Tiancai Tan , Hongwei Qiao , Jianzhong Ma , Zhide Xi , Jiang Lai
{"title":"Research on the construction of power spectral density function on the core barrel surface of pressurized water reactor","authors":"Tiancai Tan , Hongwei Qiao , Jianzhong Ma , Zhide Xi , Jiang Lai","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103688","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103688","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The construction of random turbulent excitation on the surface of reactor core barrel plays a very important role in the vibration fatigue analysis of the core barrel structure. In order to construct the power spectral density function of the core barrel surface, a semi-empirical formula is proposed based on the experimental load data and the turbulent kinetic energy simulated by Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS). Firstly, through the hydraulic simulation test of the reactor internals, the fluid load and power spectral density function of the key points on the core barrel surface were obtained. Then, the fluid simulation of the reactor internals was carried out by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) RANS solutions to obtain the turbulent kinetic energy on the surface of core barrel. Finally, the undetermined coefficient in the empirical formula was determined by the least square method. The results show that the semi-empirical formula proposed in this paper has a high degree of fitting reduction to the power spectral density of the measuring point. This method can obtain the load of the non-measuring point on the surface of the core barrel, which brings great convenience to the engineering design and evaluation of the flow-induced vibration of the reactor core barrel.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 10","pages":"Article 103688"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943694","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}
Meihui Zhang, Licao Dai, Wenming Chen, Ensheng Pang
{"title":"Analysis of human errors in nuclear power plant event reports","authors":"Meihui Zhang, Licao Dai, Wenming Chen, Ensheng Pang","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103687","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103687","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Human errors play a critical role in influencing the safety of nuclear power plants. This paper aims to better understand the impact of human errors on nuclear power plant operations by utilizing a modified Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) model to analyze 190 Licensee Event Reports (LERs) from Chinese nuclear power plants, spanning the years 2007–2020. The analysis classifies errors into two categories: active errors and latent errors, followed by a detailed examination of each. The results reveal that 53 % of events involved active errors, while 92 % were associated with latent errors. A significant negative correlation was found between the number of latent error events and the operational age of the nuclear power plants, with latent error events decreasing as operational time increases. The first five years of a plant's operation were identified as a high-risk period for latent conditions, highlighting the importance of regular testing for early detection. Further, chi-square tests and odds ratio analysis identified the primary sequence of active errors and latent errors, which is as follows: Organizational Processes→Inadequate Supervision→ Environmental Factors→Skill-based Errors/Knowledge-based Errors. These findings emphasize that effective prevention and management of human errors, particularly latent errors, are crucial for enhancing the long-term safety and operational reliability of nuclear power plants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 10","pages":"Article 103687"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143923112","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}
Jichang Ryu , Gyuseung Cho , Jungsuk Park , Wookjin Han
{"title":"Probabilistic modeling of heterogeneous radioactive waste for uranium radioactivity quantification using an AI-based surrogate model and Bayesian inference","authors":"Jichang Ryu , Gyuseung Cho , Jungsuk Park , Wookjin Han","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103670","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103670","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, we propose a modeling method applicable in situations where information regarding the physical geometry, chemical composition, and source distribution of the measured object is limited. In gamma spectrometry, reference materials or Monte Carlo simulations can be used for detection efficiency calibration. In the case of radioactive waste, using reference materials is challenging, making Monte Carlo simulations generally preferred. However, simulation accuracy diminishes for heterogeneous waste with scant detailed information. To address this challenge, we introduce a probabilistic waste matrix model for estimating the radioactivity of heterogeneous waste. Model parameters are determined using Bayesian inference, and an AI-based surrogate model is employed to generate spectra for likelihood evaluation. Our approach simplifies the complex geometry of radioactive waste into a unified structure with void regions and approximates its diverse chemical composition using three representative elements chosen based on mass attenuation coefficient ratios. Tests using synthetic datasets and experiments indicate that the proposed method enhances uranium radioactivity estimates by three-to six-fold over conventional deterministic variable-based nondestructive gamma spectrometry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 9","pages":"Article 103670"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143900145","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":"Towards energy-insensitive and robust neutron/gamma classification: A learning-based frequency-domain parametric approach","authors":"Pengcheng Ai, Hongtao Qin, Xiangming Sun, Kaiwen Shang","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103667","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103667","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Neutron/gamma discrimination has been intensively researched in recent years, due to its unique scientific value and widespread applications. With the advancement of detection materials and algorithms, nowadays we can achieve fairly good discrimination. However, further improvements rely on better utilization of detector raw signals, especially energy-independent pulse