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ABOUT
Dr. Rohit MehraConvener, SSNTDs-19
Department of Physics,
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology,
Jalandhar - 144011, Punjab
www.nitj.ac.in
19th National Conference on Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors and Their
Applications (SSNTDs-19)November 19-21, 2015
EDITED BY:Dr. Rohit Mehra
Ms. Sarabjot Kaur
TEQIP-II SPONSORED
19th National Conference on
Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors and
Their Applications (SSNTDs-19)
(November 19-21, 2015)
Organized by:
Department of Physics, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of
Technology, Jalandhar - 144011, Punjab
www.nitj.ac.in&
Nuclear Track Society of India (NTSI)
C/o Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay,
Mumbai-400 085
About the InstituteDr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar was established in the year 1987 as Regional Engineering College, was given the status of National Institute of Technology in the year 2002, and functions under the aegis of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India. As an Institute of National Importance, it imparts high quality technical education in Engineering, Technology and Science to produce competent technical manpower for the country.
About NTSIThe Nuclear Track Society of India (NTSI) was founded as the professional body in the year 1987 as a cohesive group of Material Science Experts, Nuclear and Geo Physicists & Technologists etc, with multifarious objectives.
Objective of ConferenceSolid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) - a class of passive detectors, developed by R.L. Fleischer, P.B. Price and R.M. Walker in the early 1960s have found in numerous applications in various fields of science and technology. SSNTDs have been recognized as very potential and effective tools in exploring various areas of research. The intrinsic features of SSNTDs like low cost , availability, versatility and their remarkable stability have contributed to applications in a wide range of fields opening up new vistas which were practically unthinkable and unbelievable about a decade or two ago. In fact, nuclear tracks find applications wherever solid damage occurs and in the present times, there is hardly any branch of science and technology where these detectors don’t have a potential application. Apart from the direct applications of far reaching consequences in nuclear physics, other areas as diverse as bio-medical sciences, cosmic rays and space physics, environmental research, geochronology and geophysics, materials sciences, lunar science, meteorites and tektites; microanalysis, mine safety, nuclear technology, uranium prospecting and most recently nano-/micro technology etc., have been greatly influenced by SSNTDs. They have a very important role to play in radiation measurement, micro technology and dosimetry and thus are potent enough in spreading awareness about the radiation environment and its impact on the general public and the academic peers. In order to disseminate the knowledge generated in this fast growing
field, there is a need to bring material science and radiation community on a common platform and discuss various operational and radiation protection aspects. The Nuclear Track Society of India (NTSI) has been organizing symposia on SSNTDs and Their Applications biennially with the prime objective to promote meaningful interaction among scientists working on SSNTDs and their applications in diverse fields. We are going to organize three days’ National Conference on “Solid State Nuclear track Detectors and Their Applications (SSNTDs-18)” at Dr BR Ambedkar NIT Jalandhar during November 19-21,2015. This is the ninetieth symposium in the series of biennial symposia being organized in collaboration with Nuclear Track Society of India. The SSNTDs-19 will be the most comprehensive conference focused on the various aspects of advances in Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors and their applications. The Conference will feature invited talks, contributed papers and poster presentations by eminent scientists, academicians and research students. This conference will provide a chance to academic and industry professionals as well to discuss recent progress in the area of SSNTDs and related applications in diverse fields of science and technology. The researchers and academicians will share thoughts on the very relevant subject that would be taken up at this symposium and interact and derive useful inputs for meeting the changing demands and new challenges of the public in the areas where SSNTDs find their applications. We are sure that the conference will provide young and talented students/scientists a forum to show their talent by presenting their work besides avail exposure to the latest trends and developments.
Conference Themes: Basic Studies and Methodologies Latent Tracks in Materials and lon Track
Technology Heavy lon Nuclear Physics and Cosmic
Rays Radon, Thoron Studies, Applications in
Environmental and Earthquake Studies Radiation Measurements and Dosimetry Trace Analysis Nuclear Track Filters and Their Applications Fission Track Dating & Geochronology
Instrumentation, Devices and Software SSNTDs in Teaching Radiation Induced Modification of Materials
About the DepartmentsThe Department of Physics offers M.Sc. in Physics, M.Tech. (Nuclear Science & Engineering), M. Tech (part time) in Materials Science & Engineering and Doctoral programmers in Electrodynamics, Plasma Physics, Nuclear & Radiation Physics, Particle Physics, Liquid Crystals and Material Science. The department has established state-of-art laboratories with sophisticated equipments for undergraduate, post graduate and Ph.D research work.
Travelling to Jalandhar The institute is located on Amritsar bye pass at a distance of 12 km from Jalandhar bus stand 11 km from Jalandhar city railway station, 16 km from Jalandhar Cantt, railway station, 170 km from Chandigarh, 80 km from Raja Sansi International Airport, Amritsar and 375 km from Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The Shatabdi Express trains plying between New Delhi and Amritsar (via Jalandhar City) are the best mode of travel to and from Jalandhar.
Chief Patron: Sh. Rajiv MehrotraHon’ble ChairpersonBoard of Governors, NIT Jalandhar
Patron:Prof. I.K. BhatDirector, NIT Jalandhar
National Organising Committee: Bajwa B.S.,GNDU,AmritsarChakarvarti S.K., MRIU, FaridabadChand Ravi,GNDU,AmritsarChauhan R.P., NIT KurukshetraChoubey V.M., Ex-WIHG, DehradunKalsi P.C., Ex-BARC, MumbaiKanjilal, D. Director, IUAC, New DelhiKant Krishan, Aggarwal P.G.College, Ballabgarh(Haryana)Kansal S., GZSPTU Campus, BathindaKolekar R.V., BARC,MumbaiKumar Ajay, DAV AmritsarKumar Rajesh, GGSIP University,DelhiKumar Shyam, KU, Kurukshetra
Kumar Sushil,CDLU, SirsaMayya, Y.S. EX-BARC, IIT, MumbaiMahur A.K., VCTM,AligarhPrasad Rajendra, Ex- AMU AligarhPuranik V.D.,HeadEAD BARC,MumbaiRaj Baldev, Director IGCAR,KalpakkamRamchandranT.V.,Ex-BARC,MumbaiRamola R.C.,HNBGarhwal Univ. GarhwalReddy Yadagiri, Ex-Osmania Univ.HyderabadRoy Amit, Ex-Director, IUAC,NewDelhiSahoo B K, BARC, MumbaiSatish A.L. ,Govt. Sc.College,BangaloreSharma Rajesh, HCTM, KaithalSingh Jaspal, GNDU, AmritsarSingh N.L., Secretary NTSI, MSU BarodaSingh S, Ex-GNDU, AmritsarSingh V.R.EX-NPL,New DelhiSingh V.P., JarkhandSonkawade R.G., ShivaJi University, KohlapurVirk H S, Ex-GNDU, AmritsarWalia Vivek NCREE,Taipei (Taiwan)Yadav J.S., TIFR,MumbaiZoliana B.,GZRSC,Aizwal, Mizoram
Local Organising Committee: Bedi R, NIT JalandharBharj J, NIT JalandharDahiya H, NIT JalandharMittal H M, NIT JalandharKaith B S, NIT JalandharKumar A, NIT JalandharMalik, P, NIT JalandharManchanda H, NIT alandharRajput J, NIT JalandharSachdeva A, NIT JalandharShukla D K, NIT JalandharSingh A P, NIT JalandharSingh A, NIT Jalandhar Singh S, NIT JalandharSinha R R, NIT JalandharVerma H, NIT Jalandhar
Contact:
Dr. Rohit Mehra, Convener, SSNTDs-19 and HeadDepartment of PhysicsDr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab,India. 144001.Address: G. T. Road Bye Pass, Jalandhar-144011, Punjab (India).Phone:+91-181-2690301-302, +91-181-2690453, +91-181-2690603Fax: +91-181-2690320, +91-181-2690932Mobile: +91-98885-34590E-mail: [email protected]
Message
In the arena of modern technology and development, nuclear science and technology hold great promise and it is imperative to consider what the practical applications of technological developments will be. I believe that the field holds great promise, while also posing important questions as to how we can make wise use of these advances for the physical and spiritual welfare of all people. The Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors have been recognised as very potential and effective tools in exploring various areas of research. SSNTDs have a very important use in radiation measurements and dosimetry and thus play a significant role in spreading awareness about the radiation environment and its impact to the general public and the academic peers besides applications in diverse fields of science and technology.
It is a matter of great pleasure that Department of Physics Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab is organizing 19th National Conference on Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors and Their Applications (SSNTDs-19) in collaboration with Nuclear track Society of India during November 19-21, 2015 with these objectives in mind.
I believe that the SSNTDs-19 will be the most comprehensive conference focused on the various aspects of advances in Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors and Their Applications. The deliberations will explore various aspects of advances in the related fields. I am sure this conference will also provide an apt platform to the experts, industry professionals and other participants to share their experiences. It would also inspire the young researchers to continue to work with dedication to further improve their skill and update their knowledge
As president of Nuclear track Society of India, I express my thanks to the institute administration and the Department of Physics for taking this initiative to organize this scientific event of national importance and on behalf of the Organizers including the executive committee members of the Nuclear track Society of India deem it a privilege to have your blessings and good wishes on this event.
.My best wishes for the success of the conference.
(Dr. Krishan Kant)President
Nuclear Track Society of India
Message
The technique of Solid State Nuclear Track Detection has significant impact on development of new technologies and is a well established method for basic and applied research. It is used in various branches of science and technology such as nuclear physics, cosmic rays, dosimetry in space, neutron dosimetry, radiation biology, dating, environmental research, geological sciences, material science, nanotechnology and so on. The strength of SSNTD is its simplicity, low cost, small geometry, permanent maintenance of the nuclear record and diversified applications.
The Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) were developed by R.L. Fleischer, P. B. Price and R. M. Walker in the early 60’s, since then many groups are actively engaged in the area of SSNTDs research at national as well as international level. In India this technique is being used in research institutions like Bhabha Atomic Research centre (BARC), Mumbai, Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New-Delhi, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFER) Mumbai, Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO), Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SNIP), several Universities and Colleges.
I am very happy to note that Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar is organizing the Nineteenth National Symposium on Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors and their Applications (SSNTD-19) from November 19 –21, 2015 in collaboration with Nuclear Track Society of India (NTSI). I believe that the symposium will provide a good platform for exchange of ideas and information among the academicians, researchers, and scientists in the areas of Solid State Nuclear Track Detection. The organization of the symposium on such an important field would also prove beneficial to the students as they get an opportunity to interact with renowned experts.
I send my best wishes for the success of the symposium and appreciate all faculty members and students for this excellent initiative.
(R.P.Chauhan)Secretary
Nuclear Track Society of India
Message
In order to promote the aim and objective of the Nuclear Track Society of India (NTSI) the society has been organizing symposia on SSNTDs and Their Applications biennially with the prime objective to promote meaningful interaction among scientists working on SSNTDs and their applications in diverse fields. During the 14th General Body Meeting of Nuclear Track Society of India (NTSI) held on 19th October 2013 at Aggarwal P.G. College Ballabgarh, Distt. Faridabad, Haryana (India) it was suggested some change in the nomenclature i.e., the word conference be used in place of symposium in analogy with the International Conference on Nuclear Tracks in Solids so as to make it more impressive to the track fraternity. The Executive Committee decided to recommend the suggestion to the General Body which was approved by the house. We are going to organize three days' National Conference on “Solid State Nuclear track Detectors and Their Applications during November 19-21, 2015. This is the nineteenth event in the series of biennial symposia being organized in collaboration with Nuclear Track Society of India. The SSNTDs-19 will be the most comprehensive symposium focused on the various aspects of advances in Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors and their applications.
The SSNTD-19 will feature invited talks, contributed papers and poster presentations by eminent scientists, academicians and research students. This symposium will provide a chance to academic and industry professionals as well to discuss recent progress in the area of SSNTDs and related applications in diverse fields of science and technology. The researchers and academicians will share thoughts on the very relevant subject that would be taken up at this symposium and interact and derive useful inputs for meeting the changing demands and new challenges of the public in the areas where SSNTDs find their applications.
We are sure that the symposium will provide young and talented students/scientists a forum to show their talent by presenting their work besides avail exposure to the latest trends and developments.
In the capacity of the Convener, SSNTDs-19, I invite the Nuclear Track Fraternity to contribute to this important event and make it a grand success.
(Dr. Rohit Mehra) Convener, SSNTDs-19
NTSI EXECUTIVE BODY (2013-15)
Sr. No.
Name & Address E-mail Contact No.
1 PatronProf. R.G. SonkawadeBBAU, Lucknow (U.P.)
[email protected] 07376807189
2 PresidentDr. Krishan KantAggarwal P.G.College, Ballabgarh(Hr)
[email protected] 09212086060
3 Vice President Prof. N.L. SinghMSU Baroda (Gujrat)
[email protected] 09426409840
4 SecretaryDr. R.P. ChauhanNIT Kurukshetra (Hr)
[email protected]@gmail.com
09896075913
5 Joint Secretary(i) Dr. R.V. Kolekar
BARC Mumbai(ii) Dr. Sathish L.A. Govt. Sc. College Bangalore
09987059541
9886639324
6 TreasurerDr. Rohit MehraNIT Jalandhar (Punjab)
[email protected] 09888534590
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS7 Prof. B.S. Bajwa
GNDU, [email protected] 0183-
2258802-09, Extn: 3468
8 Dr. Rajesh KumarGGSIP University, Delhi
[email protected] 9718876101
9 Dr. A.K. MahurVCTM, Aligarh
[email protected] 9412808481
11 Dr. Asha RaniFCET, Ferozpur
[email protected] 9780441407
12 Dr. A.S. YadavAggarwal P.G.College Ballabgarh
[email protected] 9968105667
13 Dr. A.K. NarulaRKSD College, Kaithal
[email protected] 9416365482
14 Dr. J. SannappaKuvempu Univ., Shankarghatta Karnataka
[email protected] 9449089870
15 Dr. M. Sreenath ReddyOsmania University, Hyderabad
[email protected] 9849936509
16 Dr. B. ZolianaGZRSC, Aizwal, Mizoram
[email protected] 9436140347
17 Dr. D. SinhaNagaland Univ, Lumani Campus, Nagaland
[email protected] 9402988873
18 Dr. B.S. SahooBARC Mumbai
[email protected] 022-25592012, 25598285
SCHEDULE
19th November, 2015REGISTRATION : 9.00am - 10.30am (IT Park, NIT, Jalandhar)
Inaugural Session : 10.30am - 11.30am (Seminar Room, Ground Floor, IT, Park)
High Tea : 11.30am - 12.00noon
Session – 1(12.00 noon -1.20pm)
Chairperson – Dr. N.L. Singh
12.00 pm – 12.30pm IT-1: Etched Tracks Morphological Revelation: A Review Dr. S.K. Chakarvarti
12.30pm – 12.40pm OP-1: A note on correction for self attenuation in gamma ray spectrometric measurements with NaI (Tl) detectorsPragya Pandit, N. K. Johri, B. R. Singh, A.A.P.S.R Acharyulu
12.40pm – 12.50pm OP-2 : Study of the Indoor Thoron Distribution using CFD: Effect of TemperatureNeetika Chauhan, R.P.Chauhan
12.50pm – 1.00pm OP-3 : Measurement of Radioactive Nuclides from Geological Samples and Radiation Hazards due to Environmental RadonPooja Chauhan, R P Chauhan
1.00pm – 1.10pm OP-4 : Concentration of Indoor Radon, Thoron and their Progeny Levels in Some Dwellings by Using SSNTDH.K. Sarma, M.K. Mishra, N.Choudhury S. Sarkar, T.D. Goswami, B.K. Sarma
1.10pm – 1.20pm OP-5 : Radon concentration in drinking water sources lying in the region of fault line passing through Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir Himalayas, IndiaRaman Kant Vij, Ajay kumar, Amit Sareen
Lunch : 1.20pm - 2.20pm (Community Centre, NIT, Jalandhar)
Session-2(2.20pm - 3.40pm)
Chairperson - Dr. Krishan Kant
2.20pm - 2.50pm IT-2 : Surface Modification of Polymeric Materials by Plasma Treatment Dr. N.L. Singh
2.50pm – 3.00pm OP-6 : Etching characteristics of Pokalon track detectorNishanth P., Varier K. M. and Shankar V.
3.00pm - 3.10pm OP-7 : Assessment of natural radioactivity and radon
effective dose in Indian Building Constructions MaterialsRati Varshney, A. K. Mahur, R. L. Sharma and R. G. Sonkawade
3.10pm – 3.20pm OP-8 : : Gamma irradiation effects on structural, thermal and electrical conductivity properties of ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) doped HPMC based biopolymer electrolyte filmsN Sandhya Rani, J Sannappa, T Demappa, Mahadevaiah
3.20pm - 3.30pm OP-9 : Estimation of Annual Effective Dose due to the Exposure of Radon, Thoron and Progeny in Rudraprayag region of Garhwal HimalayaMukesh Prasad, Mukesh Rawat, Anoop Dangal, Tushar Kandari, Preet Pant, Rosaline Mishra, R.C. Ramola
3.30pm - 3.40pm OP-10 : Estimation of Annual Effective Dose from measured Radon Concentrations in Drinking Water, using RAD7Komal Badhan, Rohit Mehra, R G Sonkawade
Tea : 3.40pm -4.00pm
Session-3(4.00pm-5.30pm)
Chairperson - Dr. R.H. Iyer
4.00pm - 4.30pm IT-3 : Environmental radiation, exposure and effectsDr. Krishan Kant
4.30pm - 4.40pm OP-11 : Measurements of radon and thoron concentrations in dwellings of Sri Ganganagar district, Rajasthan using single entry pin-hole dosimeterVikas Duggal, Asha Rani, Rohit Mehra, B.K. Sahoo, B.K. Sapra
4.40pm - 4.50pm OP-12 : Fast etching of CR-39 detector at lower concentration using microwave radiation and comparison with conventional chemical etchingG.S. Sahoo, S.P. Tripathy, D.S. Joshi, T. Bandyopadhyay
4.50pm - 5.00pm OP-13 : Measurement of soil gas radon and outdoor radon concentration with reference to meteorological parameters for discriminating the genuine signals of an impending earthquakeRanjan Kr. Kakati, Atul Saxena, Devesh Walia, Rohit Mehra, B.Bhattacharjee
5.00pm - 5.10pm OP-14 : Determination of radon concentration in soil and drinking water samples using RAD7 in Northern Rajasthan, IndiaSudhir Mittal, Asha Rani and Rohit Mehra
5.10pm - 5.20pm OP-15 : Indoor radon and thoron in some dwellings around a fertilizer plant and thermal power plants using twin chamber dosimeter cups with SSNTDsMamta Gupta, A K Mahur, K Y Singh, R G Sonkawade, Hargyan Singh, K D Verma and Rajendra Prasad
5.20pm – 5.30pm OP-16 : A Java code for etched track profiles in SSNTDsVarier K. M., Nishanth P., Shankar V.
