Application of accelerators for the research and development of scintillators

We introduce experimental systems which use accelerators to evaluate scintillation properties such as scintillation intensity, wavelength, and lifetime. A single crystal of good optical quality is often unavailable during early stages in the research and development (R&D) of new scintillator materials. Because of their beams' high excitation power and/or low penetration depth, accelerators facilitate estimation of the properties of early samples which may only be available as powders, thin films, and very small crystals. We constructed a scintillation spectrum measurement system that uses a Van de Graaff accelerator and an optical multichannel analyzer to estimate the relative scintillation intensity. In addition, we constructed a scintillation time profile measurement system that uses an electron linear accelerator and a femtosecond streak camera or a microchannel plate photomultiplier tube followed by a digital oscilloscope to determine the scintillation lifetimes. The time resolution is approximately 10 ps. The scintillation spectra or time profiles can be obtained in a significantly shorter acquisition time in comparison with that required by conventional measuring systems. The advantages of the systems described in this study can significantly promote the R&D of novel scintillator materials.     

Numerical evaluation of the ill-posedness of eddy current problems to size real cracks

This study evaluates whether or not eddy current testing is applicable to the sizing of cracks that appear in a general structure. Two 10 mm thick specimens with artificial stress corrosion cracking are prepared, eddy current testing is performed to gather eddy current signals that result from cracking, and numerical inversions are performed to evaluate the maximum depths of the cracking. The inversions estimate the depths of the cracks are 0.8 and 1.6 mm. Although the simulated signals agree well with the measured ones, destructive tests reveal that the true depths are 1.27 and 2.58 mm. Another numerical simulation is conducted to discuss the ill-posedness of the inverse problem of sizing crack depths from eddy current signals. The simulation simply models a crack as a rectangular region with a constant length and uniform conductivity inside and calculates the eddy current signals of 1024 cracks having variety of depths, widths, and conductivities. Analyzing the results of the simulation reveal that information contained in conventional single-frequency eddy current tests is not sufficient to size conductive cracks in a general sense.     

Time-dependent radiolytic yields at room temperature and temperature-dependent absorption spectra of the solvated electrons in polyols

The molar extinction coefficients at the absorption maximum of the solvated electron spectrum have been evaluated to be 900,970,and 1000 mol~(-1).m~2 for 1,2-ethanediol (12ED),1,2-propanediol (12PD),and 1,3-propanediol (13PD),respectively.These values are two-third or three-fourth of the value usually reported in the published report. Picosecond pulse radiolysis studies have aided in depicting the radiolytic yield of the solvated electron in these sol- vents as a function of time from picosecond to microsecond.The radiolytic yield in these viscous solvents is found to be strongly different from that of the water solution.The temperature dependent absorption spectra of the solvated electron in 12ED,12PD,and 13PD have been also investigated.In all the three solvents,the optical spectra shift to the red with increasing temperature.While the shape of the spectra does not change in 13PD,a widening on the blue side of the absorption band is observed in 12ED and 12PD at elevated temperatures.     

Enhancements of eddy current testing techniques for quantitative nondestructive testing of key structural components of nuclear power plants

In this paper, studies on upgrade of eddy current testing (ECT) techniques for inspection of stress corrosion cracks (SCC) in key structural components of a nuclear power plant are reported. Access and scanning vehicle (robot), advanced probes for steam generator (SG) tube inspection, developments and evaluations of new ECT probes for welding joint, and ECT-based crack sizing technique are described, respectively. Based on these techniques, it is demonstrated that ECT can play as a supplement of ultrasonic testing (UT) for the quantitative inspection of welding zone. It is also proved in this work that new ECT sensors are efficient even for inspection of a stainless steel plate as thick as 15 mm.     

Electrostatic Cleaning System for Removing Lunar Dust Adhering to Space Suits

Removing lunar dust adhering to astronaut space suits is critically important for long-term lunar exploration. We are developing an automatic cleaning system that uses electrostatic force. It employs an alternating electrostatic field that forms a barrier on the surface of fabrics. In this study, we applied single-phase rectangular voltage to parallel wire electrodes stitched into the insulating fabric of space suits. By applying mechanical vibration and operating the system in a vacuum, we realized high performance: the cleaning rate exceeded 80%. Flicking out particles smaller than 10?μm in diameter that were trapped between fibers was difficult, but this system can perform preliminary space suit cleaning and save precious time for astronauts on the moon.     

Application of cryogenic distillation to Krypton-85 recovery

Fundamental and pilot experiments were carried out to develop a ⁸⁵Kr recovery system for nuclear power and fuel reprocessing plants. It consisted of a pretreatment unit to remove oxygen (O₂), acetylene (C₂H₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from the inlet gas, a cryogenic distillation unit to remove and concentrate ⁸⁵Kr, and a storage unit for recovered ⁸⁵Kr.     

Removal of radioactive cobalt ion in high temperature water using titanium oxide

The adsorption of Co²⁺ on titanium oxide (TiO₂) has been experimentally evaluated as a function of temperatures in the range 20–280°C. The selectivity experiments showed that corrosion products such as Co²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Mn²⁺ in reactor water are preferentially adsorbed at high temperatures. The data suggest that there are two reaction mechanisms, i.e. an ion exchange reaction at low temperatures, and chemical adsorption with the formation of insoluble cobalt meta-titanate (CoTiO₃) on the TiO₂ surface at high temperatures.