Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

Security Culture And Its Self-Assessment As Supplementary Tools For Nuclear Security Training, Igor Khripunov, Sara Z. Kutchesfahani, Khairul -. Khairul -

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Security Culture and its Self-Assessment as Supplementary Tools for Nuclear Security Training

Igor Khripunov, PhD

Center for International Trade and Security, University of Georgia (USA)

Sara Z. Kutchesfahani, PhD

Center for International Trade and Security, University of Georgia (USA)

Khairul Khairul

National Nuclear Energy Agency of Indonesia (BATAN)

Abstract

Nuclear security culture – an emerging and widely recognized practice – serves as a means to support and enhance nuclear security. In fact, many International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) publications and the Nuclear Security Summits have highlighted the vital role of nuclear security culture and raised its status to the same …

Khalifa University Reachback Program Supporting Prevention Of Illicit Nuclear And Radiological Material Smuggling In The United Arab Emirates, Braden Goddard, Alexander A. Solodov, Patrick J. Simmons

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Trafficking of Illicit nuclear or radiological materials is a global threat which can involve and adversely affect any country. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of each state to prevent and combat illicit nuclear trafficking by screening all cargo and travelers entering, exiting, and transiting through its borders. As a part of the national radiation detection infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a reachback program was established at Khalifa University (KU) to provide capabilities for adjudication of radiation alarms at Khalifa Port and other radiation portal monitor (RPM) locations. In addition to the main mission, KU Reachback aims to educate …

Status Of Nuclear Security Education And Research In Bangladesh And Looking Forward, Md. Shafiqul Islam, Md. Mobasher Ahmed

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Bangladesh uses category I of nuclear materials and category 1-5 of radioactive materials in the field of research, medical and industries. The Government is going to implement its first nuclear power plant under an IGA between the Bangladesh and Russian Governments. With the emerging global nuclear and radiological terrorism by potential adversaries, enhancing nuclear security is the paramount importance for the country. The paper has found no established communication channels among stakeholders in order to work in a coordinated and collaborative manner for strengthening the nuclear security. This has resulted lacking importance of education, research, training and knowledge management initiatives …

Letter From The Editor - Frahi-Amroun, Akila Frahi-Amroun

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor - Hirst, Russel K. Hirst

International Journal of Nuclear Security

No abstract provided.

Building The Education And Training Pillar Of The University Of Tennessee’S Institute For Nuclear Security, Howard Lewis Hall

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The University of Tennessee (UT) developed its first formal and coordinated efforts in nuclear security education in 2008-2009 with its graduate certificate program in nuclear security in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. Building on this work, in 2011 UT established the UT Institute for Nuclear Security (INS) as a collaborative center at the university to expand its curricular impact as well as foster research and partnerships with nearby major governmental facilities engaged in nuclear security work. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) have joined with UT as charter members …

Promoting Excellence And Demonstrated Competence For Nuclear Security Training, Daniel Johnson, Brunelle Battistella, Roger Howsley

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The international community has spent considerable time, money, and effort attempting to establish a series of national and regional Centres of Excellence (COEs), also known as Nuclear Security Training and Support Centres (NSSCs). These Centres tend to have a wide variety of objectives, structures, and methods of delivery. Unsurprisingly, no internationally accepted standard exists on how they should operate. The IAEA has produced some excellent guidance (TECDOC 1734), but by virtue of its role cannot provide standards for benchmarking success. Against this backdrop, the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) launched the WINS Academy, an initiative to provide practitioners with …

Nuclear Security Education At Pakistan Institute Of Engineering And Applied Sciences (Pieas): Current Status, Future Prospects And The Lessons Learnt, Tariq Majeed Dr.

International Journal of Nuclear Security

In this paper, the details of nuclear security education at Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) have been discussed. Nuclear Security education was initiated at PIEAS as a sub-specialty of its MS Nuclear Engineering Program in October 2009. Two courses, Nuclear Security (NE-581) and Physical Protection Systems (NE-582) have been offered on regular basis in the 3^rd and 4^th semesters. To date, 72 students have been graduated with this sub-specialty. The most important lesson learnt is that introduction of nuclear security related courses in nuclear engineering program has opened up new venues of applications of nuclear …

Nuclear Security And Hrd - Viet Nam’S Effort, Nu-Hoai-Vi Nguyen, Tan Huu Vuong

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Viet Nam is expanding its nuclear energy program for the application in various areas including industries, agriculture, healthcare, education and research. Recognizing the importance of the nineteen issues laid out in the IAEA document “Milestones in Development of a National Infrastructure for Nuclear Power” [1], Vietnam is considering how to address these issues. This paper describes the establishment of nuclear security infrastructure in Viet Nam and how Viet Nam has addressed one of the nineteen issues, that is human resource development in nuclear energy in general and in nuclear security in particular.