Banquet : 7.00pm onwards at Rangla Punjab, Jalandhar- Phagwara National Highway (Buses will depart at 6:30 PM from institute Guest House)
20th November, 2015Breakfast : 9.00am - 10.00am (Community Centre, NIT, Jalandhar)
Session-4(10.00am-11.30am)
Chairperson - Dr. K.P. Eappen
10.00am - 10.30am IT-4 : Swift Heavy Ion induced Modification in Free Volume in Polymeric Materials by Positron Annihilation Lifetime MeasurementsDr. Rajendra Prasad
10.30am – 10.40am OP-17 : Variation in radon-thoron levels in some dwellings of eastern HaryanaA. K. Garg, Sushil Kumar, R. P. Chauhan
10.40am – 10.50am OP-18 : Evaluation of Radon and Thoron Exhalation from some cement samples using SMART Rnduo Portable Radon MonitorManish Kumar, Anjali Kaushal, Navjeet Sharma, Hemant Kumar, Rajeev Kumar Sharma
10.50am - 11.00am OP-19 : Natural Radionuclide 210Po concentration in sediment samples from Periyakalapattu to Parangipettai Coast of Tamil Nadu, India using Alpha Counting SystemN. Harikrishnan, R. Ravisankar, M. Suresh Gandhi, Kantha Devi Arunachalam, Sathesh Kumar Annamalai
11.00am – 11.30am IT-5 : Modgil-Virk Formulation of Single Activation Energy Model of Radiation Damage Annealing in SSNTDsDr. H. S. Virk
Tea : 11.30am - 11.50am
Session-5(11.50am- 1.10pm)
Chairperson - Dr. R.G. Sonkawade
11.50am - 12.20pm IT-6 : Four Decades of SSNTD Research in Radiochemistry Division, BARC: Reminiscences Dr. R.H. Iyer
12.20pm - 12.30pm OP-20 : Assessment of gamma radiations and soil gas radon concentrationVeena Joshi, Manjulata Yadav, Pramesh Bijalwan, R.C. Ramola
12.30pm - 12.40pm OP-21 : Measurement of Slow Neutron flux in spent fuel storage bay using Solid State Nuclear Track DetectorsL. K. Vajpyee, P T Ghare, R K B Yadav, K. S. Babu, R. V. Kolekar, R. Sharma, R. K. Gopalakrishnan and P Mandal
12.40pm - 12.50pm OP-22 : Determination of Radon Activity and Radon Exhalation Rates from some Soil Samples and Water Samples of the Chhapraula Industrial Area in Greater NOIDA (Uttar Pradesh)Raj Kumari, Nitin Gupta, Krishan Kant, Maneesha Garg
12.50pm - 1.00pm OP-23 : Radiological Assessment of indoor radon, thoron and their progeny levels in the dwellings near the fly ash dumping sites situated in Faridabad (Haryana) IndiaNitin Gupta, Krishan Kant, Maneesha Garg
1.00pm - 1.10pm OP-24 : Estimation of indoor radon levels in some dwellings of Chandigarh, India using pin hole dosimetersVimal Mehta, R P Chauhan, G S Mudahar
Lunch : 1.10pm - 2.10pm (Community Centre, NIT, Jalandhar)
Session-6(2.10pm - 3.40pm)
Chairperson - Dr. H.S. Virk
2.10pm - 2.40pm IT-7 : Radiation Induced Modification in Polymers by Positron Annihilation Lifetime SpectroscopyDr. Rajesh Kumar
2.40pm – 2.50pm OP-25 : Ion-beam-induced variation in the properties of cadmium selenate nanowiresChetna Narula , R.P.Chauhan
2.50pm - 3.00pm OP-26 : Radiation Induced Variation in the Texture Coefficient of Planes in Copper NanowiresPallavi Rana, Anita Rani, R.P.Chauhan
3.00pm - 3.10pm OP-27 : Structural and Electrical Properties of Gamma Irradiated Selenium NanowiresSuresh Panchal , R. P. Chauhan
3.10pm - 3.20pm OP-28 : Fabrication of Copper Nanowires using ion track filtersS. Amrita Kaur and G.S. Randhawa
3.20pm - 3.30pm OP-29 : Optical and structural properties of PbS embedded in zeolite matrixN Choudhury, H K Sarma, B K Sarma
3.30pm - 3.40pm OP-30 : Energy Loss and Momentum Measurement for Silicon Tracker of Belle-IIRajeev Kumar
Tea : 3.40pm - 4.00pm
Session-7(4.00pm - 5.40pm)
Chairperson - Dr. R.P. Chauhan
4.00pm - 4.30pm IT-8 : Synthesis and Characterization of metal-Conducting Polymer composites as radiation and gas sensors Dr. R.G. Sonkawde
4.30pm - 4.40pm OP-31 : Simulation of charged particle track profiles in solid state nuclear track detectorsAmanjeet, Joga Singh, Ajay Kumar, Jaspal Singh
4.40pm – 4.50pm OP-32 : Nanoparticle stabilized blue phase in chiral nematic liquid crystalArshdeep Singh, Praveen Malik
4.50pm – 5.00pm OP-33 : Effect of irradiation on Cu doped ZnO thin film grown by SILAR techniqueArindam Ghosh, Rashi Gupta, Rajech Kumar, Krishan Kant, S.K.Chakarvarti, Ramphal Sharma
5.00pm - 5.10pm OP-34 : Template based Synthesis of Zinc Nanowires with Controlled Morphology via Electrochemical DepositionRavish Garg, S.K. Chakarvarti
5.10pm – 5.20pm OP-35 : Characterization and Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes By Flame Diffusion ProcessSarabjot Kaur, A. P. Singh, Jyoti Bharaj, R.S.Bharaj, Sanjeev Gautam, Anil K. Sarma, Ankush Vij
5.20pm - 5.30pm OP-36 : Effect of addition of alloying element (Cu) to Ni matrix on microstructure and properties of Ni-TiN nanocomposite thin films deposited by reactive magnetron co-sputteringMukesh Kumar, R. Mitra
5.30pm – 5.40pm OP-37 : Phase shift of polarized light through anisotropic sculptured thin filmsAshok Chaudhary, Praveen Malik, Rohit Mehra, Ibrahim Abdulhalim
Poster Presentation : 5.40pm - 6.30pm
Chairperson - Dr. Rajesh Kumar and Dr. M.R. Iyer
General Body meeting : 6.30pm - 7.30pm
Dinner : 8.00pm onwards (Community Centre, NIT, Jalandhar)
21st November, 2015Breakfast: 9.00am - 10.00am (Community Centre, NIT, Jalandhar)
Session-8(10.00am - 11.20am)
Chairperson - Dr. S.K. Chakarvarti
10.00am - 10.30am IT-9 : Study of the factors affecting indoor radon and thoron levels in dwellings through measurements and CFD based simulationDr. R.P. Chauhan
10.30am – 10.40am OP-38 : Estimation of Radiation doses due to Radon, Thoron and their progeny in the Maldevta region along the Main Boundary Thrust of Garhwal HimalayaTushar Kandari, Mukesh Prasad, Preeti Pant, Anoop Dangwal, Poonam Semwal, Sunita Aswal, A A Bourai, R C Ramola
10.40am – 10.50am OP-39 : Determination of Annual effective dose through radon concentration in ground water samples of some areas belonging to Udhampur District, Jammu& KashmirSumit Sharma, Ajay Kumar, Rohit Mehra, Dinesh Kumar
10.50am - 11.00am OP-40 : Monitoring of radon concentration in drinking water samples of Amritsar City, PunjabManpreet Kaur, Ajay Kumar, Rohit Mehra
11.00am - 11.10am OP-41 : Estimation of radiation dose due to radon concentration in drinking water of Chitradurga city, Karnataka, IndiaRangaswamy D R, Srinivasa E, Sannappa J
11.10am – 11.20am OP-42 : Thoron distribution in indoor environment under normal and turbulent flow conditions: implication in measurementAmit Kumar, R P Chauhan
Tea : 11.20am – 11.40am
Session-9(11.40am - 1.10pm)
Chairperson – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
11.40am - 12.10pm IT-10 : Long Term Radon Measurement – Alpha Track TechniqueDr. K.P. Eappen
12.10pm - 12.40pm IT-11: Development of SSNTD for neutron spectrometry and challenges in dosimetry for high energy accelerators.Dr. M. R. Iyer
12.40pm- 12.50pm OP-43 : Study of Attachment rate and seasonal behaviour of EEC of 222Rn and 220Rn using Pin-hole cup dosimeters DTPS/DRPS SensorsPargin Bangotra , Rohit Mehra, Rajan Jakhu , Kirandeep Kaur
12.50pm – 1.00pm OP-44 : Estimation of dose from unattached fraction of 222Rn progeny using Deposition based and Wire Mesh capped progeny sensorsRajan Jakhu, Rohit Mehra, Pargin Bangotra, H M Mittal
1.00pm – 1:10pm OP-45 : Assessment of natural radioactivity in soil samples using NaI detectorSandeep Kansal
1.10pm – 1:20pm OP-46: UV-Vis spectroscopic investigation on gamma irradiated lithium aluminoborate glasses. N.Chopra, N.P.Singh, S. Baccaro, G. Sharma
Valediction : 1:20pm - 2:00pm
Lunch : 2:00pm onwards (Community Centre, NIT, Jalandhar)
Note:-
1. Venue for all the Presentations is Virtual Class Room, 2nd Floor, IT Park, NIT, Jalandhar.
2. Daily the institute bus will reach at the Hotel/Guest House at 8:45 AM in the morning.
LIST OF POSTERS
SR. NO.
TITLE OF PAPER NAME OF AUTHOR
P1. Assessment of radon concentration in water samples collected from different regions of Amritsar district of Punjab, using RAD 7
Neerja, Meetu Singh, Sameer Kalia
P2. Measurement of linear attenuation coefficient with ATM method for some compounds of Ca, Ba and Pb
Pooja Rani, Manpreet Kaur
P3. Measurement of Natural radioactivity and Elemental analysis in plant samples
Pooja Chauhan, R P Chauhan
P4. Measurement of natural radioactivity, radiation levels in soil and building materials of Hassan city, Karnataka State, India
Srinivasa E, Rangaswamy D R, Sannappa J
P5. Accumulation of chemical elements in plants and soil
Pooja Chauhan , R.P. Chauhan
P6. Estimation of radioactivity in tobacco plants
Pooja Chauhan, R.P. Chauhan
P7. Study the Electrical and Optical Properties of CdSe Thin Films
Ritika Choudhary, R.P. Chauhan
P8. Study of seasonal variation in Radon, Thoron and their progeny levels in the dwellings of Panipat, Haryana
Ajay Garg, Shikha Garg, Era Garg, R.P. Chauhan
P9. Correlation study of natural radioactivity contents in air and soil from Western Haryana, India
Nisha Mann, Amit Kumar, Sushil Kumar, R P Chauhan
P10. Artificial neural networks in materials research science and engineering
Mohan Singh, Harminder Kaur
P11. Indoor Radon concentration measurements with solid-state nuclear track detectors in Bangalore, India
Ashok G V, Nagaiah N, Shivaprasad N G Prema A N, Sathish L A
P12. Computer codes for calculations in ion-matter interaction
Mohan Singh
P13. Measurement of indoor radon, thoron and their progenies in some selected dwellings in Guwahati, Assam
S Barman, D Barooah
P14. Measurement of Radiation hazard indices, annual dose and transfer factors of 226Ra, 40K and 232Th from soil to different vegetables from various places near Mathura Oil
Raj Kumari, Krishan Kant, Maneesha Garg
Refinery Area (Uttar Pradesh), INDIAP15. Indoor ambient gamma radiation level in
and around of Hemavathi river, Karnataka
R.S.Niranjan, C.Ningappa, T. Yashaswini, J.Sannappa, M.S. Chandrashekara
P16. Room temperature Alternating Current Response Studies of Polyaniline-Titanium dioxide Nanocomposite
Y.T. Ravikiran, S. Kotresh and J. Sannappa
P17. Radon Concentrations Measurement in Dwellings of Kufa Technical institute, Iraq
Ali Abid Abojassim , Afnan Ali Husain
P18. Estimation of radon and thoron levels in high rise dwellings situated in Faridabad (Southern Haryana) India
Nitin Gupta, Krishan Kant, Maneesha Garg
P19. UV-Visible Spectroscopic analysis for optimizing etching conditions of CR39 based alpha autoradiography of (Th,Pu)O2 MOX fuels
Jayshree Ramkumar, K.V.Vrinda Devi, P.S.Somayajulu,S.Chandramouleeswaran and K.B.Khan
P20. Characterisation of (Th,Pu)O2 MOX fuel by analysis of Alpha images
K.V.Vrinda Devi,J.N.Dubey, I.H.Shaikh, Jyoti Gupta, P.S.Somayajulu and K.B.Khan
P21. Radon Diffusion through building materials: A major cause of indoor radioactivity
A.K.Narula, S. K. Goyal, R. P. Chauhan, S. K. Chakarvarti
P22. Analysis of Physical Parameters of Sn-Te-Se-Sb Glass System
Arshdeep Singh, Amit Sethi, Navjeet Sharma
P23. Comparative Study of radon exhalation rate in soil samples from Kasimpur Thermal Power Plant, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Anil Sharma, S Asad Ali, Satyendra Kumar, R G Sonkawade
P24. Essential operations with raw data from liquid scintillation detectors to get precise n-ƴ discrimination
Harleen Singh, Sarabjeet Singh
P25. Exposure Assessment of 222Rn in drinking Water in using active radon monitor RAD7
Rajan Jakhu, Rohit Mehra, Pargin Bangotra, Ashok Chaudhary, H.M. Mittal
P26. Effect of polymer concentration on the physical parameters of a polymer dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystal
Divya Jayoti, Praveen Malik
INVITED TALKSIT - 1
Etched Tracks Morphology Revelation: A Review
S.K.ChakarvartiAdvisor Research and Publications
Manav Rachna International University, Faridabad-121004E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The soul of a Solid State Nuclear track detector (SSNTD) is the track whose formation
mechanisms are well understood now. When accelerated heavy ions burrow through an
SSNTD, they leave behind along their paths small plasma channels the diameter of
which is of the order of few nm. Due to the ejection of rapidly moving electrons, the
plasma channel is positively charged. In conducting solids, the neutralization of this
plasma occurs immediately after the ion passage by returning electrons as they work as
a repair kit. However, in insulators and some semiconductors for which the electron
mobility is very low, the electron mobility is not sufficient to neutralize the plasma before
Coulomb explosion occurs. In this case, the ions in the plasma repel each other mutually
due to Coulomb forces. In this way a part of the target ions can be displaced from their
initial positions In organic materials the incident heavy ions break the carbon chains
through which they pass and leave free valences behind, creating defect agglomerations
called “latent tracks” along each ion path.
The accelerated heavy ions can easily penetrate thin polymer foils as well as thin
platelets of crystalline materials. The depth of their penetration in solids depends on the
kind of ion, on its energy, and on the nature of the target .The range of energetic ions in
crystalline materials may depend on crystal orientation with respect to the direction of the
ion beam.
To visualize tracks, chemical amplification seems to be the easiest technique. Under
suitable conditions the etching rates along the latent tracks can reach values several
orders of magnitude higher than those of the bulk material. Therefore, track channels
with diameters ranging from some nm up to some um can be etched in organic foils or
insulating crystals.
Most of the times it becomes important to know about the morphology, shape and profile
of an etched track as it could deliver very important information viz., the nature of the
incident ion, its energy, some typical characteristics of the host SSNTD etc. In
amorphous materials, etching results in rotationally symmetric structures around the
latent track. The channel shape, however, may vary depending on irradiation and etching
conditions. The morphology of the etched track depends on the etching velocity of the
damaged material along the ion track and of the un-irradiated bulk material perpendicular
to the track direction.
The energy loss mechanism of the projectile-ions leads to electronic and atomic collision-
cascades along the ion pathway forming the latent tracks. While the electronic collision-
cascade has a long range (halo), the latent track can be considered, in a first
approximation, as a cylindrical zone of few nm diameter with locally highly damaged core
of increased etch-rate. As track etch rate is usually a monotonous function of the energy
loss function (dE/dx), the shape of etched track depends mainly on the ratio of the track
etch rate in the activated zone and the etch-rate in the undamaged material. If we
assume two distinct domains of the solid, on one hand the undisturbed bulk material and
on the other hand the latent track, the evolution of track shape during etching can be
simulated by drawing spheres according to Huygen’s construction to represent the
etching wave-front along a virtual x-axis.
For a given material, the morphology of the etched channel ,therefore. depends on the
energy loss rate [dE/dx] of the high energetic ion which determines the damage
concentration along the ion track .If the etching velocity along the track direction exceeds
the etching velocity of the bulk material considerably (about 1000 times higher) the
channel will exhibit the shape of a hollow uniform cylindrical channel. If, however, the
bulk etching velocity is significant, the etch channel will exhibit the shape of a cone. Also,
if the target host is a composite layered structure, the resulting etched track may be a
combination of different shapes e.g., funnel shape, a notched shaped, hemispherical
profile etc as a consequent of layer specific characteristics..
This review paper describes several techniques used for visualizing morphological details
of the etched tracks in an SSNTD, besides some unconventional methods for their
detection as well before one can proceed for profiling.
On the Use of Track-etch Membrane as PEM in Hydrogen Fuel Cell
S.K.Chakarvarti
Advisor Research and PublicationsManav Rachna International University, Faridabad-121004, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
A fuel cell comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, a porous separator as proton
exchange membrane (PEM) between the first and second electrodes, a first channel,
having an inlet and an outlet, and a second channel, having an inlet and an outlet. The
first channel is contiguous with the first electrode and the porous separator, and the
second channel is contiguous with the second electrode and the porous separator. PEM
fuel cells work with a polymer electrolyte in the form of a thin, permeable sheet. This
membrane is small and light, and it works at low temperatures whereas other
electrolytes require high temperatures. The porous separator can be made of any
suitable material, such as a material, which is inert to the fluids it will come into contact
with during operation within the electrochemical cell, at the temperature at which it will
operate. For example, metals, ceramics, semiconductors including silicon, organic
materials including polymers, plastics and combinations, as well as natural materials
and composites, may be used. Polymers, plastics and combinations are particularly
preferred.
Described here is on the possible use of track etched filters or membranes as PEM,
which are polymeric films that have been bombarded with ions, and then chemically
etched to form thru-pores along the track travelled by the ions.
IT – 2
Surface Modification of Polymeric Materials by Plasma Treatment
N.L.Singh*
Department of Physics, M.S.University of Baroda,Vadodara-390 002,India*E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Polymer surfaces particularly have low surface tension and high chemical inertness and
so they usually have poor wetting and adhesion properties. Hence, surface modification
of polymeric materials plays an important role to improve surface properties such as
wetting and adhesion for coatings, inking and printing processes, biomaterials, and
certain types of composites materials. The surface properties can be altered by modifying
the molecular structure using plasma treatment. It involves the interaction of the plasma-
generated excited species with a solid interface and results in a physical and/or chemical
modification of the first few molecular layers of the surface, while maintaining the
properties of the bulk.
IT -3
Environmental radiation, exposure and effects
Krishan Kant
Principal, Aggarwal College Ballabgarh (Haryana) – 121 004EnvironmentalEmail: [email protected]
Abstract
Radiation is ubiquitous and Low levels of background radiation exist around us
continuously. All the living organisms have had been exposed to ionizing radiation since
inception, which always existed naturally in the form of primordial radionuclides. The
various sources include cosmic rays which comes from outer space and from the surface
of the sun, terrestrial radionuclides which occurs in the earth’s crust, in building materials
and in air, water and foods and in the human body itself. Some of the exposures are
fairly constant and uniform for all individuals everywhere, for example, the dose from
ingestion of potassium-40 in food. Other exposures vary depending on the geology and
location of the area. Cosmic rays, for example are, more intense at higher altitudes, and
the concentrations of uranium and thorium in soils are elevated in localized areas.
Exposures can also vary as a result of human activities and practices viz. technologically
enhances naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORMs), particularly in building
materials, phosphate fertilizers, coal etc.. The design and ventilation systems strongly
influences the indoor levels of the radioactive gas radon and its decay products, which
contributes more than 50% of the dose from all sources of radiation, both naturally
occurring and man-made through inhalation. The levels of radiation that one encounters
in the general environment are considered to be low. There is controversy as to whether
low level radiation poses a significant health risk. One side of the argument holds to the
linear no-threshold (LNT) model, which essentially states that even the smallest amounts
of radiation are harmful. The other side of the argument states that low level radiation
appears to be not only harmless, but may actually provide a health benefit through
hormesis (stimulation of any system by low doses of any agent). Brief review and
comparison of the natural and manmade sources of exposure to the population,
exposure pathways, radiation effects, results of various epidemiological studies that
contradict the established radiation paradigm (LNT hypothesis) will be discussed.
Radiation hormesis model will also be discussed.
IT -4
Swift Heavy Ion induced Modification in Free Volume in Polymeric Materials by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Measurements
Rajendra PrasadaVivekananda College of Technology & Management, Aligarh-202002, India.
bDepartment of Applied Physics, Z. H. College of Engineering & Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002, India.E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The passage of swift heavy ions in polymeric materials produces modification in their
electrical, chemical, physical and free volume properties due to rearrangement of
bonding, cross linking, chain scission and atomic scale free volume holes. Modification
depends on the ion species, its energy and fluence and the polymer structure.
Conducting polymers show the same feature as isolating polymers during bombardment
with Swift Heavy Ions. Positron Annihilation Life time Spectroscopy (PALS) has recently
immersed as an excellent non-destructive and non-interfering nanoprobe, capable of
characterizing the free volume holes in polymers of nanometer order size with high
detection efficiency. Study of free volume properties in a number of polymers have been
carried out to study the modification induced by Heavy Ion Beams from GSI Darmstadt
(Germany), 15 UD Pelletron at Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi and
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata, India. The characterization has been carried
out via Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy, UV visible Spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD,
conductivity and Dielectric measurements.
At low LET spurs develop far apart independently, the deposited energy tends to be
confined in one chain leading to scission. Scission causes increase in free volume. In
case of high LET tracks have large effective radius and spurs overlap more compactly;
the probability of two radical pairs to be in neighboring chains is increased and cross
linking is facilitated which decreases the available free volume. The correlation between
the free volume and the conductivity has been observed in conducting polymers.
IT – 5
Modgil-Virk Formulation of Single Activation Energy Model of RadiationDamage Annealing in SSNTDs
H.S. Virk
Visiting Professor, SGGS World University, Fatehgarh Sahib-140 406, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Passage of heavy ions produces radiation-damage trails known as latent tracks in
a variety of solid-state nuclear-track detectors (SSNTDs). These tracks are made
visible in an optical microscope by a simple process known as chemical etching. It is
a well-known fact that latent tracks are radiation damage trails in SSNTDs, which can
be annealed by thermal heating. Modgil- Virk formulation of single-activation-energy
model of radiation damage annealing was proposed as an empirical approach for
explaining the thermal fading of nuclear tracks in SSNTDs. The empirical formulation of
this model is based on track annealing data collected from both isothermal and
isochronal experiments performed on different types of SSNTDs using a variety of
heavy ion beams and fission fragments. The main objective of this empirical model
was to resolve some contradictions of variable activation energy derived by using
Arrhenius plots to study annealing in mineral SSNTDs. Some equivalent versions of
the Modgil-Virk model have been proposed but the concept of single activation energy
is vindicated in all empirical formulations. The model always yields a unique value of
activation energy independent of the nature of the ion beam used and the degree of
annealing. The anisotropy of the mineral SSNTDs is revealed by variation in activation
energy along different crystal planes and even with different orientations of the ion
beam on the same plane. Some recent experiments are a pointer to the successful
exploitation of this model for future cosmic-rays studies using SSNTDs.
IT – 6
Four Decades of SSNTD Research in Radiochemistry Division, BARC: Reminiscences
R. H. Iyer
Former Head, Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research CentreEx-President and Patron, Nuclear Track Society of India (NTSI)
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The science of Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs)--- “Trackology”
was introduced as a powerful research tool in nuclear science and technology in the
early 1960’s by P B Price , R L Fleicher and R M walker at the General Electric Company
in the USA.
Recognising the immense importance and the diverse possibilities the technique can
offer, SSNTDs were introduced as an elegant research tool initially for nuclear fission –
related studies in Radiochemistry Division, BARC in 1968 . Keeping in mind the twin
objectives of promoting creative research and identifying areas of nuclear fuel cycle
where the R&D base can be fruitfully exploited , the initial team gradually expanded
over the years into a nationally and internationally recognised experimental SSNTD group
in BARC and have made some world –class contributions of immense scientific value and
national relevance, all of which are published in International Journals. The major
contributions are in the areas of nuclear fission, especially of Low Z (Z<80) elements,
absolute fission yields under an IAEA –sponsored research project, U-exploration,
detection and identification of ultra –trace levels of actinide isotopes , the pioneering
work on “nuclear track registration from solution media” which has added a new
dimension to the applications of SSNTDs to nuclear science and technology and more
recently Track-etch membranes (TEMs) –and their applications.
The RCD group also played a lead role in bringing together different groups working in
the field and organised the first Seminar –cum-workshop during March 12-13, 1979
leading to the formation of Nuclear track society of India (NTSI) in 1987.
Because of constraints of space and time, I will just list some of the contributions, cite
my interactions with senior and my brilliant, young and highly motivated junior colleagues
and the several happy moments it provided during the long scientific journey.
IT -7
Radiation Induced Modification in Polymers by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy
Rajesh Kumar*
University School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi-110078, India
*E-Mail: [email protected]
AbstractThe usage of polymers is increasing day by day owing to their higher strength to weight
ratio, lower cost, ease of molding and lightness. Polymers have enormous applications in
many fields of science and technology such as optical devices in the field of
communication, polymeric membranes for gas and ion separation, medical, biological,
thermal sensors, magnetic storage media, space and ion track detectors etc. In the last
few decades, systematic investigations of polymers when exposed to radiation such as
Swift Heavy Ion (SHI) or Gamma radiation have become an important tool to provide
useful information regarding the modifications in the free volume and physic-chemical
properties [1-3]. The radiation induced change of macromolecules is a useful method for
polymer modification to obtain new properties or improve their performance. The
irradiation of polymeric materials with ionizing radiation (Gamma rays, X-rays, Ion beams,
Accelerated electrons) leads to the formation of very reactive intermediates, such as free
radicals, ions and excited states [4]. Interest in radiation induced modification of the
polymers has increased in recent years, prompted by the ion induced improvements of
the mechanical, chemical, optical and electrical properties of various polymer substrates.
