The study of a neutron spectrum unfolding method based on particle swarm optimization combined with maximum likelihood expectation maximization

The neutron spectrum unfolding by Bonner sphere spectrometer(BSS) is considered a complex multidimensional model,which requires complex mathematical methods to solve the first kind of Fredholm integral equation. In order to solve the problem of the maximum likelihood expectation maximization(MLEM) algorithm which is easy to suffer the pitfalls of local optima and the particle swarm optimization(PSO) algorithm which is easy to get unreasonable flight direction and step length of particles, which leads to the invalid iteration and affect efficiency and accuracy, an improved PSO-MLEM algorithm, combined of PSO and MLEM algorithm, is proposed for neutron spectrum unfolding. The dynamic acceleration factor is used to balance the ability of global and local search, and improves the convergence speed and accuracy of the algorithm. Firstly, the Monte Carlo method was used to simulated the BSS to obtain the response function and count rates of BSS. In the simulation of count rate, four reference spectra from the IAEA Technical Report Series No. 403 were used as input parameters of the Monte Carlo method. The PSO-MLEM algorithm was used to unfold the neutron spectrum of the simulated data and was verified by the difference of the unfolded spectrum to the reference spectrum. Finally, the 252Cf neutron source was measured by BSS, and the PSO-MLEM algorithm was used to unfold the experimental neutron spectrum.Compared with maximum entropy deconvolution(MAXED), PSO and MLEM algorithm, the PSO-MLEM algorithm has fewer parameters and automatically adjusts the dynamic acceleration factor to solve the problem of local optima. The convergence speed of the PSO-MLEM algorithm is 1.4 times and 3.1 times that of the MLEM and PSO algorithms. Compared with PSO, MLEM and MAXED, the correlation coefficients of PSO-MLEM algorithm are increased by 33.1%, 33.5% and 1.9%, and the relative mean errors are decreased by 98.2%, 97.8% and 67.4%.

Quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis for unknown samples using full-spectrum least-squares regression

The full-spectrum least-squares(FSLS) method is introduced to perform quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis for unknown solid samples.Based on the conventional least-squares principle, this spectrum evaluation method is able to obtain the background-corrected and interference-free net peaks, which is significant for quantization analyses. A variety of analytical parameters and functions to describe the features of the fluorescence spectra of pure elements are used and established, such as the mass absorption coefficient, the Gi factor, and fundamental fluorescence formulas. The FSLS iterative program was compiled in the C language. The content of each component should reach the convergence criterion at the end of the calculations. After a basic theory analysis and experimental preparation, 13 national standard soil samples were detected using a spectrometer to test the feasibility of using the algorithm. The results show that the calculated contents of Ti, Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn have the same changing tendency as the corresponding standard content in the 13 reference samples. Accuracies of 0.35% and 14.03% are obtained, respectively, for Fe and Ti, whose standard concentrations are 8.82% and 0.578%, respectively. However, the calculated results of trace elements (only tens of lg/g) deviate from the standard values. This may be because of measurement accuracy and mutual effects between the elements.

Verification of a self-developed CFD-based multi-physics coupled code MPC-LBE for LBE-cooled reactor

To perform an integral simulation of a pool-type reactor using CFD code,a multi-physics coupled code MPC-LBE for an LBE-cooled reactor was proposed by integrating a point kinetics model and a fuel pin heat transfer model into self-developed CFD code.For code verification,a code-to-code comparison was employed to validate the CFD code.Furthermore,a typical BT transient benchmark on the LBE-cooled XADS reactor was selected for verification in terms of the integral or system performance.Based on the verification results,it was demonstrated that the MPC-LBE coupled code can perform thermal-hydraulics or safety analyses for analysis for processes involved in LBE-cooled pool-type reactors.

Fast nuclide identification based on a sequential Bayesian method

The rapid identification of radioactive substances in public areas is crucial.However,traditional nuclide identification methods only consider information regarding the full energy peaks of the gamma-ray spectrum and require long recording times,which lead to long response times.In this paper,a novel identification method using the event mode sequence(EMS)information of target radionuclides is proposed.The EMS of a target radionuclide and natural background radiation were established as two different probabilistic models and a decision function based on Bayesian inference and sequential testing was constructed.The proposed detection scheme individually processes each photon.When a photon is detected and accepted,the corresponding posterior probability distribution parameters are estimated using Bayesian inference and the decision function is updated.Then,value of the decision function is compared to preset detection thresholds to obtain a detection result.Experiments on different target radionuclides(137Cs and 60Co)were performed.The count rates of the regions of interest(ROI)in the backgrounds between[651,671],[1154,1186],and[1310,1350]keV were 2.35,5.14,and 0.57 CPS,respectively.The experimental results demonstrate that the average detection time was 6.0 s for 60Co(with an activity of 80400 Bq)at a distance of 60 cm from the detector.The average detection time was 7 s for 137Cs(with an activity of 131000 Bq)at a distance of 90 cm from the detector.The results demonstrate that the proposed method can detect radioactive substances with low activity.

