L10 radiation sources and equipment used in industrial practices

1. 4th BAERATraining Course on Radiation
Protection for Radiation Control
Officers(RCO) of Industrial Practices
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority
08-11 August 2016
L-10: Radiation Sources & Equipment used in
NDT, Nucleonic Gauge, Irradiator & Well-
Logging Practices
Md Mustafijur Rahman
Principal Engineer
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority
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2. Contents :
1. Industrial Radiography
2. Radiation Sources & Equipment for Nucleonic
Gauge Practices
3. Radiation Sources & Equipment for Irradiation
Practices
4. Radiation Sources & Equipment for Well-
Logging Practices
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3. 3
Industrial Radiography Equipment
Types of X-ray Equipment
 Directional X-ray Units
 Panoramic X-ray Units
 Linear Accelerators

4. 4
Types of X-ray Equipment
Directional and panoramic conventional X-ray Units
Directional x-ray tube assemblies are fitted with suitable
window/collimators (also called cones and diaphragms) to
reduce the useful beam to minimum size necessary for the work
and to minimise the radiation scattered from the irradiated
object.
Without the collimator the tube is called panoramic x-ray tube.

5. 5
Gamma Radiography Sources and Containers
The general minimum requirements for gamma ray sources for
industrial radiography are given in ISO Standard 2919.
The sealed source is stored in a safely shielded location within the
specially designed exposure container.

6. 6
Gamma Radiography Sources and
Containers
Radio-nuclides (called sealed source) commonly used in
industrial radiography are given below:
Radio-nuclide Gamma Energies
(MeV)
Half-life
Optimum Steel
Thickness of Object
Material (mm)
Cobalt - 60 High (1.17 and 1.33) 5.3 Years 50 - 150
Caesium - 137 High (0.662) 30 years 50 - 100
Iridium - 192 Medium (0.2-1.4) 74 days 10 - 70
Selenium - 75 Medium (0.12-0.97) 120 days 4 - 28
Ytterbium - 169 Low (0.008-0.31) 32 days 2.5 - 45

7. 7
Gamma Source Assembly
Class
P
Class M

8. 8
Dose rate limits for the various classes of
exposure containers
(According to ISO 3999)
Maximum dose equivalent rate Sv/h
Class On external surface
of container
At 50mm from external
surface of container
At 1m from
external surface of
container.
P 2000 500 20
M 2000 1000 50
F 2000 1000 100

9. 9
Types of Gamma Ray Projectors or
Cameras
Generally, gamma ray projectors are available in many forms,
namely;
Removable Plug Type Unit - This type is available with
capacities up to 74GBq of Co-60 (or 3.7TBq of Ir-192)
D-type Unit - This unit is available with capacities up to
277.5GBq of Ir-192 or 37GBq of Cs-137.
Remote Control Unit - These units can be operated from a
remote distance, which makes them suitable when high activity
sources are to be used. Units that can hold very large Ir-192
sources and up to 18.5TBq Co-60 are also available.

10. 10

11. 11
Typical Radiographic Boundary
Radiation Sign
Gamma
Projector
Specimen
Survey Meter
Winding cable
Rope

12. 12
Pipe Crawler Equipment
Pipe crawler equipment is used to radiograph welds on
pipelines.
The machines carry either an x-ray tube assembly or a gamma
source on a mobile carriage which crawls along the inside of the
pipe.
They are powered by batteries on the carriage, an internal
combustion engine, or trailing cables from a generator.
The crawler is activated and controlled by the radiographer from
outside the pipe using a control source, which normally consists
of a low activity (Cs-137) sealed source mounted in a hand-held
device and collimated.
The pipe crawler and control source are prepared and
transported in accordance with the requirements of AELB.

13. 13
Cross - Section of Pipeline Crawler

14. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge
Practices
What is a nuclear gauge?
A nuclear (or radiation) gauge:-
- is a device widely used in industry, mostly for process
control and product quality control;
• comprises a shielded radiation source (radioactive or x-
ray) and a radiation detector arranged so that the useful
radiation beam passes through or otherwise interacts
with the material under investigation to provide real-time
data for continuous analysis and/or process control.
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15. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
Gauging Applications;
(a) Quality Control
• Density of liquids, rubber, oils, fabric, paper, etc
• Thickness of paper, glass, steel, plastic films, etc.
• Level of ores, beverages, cooking oil, etc
• Concentration of minerals in slurries, froth flotation
(b) Process Control
• Density of cement, mud, liquids, chemical products, etc.
• Levels in vessels, silos, chemical products, minerals, etc,
• Moisture in glass, cement, minerals, paving, agriculture, etc
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16. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
Types of Gauges
Gauges can have a number of primary functions. e.g.:-
• density measurement;
• thickness measurement;
• level detection;
• moisture measurement;
Other Classification-
(a) Fixed gauge
(b) Portable gauge
(c) Continuous measurement gauge 16

17. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
Radioactive Sources Commonly Used;
(a) Thickness Gauge Beta: Kr-85, Sr-90, C-14 etc
( Paper & Pulp, Steel, Gamma : Am-241, Cs-137, Fe-55
Textile , Coating-Printing)
(b) Level Gauge : Beverage, Gamma : Am-241, Cs-137, Co-60 etc
Chemical, Oil Refinery etc.
(c) Density Gauge : Gamma: Cs-137, Co-60, Am-241
Petrochemical, Chemicals etc.
(d) Moisture Gauge; Neutron : Am-Be
Moisture Contents 17

18. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
Basic Configuration of Nucleonic Gauge;
1. Scintillation detector mounted opposite to the source
container
2. Clamping device or measuring path Two wire standard cable
3. Sealed and shielded source which will be mounted lateral to
the pipeline
4. Evaluation unit with digital display and 0/4-20 mA analogue output
of the density or concentration and alarm outputs
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19. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
Density Gauges;
The detector measures the amount of radiation passing
through the material under examination. Typically use
gigabecquerels of 137Cs etc.
Detector Material
Flow
Shutter
Control
Shielding
Source
Shutter (open)
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20. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
-Density Gauges (cont)
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21. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
-Density Gauges (cont)
Belt weighing gauge
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22. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
-Level Gauge
One or more gauges and detectors commonly used as “on/off” switches to
control the level of material in a bin or hopper, etc. Large, thick
walled vessels may use 60Co (Gigabecquerels)
High level
detector
Low level
detector
Sources
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23. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
-Level Gauge (Contd)
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24. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
- Level Gauges (cont)
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25. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
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26. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
n Backscatter Gauges (cont)
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27. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
Moisture / density gauges
A portable moisture / density gauge
- crushed by a compactor
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28. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
1. X-ray Fluoresence
-Application;
(a) Analysis of mineral ores and alloys
(b) Determination of coating thickness and composition of
mixtures
(c) Sulpher content in hydrocarbon
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29. Radiation Sources and Equipment for Nucleonic Gauge Practices
Legal Requirements:
(a) Clearly Visible Legible Radiation Caution Sign shall be
available
(b) Clearly Visible source information Tag shall be available at
the surface of the gauge
(c) Carry out periodically radiation survey at around the working
are as well as the surface of the gauge
(d) Valid practice license
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30. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
1. Irradiators are facilities that expose products such as food,
food containers, spices, medical supplies, and wood flooring
to radiation to eliminate harmful bacteria, germs, and
insects or for hardening or other purposes. The gamma
radiation does not leave any radioactive residue or cause
any of the treated products to become radioactive
themselves.
2. The source of that radiation can be radioactive materials, an
x-ray tube, or an electron beam.
3. Gamma irradiators based on Co-60 radiation sources in the range of
185 TBq (5 kCi) up to 111 PBq (3 MCi) are qualified for sterilizing
medical products, packing materials, tissue/organ transplants, food,
herbs, spices and other materials.
4. For electron beam, the electron accelerators of energies several
MeV are used.
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31. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
5. These irradiators may be industrial, pilot or laboratory facilities depending on
the customer's needs
6. There are generally two types of irradiators that use radioactive
material in operation (a) underwater and (b) wet-source-storage
panoramic models.
7. In the case of underwater irradiators the sealed sources that provide
the radiation remain in the water at all times and the product to be
irradiated is placed in a water-tight container, lowered into the pool,
irradiated, and then removed.
8. With wet-source-storage panoramic irradiators the radioactive
sealed sources are also stored in the water, but they are raised into
the air to irradiate products that are automatically moved into the
room via a conveyor system, then lowered back to the bottom of the
pool. For this type of irradiator, thick concrete walls or steel provide
protection for workers and the public when the sources are lifted
from the pool.
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32. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
2.1 Classification of Gamma Irradiation Facilities:
Gamma Irradiators are categorized according to the
type of source storage-irradiation chamber
arrangements;
(a) Category I : An Irradiator in which the sealed sources is
completely enclosed in a dry container constructed of solid
materials and is shielded at all times, where human access to
the sealed source and the volume undergoing irradiation is not
physically possible in the design configuration
(b) Category II: An irradiator in which the sealed source is
enclosed in a dry container constructed of solid materials in
which the source is moved by remote control to be shielded
when not in use.
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33. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
2.1 Classification of Gamma Irradiation Facilities:
(c) Category III: An Irradiator in which the sealed
source is contained in a water filled storage pool
and is shielded at all times and the product to be
irradiated is placed in a water-tight container, lowered
into the pool, irradiated, and then removed.
Figure 1: Underwater
Irradiator. The sealed
sources remain in the water
at all times. The product to
be irradiated is placed in a
water-tight container and
lowered into the water. 33

34. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
2.1 Classification of Gamma Irradiation Facilities:
(d) Category IV: An Irradiator in which the sealed source is
contained in a water filled storage pool, is fully shielded when not
in use, but they are raised into the air to irradiate products that are
automatically moved into the room via a conveyor system, then lowered
back to the bottom of the pool.
Figure 2: Commercial Wet-Source-
Storage Irradiator. The sealed sources
are stored in water and raised into the
air to irradiate a product that may be
moved into the irradiation room on a
conveyor system. This is an example of
a panoramic wet-source-storage irradiator.
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35. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
2.2 Few design Configuration of Different Types if
Irradiation Facilities are shown below:
(a) Gamma Cell for Research purpose:
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36. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
(a) Gamma Cell for Research purpose:
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37. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
2.2 Few design Configuration of Different Types if
Irradiation Facilities are shown below:
(b) Commercial Irradiator:
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38. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
2.2 Few design Configuration of Different Types if
Irradiation Facilities are shown below:
(b) Commercial Irradiator:
Inside the labyrinth
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39. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
In the irradiation chamber; containers leaving the irradiator
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40. IRRADIATION PRACTICES
Fig. . Cutaway view of a typical electron beam facility
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41. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
* Nuclear well logging is a method of studying the
materials surrounding exploratory boreholes.
• A tool consisting of a neutron or gamma-ray source
and one or more detectors is lowered into the
borehole.
• The response of the detectors to radiation returning
from outside the borehole depends in part on the
lithology, porosity, and fluid characteristics of the
material.
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42. Different types of well logging Source &
equipment
Well logging operations and equipment
• Drill-to-stop
• Logging-while-drilling
• Tracer studies
• Collar markers
• Miscellaneous sources
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43. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
Well logging operations and equipment
Sealed Sources
 Drill to Stop
 Measurement or Logging While Drilling
 Tracers
 Conventional Tracer Studies
 Field Flood Studies
 Collar Markers
 Neutron Accelerators
 Depleted Uranium Sinker Bars 43

44. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
Radiation Sources Used for Well-Logging;
(a) Am-Be
(b) Cs-137
(c) Ra-226
(d) Co-60
(d) Th-232 etc.
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45. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
Well logging operations and equipment
* Sealed Sources
 Drill to Stop
 Measurement or Logging While Drilling
 Tracers
 Conventional Tracer Studies
 Field Flood Studies
 Collar Markers
 Neutron Accelerators
 Depleted Uranium Sinker Bars 45

46. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
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47. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
Drill-to-stop well logging operation (cont)
Well logging tools without
sources stored in the transport
vehicle (but note transport label)
Well logging tools without
sources at the storage facility
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48. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
Figure: A typical well logging configuration
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49. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
Measurement while drilling
-Well logging operations that take place during the drilling of the well (bore) and do
not require either the drill stem or other equipment to be removed from the well.
-This type of operation requires that the well logging tool contains one or more
sealed sources and be located above the drilling stem to obtain information through
mud telemetry communications.
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50. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
MWD sealed source handling;
Removing source from the transport container
Loading source into
transport container
Installing sealed
source into the
MWD well
logging tool
Place the rig floor skirt around the modular tool and clear the rig floor of any trip hazards.
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51. Nuclear Well-Logging Practices
Select proper source cap
Tightening sealed source to the
specified torque
Installing source cap to secure source and
tightening to a specified torque
Select the tools for source removal
Source being removed with handling tool
Figure: Source removal from the tools
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52. THANK YOU
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