Challenges And Responses For Ensuring Sustainability Of Insa Training Programs, Jongsook Kim, Hyung-Kyung Lee, Jin-Young Lee

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Providing a systematic training is critical for a state or international perspective to reinforce nuclear security regime nationally or internationally. Korea government recognizes the importance of such challenge, and established the INSA under the KINAC as a Center of Excellence for fostering national nuclear security capacity and contributing international nuclear security governance. INSA started with the government policy that the establishment of sustainable education and training infrastructure and processes is fundamental to the capacity building strategy. After established, INSA has been designing and delivering the domestic and international/regional training programs for the purpose of fostering human resources development in nuclear …

The Utility Of Table-Top Exercises In Teaching Nuclear Security, Christopher Hobbs, Luca Lentini, Matthew Moran

International Journal of Nuclear Security

In the emerging field of nuclear security, those responsible for education and training are constantly seeking to identify and engage with tools and approaches that provide for a constructive learning environment. In this context, this paper explores the nature and value of Tabletop exercises (TTX) and how they can be applied in the nuclear security context. On the one hand, the paper dissects the key components of the TTX and considers the broader pedagogical benefits of this teaching method. On the other hand, the paper draws lessons from the authors’ experience of running TTXs as part of nuclear security professional …

Measurement And Analysis Of Iii-V & Ii-Vi Infrared Detectors: Radiometric, Noise Spectrum, And Radiation Tolerance Performance, Vincent M. Cowan

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Infrared (IR) hybrid detector arrays and discrete detectors operated in the space environment may be subjected to a variety of sources of natural radiation while in orbit. This means IR detectors intended for applications such as space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) or space-situational awareness (SSA) must not only have high performance (high quantum efficiency, h and low dark-current density, J_D, and preferably minimal 1/f noise content), but also their radiation tolerance or ability to withstand the effects of the radiation they would expect to encounter in space must be characterized and well understood. As the effects of …

Fokker-Planck-Based Acceleration For Sn Equations With Highly Forward Peaked Scattering In Slab Geometry, Japan K. Patel

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Short mean free paths are characteristic of charged particles. High energy charged particles often have highly forward peaked scattering cross sections. Transport problems involving such charged particles are also highly optically thick. When problems simultaneously have forward peaked scattering and high optical thickness, their solution, using standard iterative methods, becomes very inefficient. In this dissertation, we explore Fokker-Planck-based acceleration for solving such problems.

Advanced Stochastic Collocation Methods For Polynomial Chaos In Raven, Paul W. Talbot

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

As experiment complexity in fields such as nuclear engineering continually increases, so does the demand for robust computational methods to simulate them. In many simulations, input design parameters and intrinsic experiment properties are sources of uncertainty. Often small perturbations in uncertain parameters have significant impact on the experiment outcome. For instance, in nuclear fuel performance, small changes in fuel thermal conductivity can greatly affect maximum stress on the surrounding cladding. The difficulty quantifying input uncertainty impact in such systems has grown with the complexity of numerical models. Traditionally, uncertainty quantification has been approached using random sampling methods like Monte Carlo. …

Reduced-Order Monte Carlo Modeling Of Radiation Transport In Random Media, Aaron J. Olson

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

The ability to perform radiation transport computations in stochastic media is essential for predictive capabilities in applications such as weather modeling, radiation shielding involving non-homogeneous materials, atmospheric radiation transport computations, and transport in plasma-air structures. Due to the random nature of such media, it is often not clear how to model or otherwise compute on many forms of stochastic media. Several approaches to evaluation of transport quantities for some stochastic media exist, though such approaches often either yield considerable error or are quite computationally expensive. We model stochastic media using the Karhunen-Loève (KL) expansion, seek to improve efficiency through use …

Reconfigurable Liquid Attenuated Collimator, Larry W. Burggraf, Benjamin R. Kowash, Jack G. M. Fitzgerald

AFIT Patents

A reconfigurable radiographic aperture mask collimator apparatus includes a body portion configured to receive an attenuating liquid having a first attenuation value per unit volume. The apparatus further includes a grid portion mated to a face of the body portion and a plurality of passageways each having a cross sectional area and a length. The plurality of passageways is disposed within the grid portion. A plurality of plugs is slidably disposed within the plurality of passageways, and each of the plurality of plugs has a second attenuation value per unit volume less than the first attenuation value. One of the …

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas For Food Applications, Michael V. Lauria, Russell S. Brayfield Ii, Ronald G. Johnson, Allen L. Garner

