Authors:

Qi Heng Law

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Neutron and gamma radiation dosimetry is widely used in various industries, from nuclear power reactor monitoring to food preservation and sterilization. For example, current nuclear reactor power monitoring relies on expensive and low-efficiency (U-235 bearing) fission ion chambers for neutron radiation; and other types of ionization and scintillation-based detectors for gamma-beta radiation. Such conventional systems can be bulky and costly, with prices ranging up to millions of dollars. This research aims to improve a simple and 102-103x lower-cost, ultra-light alternative to existing systems based on renewable corn-soy-based biopolymers. The first method uses the mass loss upon dissolution method. Acetone is first preheated before coming into contact with the biopolymer resin polylactic acid (PLA). Irradiated PLA then dissolves in acetone, and depending on the degree of radiation exposure, the dissolution rate varies. The second method requires PLA completely dissolved in acetone, and the relative viscosity variation becomes a dosimetry metric. Using the mass loss dissolution method, dissolution increases as the dose increases. The temperature of acetone also plays a major role in this technique, as a higher temperature can exponentially enhance dissolution. Hence, it is more suitable for detecting the upper end (100 kGy) of dose. Using the relative viscosity method, higher-dosed PLA will have a lower relative viscosity and is more suitable to detect the lower end (sub-kGy) of doses. In conclusion, this research aims to attain a paradigm shift in radiation dose monitoring - to conduct an otherwise complex and expensive task, to be accomplished at an accelerated pace, at 100-1,000x lower cost with wide- spread applications. Keywords: PLA; Radiation Detection; Neutron; Gamma

Source:

Purdue University / 2024

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Co-authors:

Qi Heng Law