Beneficial Uses of Nuclear Energy

Henri Becquerel, a French physicist, was the one who discovered the radioactive uranium emissions in 1896. It is very difficult to conceive our world without the many possibilities and applications of radioactivity that have benefited us today. There are several situations in which the benefits of Nuclear Energy can be observed.

Applications in the field of medicine

In the field of medicine has provided new possibilities for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, nuclear medicine has used nuclear energy to provide diagnostic information on the state of a patient's organ, or on the specific treatment that will be applied. Nuclear energy provides Troxler Calibration medicine with specific diagnostic procedures, which are commonly used today. In the case of cancer treatment, nuclear energy in the form of radiation therapy is used to weaken or destroy specific cancer cells.

Application in inspection of materials and equipment

Inspection also uses nuclear energy in the form of radioactive materials to verify and test metal parts and the quality and integrity of welds in many industries. Industrial gamma radiography provides possibilities for various types of radiation in order to evaluate materials in different degrees.

The element is located on one side of the material or part to be inspected, while a photographic film is on the opposite side. Gamma rays pass through the material and create an image in the film. As with X-rays, gamma rays reveal imperfections in metal parts or welded joints. This is a Non-Destructive Test (NDT) method that allows inspection and detection of imperfections in critical components, without causing any damage to the material or equipment.

Nuclear Meters

Nuclear energy is also used in many industrial applications where the flow of some liquids and the level of gases, liquids and solids must be measured. Nuclear meters containing radioactive sources (usually gamma) are widely used in the oil and gas, chemical, nuclear, petrochemical and many other industries. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of nuclear meters are in operation worldwide in the industrial sector.

These nuclear meters are a form of nuclear energy, applied especially in cases when the temperature or pressure are high, the liquids are erosive or corrosive, restricting the use of meters in direct contact in measurement applications.

The ability to use nuclear energy to measure thickness is widely used in the textile industry, paper, sheet metal, plastics and many others. In addition, nuclear densimeters are commonly used when it is important to automatically control liquids, powders or solids.

There are advantages in the use of nuclear meters, these are some of them:

• No physical contact with the product or process is required for the measurement
• Very little maintenance of the nuclear meter is required
• Nuclear meters pay the investment for themselves with an extraordinary Cost / Benefit ratio, due to the low maintenance, inspection and repair they require.

The nuclear meters used in the industry are of two types: fixed and portable. Fixed nuclear meters are generally used in the following industries and applications:

• Mines, mills and oil and gas.
• Coal industry
• Plastic, Petrochemical, Paper

Portable nuclear meters are commonly used in agriculture and construction. The degree of compaction of a land for agricultural purposes, as well as the density of soil and asphalt in a road paving work, are measured by means of a portable nuclear densimeter.

The nuclear densimeters are very useful in the civil construction industry, this device that uses Nuclear Energy to measure the density and humidity of the soils, requires to be in optimal conditions to guarantee reliable and safe operation. This is achieved through a well-developed and executed maintenance, repair and calibration program.

Phoenix Calibration offers specialized services and certified calibration, maintenance and repair of its nuclear densimeters of all models, including Troxler, InstroTek, CPN and Humboldt.

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