Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

An Examination Between Laryngeal Physiology And Parkinson’S Disease: Severity And Treatment, Jillian Pelikan

University Honors Program

The purpose of this in-depth literature review is to examine the relationship between laryngeal physiology and Parkinson’s disease in terms of the severity and possible treatment. This research aims to determine the distinct characteristics of Parkinsonian speech and possible causes of these speech deficits. In addition, a specific type of Parkinson’s disease treatment, deep brain stimulation, was explored to determine effectiveness on laryngeal physiological deficits found in Parkinson’s disease patients. Through synthesizing peer reviewed journals and various studies, data was examined in order to take an in-depth look at the unique relationship between laryngeal physiology and Parkinson’s disease. Findings indicated …

Social Inflation: Rising Tides In The Insurance Markets, Noah E. Heim

University Honors Program

Social inflation, despite its relative recency, has been a strong concern for some of the largest insurance carriers in the world. With claims costs increasing across broad markets, especially in casualty markets, insurers are racing to find the reason why. Increased claims costs can result in a number of negative effects on both insurance carriers as well as insurances buyers. Social inflation seems to be a key driver of these increased costs. Doing a deep dive into the validity of this claim and studying some potential causes as well as markets in which social inflation is occurring has led to …

A New Dead-Time Determination Method For Gamma-Ray Detectors Using Attenuation Law, T. Akyurek

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study presents a new dead-time measurement method using the gamma attenuation law and generalized dead-time models for nuclear gamma-ray detectors. The dead-time of the NaI(Tl) detection system was obtained to validate the new dead-time determination method using very thin lead and polyethylene absorbers. Non-paralyzing dead-time was found to be 8.39 μs, and paralyzing dead-time was found to be 8.35 μs using lead absorber for NaI(Tl) scintillator detection system. These dead-time values are consistent with the previously reported dead-time values for scintillator detection systems. The gamma build-up factor's contribution to the dead-time was neglected because a very thin material was …

A Comparative Study Of Machine Learning Methods For Automated Identification Of Radioisotopes Using Nai Gamma-Ray Spectra, S. M. Galib, P. K. Bhowmik, A. V. Avachat, H. K. Lee

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

This article presents a study on the state-of-the-art methods for automated radioactive material detection and identification, using gamma-ray spectra and modern machine learning methods. The recent developments inspired this in deep learning algorithms, and the proposed method provided better performance than the current state-of-the-art models. Machine learning models such as: fully connected, recurrent, convolutional, and gradient boosted decision trees, are applied under a wide variety of testing conditions, and their advantage and disadvantage are discussed. Furthermore, a hybrid model is developed by combining the fully connected and convolutional neural network, which shows the best performance among the different machine learning …

Monte Carlo Perturbation Analysis Of Dimension And Density Variations Of The Annular Core Research Reactor Model Fuel, Karissa Currie

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

This thesis assesses sources of uncertainty in the neutron energy spectrum of the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) model. Uncertainty evaluations have been performed on the ACRR core but were computationally intensive and could not isolate the uncertainties associated with discrete sources. Monte Carlo Perturbation Theory (MCPT) is used in MCNP to calculate 640-group neutron energy fluences and their associated uncertainties [1]. To understand the uncertainties associated with only the UO₂-BeO fuel, perturbations in densities and dimensions were evaluated. A 640 by 640 covariance and correlation matrices were produced and compared to …

Athena: A Unique Radiation Environment Platform At The National Ignition Facility, Nicholas J. Quartemont, George Peterson, Colton Moran, Adib J. Samin, Buguo Wang, Charles Yeamans, Brandon Woodworth, Darren Holland, James C. Petrosky, James E. Bevins

Faculty Publications

This paper describes the ATHENA platform, an energy tuning assembly, which was developed to spectrally shape the National Ignition Facility (NIF) deuterium–tritium fusion neutron source to a thermonuclear (fusion) plus prompt fission neutron spectrum with a capability to act as a short-pulse neutron source. This unique, otherwise inaccessible radiation environment complements existing experimental facilities and capabilities. The flexible ATHENA irradiation positions were modeled using an ensemble of Monte Carlo simulations with stochastic sampling of the nuclear cross-sections to characterize the radiation environments and uncertainty for the platform. Validation of the internal neutron spectrum produced from fielding ATHENA at NIF occurred …

