Recently, the status of North Korea’s denuclearization has become an international issue, and there are also indications of potential nuclear proliferation among neighboring countries. So, the need for establishment of nuclear activity verification technology and strategy is growing. In terms of ensuring verification completeness, sample collection-based analysis is essential. The concepts of Chain of Custody (CoC) and Continuity of Knowledge (CoK) can be defined in the process of sample extraction as follows: CoC is interpreted as the ‘system for managing the flow of information subjected by the examinee’, and CoK is interpreted as the ‘Continuity of information collection through CoC subjected by the inspector’. In the case of sample collection process in unreported areas for nuclear activity verification, there are additional risks such as worker exposure/kidnapping or sample theft/tampering. Therefore, the introduction of additional devices might be required to maintain CoC and CoK in the unreported area. In this study, an Environmental Geometrical Data Transfer (EGDT) was developed to ensure the safety of workers and the CoC/CoK of the samples during the collection process. This device was designed for achieving both mobility and rechargeability. It is categorized into two modes based on its intended users: sample mode and worker mode. Through the sensors, which is positioned in the rear part of device, such as radiation, gyroscope, light, temperature, humidity and proximity sensors, it can be easily achievable various environmental information in real-time. Additionally, GPS information can also be received, allowing for responsiveness to various hazardous scenarios. Moreover, the OLED display positioned on the front gives us for checking device information such as the current status of the device such as the battery level, the connectivity of wifi, and etc. Finally, an alarm function was integrated to enable rapid awareness during emergency situations. These functions can be updated and modified through Arduino-based firmware, and both the device and the information collected through it can be remotely controlled via custom software. Based on the presented design conditions, a prototype was developed and field assessments were conducted, yielding results within an acceptable margin of error for various scenarios. Through the application of the EGDT developed in this study to the sample collection process for nuclear activity verification purposes, it is expected to achieve a stable maintenance of CoC/CoK through more accurate information transmission and reception.

The National R&D Innovation Act emphasizes the improvement of the quality of R&D activities. The research institute is making efforts to improve the quality of research and effectively manage research implementation. KINAC has conducted various R&D projects regarding nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear security, and their scope and scale have been gradually more widened and increased. It consequently becomes important how to successfully manage research projects and ensure their qualification with the growth and complexity of research in KINAC. Unfortunately, no attempt was made to introduce and apply project management methodologies. Therefore, the objective of this study is to introduce project management standards and guidelines as an initial step towards improving the overall research quality of the institute. Project management is the well-organized application of knowledge and techniques to efficiently and effectively initiate, plan, control, and close projects, in order to achieve specific goals and meet success criteria. There are some guidelines regarding project management, including PMBOK (the Project Management Body of Knowledge), PRINCE2 (Projects in Controlled Environments), ISO 21500 (Guidance on Project Management), and PMP (Project Management Professionals), etc. They are international standards that consist of processes, guidelines, and best practices for project management. They provide structured processes and approaches to plan, execute, monitor, control, and complete projects. By reviewing the guidelines, the commonly important factors, including schedule, cost, quality, resources, communication, and risk management were introduced to apply to KINAC R&D project implementation. In addition to the management standards, systematic efforts are also continued to enhance the R&D qualities of the institute. These efforts include the implementation of a quality management system (ISO 9001:2015), development of an integrated research achievements management system, regulation development, and distribution of guidebooks for project managers and researchers. These efforts have been evaluated as improving the quality of the research.

ISO 9001:2005 is the international standard for implementing a Quality Management System (QMS), which provides a framework and principles for managing an organization’s quality management. The aim is to ensure that the organization continuously provides products and services that satisfy regulatory requirements. The “process approach” in ISO 9001 is defined as a systematic method of achieving organizational goals by comprehending and managing the interconnected processes as a cohesive system. Recently, KINAC has decided to develop standard processes in the field of R&D and performance management based on the framework of the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system. The objective of this study is to establish standardized processes for conducting research and development, as well as managing the outputs and performance of R&D activities. It involves identifying, designing, implementing, monitoring, and continually improving processes to ensure consistency, efficiency, and effective management of KINAC R&D and its achievements. Firstly, R&D and the research performance management process were defined, and the processes were categorized by function according to the requirements of ISO 9001:2015. Second, the ISO 9001 requirements were compared to the institute’s existing regulations and documents in order to identify any additional processes and procedures needed to meet the quality management requirements. Finally, the lists of quality documentation were determined for the institute’s QMS. As a result, a total of 30 QMS documents were listed, including 1 manual, 12 quality processes and procedures, and 17 quality instructions. The documents can be categorized into four process groups: the management and planning process group, the R&D and achievements management process group, the analysis and improvement process group, and the support process group. All input and output information of each process are connected and interrelated. The implementation of quality management standards and procedures for R&D in KINAC could lead to improved research practices, more reliable data collection and analysis, and increased efficiency in conducting R&D activities. For further study, it is planned to create detailed, high-quality documents that adhere to standard requirements and guidelines.