Ion irradiation on to polymers gives rise to a wide range of properties which are both
technologically interesting a demanding. The effectiveness of these modifications
depends on the structure of polymers and the ion beam parameter (energy, fluence,
mass, charge) and nature of the target. The modification by incident ions have been
attributed to the scissoring of the polymer chains, breaking of covalent bonds, promoting
the cross linking, carbon cluster formation and liberation volatile species. Positron
Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) is a unique, non- destructive technique and
capable of determining size distribution, fraction and density of free volume holes in
polymers [5-7]. Ortho-positronium (o-Ps) pick off annihilation lifetime, the long lived
component in the lifetime spectra, is very sensitive to structural changes in the polymers
and is correlated directly to the free volume hole size. PALS have two prominent
advantages in polymer research namely; the ability to detect the atomic scale free
volume and the high sensitivity to the free volume related micro structural changes. The
industrial and biomedical high grade quality polymers were purchased from Good fellow,
U.K. and Bayer A.G., Germany. These insulating polymeric materials were irradiated and
exposed to Gamma radiation at different fluencies and doses at Inter University
Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi, India. After radiation treatment of insulating
polymeric materials were characterized by Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy
(PALS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray
Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-visible
Spectroscopy. The results will be discussed during the presentation.
IT – 8
Synthesis and Characterization of metal-Conducting Polymer composites as radiation and gas sensors
R G Sonkawade
Department Of Physics, Shivaji university, Kolhapur
Abstract
Continued exposure to radiation has become a menace and needs immediate fabrication
of robust, low cost, reliable sensors for monitoring at work place and ambient air quality.
Presently a few sensors for neutron and gamma radiation monitoring are available in the
market with active and passive mode. The traditional sensor CR-39, Silicon or Silicon
carbide sensors, etc. The most important sector in this respect is considered to be the
search for novel and superior materials that are capable of new age smart sensing for
neutron and gamma radiations as well they do possess some characteristics to
discriminate these radiations. The use of conducting polymers is well known for making
an organic light emitting diode, energy storage devices, microelectronics, photovoltaic
cells and organic field effect transistor. Also, the use of metal-conducting polymer
composites is explored for gas and radiation applications. All these devices use various
conducting polymers as their active materials. Polyaniline conducting polymers doped
with nano particles such as Gold and Silver were synthesized using electrochemical work
station and optimum parameters were also discussed in this paper. Various parameters
are optimised during the synthesis of metal-polymer nano composites including,
deposition time, monomer and supporting electrolyte concentration, current density,
potential window and scan rate. The EDX measurement is performed in a complete area
of square millimetre range to ensure the uniform distribution of metal nano-particles. After
each irradiation the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the films were measured on a
probe station using the Keithley source meter. It was found that conductivity changes.
This phenomenon can also be observed in the UV Visible spectroscopy measurements.
It was found that the UV Vis spectra shift towards the higher wavelength region after
irradiation. At preliminary level the use of conducting polymers as radiation sensors by
combining the various characterization parameters is presented.
IT – 9
Study of the factors affecting indoor radon and thoron levels in dwellings through measurements and CFD based simulation
R P Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra-136119, IndiaEmail: [email protected]
Abstract
The field study of the indoor radon and thoron levels uses the passive radon-thoron
dosimeters. In order to study the effect of various factors on indoor radon and thoron, it is
not possible to control all the parameters. Also in field study dosimeters have to be
deployed for three months in the study area. Any disturbance/replacement and
rearrangement of deployed dosimeter affect the measurement, while researchers can
only relay on the dwellers. The field measurements are time consuming and the results
are sometimes not reliable due to involvement of disturbance created by the dweller with
dosimeter systems. With the devolvement of technology, various computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) based simulation software are available. Applicability of CFD based
modeling in indoor environmental radioactivity study is becoming popular because of its
cost-effective and time savings characteristics. CFD is capable to predict indoor airflow
distribution which can affect the indoor radioactive pollutant dispersion. The change in
environmental/living condition, building geometry, and inlet/outlet positions can be
implemented easily in modeling which are the important factors to be implemented during
measurement of indoor radon and thoron levels. The CFD results are more useful in
visualization of radioactive gases dispersion with the effect of different conditions.
Existing long term and short term measurement techniques related to indoor
radon/thoron may be able to provide a visualization of gas distribution. The distribution of
indoor radon/thoron concentration and air velocity are considered together for achieving
indoor air quality. Present work is an effort to use the CFD based modeling for study the
distribution of radon and thoron in indoor environment. This work considers various
factors that can affect the measurement and distribution of indoor radon and thoron in
dwellings. The measurement of indoor radon and thoron levels under different ventilation
conditions were carried out by passive SSNTDs technique and active method using
SRM. The levels were also simulated using CFD software. The comparison of results
shows good agreement between measured and simulated values.
IT – 10Long Term Radon Measurement – Alpha Track Technique
K.P.Eappen
Ex-BARC, Environmental Assessment Division 803 National Empress Garden, Vennala, Kochi, Kerala
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
There is mounting direct evidence to confirm a small but detectable risk of lung cancer
from living with radon in the home, says the United Nations Scientific Committee on the
Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Previous estimates of risk for radon were
calculated from health studies of underground miners, who were exposed to high levels
of radon and its decay products. Now the Committee has evaluated recent direct studies
of the public, in Europe, North America and China, exposed to relatively low levels of
radon in their homes. Although there are major uncertainties in calculating from the
studies of miners to exposure at home, there is remarkably good agreement between the
estimates derived from studies of miners at high levels and the direct evidence at low
levels. Concisely it attributes that radon leads to increases in the underlying risk of lung
cancer and is particularly relevant for smokers, who are already at higher risk of
contracting lung cancer. The understanding of radon sources and radon transport
mechanisms has evolved over several decades. Assessment of radon risk in population
study involves inhalation dosimetry where integrated long term radon measurements
become an indispensable input for dose estimation. The paper discusses the various
methods available for radon measurements at indoors and from different matrices
causing radon release to the environment. Need for long term measurements of radon in
living environments have been emphasised where by use of alpha track technique is
highlighted.
IT – 11
Development of SSNTD for neutron spectrometry and challenges in dosimetry for high energy accelerators
M R Iyer
Ex BARC & IAEAChairman, Accelerator Safety Committees, AERB
Member, Advisory Committee to AERB on Radiological SafetyE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
For neutron dose assessment the measurement of energy distribution is required which
is then converted to dose by folding with suitable conversion coefficients. However, in
situations where the energy distribution is difficult to measure, the dose can also be
determined by measuring the linear energy transfer (LET) in the medium. SSNTD has the
advantage of arriving at the dose by LET spectrometry. CR-39 detectors can register the
tracks of secondary charged particles having LET above about 10 keV/μm, and are
considered as suitable for simulating and representing the response of human tissue to
high LET radiation in the presence of a large photon dose. The interaction of radiation
leads to the change in optical, electrical, mechanical and chemical properties of a
polymer. The magnitude of these changes depends on the particle mass, energy, fluence
and LET as well as the type of the polymer. The quantification of optical property can be
applied to neutron dosimetry. The microwave etching technique has been found to be
useful in using LET dosimetry for neutron dose evaluation. These will be useful for
estimation of neutron dose arising out of the bremsstrahlung radiation in the 2.5 Gev
SRS ring Indus 2 at RRCAT, Indore.
When we talk of dose what is of interest is the dose equivalent in terms of the dose
delivered to a human body both for low LET high energy photons as well as high LET
radiations such as neutrons. And it is here that innovative use of various basic
dosimeters need to be made particularly when one deals with very high energy photons
and neutrons. One has to think of combining the SSNTD with other dosimetric devices to
arrive at the dose equivalent to the human body which is of interest for radiation
protection.
For many applications the advantage provided by SSNTD detectors in registering each
particle and thus going to very low doses should be exploited. But the passive nature of
the technique which takes time for developing and counting tracks to translate the result
into useful dose units becomes the limitation in applying these for practical situations.
Technology need to be developed in converting these very useful and sensitive detectors
to an on line system. One can think of using a belt of SSNTD films which after getting
exposed gets etched in an etching bath and then gets counted in a device like spark
counter should be tried out. This will make it a very useful gadget for many applications in
the nuclear fuel cycle and in accelerators.
Once cannot help leaving out the nano devices which are coming up in this context.
These also will be dealt with in this review talk.
ORAL PRESENTATIONSOP - 1
A note on correction for self attenuation in gamma ray spectrometric measurements with NaI (Tl) detectors
Pragya Pandit*, N. K. Johri, B. R. Singh, A.A.P.S.R Acharyulu
Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research, New Delhi-110 066E-mail:[email protected]
Abstract
Accurate analytical results are important for correct estimation of radioactive elements
in the uranium exploration. Gamma spectrometry is an important tool for radioelement
estimation. A correction for self attenuation of gamma rays in the sample has to be
applied due to difference between the density and chemical composition of sample
and reference standard. In this study the detector efficiency as a function of distance,
energy calibration and energy resolution of a 5” x 4” NaI(Tl) crystal have been
determined experimentally for energies obtained from 133Ba,22Na,137Cs and 60Co
radioactive sources.. Based on relative gamma transmission of the standard and
reference samples, the self absorption correction factor( self attenuation) δ was
quantified for a variety of geological samples derived from various geological
settings viz. North Delhi Fold Belt, Bijawar Vindhyan areas and Lesser Himalayan
areas and varying densities from (1.49 - 2.02 gm/cm3). This will anal the
discrepancies in the analysis.
OP- 2
Study of the Indoor Thoron Distribution using CFD: Effect of Temperature
Neetika Chauhan and R.P.Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, HaryanaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The health hazards due to inhalation of indoor thoron and its decay products are well
documented. Indoor thoron distribution study is important in estimating the dose
assessment due to thoron and its decay products. Thoron gas exhalate continuously
from the room walls and distributed into the room environment. The temperature of
walls may vary due to the change in environmental conditions. The computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) based modeling was performed to study the effect of wall
temperature on the distribution of indoor thoron. The variation in walls temperature
between 16ºC and 28ºC was studied to see the change in thoron distribution pattern.
MP-Fluidyn-521 software was used to develop a model for the prediction of indoor
thoron distribution at different wall temperatures. The thoron wall flux was kept
constant for both wall temperatures in this study; however the thoron wall flux may
change with respect to the change in wall temperature. The CFD results showed that
the thoron distribution remain unaffected by the change in temperature of walls. There
is a scope of further improvement in this study by changing the thoron wall flux for
different wall temperature.
OP-3
Measurement of Radioactive Nuclides from Geological Samples and Radiation Hazards due to Environmental Radon
Pooja Chauhan, R P Chauhan
Department of physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra-136119, HaryanaE-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
The naturally occurring radio nuclides present in the environment may result in external
and internal doses received by a population exposed to them directly and via the
ingestion/ inhalation pathways. Human beings are exposed to low levels of ionizing
radiation from natural sources during their daily lives. The basic component of our life
support system is considered to be in the soil, water, plants and air. These environmental
components contain measurable amount of radioactivity. Radon and its progeny are
radioactive and is the major contributor to environmental radioactivity. Radon is formed
from the decay of radium which in turn is formed from uranium. The gaseous radioactive
isotope of radon, from natural sources has a significant share in the total quantum of
natural sources exposure to human beings. Gamma radiations are spontaneously
emitted by naturally occurring radioactive material like 226Ra, 232Th and 40K, ever since
their existence on earth. Natural radioactive materials under certain conditions can reach
hazardous radiological levels. So, it becomes necessary to study the natural radioactivity
in different materials to assess the dose for the population in order to know the health
risks and future changes in the environmental radioactivity due to human activities. The
present study deals with the measurement of radioactivity in some naturally occurring
radioactive materials (NORMs).
OP – 4
Concentration of Indoor Radon, Thoron and their Progeny Levels in Some Dwellings by Using SSNTD
1H.K. Sarma, 1M.K. Mishra, 2N.Choudhury, 3S. Sarkar, 4T.D. Goswami and 4B.K. Sarma
1Department of Physics, B.B.K. College, Nagaon, Barpeta, Assam, India, Pin-7813112Department of Physics, Pub- Kamrup College, Baihata Chariali, Assam, India
3Department of Physics, Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati, Assam, India,4Department of Physics, Gauhati University, Guwahati-781014, Assam, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
With the growing understanding of the role of radon and its daughter products as major
sources of radiation exposure, the importance of large number of estimation of radon/
thoron concentrations in various parts of the country is realized.Radon and its progeny
are the main contributors in the radiation dose received by general population. Solid
State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTD) are widely used for the measurements of indoor
radon and thoron levels. They are the most effective passive detectors available to obtain
time integrated levels of radon, thoron and their progenies. Results of the measurement
of indoor radon / thoron concentrations and their progeny levels in different types of
R.C.C. (Reinforced Cement Concrete) dwellings in and around Numaligarh Refinery of
Assam, India, for a one complete year in four seasons are presented in this paper. The
measurements were carried out by using LR-115 (TypeII) detectors in plastic twin
chamber dosimeters (BARC type). The estimated indoor radon and thoron levels varied
from 93.57 Bq. m-3 to 126.01 Bq.m-3 and 23.80 Bq.m-3 to 58.70 Bq.m-3 with mean values
111.96 Bq.m-3 and 37.55 Bq.m-3 respectively. The estimated indoor radon and thoron
progeny levels varied from 0.34 mWL to 0.47 mWL and 0.04 mWL to 0.09 mWL with
mean values 0.40 mWL and 0.06 mWL respectively. The estimated inhalation dose
received by the inhabitants of the study area varied from 0.23 µSvh-1 to 0.61 µSvh-1.
OP – 5
Radon concentration in drinking water sources lying in the region of fault line passing through Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir Himalayas, India
Raman Kant Vij1, Ajay kumar2 and Amit Sareen1
1Department of Applied Sciences, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar 144001, Punjab, India
2Department of Physics, DAV College, Amritsar 143001, Punjab, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Presence of radon in drinking water causes radiation related health hazards both through
inhalation and ingestion. In present study 22 drinking water samples from flowing natural
springs, fresh water ponds and deep tube wells were analysed in the fault zone of Reasi
region of Jammu & Kashmir. Radon measurement was made using RAD7 electronic
device for radon content determination. Average mean values of these sample varies
from 7.78 ± 1.54 to 35.93 ± 3.54 Bq L-1. Fourteen drinking water samples analyzed have
radon level in excess of EPA recommended maximum contamination level ( MCL ) of
11.1 Bq L-1. These include 86% of water samples collected from deep tube wells, 57%
from fresh water ponds and 50% from natural flowing spring water sources. The annual
effective dose from radon in water due to its ingestion and inhalation per individual has
also been calculated. Results obtained have been compared with results of earlier
investigators for mean radon concentration and mean annual effective dose for radon in
water from different regions of northern India and Pakistan. It has been found that radon
levels in significant number of water samples collected in the region of fault line are
higher than EPA recommendations. Positive correlation is observed between depth of the
water source and values of radon levels in water samples collected from these sources.
OP – 6
Etching characteristics of Pokalon track detector
Nishanth P., Varier K. M. and Shankar V.
Department of Physics, University College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala - 695034E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Nuclear track detectors find their application in many fields of science and technology.
Polycarbonates like CR-39, Lexan etc are most widely used for such applications.
Pokalon is a relatively new member of the polycarbonate family of solid state nuclear
track detectors. It has the same monomer as that of Makrofol. The etching characteristics
of Pokalon is a matter of great interest in track detector studies. Unfortunately not many
works in this matter have been reported so far. In the present work the bulketch rate of
Pokalon at different temperatures and normalities of NaOH etchant has been studied.
The variation of bulk etch rate with temperature and normality is analysed and the
corresponding activation energies have been determined. There are different factors
which affect the bulk etch rate of track detectors. A study on the effect of stirring of the
etchant on bulk etch rate of Pokalon is carried out. It is found that stirring enhances the
bulk etch rate.
OP - 7
Assessment of natural radioactivity and radon effective dose in Indian Building Constructions Materials
Rati Varshneya, A. K. Mahurb, R. L. Sharmab and R. G. Sonkawadec
aDepartment of Applied Physics, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202 002, IndiabDepartment of Applied Science, Viveakanada College of Technology and Management
Aligarh-202001 IndiacDepartment of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur-416004, Maharashtra, India
E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]
Building construction materials are one of the important sources of radon emanation. Due
to low level of radon emanation from these materials, long term measurements are
needed. Radiation doses variation depends upon the concentrations of the natural radio
nuclides like 226Ra, 232Th and 40K present in building materials. These radio nuclides pose
exposure risk due to their gamma ray emission and internally due to radon and its
progeny that emit alpha particles.
In the present study the activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K radionuclides in
building construction materials have been measured by using high resolution γ –ray
spectroscopic system (Mahur et al., 2008, 2013). Gamma spectrometric measurements
were carried out at Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi using a coaxial n-type
HPGe detector (EG&G, ORTEC, Oak Ridge, USA).The activity concentrations for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K found in the building materials varied from 16.1 ± 0.7 to 69.7 ± 1.9 BqKg-1,
12.3 ± 0.5 to 87.5 ± 1.6 BqKg-1, 110.5 ± 1.7 to 1080.5 ± 11.5 BqKg-1 respectively. The
absorbed dose rate in the investigated samples varied from 20.6 to 108.7 nGy h-1.
Radium equivalent activity, indoor and outdoor effective doses were also evaluated for
these samples, which was varying from 44.9 to 235.7 Bq Kg-1, 0.10 to 0.53 and 0.03 to
0.13 mSv respectively. External hazard index must be lower than unity, for keeping the
radiation hazards insignificant, which was found to vary from 0.12 to 0.62 in the studied
samples.
Radon concentration was analyzed and evaluated from different building construction
materials using “Sealed Can Technique” with LR-115 type II solid state nuclear track
detector. The internal radiation exposure, due to 222Rn, exhaled from building materials
i.e. Radon surface and mass exhalation rates, have been investigated, which varies from
29.02± 3.2 to 1040 ± 31.4 mBq m-2 h-1 and 1.12 ± 0.12 to 40.04 ± 1.21 mBq Kg-1h-1
respectively. Results will be discussed in the light of various factors.
OP – 8
Gamma irradiation effects on structural, thermal and electrical conductivity properties of ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) doped HPMC based biopolymer
electrolyte films
N Sandhya Rani 1, J Sannappa2, T Demappa3, Mahadevaiah3
1 Department of Physics, Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, Mysore 570 002, India 2Department of Studies in Physics, JnanaSahyadri, Kuvempu University, Shimoga - 577
451, India.3Department of Polymer Science, Sir M V, P G Centre, University of Mysore, Mandya-
575 007, IndiaE-mail: [email protected] , [email protected]
Abstract
A solid biopolymer electrolytes (BEs) based on hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)
doped with different concentrations of ceric ammonium nitrate (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6 (CAN)
were prepared using solution cast method. Different techniques has been employed to
investigate the effects of structural, thermal and ionic conductivity behavior of these
polymer electrolyte films upon gamma irradiation with different doses of 20, 60 and 100
kGy. The dissolution of the salt into the polymer host and the structural properties of pure
and CAN (0.5% - 2%) (wt. %) complexed HPMC polymer electrolyte films before and
after irradiation was confirmed by X – ray diffraction (XRD) studies. XRD results revealed
that the amorphous domains of HPMC polymer matrix was increased with increase in the
salt concentration and with the gamma dose. The percentage of crystallanity is found to
be high in pristine unirradiated HPMC films. The variation of film morphology was
examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermal properties of these polymer
electrolyte films before and after irradiation were studied using differential scanning
calorimetry (DSC). The results revealed that the presence of CAN in the polymer matrix
increases the melting temperature, however it is observed that the total enthalpy of fusion
( ) is maximum for unirradiated pristine HPMC films. Direct current (dc) conductivity ∆Hf
was measured in the temperature range of 313–383K. The temperature-dependent of
HPMC based BEs system conductivity data obeys Arrhenius relationship. Conductivity
enhancement in these BEs is caused not only by the increase in the concentration of
CAN but also by the increase in mobility and diffusion coefficient of ions and with
increasing gamma dose.
OP – 9
Estimation of Annual Effective Dose due to the Exposure of Radon, Thoron and Progeny in Rudraprayag region of Garhwal Himalaya
Mukesh Prasad1, Mukesh Rawat1, Anoop Dangwal1, Tushar Kandari1, Preeti Pant1, Rosaline Mishra2 and R.C. Ramola1
1Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul CampusTehri Garhwal - 249 199, India
2Radiological Physics and Advisory Division, Bhabha Atomic Research CentreMumbai - 400 085, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
It is well known that annual exposure to indoor radon, thoron and their progeny imparts a
major contribution to inhalation dose. Therefore, it is essential to make a quantitative
assessment of their concentrations in dwellings of the public. Long term measurements
of indoor radon, thoron and their progeny concentrations have been carried out in
Rudraprayag region of Garhwal Himalaya with the aim of investigating if the exposure to
these nuclei poses a significant health risk. The experimentally measured values of
activity concentrations have been used to calculate the annual effective dose received by
the members of the public in the study area. The estimated values of annual effective
dose due to indoor radon, thoron and their progeny have shown no significant health risk
in the study area. The measurement techniques and results obtained are discussed in
detail.
OP – 10Estimation of Annual Effective Dose from measured Radon Concentrations in
Drinking Water, using RAD7
Komal Badhana, Rohit Mehrab, R G Sonkawadec
aDepartment of Physics, S.G.G.S. Khalsa College, MahilpurbDepartment of Physics, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology,
Jalandhar, IndiacDepartment of Physics, Shivaji University, Kohlapur, Maharashtra, India
E-mail: [email protected]: +91 8437416267
AbstractRadon, thoron and their progenies are the most important contributions to human
exposure from natural sources. Among all the natural sources of radiation dose to human
beings, inhalation and ingestion of radon contributes a lot therefore, it is very important
to measure radon concentration levels in drinking water. The present study represents
the set of measurements for radon concentrations in drinking water using electronic
radon meter (RAD7), in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts of Punjab, India. The radon
concentration in drinking water has been found to vary from 1.05 to 7.53 BqL1 with an
average value of 4.33 BqL1. The mean annual effective dose due to radon concentration
in water samples belonging to the studied area vary from 0.224 mSvyr-1 to 1.60 mSvyr-1
with an average value of 0.9193 mSvyr-1. The results reveal that the study area is safe as
far as the health hazards of waterborne radon are concerned.
OP - 11
Measurements of radon and thoron concentrations in dwellings of Sri Ganganagar district, Rajasthan using single entry pin-hole dosimeter
Vikas Duggal1, Asha Rani2,*, Rohit Mehra3, B.K. Sahoo4 and B.K. Sapra4
1Department of Applied Sciences, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar-144601, India
2Department of Applied Sciences, FCET, Ferozshah, Ferozpur-142052, India
3Department of Physics, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar-144001, India
4Radiological Physics and Advisory Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In present investigation, newly designed single entry face pin-hole dosimeter with LR-115
Solid State Nuclear Track Detector has been used for the integrated passive
measurements of residential radon and thoron in the environmental air of Sri
Ganganagar district, Rajasthan, India. The annual average indoor radon and thoron
concentrations in dwellings of the study area ranges from 19 to 62 Bq m-3 and 25 to 89
Bq m-3 with mean values of 43 Bq m-3 and 51 Bq m-3, respectively. The annual effective
dose due to the exposure to radon was found to vary from 0.48 to 1.56 mSv y-1 with an
average value of 1.08 mSv y-1. However, the annual effective dose due to the exposure
to thoron was found to vary from 0.07 to 0.25 mSv y-1 with an average of 0.14 mSv y-1.
