Any center planning to install a Gamma Knife radiosurgery unit has to provide for an efficient shielding of the treatment room, to protect the patient, the staff and the public, against undesired radiation. The shielding barrier design is controlled by national and international recommendations; the reference documents for gamma ray radiotherapy facilities are the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) reports 49 and 151. However, some facts highlighted in this thesis point out that NCRP methods are ill-adapted to the Gamma Knife. Spectroscopic measurements were performed around the Gamma Knife with a Germanium detector. They revealed that the radiation field contains few high energy photons, is highly anisotropic, and that the leakage level is much lower than the NCRP estimation. These observations led to the development of a new approach to determine the necessary shielding, based on the actual and directly measurable radiation field around the unit. This method would reduce the shielding oversizing induced by the unsuitability of the NCRP recommendations for the Gamma Knife.

<p>Comprehensive sensitivity and uncertainty analysis has been performed for light-water reactor and heavy-water reactor lattices using three techniques; adjoint-based sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo sampling, and direct numerical perturbation. The adjoint analysis was performed using a widely accepted, commercially available code, whereas the Monte Carlo sampling and direct numerical perturbation were performed using new codes that were developed as part of this work. Uncertainties associated with fundamental nuclear data accompany evaluated nuclear data libraries in the form of covariance matrices. As nuclear data are important parameters in reactor physics calculations, any associated uncertainty causes a loss of confidence in the calculation results. The quantification of output uncertainties is necessary to adequately establish safety margins of nuclear facilities. In this work, the propagation of uncertainties associated with both physics parameters (e.g. microscopic cross-sections) and lattice model parameters (e.g. material temperature) have been investigated, and the uncertainty of all relevant lattice calculation outputs, including the neutron multiplication constant and few-group, homogenized cross-sections have been quantified. Sensitivity and uncertainty effects arising from the resonance self-shielding of microscopic cross-sections were addressed using a novel set of resonance integral corrections that are derived from perturbations in their infinite-dilution counterparts. It was found that the covariance of the U238 radiative capture cross-section was the dominant contributor to the uncertainties of lattice properties. Also, the uncertainty associated with the prediction of isotope concentrations during burnup is significant, even when uncertainties of fission yields and decay rates were neglected. Such burnup related uncertainties result solely due to the uncertainty of fission and radiative capture rates that arises from physics parameter covariance. The quantified uncertainties of lattice calculation outputs that are described in this work are suitable for use as input uncertainties to subsequent reactor physics calculations, including reactor core analysis employing neutron diffusion theory.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This dissertation focuses on the development of low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) technology for power converter magnetics integration. Because magnetic samples must be fabricated with thick conductors for power applications, the conventional LTCC process is modified by cutting trenches in the LTCC tapes where conductive paste is filled to produce thick conductors to adapt to this requirement. Characterization of the ceramic magnetic material is performed, and an empirical model based on the Steinmetz equation is developed to help in the estimation of losses at frequencies between 1 MHz to 4 MHz, operating temperature between 25 °C and 70 °C, DC pre-magnetization from 0 A/m to 1780 A/m, and AC magnetic flux densities between 5 mT to 50 mT. Temperature and DC pre-magnetization dependence on Steinmetz exponents are included in the model to describe the loss behavior. In the development of the LTCC chip inductor, various geometries are evaluated. Rectangular-shaped conductor geometry is selected due to its potential to obtain a much smaller footprint, as well as the likelihood of having lower losses than almond-shaped conductors with the same cross-sectional area, which are typically a result of screen printing. The selected geometry has varying inductance with varying current, which helps improve converter efficiency at light load. The efficiency at a light-load current of 0.5 A can be improved by 30 %. Parametric variation of inductor geometry is performed to observe its effect on inductance with DC current as well as on converter efficiency. An empirical model is developed to describe the change in inductance with DC current from 0 A to 16 A for LTCC planar inductors fabricated using low-permeability tape with conductor widths between 1 mm to 4 mm, conductor thickness 180 μm to 550 μm, and core thickness 170 μm to 520 μm. An inductor design flow diagram is formulated to help in the design of these inductors. Configuring the inductor as the substrate carrying the semiconductor and the other electronic components is a next step to freeing the surface area of the bulky component and improving the power density. A conductive shield is introduced between the circuitry and the magnetic substrate to avoid adversely affecting circuit operation by having a magnetic substrate in close proximity to the circuitry. The shield helps reduce parasitic inductances when placed in close proximity to the circuitry. A shield thickness in the range of 50 μm to 100 μm is found to be a good compromise between power loss and parasitic inductance reduction. The shield is effective when its conductivity is above 10⁷ S/m. When a shield is introduced between the inductor substrate and the circuitry, the sample exhibits a lower voltage overshoot (47 % lower) and an overall higher efficiency (7 % higher at 16 A), than an inductor without a shield. A shielded active circuitry placed on top of an inductive substrate performs similarly to a shielded active circuitry placed side-by-side with the inductor. Using a floating shield for the active circuitry yields a slightly better performance than using a grounded shield. / Ph. D.