Our research team has developed a gamma ray detector which can be distributed over large area through air transport. Multiple detectors (9 devices per 1 set) are distributed to measure environmental radiation, and information such as the activity and location of the radiation source can be inferred using the measured data. Generally, radiation is usually measured by pointing the detector towards the radioactive sources for efficient measurement. However, the detector developed in this study is placed on the ground by dropping from the drone. Thus, it does not always face toward the radiation source. Also, since it is a remote measurement system, the user cannot know the angle information between the source and detector. Without the angle information, it is impossible to correct the measured value. The most problematic feature is when the backside of the detector (opposite of the scintillator) faces the radiation source. It was confirmed that the measurement value decreased by approximately 50% when the backside of the detector was facing towards the radiation source. To calibrate the measured value, we need the information that can indicate which part of the detector (front, side, back) faces the source. Therefore, in this study, we installed a small gamma sensor on the backside of the detector to find the direction of the detector. Since this sensor has different measurement specifications from the main sensor in terms of the area, type, efficiency and measurement method, the measured values between the two sensors are different. Therefore, we only extract approximate direction using the variation in the measured value ratio of the two sensors. In this study, to verify the applicability of the detector structure and measurement method, the ratio of measured values that change according to the direction of the source was investigated through MCNP simulation. The radioactive source was Cs-137, and the simulation was performed while moving in a semicircular shape with 15 degree steps from 0 degree to 180 degrees at a distance of 20 cm from the center point of the main sensor. Since the MCNP result indicates the probability of generating a pulse for one photon, this value was calculated based on 88.6 μCi to obtain an actual count. Through the ratio of the count values of the two sensors, it was determined whether the radioactive source was located in the front, side, or back of the probe.

In emergency situations such as nuclear accidents or terrorism, radioactive and nuclear materials can be released by some environmental reasons such as the atmosphere and underground water. To secure the safety of human beings and to respond appropriately emergency situation, it is required to designate high and low dose rate regions in the early stages by analyzing the location and radioactivity of sources through environmental radiation measurement. This research team has developed a small gamma probe which is featured by its geometrical accessibility and higher radiation sensitivity than other drone detectors. A plastic scintillator and Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) were applied to the probe to optimize the wireless measurement condition. SiPM has a higher gain (higher than 106) and lower operating voltage (less than 30 V) compared to a general photodiode. However, the electronic components in the SiPM are sensitively affected by temperature, which causes the performance degradation of the SiPM. As the SiPM temperature increases, the breakdown voltage (VBD) of the SiPM also increases, so the gain must be maintained by applying the appropriate VBD. Therefore, when the SiPM temperature increases while the VBD is fixed, the gain decreases. Thus, the signal does not exceed the threshold voltage (VTH) and the overall count is reduced. In general, the optimal gain is maintained by cooling the SiPM or through a temperature compensation circuit. However, in the developed system, the hardware correction method such as cooling or temperature compensation circuit cannot be applied. In this study, it was confirmed that the count decreased by up to 20% according to the increase in the temperature of the SiPM when the probe was operated at room temperature (26°C). We propose methods to calibrate the total count without cooling device or compensation circuit. After operating the probe at room temperature, the first measured count is set as the reference value, and the correction factor is derived using the tendency of the count to decrease as the temperature increases. In addition, since this probe is used for environmental radiation monitoring, periodic measurements are more suitable than continuous measurements. Therefore, the temperature of the probe can be maintained by adding a power saving interval to the operation sequence of the probe. These two methods use the operation sequence and measurement data, respectively. Thus, it is expected to be the most effective method for the current system where the temperature compensation through hardware is not possible.

When the nuclear accident like the Fukushima is occurred, it is required to immediately determine the location of radioactive materials and their activities. Various studies related the unmanned technique to detect and characterize the contaminated area have been conducted. The Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC) has developed a new gamma detection system which consists of nine probes using a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) and plastic scintillator. The probe is the small gamma detector designed to be carried and dropped near the accident area by the unmanned aerial vehicle. In this paper, we developed the improved design related to the angular dependence of the radioactive contamination detection system with the purpose of increasing the detection efficiency. The detection efficiency, radiation shielding and back-scattering varies depending on the direction of incidence of radiation because the probe has vertical structure of consisting scintillator, photomultiplier, and electric circuits. That is, when the experimental conditions are same except the direction of gamma probe, the result of measurements is different. It causes errors in measuring the radioactivity and location of the radioactive source. Since the direction of the probe is arbitrarily determined during the deployment of the probe through the unmanned aerial vehicle, it is considered changing the design of the scintillator from a conventional 1.0" × 1.0" Φ cylindrical shape to a 1.0" Φ spherical shape. In case of using the spherical scintillator, it is confirmed that angular dependence was reduced through MCNP simulation. The difference in the measurement depending on the direction of the probe could be reduced through additional structure design. Finally, we hope that the developed detection system which has the probes with spherical shape of scintillator can measure the radioactivity and location of the radioactive source in a range of about 100 × 100 m2 by measuring for at least 5 minutes. The field test at Fukushima area will be carried out with JAEA members in order to prove the feasibility of the new system.

