Sung Mo Cho , Min Su Han , Wanchuck Woo , Hobyung Chae , Jongyul Kim , TaeJoo Kim , Nam Chul Cho
{"title":"Study of metallographic structures in replicated heat-treated specimens from ancient Korea using neutron beam diffraction analysis","authors":"Sung Mo Cho , Min Su Han , Wanchuck Woo , Hobyung Chae , Jongyul Kim , TaeJoo Kim , Nam Chul Cho","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103931","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103931","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study uses neutron beam diffraction to nondestructively analyze microstructures in specimens produced through replicated ancient Korean heat treatment techniques. As a result of an experiment using SK5 steel with varying quenching times (1, 5, and 10 s) and clay thicknesses (0, 1, and 3 mm), the largest amount of martensite was generated when the quenching time was 5 s. Four specimens were examined: one before and three after heat treatment. Optical and scanning electron microscopy revealed ferrite structures in the specimen before heat treatment, martensite in the specimen after heat treatment (0 mm, 5 s), and pearlite in the remaining specimen after heat treatment. Neutron beam diffraction analysis quantified peak broadening under tensile stress. All specimens demonstrated increased peak broadening upon tensile deformation, with significant differences in the peak positions and widths between the heat treatment specimen and heat-treated specimens due to microstructural variations. Meanwhile, heat-treated specimens demonstrated greater peak width increases than before heat treatment specimens, indicating higher defect concentrations in the before heat treatment specimens. Results confirmed that martensite formation could be identified nondestructively. However, as accurate structure identification is not possible with neutron beam diffraction analysis alone, neutron imaging technology is required.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 2","pages":"Article 103931"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145270080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohammad H. Alhakami , Karam S. El-Nasser , Numa A. Althubiti , Taha Abdel Mohaymen Taha
{"title":"Composition-dependent variations in structural, optical and shielding characteristics of CuO-containing borate glasses","authors":"Mohammad H. Alhakami , Karam S. El-Nasser , Numa A. Althubiti , Taha Abdel Mohaymen Taha","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103925","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103925","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the structural, optical, and radiation shielding properties of 55B<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> - 15ZnO - (30−x)Li<sub>2</sub>O - xCuO glasses (x = 0, 2, 4, 8 mol%) synthesized via melt-quenching. XRD confirmed the amorphous nature. While density and molar volume analysis revealed a non-linear trend with CuO doping. FTIR analysis revealed structural changes due to the substitution of Li<sub>2</sub>O with CuO. UV–Vis spectra exhibited characteristic Cu<sup>2+</sup> d-d transitions (700–800 nm). Tauc plots showed bandgap narrowing (direct: 3.33–2.68 eV; indirect: 2.80–2.01 eV) and Urbach energy increased from 0.45 to 0.54 eV). Photoluminescence revealed Cu<sup>2+</sup>-related emissions (401–543 nm). The Makishima-Mackenzie model predicted a decrease in elastic moduli (E, K, S, L) due to network fragmentation. Radiation shielding performance improved significantly, with CuO reducing the half-value layer by 27 % at 15 keV and increasing the mass attenuation coefficient (μ/ρ) by 46 % at low energies, driven by high atomic number (Z = 29). Advanced parameters (EBF, EABF, ACS, ECS) demonstrated optimal shielding at 4–6 mol% CuO, balancing photoelectric enhancement and Compton scattering suppression. These findings position CuO-doped borate glasses as multifunctional materials for photonic and radiation shielding applications, with tunable properties governed by Cu<sup>2+</sup> coordination and network dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 2","pages":"Article 103925"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Initial validation of ALFRED: A Monte Carlo code built on Geant4 for TREAT energy deposition","authors":"Paul A. Ferney, Nicolas P. Martin","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103877","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103877","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Predicting the energy deposited in the specimen during an experiment in the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility is a complex problem due to the nature of the transients occurring in the reactor. In addition, the many particles contributing to energy deposition have different behavior in time and space. ALFRED, a new Geant4 based code, is developed to transport and simulate each particle generated in the core. This code is verified against OpenMC (Open Monte Carlo) on the Godiva benchmark and a simple TREAT model. Next, the energy deposition in TREAT is calculated: <span><math><mrow><mn>181</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>05</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>01</mn><mspace></mspace><mtext>MeV</mtext></mrow></math></span> for the “instantaneous” energy deposition (which accounts for the energy deposited within 1 s after neutron emission) in fuel and <span><math><mrow><mn>189</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>90</mn><mo>±</mo><mn>0</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>01</mn><mspace></mspace><mtext>MeV</mtext></mrow></math></span> for the total energy deposition in fuel. We discuss these results in this paper with previous calculations and experimental evaluations. This work demonstrates ALFRED’s potential as a high-fidelity tool for computing the spatial and temporal energy deposition in TREAT paving the way for a better understanding of the energy coupling factors in TREAT.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 2","pages":"Article 103877"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chuang Zhao , Jiale Song , Chunhui Li , Yang Gao , Tingting Liu , Yu Zhou , Hongguo Hou , Meng Zhang , Caishan Jiao , Qunyan Wu , Weifang Zheng
