RADIATION PROTECTION BULLETIN ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (3): 7-13.

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Design and installation evaluation of shielding devices for localized radiation hot spots in a nuclear power plant

LI Linkang1, ZHOU Xun1, ZHAO Xihuan1, LI Zhonghua1, YI Baiyuan1, HAN Xueyan2   

  1. 1. Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corporation, Jiangsu Lianyungang 222042;
    2. China Institute for Radiation Protection, Taiyuan 030006, China
  • Received:2025-11-25 Online:2026-06-20 Published:2026-07-01

Abstract: To overcome the problems of heavy weight, long installation time and high exposure dose during installation associated with conventional temporary shielding devices, three types of temporary shielding devices were designed based on the principle of optimization of radiation protection, targeting γ-radioactive pipeline hotspots of various configurations at a nuclear power plant. These include a modular flexible shield with a polymer matrix, a customized shielding device, and a screen-type shielding device.In this study, the Monte Carlo method was employed to simulate and achieve the optimal design of shielding thickness for each device.The results show that the three shielding devices all exhibit favorable shielding performance under different application scenarios. Field measurements further validate the reliability and safety of the shielding devices.This study can provide experience for the shielding of similar pipeline hotspots and a reference for the optimal design of temporary shielding devices.To address the drawbacks of excessive weight, lengthy installation periods and high occupational exposure doses during installation inherent to traditional temporary shielding structures, three novel temporary shielding devices are developed following radiation protection optimization principles. The devices are tailored for gamma-ray pipeline hot spots of diverse layouts in nuclear power plants, namely a polymer-matrix modular flexible shield, a special-shaped customized shielding unit and a screen-type shielding apparatus. In this work, Monte Carlo simulations are utilized to optimize the shielding thickness of each structure. The simulation results demonstrate that all three devices achieve excellent shielding effectiveness across various working conditions. On-site measurement data further verify the reliability and safety of the proposed shielding schemes. This research offers practical engineering experience for the treatment of analogous pipeline radiation hot spots and provides a reference for the optimized design of temporary radiation shielding equipment.

Key words: nuclear power plant, temporary shielding, Monte Carlo simulation, radiation protection

CLC Number: 

  • TL77