The result shows that the average thoron concentration was higher than the average
radon concentration in the dwellings of the study area. Analysis of ventilation conditions
reveal that the indoor radon and thoron concentrations were higher in poorly ventilated
dwellings compared with the well-ventilated ones. Seasonal variations of indoor radon
and thoron reveal the minimum concentrations in summer and the maximum in winter.
OP – 12
Fast etching of CR-39 detector at lower concentration using microwave radiation and comparison with conventional chemical etching
G.S. Sahoo*, S.P. Tripathy, D.S. Joshi, T. Bandyopadhyay
Accelerator Radiation Safety Section, Health Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085, IndiaEmail: [email protected]
Abstract
Among several methods for the development of latent tracks in CR-39 detector, the
microwave induced chemical etching (MICE) was found to be fast, economic and
effective. The etching methodologies reported in the past have used 5 to 7 N NaOH and
there have been continuous efforts to reduce the etchant concentration. In this direction,
the use of microwave radiation in chemical etching (CE) has proved to sustain and
improve the etching process at lower concentration. In this work, we have carried out the
etching of neutron irradiated CR-39 detector at a lower concentration, i.e., 3 N NaOH at
different microwave powers available, viz. 300, 450, 600 and 900 W. Stepwise etching
was followed up to 190, 90, 60 and 40 minutes for the powers 300, 450, 600 and 900 W
respectively. Another similar detector was etched up to 15 h in steps of 3 h with
conventional chemical etching at 700C with 3 N NaOH solution. The bulk etch rate
measured by gravimetric method for the chemical etching was found to be 0.44±0.02
μm/h whereas it was 3.60 0.06 μm/h at 300 W microwave power. At higher microwave
power, the bulk etch rate was found to have higher values with a maximum of 7.14±0.09
μm/h at 900 W. The rate of increase in track diameter in case of MICE was also found to
be quite high compared to that of chemical etching. The outcome of the study reveals the
possibility of the use of lower concentration etchant in the etching process with reduced
time.
OP – 13
Measurement of soil gas radon and outdoor radon concentration with reference to meteorological parameters for discriminating the genuine
signals of an impending earthquake1Ranjan Kr. Kakati, 2Atul Saxena, 3Devesh Walia, 4Rohit Mehra, 5B.Bhattacharjee
1Directorate of Students’ Welfare, Gauhati University, Assam, India2Department of Physics, NEHU, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
3Department of Environmental Science, NEHU, Shillong, India4Department of Physics, Dr. B.R.Ambedkar NIT, Jalandhar, India
5Department of Physics, Gauhati University, Assam, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Measurement of soil gas radon and outdoor radon concentration have been carried out in
some specific places of Karbi Anglong district of Assam, India using Barasol BMC2 and
AlphaGUARD PQ 2000, PRO respectively. The global position of Karbi Anglong district is
- latitudinal extension 25o32/ North - 26033/ North and longitudinal extension 92009/ East -
93052/ East. Whereas the soil gas radon concentration have been found to vary from 596
Bq/m3 at Ganjang to 66287 Bq/m3 at Dokmoka, Outdoor radon concentration has
maximum and minimum values of 841 ± 119.25 Bq/m3 at Jasra(East) and 30.08 ± 6.06
Bq/m3 at Dokmoka respectively with a mean value of 249.05±53.77Bq/m3.
An attempt has been made to study the variations of soil gas radon and outdoor radon
concentration with various meteorological parameters. Considerable variations of soil gas
radon and outdoor radon concentration have been observed with temperature, pressure
and relative humidity. The soil gas radon concentration have been observed to be
inversely related with temperature and barometric pressure and that the outdoor radon
concentration bears a positive correlation with relative humidity and negative correlation
with ambient temperature and pressure of the measured sites.
OP – 14
Determination of radon concentration in soil and drinking water samples using RAD7 in Northern Rajasthan, India
Sudhir Mittal1, Asha Rani2 and Rohit Mehra3
1Department of Applied Sciences, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar-144601, Punjab, India
2Department of Applied Science, Ferozepur College of Engineering and Technology, Farozshah, Ferozepur-142052, Punjab, India
3Department of Physics, Dr. B.R.Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar-144011, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In the present investigation, analysis of radon concentration in 20 water and soil samples
collected from different locations of Jodhpur and Nagaur districts of Northern Rajasthan,
India has been carried out by using RAD7 an electronic Radon detector. The water
samples were taken from hand pumps and tube wells having depths ranging from 100 to
800 feets. All the soil gas measurements have been carried out at 100 cm depth. The
measured radon concentration in water samples lies in the range from 0.8 to 15 Bq l-1
with the mean value of 4.84 Bq l-1. Only in one water sample, radon concentration is
found to be higher than the safe limit 11 Bq l-1 as set by the US Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA, 1991). The measured value of radon concentration in all ground water
samples is within the safe limit from 4 to 40 Bq l-1, recommended by United Nations
Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR, 2008). The total
annual effective dose estimated due to radon concentration in water ranges from 2.19 to
40.96 µSV y-1 with the mean value of 13.23 µSV y-1. The total annual effective dose from
all locations of our studied area is found to be well within the safe limit 0.1 mSv y-1 as
recommended by World Health Organization (WHO, 2004) and European Council (EU,
1998). Radon measurement in soil samples varies from 1750 to 9850 Bq m-3 with the
mean value of 5675 Bq m-3. The results reveal that the water and soil of Jodhpur and
Nagaur districts are suitable for drinking and construction purpose without posing any
health hazard.
OP – 15
Indoor radon and thoron in some dwellings around a fertilizer plant and thermal power plants using twin chamber dosimeter cups with SSNTDs
Mamta Gupta1,2, A K Mahur3, K Y Singh4, R G Sonkawade5, Hargyan Singh6, K D Verma1 and Rajendra Prasad3
1Department of Physics, S V (P G) College, Aligarh-202 001, India.2Northern India Engg College, New Delhi-110 053, India.
3Department of Applied Science, Vivekananda College of Technology and Management, Aligarh-202 002 India.
4Department of Physics, B S A College Mathura -281001, India.5Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur-416004, Maharashtra, India
6Accurate Institute of Management and Technology, Greater Noida, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
In the present study Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTD’s) based twin chamber
dosimeters were used for estimating radon (222Rn) and thoron (220Rn) concentration in
some dwellings around a fertilizer plant and a thermal power plants situated in our region
in India. The dosimeters employ two LR-115 type II peliculable, cellulose nitrate detector
films inside each of the two chambers fitted with filter and polymeric membrane for the
discrimination of radon and thoron gas. Radon concentrations in the dwellings near the
fertilizer plant are found to vary from 11.8 ± 2.5 Bq m-3 to 87.7 ± 6.8 Bq m-3, whereas
thoron concentrations vary from 2.4 ± 0.2 Bq m-3 to 29.9 ± 3.1 Bq m-3. Inhalation dose
due to radon and thoron concentrations vary from 0.03 mSv y-1 to 0.16 mSv y-1.
Radon concentrations in the dwellings around the Kasimpur Thermal Power Plant,
Aligarh are found to vary from 6.8 ± 1.8 Bq m-3 to 31.1 ± 3.3 Bq m-3, whereas thoron
concentrations vary from 2.6 ± 0.4 Bq m-3 to 19.3 ± 2.6 Bq m-3. Inhalation dose due to
radon and thoron concentrations is estimated to vary from 0.40 mSv y-1 to 0.78 mSv y-1.
Radon concentrations were also found around the Dwellings NTPC Dadri, Ghaziabad to
vary from 5.8 to 36.8 Bq m-3 with an average value of 18.7 Bq m-3 whereas thoron
concentrations vary from3.6 to 36.5 Bq m-3 with an average value of 15.5 Bq m-3 .The
results will reported in full paper.
OP – 16
A Java code for etched track profiles in SSNTDs
Varier K. M., Nishanth P. and Shankar V.
Department of Physics, University College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala - 695034Email: [email protected]
Abstract
A java code incorporating a user friendly GUI has been developed to calculate the
parameters of chemically etched track profiles of ion-irradiated solid state nuclear track
detectors. Huygen's construction of wavefronts based on secondary wavelets has been
used to numerically calculate the etched track profile as a function of the etching time.
Provision for normal incidence and oblique incidence on the detector surface have been
incorporated, enabling determination of the critical angle for etching. Results in typical
cases are presented, in particular for Pokalon detector irradiated with 11.1 MeV/u Au ions
and compared with experimental data obtained in our laboratory. Different expressions
for the variation of track etch rate as a function of the ion energy have been tried and an
inter-comparison is presented.
OP – 17
Variation in radon-thoron levels in some dwellings of eastern Haryana
A. K. Garga, Sushil Kumarb and R. P. Chauhanc
aDepartment of Physics, Arya P.G.College, Panipat-132103, IndiabDepartment of Physics, Choudhary Devi Lal University ,Sirsa
cDepartment of Physics, National Institute of Technology, KurukshetraE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
All humans are constantly exposed to radiations spontaneously emitted by naturally
occurring atomic elements ever since their existence on the earth. Radon (222Rn) has
been identified as the largest single source of radiation exposure to world population
Indoor radon has been recognized as one of the health hazards for mankind. Keeping
this in mind the environmental radon, thoron and their progeny measurements have been
carried out in some dwellings of some districts of eastern Haryana. The radon-thoron twin
dosimeter cups designed by environmental assessment division of Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC) Mumbai, India have been used for the study. Three pieces of
LR-115 solid-state Nuclear Track detectors are fixed in the dosimeters and are
suspended in the dwellings for three months during a season. One gives radon, thoron
and progeny concentration, second gives radon and thoron concentration while the third
gives only the radon concentration. To observe the effect of environmental conditions the
measurements have been carried out during different seasons of the year. The radon-
thoron progeny levels and annual dose received by the inhabitants in the dwellings under
study have also been calculated. The levels are found to be higher during winter season
as compare to other seasons of the year.
OP – 18
Evaluation of Radon and Thoron Exhalation from some cement samples using SMART Rnduo Portable Radon Monitor
Manish Kumar1, Anjali Kaushal1, Navjeet Sharma1, Hemant Kumar1, Rajeev Kumar Sharma2
1Department of Physics, DAV College, Jalandhar2Department of Chemistry, DAV College, Jalandhar
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Building materials was the second major source of indoor radon, thoron after soil. In
2007, 165 million tonnes cement was produced in India (second largest production in the
world after China).Primordial radionuclide uranium and thorium are present in varying
concentrations different building materials and decay over time to release radioactive
gases, radon and thoron to indoor and outdoor environment. These materials contribute
significantly to indoor radiation pollution. In present work, different types of cement
samples were analyzed using active monitor known as SMART Rnduo. The active
concentration of radon and thoron, Radon mass exhalation and thoron surface exhalation
rates were measured. The cement samples were analyzed under standard protocol
developed by BARC, Mumbai. The observed values are in range as reported in India.
OP – 19
Natural Radionuclide 210Poconcentration in sediment samples from Periyakalapattu to Parangipettai Coast of Tamilnadu, India Using Alpha Counting System
N. Harikrishnan1, R. Ravisankar1, M. Suresh Gandhi2 Kantha Devi Arunachalam3 and Sathesh Kumar Annamalai3
1Post Graduate and Research Department of Physics, Government Arts College, Thiruvanamalai-606603, Tamilnadu, India
2Department of Geology, University of Madras Guindy Campus, Chennai -600025,Tamilnadu, India
3Centre for Environmental Nuclear Research, SRM University, Kattankulathur, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The natural radionuclide 210Po is widely existing in the terrestrial environments and also
presenting in the Earth’s crust due to the last radio nuclide formed by the decay of 238U.
The presence of the above mentioned radio nuclide in the atmosphere is due to the
decay of 222Rn, diffusing from the Earth ground. In the present study, the concentration of
natural 210Po in the sediment samples from Periyakalapattu to Parangipettai of East
Coast of Tamilnadu, India was measured using Radiation Counting System with an Alpha
counter of ZnS (Ag) detector. The distribution ranges of 210Po activity in the sediment
samples were determined as 2.38±0.33 - 6.62± 0.52 Bq kg-1 with a mean value of 3.97±
0.3 Bq kg-1. The annual committed effective dose of 210Po consumed by the public was
estimated. The results obtained from this study were compared with the values of earlier
studies carried out in India and other countries and thus the final conclusion was
reported.
OP – 20
Assessment of gamma radiations and soil gas Radon Concentration
Veena Joshi a , Manjulata Yadavb , Pramesh Bijalwana and R.C. Ramolab
aDepartment of Chemistry, H.N.B.Garhwal University SRT Campus Badshahithaul Tehri Garhwal
bDepartment of Physics ,H.N.B.Garhwal University SRT Campus Badshahithaul Tehri Garhwal 249199
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
As a gas, radon can move easily through bedrock and soil and escape into the outdoor
air or seep into a home or building. The study was helpful to understand radon health
Hazards in study area. Soil gas Radon concentration was measured at 15 location in the
Tehri area , using RAD7. In each location four different depths were taken for soil gas
measurements, starting from the ground surface. The results suggested that the largest
concentration was found for 50cm depth , and the smallest concentration was for 5 cm
depth at a particular point. The soil samples were also taken for each locations of the
measurements, for gamma activity in a study area. The results obtained from this study
indicate that the region has background radioactivity levels within the natural limits.
Determination of the radiological hazard is achieved through calculations of the external
terrestrial gamma dose rate in air (nGyh-1) and annual effective dose rate (mSvy-1) and
the results are compared with the recommended value.
OP – 21
Measurement of Slow Neutron flux in spent fuel storage bay using Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors
L. K. Vajpyee, P T Ghare, R K B Yadav, K. S. Babu, R. V. Kolekar, R. Sharma, R. K. Gopalakrishnan and P Mandal*
Radiation Safety Systems Division, *Reactor Operation DivisionBhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay,
Mumbai-400 085Email: [email protected], Ph: 25594314
Abstract
The spent fuel storage bay of a research reactor is used for handling and storage of
irradiated fuel. The various operations carried out inside water pool such as detaching
fuel sub assemblies from shielding components, handling and storage requires adequate
shielding and cooling to spent fuel assemblies. Due to prolonged storage and handling of
spent fuels, significant amount of slurry get deposited in the bay floor predominanted by
Natural Uranium, actinides and fission products. To assess the neutron background due
to the deposits an experiment related to measurement of slow neutron flux above the
layer of uranium slurry at the floor of spent fuel bay was carried out. This is expected to
be useful during removal of the slurry from the bay, transportation and storage. The slow
neutron flux measurements were carried out using CR-39 solid state nuclear track
detectors (SSNTDs). Slow neutrons are measured using CR-39 detectors by keeping it in
contact with lithium tetra borate radiators. Slow neutron undergoes (n, alpha) reaction
with 6Li and 10B to record alpha tracks in CR-39 detectors. In this experiment, slow
neutron fluxes were measured at eight different underwater locations above the surface
of slurry. Due to very low level flux detectors were placed for long duration. The exposure
time for detectors varied from 720 hrs to 960 hrs at various locations. Measured Slow
neutron flux varied from 0.23 – 1.5 neutron/cm2/sec. Slow neutron flux measured at
different location also indicates the varying quantity of uranium and other actinides in the
slurry at various locations of the floor of spent fuel bay. These fluxes correspond to a
maximum radiation dose rate of 0.15 µSv/h. The experiment also establishes the
requirement of monitoring for neutron dose during handling of large volume of slurry
consisting of Uranium, actinides and fission products.
OP – 22
Determination of Radon Activity and Radon Exhalation Rates from some Soil Samples and Water Samples of the Chhapraula Industrial Area in Greater NOIDA
(Uttar Pradesh)
Raj Kumari1, Nitin Gupta2, Krishan Kant1, Maneesha Garg3
1Deptt. of Physics, Aggarwal College Ballabgarh, Distt. Faridabad, Haryana (India) –121 004
2Faculty of Humanities and Applied Sciences, AITM, Palwal (Haryana) India – 1211053Faculty of Humanities and Applied Sciences, YMCAUST, Faridabad (Haryana) India –
121006Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
Abstract
Radon activity and Radon exhalation rates from soil and water are the most important
factors for determination of radon level. In the present experimental research work, CAN
technique using SSNTD (Solid State Nuclear Track Detector) has been used for
determining the radon exhalation rate. Soil and water samples were collected from
Sadopur, Achheja, Sadullapur, Bishnuli, and Khera Dharampura near the Chhapraula
Industrial Area in Greater NOIDA (Uttar Pradesh), which are reported for the high
numbers of cancer patient in the last five years in the recent news articles.
The radon concentration observed to be varies from 403.56 to 567.34 Bq/m3 for soil and
20.34 to 29.67 (pci l-1) for water in these areas. The radon exhalation rates in terms of
mass and area varies from 3.67 to 4.23 mBqkg-1 hr-1 and 129.45 to 178.34 mBqm-2 hr-1
for soil and 6.87 to 19.48 mBqkg-1 hr-1 and 543.12 to 195.78 mBqm-2 hr-1 for water. A
good correlation is observed between radium concentration and radon exhalation rate.
OP – 23
Radiological Assessment of indoor radon, thoron and their progeny levels in the dwellings near the fly ash dumping sites situated in Faridabad (Haryana) India
1Nitin Gupta, 2Krishan Kant, 3Maneesha Garg
1Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Applied Sciences, AITM, Palwal, Haryana, India – 121105
2Principal, Aggarwal College Ballabgarh, Faridabad, Haryana ,India – 121 0043Assist. Prof., Department of Humanities and Applied Sciences, YMCAUST, Faridabad,
Haryana, India – 121 006E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Abstract
Fly ash is a waste product of coal contains uranium which is an ultimate source of radon.
Radon is second most common cause of cancer. So, health point of view radon, thoron
and their progeny levels were estimated in the dwellings near the fly ash dumping sites.
Foe measurement twin cup dosimeters were employed for a season of a year.
Measurements show that the concentration of radon and thoron varied from 6.70±0.68
Bqm-3 to 122.67±11.79 Bqm-3 and 1.36±0.25 Bqm-3 to 58.78±3.83 Bqm-3 respectively.
PAEC due to radon and thoron varied from 0.724±0.07mWL to 13.26±1.27mWL and
0.037±0.01mWL to 1.59±0.10 mWL respectively. Inhalation dose varied from 0.21mSv/y
to 4.62mSv/y. However annual exposure due to radon and thoron and annual effective
dose varied from 29.83x10-3WLM to 546.36x10-3WLM, 1.51x10-3 WLM to 65.45x10-3WLM
and 0.12mSv to 2.29mSv respectively. As recommended by various regulatory bodies
the observations are below the safety levels. The maximum value of 122.67±11.79 Bqm-3
is inside the cave of a temple as there is no any ventilation. Variation in the various
observations is because of different types of walls, floors and ventilation conditions and
distance between dwellings and fly ash dumping site. Results shows that the
concentration of radon decreases as the distance between dwellings and dumping sites
increases.
OP – 24
Estimation of indoor radon levels in some dwellings of Chandigarh, India using pin hole dosimeters
Vimal Mehta1*, R P Chauhan2 and G S Mudahar3
1Deptt of Physics, S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, Anandpur Sahib- 140118, India2Deptt of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra- 136 119, India
3Deptt of Physics, Punjabi University, Patiala- 147 001, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Indoor air quality is an important issue for protection against adverse health effects
caused by the inhalation of pollutants because most individuals spend 90% of their time
indoors and that indoor air quality is deteriorated by a large variety of sources. Out of
these sources radon is a major pollutant and is an important global problem of radiation
hygiene. Radon and its progeny are the major contributors in the radiation dose
received by general population of the world. Next to cigarette smoking, the inhalation of
radon gas and the products of its radioactive disintegration are considered the most
significant cause of lung cancer. Due to the potentially serious public health implications
of exposure to high levels of radon, the environmental monitoring of radon, thoron and
their progeny in some dwellings of Chandigarh, India has been carried out. The pin hole
dosimeter cups were used for the study. The aim of the study is the possible health risk
assessment in the dwellings under consideration.
OP – 25
Ion-beam-induced variation in the properties of cadmium selenate nanowires
Chetna Narula and R.P.Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra 136119,IndiaE-mail: [email protected],[email protected]
Abstract
Quasi one-dimensional nanostructures such as semiconductor nanowires (NW) serve
as both functional units as well as the wires that access them. However, effective and
well controlled doping is required for their device application, a known method to
transform the electrical, optical and magnetic properties of semiconductor nanowires.
The present study aims at studying the effect of low energy ion beam on the properties
of cadmium selenate nanowires. These wires were synthesized by using template
assisted electrochemical deposition technique in an aqueous solution of 3CdSO4.8H2O
and SeO2. The electrodeposition was performed at constant potential of the working
electrode with respect to the reference electrode using a PC controlled potentiostat and
a three electrode set-up. Electrical properties of cadmium selenate nanowires, before
and after implantation were measured with the help of Keithley 2400 source meter and
Ecopia probe station. I-V measurements revealed an enhancement in the conductivity of
these nanowires after implantation. Structural properties and morphology of the
synthesized nanowires were also studied using Rigaku Mini-Flex II X-ray diffractometer
and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) respectively. Although differences to bulk
material exist, ion-beam implantation can be applied successfully for electrical doping of
semiconductor nanowires which is an important requirement for future integration of
nanowires as functional elements into electrical,optical or photonic nanoscaled devices.
OP – 26Radiation Induced Variation in the Texture Coefficient of Planes in Copper
Nanowires
Pallavi Rana1, Anita Rani2 and R.P.Chauhan1
1Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana2Department of Physics, University College, Kurukshetra University, Haryana
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
AbstractElectrodeposition process has been extensively used to synthesize the nanowires due to
controllability of growth in the direction normal to the substrate surface under ambient
operating conditions of temperature and concentration. Copper nanowires of 80 nm
diameter, synthesized using track-etched membranes via template-assisted
electrodeposition technique, were irradiated with 50 MeV Li3+ and 160 MeV Ni+12 ion
beam. The present work is an effort to illustrate the change in the texture of crystal
planes of copper nanowires after irradiation with swift heavy ions having low and high
atomic numbers i.e. Li+3 & Ni+12. Pristine and irradiated nanowires sustained the
polycrystalline nature of cubic lattice geometry with lattice parameter 3.615 Å.
Comparison of post- ion irradiated XRD spectra with the pristine revealed no shifting in
the ‘2θ’ position of the diffraction peaks however, an intensity variation was observed in
various peaks. Intensity alteration is sign of variation in the plane’s orientation and for
polycrystalline nanowires, it is evaluated by texture coefficient. Irradiation of lithium ion
beam did not vastly influence the orientation of the planes however, in case of Nickel ion
beam, orientation of planes seems to be affected. From the comparative analysis, one
can perceive that with (400), the plane (111) additionally gained the preferred direction
after Ni ion irradiation. Ion beam of higher atomic number included additional functionality
in the granular properties that supports enhancement in the flow of the charge carriers
and reduced scattering from the grain boundaries.
