Laboratory of Experimental Nuclear Physics Research and Expert Analyses of Radioactive Materials # 13
Head of the department:
Igor ZHUK, Ph.D. of Engineering Sciences
E-mail: zhuk@sosny.bas-net.by
Tel.: +375 (17) 373-14-23
Fax: +375 (17) 374-83-35
History:
The laboratory is one of the oldest laboratories, created in 1962 on the initiative of Academician A.B. Krasin as a part of the Department of Nuclear Power Engineering (Branch A) of the Heat and Mass Transfer Institute of the NAS. The main goal of the laboratory was the development of critical facilities (zero or physical capacity reactors) and experimental researches on the physics of new types of different nuclear reactors, developed in the «A» department of the ITMO AS of BSSR, and since 1965 at the Institute of Nuclear Energy of the AS of BSSR. The original name of the laboratory is the Laboratory of critical assemblies (later – the Laboratory of experimental physical reactors, the Laboratory of Experimental Physics, since 1992 – the Laboratory of Experimental Physics Research of the Institute of Energy Problems of NAS of Belarus, since 2004 – the Laboratory of experimental nuclear physics research and expert analysis of radioactive materials). Cand.Tech.Sci., Professor O.I. Yaroshevich was the head of the laboratory since 1962 till June 2009, from June 2009 to the present – Candidate of Technical Sciences I.V.Zhuk. In 2002-2003, as a result of the reorganization of the laboratory, a sector of experimental physics and nuclear safety of reactor facilities was withdrawn from the laboratory, to which all the physics studies carried out at the critical stands were transferred.
The main directions of scientific researches (fundamental and applied):
– high energy physics,
– development and improvement of nuclear-physical methods for measuring ionizing radiation and methods for controlling the content of technogenic and natural radionuclides in various environmental objects,
– carrying out expert analyzes (identification of radionuclide composition and activity levels) of sources of ionizing radiation detected in illegal traffic in Belarus within the framework of the international nuclear non-proliferation program and the global initiative to combat nuclear terrorism,
– carrying out large-scale radon monitoring in the air of buildings in various regions of Belarus to assess the annual effective equivalent doses to the population caused by radon and its disintegration products, to ensure the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Radiation Safety of the Population”.
Projects:
– «Research of the features of the electronuclear method for obtaining energy and transmutation of radioactive waste in systems controlled by accelerator: experimental determination of the fission cross sections of heavy nucleus by high-energy particles» in the framework of the SPSR «Energy systems, processes and technologies»
– «Conducting complex studies of natural sources of ionizing radiations due to radon-222. Assessment of the doses of radioactive exposure of the population of Belarus in various regions to the provision of the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Radiation Safety of the Population” within the framework of the SPSR “Energy systems, processes and technologies”.
– «Carrying out x-gamma spectrometric measurements of radionuclide sources of medical and industrial applications»,
– « Experiment-calculated study of the distributions of fission rates and spectral indices in the subcritical uranium assembly KVINT »(« Spectral indices »)»,
– «Preparation of radon maps and assessment of the dose of radon exposure in Belarus and Serbia»,
– «Experiment-calculated study of neutron leakage parameters from subcritical facilities irradiated with beams of relativistic particles» («Neutron leakage parameters»),
– work on identification of ionizing radiation sources within the framework of the implementation of the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated 30.04.2009 №560.
Major achievements:
– The Construction in Belarus of a modern experimental base for research in physics of nuclear reactors (critical benches – physical power reactors, measuring facilities, measurement techniques and nuclear fuel kits with enriched from 10% to 90% for uranium-235), providing measurements of all major neutron-physical parameters of reactor systems of various types.
– The neutron-physical characteristics of more than 40 uranium-water, uranium-hydride zirconium, fast and fast-resonant active zones have been studied, which has made it possible to create a reliable experimental test for computational methods, mathematical programs and group constants systems used in the design of new types of reactors.
– There was solved a major scientific and technical problem of the experimental substantiation of the physical characteristics of a new type of power reactor with a zirconium hydride moderator for a mobile Pamir-630-D nuclear power plant at all stages of its design and development of prototype FNPPs.
– The physical characteristics of new promising reactors with a fast-resonant spectrum of neutrons and vortex reactors with a rotating core at specially designed critical assemblies have been studied for the first time.
– Radiometric installations and measurement techniques for rapid monitoring of specific and volumetric activities in food products in agricultural markets in the first years after the Chernobyl disaster were developed and introduced
– A number of instrumental nuclear-physical methods for determining the content of long-lived transuranium elements (americium-241 and plutonium radionuclides) in various environmental objects have been developed (X-γ-spectrometric technique for monitoring the specific activity of Am-241 and plutonium isotopes in soils, bottom sediments, specific activity and dispersity of aerosol hot particles based on solid-state track detectors, alpha radiography method, neutron activation method, etc.); a hardware base for the implementation of these techniques has been created; measurements were made in the resettlement zone, in the areas adjacent to the resettlement zone and around the competitive sites for the construction of nuclear power plant in Belarus.