Regularized Heuristic Method For Activation Monitor Neutron Spectrum Unfolding, Nicholas J. Quartemont, James E. Bevins

Faculty Publications

his paper describes an activation foil measurement based neutron flux unfolding method utilizing a heuristic optimization approach. A regularization parameter based on the differential neutron flux was introduced into the optimization cost function to remove large nonphysical oscillations in the unfolded neutron energy spectrum. The procedure was completed for two example case studies ranging from thermal energies up to 20 MeV demonstrating recovery of neutron flux energy information on radiation environments where a model was partially missing or there was a discrepancy in a reaction channel. The unfolded results provided a distribution of unfolded spectra that conformed to the activation …

Space And Defense – Volume Twelve – Number Two – Summer 2021, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Thin Safety Margin: The Sefor Super-Prompt-Critical Transient Experiments, Ozark Mountains, Arkansas 1970–1971, Jerry Havens, Collis Geren

Arkansas Scholarly Editions

Thin Safety Margin charts the history of SEFOR, a twenty-megawatt reactor that operated for three years in the rural Ozark Mountains of Arkansas as part of an internationally sponsored program designed to demonstrate the Doppler effect in plutonium-oxide-fueled fast reactors. Authors Jerry Havens and Collis Geren draw upon this history to assess the accidental explosion risk inherent in using fast reactors to reduce the energy industry’s carbon dioxide emissions.

If a sufficiently powerful fast-neutron explosion were to cause the containment of a reactor such as SEFOR’s to fail, the reactor’s radiotoxic plutonium fuel could vaporize and escape into the surrounding …

Vacancy-Induced Enhancement Of Electron-Phonon Coupling In Cubic Silicon Carbide And Its Relationship To The Two-Temperature Model, Salah Al Smairat, Joseph T. Graham

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The electron-phonon coupling factor was calculated for both pristine and vacancy-rich 3C-SiC. Ab initio calculations were performed within the framework of the density functional perturbation theory. Wannier functions were used to interpolate eigenvalues into denser grids through the electron-phonon using Wannier code. The coupling factor was determined through calculations of the electron self-energy, electron-phonon relaxation time, and electronic specific heat. These parameters were extrapolated to high temperatures using a hybrid model which mixes band calculations for electrons below an energy cutoff with the free electron gas model for electrons above the energy cutoff. The electron relaxation times, specific heats, electron …

Comparative Safety Analysis Of Accelerator Driven Subcritical Systems And Critical Nuclear Energy Systems, Run Luo, Shripad Revankar, Fuyu Zhao

School of Nuclear Engineering Faculty Publications

The accelerator driven subcritical system (ADS) has been chosen as one of the best candidates for Generation IV nuclear energy systems which could not only produce clean energy but also incinerate nuclear waste. The transient characteristics and operation principles of ADS are significantly different from those of the critical nuclear energy system (CNES). In this work, the safety characteristics of ADS are analyzed and compared with CNES by a developed neutronics and thermal-hydraulics coupled code named ARTAP. Three typical accidents are carried out in both ADS and CNES, including reactivity insertion, loss of flow, and loss of heat sink. The …

Fluid-Cooled Compact X-Ray Tube And System Including The Same, Hyoung-Koo Lee, V Ashish Avachat, Wesley William Tucker

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

A fluid-cooled compact x-ray system includes a compact x-ray tube and a coolant channel coupled thereto. The compact x-ray tube includes a tube housing defining a longitudinal axis, and an electron source in the tube housing and coaxial with the tube housing. The electron source is configured to generate an electron beam. The compact x-ray tube also includes an anode coaxial with the tube housing, the anode defining a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and including a target material, and an electron focusing mechanism in the tube housing and configured to focus and accelerate the electron beam to the …

Verification And Validation Of Radiation Protection Factors From Monte Carlo Simulations, William J. Erwin

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes the verification and validation of methods for producing radiation protection factors (RPFs) using experiments and Monte Carlo N-Particle 6 (MCNP6) simulations. RPF validation of a steel enclosure using a plutonium-beryllium source produced a validated RPF with statistically significant agreement between neutron MCNP6 models and experiments and a gamma protection factor (GPF) with statistically significant agreement to the measured GPF. Efforts to validate more complex enclosures using the Fast Burst Reactor (FBR) yielded the first-ever direct measurements of this reactor’s prompt gamma emission spectrum and revealed irreconcilable differences between the FBR facility-provided source spectrum and spectrometer measurements, resulting …

Neutron Energy Tuning Assemblies For Nuclear Weapon Environment Applications At The National Ignition Facility, Nicholas J. Quartemont

Theses and Dissertations

An energy tuning assembly was developed to spectrally shape the National Ignition Facility deuterium-tritium fusion neutron source to a notional thermonuclear and prompt fission neutron spectrum to fulfill neutron source capability gaps. The experimental neutron environment was characterized with activation dosimetry, neutronics and covariance models, and unfolded to determine the as-fielded neutron spectrum. The first energy tuning assembly was demonstrated to create synthetic spectrally accurate post-detonation fission products, enhancing U.S. technical nuclear forensics capabilities. ATHENA, a second-generation energy tuning assembly, was also optimized to meet similar objectives, but the new platform neutron fluence efficiency was increased by a factor of …

Sterilizing Masks With Uvc Light, Christopher Focht

Symposium of Student Scholars

This experiment focused on the construction and testing of a UVC light box and the treatment of facemasks with UVC light. Exposure rates were calculated and measured to ensure efficacy of the light box. Masks were contaminated with bacteria and exposed for set time intervals, after which the bacteria were collected, cultured, and counted. Early results show that the masks in the box had no bacteria survive past ten seconds. This research is ongoing with different bacteria strains and mask types.

Phase Change Temperature Sensor For High Radiation Environment: Material, Additive Technology And Structure Development, Al Amin Ahmed Simon

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Performance of any sensor in a nuclear reactor involves reliable operation under a harsh environment (i.e., high temperature, neutron irradiation, and a high dose of ionizing radiation). In this environment, accurate and continuous monitoring of temperature is critical for the reactor's stability and proper functionality. Furthermore, during the development and testing stages of new materials and structural components for these systems, it is imperative to collect in-situ measurement data about the exact test conditions for real-time analysis of their performance. To meet the compelling need of such sensing devices, we propose radiation-hard temperature sensors based on the phase change phenomenon …

Prediction Of Uniaxial Compressive Strength Of Granite Rock Samples Of Lugoba Quarry Using Rebound Hammer Test, Moses Kongola, Karim Baruti

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Rebound hammer test is widely used as an indirect measure of uniaxial compressive strength for engineering materials such as concrete, soil, and rock in both civil and mining engineering works. In quarries, uniaxial compressive strength is a crucial parameter in the analysis of geotechnical problems involving rock stability and rock blasting design. This study aims at establishing the empirical models of uniaxial compressive strength fits on rebound hammer number that can be used to predict uniaxial compressive strength of granitic rock at Lugoba Quarry. Data for direct uniaxial compressive strength were obtained from uniaxial compressive strength test carried out on …

Numerical Investigation Of The Thermo-Hydraulic Performance Of Water-Based Nanofluids In A Dimpled Channel Flow Using Al₂O₃, Cuo, And Hybrid Al₂O₃-Cuo As Nanoparticles, Farid Ahmed, Md Atrehar Abir, Muhtasim Fuad, Farhana Akter, Palash K. Bhowmik, Syed B. Alam, Dinesh Kumar

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, the authors study the impact of spherical dimple surfaces and nanofluid coolants on heat transfer and pressure drop. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the thermal performance of nanofluids with respect to different Reynolds numbers (Re) and nanoparticle compositions in dimpled channel flow. Water-based nanofluids with Al₂O₃, CuO, and Al₂O₃-CuO nanoparticles are considered for this investigation with 1%, 2%, and 4% volume fraction for each nanofluid. The simulations are conducted at low Reynolds numbers varying from 500 to 1250, assuming constant and uniform heat flux. The …

Uranium Integral Fission Product Yields For A Spectrally-Shaped 14.1 Mev Neutron Source At The National Ignition Facility, Nicholas J. Quartemont, N. Gharibyan, K. Moody, James E. Bevins

Faculty Publications

This paper describes the experimental results for an energy tuning assembly created to modify the National Ignition Facility deuterium–tritium fusion neutron source into a notional thermonuclear and prompt fission neutron spectrum, which has applications in integral measurements, nuclear data benchmarks, and radiation effects on microelectronics. The Monte Carlo neutron transport utilized MCNP5 to estimate the ETA-modified fluence using the ENDF-B/VIII.0 and IRDFF-II continuous energy nuclear data libraries, and SCALE Sampler was used to estimate the systematic nuclear data covariance using ENDF-B/VII.1 and IRDFF-II in a 252-group structure. The experiment fielded eight activation foils and a highly enriched uranium sample. This …

Space And Defense – Volume Twelve – Number One – Winter 2021, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Diversifying Nuclear Technology: A Technical Analysis On Small Modular Reactors And Its Impact On Nuclear Energy Policy, Carolina Lugo Mejia, Marcos Lugo

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The energy policy debate in the United States has revolved around the diversification of energy sources while promoting advantageous economic profits. One drive for this has been the discussion of anthropogenic, environmental endangerment concerns (Vlassopoulous 2011, 104). However, despite the environmental concerns, the U.S. has for some time only relied on one type of energy source—fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are categorized as natural gas, coal, petroleum, and other gases responsible (U.S. Energy Administration 2019). Natural gas is responsible for 38.4%, coal for 23.4%, petroleum for 0.4%, and other gases for 0.3% of the U.S.’s electrical generation (U.S. Energy Administration 2019). …

Acquiring And Modeling Of Si Solar Cell Transient Response To Pulsed X-Ray, Lei Pan, Praneeth Kandlakunta, Matthew Van Zile, Xuezeng Dai, Jinsong Huang, John W. Mcclory, Lei R. Cao

Faculty Publications

We report on the acquisition and modeling of the transient response of a commercial silicon (Si) solar cell using a benchtop pulsed X-ray source. The solar-cell transient output to the X-ray pulses was acquired under the dark and steady-state light illumination to mimic the practical operation of a solar cell under different light illumination levels. A solar-cell circuit model was created to develop a fundamental understanding of the transient current/voltage response of solar cell at read-out circuit level. The model was validated by a good agreement between the simulation and experimental results. It was found that the solar-cell resistance ( …

Enercon Station Vacuum Pump Replacement, Clint Hembree, Jared D'Amico, Connor Moore, Paul Jeffrey Fontenot, Sydnee Castello, J.J. Clements

Senior Design Project For Engineers

This details the progress of the ENERCON pump replacement project as completed by the Kennesaw State University interdisciplinary senior design group. This project is a two-semester capstone effort for the engineering program at Southern Polytechnic School of Engineering, overseen by Dr. McFall during Fall 2020 and Dr. Khalid during Spring 2021 semesters. The 2020-2021 KSU Interdisciplinary Senior Design team was tasked with completing an Engineering Change Package (ECP) for existing vacuum pumps at ENERCON Station. The mechanical, electrical, and civil students worked together, performing evaluations on existing plant systems to ensure the plant could support the new vacuum pumps. By …

Characterization Of A Boron-Loaded Deuterated Liquid Scintillator For Fast And Thermal Neutron Detection, Bryan V. Egner, Michael Febbraro, James E. Bevins

Faculty Publications

The preparation and characterization of novel boron-loaded deuterated liquid scintillators (BLDLS) are presented for the first time to investigate the performance of a detector sensitive to both fast and thermal neutrons intended for future neutron spectroscopy measurements. Three deuterated toluene-based scintillation cocktails were produced, one without boron, one loaded with ortho-carborane (natural boron isotopic abundance), and one with 96 wt% 10B enriched ortho-carborane. General optical and material properties were analyzed to include the composition, density, index of refraction, photoluminescence emission spectra, and absorbance spectra in addition to the relative light yield, resolution, relative efficiency, and pulse-shape-discrimination performance for all three …