OP – 27
Structural and Electrical Properties of Gamma Irradiated Selenium Nanowires
Suresh Panchal and R.P.Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, HaryanaEmail: [email protected]
Abstract
Over the past few years, there has been increasing interest in the fabrication of one
dimensional semiconductor nano-structures because of their potential utilization in nano
devices due to novel electrical and optical properties. In the present work, template
assisted electrodeposition technique is being employed where in polycarbonate
membrane of uniform nanochannels was used to prepare selenium nanowires.
Electrodeposition of selenium nanowires was done in an electrolyte containing selenium
dioxide (SeO2) and boric acid with the help of potentiostat in a three electrode set up with
Ag/AgCl reference electrode, platinum wire as a counter electrode and copper substrate
as working electrode. The optimum deposition of nanowires was monitored by the
current(I) vs deposition time (t) graph. The crystallography of the synthesized nanowires
was studied using a Rigaku X- Ray diffractometer equipped with Cu-Kα radiation. The
typical XRD pattern shows the monoclinic nature of selenium nanowires.The electrical
properties of Selenium (Se) nanowires were studied and current voltage (I-V)
characteristics were recorded using Keithley 2400 source meter. The resultant IV graph
was asymmetric and non-linear in nature confirming the semiconducting behavior of the
synthesized nanowires.The morphological study of selenium nanowires was done by
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after dissolving the membrane in dichloromethane
which confirms that resultant artifact possesses same geometry of nanowires. These
synthesized nanowires are being exposed to gamma rays using a 60Co source and the
variation in the properties of pre- and post irradiated selenium nanowires will be
investigated and reported in full paper.
OP – 28
Fabrication of Copper Nanowires using ion track filters
S. Amrita Kaur and G.S. Randhawa
Department of Physics, Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India-143 001E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
There has been a tremendous growth of interest in investigation of metallic as well as
non-metallic nano/micro structures and nanowires. They have potential applications in
different fields viz. nano-electronics, magnetic devices, optics, chemical, biosensors, etc.
In the present paper, polymer samples (Makrofol-KG) were irradiated with heavy ions
and chemically etched to produce cylindrical pores of various diameters. These filters
have been used as templates for the fabrication of metallic nanowires using potentiostatic
electrodeposition within the confined nanochannels of porous track etched filters. The
morphology of copper nanowires has been studied using scanning electron microscopy.
OP – 29
Optical and structural properties of PbS embedded in zeolite matrix
N Choudhurya*, H K Sarmab and B K Sarmac
aDepartment of Physics, Pub Kamrup College, Baihata Chariali, Kamrup (Assam) 781381
bDepartment of Physics, B B K College, Nagaon, Barpeta (Assam) 781311cDepartment of Physics , Gauhati University, Guwahati (Assam) 781014
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
This paper reports the synthesis of PbS quantum dots in zeolite matrix by using chemical
bath deposition (CBD) technique at room temperature. In this technique PbS quantum
dots are produced by simple chemical reactions between the solutions of lead acetate
and thiourea of molarity 0.25 and 0.125 where zeolite acts as matrix and plays the key
role in controlling particle growth during synthesis. The products were characterized by x-
ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-absorption
spectroscopy and Photoluminescence spectroscopy. The sizes of the dots are found to
be 6 and 8 nm and the values of band gap to be 2.34 and 2.46 eV.
OP – 30Energy Loss and Momentum Measurement for Silicon Tracker of Belle-II
Rajeev KumarDepartment of Mathematics, Statistics and PhysicsPunjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-141004
E-mail: [email protected]
Belle II experiment is a major upgrade of the Belle experiment at the KEKB
asymmetric e+ - e−collider at the KEK, Japan. The Silicon Vertex Detector(SVD) is
sandwiched between the pixel detector and the central drift chamber (CDC),
corresponding to inner and outer radii of 38 mm and 140 mm. It covers the full 17◦ –
150◦ polar angle acceptance of the Belle II detector. Track finding in the SVD will be
done both in conjunction with the CDC and in standalone mode. The reconstruction
of very low momentum tracks in stand-alone mode is a big challenge, especially in
view of the low redundancy and the large expected background. The larger outer
radius of the SVD (13.5 cm) compared to previous Belle experiment gives an
increase in efficiency of about 30% for the reconstruction of KS→ π+ π- decays inside the
SVD and around 25% improvement in vertex resolution. The measurement of the
ionization by charged particles in a medium (gas or condensed) together with the
measurement of their momentum or energy is used for tracking the particles and to
determine their identity. The dE/dx method is especially useful for identifying hadrons
with a momentum below their minimum of ionization. The momentum is directly
determined from the dE/dx measurement of every reconstructed track using the
mean measured ˂dE/dx>. The reasons for this dramatic improvement are: first, in
the 1/β2 region for silicon the dE/dx distribution is narrow and can be fitted by a
Gaussian with a small standard deviation, and second the slope of ˂dE/dx>(p) curve is
large so that two neighboring distributions <dE/dx>(p 1 ),<dE/dx>(p 2 ) have a small
overlap. Adding charge signals from the silicon detectors, instead of using only
drift chamber data, significantly improves the selection efficiencies of all particle types,
especially below 1GeV. The dE/dx method in the tracking detectors can fill this low
momentum gap and provides very good separation for pions and kaons between 200 and
800MeV. For particle momenta below 200MeV/c there is significant increase of the
multiple Coulomb scattering effect which results in a very poor momentum determination
when standard track fitting methods are applied. A cellular automaton and a Kalman filter
is combined with a Hopfield network which finds an optimal subset of non-overlapping
tracks.
OP - 31
Simulation of charged particle track profiles in solid state nuclear track detectors
Amanjeeta, Joga Singha, Ajay Kumarb & Jaspal Singha
aDepartment of Applied Sciences ( Physics Group ), Chandigarh University, Gharuan, Mohali 140413
bPost Graduate Department of Physics, DAV College, Amritsar 143001E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTD) are widely used for assessment of charged
particles radiation levels. When a heavily ionising charged particle passes through such
insulating solids, it leaves a narrow trail of damage about 50 Å in diameter along its path.
The basis of SSNTDs is that charged particles damage the detector within nanometers
along the track in such a way that the track can be etched many times faster than the
undamaged material. If the particles enter the surface at normal incidence, the pits are
circular; otherwise the ellipticity and orientation of the elliptical pit mouth indicate the
direction of incidence. SSNTDs are commonly used to study cosmic rays, long-
lived radioactive elements, radon concentration in houses, and the age of geological
samples. The main concern is related to the correct estimations of track diameter and
track depth. In this paper the, charged particle track profiles in Solid State Nuclear Track
Detectors has been simulated.
OP - 32
Nanoparticle stabilized blue phase in chiral nematic liquid crystal
Arshdeep Singh1 and Praveen Malik2*
1Department of Physics, Doaba College, Jalandhar2 Department of Physics, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Blue phases in chiral nematic liquid crystals have created ample research interest due to
its exotic optical properties like absence of alignment layer, submillisecond response
time, wide viewing angle and optically isotropic voltage off state. These properties have
technological importance for applications in fast switching displays, mirror-less lasers and
tunable photonic crystals. Blue phases usually exist over a very narrow temperature
range of the order of 1Kelvin between the chiral nematic and isotropic phases of liquid
crystal. In the present study, blue phase was realized in a binary mixture of liquid crystals
and stabilized by doping nanoparticles. Polarizing optical microscopic studies revealed
the enhanced thermal stability of blue phase in doped composites.
OP – 33
Effect of irradiation on Cu doped ZnO thin film grown by SILAR technique
Arindam Ghosh1*, Rashi Gupta2, Rajech Kumar2, Krishan Kant1, S.K.Chakarvarti3,Ramphal Sharma4
1Deptt of Physics, Aggarwal College, Ballabgarah, Dist. Faridabad (Haryana)-1210042USBAS, GGIP University, New Delhi
3MRIU, Faridabad, Haryana, India4Thin Film and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Physics,
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad-431004 Maharashtra E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: +91 850077074, +91 129 3296243; Fax: +91 129 2300769
Abstract
On the verge of scientific growth, to make life more comfortable, the increasing demand
of mankind causes the natural imbalance causes the natural imbalance which is also a
matter of great threat for the society. Considering these facts, there is a great deal of
interest for the scientific society in improving the quality, the performance of gas sensors.
Metal oxide semiconductors as gas sensors (GS) have been looked with great interest
for their unique properties like their sensitivity, selectivity and recovery time. Among the
metal oxide materials, tin oxide (SnO2) is the most investigated material. However, it
requires relatively high temperature for sensing and there is a strong possibility of
material modifications at such high temperatures giving rise to some unexpected sensing
phenomena [1]. But due to various interesting material properties of ZnO, which on
adding/doping some elements demonstrate better selectivity, sensitivity and stability
compared to un-doped ones. With this motivation for this study purpose, we have
prepared Copper doped ZnO thin films were deposited by Successive Ionic Layer
adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) technique. In order to enhance the materialistic
properties the films were then irradiated by 120 MeV Au9+ ions with the fluence of 5 x1011
and 5 x 1012.Our previous study shows a specific annealing temperature (in our case
450oC) is sufficient to get the improved properties of ZnO thin films for device grade
applications [2]. Furthermore it was also observed that enhancement in the response
quality at comparatively lower operating temperature in-case of vertically aligned
cabbage leaf like structured ZnO thin-film at low concentration of gas [3]. In order to
enhance the gas response Cu was doped into the ZnO crystal. The c/a ratio increase as
the concentration of Cu (dopant) enhanced. Elemental analysis reveals the presence of
Cu ions into ZnO matrix, which substitute at Zn site into the nano-structured ZnO crystal
as it was presented in space filling model. Successful tailoring of band gap by doping
was found in optical study and presented in band diagram model. The gas response was
found to be 1.15 for 200ppm of gas concentration. The gas response was found to
enhance after irradiation in pristine and doped samples. As the fluence goes on
increasing, the crystallinity goes on increasing and then after it decreases at higher
fluences. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images confirm change in roughness and
change in crystallite size. The optical study reveals decrease in energy band gap as the
fluence goes on increasing upto a certain level.
OP – 34
Template based Synthesis of Zinc Nanowires with Controlled Morphology via Electrochemical Deposition
Ravish Garga and S.K. Chakarvartib
aDepartment of Biomedical Engineering,Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar, India
bManav Rachna International University, Faridabad, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In the last decades, persistent efforts have been drawn on the fabrication of materials
with low dimensionality and the investigation of their properties induced by the high
surface to volume ratio. The template approach is an attractive method for fabrication of
nano/microstructures with controlled morphological properties, due to the fact that the
shape and size of the low dimension structures can precisely be determined by suitably
choosing the host templates which acts as mould. In the present work, Zinc (Zn)
nanowires have been fabricated with controlled morphology via electrochemical
deposition using track etch membranes (TEM) as template. For the synthesis of Zn
nanowires, commercially available polycarbonate track etched membranes of cylindrical
shape with pore diameter of 200 nm have been used. Morphological and material
characterizations of synthesised microwires have been carried out by Scanning Electron
microscope (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The SEM characterization
confirms the formation of cylindrical microwires of diameter and dimensions matching
with the morphology of the pores of TEM template. The work indicates that template
assisted method provides an easy way to synthesize nano/micro structures of various
materials with varied shapes and size by altering the morphology of pores in template.
OP – 35
Characterization and Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes By Flame Diffusion Process
Sarabjot Kaura, A. P. Singha,*, Jyoti Bharaja, R.S.Bharajb, Sanjeev Gautamc, Anil K. Sarmad, Ankush Vije
aDepartment of Physics, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, JalandharbDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of
Technology, Jalandhar-141001cUniversity Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Panjab University,
Chandigarh dSardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Renewable Energy, Kapurthala
eCentre for Materials Science and Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, India - 177005
*E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Carbon nanotubes are a new class of engineering materials that have triggered
significant research attention in recent years, due to their many unique properties and
potential applications. Carbon nanotubes were synthesized using the Flame Diffusion
process and characterized using various characterization methods. The synthesis
process was carried out using LPG as fuel and pure oxygen as oxidizer, pre-defined
growth parameters were used. Micro-filtration technique was used to refine the sample.
Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) of the sample indicated good thermal stability upto
550°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were performed on synthesised carbon
nanotubes. No impurity phases were found in the sample. The characteristic of (002)
peak for graphene layers was observed at 26°. The peaks observed in Raman spectra
provided signature of carbon nanotubes. The ratio of intensities of D and G bands
indicates good crystallinity of samples.
OP – 36
Effect of addition of alloying element (Cu) to Ni matrix on microstructure and properties of Ni-TiN nanocomposite thin films deposited by reactive magnetron co-
sputtering
Mukesh Kumar*, R. Mitra
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur – 721302, West Bengal, India*National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar-144011, Punjab
Abstract
The thin films of NiCu-TiN nanocomposite have been deposited in an environment
having Ar:N2 =1:2 on silicon (100) substrate with bias of -60 V by co-sputtering of Ti
used as RF source and, Ni and Cu used as DC source, respectively, for 1 h. The
structure and properties of these films are compared with Ni-TiN nanocomposite films
deposited under conditions as mentioned above. The (111) preferred orientation for Ni at
all temperatures, TiN(200) has been confirmed by analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD)
peaks. The microstructures have been examined by scanning and transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) involving both imaging and selected area diffraction, while the
chemical compositions are assessed simultaneously by energy dispersive spectroscopy.
The average grain sizes of Ni and TiN have been found to be in the ranges of 11-25 nm
and 6-13 nm, respectively, using XRD Rietveld analysis and TEM studies. Furthermore,
the stoichiometry of TiN has been confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
Hardness, elastic moduli and scratch- resistance of the films evaluated using a
nanoindentor and electrical resistivity of the films evaluated using four probe method.
OP – 37
Phase shift of polarized light through anisotropic sculptured thin films
Ashok Chaudhary1,2,3*, Praveen Malik3, Rohit Mehra3 and Ibrahim Abdulhalim1,2
1Department of Electro-Optics Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
2Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
3Department of Physics, Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, Punjab, 144011, India
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Lead Sulphide (PbS) sculptured thin films are prepared using glancing angle deposition
(GLAD) by thermal evaporation process and used as a phase retardation plate, polarizer
as well as a sensor. The morphology of the GLAD films clearly shows that anisotropic
structure is obtained and composed of micro-sheets having sharp top edges (few tens of
nm tip width). Attributable to this anisotropy optical birefringence induced in the STF
which provide the orientational effect with polarized light. We characterized the structural
and optical properties of our STF by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force
microscopy, raman spectroscopy and transmission measurements. The Raman spectra
of PbS STF exhibit sharp peaks representative of vibrations in nano-crystalline PbS.
Hence our STF act as phase retardation plate for many desirable optical device
applications with the low cost of production.
OP - 38Estimation of Radiation doses due to Radon, Thoron and their progeny in the
Maldevta region along the Main Boundary Thrust of Garhwal Himalaya
Tushar Kandari1,*, Mukesh Prasad1, Preeti Pant1, Anoop Dangwal1, Poonam Semwal2, Sunita Aswal1, A A Bourai1, R C Ramola1
1 Dept. of Physics, H.N.B.Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul Campus, Tehri Garhwal-249199, Uttarakhand, India
2 Dept. of Physics, Govt. P. G. College, New Tehri- 249001, Uttarakhand, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In the present study, the Indoor radon, thoron and their progeny concentration was
measured using time integrated LR-115 Solid State Nuclear Track Detector technique. In
the study, the radon and thoron concentration was measured using single entry twin cup
pin-hole dosimeter while the progeny concentration was measured using deposition
based DTPS/DRPS detectors. The radon, thoron and their progeny concentration was
measured seasonally. Hence the results obtained were helpful for the estimation of Total
Inhalation dose as well as Annual effective dose due to radon, thoron and their progeny
concentration in the study area. The results obtained and the experimental techniques
are discussed in detail.
OP – 39
Determination of Annual effective dose through radon concentration in ground water samples of some areas belonging to Udhampur District, Jammu& Kashmir
Sumit Sharmaa, Ajay Kumara, Rohit Mehrab and Dinesh Kumarc
a Post Graduate Department of Physics, DAV College, Amritsar-143001, Indiab Department of Physics, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
c Department of physic, Govt. College chowari, Chamba, Himachal PradeshE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In the present work, the radon concentration was measured in 14 locations of Udhampur
district, Jammu & Kashmir, North -East Himalayas, using RAD-7, and a Solid State Alpha
Detector. The value of radon concentration was found to vary from (25.97±0.49) Bq/l in
Shiv nagar main city of Udhampur to (9.32±1.17) Bq/l in Muttal with mean value is (14.82
±1.43) Bq/l. The measured value of radon concentration was found higher for under-
ground water as compared to natural spring water. The annual effective dose for radon
was found to be varying from 91.56 to 255.06 µ Sv/y. The values of radon concentration
in some water samples were above the safe limit recommended by US Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA). This study was carried out to take into account the concern
of the health of human beings.
OP – 40
Monitoring of radon concentration in drinking water samples of Amritsar City, Punjab
Manpreet Kaura, Ajay Kumara and Rohit Mehrab
a Post Graduate Department of Physics, DAV College, Amritsar-143001, Indiab Department of Physics, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In the present work, RAD7 , an electronic solid state radon monitor, which is most
sophisticated and versatile measuring device has been used for estimating the radon
content in some drinking water samples belonging to Amritsar city of Punjab , India. The
radon concentration in water samples has been found to vary from 2.2±1.4 Bq lˉ 1 to
18.64±1.9 Bq lˉ1. The values of radon concentration in these samples were found to
below the recommended limit proposed by UNSCEAR (2000). The values of annual
effective dose were also calculated for these water samples and ranged from 6.002
µSvyˉ1 to 50.08 µSvyˉ1. These values lie within the safe limit provided by WHO (2003).
The aim of study was to assess the radiological risk to human health.
OP – 41
Estimation of radiation dose due to radon concentration in drinking water of Chitradurga city, Karnataka, India
Rangaswamy D R1, Srinivasa E2, Sannappa J 1
1Department of PG Studies and research in Physics, Kuvempu University, Shankaraghatta, Shimoga, Karnataka-577451
2 Department of Physics, IDSG Government College, Chikmagalur, Karnataka -577102E-mail: [email protected]
Mob: +91 9449089870
Abstract
The monitoring of radon levels in drinking water is necessary for radiation protection
purpose and is an important aspect of public health studies as it describes the extent of
population exposure to radiation as well as the influencing source water. Radon is a
naturally occurring inert radioactive gas and is a decay product of 226Ra, itself having a
half-life of 3.82 days. Radon-enriched drinking water poses a potential health risk in two
ways: first, transfer of radon from water to indoor air and its inhalation, and secondly,
through ingestion. Inhalation of radon and its short-lived progeny, namely 218Po and 214Po
for a long period leads to lung cancer. However, a very high level of radon in ingested
drinking water can also leads to a significant risk of stomach cancer. In the present study
radon (222Rn) concentration have been determined by collecting various drinking water
samples from bore well, tank and tap in and around Chitradurga city, Karnataka state
were measured by using Emanometry method (Bubbler method). The corresponding
annual effective dose due to radon from water was determined from drinking water used
by the population inhabiting the area. Most of the drinking water samples have radon
concentrations well within the reference level recommended by US EPA and WHO.
OP – 42
Thoron distribution in indoor environment under normal and turbulent flow conditions: implication in measurement
Amit Kumar, R P Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra-136119, IndiaE-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Radiological hazard due to radon and thoron gases in the indoor environment is studied
by many researchers in past. After huge amount of work already done on thoron, its
distribution and variation with ventilation are still a question for scientific community due
to its short half life. The distribution of thoron in indoor environment is not same as that of
radon. The radon becomes homogenous in dwellings under normal flow while the thoron
cannot. The exact distribution of thoron in dwellings cannot be studied with SSNTD
techniques as its gives a time integrated and average value of thoron, while the thoron
concentration in normal dwellings varies continuously with meteorological condition and
may cause the implications in measurement of thoron. In this paper the effect of
ventilation on thoron dispersion with normal and turbulent flow of air in the dwelling room
is discussed. The measurement of thoron was carried out using passive techniques using
pin hole based dosimeter and SSNTD techniques. A comparison is made between the
results from experimental and CFD simulation techniques carried out by other
researchers. The results show that thoron concentration in particular dwellings is not
same under normal and turbulent conditions. Thus care should be taken about the
meteorological condition and ventilation when measuring indoor thoron for GIS map.
OP – 43
Study of Attachment rate and seasonal behaviour of EEC of 222Rn and 220Rn using Pin-hole cup dosimeters DTPS/DRPS Sensors.
Pargin Bangotra a, , Rohit Mehra a*, Rajan Jakhu a , Kirandeep Kaur a
a Department of Physics, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India.
E-mail: [email protected]
AbstractThis study summarizes the seasonal experimental data on the activity concentration of 222Rn (Radon), 220Rn (Thoron) and their progeny in the Mansa and Muktsar districts of
Punjab (India) using pin-hole cup dosimeters and DRPS/DTPS sensors. The indoor 222Rn
concentration was maximum in the rainy season, while 220Rn concentration was
maximum in winter season. However EEC (Equilibrium Equivalent Concentration) of 222Rn and 220Rn has distinct seasonal behaviour than their parent nuclides. The average
equilibrium factor for 222Rn ( ) and 220Rn ( ) in the studied area were 0.44 ± 0.1 and FRn FTn
0.05 ± 0.01 respectively. The overall arithmetic means of unattached fractions of 222Rn (
) and 220Rn ( ) were 0.09 ± 0.02 and 0.10 ± 0.03 respectively. The season-wise 𝑓𝑅𝑛𝑝 𝑓𝑇ℎ
𝑝
attachment rate ( ) and attachment rate coefficient (β) has been estimated in the 𝑋𝑅𝑛
studied region. The in the studied area was 64 in winter, 39 in summer and 𝑋𝑅𝑛 h - 1 h - 1
47 for rainy season. The present study also aims to evaluate an accurate expression h - 1
based upon experimental data among all these parameters. A radiological dose for the
health risk assessment had been also calculated for the health risk assessment.
OP – 44
Estimation of dose from unattached fraction of 222Rn progeny using Deposition based and Wire Mesh capped progeny sensors
Rajan Jakhu1, Rohit Mehra1* , Pargin Bangotra1, H M Mittal1
1Department of Physics, Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, JalandharE-mail: [email protected]
Tel.: + 91 9888534590
Abstract
Radon (222Rn) and its decay products are the major sources of natural radiation exposure
to general population. The activity concentrations of unattached and attached short-lived 222Rn and Thoron (220Rn) progeny in indoor environment of some villages of the Doaba
region of Punjab had been calculated using the deposition based progeny sensors and
wire mesh capped progeny sensors. The observed concentration of attached 222Rn
progeny showed the variation from 10 - 25 Bq m-3. The activity concentration of the
unattached 222Rn progeny varies from 1– 2 Bq m-3. The average unattached fraction of 222Rn progeny is 0.07. The obtained results of dose conversion factors (DCF) show the
significance of the nano sized 222Rn decay products in 222Rn dosimetry.