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) with loosely coupled coils is a promising solution to deliver power to a battery in a variety of applications. Due to its convenience, wireless power transfer technology has become popular in consumer electronics. Thus far, the majority of the coupled coils in these systems are planar structure, and the magnetic field induced by the transmitter coil is in one direction, meaning that the energy power transfer capability degrades greatly when there is some angle misalignment between the coupled coils. To improve the charging flexibility, a three–dimensional (3D) coils structure is proposed to transfer energy in different directions. With appropriate modulation current flowing through each transmitter coil, the magnetic field rotates in different directions and covers all the directions in 3D space. With omnidirectional magnetic field, the charging platform can provide energy transfer in any direction; therefore, the angle alignment between the transmitter coil and receiver coil is no longer needed. Compensation networks are normally used to improve the power transfer capability of a WPT system with loosely coupled coils. The resonant circuits, formed by the loosely coupled coils and external compensation inductors or capacitors, are crucial in the converter design. In WPT system, the coupling coefficient between the transmitting coil and the receiving coil is subject to the receiver's positioning. The variable coupling condition is a big challenge to the resonant topology selection. The detailed requirements of the resonant converter in an omnidirectional WPT system are identified as follows: 1). coupling independent resonant frequency; 2). load independent output voltage; 3). load independent transmitter coil current; 4). maximum efficiency power transfer; 5). soft switching of active devices. A LCCL-LC resonant converter is derived to satisfy all of the five requirements. In consumer electronics applications, Megahertz (MHz) WPT systems are used to improve the charging spatial freedom. 6.78 MHz is selected as the system operation in AirFuel standard, a wireless charging standard for commercial electronics. The zero voltage switching (ZVS) operation of the switching devices is essential in reducing the switching loss and the switching related electromagnetic interference (EMI) issue in a MHz system; therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of ZVS condition in an omnidirectional WPT system is performed. And a design methodology of the LCCL-LC converter to achieve ZVS operation is proposed. The big hurdle of the WPT technology is the safety issue related to human exposure of electromagnetic fields (EMF). A double layer shield structure, including a magnetic layer and a conductive layer, is proposed in a three dimensional charging setup to reduce the stray magnetic field level. A parametric analysis of the double shield structure is conducted to improve the attenuation capability of the shielding structure. In an omnidirectional WPT system, the energy can be transferred in any direction; however the receiving devices has its preferred field direction based on its positioning and orientation. To focus power transfer towards targeted loads, a smart detection algorithm for identifying the positioning and orientation of receiver devices based on the input power information is presented. The system efficiency is further improved by a maximum efficiency point tracking function. A novel power flow control with a load combination strategy to charge multiple loads simultaneously is explained. The charging speed of the omnidirectional WPT system is greatly improved with proposed power flow control. / Doctor of Philosophy / Wireless power transfer (WPT) is a promising solution to deliver power to a battery in a variety of applications. Due to its convenience, wireless power transfer technology with loosely coupled coils has become popular in consumer electronics. In such system, the receiving coil embedded in the receiving device picks up magnetic field induced by the transmitter coil; therefore, energy is transferred through the magnetic field and contactless charging is achieved. Thus far, the majority of the coupled coils in these systems are planar structure, and the magnetic field induced by the transmitter coil is in one direction, meaning that the energy power transfer capability degrades greatly when there is some angle misalignment between the coupled coils. To improve the charging flexibility, a three–dimensional (3D) coils structure is proposed to transfer energy in different directions, also known as in omnidirectional manner. With omnidirectional magnetic field, the charging platform can provide energy transfer in any direction; therefore, the angle alignment between the transmitter coil and receiver coil is no longer needed. In a WPT system with loosely coupled coils, the energy transfer capability suffers from weak coupling condition. To improve the power transfer capability, the electrical resonance concept between the inductor and capacitor at the power transfer frequency is adopted. A novel compensation network is proposed to form a resonant tank with the loosely coupled coils and maximize the power transfer at the operating frequency. As for the WPT system with loosely coupled coils, the energy transfer capability is also proportional to the operating frequency. Therefore, Megahertz (MHz) WPT systems are used to improve the charging spatial freedom. 