[en] To avoid failures of small bore piping connections caused by high cycle fatigue, it is important to measure the stresses around the connections. To measure such stresses, the authors have developed an easily-attachable and detachable strain measurement tool which utilizes strain gauges in combination with our patented strain gauge holder. Traditionally, strain gauges have been bonded to piping surfaces using adhesive; however, with the newly-developed measurement tool, bonding adhesive is no longer necessary. The tool can be installed quickly and easily on a piping surface and measure the strains on the piping as accurately as adhesively-bonded strain gauges. Accordingly, the new strain measurement tool significantly reduces the work time without affecting the measurement accuracy. (author)

[en] In a small diameter piping, stresses are generated due to internal fluid or pump vibrations especially around the welding parts. Authors have successfully developed a pipe strain sensor which is able to measure such stresses. Unlike conventional methods using strain gages and adhesive bond, the sensor can measure the strain without putting adhesive bond on the piping surface. However, the strain sensor can provide measurements with a level of accuracy equivalent to that of conventional method using strain gages and adhesive bond. Accordingly, the strain sensor can significantly reduce the working time without any loss of the measurement accuracy. (author)

[en] Our preceding works reported the development of a high spatial and temporal resolution imaging system by using a current biased kinetic inductance detector (CB-KID) with the use of a delay-line technique. We called this system as a delay-line CB-KID, and succeeded in imaging of neutron events caused by the nuclear reaction and hot spots produced by using the delay-line CB-KID system. It was essentially important for our proposal to use a superconducting stripline to guide the pulsed signal where the signal propagates at a constant fast velocity along the stripline. In the present study, we intend to measure a propagation velocity of the signal along the stripline precisely to compare with the theoretical prediction of the signal propagation, which was recently developed with a superconducting waveguide S-I-S model by Koyama and Ishida [11]. Our present measurements showed a good agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experimental results on the propagation velocity as a function of temperature. (paper)

[en] We are developing a new type of the neutron imager based on a superconducting neutron detector. We previously succeeded in constructing and demonstrating neutron detection capability of a superconducting current-biased kinetic inductance detector (CB-KID). In order to improve the spatial resolution and detection efficiency, the characteristics of a superconducting neutron detector have been studied systematically in the present work. As an extension of studying the characteristics of neutron detector, we investigated temperature dependence of neutron signal such as propagation velocity and the signal amplitude as a function of time of flight (ToF) with temperature. We consider that it is important to understand the temperature dependence of the signal to improve the spatial resolution and detection efficiency of a superconducting neutron detector. (paper)

[en] Neutron imaging is one of the key technologies for non-destructive transmission testing. Recent progress in the development of intensive neutron sources allows us to perform energy-resolved neutron imaging with high spatial resolution. Substantial efforts have been devoted to developing a high spatial and temporal resolution neutron imager. We have been developing a neutron imager aiming at conducting high spatial and temporal resolution imaging based on a delay-line neutron detector, called the current-biased kinetic-inductance detector, with a conversion layer ¹⁰B. The detector allowed us to obtain a neutron transmission image with four signal readout lines. Herein, we expanded the sensor active area, and improved the spatial resolution of the detector. We examined the capability of high spatial resolution neutron imaging over the sensor active area of 15 × 15 mm² for various samples, including biological and metal ones. We also demonstrated an energy-resolved neutron image in which stainless-steel specimens were discriminating of other specimens with the aid of the Bragg edge transmission. (paper)