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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 559 records · Page 31
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Fast pulsed operation of a small non-radioactive electron source with continuous emission current control

Non-radioactive electron sources are of great interest in any application requiring the emission of electrons at atmospheric pressure, as they offer better control over emission parameters than radioactive electron sources and are not subject to legal restrictions. Recently, we published a simple electron source consisting only of a vacuum housing, a filament, and a single control grid. In this paper, we present improved control electronics that utilize this control grid in order to focus and defocus the electron beam, thus pulsing the electron emission at atmospheric pressure. This allows short emission pulses and excellent stability of the emitted electron current due to continuous control, both during pulsed and continuous operations. As an application example, this electron source is coupled to an ion mobility spectrometer. Here, the pulsed electron source allows experiments on gas phase ion chemistry (e.g., ion generation and recombination kinetics) and can even remove the need for a traditional ion shutter.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cryogenic molecular separation system for radioactive {sup 11}C ion acceleration

A {sup 11}C molecular production/separation system (CMPS) has been developed as part of an isotope separation on line system for simultaneous positron emission tomography imaging and heavy-ion cancer therapy using radioactive {sup 11}C ion beams. In the ISOL system, {sup 11}CH{sub 4} molecules will be produced by proton irradiation and separated from residual air impurities and impurities produced during the irradiation. The CMPS includes two cryogenic traps to separate specific molecules selectively from impurities by using vapor pressure differences among the molecular species. To investigate the fundamental performance of the CMPS, we performed separation experiments with non-radioactive {sup 12}CH{sub 4} gases, which can simulate the chemical characteristics of {sup 11}CH{sub 4} gases. We investigated the separation of CH{sub 4} molecules from impurities, which will be present as residual gases and are expected to be difficult to separate because the vapor pressure of air molecules is close to that of CH{sub 4}. We determined the collection/separation efficiencies of the CMPS for various amounts of air impurities and found desirable operating conditions for the CMPS to be used as a molecular separation device in our ISOL system.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2019

Design of a containment apparatus for synchrotron XAS measurements of radioactive fluid samples under high temperatures and pressures

The simple working principles and versatility of the hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell (HDAC) make it signifcantly useful for synchrotron x-ray studies of aqueous and fluid samples at high pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions. Yet, safety concerns need to be overcome in order to use the HDAC for synchrotron studies of aqueous radioactive samples at high temperatures and pressures. For accomplishment of such hydrothermal experiments of radioactive materials at synchrotron beamlines, the samples are required to be enclosed in a containment system employing three independent layers of airtight sealing at some synchrotron facilities while enabling access to the sample using several experimental probes, including incoming and outgoing x-rays. In this article, we report the design and implementation of a complete radiological safety enclosure system for an HDAC specialized for high P-T x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements of aqueous solutions containing the actinides at synchrotron beamlines. The enclosure system was successfully tested for XAS experiments using the HDAC with aqueous samples containing depleted uranium at temperatures ranging from 25 to 500 °C and pressures ranging from vapor pressure to 350 MPa.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Distributions of short-lived radioactive nuclei produced by young embedded star clusters

Most star formation in the Galaxy takes place in clusters, where the most massive members can affect the properties of other constituent solar systems. This paper considers how clusters influence star formation and forming planetary systems through nuclear enrichment from supernova explosions, where massive stars deliver short-lived radioactive nuclei (SLRs) to their local environment. The decay of these nuclei leads to both heating and ionization, and thereby affects disk evolution, disk chemistry, and the accompanying process of planet formation. Nuclear enrichment can take place on two spatial scales: (1) within the cluster itself (ℓ ∼ 1 pc), the SLRs are delivered to the circumstellar disks associated with other cluster members. (2) On the next larger scale (ℓ ∼ 2-10 pc), SLRs are injected into the background molecular cloud; these nuclei provide heating and ionization to nearby star-forming regions and to the next generation of disks. For the first scenario, we construct the expected distributions of radioactive enrichment levels provided by embedded clusters. Clusters can account for the SLR mass fractions inferred for the early Solar Nebula, but typical SLR abundances are lower by a factor of ∼10. For the second scenario, we find that distributed enrichment of SLRs in molecular clouds leads to comparable abundances. For both the direct and distributed enrichment processes, the masses of {sup 26}Al and {sup 60}Fe delivered to individual circumstellar disks typically fall in the range 10-100 pM {sub ☉} (where 1 pM {sub ☉} = 10{sup –12} M {sub ☉}). The corresponding ionization rate due to SLRs typically falls in the range ζ{sub SLR} ∼ 1-5 × 10{sup –19} s{sup –1}. This ionization rate is smaller than that due to cosmic rays, ζ{sub CR} ∼ 10{sup –17} s{sup –1}, but will be important in regions where cosmic rays are attenuated (e.g., disk mid-planes).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Methods to Account for CAP-88 PC-Omitted Nuclides in Radioactive Air Emissions From DOE Facilities