{"title":"Study on the structure and coordination properties of Ln (III) complexes of asymmetric diglycolamide DMDODGA","authors":"Chuang Zhao , Jiale Song , Chunhui Li , Yang Gao , Tingting Liu , Yu Zhou , Hongguo Hou , Meng Zhang , Caishan Jiao , Qunyan Wu , Weifang Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103927","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103927","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The partitioning and transmutation technology (P&T) is an important methods for the safety, efficiency and sustainable development of nuclear energy. The extraction separation method is a research hotspot in the aspect of “separation”. The diglycolamides have shown good extraction performance and selectivity to trivalent lanthanides/actinides, and have been widely studied in this aspect. In this paper, N, N′-dimethyl-N, N′-dioctyl diglycolamide (DMDODGA) was synthesized and the complexes were characterized by <sup>1</sup>H NMR titration, Luminescence emission spectroscopy and other spectroscopic methods. The stable structure of the complexes in the gas phase were obtained through DFT. The interaction and coordination properties between the ligand and Ln(III) were analyzed by means of IGMH, EDA and ETS-NOCV methods. The results show that lanthanides with DMDODGA mainly form 1:3 complexes, and the coordination mode is electrostatic interaction with some covalency. For light lanthanides, the interaction mainly occurs between the 5d orbitals of the lanthanide and the 2p orbitals of O in DMDODGA, while for heavy lanthanides, it mainly involves the 4f orbitals of the lanthanide and the 2p orbitals of O. The coordination covalency between DMDODGA and heavy lanthanides is stronger, so the complexes of DMDODGA with heavy lanthanides is more stable.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 2","pages":"Article 103927"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Extreme wind-induced roof cladding failure: A fragility analysis for nuclear power plant structures","authors":"Canh-Hoang Phan, Byeongcheol Won, Seungho Lee, Soon-Duck Kwon","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103928","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103928","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study addresses the wind fragility of roof cladding systems in nuclear power plant turbine buildings, which are highly vulnerable to extreme wind events due to their lightweight construction. A comprehensive framework was developed to assess wind-induced failure probabilities by integrating experimental and analytical methods. Wind tunnel tests were conducted to measure roof pressures, while pull-through and structural tests characterized strength distributions and identify failure modes. Nonlinear finite element simulations, validated against test results, were used to model structural behavior and perform fragility analysis under various wind pressure scenarios. Findings revealed that cladding failures might occur at wind speeds as low as 31 m/s (no parapet) and 37 m/s (solid parapet), which are below the 39.5 m/s of design standard, driven by localized pressure amplification caused by building geometry and topographical influences. Mitigation strategies, such as spoiler parapets, showed potential to increasing failure wind speeds to 49.5 m/s (25 % above design criteria), enhancing system resilience. These results highlight the need to review code-based pressure coefficients for critical roof zones and consider site-specific aerodynamic effects in design. While the results focus on specific cladding systems, the framework is adaptable to other materials with available property data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 2","pages":"Article 103928"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145120820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Han Liu , Hao Sun , Binghuo Yan , Jun Chen , Zhikang Lin
{"title":"Implementation of algebraic turbulent heat flux into Reynolds stress transport model and simulation of crossing tube bundles","authors":"Han Liu , Hao Sun , Binghuo Yan , Jun Chen , Zhikang Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103918","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103918","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) is an excellent coolant for fast reactors, owing to its high boiling point and high thermal conductivity. Turbulent heat transfer is a complex phenomenon, and the numerical heat transfer of LBE is constrained by its extremely low Prandtl number. Conventional Reynolds analogy method fails to exactly describe the turbulent heat flux (THF) in the energy equation. Therefore, this paper implements the algebraic turbulent heat flux model into the Reynolds stress transport (RST) model within CFD program. The accuracy of this model was verified using direct numerical simulation (DNS) data. Furthermore, the model was employed to predict the flow heat transfer of LBE cross tube bundles, from which a heat transfer correlation was fitted. The potential application of this model in the nuclear industry is discussed. This work provides a new numerical method for the design and safety analysis of liquid metal-cooled fast reactors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 2","pages":"Article 103918"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prediction of bentonite water content using visible and near-infrared spectroscopy combined with partial least squares regression","authors":"Deuk-Hwan Lee , Seok Yoon , Hwan-Hui Lim","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103926","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103926","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study proposes a non-destructive method for accurately predicting the water content of bentonite using hyperspectral imaging combined with partial least squares regression (PLSR). Hyperspectral data were collected across the visible (400–700 nm) and near-infrared (1300–1600 nm) spectral ranges from bentonite samples with six controlled water content levels (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 %). Separate PLSR models were developed for the visible (VIS), near-infrared (NIR), and combined VIS + NIR spectral ranges. Among these, the VIS + NIR model demonstrated the highest predictive accuracy, achieving an R<sup>2</sup> of 0.9975 and RMSE of 0.4309 %, significantly outperforming models using individual spectral ranges. The enhanced performance of the combined model is attributed to the integration of macroscopic brightness changes captured in the VIS region and water-specific absorption features in the NIR region. This method provides a rapid and reliable approach for water content prediction, offering significant potential for quality control in bentonite buffer material production and other moisture-sensitive industrial applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 2","pages":"Article 103926"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jingsai Zhang , Shunhua Chen , Xiongqiyue Pan , Fei Sun , Qiu Xu , Yucheng Wu