OP – 45
Assessment of Natural Radioactivity in Soil Samples using NaI Detector
Sandeep Kansal1*, Rohit Mehra2 , Priyanka Goyal11Department of Applied Physics, Giani Zail Singh Campus College of Engg. & Tech.,
Bathinda, India.2Department of Physics, Dr. BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar,
India.E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract The activity concentration of natural radionuclides has been measured in the soil
samples collected from Jaito area of Faridkot district in Punjab by using NaI detector for
health risk assessment. The measured concentrations for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K range
from 48.60 to 58.23 Bq kg-1 with a mean value of 53 Bq kg-1, from 33.73 to 53.29 Bq kg-1
with a mean value of 43 Bq kg-1 and from 1973.13 to 2297.76 with a mean value of 2135
Bq kg-1 respectively. The calculated values of Raeq activity in these soil samples ranges
from 251.01 to 287.25 Bq kg-1 with a mean value of 269.13 Bq kg-1 which is less than the
safe limit (370 Bq kg-1) recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development. The gamma dose rates calculated from the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K range between 22.40 and 26.84, 21.01 and 33.20, 81.69 and 95.13,
nGy h-1 respectively. The total absorbed dose in the study area ranges from 133.91 to
151.54 nGy h-1 with an average value of 142.725 nGy h-1, which is found to be higher
than the worldwide range of 18–93 nGy h-1 as reported by the UNSCEAR,2000 report.
The corresponding total annual effective dose ranges from 0.11 to 0.74 mSv with an
average value of 0.42 mSv for indoor and 0.03 to 0.19 mSv for outdoor with an average
of 0.11 mSv, while the worldwide average annual effective gamma dose rate is 0.5 mSv.
The results of this study for average annual effective gamma dose rates were within the
worldwide range.The external and internal hazard indices (Hex and Hin) were calculated
from the measured activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K. The corresponding
external and internal hazard indices range from 0.13 to 0.82 and 0.11 to 0.74 with the
mean values of 0.47 and 0.42, respectively. These values are less than unity, therefore
according to the Radiation Protection 112 report (European Commission, Radiation
Protection 112, 1999), soil from this region is safe and can be used as a construction
material without posing any significant radiological threat to population.
OP – 46
UV-vis spectroscopic investigation on gamma irradiated lithium aluminoborate glasses
N.Chopra1, N.P.Singh2, S. Baccaro3, G. Sharma1*
1Dept. of Physics, K.M.V. Jalandhar, India.2Director of Guru Nanak Polytechnic College, Distt Jalandhar, Punjab
3ENEA/FIM, Casaccia RC, Via Anguillarese 301, S. Maria di Galeria (Rome), 00060, Italy
AbstractWe report on the change in optical spectra of potassium aluminoborate glasses under
high dose of gamma irradiation. Effect of irradiation on visible spectra have been studied
for their interesting applications for optoelectronic materials. Glasses with a host matrix
composed of Li2O, Al2O3, B2O3 were prepared by conventional melt quench technique.
Gamma irradiation has been performed at a dose-rate of 573 Gy/h to a total dose of 50
kGy. Samples were characterized before and immediately after irradiation by UV-vis
transmission spectra in range from 200-800 nm. The induced absorption coefficient and
loss of transmission due to irradiation were attributed to presence of alumina as well as
host matrix.
OP – 47
Structural and Optical Properties of Nanocrystalline ZnSe Powder and Thin Films
Deep Shikha1,2*, J.K.Sharma1 and Jeewan Sharma3
1Department of Physics, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, Ambala-133 207, (India)
2Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, Anandpur Sahib- 140118 (India)3Department of Nanotechnology, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh
Sahib-140406, (India)
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In this study, comparison of structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline ZnSe in
powder and thin film form prepared by chemical bath deposition is reported. The ZnSe
thin films are deposited on glass substrates in an aqueous alkaline medium using
sodium selenosulphate as Se2- ion source. Both ZnSe powder and thin film forms have
been characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical absorption. Information of the
strain and the particle size has been obtained from the full widths at half maximum
(FWHM) of the diffraction peaks. The band gap of nanocrystalline ZnSe has been
calculated using absorbance curves and blue shift in the fundamental edge has been
observed.
OP – 48
Studies on 222Rn concentration in Ground water and River water samples around Hassan city, India.
T S Shashikumar2, B C Shivakumara1, M S Chandrashekara1 and L Paramesh1
1Department of Studies in Physics, University of Mysore, Manasagangothri, Mysore, India.
2Department of Physics, PES College of Engineering, Mandya, India.E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
222Rn concentration was determined in ground water and river water samples around
Hassan city, Karnataka State, India. The measurements were performed by Emanometry
technique. The concentration of 222Rn in bore well water varies form 12.97±1.89 to
397.26±32.56 Bql-1 with geometric mean 120.48±12.87 Bql-1 and the radon concentration
in river water is found to be in the range 92.63±9.31 to 93.98±9.51 Bql-1 with an average
value of 93.17±9.51 Bql-1. The radon concentrations are higher in Adarshanagar and
Viveka Nagar which are found to be 397.26±12.3 and 325.78±32.56 due to the radium
rich minerals present along the surface of fractures decay and released 222Rn into the
groundwater. The average inhalation dose and ingestion dose in the bore well water and
river water are found to be 0.405, 0.033 mSvy-1 and 0.234, 0.019 mSvy-1 respectively.
The total effective dose varies from 0.034 to 1.083 mSvy-1 with a geometric mean 0.328
mSvy-1 in bore well water which is below the prescribed dose limit of 100 mSvy-1
recommended by world health organization and European council. The results of the
present study will be discussed.
OP – 49
Experimental study of Neutron flux attenuation for fast reactor shield materials using SSNTDs and activation techniques
R V Kolekar1, R Kumar2, and Rajvir Singh1
1Radiation Safety Systems Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085, India
2Reactor Physics and Design Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Neutron transport through single shield materials for Fast Reactor was experimentally
studied using Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) and activation techniques.
In the present work, five single shield materials were used to study neutron flux
attenuation within the shield. The material studied were carbon steel, cast iron, graphite,
boron carbide and nickel. The purpose of this experiment was to study neutron flux
attenuation in the intermediate neutron energy region. Lexan track detector in contact
with neptunium (237Np) and thorium (232Th) fission foil were used to measure the fission
reaction rates. Further, activation detectors using indium foil were also used to study the
attenuation in the same neutron energy region. The fission reaction rates of 237Np having
effective threshold energy of 0.6 MeV and 232Th having threshold energy of 1.4 MeV
were studied by counting the neutron induced fission track density on Lexan
polycarbonate track detector. The reaction rate from 115In(n,n')In115m foils having effective
threshold energy of 1.3 MeV was studied by activation techniques. In the present paper
SSNTDs were used as complimentary over activation detectors were measurements
were carried to study neutron attenuation of the order of 10-4.
OP – 50Study on pre-earthquake signatures
Tapapriya Gupta 1, Hirok Chaudhuri 2 and Aniruddha Gangopadhyay1
1Helium & Geothermal Exploration and Earthquake Precursor Project, Earth & Environmental Studies Department, National Institute of Technology, Mahatma Gandhi
Avenue, Durgapur 713209, West Bengal, India.2Helium & Geothermal Exploration and Earthquake Precursor Project ,Department of
Physics, National Institute of Technology, Mahatma Gandhi Avenue, Durgapur 713209, West Bengal, India
E-mail: [email protected]
AbstractEarthquake forecasting technique has become a challenging field of research for many
scientists throughout the globe. However, the presence of nonlinearity in earthquake
precursors signals namely, geochemical signals and geophysical signals and lack of
complete knowledge on faulting mechanism make the earthquake forecasting a difficult
task. The main aim for earthquake forecasting is to predict the time, location and
magnitude of an impending earthquake.
The present paper deals with the study of short term (several hours to days) earthquake
precursors using seismo-geochemical monitoring and of multi-station and multi-
parametric data. A network of laboratories has been developed in India to detect multi-
parametric earthquake precursor signals. The monitoring stations are placed in dissimilar
geological environments and in different seismic zones of the country. These laboratories
are at Bakreswar hot spring site (West Bengal),Tatta Pani hot spring site (Jammu, J&K)
and Mud volcano at Baratang (A & N) and all of these locations are tectonically sensitive,
highly fractured and extensively faulted. A continuous measurement facility has been
developed with identical equipment to detect the radioactive gas Radon-222 in thermal
spring emanation, mud volcano gas and also in sub soil gases in the said regions. It has
been observed several times that the Radon-222 concentration and gamma dose rate
profile in soil and spring gases as well as mud volcano gases exhibit appreciable
changes prior to moderate to major earthquakes.
In this paper we present some of the interesting observations as recoded at the said
laboratories. The anomalous fluctuations in the Radon-222 and gamma profile were
observed during the period May 11, 2015 at Baratang laboratory (A&N) and
simultaneously at Tatta Pani Laboratory (J&K). The recorded signals may be correlated
with the Nepal earthquake (27.70 N; 86.00 E, 7.3M, depth = 10 km, on May 12, 2015)
that occurred at a distance of 685 km from Tatta Pani & 1870 km from Baratang
laboratory and also with Hindukush earthquake (37.480 N; 69.690 E, 4.6 M, depth = 30
km, on May 12, 2015) that occured at a distance of 636 km from Tatta Pani & 3635km
from Baratang laboratory. The said signals may be treated as precursors for Nepal
earthquake or Hindukush earthquake. Here we have proposed about some analytical
methodology towards precise calculation of time, magnitude.
OP – 51
Effect of Earth Tide on Terrestrial Radon Emanation and Gamma Dose Rate
Chiranjit Maji, Hirok Chaudhuri
Helium & Geothermal Exploration and Earthquake Precursor Project, Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology Durgapur, Mahatma Gandhi Avenue, Durgapur-
713209, West Bengal, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
AbstractPresent paper describes the scientific insight behind effect of earth’s tide on
terrestrial gas emission, namely radioactive gas radon-222 and associated gamma
dose rate. For the sake of completeness and detailed investigation data were
recorded round the clock for long time and simultaneously at different locations
having dissimilar geological backdrop. The concentration of radon-222 in bubbling gases
of hot springs as well as degassing from sub-soil were monitored along with gamma
dose rate in every 10 minutes by means of identical equipment installed at each location.
Details of the experimental facility namely ionisation chamber and GM counter installed
at remote field sites such as TattaPani Hot Spring, Rajouri, J&K; Bakreswar Hot Spring,
Birbhum, West Bengal and Baratang Mud Volcano, Middle Andaman, A & N Islands,
are also described here. This paper includes many interesting observations that were
made through statistical and non-linear analysis of the recorded signals. Some
fascinating features are as follows:
1. Temporal and seasonal variation of radon emanation and associated gamma dose
rate show periodic repetition of data followed by the cycles of lunar month
and earth’s degassing process as well.
2. Power spectral analysis of the radon and gamma data showed that diurnal
variations comprise of two maxima.
3. Erratic deviation from the established pattern of the recorded time series data
indicates influence of additional and non-systematic events such as seismic
events on the time series data. Here a discussion has been also made on the
possible physico-chemical processes that cause interesting features as observed
in the experimental data.
OP – 52
Investigations of Radon concentration in air, water and soil with RAD7 detector
Navpreet Kaur, Amrit Singh, Kuldeep Kaur, Swarnjeet Kaur
Department of Physics, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology,Longowal (Sangrur) -148106, Punjab, India
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
In the present measurements Radon gas 222Rn concentrations is measured in air, water
and soil at various locations in Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology
(SLIET), Longowal, by using RAD7 detector. For measurement of Radon concentration in
air at different location in SLIET, the detector runs for one day. It is observed that the
average concentration of radon at ground floor of location vary from 29.6 Bq/m3 to 33.4
Bq/m3, 22.8 Bq/m3 to 23.7 Bq/m3 at first floor and at top floor it varies from 18.6 Bq/m3 to
21.8 Bq/m3. The concentration of radon in water has been found to be varying from 1750
Bq/m3 to 3190 Bq/m3. In soil the measurements are carried out at sampling depths of 20,
30, 40 and 50 cm. The average Radon concentration in depth 50 cm is 30753±353
Bq/m3, in depth 40cm is 20079±169 Bq/m3, in depth 30cm is 8393±42 Bq/m3 and for 20
cm the concentration is 267±30 Bq/m3. It is observed from the study that radon
concentrations under the prescribed limit proposed by the EPA (Environmental Protection
Academy), USA.
OP – 53
Determination of bulk-etching rate of Solid State Nuclear Track Detector used in Fast Neutron Personnel Monitoring
Deepa Sathian, Mudit Beck, A.K. Bakshi, and T. Palani Selvam
Radiological Physics and Advisory Division,Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai - 400 094
E-mail: [email protected]
Objective: Poly Allyl Diglycol Carbonate (PADC) detectors are used for fast neutron
personnel monitoring. The objective of this study is to determine bulk-etching rate of this
detector due to electrochemical and chemical etching processes.
Materials and Methods: For the measurement of thickness and weight of the detector
before and after etching, a micrometer capable to measure 1 µ and a microbalance
capable to measure 0.01 mg, respectively were used. The electrochemical etching
(ETECE) process was carried out by mounting the detectors in a specially designed cell
to accommodate 25 detectors in 7N KOH solution inside an incubator maintained at 60°C
and applying a high voltage of 1360 V. Electrochemical etching was carried out with a
pre-etch step of 1 h followed by etching at 100 Hz for 3 h and at 3.5 kHz for 50 min.
Initially, the weight and thickness of the foils were taken. Total duration of ETECE was 5
h 20 min which includes cooling time inside the incubator. To nullify the water absorption
effect in PADC during the etching process, the detectors were dipped in water at 60°C
one day before the etching. Chemical etching (CE) was also carried out for the PADC
detector with 7 N KOH solution at 60°C using a constant temperature water bath. Total
duration of CE was 8 h.
Results and discussion: Using the various parameters derived from the above
experiments such as: net weight of the foil, weight of the foil after etching, net thickness
of the foil, thickness of the foil after etching, density of the detector, etching time, area
and perimeter of the etched surface; the bulk-etch rate of both ETECE and CE were
calculated. Preliminary results show that the bulk-etching rate for ETECE and CE are
(1.84±0.29) µ/h and (2.10 ±0.24) µ/h. The bulk etching-rate helps in understanding the
removal of the undamaged surface layers due to the chemical reaction between the
etching solution and the detector material, which in turn determines the track formation in
solid state nuclear track detector.
OP – 54
The study of 222Rn and 220Rn concentrations in the Dwellings of Mandya, South India
Ashok G V1, Nagaiah N2, Prema A N3 , Narasimhamurthy K N4, Anandaraju M1, Charanraj B1, Jyothiningaiah P1 and Mahendra K B1
1Government College (Autonomous), Mandya – 571 40, INDIA2 Department of Physics, Bangalore University, Bangalore-560 056, INDIA
3Don Bosco Institute of technology, Kumbalgodu, Bangalore-560074, INDIA4Government First Grade College, Tumkur-572101, INDIA
Email: [email protected]
222Rn is a radioactive, colorless, odourless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as
the decay product of 226Ra. It is one of the densest substances that remains as a gas
under normal conditions, and is considered to be a health hazard due to its radioactivity.
It is often the single largest contributor to an individual's background radiation dose.
Though it is ubiquitous, its concentration varies from place to place. Radon gas from
natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as attics,
mines, caves, tunnels and basements. Epidemiological studies show a clear link between
lung cancer and high concentrations of radon. Thus in geographic areas where radon is
present in heightened concentrations, radon is considered a significant indoor air
contaminant. In view of this, studies on indoor radon concentration in a local region are
very important.
In the present work, 222Rn and 220Rn concentrations were measured in about 25
dwellings belonging to different regions of Mandya (12° 31' 27" N, 76° 53' 44" E),
Karnataka, using Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTD). The concentration of 222Rn varied between 2.34 and 186.55 Bq m-3 with a mean value of 19.45 ± 42.46 Bq m-3.
The 220Rn concentration varies from 1.24 -110.86 Bq m-3. The observed mean value of
19.45 Bq m-3 is well within the worldwide, population-averaged radon concentration of 40
Bq m-3 for indoors and the Indian average of 42 Bq m-3. An attempt has been made to
understand the influence of nature of flooring, type of roofing, age of the buildings on
indoor radon concentration. Cement flooring houses showed higher concentrations
compared to tiles and red-oxide flooring. The houses with tiles roofing’s showed lower
concentration compared to others. The results obtained are systematically analyzed,
discussed and reported. The mean effective dose to the public of this region is found to
be 1.15 mSv y-1.
OP – 55
Measurements of radon activity, exhalation rates, radium content and effective doses using SSNTDs in Tiru Valley coal field, Mon District, Nagaland
S Barman & D Barooah*
Department of Physics, Cotton College, Guwahati 781001, Assam, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
This present study was to measure radon activities, radium contents, exhalation rates
and effective doses in soil, coal and rock (shale and sandstone) samples of coal bearing
Tikak Parbat horizon of Barail Group of Tiru Valleycoal field of Mon District, Nagaland,
India, which is under large scale mining activities. Coal contains trace quantities of
primordial radionuclides of uranium series, and hence is one of the prime sources of
radon anomaly in the sub surface of the earth. In this present study, we have employed
LR-115 (II) solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) to record alpha tracks emitted
from radon. The purpose of this present work is to find out the amount of
radioactivity released into the ambient atmosphere in order to estimate radiation risks
and to assess whether the geological samples could be used as constructive materials.
Radium contents and effective doses have been discussed in the light of the
standards set by OECD (1979) and ICRP (2007) respectively.
OP – 56
Determination of Exposure Buildup Factor for Some Polymers
Renu Sharma1, J.K. Sharma1, Parjit S. Singh2 and Tejbir Singh3*
1Physics Department, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana-133207, Haryana2Physics Department, Punjabi University, Patiala-147002, Punjab
3Physics Department, Sri Guru Granth Sahib World University, Fatehgarh Sahib-140406E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Gamma ray exposure buildup factor for some for some polymers viz. PEEK (Poly-ether-
ether-ketone), VECTRA-A (aromatic co-polyester comprising of 73 % hydroxyl benzoic
acid and 27 % hydroxyl naphthoic acid), PC (poly-carbonate), PET (poly-ethylene
terephthalate), PTFE (Poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) have been computed using geometric
progression (G.P.) fitting method in the energy range of 0.015 to 15.0MeV, up to the
penetration of 40 mean free path (mfp). The variation of exposure buildup factors for all
the selected polymers with incident photon energy, penetration depth, and chemical
composition has been studied. The variation of exposure buildup factors for all the
selected polymers with incident photon energy at the fixed penetration depths has been
studied, mainly emphasizing on chemical composition (equivalent atomic number) of the
selected polymers. An attempt has been made to check the feasibility of using selected
polymer in the radiation shielding. The results so obtained will be presented in graphical
form at the conference.
OP – 57
Measurements of radon and thoron concentrations and indoor gamma level in dwellings in Allahabad rural area using twin cup pin-hole dosimeter
Anil Kumar Singh, R.C. Mital and Jay Prakash Patel
Department of Physics,Ewing Christian College Allahabad-211003
E-mail: [email protected]
AbstractIn present investigation, a time integrated method was employed by using a LR-115 type
solid state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) kept in a newly designed twin cup pin-hole
dosimeter. The twin cup dosimeters were calibrated before installation in the field. Radon
concentration in dwellings in Allahabad rural area where the soils are of the different
types such as balua (sand), matiar or clay, mixture of sand and clay and stony soil (foot
hill), has been observed for about four months from Dec. 2014 to March 2015. The
reported calibration factors were used to obtain the values of radon and thoron in the
study area. Radon and thoron concentrations in the study area of three types of houses
were found which are vary from 5.52 Bq/m3 to 106.07 Bq/m3 and 49.68 Bq/m3 to 437.49
Bq/m3, respectively. Thoron concentration was found relatively higher in the area. The
indoor gamma radiation levels in the study area are vary from 0.10±26% μSv/hr to 0.17±
22% μSv/hr.
OP – 58
Calculation of the Range of Electrons for Alkali Metals in the Energy Range of 30 – 1000 KeV
Dr. Sandeep Gupta
Department of Physics, Punjabi University College, Dhilwan (Barnala) PunjabE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
An empirical formula of continuous slowing down approximation ranges (CSDA) is
presented in this paper, for electrons of alkali metals such as Lithium, Sodium,
Potassium, Rubidium, Cesium , and Francium in the energy region of 30-1000 keV. The
(CSDA) range formula depends upon parameters like total energy, density and effective
atomic number of the alkali metals. The calculated results of CSDA range for electrons in
the energy range from 30-1000 keV are found to be fairly in good agreement with the
values given by the ESTAR program. Also calculations of stopping power and CSDA
range were based mostly on analytical expressions, to allow for an easy calculation of
these parameters.
OP – 59
Indoor Radon Activity measurement in West and South-West Khasi Hills Districts of Meghalaya, India
A. Khardewsaw, D. Maibam, Y. Sharma and A. Saxena
Department of Physics, North- Eastern Hill University, Shillong-7930022, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In this paper we report our findings on indoor radon activity concentration measurement
carried out in Nongstoin and Mawkyrwat towns of West and South-West Khasi Hills
Districts of Meghalaya, which are also the headquarters of their respective districts. Solid
state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) viz. LR-115 type2 films have been used in the
bare mode at selected and seasonal assessment has been carried out. Radon is the
largest natural radiation source contributing to the exposure general public which
accounts half the total exposure from all other sources (UNSCEAR 2008 Report). This
study is particularly important in the wake of growing mining and extraction activities for
coal, iron ore, granite, etc. around the study area which might lead to the dispersion of
residue containing parent radionuclide of radon into the atmosphere and also the
localization of rich uranium deposits nearby which is suggestive of an enhanced radon
value in the area.
The geometric mean value of radon activity concentration measured for the whole year is
found to be 102.74 ±2.44 Bq.m-3 (for Nongstoin) and 148.62 ± 2.03 Bq.m-3 (for
Mawkyrwat). The maximum value (195.41 Bq.m-3 for Nongstoin and 225.36 Bq.m-3 for
Mawkyrwat) has been observed during winter season and minimum value (41.09 Bq.m-3
for Nongstoin and 87.04 Bq.m-3 for Mawkyrwat) during spring season for both the
districts. Annual effective doses (AED) received by the residents for the period of study
has been also calculated to a value of 2.72mSv (for Nongstoin) and 3.94mSv (for
Mawkyrwat). The measured indoor radon concentration and AED values are found to be
within the recommended action levels prescribed by World Health Organisation (WHO).
OP – 60
Assessment of radioactivity level, radiation dose and radon mass exhalation rate, in Garhwal Himalaya region of Helang (Chamoli) area, India
Manjulata Yadav, Veena Joshi, R.C Ramola
Department of Physics, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Badshahi Thaul Campus, Tehri Garhwal – 249 199, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Above certain level of radon concentration, represents a serious health problem in
human being. There is considerable public concern about radiation exposure and radon
exhalation from soil samples, which considered as an important source that contributes
to indoor radon concentration through exhalation from soil. In this paper the activity levels
of natural radionuclides and radon mass exhalation rate are presented in the soil
samples collected in Helang (Chamoli )area belong to MCT. The radioactivity 226Ra, 232Th, 40K, in this region was found to vary from 18± 3Bq/kg to57 ±8 Bq/kg, with an
average of 42 Bq/kg, 11±2 Bq/kg to 35±5 Bq/kg, with an average of 22 Bq/kg, and
205±175 to 1045±151Bq/kg, with an average of , 827 Bq/kg respectively. The 226Ra, 232Th and 40K contents of the soil samples are very low compared with the world wide
average value for natural background radiation area. The absorbed dose rate and
effective dose was vary from 25 to 102 nGy.h-1 and 0.13 to 0.50 mSv.y-1, respectively.
