41 research outputs found
Ultra-Fast Hadronic Calorimetry
Calorimeters for particle physics experiments with integration time of a few
ns will substantially improve the capability of the experiment to resolve event
pileup and to reject backgrounds. In this paper the time development of
hadronic showers induced by 30 and 60 GeV positive pions and 120 GeV protons is
studied using Monte Carlo simulation and beam tests with a prototype of a
sampling steel-scintillator hadronic calorimeter. In the beam tests,
scintillator signals induced by hadronic showers in steel are sampled with a
period of 0.2 ns and precisely time-aligned in order to study the average
signal waveform at various locations with respect to the beam particle impact.
Simulations of the same setup are performed using the MARS15 code. Both
simulation and test beam results suggest that energy deposition in steel
calorimeters develop over a time shorter than 2 ns providing opportunity for
ultra-fast calorimetry. Simulation results for an "ideal" calorimeter
consisting exclusively of bulk tungsten or copper are presented to establish
the lower limit of the signal integration window.Comment: 10 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in NIM
Test beam studies of the light yield, time and coordinate resolutions of scintillator strips with WLS fibers and SiPM readout
Prototype scintilator+WLS strips with SiPM readout for large muon detection
systems were tested in the muon beam of the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. Light
yield of up to 137 photoelectrons per muon per strip has been observed, as well
as time resolution of 330 ps and position resolution along the strip of 5.4 cm.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures, version accepted for publication in NIM
ECE laboratory in the Vinča institute: Its basic characteristics and fundamentals of electrochemic etching on polycarbonate
This paper deals with the introductory aspects of the Electrochemical Etching Laboratory installed at the VINČA Institute in the year 2003. The main purpose of the laboratory is its field application for radon and thoron large-scale survey using passive radon/thoron UFO type detectors. Since the etching techniques together with the laboratory equipment were transferred from the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Japan, it was necessary for both etching conditions to be confirmed and to be checked up^ i. e., bulk etching speeds of chemical etching and electrochemical etching in the VINCA Electrochemical Etching Laboratory itself. Beside this initial step, other concerns were taken into consideration in this preliminary experimental phase such as the following: the measurable energy range of the polycarbonate film, background etch pit density of the film and its standard deviation and reproducibility of the response to alpha particles for different sets of etchings
Investigation of the radon exhalation rate: an influence of humidity and a grain size
U radu je merena ekshalacija radona iz bigra iz Niške Banje poznatom po povišenoj
koncentraciji 226Ra. Bigar zbog svoje velike poroznosti i visoke koncentracije radijuma
je idealan materijal za testiranje parametara od kojih zavisi brzina ekshalacije. U radu
je razmatrana zavisnost ekshalacije u odnosu na vlažnost kao i na sprašenost uzorka.
Brzina ekshalacije je merena metodom zatvorene komore, a sama koncentracija radona
aktivnim uređajem. Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju da brzina ekshalacije raste sa povećanjem vlažnosti uzorka i smanjenjem veličine zrna.In this contribution, radon exhalation rate from travertine originating from Niška
Banja, Serbia was measured. This particular travertine, with a high 226Ra concentration
and high porosity, is ideal for testing various parameters that can influence radon
exhalation rate. The radon exhalation rate was investigated for different sizes of grains.