{"title":"Precipitate-enhanced deuterium retention and desorption resistance in a W10Ta20Ti30V35C5 refractory high-entropy alloy","authors":"Jingsai Zhang , Shunhua Chen , Xiongqiyue Pan , Fei Sun , Qiu Xu , Yucheng Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103924","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103924","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Low-activation refractory high-entropy alloys (LA-RHEAs) exhibit promising application prospects as nuclear materials, but the understanding of their deuterium retention and desorption mechanisms remains insufficient. In this work, a W<sub>10</sub>Ta<sub>20</sub>Ti<sub>30</sub>V<sub>35</sub>C<sub>5</sub> LA-RHEA was prepared by vacuum arc melting, and the deuterium retention and desorption behaviors as well as the underlying mechanisms were explored as compared with the W<sub>10</sub>Ta<sub>20</sub>Ti<sub>35</sub>V<sub>35</sub> alloy. The W<sub>10</sub>Ta<sub>20</sub>Ti<sub>30</sub>V<sub>35</sub>C<sub>5</sub> LA-RHEA exhibited an enhanced deuterium retention resistance compared to W<sub>10</sub>Ta<sub>20</sub>Ti<sub>35</sub>V<sub>35</sub>, resulting from the formation of carbide precipitates. Moreover, its deuterium desorption resistance can be further improved by annealing treatment. The enhanced deuterium retention and desorption resistance can be attributed to the changes in microstructure and chemical environment, which result in the alterations of retention and desorption behaviors. The present findings shed more light on the deuterium retention and desorption behavior to improve the radiation resistance of LA-RHEAs, providing useful guidance for the exploration of high-performance plasma-facing materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 1","pages":"Article 103924"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145154976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A simple method for the evaluation of the uncertainty in the predictions of a Lagrangian marine radionuclide transport model","authors":"Raúl Periáñez","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103917","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103917","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A method is proposed to assign an error bar to the concentrations predicted in water and seabed sediments by a Lagrangian radionuclide transport model for the marine environment. The method is based upon an analogy with radioactive counting statistics in a radiation detector, due to the stochastic nature of radioactive decay and turbulent mixing. However, it cannot be used to assess deterministic errors of the models, as those related to model parameters for instance. The method has been illustrated with a transport model of the northern Atlantic Ocean, previously tested by comparing model outputs with radionuclide measurements, released from European nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, in water and sediments at different locations and times. Time-series of calculated radionuclide concentrations in water and sediments at several locations, with the corresponding error bars, are provided as examples of the application of the method. In addition, some spatial distributions of errors are also shown. The methodology is simple, seems to be robust and can also be used to evaluate the number of particles required in a Lagrangian simulation to have a given precision level in the results.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 1","pages":"Article 103917"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145118647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bashir Garba Aminu , Yong-Kuo Liu , Hanan Akhdar , Musa Abdulhamid
{"title":"Enhanced gamma and neutron shielding performance of silicon-tungsten composites: A Geant4 simulation study","authors":"Bashir Garba Aminu , Yong-Kuo Liu , Hanan Akhdar , Musa Abdulhamid","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103921","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103921","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of effective radiation shielding materials is crucial for minimizing the harmful effects of ionizing radiation on human health and the environment. This study investigates the gamma-ray and neutron shielding performance of silicon-tungsten composites with varying tungsten concentrations (0 %, 30.1 %, 47.8 %, 58.8 %, 68.1 %, and 88 %) across a gamma energy range of 59 keV–2000 keV. The methodology employs Geant4 simulations, utilizing a point photon source and a NaI detector to measure un-attenuated photons, alongside EpiXS for validation of key shielding parameters. Critical parameters, including half-value layers, mass attenuation coefficients (μ/ρ), linear attenuation coefficients (μ), fast neutron removal cross-sections, and effective atomic numbers (Z<sub>eff</sub>), were evaluated to assess the shielding effectiveness of the composites against both gamma rays and neutrons. Additionally, a Geant4-designed female phantom was used to simulate real-world shielding scenarios, with a gamma source positioned near the chest and cylindrical shielding placed around the torso. Results indicate a significant improvement in shielding performance with increasing tungsten content, with the 88 % tungsten, Silicon-Tungsten 5 composite demonstrating the highest dose absorption and scattering efficiency. These findings underscore the potential of silicon-tungsten composites as effective radiation shielding materials for applications such as protective gloves and apparel, addressing occupational exposure in medical, industrial, and nuclear sectors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"58 2","pages":"Article 103921"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145227572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}