Routine research and development activities at US Department of Energy facilities can result in the release of radioactive emissions, potentially exposing the public and the environment. Such emissions are subject to certain Clean Air Act regulations, specifically those outlined in 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart H, which are enforced by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Compliance is determined in part with a dose standard. Doses to members of the public from most US Department of Energy facility airborne emissions are modeled using CAP-88 PC software, the latest version of which contains more than 1,200 radionuclides. Radioactive effluents from US Department of Energy facilities may contain radioisotopes that are not available in CAP-88 PC, and those radioisotopes must still be evaluated to determine whether doses to members of the public are below established limits. CAP-88 PC-omitted radionuclides can be accounted for using alternate methods, including the use of surrogate radionuclides. Here, this paper elucidates the process of accounting for CAP-88 PC-omitted radionuclides by providing criteria and rationale for surrogate selection, a compilation of surrogate radionuclides used in the past by US Department of Energy facilities, a discussion of alternate methods used to account for CAP-88 PC-omitted radionuclides and a comparison of methods and impacts on receptor doses. Ultimately, this paper aims to aid in the process of surrogate selection and consequently to simplify and expedite compliance with Clean Air Act regulations.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Superradiant Neutrino Lasers from Radioactive Condensates

Superradiance emerges from collective spontaneous emission in optically pumped gases, and is characterized by photon emission enhancements of up to $\frac{1}{4}$⁢𝑁 2 in an 𝑁 atom system. The gain mechanism derives from correlations developed within the decay medium rather than from stimulated emission as in lasing, so an analog of this process should be possible for fermionic final states. We introduce here the concept of superradiant neutrino emission from a radioactive Bose Einstein condensate, which can form the basis for a superradiant neutrino laser. A plausible experimental realization based on a condensate of electron-capture isotope 83 Rb could exhibit effective radioactive decay rates accelerated from 86.2 days to minutes in viably sized rubidium condensates of 10 6 atoms.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Cluster radioactivity of Og 176 118 294

According to theory, cluster radioactivity becomes an important decay mode in superheavy nuclei. We suggest that the strongly asymmetric fission, or cluster emission, is in fact the dominant fission channel for Og 176 118 294 , which is currently the heaviest synthetic isotope known. Our theoretical approach incorporates critical features of fission dynamics, including quantum tunneling and stochastic dynamics up to scission. We show that despite appreciable differences in static fission properties such as fission barriers and spontaneous fission lifetimes, the prediction of cluster radioactivity in Og 176 118 294 is robust with respect to the details of calculations, including the choice of energy density functional, collective inertia, and strength of the dissipation term.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Commissioning and field tests of a van-mounted system for the detection of radioactive sources and Special Nuclear Material

MODES SNM project aimed to carry out technical research in order to develop a prototype for a mobile, modular detection system for radioactive sources and Special Nuclear Materials (SNM). Its main goal was to deliver a tested prototype of a modular mobile system capable of passively detecting weak or shielded radioactive sources with accuracy higher than that of currently available systems. By the end of the project all the objectives have been successfully achieved. Results from the laboratory commissioning and the field tests will be presented. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Network Time Synchronization of the Readout Electronics for a New Radioactive Gas Detection System

In systems with multiple radiation detectors, time synchronization of the data collected from different detectors is essential to reconstruct multi-detector events such as scattering and coincidences. In cases where the number of detectors exceeds the readout channels in a single data acquisition electronics module, multiple modules have to be synchronized, which is traditionally accomplished by distributing clocks and triggers via dedicated connections. To eliminate this added cabling complexity in the case of a new radioactive gas detection system prototype under development at the French Atomic Energy Commission, we implemented time synchronization between multiple XIA Pixie-Net detector readout modules through the existing Ethernet network, based on the IEEE 1588 precision time protocol. The detector system is dedicated to the measurement of radioactive gases at low activity and consists of eight large silicon pixels and two NaI(Tl) detectors, instrumented with a total of three 4-channel Pixie-Net modules. Detecting NaI(Tl)/silicon coincidences will make it possible to identify each radioisotope present in the sample. To allow these identifications at low activities, the Pixie-Net modules must be synchronized to a precision well below the targeted coincidence window of 500-1000 ns. Being equipped with an Ethernet PHY compatible with IEEE 1588 and synchronous Ethernet that outputs a locally generated but system-wide synchronized clock, the Pixie-Net can operate its analog to digital converters and digital processing circuitry with that clock and match time stamps for captured data across the three modules. Depending on the network configuration and synchronization method, the implementation is capable to achieve timing precisions between 300 ns and 200 ps.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-388: Estimating the Radioactivity Inventory of a Cyclotron Based Pencil Beam Proton Therapy Facility