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Successfully distributing shelf food requires treatment to eliminate microorganisms. Current chemical methods, such as chlorine wash, can alter food quality while only being effective for a limited time. Cold atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPs) can eradicate the microorganisms responsible for food spoilage and foodborne illness. Optimizing CAP treatments requires understanding the reactive species generated and relating them to eradication efficiency. Recent studies have used optical emission spectroscopy (OES) to determine the species generated in a sealed package that would hold food. In this study,we supplement the OES results with optical absorption spectroscopy (OAS) using the same gases (helium, nitrogen, compressed air, …

Radiation Tailored Polymers For Detectors, Adhesive-Coatings And Other Industrial Uses, Anna M. Earley, Alex Bakken, Rusi P. Taleyarkhan

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The ever growing importance of humans to depend on renewable resources has shifted the focus of consumers, producers, and even politicians to more sustainable answers. Furthermore, pressure on the oil and natural gas industry has elevated the status of biopolymers in this regard. Polylactic acid (PLA) is unique polymer that offers unique abilities for tailored property derivation; thereby, enabling one to replace many engineered polymers and provide a sustainable solution as a nontoxic renewable resource. As a bioplastic, the tailoring of PLA under various conditions is important to the application and integration into current industry uses. After irradiating high molecular …

Temperature Dependent Surface Modification Of Tungsten Exposed To High-Flux Low-Energy Helium Ion Irradiation, Antony Q. Damico, Jitendra K. Tripathi, Theodore J. Novakowski, Gennady Miloshevsky, Ahmed Hassanein

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nuclear fusion is a great potential energy source that can provide a relatively safe and clean limitless supply of energy using hydrogen isotopes as fuel material. ITER (international thermonuclear experimental reactor) is the world first fusion reactor currently being built in France. Tungsten (W) is a prime candidate material as plasma facing component (PFC) due to its excellent mechanical properties, high melting point, and low erosion rate. However, W undergoes a severe surface morphology change when exposed to helium ion (He⁺) bombardment under fusion conditions. It forms nanoscopic fiber-form structures, i.e., fuzz on the surface. Fuzz is brittle …

Tfit Modeling Of Wave Propagation For Flow Excursion, Brachston Grubbs, Krishna Chetty, Martin Bertodano

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In the nuclear power industry, the Two-Fluid Model (TFM) is mainly used in the simulation of Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA). The Two-Fluid Model is a wave mechanics formulation that may also be used to analytically perform stability analysis, which requires numerous assumptions and simplifications. This project aimed to advance the TFIT-TFM simulations in the modeling of the flow excursion instability. By using the TFIT computational code, simulation results can be obtained without the need for assumptions and simplifications. In this project, a simulation was performed to verify the nonlinear wave propagation capability of TFIT. During the verification process, the …

Modeling Of Ion/Target Interactions In Plasma Facing Components Of Fusion Reactor, Nicole Neto Godry Farias, Tatyana Sizyuk, Ahmed Hassanein

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nuclear fusion is a promising source of clean energy that can be one of the key future suppliers of the world’s increasing power demand. One of today’s main challenges faced by scientists and engineers regarding nuclear reactors is to design plasma-facing components (PFCs) that can withstand extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, and ions/particles irradiation. Material evolution and damage of PFCs are strongly related to the bombardment and diffusion processes of ions resulting from fusion fuel, i.e., deuterium and tritium and reaction products, i.e., helium. However, work is still needed in order to understand fuel diffusion in the presence of helium …

Computer Modeling Of Graphene Field Effect Transistors, Drew M. Ryan, Robert S. Bean

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Graphene has been the centerpiece of numerous research projects since its discovery in 2004, greatly due to its multitude of unique properties. Its variable conductivity, relative strength, and electron mobility make graphene a prime candidate for applications in the field of radiation detection. While work has been performed in the past on testing radiation detection using graphene using Graphene Field Effect Transistors (GFET), due to its limited size, fabricating GFETs can be tedious and costly. Therefore, a need arose for a way to test potential GFET designs without the cost and limitations of fabricating GFETs for each test iteration. Using …

Fluence Dependent Surface Modification On Tungsten Coatings Using Low Energy Helium Ion Irradiation At Elevated Temperatures, Cheng Ji, Jitendra K. Tripathi, Theodore J. Novakowski, Valeryi Sizyuk, Ahmed Hassanein

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nuclear fusion is the most promising renewable energy source for the near future. It can provide a large amount of energy using a very small amount of fuel, as compared with that of the coal, oil, or nuclear fission. The chain reaction in nuclear fusion produces the energy and fuel, from hydrogen isotopes available in see water. Tungsten (W) is a leading candidate material for the plasma-facing component (PFC) in nuclear fusion reactors such as ITER (international thermonuclear experimental reactor), because of its high melting point, high yield strength, low erosion and low hydrogen isotope retention. Recent studies showed deeply …

X-Ray Fluorescence For Quantification Of Lead And Strontium In Vivo, Aaron James Specht