characteristics. We begin by discussing why figure-of-merit (FoM) is not a comprehensive criterion for high-precision neutron/gamma discriminators, and proposing a new evaluation method based on adversarial sampling. Inspired by frequency-domain analysis in existing literature, parametric linear/nonlinear models with minimum complexity are created, upon the discrete spectrum, with tunable parameters just as neural networks. We train the models on an open-source neutron/gamma dataset (CLYC crystals with silicon photomultipliers) preprocessed by charge normalization to discover and exploit energy-independent features. The performance is evaluated on different sampling rates and noise levels, in comparison with the frequency classification index and conventional methods. The frequency-domain parametric models show higher accuracy and better adaptability to variations of data integrity than other discriminators. The proposed method is also promising for online inference on economical hardware and portable devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 9","pages":"Article 103667"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143921850","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":"X-ray interaction and computational characterization and analysis of human brain tissuefor applications in cancer detection","authors":"Aysun Böke","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103683","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103683","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study covers the 1–140 keV energy region, which includes the photoelectric effect, coherent (Rayleigh) and incoherent (Compton) scattering. The study was conducted by testing the different elemental contents from the literature regarding the molecular structure of the human brain grey and white matter. The elemental content most compatible with the experimental results was determined. Using this elemental content, the atomic cross-sections were calculated. The investigated molecular cross-sections and attenuation coefficients were then determined using the relevant atomic cross-sections. The differential coherent scattering distribution for an energy value of 6.935 keV was found to be in very good agreement with its experimental counterparts. The total attenuation coefficients were also in excellent agreement (0,1–3,52 % for grey matter and 0,05–4,47 % for white matter) with experimental data above 28 keV. This study is new in that it examines the grey and white matter of the human brain tissue separately, calculating interaction cross-sections and attenuation coefficients via numerical integration in atomic and molecular form, including very low energy regions. This study will give an idea about the effect of normal brain tissue for applications of cancer detection in radiation oncology and radiology.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 10","pages":"Article 103683"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927729","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}
Fangyu Liu , Jie Wang , Hongyun Shi , Qian Li , Shuai Qie , Zhiwei Dong , Xiaolu Qi , Alvin Kambondo , Qianru Zhang
{"title":"Prediction and classification of gamma passing rate for patient-specific quality assurance using machine learning models based on radiomics features and beam parameters","authors":"Fangyu Liu , Jie Wang , Hongyun Shi , Qian Li , Shuai Qie , Zhiwei Dong , Xiaolu Qi , Alvin Kambondo , Qianru Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103682","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103682","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aim of this work is to predict and classify the gamma passing rate (GPR) values for intensity-modulated radiation therapy plans at the pelvis site utilizing radiomics features and beam features combined with machine learning. Dosimetric verification of 486 fields was performed using the portal dosimetry system. Three types of models were constructed using support vector machines: radiomics models based on radiomics features derived from fluence images, beam models based on beam parameters related to dose delivery accuracy, and hybrid models that integrated both feature sets. For the radiomics, beam, and hybrid models, the mean absolute errors in the test set were 1.62 %, 1.61 %, and 1.45 % at the 2 %/2 mm criterion, and 1.09 %, 1.18 %, and 1.02 % at the 3 %/2 mm criterion, respectively. Similarly, for classification models, the area under the curve values were 0.80, 0.76, and 0.83 for 2 %/2 mm, and 0.79, 0.74, and 0.82 for 3 %/2 mm, respectively. Moreover, radiomics features, particularly the first-order statistics, contributed more significantly than beam features in hybrid models. In conclusion, both radiomics and beam features showed promising value in predicting and classifying the GPR, while the hybrid models achieved the best performance, potentially improving plan quality and reducing quality assurance workload.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 10","pages":"Article 103682"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143917617","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}
Kwang-Seop Son , Jae-Gu Song , Inhye Hahm , Jung-Woon Lee
{"title":"Quantifying cyber risk: A model for evaluating safety impacts of cyber threats on NPPs","authors":"Kwang-Seop Son , Jae-Gu Song , Inhye Hahm , Jung-Woon Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103675","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The quantitative cyber risk assessment approach presented in this paper is specifically tailored to meet the operational and safety needs of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Addressing the limitations of conventional qualitative methods, the proposed approach evaluates cyber risks through the integration of two key elements: the Risk Increase Ratio (RIR) derived from Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) and the Score of Security Controls (SSC) for Critical Digital Assets (CDA). By employing these metrics, the study quantifies the safety impacts of cyber threats by considering their impact on the Core Damage Frequency (CDF). The framework incorporates three distinct models—<span><math><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>C</mi><mi>R</mi></mrow><mi>L</mi></msub></mrow></math></span>, <span><math><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>C</mi><mi>R</mi></mrow><mi>M</mi></msub></mrow></math></span>, and <span><math><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>C</mi><mi>R</mi></mrow><mi>Z</mi></msub></mrow></math></span>—each reflecting different data distribution and