Purpose: Parts of the cyclotron and energy degrader are incidentally activated by protons lost during the acceleration and transport of protons for radiation therapy. An understanding of the radioactive material inventory is needed when regulatory requirements are assessed. Methods: First, the tumor dose and volume is used to determine the required energy deposition. For spot scanning, the tumor length along the beam path determines the number of required energy layers. For each energy layer the energy deposition per proton can be calculated from the residual proton range within the tumor. Assuming a typical layer weighting, an effective energy deposition per proton can then be calculated. The total number of required protons and the number of protons per energy layer can then be calculated. For each energy layer, proton losses in the energy degrader are calculated separately since its transmission efficiency, and hence the amount of protons lost, is energy dependent. The degrader efficiency also determines the number of protons requested from the cyclotron. The cyclotron extraction efficiency allows a calculation of the proton losses within the cyclotron. The saturation activity induced in the cyclotron and the degrader is equal to the production rate R for isotopes whose half-life is shorter that the projected cyclotron life time. R can be calculated from the proton loss rate and published production cross sections. Results: About 1/3 of the saturation activity is produced in the cyclotron and 2/3 in the energy degrader. For a projected case mix and a patient load of 1100 fractions per week at 1.8 Gy per fraction a combined activity of 180 mCi was estimated at saturation. Conclusion: Calculations were used to support to application of a radioactive materials license for the possession of 200 mCi of activity for isotopes with atomic numbers ranging from 1-83.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-J-09: Radioactive Seed Localization for Breast Lumpectomy - Towards Optimization

Purpose: The aim of this work is to propose a method to optimize radioactive source localization (RSL) for non-palpable breast cancer surgery. RSL is commonly used as a guiding technique during surgery for excision of non-palpable tumors. A collimated hand-held detector is used to localize radioactive sources implanted in tumors. Incisions made by the surgeon are based on maximum observed detector counts, and tumors are subsequently resected based on an arbitrary estimate of the counts expected at the surgical margin boundary. This work focuses on building a framework to predict detector counts expected throughout the procedure to improve surgical margins. Methods: A gamma detection system called the Neoprobe GDS was used for this work. The probe consists of a cesium zinc telluride crystal and a collimator. For this work, an I-125 Best Medical model 2301 source was used. The source was placed in three different phantoms, a PMMA, a Breast (25%- glandular tissue/75%- adipose tissue) and a Breast (75-25) phantom with a backscatter thickness of 6 cm. Counts detected by the probe were recorded with varying amounts of phantom thicknesses placed on top of the source. A calibration curve was generated using MATLAB based on the counts recorded for the calibration dataset acquired with the PMMA phantom. Results: The observed detector counts data used as the validation set was accurately predicted to within ±3.2%, ±6.9%, ±8.4% for the PMMA, Breast (75-25), Breast (25–75) phantom respectively. The average difference between predicted and observed counts was −0.4%, 2.4%, 1.4% with a standard deviation of 1.2 %, 1.8%, 3.4% for the PMMA, Breast (75-25), Breast (25–75) phantom respectively. Conclusion: The results of this work provide a basis for characterization of a detector used for RSL. Counts were predicted to within ±9% for three different phantoms without the application of a density correction factor.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Lowering the radioactivity of the photomultiplier tubes for the XENON1T dark matter experiment

The low-background, VUV-sensitive 3-inch diameter photomultiplier tube R11410 has been developed by Hamamatsu for dark matter direct detection experiments using liquid xenon as the target material. We present the results from the joint effort between the XENON collaboration and the Hamamatsu company to produce a highly radio-pure photosensor (version R11410-21) for the XENON1T dark matter experiment. After introducing the photosensor and its components, we show the methods and results of the radioactive contamination measurements of the individual materials employed in the photomultiplier production. We then discuss the adopted strategies to reduce the radioactivity of the various PMT versions. Finally, we detail the results from screening 286 tubes with ultra-low background germanium detectors, as well as their implications for the expected electronic and nuclear recoil background of the XENON1T experiment.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Complete Non-Radioactive Operability Tests for Cladding Hull Chlorination