6.78 MHz is selected as the system operation in AirFuel standard, a wireless charging standard for commercial electronics. The zero voltage switching (ZVS) operation of the switching devices is essential in reducing the switching loss and the switching related electromagnetic interference (EMI) issue in a MHz system; therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of ZVS condition in an omnidirectional WPT system is performed. The big hurdle of the WPT technology is the safety concern related to human exposure of electromagnetic fields (EMF). Therefore, a double layer shield structure is first applied in a three dimensional charging setup to confine the electromagnetic fields effectively. The stray field level in our charging platform is well below the safety level required by the regulation agent. Although the energy can be transferred in an omnidirectional manner in the proposed charging platform, the energy should be directed to the target loads to avoid unnecessary energy waste. Therefore, a smart detection method is proposed to detect the receiver coil's orientation and focus the energy transfer to certain direction preferred by the receiver in the setup. The energy beaming strategy greatly improves the charging speed of the charging setup.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第25306号 / 工博第5265号 / 新制||工||2001(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科分子工学専攻 / (主査)教授 佐藤 啓文, 教授 佐藤 徹, 教授 作花 哲夫 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

Yes / In this paper, two types of nano carbon materials including 0D nano carbon black and 2D graphene are assembled through electrostatic adsorption to develop smart cement-based composites. Owing to their excellent mechanical, electrical properties and synergistic effect, self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials can form toughening and conductive networks in cement-based materials at low content level and without changing the preparation process of conventional cement-based materials, thus endowing cement-based materials with smart and multifunctional properties including high toughness, self-sensing property to stress/strain and damage, shielding/absorbing property to electromagnetic wave. The developed smart cement-based composites with self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials have promising application in the fields of oil well cementing, structural health monitoring, and electromagnetic protection and anti-electromagnetic pollution. It can therefore conclude that electrostatic self-assembled 0D/2D nano carbon materials provide a simple preparation method and excellent composite effect for developing nano cement-based materials, which can be applied in large-scale infrastructures. / The National Science Foundation of China (51908103) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M651116).

In the following work, the MAVRIC sequence of the Scale6.1 code package was tested for its efficacy in calculating a wide range of shielding parameters with respect to HTGRs. One of the NGNP designs that has gained large support internationally is the VHTR. The development of the Scale6.1 code package at ORNL has been primarily directed towards supporting the current United States' reactor fleet of LWR technology. Since plans have been made to build a prototype VHTR, it is important to verify that the MAVRIC sequence can adequately meet the simulation needs of a different reactor technology. This was accomplished by creating a detailed model of the VHTR power plant; identifying important, relevant radiation indicators; and implementing methods using MAVRIC to simulate those indicators in the VHTR model. The graphite moderator used in the design shapes a different flux spectrum than water-moderated reactors. The different flux spectrum could lead to new considerations when quantifying shielding characteristics and possibly a different gamma-ray spectrum escaping the core and surrounding components. One key portion of this study was obtaining personnel dose rates in accessible areas within the power plant from both neutron and gamma sources. Additionally, building from professional and regulatory standards a surveillance capsule monitoring program was designed to mimic those used in the nuclear industry. The high temperatures were designed to supply heat for industrial purposes and not just for power production. Since tritium, a heavier radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is produced in the reactor it is important to know the distribution of tritium production and the subsequent diffusion from the core to secondary systems to prevent contamination outside of the nuclear island. Accurately modeling indicators using MAVRIC is the main goal. However, it is almost equally as important for simulations to be carried out in a timely manner. MAVRIC uses the discrete ordinates method to solve the fixed-source transport equation for both neutron and gamma rays on a crude geometric representation of the detailed model. This deterministic forward solution is used to solve an adjoint equation with the adjoint source specified by the user. The adjoint solution is then used to create an importance map that can weight particles in a stochastic Monte Carlo simulation. The goal of using this hybrid methodology is to provide complete accuracy with high precision while decreasing overall simulation times by orders of magnitude. The MAVRIC sequence provides a platform to quickly alter inputs so that vastly different shielding studies can be simulated using one model with minimal effort by the user. Each separate shielding study required unique strategies while looking at different regions in the VHTR plant. MAVRIC proved to be effective for each case.