Since the National Research and Development Innovation Act. was enacted, evaluation and management of research outputs become more important. The research output is defined as all types of information resources produced from the scientific research activities in each research phase, such as learning, proposing, performing, and publishing. Among them, research outputs mainly from the publishing phase have been systematically managed, including articles, books, technical reports, patents, and software. KINAC, like other Korean R&D institutions, has also achieved growth in research outputs, through continuously increased investment in R&D projects. However, R&D productivity, technology transfer, and commercialization remain low level. The importance of R&D performance diffusion has been emphasized. It’s because the creation of economic value through the utilization of research results has been emerging as a key issue in R&D policy. Therefore, various policies are being nationally pursued to promote the utilization of research achievements, but the results are not being effectively utilized and disseminated. In the field of nuclear nonproliferation and security, it is also difficult to diffuse the R&D performance. In this study, the research outputs of KINAC from 2010 to 2021 were analyzed. A number of research outputs have been made and managed, but the R&D performances have not been analyzed and identified yet. In addition, supportive methods were suggested for efficient performance management toward diffusion. For this purpose, some policies of Korea and other countries concerning performance diffusion -related policies were reviewed. The best practices of performance management and applications were also reviewed and compared to the KINAC cases. As a result, the number of research output has dramatically increased during the last 10 years, showing an average annual total output of 84 and year-on-year increase of 18%. The biggest change was in the conference papers and journals, whereas, there were no trends by year in the case of the technical reports and patents. Of course, it was proportional to the size of the organization, the number of research projects, and its budget. Because many studies highlight the importance of institutional resources, capabilities, and processes for performance management as factors affecting efficient diffusion, the current status of our process was also identified. This study is expected to be applied to the improvement of the performance management of the institute, leading to the enhancement of the R&D performance application.

For safeguarding dry storage facilities, a tomography system based on fast and thermal neutron detection was studied in Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control. The study was conducted laboratory-scale experiments based on a custom built 1/10th scale model cask, He-4 gas scintillation detector array, and multiple 252Cf sources. A filtered back projection (FBP) was utilized to obtain the cask image via MATLAB. The Ram-Lak filter (ramp filter) was employed in FBP for improved the reconstructed image quality. The Ram-Lak filter is the increasing amplitude filter due to the increasing spatial frequency of the image. In spatial frequency, the frequency of brightness change in the low-frequency region is relatively low, and the frequency of brightness change in the highfrequency region is large. Thus, the high-frequency region in the neutron tomographic image is near the neutron sources and the cask, and the low-frequency region is outside of the cask and/or between the source and cask in the study. In order to apply the ramp filter, a Fourier transform is initially performed on projection data, and image reconstruction is performed with the corrected projection data. In this case, the filter is linearly changed. Therefore, a small filter value is applied at lower spatial frequencies to reduce the projection data, and a large filter value is applied at high spatial frequencies to reduce the projection data. The filter scale is a fraction of frequency amplitude, and the filter value applied to the projection data is determined according to the filter scale. This study was conducted for discussion of the image quality due to the effect of the filter scale used for image reconstruction of a neutron tomography system. The results show that in the experiment with one source, the source location was founded when we used the frequency scale of 0.5 and over. In the double or triple source experiment, the source locations and relative activities were found when we used a filter scale of 0.4 to 0.6. When the filter frequency scale of 0.7 to over, the relative activities are hard to know. It can be found that if the filter value is too large or too small, distortion may occur in the reconstruction results. Therefore, it seems reasonable to set a value between 0.4 and 0.6 as the scaling factor for the neutron tomography system. In the future, additional comparative studies will perform validation of the frequency scaling methods.

The Republic of Korea is expected to participate in the denuclearization verification activities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in case any neighboring countries declared denuclearization. In this study, samples for the verification of nuclear activities in undeclared areas were selected for the denuclearization of neighboring countries, and the appropriateness of the procedures was considered. If a country with nuclear weapons declares denuclearization, it must be accompanied by the IAEA’s verification regarding nuclear materials and weapons in the declared and undeclared areas. The analysis of the process samples or on-site environmental samples and the verification of undeclared nuclear facilities and materials aid in uncovering any evidence of concealment of nuclear activity in undeclared areas. Therefore, a methodology was established for effective sampling and analysis in accordance with proper procedures. Preparations for sampling in undeclared areas were undertaken for various potential scenarios, such as, the establishment of zones according to radiation dose, methods of supplying electricity, wireless communication networks, targets of sampling according to characteristics of nuclides, manned sampling method, and unmanned sampling method. Through this, procedures were established for pre- and post-site settings in preparation for hazards and limiting factors at nuclear inspection sites.