The radium equivalent activity and the external hazard index of the soil samples were
below the recommended limits of 370 Bq.kg-1 and unity, respectively. The results
obtained reveal that there is no significant radiation hazard due to natural radionuclides
of the soil samples in the studied areas.
OP - 61
An insight into optical spectroscopy of intense green emitting Tb3+ doped ZnAl2O4 nanoparticles: Photo, thermally stimulated luminescence and EPR investigations
Mithlesh Kumar* and Santosh K. Gupta
Radiochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,Trombay, Mumbai-400 085, India
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, Photoluminescence and Thermally stimulated
luminescence properties of gamma irradiated ZnAl2O4 and Tb3+ doped ZnAl2O4
phosphors were investigated. The phosphors were synthesized at 1170 K via sol–gel
route using the respective metal nitrates and citric acid. The nano-particle nature of the
phosphor was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscope
techniques. Time resolved photoluminescence and thermally stimulated luminescence
spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize the emission, excitation and lifetime
properties of the system. The decay curve of Tb3+ had show single exponential behavior
with em=542 and ex=230 nm. TSL glow curve of the gamma irradiated ZnAl2O4:Tb3+
nano-phosphor showed a single glow peak at 414 K with heating rate () = 1 K/s. The
trap parameters such as activation energy and frequency factor for the glow peak were
determined assuming the Arrhenius behavior for the system. Electron Paramagnetic
resonance, technique was used to identify the chemical nature of the traps/ defects
centers responsible for the glow peak. Detailed EPR–TSL correlation study confirmed the
destruction of the hole trapped center to be responsible for the observed TSL glow peak.
Based on the findings, a probable mechanism was proposed for the glow peak. The
emission spectrum of the nano-phosphor was plotted on a standard CIE diagram, which
suggested a strong green emission from the phosphor.
OP – 62
Assesment of indor radon, thoron and their progeny levels in residential houses of Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, (India).
Anil Kumara*, R.B.S.Rawata, M.S.A. Khanb & Brij Nandan Singha
a Department of physics, S. S. (PG) College, Shahjahanpur, 242001, India b Department of physics, G.F. (PG) College, Shahjahanpur, 242001, India
E-mail: [email protected]
AbstractRadon, thoron and their progeny levels are significant natural sources of radiation
exposure for general population in both living and working places. Since 222Rn and 220Rn
are ubiquitous in nature, and they keep on accumulating in the indoors, it is a source of
inhalation dose to general population. Thus it important to find out the radon, thoron and
their progeny levels in different types of residential houses in Hardoi and nearby towns.
The concentration of radon varied from 15 Bq/m3 to 78 Bq/m3 with an average of 46
Bq/m3, while thoron concentration varied from 11 Bq/m3 to 26 Bq/m3 with an average of
18 Bq/m3. The concentration of radon progeny (EERC) varied from 10 Bq/m3 to 26 Bq/m3
with an average of 18 Bq/m3, while the concentration of thoron progeny (EETC) varied
from 0.56 Bq/m3 to 1.91 Bq/m3 with an average of 1.11 Bq/m3 .The value of equilibrium
factor for radon varied from 0.19 to 0.76 with an average of 0.37 while for thoron it varied
from 0.02 to 0.12 with an average of 0.06. Our experimental finding confirmed that the
indoor radon, thoron and their progeny concentration were within internationally accepted
norms.
OP – 63
Etch rates for 93Nb irradiated Makrofol-E in energy range 7.7 to 18.04 MeV/u
Jeeban Prasad Gewali and Atul Saxena
Department of PhysicsNorth Eastern Hill University, Shillong-793022
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs), passage of individual heavily ionizing
charged particles are revealed by selective chemical etching of the radiation damaged
material along the particle's trajectory. In the present work, Makrofol-E track detectors
were irradiated with 93Nb ions in the energy range 7.7 to 18.04 MeV/u at UNILAC, GSI,
Darmstadt, Germany. Irradiated sample were successively etched in 6N NaOH to reveal
the latent tracks in Makrofol-E. Track length and track diameters of the etched tracks
were measured and their corresponding track etch rate (VT) and bulk etch rate (VG) are
determined. In this work, we explain the effect of irradiated ion energy on etch rates of
detector.
POSTERSP 1.
Assessment of radon concentration in water samples collected from different regions of Amritsar district of Punjab, using RAD 7.
aNeerja, bMeetu Singh, cSameer Kalia
a,cPG Department of Physics and Electronics, DAV College, Amritsar.bDepartment of Applied Sciences, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar.
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
The exposure of radon gas and its daughter products from natural background is
unreliable and threatening to human health. In the present study, radon concentration
was examined from 30 water samples collected from 15 villages of Amritsar district of
Punjab, by using solid state alpha based detector RAD7-H2O with closed loop aeration
scheme. It was found that the range of radon concentrations from the studied area
varying from 0.8 BqL-1 to 3.6 BqL-1 with an average of 2.1 BqL-1. The results of radon
concentrations obtained were compared with safe limit values recommended by US
Environmental protection agency which has proposed that the allowed maximum
contamination level (MCL) for radon concentration in water is 11 BqL-1 and United
Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) which has
suggested a value of radon concentration in water for human consumption between 4
and 40 BqL-1.The comparison reported that the values of radon concentration are well
within the permissible limit.
P 2.
Measurement of linear attenuation coefficient with ATM method for some compounds of Ca, Ba and Pb
Pooja Rani, Manpreet Kaur
Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology,Longowal (Sangrur)-148106, Punjab, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
In present study the linear attenuation coefficients of some compounds of calcium (low-
Z), barium (medium-Z and lead (high-Z) are measured by using Advanced Two Media
(ATM) Method. NaI(Tl) detector is used to detect incident photon intensity of energy
59.54 keV produced from radioactive source 241Am. This method resolves the concept of
thickness, for measuring linear attenuation coefficient. In this method two mediums are
further replaced by uniform thick metallic foils as two media by eliminating the
requirement of Perspex box and plastic bags to improve the homogeneity of the medium.
The studied compounds are widely used in industry and medicine, cement and mortar, in
pipes and plumbing, pigments and paints, gasoline additives, construction materials and
lead–acid batteries, etc,. The measured results are in good agreement with the
theoretical values obtained from WinXCom.
P 3.
Measurement of Natural radioactivity and Elemental analysis in plant samples
Pooja Chauhan, R P Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra-136119, HaryanaE-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Radioactivity is a major source of worldwide human exposure to ionizing radiation, a
fraction of which results from such anthropogenic activities that are not subjected to
regulatory radiological safety standards. In addition to being the main source of
continuous radiation exposure to the human, soil acts as a medium of migration for
transfer of radio nuclides to the biological systems and hence, it is the basic indicator of
radiological contamination in the environment. Soil to plant is major pathway for
accumulation of radionuclide to human being. The specific metabolic character of the
plant species may lead to accumulation of radio-nuclides in their organs which may
further depend upon the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil. A fraction of these
heavy metals in soil can transfer to plant through various metabolic activities occurring in
plants. Heavy metal-contaminated soil is one of the widespread global problems.
Migration and accumulation of contaminants in the soil-plant system is complex, and
assessment models commonly utilize a soil-plant concentration ratio, referred to as a
transfer factor (TF), to estimate the transportation of radionuclides through the food
chain. This ratio describes the amount of radionuclide expected to enter a plant from soil.
P 4.Measurement of natural radioactivity, radiation levels in soil and building materials
of Hassan city, Karnataka State, India
Srinivasa E1, Rangaswamy D R2, Sannappa J 2
1Department of Physics, IDSG Government College, Chikmagalur, Karnataka -5771022Department of PG Studies and research in Physics, Kuvempu University,
Shankaraghatta, Shimoga, Karnataka-577451E-mail: [email protected]
Mob: +91 9449089870
Abstract
The study of natural background radiation and terrestrial radioactive nuclides is very
important to assess radiation hazards in a particular area. Radionuclides present in
earth's crust is different for different geological areas because of the variety of soil, rocks
and building material present in a particular area. In present study, the estimation of
natural radionuclides in soil samples and building material have been carried out by using
Hyper Pure Germanium Detector (HPGe detector) and natural gamma radiation levels
were measured using portable GM survey meter ER-709. The activity of radionuclides in
soil samples such as 226Ra, 232Th, 40K and 137Cs of the study area are varies from
22.80±11 Bq.kg-1 to 64±4.3 Bq.kg-1 with an average of 37.93±1.7 Bq.kg-1, 21.17±0.7
Bq.kg-1 to 185.5±3.1 Bq.kg-1 with an average of 56.80±1.7 Bq.kg-1 and 194.40±6.5 Bq.kg-
1 to 1074.8±23.1 Bq.kg-1 and BDL to 6.76±0.4 Bq.kg-1 with an average of 1.16±0.3 Bq.kg-
1 respectively. The radium equivalent activity, annual effective dose, the values of
external and internal health hazard indices are calculated for both soil samples and
building material. The obtained average values are well within the permissible limit
recommended by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation
(UNSCEAR). This shows that the risk due to radiation contamination in soil and building
materials is low.
Ra Th K
brick 42.73 1.4 42.11 1.2 493.51 11.5Rock 61.3 1.5 39.38 1.2 550 12.1Jelly powder 42.54 1.2 38.67 1.1 642.15 12.5Gypsum 10.98 0.7 1.98 0.4 26.88 2.7Sand 164.02 2.9 285.48 3.1 431 10.4Cement 145.22 2.3 62.4 1.5 167.29 6.5Tiles 17.79 1 18.4 0.9 197.85 6.5Granite 101 1.7 40.82 1.1 868.54 16Mosaic 17.89 1.3 23.93 1.2 226.12 7.2
Lime stone 12.4 0.8 15.2 0.7 237.4 7.5Clay 37.9 1.7 56.8 1.9 434.6 11
Minimum 10.98 0.7 1.98 0.4 26.88 2.7Maximum 164.02 2.9 285.48 3.1 868.54 16Average 59.43364 1.5 56.83364 1.3 388.6673 9.445455
P 5.
Accumulation of chemical elements in plants and soil
Pooja Chauhan , R.P. Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, India.E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Plants are important components of ecosystems as they transfer elements from abiotic
into biotic environments. The heavy metal content in plants is variable and depends on
the conditions under which plants is grown and mostly on the composition and properties
of the soils.The presence of heavy metals in soil can affect the quality of food,
groundwater and plant growth. The inductively coupled argon plasma atomic emission
spectrometer (ICAP-AES) system was used for elemental analysis of plant and fertilized
soil samples.
P 6.
Estimation of radioactivity in tobacco plants
Pooja Chauhan, R.P. Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, India.E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Tobacco is the most significant cause of lung cancer and radon is more dangerous for
smokers than non-smokers. Smokers are at greater risk of developing lung cancer than
that of non-smokers. The main source of 210Pb and 210Po in the environment is the
gaseous 222Rn, which escapes from the earth’s crust into the atmosphere. Also, the
uptake of radio nuclides into roots from the soils and phosphate fertilizers along with
direct deposition of 210Pb by rainfall represents the principal mechanism of incorporation
of 210Pb and 210Po into the tobacco plants.The alpha radioactivity of the leaves of the
tobacco plants was measured using plastic track detectors LR-115 Type-II manufactured
by Kodak. Measurement of track densities (track cm-2 day-1) shows a variation on the
upper face and the bottom face of the leaves for the plants. The track density due alpha
particles is higher at bottom face as compare to top face of the leaves.
P 7.Study the Electrical and Optical Properties of CdSe Thin Films
Ritika Choudhary and R.P.Chauhan
Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra 136119Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
Cadmium Selenide (CdSe) is one of the most promising semiconductor materials which
belong to II–VI group. It is very attractive material for optical applications due to its wide
band gap. Crystal structure, morphology and phase composition of CdSe nanostructures
have great influence on their electrical and optical properties. In the present work, the
CdSe thin film is synthesized via spin coating of CdSe nanoparticles on a substrate. For
nanostructure synthesis, solvothermal process has emerged as a powerful tool due to
some significant advantages such as controllable particle size, low temperature, cost-
effective, less hazardous and less-complicated techniques. For the synthesis process,
we used metallic selenium and CdCl2 powder mixed in deionized water, ethylene glycol
and hydrazine hydrate in a suitable ratio. All the reactants were of analytical grade and
used without further purification. Hydrazine hydrate played multiple roles in the formation
of CdSe nanoparticles. It served not only as reduction agent, which helps to dissolve Se
in the mix solvent but also as a complexing agent, reaction controller and the stabilizing
agent. Then the solution was vigorous stirred at 70°C for 8 hrs. The resulting precipitates
were filtered and subsequently washed with deionized water and absolute ethanol
several times to remove impurities. Highly crystalline powder of CdSe was formed after
drying it at 60°C in oven for 7 hrs. The as synthesized and annealed powder of CdSe
was analyzed using XRD, SEM, EDX and UV-Vis. absorption spectra. Thin films of CdSe
nanoparticles were developed on glass substrates by spin coating technique. For this,
glass substrates were pre-cleaned by soap water, DI water, acetone and isopropanol
respectively, in successive steps to avoid impurities. After this, we developed thin film of
CdSe material on glass substrates by using spin coater and their electrical, optical and
structural properties were studied.
P 8.
Study of seasonal variation in radon, thorn and their progeny levels in the dwellings of Panipat, Haryana
Ajay Garg1, Shikha Garg1, Era Garg2 and R.P. Chauhan3
1 Department of Physics, Arya P.G.College, Panipat Haryana2Department of Chemistry, Arya P.G. College, Panipat Haryana
3Department of Physics, N.I.T., Kurukshetra, HaryanaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The natural radioactivity in atmosphere is contributed by radon and thoron which are
chemical radioactive gases formed in the decay chain of 238U and 232Th series. These
gases escape through pores of the soil and diffuse continuously to the atmosphere
displaying a daily and seasonal variation on earth at global, regional and local levels.
Several studies reveal that radon and their progenies contributes a major portion to the
radiation dose amongst the all natural sources of radiation. In the present study, we have
used dosimeter cups fitted with LR-115 type-II plastic track detectors for the assessment
of radon, thoron and their progeny in the dwellings of Panipat city of Haryana in different
seasons. Three pieces of LR-115 solid-state Nuclear Track detectors are fixed in the
dosimeters which are suspended in the dwellings for three months during a season. One
gives radon, thoron and progeny concentration, second gives radon and thoron
concentration while the third gives only the radon concentration. The annual effective
doses received by the residents in these dwellings have also been calculated. In rainy
season the concentration of radon and thoron has been found to vary from 46 to 61Bqm-3
with an average of 52±2 Bqm-3 and from 10 to 20 Bqm-3 with an average of 12±1 Bqm-
3respectively while the progeny levels of radon varied from 4.9 to 6.6 with an average of
5.6±0.2 mWL and that of thoron progeny from 0.3 to 0.6 with an average of 0.3±0.1
mWL. Annual effective dose received during rainy season varied from 1.5 to 1.8 mSv
with an average of 1.7±0.1mSv. In winter season the concentration of radon and thoron
has been found to vary from 53 to 76 Bqm-3 with an average of 64 ± Bqm-3 and from 10
to 20 Bqm-3 with an average of 15± 1 Bqm-3 respectively while the progeny levels of
radon varied from 5.8 to 8.2 mWL with an average of 6.9±0.3 mWL and that of thoron
progeny from 0.3 to 0.5 mWL with an average of 0.4 to ±0.1 mWL. Annual effective dose
received during winter season varied from 1.7 to 2.4 mSv with an average of 2.1±0.3
mSv. In summer season the concentration of radon and thoron has been found to vary
from 38 to 91 Bqm-3 with an average of 52± 4 Bqm-3 and from 2 to 20 Bqm-3 with an
average of 10±1 Bqm-3 respectively while the progeny levels of radon varied from 4.1 to
7.4 mWL with an average of 5.0±0.3 mWL and that of thoron progeny from 0.1 to 0.6
mWL with an average of 0.3 ±0.1 mWL. Annual effective dose received during summer
season varied from 1.3 to 2.7 mSv with an average of 1.7±0.1 mSv. All the values in the
above study found under the safe limit laid down by ICRP and UNSCEAR.
P 9.
Correlation study of natural radioactivity contents in air and soil from Western Haryana, India
1Nisha Mann, 2Amit Kumar, 1Sushil Kumar, 2R P Chauhan
1Department of Physics, Chaudhary Devilal University, Sirsa2Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra
E-mail: [email protected]
AbstractRadon, thoron and their progenies in the indoor built environment are considered as one
of the health hazards. Therefore, exhalation of radon from soil and its environmental
activity needs to be studied. In the present study, correlation between the radon
exhalation rates from various soil samples and indoor radon concentration from various
dwellings of some districts of Western Haryana has been carried out. The canister
technique was used to measure the soil exhalation rates and LR-115 based pinhole
dosimeters were used to measure indoor radon and thoron dosimeters. The indoor radon
concentration in one district varied from 9.4 to 48.0 Bq/m3 with an average of 18.9 Bq/m3
and in the second district from 5.7 to 21.7 Bq/m3 with an average of 13.8 Bq/m3. While
thoron concentration varied from 14.4 to 48.0 Bq/m3 with average of 28.9 Bq/m3 in one
district and 27.2 to 54.4 Bq/m3 with the average of 39.0 Bq/m3 in the other district. The
mass and surface exhalation rates of radon from soil samples collected from the study
area of two districts were also calculated. A correlation study was carried out between
soil exhalation rates and indoor radon concentrations for the area under the study and a
positive correlation has been observed.
P 10.
Artificial neural networks in materials research science and engineering
Mohan Singha*, Harminder Kaurb
a Department of Physics, Khalsa College Amritsar, Punjab, Indiab Department of Computer Science, Majha College For Women, Tarn Taran, Punjab,
IndiaE-mail:[email protected]
Mobile: +919914490280
Abstract
We know that predictions play an important role in modern science and technology and
for this artificial neural network techniques have played a wonderful role. Artificial neural
networks are biologically inspired computer programs planned to simulate the way in
which the human natural brain processes information. Artificial neural networks provide a
range of powerful new techniques for solving problems in materials science and
engineering applications. The primary aim of this review is to provide background
information, motivation for the applications and overview of various methodology
employed in the development of artificial neural network techniques in materials science
research. The importance of artificial neural networks particularly in material research
has grown dramatically during last few decades. Many researchers have investigated the
potential use of artificial neural network systems and related products. Many new ideas
and advance technology are boosting the field of neural network simulations and playing
a crucial role in many tentative and cutting edge applications in material science and
technology. We know that there is a great advancement in scientific techniques and
helped greatly in understanding the different phenomenon involved in material
functioning, but there is still a lack of progress in predicting various unknown properties of
materials. Artificial neural network technique can be useful to solve the complexity
involved in material science research. Our review shows that all the works on the
application of artificial neural networks to materials science research have reported
excellent and encouraging results. In the present review work, basics of artificial neural
network and survey of published work with particularly focus on its applications in various
disciplines of material science and engineering have been reviewed and presented. It is
specified that this review should be accessible to readers to provide new insights for
practical use of artificial neural network techniques in various fields of material science
and engineering.
P 11.
Indoor Radon concentration measurements with solid-state nuclear track detectors in Bangalore, India
Ashok G V1*, Nagaiah N2, Shivaprasad N G3 , Prema A N4 and Sathish L A5
1 Government College (Autonomous), Mandya – 571 40, INDIA2 Department of Physics, Banaglore University, Bangalore-560 056, INDIA
3Government First Grade College, Srirangapatna-571 438, INDIA4Don Bosco Institute of technology, Kumbalgodu, Bangalore-560074, INDIA
5Government Science College, Bangalore-560012, INDIAE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Radon-222, the natural radioactive gas decays though a series of short-lived decay
products with the emission of several ionizing radiations before reaching stable 206Pb.
The radiation dose received by the human population due to the inhalation of radon and
its progeny contribute more than 50% of the total dose from natural sources. Hence,
Radon is known to present a risk of lung cancer when it, or rather its decay products, are
inhaled. Also, the measurement of radon, thoron and their progeny concentrations
through the light on the levels of other radioactive elements present in that region. The
studies on radon and its decay products, though conducted for health risk assessment,
the studies on 222Rn levels in Bangalore region are very limited compared to its
population of about 9 million. This paper presents the results obtained from the
measurement of Radon and Thoron concentrations at different residential areas of the
Bangalore city in about 100 dwellings by employing the SSNTD technique.
The 222Rn concentration varies between 9.8 and 85.9 Bq m-3 with a mean value of
25 ± 4.1 Bq m-3. 220Rn concentration varies from 7.6 and 41.3 Bq m-3 with a mean value
of 20.7 Bq m-3. The concentration in maximum number of dwellings lies between 20 – 30
Bq m-3 which compares well with the nationwide frequency distribution of 222Rn
concentration (GM of 23 ± 2.6 Bq m-3). The significant variation of indoor radon
concentration with different seasons was observed. The concentrations of 222Rn and 220Rn were found to be higher in winter compared to other seasons. The average
concentrations of 222Rn in winter, summer, rainy and autumn were found to be 45.2,
14.25, 17.0 and 20.0 Bq m-3 respectively. The mean value (± SD) of annual inhalation
dose due to 222Rn, 220Rn and their progeny for indoor exposure was found to be 1.09 ±
0.62 mSv y-1.
P 12. Computer codes for calculations in ion-matter interaction
Mohan Singh
Department of Physics, Khalsa College Amritsar, Punjab, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +91 99144 90280Abstract
The interaction of ions with matter have important effects on the electronic, structural,
thermal, mechanical and other properties of irradiated material. The accurate knowledge
of the parameters like energy loss, stopping force, straglling is of great importance in
many problems of practical interest. For a complete understanding and successful
applications of ion irradiation technology, a thorough knowledge of the interaction
processes during ion propagation, knowledge of available formulations, tables and codes
is required. Although this subject has been of interest for a century, but rare reviews are
available regarding different tables and codes available. The slowing down processes of
ions in matter will be overviewed and basics procedures adopted for many authors for
stopping parameters calculations are discussed. The present status and the work done
so far in this field of research are reviewed in this article. This review will encourage the
reader’s interest towards the emerging contribution of irradiation in different branches of
science and technology.
P 13.
