Preface

Chapter 6 **Dedicated Monte Carlo Procedures Applied in Gamma-ray Spectrometry Used in Decommissioning of Nuclear**

Chapter 7 **Tungsten-Based Composites for Nuclear Fusion**

Owais A. Waseem and Ho Jin Ryu

**Facilities 115** Daniela Gurau

**VI** Contents

**Section 3 Fusion Technology 137**

**Applications 139**

More than a century ago, the extensive study of natural nuclear materials led to develop‐ ment of our modern understanding of radiation properties and their effects on humans and the environment. This knowledge was further employed to serve the industrial civilization and improve modern life over several decades. Nowadays, nuclear science and technology are applied to produce energy, control diverse industrial processes, for medical diagnosis and treatment, and for environmental monitoring. This book aims at presenting research ef‐ forts used to identify nuclear materials performances in different areas. The authors cooper‐ ated to summarize their experience and present advances in different fields related to assessing the performance of these materials.

The book consists of seven chapters, organized in three sections that cover important re‐ search aspects in fission and fusion technologies and naturally occurring radioactive materi‐ als management. The introductory chapter aims to introduce technical efforts to improve nuclear fuel cycle operations, trends toward commercial fusion energy, challenges that face development in radioisotope production, and advances in management of naturally occur‐ ring radioactive materials. It identifies the impacts of current practices, determining antici‐ pated trends toward better performances and mitigating challenges for commercial application of innovative technologies.

The second section presents developments in fission technology; it comprises five chapters that deal with biological remediation of mine effluents, nuclear fuel performance, and gam‐ ma ray spectrometer calibration. Biological remediation of uranium effluents containing sul‐ fate using bioreactor is proposed by Prof. Chaudhuri et al. This chapter presents information on the optimization of inoculum and investigates the factors that can affect the bioreactor performance. Assessing materials performance in fission reactors is addressed in three chap‐ ters. The application of Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended code to predict uranium burnup and fission product buildup for nine fuel elements types is presented by Prof. Kommalapati et al. The studied fuel elements are mixed oxide, uranium oxide, and commercially enriched uranium fuels clad with stainless steel, zirconium, and Zircaloy. A detailed study on the performance of Zircaloy clad under different operating conditions is presented by Dr. Sol‐ brig et al. The chapter provides a comprehensive study on oxidation of Zircaloy 3 clad that is used in graphite-moderated thermal reactor, where empirical equations that predict oxi‐ dation and growth rates were deduced and validated. The feasibility of utilizing γ-Urani‐ um–Molybdenum alloy to substitute highly enriched uranium fuel in research reactors is reviewed by Dr. Pasqualini. This chapter presents information on the fuel preparation using hydration, milling, dehydration process and then the manufacture of monolithic fuel with Zircaloy 4 clad and its performance after irradiation is described. The last chapter in this section is presented by Dr. Gurau, where Monte Carlo procedure is used to calibrate gamma spectrometry system and applied to measure radiation from large waste containers. Geant 3.21 was used to measure gamma rays released from 152Eu source and the detection effi‐ ciency was calculated.

Section 3 presents advances in fusion technology, where Drs. Waseem and Ryu present re‐ cent advances in understanding the performance of tungsten composite in fusion reactor en‐ vironment. The preparation of different composites is reviewed and the performance of these materials in terms of their mechanical behavior, thermal properties, and oxidation re‐ sistance is presented

#### **Rehab O. Abdel Rahman**

Atomic Energy Authority of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt

Hosam El-Din Mostafa Saleh Atomic Energy Authority of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt

**Section 1**