Evaluation of terrestrial radiation in the Chengdu Plain using 1/250,000-scale geochemical prospecting data

Based on the geochemical prospecting data, we have calculated the gamma absorbed dose rates in air 1 m above the ground surface in the Chengdu Plain, analyzed the relationship between the geological conditions and the distribution of the natural radionuclides, and preliminarily studied the influence of the geological conditions on the terrestrial radiation level in the Chengdu Plain. The result shows that the terrestrial radiation level in the Chengdu Plain is slightly lower than the average values of China and varies greatly according to the complex geological conditions.

Design and preliminary test of tritiated water online detector system based on plastic scintillators

In this study,an online detector system based on plastic scintillators is designed to monitor the activity of tritiated water in the liquid effluents of nuclear power plants.The feasibility of the detector is verified via simulation on Geant4,and the optimal detector structure size is determined.A back-end electronics system is designed and an experimental measurement platform forβ-rays based on a ^(40)KCl solution is constructed.Thirteen ^(40)KC solutions with different activities ranging from 10 to4500 Bq/L are measured,and 1300 V is determined as the optimal operating high voltage of the photomultiplier tubes.A linear fit is performed in 10-min counts,and the maximum linear goodness of fit(R^(2))achieved is 0.9992.Long-term stability measurements are performed for two detectors,one filled with air and the other with a ^(40)KCl solution exhibiting an activity of 2000 Bq/L.The relative deviation of the counts of the detector system every 10 min is 0.998%when the ^(40)KCl solution is used,and the maximum Gaussian R^(2) of the counts is 0.9849.

Simulation results of the online tritiated water measurement system

Currently,the liquid scintillation method is widely used to measure the activity of tritiated water in the primary circuit of nuclear power plants,which leads to the continuous production of radioactive waste during measurement.In addition,the real-time activity information of tritiated water cannot be obtained.To solve this problem,herein we present an online tritiated water measurement method based on plastic scintillators that used the optical transport process in the Geant 4 software toolkit to build a model of plastic scintillation detection for tritiated water.Through simulation,the basic geometric dimensions of the detector were determined.In this dimension,using one detector to measure for 3 h,when the tritiated water activity was 100 Bq/L,its resolution was 16%(16 Bq/L).In addition,calculations were performed for the presence of other background signals to obtain the minimum detectable concentration.

Correction to:Fast nuclide identification based on a sequential Bayesian method

Correction to:NUCL SCI TECH(2021)32:143 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-021-00982-z In the original article,the funding information were missing and in this correction the funding information is given below:Funding This work was supported by the National Natural science Foundation of China(No.41774190),the Special-funded program on national key scientific instruments and equipment development(No.2017YFC0602105),and the Department of Science and Technology of Sichuan Province(No.2020JDRC0109).

Investigating the minimum detectable activity concentration and contributing factors in airborne gamma-ray spectrometry

In this study,the theory of minimum detectable activity concentration(MDAC)for airborne gamma-ray spectrometry(AGS)was derived,and the relationship between the MDAC and the intrinsic effi-ciency of a scintillation counter,volume,and energy res-olution of scintillation crystals,and flight altitude of an aircraft was investigated.To verify this theory,experi-mental devices based on NaI and CeBr 3 scintillation counters were prepared,and the potassium,uranium,and thorium contents in calibration pads obtained via the stripping ratio method and theory were compared.The MDACs of AGS under different conditions were calculated and analyzed using the proposed theory and the Monte Carlo method.The relative errors found via a comparison of the experimental and theoretical results were less than 4%.The theory of MDAC can guide the work of AGS in probing areas with low radioactivity.

Method for rapid warning and activity concentration estimates in online waterγ-spectrometry systems

Onlineγ-spectrometry systems for inland waters,most of which extract samples in situ and in real time,are able to produce reliable activity concentration measurements for waterborne radionuclides only when they are distributed relatively uniformly and enter into a steady-state diffusion regime in the measurement chamber.To protect residents’health and ensure the safety of the living environment,better timeliness is required for this measurement method.To address this issue,this study established a mathematical model of the online waterγ-spectrometry system so that rapid warning and activity estimates can be obtained for water under non-steady-state(NSS)conditions.In addition,the detection efficiency of the detector for radionuclides during the NSS diffusion process was determined by applying the computational fluid dynamics technique in conjunction with Monte Carlo simulations.On this basis,a method was developed that allowed the online waterγ-spectrometry system to provide rapid warning and activity concentration estimates for radionuclides in water.Subsequent analysis of the NSS-mode measurements of^(40)K radioactive solutions with different activity concentrations determined the optimum warning threshold and measurement time for producing accurate activity concentration estimates for radionuclides.The experimental results show that the proposed NSS measurement method is able to give warning and yield accurate activity concentration estimates for radionuclides 55.42 and 69.42 min after the entry of a 10 Bq/L^(40)K radioactive solution into the measurement chamber,respectively.These times are much shorter than the 90 min required by the conventional measurement method.Furthermore,the NSS measurement method allows the measurement system to give rapid(within approximately 15 min)warning when the activity concentrations of some radionuclides reach their respective limits stipulated in the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality of the WHO,suggesting that this method considerably enhances the warning capacity of in situ online waterγ-spectrometry systems.