The ability to accurately predict dose from electron backscatter created by internal lead shielding utilized during various superficial electron beam treatments (EBT), such as lip carcinoma, is required to avoid the possibility of an overdose. Methods for predicting this dose include the use of empirical equations or physically measuring the electron backscatter factor (EBF) and upstream electron backscatter intensity (EBI). The EBF and upstream EBI are defined as the ratio of dose at, or upstream, from the shielding interface with and without the shielding present respectively. The accuracy of these equations for the local treatment machines was recognised as an area that required verification; in addition the ability of XiO's electron Monte Carlo (eMC) treatment planning algorithm to handle lead interfaces was examined. A Monte Carlo simulation using the EGSnrc package of a Siemens Artiste Linac was developed for 6, 9, 12, and 15 MeV electron energies and was verified against physical measurements to within an accuracy of 2 % and 2 mm. Electron backscatter dose distributions were predicated using the MC model, Gafchromic film, and XiO eMC, which when compared showed that XiO's eMC could not accurately calculate dose at the lead interface. Several MC simulations of lead interfaces at different depths, corresponding to energies of 0.2-14 MeV at the interfaces, were used to validate the accuracy of the equations, with the results concluding that the equation could not accurately predict EBF and EBI values, especially at low energies. From this data, an equation was derived to allow estimation of the EBF and upstream EBI, which agreed to within 1.3 % for the EBF values and can predict the upstream EBI to a clinically acceptable level for all energies.

Durch die Ergänzung von Organoblechen mit gewebten Strukturen aus Metalldrähten können hochbelastbare Bauteile gleichzeitig mit einer abschirmenden Wirkung versehen werden und ermöglichen so Anwendungen wie beispielsweise im Umfeld der Elektromobilität. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein polypropylen-basierter Schichtverbund aus thermoplastischen Hochleistungsfaserverbunden und Metalldrahtgewebe hinsichtlich seiner Eignung zur Abschirmung elektromagnetischer Wellen für Gehäusestrukturen und seiner Verarbeitbarkeit im Spritzgießen näher analysiert. Die Untersuchungen zeigen den Einfluss von Defekten, wie sie bei der Herstellung realer Bauteile entstehen können, und deren Auswirkung auf die Abschirmwirkung des Bauteils. Darüber hinaus werden mit Vibrations-,Infrarot- und Heißgasschweißen mögliche Fügeverfahren aufgezeigt und hinsichtlich ihrer Abschirmwirkung bewertet, die auch eine elektrische Kontaktierung über die Fügestelle hinweg ermöglichen.:1 Einleitung 2 Grundlagen 3 Experimentelles 4 Analyseverfahren 5 Untersuchungsergebnisse 6 Zusammenfassende Bewertung der Ergebnisse 7 Zusammenfassung / By combining endless glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic semifinished products with embedded metal wire meshes it is possible to produce highly stressable parts, which additionally allow shielding of electromagnetic waves. Therefore these party can be used for electric cars. In this study a multi-layer film, consisting of polypropylene-based organosheets, PPGF30 and metal wire meshes, is analyzed regarding its suitability for shielding against electromagnetic waves and its processability in injection molding. The analysis show the influences defects, which accure during the production of housings, and their impact of the shielding effectiveness. Moreover possible joining technologies, such as infraredwelding, vibrationwelding and ultrasonicwelding, are studied and evaluated whether it’s possible to create a electrically conductive joint.:1 Einleitung 2 Grundlagen 3 Experimentelles 4 Analyseverfahren 5 Untersuchungsergebnisse 6 Zusammenfassende Bewertung der Ergebnisse 7 Zusammenfassung

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude et la réalisation d’un prototype de capteur de courants innovant pour câbles multiconducteurs. Outre le caractère non-Intrusif de ce capteur (i.e. mesure sans contact), il permet de réaliser une mesure sur un système polyphasé dont la position des conducteurs est inconnue. L’approche adoptée est basée sur la résolution d’un problème inverse. En effet, à partir d’une mesure de la signature des champs magnétiques autour du câble, des algorithmes de reconstruction appropriés permettent de remonter aux courants circulant dans le câble. En plus des résultats de simulation, un banc de tests a été conçu et une validation expérimentale de ce concept est présentée pour répondre à un cahier des charges, notamment pour une structure comportant un blindage en matériau ferromagnétique pour atténuer les perturbations extérieures / This thesis presents the study and realization of an innovative currents sensor prototype for multi-Core cables. The two main advantages of this sensor compared to existing devices on the electrical equipment market are: firstly, it is no longer necessary to interrupt the system's electrical power supply to install the sensor. This is due to contactless measure (non-Intrusive sensor). Another feature of our device is its capability to measure the currents in a multi-Core system with unknown positions of conductors. This currents sensor operates in a way to find firstly the conductor positions, and then reconstructing the currents using the retrieved positions. In order to meet specifications, simulation results, test bench measurements and experimental results are presented with a ferromagnetic shielding