{"title":"Investigating cross-section effects on HPGe detector response through computational and empirical approaches","authors":"Ghada Mellak , Wassila Boukhenfouf , Fatma Zohra Dehimi , Adnane Messai , Nour Eddine Hebboul","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111596","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111596","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The combination of experimental measurements and simulations provides valuable insights into the performance and limitations of gamma-ray spectrometry, especially within a specified energy range. This study investigates the impact of cross-section variations on the response of high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors, focusing on the energy range from 53 keV to 1408 keV.</div><div>Monte Carlo simulations using the MCNP5 code with two different cross-section libraries, ENDF/B.VI and JENDL-5, are conducted alongside a semi-empirical method utilizing ANGLE 4.0 software. This approach allows for a comprehensive exploration of how cross-section variations affect HPGe detector response.</div><div>The flexibility in library selection highlights the adaptability of MCNP to cater to specific energy requirements. The calculated efficiencies are then compared with experimental data to evaluate accuracy and reliability. The results reveal an agreement within [2–3%] between experimental and simulated values, particularly for energies above 121 keV. Notably, for low-energy ranges (53–121 keV), the ENDF/B.VI library achieves an accuracy within [3–5%], making it effective at capturing low-energy interactions and enhancing prediction precision. This accuracy highlights its suitability for capturing low-energy interactions and enhances prediction precision.</div><div>Overall, this study provides valuable insights into detector performance and underscores the significance of library choice in ensuring simulation accuracy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 111596"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142709016","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}
Jinlong Yong, Yushou Song, Yunlong Zhao, Yingwei Hou, Huilan Liu
{"title":"A matrix effect correction method for fissile nuclear material mass measurement by delayed neutrons","authors":"Jinlong Yong, Yushou Song, Yunlong Zhao, Yingwei Hou, Huilan Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111600","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111600","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Active neutron interrogation (ANI), extensively employed in nuclear safeguards, is sensitive to the presence of special nuclear materials (SNMs). However, the interaction of the matrix material with neutrons weakens the precision of fissile mass measurements by the ANI system. Therefore, it is paramount to ensure that the evaluation of the fissile mass remains unaffected by the matrix and enhances the assay performance of the ANI system. The present work proposes a matrix correction method based on the neutron flux monitor group (NFMG) response to tackle this issue. Based on the varying influence of different matrices on the neutron energies and fluxes, the NFMG response can be used to quantify the matrix effects. This allows the method to enable the identification of matrices already present in the database and has the potential to compensate for unknown matrix effects. To validate the applicability and accuracy of this method, a Shuffler system model and various matrix compositions were developed using the Geant4 toolkit. The results demonstrate that the improved simulated annealing (SA) algorithm exhibits excellent stability when confronted with varying enrichments and distributions of U<sub>3</sub>O<sub>8</sub> materials. When the threshold is set at <span><math><mrow><mi>α</mi></mrow></math></span> ≥ 0.90, the improved SA algorithm achieves a successful identification rate of 90.4% for matrices. Simultaneously, using the response equation, the average relative deviation of the corrected <sup>235</sup>U mass is no more than 7%. For the unknown matrix, the correction capability of this method relies primarily on the construction of the reference database and the response equation. In most cases, the average relative deviation of the corrected <sup>235</sup>U mass is less than 28%.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 111600"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142723537","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":"Impact of low dose of gamma irradiation on thin films of Bismuth Tri-iodide","authors":"Alka Garg , Ruby Jindal","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111598","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111598","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thin films of Bismuth Tri-iodide BiI<sub>3</sub> were synthesized on a glass substrate by the thermal vacuum deposition technique. Films were exposed to gamma radiations of two doses 10 Gy and 50 Gy. Structural and optical properties of films were studied through X-ray Diffraction and UV spectroscopy both before and after the gamma irradiation. The effect of gamma radiations on microstructure parameters i.e. crystallite size and the micro-strain were studied qualitatively and quantitively. The observed increase in crystallite size and decrease in micro-strain is due to localized heating of crystallites which results in the merging of small crystallites and their assembly leading to the formation of larger crystallites as evident from X-ray Diffraction after gamma irradiation. Effect on the optical constants namely refractive index and extinction coefficient for different doses was also enumerated to throw light on the change in optical density of this material on gamma irradiation. It is observed that the refractive index n increases with an increase in the doses of gamma irradiation. The increase in optical density could be attributed either to the displacement of atoms from lattice sites to the interstitial sites or to the self-assembly behavior of the crystallites on irradiation. The absorption coefficient follows Urbach's empirical relation and exhibits exponential dependency on photon energy close to the band edge. Calculating Urbach's energy provides insight into the emergence of localized states at the energy gap's edges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 111598"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142715225","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":"Mapping sensitivity of CVD diamond detector using synchrotron micro-beam","authors":"Mohamed A.E. Abdel-Rahman , Mohamed Y.M. Mohsen , A. Abdelghafar Galahom , Emad Ghandourah , Essam M. Banoqitah , Nicola Tartoni , Annika Lohstroh","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111594","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111594","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this project, we conducted micro-beam sensitivity mapping using the Diamond Light Source (DLS) synchrotron. We fabricated three samples with distinct metal contacts: Platinum (HPS-Pt) and Aluminium/Platinum (HPS-Al/Pt) on high-quality single crystal CVD diamond, and Platinum (VS-Pt) on lower purity single crystal CVD diamond. Our objective was to identify the most suitable sample for synchrotron measurements, particularly focusing on the lower purity sample due to its unique characteristics, such as thin nitrogen lines and substrate area.</div><div>High spatial resolution sensitivity maps were obtained for the lower purity sample using a micro step displacement of up to 10 μm, revealing detailed nitrogen lines. We observed that bias polarity significantly influenced the photocurrent, with negative bias yielding higher photocurrents, possibly due to polarisation effects. Near nitrogen lines, we noted a slow rise time and an increased stabilization time with bias, alongside a prolonged decay to dark current.</div><div>For the HPS-Al/Pt sample, we found no improvement in current response homogeneity, therefore reliability, with bias; instead, we recorded high dark currents and unstable signals, particularly at negative bias. Conversely, the HPS-Pt sample exhibited a uniform response at both +50V and −50V in the central region of the sensitivity maps. This response became increasingly homogeneous at 100V and further improved up to 200V, suggesting that HPS-Pt is the most suitable candidate for synchrotron measurements.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 111594"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142723536","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":"Validation of a general-use high flux isotope reactor–specific metaheuristic optimization framework for isotope production target design","authors":"C. Salyer , S. Bogetic , J. Griswold","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111592","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111592","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Currently, advanced optimization methods are limited for isotope production (IP) campaigns at the US Department of Energy’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), leading to years of conservative and historical approaches with minimal innovation. Moreover, the growing demand for new and existing isotopes is beginning to challenge the capacity of HFIR. This work explores the development and integration of metaheuristic (MH) optimization techniques for more efficient target design and irradiation strategies. As a test case, the optimization framework was applied to a routinely produced isotope at HFIR, <sup>188</sup>W, with the objective of maximizing the specific activity (SA), a key production metric. The framework includes Gnowee, a Python-based MH optimization algorithm, coupled with the Monte Carlo N-Particle version 6 (MCNP6) and Oak Ridge Isotope Generation (ORIGEN) activation/depletion/decay codes to design, simulate, and evaluate thousands of potential target design and irradiation scheme candidates. The framework relies on mock input files, design and irradiation variables for the algorithm to select, as well as a user-defined objective function to score each candidate based on the returned SA. Given the inherent complexities and computational time required when modeling and simulating the full HFIR model, a novel simplified MCNP6 model is presented in this article to increase the computational efficiency of the framework. The variables explored include irradiation location, number of cycles, and the number of W samples. Over 1,000 simplified model candidates were simulated in the same amount of time as a single full HFIR model run. By comparing the simplified model optimization’s top candidate(s) with the full HFIR model results, the framework was verified to accurately explore the design space and converge on the top performing candidates. Lastly, past experimental data was compared to the data generated by the framework/model and both show that fewer W rings return higher SA, as expected. The verified and validated techniques provide a standardized solution to increase IP efficiencies by exploring thousands of unique target designs and irradiation strategies in a similar time as that required to run a single case in the full HFIR MCNP6 model. Both the novel simplified model and the full HFIR model show a more than 30% increase in SA if all presented modifications are applied to the current design and strategy. Thus, the objective of building a general-use, computationally efficient optimization framework for HFIR IP was accomplished, and has the potential to be applied to other IP campaigns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 111592"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142723539","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}
Asma Alem-Bezoubiri , Fethi Bezoubiri , Michael Speiser , Suleiman Ameir Suleiman , Hossam Donya , Ahmed Chafik Chami
{"title":"Monte Carlo study of organ doses and related secondary cancer risk estimations for patients undergoing prostate radiotherapy: Algerian population-based study","authors":"Asma Alem-Bezoubiri , Fethi Bezoubiri , Michael Speiser , Suleiman Ameir Suleiman , Hossam Donya , Ahmed Chafik Chami","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111595","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111595","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present study aimed to assess organ doses and the associated cancer risks related to secondary radiation (photons and neutrons) exposure during 3D Conformational Radiotherapy (3D-CRT) for patients with prostate cancer in Algeria. To this purpose, a detailed geometric Monte Carlo (MC) modeling of the LINAC, combined with a hybrid whole-body phantom was carried out. The secondary radiation doses were calculated in patient's organs, both within and outside the field. The obtained doses were used to estimate the Lifetime Attributable Risks (LARs) for cancer incidence for out of field organs, using the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation VII (BEIR VII) risk model, considering the exposure age range according to the age of the treated patients in Algeria. The survival information and baseline cancer risks were based on relevant statistics for the Algerian population. The results revealed that secondary radiation equivalent doses mostly depend on the distance of organs from the treated volume. The highest and lowest equivalent doses of 5.77 mSv/Gy and 0.24 mSv/Gy were recorded in the small intestine and ocular lens, respectively. LARs decreased as the age of exposure increased, with the highest estimated value per 100,000 individuals identified at a 35-year exposure age (<u>88</u> for the colon and <u>15</u> for the intestine). Conversely, the lowest risks were found at 70 years of age, specifically in <u>rib bone and leg bone with value of (0).</u> The current research could contribute to establishing a database concerning the incidence of secondary cancers induced by radiotherapy during 3D-CRT for prostate cancer in Algeria.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 111595"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142723538","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":"Evaluation of 14C/12C ratio measurements using accelerator mass spectrometry with standard materials under different graphitization conditions","authors":"Sae-Hoon Park, Seung-Won Lee, Yu-Seok Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111589","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111589","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, an evaluation of carbon-beam tuning and <sup>14</sup>C/<sup>12</sup>C ratio measurements is performed to validate the graphitization process in the pre-processing procedure employed at the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) facility of Dongguk University in Korea. The AMS isotopic ratio data are analyzed for samples subjected to three different graphitization conditions: (1) the entire process including Fe catalyst pre-heating with a high vacuum, (2) a high vacuum without pre-heating, and (3) a low vacuum without pre-heating. High-quality isotopic ratio measurements are achieved under these conditions. The measured mean isotopic ratio values for the background samples are almost equivalent to the different graphitization condition samples, with a difference in the order of 10<sup>−16</sup>. Therefore, conducting measurements with or without Fe catalyst pre-heating or high vacuum conditions is equally viable. Furthermore, the simplification of the graphitization process steps reduces the processing time required to produce five samples from 8 to 4 h, thereby enhancing the daily sample throughput by a factor of two, without compromising data quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 111589"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142663447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Larvicidal and adulticidal activity of irradiated Thuja orientalis essential oil by gamma radiation for controlling Culex pipiens","authors":"A.M. Gharib , S.S. Hamouda , A.F. Hamza , N.F. Zahran","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111591","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111591","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Culex pipiens</em> mosquitoes are the primary vector of the West Nile virus worldwide and have a wide distribution. To avoid the development of resistance in insect pests to conventional synthetic pesticides, there have been many attempts