Non-radioactive operability tests were made to test the metal chlorination reactor and condenser and their accessories using batch chlorinations of non-radioactive cladding samples and to identify optimum operating practices and components that need further modifications prior to installation of the equipment into the hot cell for tests on actual used nuclear fuel (UNF) cladding. The operability tests included (1) modifications to provide the desired heating and reactor temperature profile; and (2) three batch chlorination tests using, respectively, 100, 250, and 500 g of cladding. During the batch chlorinations, metal corrosion of the equipment was assessed, pressurization of the gas inlet was examined and the best method for maintaining solid salt product transfer through the condenser was determined. Also, additional accessing equipment for collection of residual ash and positioning of the unit within the hot cell were identified, designed, and are being fabricated.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2017

New research discovery may mean less radioactive contamination, safer nuclear power plants

Murph has now made another nanoparticle breakthrough that could benefit various work environments such as nuclear power plants. Murph and her team have created nanoparticle treated stainless steel filters that are capable to capturing radioactive vapor materials. Just like air filters capture dust and dirt, these filters are capable of capturing large amounts of radioactive vapors. The new research may one day mean that nuclear power plant workers, and other workers in related fields, will have a safer working environment.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Radioactive aerosols training

An introduction to radioactive aerosols will be presented in this class. There will be a specific focus on transuranic materials, typical to those used in operations at Los Alamos. The uptake of radioactive aerosols is affected by the physical characteristics of the airborne material, the behavior of the aerosol in air (or gas), and the interaction of the material with the worker. Aerosol behavior in the radiological workplace will influence filtration, release control, and dose considerations. This course will review the basics of aerosol technology, distinguishing between the classical (Newtonian) and molecular (quantized) regimes. Particles from about 1 to 10 microns (diameter) are described by classical physics, but particles from about 0.01 to 0.3 microns must be understood through modern molecular theory (i.e. Einstein, 1905). The class will discuss relevant LANL accidents that involved aerosol releases from the years 1971, 1994, 2000, 2003 and 2005.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Remediation Report for TA-53 P-Rad Radioactive Liquid Spill

Following several soil excavations, EPC-ES and DESHF-LFO finds that the residual radioactive materials associated with the spill area within AOC 53-013 at TA53 are below the 25 mrem/yr remediation criteria set for cleanup of the radioactive spill at TA-53.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Study of Neutron-Induced Stable and Radioactive Nuclides in a Post Detonation Urban Environment

In the event of a nuclear detonation in an urban environment, response time for triage by first responders, and forensic sample collection are of the utmost importance. When it comes to response planning, decision makers within the government need to have the most up-to-date information regarding several quantities of interest so that the maximum amount of lives can be saved. Quantities of interest in a post-detonation scenario include the spatial distribution of neutron-induced stable and radioactive isotopes in the environment, fallout patterns, blast and re damage zones [1]. The UMPRINDER toolkit is developed to calculate the prompt neutron-induced stable and radioactive isotopes in the surrounding environment in a nuclear forensics post-detonation scenario. The distribution of these isotopes in the environment can be used to provide guidance in determining best routes for first responders in order to minimize dose, debris sample collection routes for subsequent radiochemical analysis, and provide initial radionuclide inventories to fallout codes in order to improve fallout zone fidelity. Other methods have approached isotope transmutation on unstructured mesh for the fusion community concerning shutdown dose rates associated with fusion reactors. UMPRINDER is the first method to be focused on calculating some of the quantities of interest for the nuclear forensics and weapon effects communities.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Boson Fermion Nucleus Explanation for Violation of Parity in the Radioactive Decay of Cobalt-60: Monograph #12

In 1957, Chien-Shuing Wu subjected cobalt-60 to supercooled temperatures and a strong magnetic field while measuring radioactive decay. This experiment showed violation of parity— a long-held, fundamental precept in physics stating that nuclear radioactive-decay emission flux will not vary in the solid angle about the nucleus. During Wu’s experiment, beta particles (electrons) exhibited asymmetry, preferentially exiting the cobalt-60 nuclei in the polar region opposite the applied magnetic field. Gamma-ray emissions were anisotropic, preferring to exit the nucleus around the equatorial region. The boson fermion nucleus (BFN) explains the origins of these observed phenomena, where the nuclear structure is pinned in the strong magnetic field with minimal motion in supercooled conditions, while beta particles and gamma rays are emitted from specific locations within the nuclear structure.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