Monte Carlo Perturbation Analysis Of Fuel Temperature Variations In The Mcnp Model Of The Annular Core Research Reactor, Melissa Andrea Moreno

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

The Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) model is used for a variety of computational calculations ranging from reactor kinetics metrics to safety analyses. To understand the dominant source of uncertainty within the model, perturbations in temperature were applied to individual ACRR MCNP fuel rods. Assigning random temperatures, selected uniformly, from the operational temperature ranges of the fuel enables a study of uncertainty effects based on temperature variations. Stochastic mixing was used to blend the cross-sections of the desired temperatures using the MCNP continuous and Thermal Neutron Scattering Treatment (S(α,β)) libraries in ENDF/B-VII.1. The uncertainty quantification process …

Spectator Proton Detection And Reconstruction In Deep Inelastic D(E,EpS) Scattering, David Payette

Physics Theses & Dissertations

A Radial Time Projection Chamber (RTPC) was designed and installed in Jefferson Lab's Hall B as part of the BONuS12 (Barely Off-shell Nucleon Structure) experiment. The goal of BONuS12 is to accurately measure the structure function of the neutron by scattering 11 GeV electrons and detecting them with the CLAS12 spectrometer. Deuterium gas was used as an effective neutron target, and the new RTPC was used to detect low- momentum spectator protons. Protons follow a curved path in the 5 Tesla solenoid that is part of CLAS12, ionizing the He-CO2 gas in an annular drift region surrounding the target. These …

Experimental Evaluation Of Drying Spent Nuclear Fuel For Dry Cask Storage Through Vacuum And Forced Helium Dehydration, Jonathan Ellis Perry

Theses and Dissertations

Currently approximately 80,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) are in either dry or wet storage at nuclear power plants or designated spent fuel storage facilities. Over 2,000 tons are added to that sum each year. All SNF must be dried to an accepted Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) drying criteria before being placed in dry storage. Inadequately drying SNF increases the risk of detrimental effects to the fuel while in dry storage. Two commonly used drying operations in the nuclear industry are vacuum drying and forced helium dehydration (FHD). Although these drying processes have been used for many years, there …

Solid State Synthesis And Characterization Of Apatite Based Ceramic Waste Form For The Immobilization Of Radioactive Iodine, Md Imdadul Islam

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The growing demand for nuclear power in the United States and worldwide is accountable for addressing the major concern of radioactive waste, involving the technical challenges of maintaining the nuclear fuel cycle and immobilizing high-level wastes for safe disposal in geological storage. The appropriate selection of waste forms for spent nuclear fuel such as fission products and radionuclides can be effective means for a feasible and sustainable nuclear fuel cycle. But highly volatile radionuclides such as iodine (129) are of specific concern due to its extraordinary long half-life (15.7 million years). Due to its poor solubility and high volatility at …

Real-Time Identification Of Oxygen Vacancy Centers In Linbo₃ And Srtio₃ During Irradiation With High Energy Particles, Miguel L. Crespillo, Joseph T. Graham, Fernando Agulló-López, Yanwen Zhang, William J. Weber

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Oxygen vacancies are known to play a central role in the optoelectronic properties of oxide perovskites. A detailed description of the exact mechanisms by which oxygen vacancies govern such properties, however, is still quite incomplete. The unambiguous identification of oxygen vacancies has been a subject of intense discussion. Interest in oxygen vacancies is not purely academic. Precise control of oxygen vacancies has potential technological benefits in optoelectronic devices. In this review paper, we focus our attention on the generation of oxygen vacancies by irradiation with high energy particles. Irradiation constitutes an efficient and reliable strategy to introduce, monitor, and characterize …

Application Of Artificial Neural Networks To Elemental Assay Data For Nuclear Forensics Analysis, Jason G. Seik

Theses and Dissertations

There is a need to quickly and accurately determine the likely physical origins of a collected sample for nuclear treaty verification purposes. The objective of this research is to prove there is a means to relate different samples (Q-values) to one another using a 'same versus not-same' artificial neural network called a Siamese network. This would provide the capability of comparing an unknown sample to a database of samples with known physical origins. Using moment transformations on current data has shown to increase the prediction capabilities of a Siamese network, and using a triplet loss function in connection with the …