normalization methods. Although the absolute risk values varied among the models, their consistent relative risk rankings highlight the robustness of the methodology. A case study was conducted on digital safety systems, demonstrating the applicability of the proposed model to real NPP scenarios. To support practical implementation, the study emphasizes the need for collaboration among operators, designers, and cybersecurity experts to adapt SSC and RIR mappings to the risk values considering site-specific operational and design environments. This structured, risk-informed methodology advances the field of cyber risk assessment by ensuring consistency, granularity, and applicability, ultimately enhancing the resilience of critical infrastructure such as NPPs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 10","pages":"Article 103675"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927728","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":"Inferring particle distributions in two-dimensional space with numerical features based on generative adversarial networks (GANs)","authors":"Pilsoo Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103681","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103681","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A feasibility study was conducted on the usage of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) for inferring particle beam profiles. Two types of GANs, Deep Convolution GAN (DCGAN) and Wasserstein GAN (WGAN), were implemented in the PyTorch framework and trained using a mathematically generated dataset. The input latent vector represents an ensemble of features that defines unique probabilities, indicating the degrees to which the data belongs to specific categories. It was shown that the GANs are able to reproduce successfully with the given features having <span><math><mrow><mo>±</mo><mn>20</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></math></span> uncertainty. The same architectures for the generator and discriminator showed different performances depending on the learning schemes in the performance evaluations; DCGAN showed smaller error fluctuations compared to WGAN. Meanwhile, WGAN generated better images for the convolution of two distributions provided with the pairs of corresponding latent vectors, whereas DCGAN produced artificial anomalies in its results. This implies that WGAN strengthens the robustness of the generator. The GANs demonstrated its functionality as a regression model for unidentified distributions, highlighting the potential applications of generative networks in analyzing complex and irregular behaviors of particle beams in related fields.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 10","pages":"Article 103681"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143943693","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}
Bangho Shin , Chansoo Choi , Yumi Lee , Ji Won Choi , Yeon Soo Yeom
{"title":"Korean dose coefficients for external exposures from air contamination","authors":"Bangho Shin , Chansoo Choi , Yumi Lee , Ji Won Choi , Yeon Soo Yeom","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103668","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103668","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the present study, the Korean-specific dose coefficients (DCs) for air contamination were produced using the adult mesh-type reference Korean phantoms (MRKPs). The DCs were calculated using the Geant4 radiation transport code, employing the same calculation methods and phase-space source data used to calculate the DCs in ICRP Publication 144. We investigated the dosimetric impacts of the Korean-specific DCs against the ICRP144 values. For organ doses, the photon DCs showed good agreement at energies ≥0.5 MeV, with differences generally less than 30 %. At energies <0.5 MeV, on the other hand, significant differences of up to 44 times were observed at 0.02 MeV for female urinary bladder. For electrons, more pronounced differences were observed not only at energies <0.5 MeV (differences of up to 859 times at 0.015 MeV for male testes) but also at energies ≥0.5 MeV (differences of up to 12 times at 0.5 MeV for male testes). For effective doses, the photon DCs were in good agreement (differences <15 %), whereas the electron DCs showed significant differences of up to 9.2 times. The produced Korean-specific DCs will be valuable for dose estimates in air contamination exposures, providing reliable doses specific to the Korean populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 10","pages":"Article 103668"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143922855","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}
Debrup Paul , Arjun Pradeep , D. Sujish , S.P. Ruhela
{"title":"Modeling of fission product adsorption in zeolite packed column for molten salt treatment","authors":"Debrup Paul , Arjun Pradeep , D. Sujish , S.P. Ruhela","doi":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103676","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.net.2025.103676","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Metallic alloy fuels from fast reactors are reprocessed by a non-aqueous electrochemical technique known as electrorefining. This results in the accumulation of heat generating fission products especially Cs-137 in the eutectic salt. These fission products need to be removed from the salt so as to reduce the decay heat load and contamination. Numerical studies have been conducted in COMSOL 6.0 to simulate Cs<sup>+</sup> adsorption in a zeolite column. The developed model is validated by comparing the predictions for breakthrough curves with experimental data available in literature. The numerical model could predict the breakthrough behavior and concentration profile in the mass transfer zone for cesium adsorption in zeolite at a superficial velocity of 0.5 cm/min better as compared to that at 3.3 cm/min. The numerically predicted breakthrough time for Cs uptake in Zeolite-4A at superficial velocities of 3.3 cm/min and 0.5 cm/min had deviations of 0.94 % and 2.3 % respectively from the experimental data available in literature. Considering axial dispersion, the model is extended to other fission products like Sr<sup>2+</sup>, Ba<sup>2+</sup>, and Nd<sup>3+</sup>, showing improved predictions compared to previous model available in literature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19272,"journal":{"name":"Nuclear Engineering and Technology","volume":"57 10","pages":"Article 103676"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143923111","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}