Measurement of indoor radon, thoron and their progenies in some selected dwellings in Guwahati, Assam
S Barman & D Barooah
Department of Physics, Cotton College, Guwahati 781001, Assam, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The North Eastern region of India bears significant geological characteristics. Dwellings
of Guwahati city of Assam needs to be assessed in the context of health risks due to
inhalation of indoor radon, thoron and their decay products. As such, in this work, we
estimated the concentrations of radon, thoron and their progenies along with equilibrium
factors using LR-115 (II) nuclear track detectors fitted with twin chamber dosemeter cups
in some selected dwellings in Guwahati during the winter season. As our ultimate focus
was on radiological doses received by the inhabitants, annual effective dose rates were
also estimated during the winter season. The gas concentrations ranged 170.0- 209.5
Bq/m3 and 71.9- 86.9 Bq/m3 for radon and throron concentrations respectively. The
annual effective dose rates were estimated to be in the range of 3.9- 5.1 mSv/y. It has
been found from the results that in some houses the radon concentrations exceeded the
lower reference level of 200 Bq/m3 of International Commission on Radiological
Protection1. Nevertheless, the obtained results are much lower than upper reference level
of 10 mSv/y1.
P 14.
Measurement of Radiation hazard indices, annual dose and transfer factors of 226Ra, 40K and 232Th from soil to different vegetables from various places near
Mathura Oil Refinery Area (Uttar Pradesh), INDIA
Raj Kumari1, Krishan Kant1, Maneesha Garg2
1Deptt. of Physics, Aggarwal College Ballabgarh, Distt. Faridabad, Haryana (India) – 121 004
2Faculty of Humanities and Applied Sciences, YMCAUST, Faridabad (Haryana) India – 121 006
Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
People are continuously exposed to ionizing radiation from the radionuclides that are
present in different types of natural sources like soil, rock, sand and water. Radon, an
inert gas is emitted from these natural sources. Vegetables are grown in soil that
contains in good amount of radioactive element so the vegetable are expected to have
significant amount of radon.The activity concentrations of naturally occurring
radionuclides in soil and vegetables were measured in the present study with an aim to
determine the transfer factors of radionuclides from soil to vegetables. For this, samples
were collected from various places near Mathura refinery Area (U. P.) India. The average
activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in soil were found to be 26.13 ± 2.79,
35.27 ± 3.42 and 389.93 ± 34.59 Bq kg–1 respectively while in vegetables, their values
were 1.46 ± 0.13, 3.75 ± 0.33 and 132.65 ± 3.68 Bq kg–1 respectively. For soil to
vegetables, the transfer factor values were found to be 0.054, 0.079 and 0.265
respectively for 226Ra, 232Th and 40K.The values of radiation hazard indices and annual
dose were found within recommended limits.
P 15.
Indoor ambient gamma radiation level in and around of Hemavathi river, Karnataka
R.S.Niranjana,C.Ningappab,T.Yashaswinic, J.Sannappad,M.S.Chandrashekarae
a Sri H.D.Devegowda Govt First Grade College, Paduvalahippe-57211,Hassan Dist,India.b,c Department of Physics, Vidya Vikas Institute of Engineering and Techlnology, Mysore-
570028,India.d Department of studies in Physics, Kuvempu University ,Shimoga,India
a Department of studies in Physics, University of Mysore,Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006, India.
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract
All organisms including human beings on this earth irrespective of his place of Stay &
occupation is getting some dose of high energetic radiation, which exists all around us,
the largest contributor of external radiation dose to population is due to natural radiation.
Knowledge about terrestrial gamma radiation and radio activity is important in health
physics, natural environmental radioactivity and associated gamma dose rate is depends
on the type of soil, ecological and geographical conditions so assessment of gamma
radiation from the natural sources is of particular importance. The external indoor gamma
radiation dose rates in air were measured in different locations of the Hemavathi river
basin using portable environmental radiation dosimeter (MICRO-R-SURVEY METER
NUCLEONIX UR705). The absorbed dose rate is measured in the study area are in the
range of 104.4 to 191.4 nGyh-1 and equivalent dose is in the range of 0.5121 to 0.9389
mSvY-1. The absorbed dose rate and equivalent effective dose in this study area is within
the limit of global average.
P 16.
Room temperature Alternating Current Response Studies of Polyaniline-Titanium dioxide Nanocomposite
Y.T. Ravikiran1, S. Kotresh1 and J. Sannappa
1Department of PG studies and Research in Physics, Government Science College, Chitradurga 577501, India.
2Department of Physics, Kuvempu University, Shankargatta 577 451, Karnataka, India
E-mail: [email protected] Tel/Fax: +91 194234270
Abstract
In the present research alternating current (AC) response characteristics of a
polyaniline-titanium dioxide (PANI-TiO2) composite at room temperature were
investigated and comparatively studied with those of pristine PANI in the frequency range
of 50 Hz - 5MHz. For the purpose of investigation, PANI and the composite were
synthesized by chemical polymerization of aniline without/with TiO2. The prepared
composite was structurally characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
techniques. Conduction in both PANI and the composite by a hopping mechanism is
confirmed by studying the power law behaviour of their AC conductivity and complex
plane impedance plots. High values of the real and imaginary parts of the complex
dielectric constant at low frequency for both PANI and the composite were confirmed to
be due to electrode polarization. Increased conductivity of the composite compared to
pristine PANI was confirmed by a shift of the peak towards a relatively higher frequency
in the plot of the imaginary part of the complex electric modulus with frequency.
P 17.
Radon Concentrations Measurement in Dwellings of Kufa Technical institute, Iraq
Ali Abid Abojassim , Afnan Ali Husain
University of Kufa, Faculty of Science, Department of PhysicsAl-Najaf/ Kufa, box (221) Najaf , Iraq
E-mail: [email protected], www. http://sci.uokufa.edu.iq/ar/teaching/alia
Abstract
In this work, radon concentrations were measured in dwellings Kufa Technical institute,
Iraq between November 2014 to February 2015 using time integrated passive radon
dosimeters containing LR-115 Type II plastic track detectors. Also, we calculated the
concentration of short-lived radon daughters, potential alpha energy, working level
month, the annual effective dose rate, the annual equivalent dose rate and the excess
lifetime cancer risk in all dwellings under study. The radon concentration in these
dwelling ranges from (37.46907±6.462185 to 55.7307±12.03904) Bq/m3 with an average
of (46.21357129±8.290715) Bq/m3, which within the acceptable radon levels (50-150)
Bq/m3 recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).
The mean the excess lifetime cancer risk were found to be ranges from (8.098683) to
(15.12405) with an average value of (10.77303577±1.328666) million persons. These
values are within in the safe limits recommended by the international organizations.
P 18.
Estimation of radon and thoron levels in high rise dwellings situated in Faridabad (Southern Haryana) India
Nitin Guptaa, Krishan Kantb, Maneesha Gargc
aDepartment of Humanities and Applied Sciences, AITM, Palwal (Haryana) India – 121105
bPrincipal, Aggarwal College Ballabgarh, Distt. Faridabad, Haryana (India) – 121 004cFaculty of Humanities and Applied Sciences, YMCAUST, Faridabad (Haryana) India–
121 006E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Abstract
Closely spaced Structure of high rise buildings (Towers) calls for the estimation of radon.
So, Health and hygiene point of radon, thoron and their progeny levels were estimated
during a season of a year in high rise dwellings situated in Faridabad (southern Haryana)
India. Estimation has been carried out using LR-115 Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors
during a season of a year. Measurements show that the concentration of radon and
thoron varied from 15.94±0.69 Bqm-3 at ground floor to 62.82±1.96 Bqm-3 at ninth floor
and 7.67±0.31 Bqm-3 at ground floor to 28.85±1.18 Bqm-3 at ninth floor respectively.
PAEC due to radon and thoron varied from 1.72±0.8mWL at ground floor to
6.79±0.21mWL at ninth floor and 0.21±0.01mWL at ground floor to 0.78±0.04 mWL at
ninth floor respectively. Inhalation dose varied from 0.60mSv/y at ground floor to
2.33mSv/y. However annual exposure due to radon and thoron and annual effective dose
varied from 71.00x10-3WLM at ground floor to 279.82x10-3WLM at ninth floor, 8.55x10-3
WLM at ground floor to 32.12x10-3WLM at ninth floor and 0.30 mSv at ground floor to
1.17mSv at ninth floor respectively. Results show that concentration of radon decreases
as the height of the building increases. Variation in the concentration depends upon the
ventilation condition, flooring, walls and air exchange rate. Incorporated data is below the
action levels as recommended by ICRP.
P 19.
UV-Visible Spectroscopic analysis for optimizing etching conditions of CR39 based alpha autoradiography of (Th,Pu)O2 MOX fuels
Jayshree Ramkumara, K.V.Vrinda Devib, P.S.Somayajulub,S.Chandramouleeswarana and K.B.Khanb
aAnalytical Chemistry Division , bRadiometallurgy Division,Bhabha Atomic research Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra, PIN-400 085
E-mail: [email protected]
AbstractAlpha autoradiography is a radiation imaging technique used for characterization of
mixed matrix nuclear fuels for homogeneity and composition. The technique has proven
to be a very effective tool for distinguishing compositional variations especially in
plutonium bearing fuel materials and a good substitute to costly and advanced
characterization equipments required otherwise. The difference in specific activities of the
nuclides present in the matrix is utilized in this technique. Alpha sensitive solid state
nuclear track detectors such as Cellulose Nitrate or Poly allyl Digycol Carbonate (PADC)
are commonly used for this purpose. Fuel sample is placed in contact with PADC film
causing structural changes in the polymer film due to exposure to the heavy and ionizing
alpha particle emissions from the fuel sample. The changes in the chemical bonds are
selectively enhanced through chemical etching using KOH solution under optimized
conditions. The optimization of etching conditions were earlier carried out by numerous
experimental trials using specific samples. Usually, the etched samples are observed
under optical microscope to view the alpha track image for further studies/analysis.
Alpha autoradiography based estimations are not absolute but relative to a standard or
reference samples. Hence it is necessary that all the conditions under which the
autoradiograph has been developed are exactly the same as that of the reference
sample so that the results are comparable. As the conditions such as exposure time,
usage of mylar film, etchant concentration, etchant temperature and etching time are all
operator dependant, any uncertainty or human error in the process shall lead to
erroneous results and interpretations. Exposure time and etching conditions combinedly
dictate the extent of etching which is crucial for the autoradiograph and thereby influence
the accuracy of the analysed results. It is very difficult to estimate the extent of etching
only by microscopic observation of the autoradiograph and hence it may lead to erratic
comparison of results. Hence a new technique to estimate the extent of etching has
been developed using UV-Visible spectrophotometry for evaluation of optical properties
of the Alpha autoradiographs of (Th, 6% Pu)O2 MOX fuel CR39 (PADC film) .
Four SSNTDs (CR 39films) were topped with 14µm thickness of aluminium mylar and
exposed to plutonium alphas from two MOX pellet samples for a period of 30sec. The
films were decontaminated before etching with KOH solutions under different conditions.
A pristine (unirradiated) film was also etched for comparison. The optical properties of
the films were evaluated using spectrophotometry in UV-Visible range using JASCO V
650 spectrophotometer. It was observed that the intensity and the peak maxima were
sensitive to etching conditions. The spectral studies provide valuable indication of
suitability of etching conditions/parameters for comparative studies on alpha
autoradiographs.
P 20.
Characterisation of (Th,Pu)O2 MOX fuel by analysis of Alpha images
K.V.Vrinda Devi*,J.N.Dubey, I.H.Shaikh, Jyoti Gupta, P.S.Somayajulu and K.B.Khan
Radiometallurgy Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,Mumbai-400094. Tel: 25590686
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
(Th-Pu)O2 MOX is a relevant fuel for the upcoming AHWR programme. Compositional
studies of Thoria based fuels are difficult through conventional chemical methods which
involves dissolution of MOX. This has practical limitation of ThO2 / PuO2 solubility and
generation of liquid radioactive waste. An alternate method for characterization using
alpha autoradiography has been explored. ThO2–UO2 mixed oxide (MOX) experimental
fuel pellets have been fabricated through conventional powder metallurgical route with
different PuO2 contents viz; 1%, 6.75% and 8%. Alpha autoradiography was carried out
on these samples using CR39 Solid State Nuclear Track detectors (SSNTD) and digital
image analysis of alpha autoradiographs has been done to analyse the alpha track
density in detail.
(Th-Pu)O2 MOX is a candidate fuel for AHWR and fabrication of this fuel has been
developed through conventional powder metallurgical route. Alpha autoradiography is a
technique used for self imaging of nuclear fuels wherein alpha sensitive films are used to
record the distribution of a nuclide with high specific activity in a fertile matrix. As the
specific activity of Thorium and plutonium are significantly different, the alpha track
registration on the film is mainly due to plutonium isotopes. This enables the technique
for fuel compositional characterization by evaluating the tracks registered on the
irradiated films.
The samples were ground to get flat surface and polished with diamond lapping
compound to get mirror finish surface. The prepared samples were then kept over the
alpha sensitive CR-39 film topped with 14 mm aluminium mylar to cut off subsurface
alpha incidence. All the above mentioned operations were carried out inside glove box
since plutonium is a radiotoxic material. The films were bagged out of glove box after
irradiation, decontaminated and ensured free of any loose plutonium contamination
before further procedures. The alpha particles emitted by the sample pellets cause
radiation damage (breaks the chemical bonds) in the film. The tracks registered by alpha
particles were enhanced for viewing by etching the film at 72°C with alkaline 6N KOH
solution for 90minutes. The etched film was viewed using an optical microscope
((LEICA-DM ILM)) and images were grabbed using the digital camera. The grabbed
images were analysed in detail using an image analysis software Metal power V3.0.0.9.
Frames of same area were selected from each of the images and were thresholded
suitably to convert into binary images. The binary images were analysed for area fraction
in each frame. The percentage of irradiated area in each of the frames was calculated
for each image/composition. Percentage of irradiated area in each composition was
found to be in linear correlation with the percentage of PuO2. This indicated that alpha
autoradiography could be used for compositional characterization of (Th,Pu)O2 MOX
fuels in this compositional range through area fraction calculation by image analysis.
P 21.
Radon Diffusion through building materials: A major cause of indoor radioactivity
A.K.Narula*a, S. K. Goyala, R. P. Chauhanb, and S. K. Chakarvartic
aDepartment of Physics, RKSD College, Kaithal, India-136119, IndiabDepartment of Physics, National Institute of technology, Kurukshetra-136119,
IndiacCentre for R & D, Manav Rachana International University, Faridabad-121004, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Radon (222Rn) is a naturally occurring radioactive noble gas in the environment formed by
the radioactive decay of radium (226Ra). It undergoes radioactive decay by emission of
alpha particles with a half-life of 3.82 days. At room temperature, radon is a colourless,
odourless, electrically uncharged radioactive gas and is readily absorbed by charcoal (a
property which can be used to separate it from other gases). There are three isotopes of
radon viz., actinon (219 Rn) with a half life of 3.96 s., thoron (220Rn) with a half life 55.6 s.,
and radon (222Rn) with a half life 3.82 days, belonging to the decay chain of 235U, 232Th
and 238U, respectively. These three isotopes of radon emit alpha particles of energy 6.82
MeV, 6.28 MeV and 5.48 MeV, respectively. Radon (222Rn) has the greatest emanation
power due to its longest half-life among the three.
Recent research on the transport phenomenon of radon diffusion has suggested that it is
a significant contributor to indoor radon entry and that pressure-driven air flow is
responsible for only 20 percent of the radon that enters a building from an underlying
source. There are three main quantifying physical characteristics of building material
which are currently used to quantify building material’s ability to hinder the flow of radon.
These include the porosity, the air permeability and the diffusion coefficient. The porosity
of building material is defined as the ratio of the void (air) volume in building material to
its bulk or overall geometric volume. An increase in the porosity will provide more air
space within the building material for radon travel, thus reducing its resistance to radon
transport. The permeability of building material classifies its ability to act as a barrier to
radon gas movement when a pressure gradient exists across the building material. The
permeability is closely related to the porosity since an increase in porosity results in the
size or quantity of void spaces available for air flow. The radon diffusion coefficient of
building material quantifies the ability of the radon gas to flow through building material
when a concentration gradient is the driving force. This parameter is also closely related
and proportional to the porosity and permeability. The diffusion coefficient of radon in
building materials indicates radon transportability through a porous media. In the present
work for different types of building materials like gravel, coarse sand, fine sand and
cement, values of diffusion coefficient are found in the range (4.07 to 1.17) 10-6 m2 s-1.
P 22.
Analysis of Physical Parameters of Sn-Te-Se-Sb Glass System
Arshdeep Singh1, Amit Sethi2 and Navjeet Sharma3
1Department of Physics, Doaba College, Jalandhar2Research Scholar, PTU, Jalandhar
3Department of Physics, DAV College, Jalandhar
AbstractPhysical parameters, like average coordination number, constraints, lone pair electrons,
heat of atomization of quaternary glass system Sn4Te15Se81-xSbx (x = 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15)
has been evaluated. Effect of introduction of Sb as impurity on the glass transition
temperature has been analyzed and explained on the basis of covalent bond approach.
Average coordination number increases with increasing concentration of Sn while the
number of floppy modes and lone pair electrons decreases. Glass transition temperature
exhibits an increasing trend with increasing concentration of Sb.
P 23.
Essential operations with raw data from liquid scintillation detectors to get precise n-γ discrimination
Harleen Singh and Sarabjeet SinghDr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
Abstract
Precise n-γ discrimination is very important for various applications like nuclear material
control, nuclear fusion, precise radiation therapy, etc. The performance of traditional
analogue techniques such as charge integration, zero-crossing, rise time method etc.
strongly depends on the experimental conditions and instrumentation used. There are
digital methods such as pulse gradient analysis, frequency gradient analysis, wavelet
transform method, which can take the full advantage of the digital domain to give precise
n-γ discrimination. All these methods need an optimization procedure to perform an
accurate discrimination. With the help of digitizers we can sample the raw data pulses
and optimize the techniques offline for a given instrumentation. In this work we proposed
some essential operations to get a proper data set for optimization of a method. These
operations include clipped pulse rejection, pile-up rejection, pulse alignment and
normalization. The final data set is analyzed with the charge comparison method and the
wavelet transforms method. The wavelet transform method gives better performance as
compared to charge comparison method.
P 24.
Comparative Study of radon exhalation rate in soil samples from Kasimpur Thermal Power Plant, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Anil Sharma1,2, S Asad Ali3, Satyendra Kumar4 and R G.Sonkawade5
1School of Physical Science, B.B.A. University Lucknow-226 025-India
2University School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasth University New Delhi-110403 India
3Departments of Applied Physics, Z.H. College of Engg. & Tech., Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.
4Department of AS & H, ABES Engineering College Ghaziabad 201009, India5Department of Physics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur-416004, Maharashtra, India
Abstract
In coal fired thermal power stations, large amount of fly ash is produced after burning of
coal. Fly ash is spread and distributed in the surrounding area by air and may be
deposited on the soil of the region surrounding the power plant. As coal contains
increased levels of these radionuclides and fly ash may incresae the radioactivity in the
soil around the power plant. However, radon exposure shows an extreme variation
according to the location considered and depends primarily on the exhalation rate of
radon from the soil (Ielsch et al., 2001). The soil-gas radon concentration and its
exhalation rate depend on the geology of the area, soil porosity, structures (shears, faults
and thrusts) and associated uranium mineralization (Ramola et al., 2003). Thus it is quite
important to estimate the natural radioactivity in the soil around the thermal power plant
for the estimation of radiation risk to the habitants there. Soil, the main source of
continuous radiation exposure to human beings is generally considered as the third (next
to air and water) main environmental component. Natural radioactivity (226Ra, 232Th and 40K) is wide spread in the earth’s environment and it exists in soils, rocks, water and sand
etc. (UNSCEAR, 1993) and these natural radioactive materials may reach hazardous
radiological levels under certain conditions. Soil is widely used as building construction
material in India such as in the formation of bricks and as filling materials etc. In the
present study radon exhalation rate in soil samples from Kasimpur Thermal Power Plant,
Aligarh,Uttar Pradesh, India have been measured by ‘‘Sealed Can technique’’ method
using LR-115 type II detectors and “Smart Radon Monitor” Technique. Radon exhalation
rate has been found to vary from 33.4 3.3 to 200.2 9.7 mBq m-2 h-1 with an average
value of 100.5 5.3 mBq m-2 h-1 whereas, mass exhalation rates (EM) found to vary from
1.2 0.3 to 7.7 1.5 mBq kg-1 h-1 with mean value of 3.8 0.7 mBq kg-1 h-1. By using
“Smart Radon Monitor” Technique radon mass exhalation rate varied from 9.5 m Bq kg-1
h-1 to 28.2 mBq kg-1 h-1 with an average value of 17.7 m Bq kg-1 h-1.
P25.
Exposure Assessment of 222Rn in drinking Water in using active radon monitor RAD7
Rajan Jakhu, Rohit Mehra*, Pargin Bangotra, Ashok Chaudhary, H.M. Mittal
Department of Physics, Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
E-mail address: [email protected]
Abstract
Naturally occurring Radon (222Rn) concentration in the drinking water samples of 20
villages of Doaba region of Punjab has been determined for health risk assessment.
Activity concentration of 222Rn in the studied water samples varies from 1.42 Bq l-1 to 5.26
Bq l-1, with the average concentration of 3.51 Bq l-1. The dose to the internal parts of the
body is received from 222Rn through inhalation and ingestion. The annual average
inhalation and ingestion dose from 222Rn in water in the studied area is 0.89 nSv a-1 and
0.74 μSv a-1. The total mean annual effective dose due to 222Rn in water is 19.46 μSv a-1.
As the total annual effective dose due to 222Rn in water samples of the study area is
lower than the reference dose level of 10 mSv, the health hazards related to these
radionuclides are expected to be negligible.
P 26.
Effect of polymer concentration on the physical parameters of a polymer dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystal
Divya Jayoti and Praveen Malik*
Liquid Crystal Research Laboratory, Dr. B. R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
Polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) owing to their unique physical properties
and intriguing applications in various fields have attracted interest of liquid crystal
community over the years. A PDLC consist of micron sized liquid crystal droplets
dispersed non uniformly inside a isotropic polymer matrix. When no field is applied,
the local directors inside the liquid crystal droplets are randomly oriented and film
appears opaque. On the application of sufficient electric field, the directors align
towards the field and the film appears transparent. A polymer dispersed ferroelectric
liquid crystal (PDFLC) was prepared by a room temperature ferroelectric liquid
crystal and NOA65 polymer by polymerisation induced phase separation. Three different
concentrations of polymer were taken 50%, 60% and 70%. The morphological analysis
done using polarizing optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy of the
PDFLC composites suggests that droplet size decreases with an increase in polymer
content. UV spectroscopy was performed upon the samples. Preliminary investigations
show that energy band gap increases with increasing polymer content in the PDFLC
composites. Various dielectric parameters were studied as a function of frequency
and temperature, relaxation frequency and dielectric strength were evaluated and
it’s established that changing concentration of polymer has a significant effect on the
physical parameters of PDFLC.
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You will always remain in our hearts…
Dedicated to:Late Dr. Sarabjeet Singh
Professor, Department of Physics,
Dr. BR Ambedkar, NIT, Jalandhar