– A range of radiological measurements on the initial (background) radioactive contamination of various environmental objects (soils, bottom sediments, main grain and meadow agricultural products, basic food products from the diet of local residents made in the territories within a 30-km zone from competitive sites for nuclear power plant) was performed.
– A range of normative documents on specifications and extent of examinations and researches when selecting sites for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus was developed.
– A measurement procedure was developed and the values of the equivalent equilibrium volume activity of radon and its disintegration products (DIR) in the air of buildings, soil air and drinking water in potentially radon hazardous areas of all regions of Belarus were studied using integrated passive radonometers based on solid-state track detectors for alpha particles; annual effective doses of population exposure due to radon and its DIR were determined.
– Methods for the synthesis and X-ray-gamma spectrometric analysis of new radionuclide products for medical, scientific and industrial purposes (jointly with ZAO Isotope Technologies), used for the certification of ionizing radiation sources supplied to the domestic and foreign markets have been developed.
– Methods for studying neutron fields in subcritical systems controlled by accelerators have been developed. The developed methods for measuring the absolute rates of fission of nuclides can be applied in experiments on other ADS, having different configurations and material composition. The methods are currently used in studies of the spatial-energy distribution of neutrons in experiments on the transmutation of younger actinides and long-lived fission products, both in the Republic of Belarus (JIPNR-Sosny of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus) and abroad (JINR, Dubna , Russia) within the framework of state and international research programs.
– The neutron-physical characteristics of deep subcritical systems (lead graphite assembly GAMMA-MD, uranium-lead subcritical assembly “Energy plus transmutation”) irradiated by beams of relativistic particles at the accelerator complex “Nuclotron-M” (JINR, Dubna, Russia) and of the subcritical stand “Yalina”, controlled by a neutron generator with an energy of 2.7 and 14.1 MeV, were investigated. The sets of experimental values obtained as a result of the research are designed to improve the constant base for model calculations of the interaction of deuterons and protons with nucleus of heavy elements and it will contribute to more efficient and rational development of ADS based on multiplying heavy metal targets.
International cooperation:
The Laboratory staff participates in the CTF3 (CLIC Test Facility) collaboration, based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Academy of Sciences and the CLIC projects (Compact Linear Collider, CERN (Switzerland)). Within the framework of this project, technologies are being developed and tested to create a linear electronic e-/e+ collider for detailed study and refinement of the results of discoveries in the field of high-energy physics made at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider LHC).
Within the framework of the protocol on the implementation of joint research work between the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Dubna, Russia) and scientific institution “JIPNR-Sosny”, staff members take part in the implementation of the international project “ENERGY and TRANSMUTATION” as a part of the “Problem-Thematic Plan for Research and International Cooperation of JINR. The experiments are conducted within the framework of a broad international collaboration (headed by S.I.Tyutyunnikov): JINR (Dubna, Russia), the scientific institution “JIPNR-Sosny”, the Scientific Research Institute “Institute of Nuclear Problems” of the Belarusian State University “(Minsk) , The NSC KIPT (Kharkov, Ukraine), the Research Center (Julich, Germany), the Philipps University (Marburg, Germany), INP (Rzhezh, Czech Republic), Aristotle University (Thessaloniki, Greece), Sydney University (Sydney, Australia), IAE (Sverk, Poland), IPPE (Obninsk, Russia) and others.
Within the framework of the program of scientific and technical cooperation for 2016-2017 between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Serbia, in accordance with the order of the State Committee for Science and Technology, the laboratory staff, together with the State Center for Hydrometeorology, Control of Radioactive Pollution and Environmental Monitoring, concluded a contract No.X16SRBG-005 dated July 20, 2016 for the performance of research work between the scientific institution “JIPNR-Sosny” and the Belarusian Republican Foundation for Basic Research. (“Drawing up radon maps and assessing the dose of irradiation of the population with radon in Belarus and Serbia”).
Advanced studies:
To conduct large-scale monitoring of radon in the air of buildings in various regions of Belarus in order to assess the annual effective equivalent doses to the population caused by radon and its disintegration products. To draw up maps of radon pollution using GIS-technologies.
To Investigate the features of the electronuclear method of obtaining energy and transmutation of radioactive waste in systems controlled by an accelerator.
List of the most important publications for the period 2014 – 2017:
Zhuk I.V., Husak K.V., Bukhal O.V., Safronova A.A, oth. «Experimental study of the cross sections of the reactions of the decomposition of heavy metals by deuterons with energy 2, 2.94 3.5 GeV/nucleon» // Letters to the journal Physics of Elementary Particles and the Atomic Nucleus, Vol.13, №4(202). -2016. -P.737-745.
Radon monitoring at the Republic of Belarus / O.I. Yaroshevich [oth.] // Radioactivity after nuclear explosions and accidents: consequences and ways to overcome: thesis report of the scientific-practical conference., Obninsk, 19–21 April 2016 г. / ФГБУ «SPA «Typhoon». – Obninsk, 2016. – P. 40.
