easily conducted with simple calculation.

감마선분광분석기를 이용한 괴산 옥천하부천매암대 일대의 감마선량 평가

윤욱,조병욱 대한지질공학회 2019 지질공학 Vol.29 No.4

Gamma-radiation dose rates were measured at 77 points around the Ogcheon lower phyllite zone (og2) in Goesan County, Korea, using gamma-ray spectrometry. Sample K contents were in the range 1.8-8.8% (average 4.6%), highest in Kgr. The eU contents were 0.2-217.9 ppm (average 16.7 ppm), highest in og2 (median 29.6 ppm). The eTh contents were 11.9-76.5 ppm (average 29.5 ppm) and the average eTh content of Kgr was 45.4 ppm, higher than those of Ogcheon meta-sedimentary rocks (og1, og2, and og3) (26.6-30.6 ppm). Except for some high-uranium sites in og2, 40K is the main radioactive material contributing to the gamma-radiation dose in the study area. Our results indicate that the outdoor effective dose rate of the area is 0.08-1.71 mSv y-1 (average 0.28 mSv y-1), with most areas apart from three points in og2 displaying dose rates <1 mSv y-1, which is the normal natural radiation background level. 휴대용 감마선분광분석기를 이용하여 괴산지역 옥천하부천매암대(og2) 주변 일대 77개 지점에서 감마선량을 측정하였다. 전체 시료의 40K 함량은 1.8-8.8% 범위(평균 4.6%)로 Kgr에서 함량이 가장 높았으며, eU의 함량 범위는 0.2-217.9 ppm (평균 16.7 ppm)인데 og2에서 가장 높았으며(중앙값 29.6 ppm)다. eTh의 함량 범위는 11.9-76.5 ppm (평균 29.5 ppm) 이었는데 Kgr의 평균 함량은 45.4 ppm으로 og1, og2, og3의 함량(26.6-30.6 ppm)보다 높았다. og2에 속하는 일부 고 우라늄 지점을 제외한 연구지역의감마선량에 기여하는 방사성물질은 40K가 절대적이다. 연구지역의 옥외 유효선량률은 0.08-1.71 mSv/y (평균 0.28 mSv/y)의 범위로 나타났다. 유효선량률이 1 mSv를 넘는 지점은 함 우라늄 층이 협재된 og2 의 덕평리지역 3지점이며 이를 제외한 나머지 대부분 지역은 정상적인 자연방사선지역에 해당한다.

Broad Beam Gamma-Ray Spectrometric Studies with Environmental Materials

El-Kateb, Abdul-Hamid Hussein The Korean Association for Radiation Protection 2018 방사선방어학회지 Vol.43 No.2

Background: Gamma-ray spectrometry helps in radiation shielding problems and different applications of radioisotopes. Experimental arrangements including broad beam geometries are widely used. The aim is to investigate and evaluate the ${\gamma}-ray$ spectra via attenuation by environmental materials. Materials and Methods: The photo peak to nominated parts in the ${\gamma}-ray$ spectra and the attenuation coefficients ${\mu}_b/{\rho}$ from broad beam geometries are measured for the materials water, soil, sand and cement at the energies 0.662, 1.25, and 1.332 MeV with a $3{^{\prime}^{\prime}}{\times}3{^{\prime}^{\prime}}$ NaI(Tl) detector. Results and Discussion: The ${\gamma}-ray$ spectra vary according to changes in the effective atomic number $Z_{eff}$ of the attenuator, the photon energy and the solid angle. The peak to total ratios are the most sensitive parts to variations in the experimental conditions and overturn in the region 0.663 MeV to 1.332 MeV. This is indicated as inversion trend. The results are discussed in view of $Z_{eff}$ and the experimental conditions. The intensity build-up is larger at the lower energy and larger scattering angles in agreement with Klein-Nishina formula and other results. The build-up factor B is$${\sim_=}$$1 at high ${\gamma}-energies$ and small scattering angles. Conclusion: The sensitivity to material characteristics decrease gradually from peak: to total, to Compton valley, to Compton plateau ratios. Rigorous collimation is necessary at small energies. Cement, of the largest $Z_{eff}$, is characterized by the maximum broad beam mass attenuation coefficients ${\mu}_b/{\rho}$. The obtained results provide information to decide for the suitable experimental set-up based on aim of the work.

Performance Evaluation of NaI(Tl) Scintillator Detector for Gamma Monitoring System

Wanook Ji,Sungyeop Joung,Eunjoog Lee,Young-Yong Ji 한국방사성폐기물학회 2023 한국방사성폐기물학회 학술논문요약집 Vol.21 No.1

In-situ gamma spectrometer with mobile equipment can be used for rapid determination of radioactivity in the environment within a very short interval. 2”×2” NaI(Tl) scintillator are used to build a mobile radiation measurement system (called as Monitoring of Ambient Radiations of KAERI for Backpack, MARK-B3) with a signal processing unit, and GPS and interface units to a PC for wireless controlling system. Development of the survey system is to measure ambient gamma-ray spectrometry for estimating ground radioactivity and radiation dose in the environment. The ambient dose rate is estimated using G-factor method. For determination of G-factor, we conducted MCNP simulations in assumptions of various incident photons into the detector system. And the scintillator was exposed to Cs-137 source in the range of 1- 300 mGy/hr. Calculated dose rates for different simulation results were compared to the irradiated dose rate to derive correction factor of G-factor. To evaluate performance of the MARK-B3, in-situ gamma spectrometry was conducted in Jeju island.

In situ gamma-ray spectrometry in the environment using dose rate spectroscopy

Ji, Y.Y.,Kim, C.J.,Chung, K.H.,Choi, H.Y.,Lee, W.,Kang, M.J.,Park, S.T. Pergamon 2016 Radiation physics and chemistry Vol.119 No.-

<P>In order to expand the application of dose rate spectroscopy to the environment, in situ gamma-ray spectrometry was first conducted at a height of 1 m above the ground to calculate the ambient dose rate and individual dose rate at that height, as well as the radioactivity in the soil layer for the detected gamma nuclides from the dose rate spectroscopy. The reliable results could be obtained by introducing the angular correction factor to correct the G-factor with respect to incident photons distributed in a certain range of angles. The intercomparison results of radioactivity using ISOCS software, an analysis of a sample taken from the soil around a detector, and dose rate spectroscopy had a difference of < 20% for Pb-214, Bi-214, Ac-228, Bi-212, Tl-208, and K-40, except for Pb-212 with low-energy photons, that is, < 300 key. In addition, the drawback of using dose rate spectroscopy, that is, all gamma rays from a nuclide should be identified to accurately assess the individual dose rate, was overcome by adopting the concept of contribution ratio of the key gamma ray to the individual dose rate of a nuclide, so that it could be accurately calculated by identifying only a key gamma ray from a nuclide. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</P>