to study botanical pesticides. The increasing resistance of insect pests to synthetic pesticides is a threat to the diversity of ecosystems, which makes the study of botanical pesticides all the more important. The study aimed to determine the efficacy of <em>Thuja orientalis</em> essential oil irradiated with 1, 3 and 5 KGy compared to unirradiated <em>T. orientalis</em> as larvicidal agents against the third instar larvae of <em>C. pipiens</em> using six different concentrations (15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 ppm) and as an adulticidal agent against approximately three-day-old female adults 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 1 and 2%. The results generally showed that the irradiated essential oil with 5 KGy had the highest efficacy by LC<sub>50</sub> (20.16 ppm) followed by essential oil irradiated with 3 and 1 KGy (LC<sub>50</sub>, 23.16 and 26.00 ppm, respectively) compared to unirradiated ones (LC<sub>50</sub>, 27.28 ppm) after 24 h from the exposure for the third instar larvae. The knockdown effect for adults increased significantly with higher concentrations of the oil, across different exposure times ranging from 5 to 60 min. The time to knock down 100% of mosquito population to <em>Thuja orientalis</em> essential oils at the highest concentration 2% were 20 min at 0, 1, and 3 KGy and 10 min at 5 KGy. Our results indicate that gamma irradiation of <em>T. orientalis</em> fruit improves the efficacy of their essential oil against <em>Culex pipiens</em> and the irradiated oil could be successfully used for management of these insects. The head capsule, antenna, and the last abdominal segments of the 3rd instar larvae exposed to the essential oil of unirradiated or irradiated Thuja orientalis unripe were examined by the scanning electron microscope (SEM).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 111591"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142685770","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":"Impact of dose and heating rate on thermoluminescence kinetics in aquamarine (Be3Al2(SiO3)6:Fe)","authors":"Pedro Sena, Héctor Maya, Rafael Cogollo","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111593","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111593","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study of a thermoluminescent (TL) material begins with the response of the material to different doses of radiation and different rates of heating (Bos, 2006a), For this reason, the present work deals with the possible variations of the kinetic parameters for two groups of glow curves of beryl in its variety known as aquamarine. (Be<sub>3</sub>Al<sub>2</sub>(SiO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>6</sub>: Fe). The exposure and reading process was performed in a RISO TL/OSL DA-20 reader at room temperature. For the development of this work, the sample was irradiated at different doses (Between 4 and 100 Gy) of β-radiation with a source of <sup>90</sup>Sr/<sup>90</sup>Y. The glow curve was recorded at a heating rate of 1 °C/s. The results show four experimental glow peaks around the 75, 115, 189 y 302 °C. The glow peak with the highest intensity at about 75 °C is referred to as the \"main peak\". A second set of glow curves was obtained with a radiation dose β of 1 Gy. These were recorded at different heating rates between 0.5 and 5 °C/s. The glow peaks show a shift towards higher temperature values as the heating rate increases, in agreement with theory. However, a slight decrease in the area of the glow peak is observed, more pronounced in the case of the main peak. The kinetic analysis performed on the glow curves recorded at different doses of beta radiation and heating rates, using different methods of kinetic theory, such as the initial ascent method, full peak glow, curve fitting and the dimensionless fitting method, shows that the trapping parameters (activation energy, frequency factor, and order parameter) are independent of the absorbed dose, in the measured range, and of the heating rate used.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"216 ","pages":"Article 111593"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142692692","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":"On the SRIM prediction of ranges for Ni ions","authors":"A.F. Gurbich, P.S. Prusachenko, T.L. Bobrovskiy, M.V. Bokhovko","doi":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111590","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apradiso.2024.111590","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An experiment to determine the range of Ni ions in matter consisting in the implantation of nickel ions into samples followed by the determination of the depth profile of the implanted ions by nuclear reaction resonance profiling was performed. The experimentally obtained ranges for Ni ions in Fe and Mo were compared with SRIM-2013 (<span><span>www.srim.org</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>) and TRIM-98 predictions. It was found that the ranges predicted by SRIM-2013 are significantly overestimated whereas the calculation results obtained with TRIM-98 modified to take into account radiation-enhanced diffusion are consistent with the experimental data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8096,"journal":{"name":"Applied Radiation and Isotopes","volume":"215 ","pages":"Article 111590"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142638073","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}