O.I. Yaroshevich [oth.] // Effective doses of exposure to the population of Minsk and Brest regions, caused by radon and the daughter products of its decay// Proceedings of the VI International Conference “Nuclear Technologies of the 21st Century” and Republican scientific seminar “Nuclear Power, Nuclear and Radiation Technologies”, 25—27 October 2016, “JIPNR-Sosny”, Minsk region, the Republic of Belarus.
Kievets M.K., Zhuk I.V., Vasiliev V.I. and oth. «Researchs of radon content in the underground mineral water of sanatoria in Belarus / Reports of the International Conference “Nuclear Technologies of the 21st Century» and Republican scientific seminar “Nuclear Power, Nuclear and Radiation Technologies”, 25-28 October 2016, Minsk region, Belarus. –2016. –с. 1-10.
O.V.Bukhal, I.V.Zhuk [and oth.] Experimental determination of the cross sections for the reactions of the splitting of heavy nuclei by high-energy deuterons. \ «Youth in Science-2014» \ Supplement to the journal ” News of the National Academy of Sciences”, P.3, series of physical and technical sciences, series of physical and mathematical sciences, p. 6 8.
K.V.Husak, I.V.Zhuk [and oth.]. Determination of the ratio of the average fission cross sections of plutonium-239, neptunium-237, thorium-232 and uranium-238 to the average fission cross section of uranium-235 in the neutron field of the KVINT . \ «Youth in Science-2014» \ Supplement to the journal “News of the National Academy of Sciences”, P.3, series of physical and technical sciences, series of physical and mathematical sciences, p. 16 19.
A.K.Karabanov, A.V.Matveev, L.A.Chunihin, D.N.Drozdov, A.L.Chehovski, I.V.Zhuk, O.I.Yaroshevich, M.V.Konopelko. Radon and its disintegration products in the air of buildings on the territory of Belarus // Magazine “Nature management’’, Part №27, p. 49–53.
O.I.Yaroshevich, I.V.Zhuk, V.T.Kazazyan and oth. Research in the areas of physics of nuclear reactors and ionizing radiation in the JIPNR-Sosny of the NAS of Belarus // Anniversary conference proceedings «50 Years of the JIPNR-Sosny» / Publishing house «Evening Gomel-Media». – 2015.
A.K.Karabanov, L.A.Chuhinin, O.I.Yaroshevich, I.V.Zhuk and oth. “Belarus radon risk map” // Natural resources. – 2015. № 2. – p. 73–78.
M.K. Kievets, I.V. Zhuk, A.N. Sosnin Fission rates of nuclides in the neutron field formed on the surface of a massive lead target irradiated with protons at energy of 5.0 GeV \ Radiation Measurements. –2015 –Vol. 72. –P. 81-84.
K. Husak, V. Bukhal, I. Zhuk [et al]. Nuclotron deuterons beam parameters measurements using SSNTD \\ Proceeding of the second International Beam Instrumentation Conference (IBIC-2013), Oxford, UK. P.299-302.
К.Husak [and oth.]. Investigation of the space-energy distributions of neutrons in a massive uranium target upon irradiation with deuterons with an energy of 1 … 8 GeV \\ Questions of Atomic Science and Technology №6 (2013), p.170 – 174.
S.R. Hashemi-Nezhad, I.Zhuk [et al]. The spatial distribution of thermal and epithermal neutrons in a graphite moderated spallation neutron field. Radiation Measurements. Vol. 67, August 2014, P. 15–23.
К.Husak [and oth.]. Measurement of the parameters of the deuteron beam in experiments with the target assembly “KVINT” track solid-state detectors . \\ Questions of Atomic Science and Technology №3 (2014), р.177 – 189.
O.I.Yaroshevich, I.V.Zhuk [and oth.]. Construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus. \\ Scientific and Practical Journal “Science and Innovations”, №5 (135), 2014, p.69 – 72.
V. Bukhal, K. Husak, I. Zhuk [et al]. Experimental determination of heavy nuclei fission cross-sections under relativistic deuterons irradiation on the accelerator complex “Nuclotron” for purposes of transmutation and energy amplification. Proceedings of IPAC2014, Dresden, Germany.
O.I.Yaroshevich, I.V.Zhuk [and oth.]. Research in the areas of physics of nuclear reactors and ionizing radiation in the JIPNR-Sosny. \\ News of the NAS of Belarus, series of physical and technical sciences №3, 2014г.
O.I.Yaroshevich, A.K.Karabanov, A.V.Matveev, I.V. Zhuk, M.V.Konopelko, L.L. Vasilevski, J.A.Lukashevich JIPNR-Sosny’s investigations of volumetric activity of radon-222 in the building air: results, problems, further studies. / IV International Conference “Nuclear Technologies of the XXI Century”: Republican Scientific Seminar “Nuclear Power, Nuclear and Radiation Technologies”: collection of reports, Minsk, 21-23 October 2014. p.150-162.