Open Access Dissertations

Lead (Pb) is a toxicant well known for its effects on almost every organ system in the body. Pb use in industry has declined since removal of Pb from gasoline, but many developing countries still have significant use of Pb. Exposure to Pb has been linked with diseases causing neurodegeneration and thus have lasting effects long after the initial exposure. Another metal, strontium (Sr), has been linked with bone disease in particular situations and shown to have uses in treating osteoporosis as a supplement. However, there are no studies of the effects of Sr using a meaningful biomarker. The most …

Thermoelectric Half-Heuslers: Synthesis, Processing, And Performance, Joseph Robert Croteau

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Thermoelectric half-Heusler compounds have potential to convert the heat wasted from industrial and transportation processes to useful electricity. Among the highest performing half-Heusler compounds are nano-structured bulk materials which have been arc-melted, pulverized into a nano-powder, and sintered by DC-hot press. High performing n- and p-type half-Heusler compounds with nominal composition of Hf_0.25Zr_0.75NiSn_0.99Sb_0.01 and Nb_0.75Ti_0.25FeSb, respectively, have been provided to us in both dense and powder form by our collaborators at the University of Houston. We consolidate these powders by SPS, refine these powders to improve both particle size …

The Impact Of The State-Level Concept On “Newcomers”: A Case Study Of The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Thaqal Alhuzaymi, Ayodeji Babatunde Alajo

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest reports indicate a growing number of states (newcomers) considering the deployment of nuclear energy programs. In developing nuclear infrastructure, newcomers have to employ the prevailing standards to deploy the nuclear program in a secure, safe, and sustainable manner. State-Level Concept (SLC) refers to a comprehensive approach that uses information about a state’s nuclear facilities and capabilities to implement safeguards within the scope of the state’s safeguards agreement. SLC focuses on strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of the safeguards system considering the State as whole. SLC has been implemented in 53 states, …

Thin Film Alsb Carrier Transport Properties And Room Temperature Radiation Response, Erin Vaughan

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

Theoretical predictions for AlSb material properties have not been realized using bulk growth methods. This research was motivated by advances in molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth technology to produce high-quality thin-film AlSb for the purpose of evaluating transport properties and suitability for radiation detection. Simulations using MCNP5 were performed to benchmark an existing silicon surface barrier detector and to predict ideal AlSb detector behavior, with the finding that AlSb should have improved detection efficiency due to the larger atomic number of Sb compared with Si. GaSb diodes were fabricated by both homoepitaxial MBE and ion implantation methods in order to …

Integrated Microsphere Whispering Gallery Mode Probe For Highly Sensitive Refractive Index Measurement, Hanzheng Wang, Lei Yuan, Cheol-Woon Kim, Jie Huang, Xinwei Lan, Hai Xiao

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

We report an integrated whispering gallery mode microresonator-based sensor probe for refractive index sensing. The probe was made by sealing a borosilicate glass microsphere into a thin-wall glass capillary pigtailed with a multimode optical fiber. The intensities of the resonant peaks were found decreasing exponentially (linearly in a log scale) with the increasing refractive index of the medium surrounding the capillary. The sensing capability of the integrated probe was tested using sucrose solutions of different concentrations and the resolution was estimated to be about 2.5 x 10^-5 in the index range of 1.3458 to 1.3847. The integrated sensor probe …

Cyclotron Production And Biomedical Imaging Applications Of The Pet Isotope Manganese-52, Andrew Lake Wooten

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Manganese is an important element for biomedical research because of its roles as an essential micronutrient and as a neurotoxin from chronic elevated exposure, as well as the role of manganese(II) as a paramagnetic core for contrast agents in T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Using a radiotracer of manganese provides excellent sensitivity for studying these phenomena, but only 52Mn met the criteria for our experiments: (1) a half-life (t1/2=5.6 days) that was long enough to examine timepoints over several days, (2) a half-life that was short enough to emit sufficient counts for a realistic scan time, and (3) emitted radiation …

Mcnp6 Computational-Based Sensitivity Propagation Analysis Of Continuous Neutron Cross-Sections Using The Godiva (Hmf-001) And The Godiver (Hmf-004) Benchmark Criticality Study Cases, Lawrence James Lakeotes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There has been a reduction in funding for theoretical and applied research for improving the nation's database of continuous neutron cross-sections at BNL-NNDC. From 1940 through the late 1980s, research and applied development produced volumes of reliable neutron continuous cross-sections for many isotopes. Currently, the cross-section work has been mainly computational. The focus of this research is mainly centered on the requirements for improving thermal cross-sections to support reactor operations and fuel storage. The research efforts will also helpfully aid in the fast fission spectrum in order to support fast reactor designs for improving safety analysis and feedback coefficients.

This …