Grain sizes were dived into 4 groups: 1) 2.1 - 1.6 mm, 2.) 1.6 - 1.2 mm, 3.) 1.2 - 0.7 mm
i 4.) < 0.7 mm. Influence of the humidity on radon exhalation rate was also
investigated. Samples with the smallest grain size were exposed to 3 different levels of
humidity (dry sample, and two samples in which water content was around 10% and
20% of the mass of dry sample. An accumulation chamber method with an active device
RTM1688-2 was used to estimate radon exhalation rate from continuous measurement
of radon in the chamber. Obtained results indicate that radon exhalation rate is
increasing with an increase of humidity of the sample and with an decrease of grain
size
Radon exhalation rate of some building materials common in Serbia
It is well-known that radon is the second important human carcinogen for lung cancer, after smoking. The major sources of indoor radon concentrations are soil and building material. Under certain conditions, a dose received from the inhalation of radon and its progenies can be higher than a dose received from the external exposure due to radium concentration in building materials. In this contribution, the results of the radon and thoron exhalation rate measurement from 9 commonly used building materials are reported. Exhalation rate measurements were performed with accumulation chamber method using active device for measurement of radon concentration. © 2019 RAD Association. All rights reserved.Conference of 6th International Conference on Radiation and Applications in Various Fields of Research, RAD 2018 ; Conference Date: 18 June 2018 Through 22 June 2018; Conference Code:14955
Assessment of natural radioactivity levels and radon exhalation rate potential from various building materials
Various imported building materials commonly used in construction and industry in Serbia were analyzed using gamma spectrometry. Based on the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in the investigated samples, radium equivalent activity, Raeq, absorbed dose rate, D, annual effective dose, DE, and the external hazard index, Hex, were calculated to assess the radiation hazard for people. The Raeq for most of the analyzed samples (416 in total) was lower than the maximum admissible value of 370 Bqkg-1 set in the UNSCEAR report. The absorbed gamma dose rate in air was found to vary from 0.030 mGyh-1 to 1.328 mGyh-1 which in some cases exceeded indoor dose rates in Europe. The obtained values for annual effective dose exceed the limits of 0.41 mSv given in literature for about 5 % of measured samples, while values of Hex were higher than unity for three samples of cement, eight samples of granite, and one sand sample. As a possible source of elevated effective dose, the radon exhalation from building materials was estimated using the parameters given in literature. The internal dose due to 222Rn exhaled from the building material was found to be up to nine times higher than external dose due to 226Ra content in some cases
Merits and demerits of different methods for radon exhalation measurements for building materials
With an increase in the awareness of the need to save energy, residents tend to live in dwellings with increasingly tight windows and doors, thus reducing the ventilation rate of indoor air which leads to an increased accumulation of radon indoors. Having in mind that a dose from an exposure to inhaled radon and its progenies can be higher than a dose received from radium in building materials, it is suggested that radon exhalation measurements should receive due attention. In this contribution, the authors compare results gathered using a few methods for radon exhalation measurement and discuss its merits and demerits
First steps towards national radon action plan in Serbia
Radon problem has a special attention in many countries in the world and the most of them have established national radon programmes. The radon issues in Serbia have not been approached in a systematic and organized way. Currently, there are many research groups and institutions working in radon field, and it is a good basis to integrate all these activities into a comprehensive national programme to define the strategic objectives and action plan for the next few years. Also, Serbia as a candidate for membership in the EU is obliged to harmonize its legislation, including the field of radiation protection in which the radon issues has an important role. In this report, a brief history of radon research, present status and plans for the future activity on radon issues in Serbia are presented. Regarding the long-term plans, the establishment and implementation of the Radon Action Plan with the primary goal of raising awareness about the harmful effects of public exposure to radon and implementing a set of measures for its reduction. In that sense, the synergy between the national, regional and local organizations responsible for public health and radiation protection must be achieved
A Comparison of Retrospective Radon Gas Measurement Techniques Carried Out in the Serbian Spa of Niska Banja
Indoor radon retrospective concentrations were obtained and compared using two radon measurement methods. Both methods rely on the measurement of the long-lived radon progeny (210)Pb, collected either on the surfaces (surface trap technique), most frequently glass, or in a volume trap, usually sponge from furniture (volume trap technique). These techniques have been used to retrospectively estimate radon gas concentrations that have existed in dwellings in the past. The work presented here compares the results provided by the surface trap technique devised at the University College of Dublin, Ireland, and the volume trap technique devised at the Scientific Research Center, Mol, Belgium. The field campaign was carried out by the research team of the ECE Laboratory of the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences at the spa of Niska Banja, identified as a region of Serbia with a high indoor radon and ground water radium and radon content
Search for Na in novae supported by a novel method for measuring femtosecond nuclear lifetimes
Classical novae are thermonuclear explosions in stellar binary systems, and
important sources of Al and Na. While gamma rays from the decay
of the former radioisotope have been observed throughout the Galaxy, Na
remains untraceable. The half-life of Na (2.6 yr) would allow the
observation of its 1.275 MeV gamma-ray line from a cosmic source. However, the
prediction of such an observation requires good knowledge of the nuclear
reactions involved in the production and destruction of this nucleus. The
Na()Mg reaction remains the only source of large
uncertainty about the amount of Na ejected. Its rate is dominated by a
single resonance on the short-lived state at 7785.0(7) keV in Mg. In the
present work, a combined analysis of particle-particle correlations and
velocity-difference profiles is proposed to measure femtosecond nuclear
lifetimes. The application of this novel method to the study of the Mg
states, combining magnetic and highly-segmented tracking gamma-ray
spectrometers, places strong limits on the amount of Na produced in
novae, explains its non-observation to date in gamma rays (flux < 2.5x
ph/(cms)), and constrains its detectability with future space-borne
observatories.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl