Computational Methods in Reactor Shielding

Computational Methods in Reactor Shielding

JAMES WOOD

Department of Nuclear Engineering, Queen Mary College, University of London, UK

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

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Inside Front Cover

Copyright

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

Publisher Summary

1.1 THE SHIELDING PROBLEM

1.2 SCOPE OF THE BOOK

1.3 BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

1.4 THE COMPUTER PROGRAMS

Chapter 2: RADIATION QUANTITIES AND UNITS

Publisher Summary

Introduction

2.1 SOME PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION

2.2 RECOMMENDED RADIATION LEVELS

2.3 GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL RADIATION LEVELS

2.4 RADIATION QUANTITIES AND UNITS

2.5 CONVERSION OF RADIATION INTENSITY TO DOSE EQUIVALENT RATE

2.6 A MORE MATHEMATICAL TREATMENT OF THE BASIC TRANSPORT QUANTITIES

2.7 THE ALBEDO CONCEPT

Chapter 3: RADIATION SOURCES

Publisher Summary

3.1 NUCLEAR REACTORS

3.2 RADIOACTIVE SOURCES

3.3 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS

3.4 REACTOR COOLANT ACTIVATION

3.5 MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS

Chapter 4: THE ATTENUATION OF GAMMA RAYS

Publisher Summary

4.1 NARROW BEAM ATTENUATION

4.2 BROAD BEAM ATTENUATION

4.3 THE COMPUTER PROGRAM BMIX

4.4 EXERCISES FOR PROGRAM BMIX

Chapter 5: APPLICATIONS OF THE POINT KERNEL TECHNIQUE

Publisher Summary

5.1 THE MATHEMATICAL REPRESENTATION OF DETECTOR RESPONSE

5.2 GEOMETRICAL TRANSFORMATIONS

5.3 EXAMPLES IN THE USE OF THE POINT KERNEL TECHNIQUE: THE ANALYTIC INTEGRATION METHOD

5.4 CASK: A SIMPLE SHIELDING PROGRAM FOR SPHERICAL SOURCES OF NUCLEAR RADIATION

5.5 MODIFICATION OF PROGRAM CASK TO INCLUDE A LINE SOURCE

5.6 EXERCISES FOR PROGRAM CASK

5.7 EXERCISES FOR MODIFIED FORM OF CASK

Chapter 6: NEUTRON ATTENUATION

Publisher Summary

6.1 THE BASIC STRATEGY

6.2 NEUTRON REMOVAL CROSS SECTION

6.3 THEORETICAL TREATMENT OF FAST NEUTRON ATTENUATION: NEUTRON POINT KERNELS

6.4 REMOVAL-DIFFUSION THEORY

6.5 THE COMPUTER PROGRAM CADRE

6.6 EXERCISES FOR PROGRAM CADRE

6.7 SHIELD OPTIMISATION

Chapter 7: TRANSPORT THEORY METHODS

Publisher Summary

7.1 THE MONTE CARLO METHOD

7.2 THE MOMENTS METHOD

7.2.13 Exercises for Program DBUF

APPENDIXES

Appendix A: THE DIRAC DELTA-FUNCTION

Appendix B: COORDINATE SYSTEMS, THE GRADIENT OPERATOR ∇, AND THE LAPLACIAN OPERATOR ∇2

Appendix C: SELECTED NUCLEAR DATA

Appendix D: SI UNITS IN RADIATION AND RADIOACTIVITY

INDEX

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Copyright

Copyright © 1982 J. Wood

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the publishers.

First edition 1982

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Wood, J. I.

Computational methods in reactor shielding.

(Pergamon international library of science, technology, engineering, and social sciences) Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Nuclear reactors—Shielding (Radiation) 2. Nuclear reactors—Shielding (Radiation)—Data processing.

I. Title. II. Series.

TK9210.W66 1982 621.48′323 81-17716

AACR2

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Wood, J.

Computational methods in reactor shielding.

—(Pergamon international library)

1. Nuclear reactors—Shielding (Radiation)

2. Nuclear reactors—Design and construction

3. Electronic digital computers

I. Title

621.48′323 TK9210

ISBN 0-08-028685-2 (Hardcover)

ISBN 0-08-028686-0 (Flexicover)

In order to make this volume available as economically and as rapidly as possible the author’s typescript has been reproduced in its original form. This method unfortunately has its typographical limitations but it is hoped that they in no way distract the reader.

Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd., Exeter

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Publisher Summary

A nuclear reactor is a prolific source of potentially dangerous nuclear radiation because most of the radiation released originates with the fission process itself. In addition to the energetic neutrons and gamma rays that are emitted simultaneously with the fission event, the fission fragments formed are highly radioactive nuclides that emit alpha, beta, and gamma radiation. Although many types of nuclear particle are released directly and indirectly in and around the reactor core, the essential shielding problem is the attenuation of the penetrative fast neutrons and high energy gamma rays that are released in the reactor core and reactor shield. The charged particles released, such as the alpha and beta particles, and the heavily ionizing fission fragments are readily stopped within a few centimeters of a dense material under normal operating conditions. During its passage through the shield, most of the neutron and gamma radiation is absorbed and the energy carried by the absorbed radiation reappears as heat in the materials of the shield in a phenomenon referred to as nuclear heating.

1.1 THE SHIELDING PROBLEM

1.1.1 The Penetrative Radiation of Concern in Reactors

A nuclear reactor is a prolific source of potentially dangerous nuclear radiation, it is unavoidably so, since most of the radiation released originates with the fission process itself. In addition to the energetic neutrons and gamma rays that are emitted simultaneously with the fission event, the fission fragments formed are highly radioactive nuclides that emit α, β and γ-radiation.

That nuclear radiation can be injurious to man is beyond dispute, and to enable personnel to work in the vicinity of an operating reactor, it is necessary to absorb the nuclear radiation released in a thick shield surrounding the core, in order to reduce the radiation dose level to a tolerable level in the region beyond the shield. Even for those regions of the reactor system where human access during reactor operation is not envisaged, the shielding of reactor components may be necessary to limit the radio activation of reactor materials, since otherwise, the radioactivity induced might inhibit access for essential maintenance purposes when the reactor is shutdown. Electronic equipment, which may be part of the reactor instrumentation system, can be severely damaged or rendered unreliable by being exposed to a strong radiation field. Therefore instruments, and other engineering equipment, may also require to be shielded from the harmful effects of nuclear radiation.

Although many types of nuclear particle are released directly and indirectly in and around the reactor core, the essential shielding problem is the attenuation of the penetrative fast neutrons and high energy gamma rays that are released in the reactor core and reactor shield. The charged particles released, such as the α’s and β’s, and the heavily ionizing fission fragments, are readily ‘stopped’ within, at most, a few centimetres of a dense material, so that, under normal operating conditions, most of the charged particle radiation does not penetrate beyond the fuel elements, and certainly not beyond the reactor core. The shielding of charged particle radiation is therefore a much less severe problem and is not considered in this book.

Our concern here is with the shielding of the penetrative neutron and gamma radiation. The attenuation of this biologically harmful ionizing radiation to an acceptable dose level, is usually achieved by surrounding the reactor core with a sufficiently large mass of suitable material, in many cases of a thickness equivalent to 2 or 3 metres of concrete. The main reactor shield used for this purpose is frequently referred to as the biological shield.

1.1.2 Nuclear Radiation Heating

During its passage through the shield most of the neutron and gamma radiation is absorbed, and the energy carried by the absorbed radiation reappears as heat in the materials of the shield – in a phenomenon referred to as nuclear heating. A shield can therefore be regarded as a device for converting energy, in the inconvenient form of ionizing radiation, into the safer, more manageable form of heat. Approximately 10 % of the total energy released from fission is carried away by the neutrons and gamma rays produced; and while most of this is absorbed in the core itself, substantial amounts of heat can be generated by the radiation which escapes into the shield, particularly in the case of power reactors. This heat could give rise to undesirable thermal stressing of the reactor structure and inner regions of the biological shield. It is therefore usual in designing the reactor system to interpose a relatively thin protective layer of heavy material, such as iron or steel, between the reactor core and, for example, the reactor containment vessel. This thin layer of heavy material, which is intended to bear the brunt of the effects of very high levels of radiation bombardment, is commonly referred to as the thermal shield. In power reactors it is usually necessary, and in any case desirable, to divert some of the coolant to extract nuclear heat released in the thermal shield and inner regions of the biological shield. Consideration of the consequences of the nuclear heat released in the shield, and the assessment and prevention of possible radiation damage to parts of the shield, are usually considered intrinsic parts of the reactor shield design problem.

For the purposes of shield analysis it is usually convenient to lump together the thermal and the biological shields, and indeed any other material regions, for example the reflector and pressure vessel, which are considered to contribute to the attenuation of the radiation, and refer to them collectively as the reactor bulk shield. The concepts and calculational procedures necessary to estimate the required thickness of the reactor bulk shield will be a major consideration in the ensuing chapters of this book.

1.1.3 The Energy Range of the Radiation

Although we have so far stressed the nuclear reactor as the source of harmful nuclear radiation, there are of course other installations and devices which require shielding provision against the deleterious effects of the nuclear radiation they produce. A factor that has an important bearing on the transferability of shielding methods from one area of application to another, is the similarity of the energies of the particles that are of primary concern. It is therefore important to demarcate the energy ranges of the two principal species of radiation with which we are concerned. In our case, for neutrons, the upper energy limit is set by the properties of the fission neutron spectrum at the high energy end. And for reasons which will emerge later, the range of interest extends down to thermal energies. Therefore, the neutrons which we consider in this book are assumed to have energies lying in the range 18 MeV to thermal.

For gamma rays, the upper energy limit can be established with reasonable accuracy by considering the maximum-energy photon released directly from fission, or indirectly from a secondary process such as the radiative capture of a neutron. Considerations of this kind lead to 10 MeV as the effective upper bound on gamma ray energies. A precise lower bound for gamma rays is less easy to determine. But because of the high probability of absorption for very low energy gamma rays, a reasonable working value for the lower bound is about 0.1 MeV. Therefore, in this book, broadly speaking, we are concerned with gamma rays whose energies lie in the range 10 MeV to 0.1 MeV.

In referring to relatively penetrative electromagnetic radiation, in some fields of work, a distinction is made in the use of the terms x-ray and gamma ray. The former being reserved for ‘soft’ radiation originating outside the nucleus, for example the radiation emitted by a slowing down electron, and the latter term for radiation emanating from nuclear transformation with energies in excess of about 0.1 MeV. In this book, when referring to electromagnetic radiation, no distinction is made on the basis of origin or energy, and the term gamma ray is used almost exclusively. Also, for gamma ray energies of importance in nuclear engineering, the particle-like properties of the radiation predominate, and the terms gamma ray, gamma photon and photon are used interchangeably.

1.1.4 Major Sources of Error in Shielding Calculations

In considering the applicability of a particular calculational procedure, it is advantageous to have a knowledge of the major sources of error that in general affect calculations in the particular field of study. The major sources of error in shielding calculations can be assigned the following categories:

(i) Those due to uncertainties in source data

(ii) Those due to uncertainties in the basic cross section data

(iii) Those due to inadequacies of the calculational methods even in ideal geometry

(iv) Those due to complicated geometry.

It is generally accepted that in most practical shielding calculations the main single source of error stems from the simplifications that must be made concerning the geometry of the problem; i.e. due to errors from category (iv).

When first considering the subject of shield analysis, it may appear that there is little need to distinguish between shield calculational procedures and reactor calculational procedures, since the behavior of the particles of interest in both these fields can be described by the same Boltzmann transport equation. But there are special features of the typical shielding problem which have led to the development of techniques peculiar to shield analysis. The distinctive features of the shield problem can be summarized as:

(a) the distribution of the source of radiation is not restricted to the reactor core; the source is also distributed throughout the shield;

(b) the severe reduction in the radiation intensity during transit of the shield. In this respect it is often the ‘unusual’ particle that completely penetrates the shield and is therefore of interest to the shield analyst. This is in contrast to the situation in reactor core calculations where it is usually the ‘average’ neutrons which make the major contribution to the quantity of interest, such as the reactivity;

(c) the complex geometries that can occur in practical applications (see, for example, Figs. 1.1 to 1.5).

Fig. 1.1 Cut-away drawing of the prototype fast reactor (PFR). In this reactor design an internal neutron shield is provided to reduce activation of the heat exchangers, in order to avoid the necessity of shielding the widely dispersed pipe work in the secondary circuit, and to prevent replaceable components from becoming highly radioactive. The irradiated fuel is temporarily stored in a rotor which is located in a cavity created in the outer region or the neutron shield. (From J. Butler, in The Physics Problems of Reactor Shielding).

Fig. 1.2(a) Schematic section of container shield for experimental nuclear ship.

1 Reactor shield; 2 Steam generator; 3 Pump; 4 Pressurizer; 5 Primary coolant pipe; 6 Container; 7 Container shield.

Fig. 1.2(b) Schematic vertical section of reactor shield for experimental nuclear ship.

1 Core; 2 Thermal shield; 3 Pressure vessel; 4 Reactor water-shield tank; 5 Iron shield layer; 6 Lead shield; 7 Middle reactor shield; 8 Nozzle concrete shield; 9 Upper reactor shield; 10 Hole for nuclear instrumentation. (From I. Kataoka and Y. Toyoda, in Engineering Compendium on Radiation Shielding, Vol. Ill, p. 455).

Fig. 1.3 Vertical section of reactor unit of the Oldbury nuclear power station. The pressure vessel, which is of prestressed concrete, also serves as the primary biological shield. The principal function of the boiler shield is to permit access of personnel to the boiler annulus under reactor shut-down conditions. (From L.N. Snell and F.P. Youell,’ in Engineering Compendium on Radiations Shielding, Vol. III, p. 272)

Fig. 1.4 Proposed arrangement of the radiation shields for the space nuclear auxiliary power system (SNAP system). In this design the lead, tungsten and U-238 are the gamma ray shields, and the regions of lithium hydride are the neutron shields. (From F. C. Maienschein and others, in Physics Problems of Reactor Shielding).

Fig. 1.5 GE IF300 spent fuel transporting cask. Approximate dimensions of cask: length = 503 cm, nominal diameter = 163 cm. Approximate loaded weight of cask: 61.7 tonne. (From Environmental Impact of Nuclear Power Plants, edited by R. A. Karam and K. Z. Morgan).

A characteristic of shielding calculations, which works to the advantage of the shield analyst, is that in many practical applications great accuracy is not required. A most important mitigating influence in this respect is that the predominant physical behaviour in shielding is the exponential decrease in the radiation dose with increase in shield thickness. As a result a large decrease in dose is achievable with a smaller percentage increase in shield thickness. Therefore, rather than seeking to ascertain the necessary shield thickness with great accuracy, in many cases an additional thickness is added to the calculated value to allow for any uncertainty. Hence, in many shielding calculations, there is little point in striving to attain great accuracy (which in any case could well be illusory). Another factor, as we have mentioned, is the influence of the cross section data. A simple illustration gives some idea of the unavoidable error that can arise due to inaccuracies in the basic data when estimating the neutron and gamma ray fluxes at the surface of a reactor bulk shield. In calculations of this type, as we shall see, attenuation factors that can occur are typically of the order of e−15 in the gamma ray flux and e−30 in the neutron flux. If a conservative 3 % error is assumed in the basic cross section data then it is easy to show that the resulting error in the flux estimation is a factor of 2.5 for the neutron component and 1.6 for the gamma ray component. Therefore, even if we exclude the errors from the categories (i), (iii) and (iv) mentioned on page 3, and set aside the difficulty of relating radiation flux to biological harm, an error of between a factor of 1.5 and 2.5 is virtually unavoidable in estimating the radiation dose at the surface of a large reactor shield. It is therefore understandable that unsophisticated, approximate calculational procedures often provide answers of adequate accuracy in many practical shielding studies. It is worth noting that the accuracy required in nuclear heating calculations is usually greater than in dose calculations. In many practical calculations of dose an overall error of up to a factor of 5 may be acceptable but in the corresponding nuclear heating calculations the maximum acceptable error may well be less than a factor of 2.

Although, in general, less accuracy is required in shielding calculations than in reactor core calculations, gross inaccuracies and uncertainties leading to very large factors of safety, and hence to ‘overdesigned’ shields, are not tolerable. The savings in construction costs of a land-based nuclear power plant, made possible by a well-designed shield, can be a substantial fraction of the total cost of the reactor system. And in the case of nuclear propulsion systems, the savings in weight and space gained by an accurately designed shield can make a significant contribution to the practicability of the enterprise and may even ultimately determine its feasibility, as for example in space applications. There are therefore likely to be increasingly strong economic and technological pressures to design not only ‘safe’ shields but also efficient shields – which can only be achieved if accurate shielding data are available, and are used in computational procedures that are based on an accurate understanding of the principal physical effects that control the behavior of the radiation in the shields.

1.1.5 The Neutron and Gamma Ray Shields

A distinction has already been made between the function of the thermal shield and the biological shield. Another distinction that is sometimes made in the role of the shield, is between the neutron shield and the gamma ray shield. This distinction arises because of the fundamental differences in the basic physical processes by which the two species of radiation interact with matter. A heavy material, such as lead or iron, is a relatively good absorber of gamma rays, but is much less effective against neutrons with energies in the range 1 eV to 1 MeV (such neutrons we shall for the moment refer to loosely as ‘fast’). By way of contrast, a hydrogen-containing material such as water is particularly effective in shielding against neutrons in this energy range, but is not particularly effective as an attenuator of gamma rays. Thus a region of water in a shield which serves as the main attenuator of fast neutrons may be referred to as a neutron shield. Similarly, a layer of lead, although it may contribute to the attenuation of neutron radiation, if it is included in a multi-layer shield principally to attenuate the gamma radiation, it is frequently referred to as the gamma ray shield, or part of it. But the respective materials need not be in separate layers: concrete, which is an homogeneous mixture of light and heavy nuclei, is an example of a material which acts as both a neutron and gamma ray shield, and is frequently used as the material for the biological shield in land-based nuclear reactors. Some idea of the types of material that are employed in reactor shields, and the complexity and diversity of the spatial arrangement of the shields, can be obtained from the systems shown in Figs. 1.1 to 1.5.

1.2 SCOPE OF THE BOOK

The subject of radiation shielding is a synthesis of various conventional branches of study. One of the basic aims of this book is to bring together, for consideration in one volume, three of the principal elements of which shielding is composed, namely, the underlying physics, the shielding methodology, and the computer implementation.

As far as reactor shielding is concerned, the basic problem to which the book refers is the design of the bulk shield which surrounds the reactor core. And it is this problem, considerably simplified, that is chosen as a suitable framework for illustrating the various shielding concepts and calculational methods developed in the book. Also considered, but to a lesser extent, is the problem of estimating the nuclear heat generated in the shield. Another problem that is given specific attention is the shielding provision that is necessary in designing containers intended for the transportation of irradiated fuel elements and other intense sources of radioactivity. However the treatment of the fundamental physics and shielding procedures is sufficiently general to enable the reader to see how the methods discussed can readily be applied to shielding problems other than those arising directly from the nuclear reactor.

A number of recognised areas of shielding theory are not considered in this text, these include: complicated shield geometries; the treatment of ducts and voids penetrating the shield; shield optimisation; applications of the albedo parameter. These topics, important though they undoubtedly are, are considered too specialised for inclusion in this introductory text. For consideration of these and other advanced shielding topics the reader is referred to Schaeffer (1973) and Jaeger (1968).

The material covered in this book is organised in the following way. In Chapter 2 the necessary radiation quantities and units required for a systematic treatment of shielding are introduced and defined, after a brief review of the radiological background to the setting of radiation protection limits. Also established in this chapter is the framework required for the mathematical treatment of particle transport: this is in preparation for the more detailed consideration given to transport theory in Chapter 7.

In Chapter 3, the principal sources of nuclear radiation are described, with particular reference to the ‘fission’ reactor. A brief reference is made here to the ‘fusion’ reactor, principally to illustrate the universal character of radiation sources and radiation problems.

The basic concepts peculiar to the study of gamma ray attenuation are considered in Chapter 4. This chapter is mostly devoted to the discussion of gamma photon cross sections, and to introducing an important shielding parameter called the buildup factor. The first computer program is introduced at this stage. It is a simple program, called BMIX, which illustrates a simple technique for computing the gamma ray buildup factor for a multi-layer shield. The most important numerical procedure employed by the program is interpolation of data tables.

Chapter 5 is devoted to one of the most widely used techniques in shield analysis, namely, the point attenuation kernel method. The use of this important method in deriving convenient formulae for idealised source-shield configurations is demonstrated in numerous examples. The final sections of Chapter 5 are concerned with CASK, which is a simple computer program intended to demonstrate the application of results obtained from point kernel analysis. The two most important numerical techniques implemented by CASK, in its basic and modified forms, are (i) finding the zero of a given function by iterative procedures (ii) the use of expansions and rational approximations to evaluate mathematical functions.

Gamma ray attenuation parameters are considered in Chapter 4, and much of the material discussed in Chapter 5 is equally applicable to gamma rays or neutrons. The particular consideration of neutron attenuation through shields is the principal subject matter of Chapter 6. Perhaps the most important parameter in neutron shielding studies, the neutron removal cross section, is introduced at this point. The two main calculational procedures considered in Chapter 6, are: the neutron point kernel technique for fast neutrons and, for the complete neutron attenuation by a shield, the combined Removal-Diffusion method. Up to this point, the shielding methods discussed for gamma rays and neutrons are approximate, semi-empirical techniques, which rely largely for their effectiveness on experimentally derived parameters, or parameters derived from more rigorous theoretical methods. These semi-empirical methods are the most frequently used tools of the shield analyst in providing quick answers to routine shielding problems. And for the student of shielding, they are the most appropriate methods to consider for gaining insight into the fundamental physical processes of shielding. Many of the concepts and calculational techniques so far discussed in the book are brought together in an instructive, bulk shielding computer program called CADRE. A facility that is provided in many large shielding programs, that is illustrated by CADRE, is the control of program options by means of the data input. The description of CADRE occupies most of the final sections of Chapter 6.

The rigorous treatment of radiation shielding problems is based on the solution of the Boltzmann transport equation for the system of interest, using basic cross section data. The Boltzmann transport equation for gamma ray and neutron radiation is derived, and methods for its solution considered, in Chapter 7. In considering methods of solving the transport equation, attention is focused on those methods which have proved successful in the context of radiation shielding. Two methods in particular are examined in detail: (a) the Monte Carlo method (b) the moments method.

In describing these techniques, the emphasis is placed on the basic ideas of the methods, and on how the methods can be used to provide fundamental shielding data of general applicability; the application of ‘transport methods’ to specific shielding configurations is considered beyond the scope of this book. The most advanced computer program included in the book is described in Chapter 7: it is a Monte Carlo program called MONTERAY. Other programs included in this chapter are concerned with detailed investigation, and demonstration, of specific procedures commonly to be found in Monte Carlo particle transport programs; and with the utilization of quantities obtained from the moments method in order to compute buildup factor data. This latter computation is the province of the computer program DBUF.

To some readers, especially at a first encounter, the material and the treatment of it contained in Chapter 7 and the final sections of Chapter 2 may seem somewhat abstract and too demanding of their mathematical knowledge. As this material is not essential to the understanding of much of what is discussed in the remainder of the book, it may be omitted, if desired, at a first reading.

1.3 BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

This book is not aimed at the complete beginner in nuclear engineering, and therefore some relevant, basic, background knowledge is presupposed. On the other hand it is certainly not intended for the research worker in the field, or the shielding specialist who is, quite rightly, mainly interested in finding out about the latest developments in shielding methods – there are advanced shielding textbooks, reviews and reports catering for such specialized interests. What this book sets out to do is provide a link, at a fairly basic level, between the fundamental theory of radiation shielding and the implementation of the concomitant calculational procedures in computer programs for solution by high-speed computers. It assumes on the part of the reader a basic knowledge of reactor physics and associated nuclear physics – although much of the material contained in the book should also be accessible and of benefit to those, with a basic knowledge of physics, who are interested in the shielding of radiation sources other than the nuclear reactor. Since it is customary in introductory courses in reactor physics to place less emphasis on the gamma photon than on the neutron as the particle of interest, we assume here that the reader is less familiar with the physics of the former particle than the latter.

The book also assumes that the reader has an elementary knowledge of the FORTRAN programming language, and has some experience of running at least small programs on a high-speed computer. For the solution of the problems contained in the exercises which refer to the various computer programs provided, it is necessary to have access to a high-speed computer capable of executing FORTRAN programs – a facility now commonly available to those following a course of study at university or college of technology.

Guidance in the use of shielding data forms an important objective of this book. But there has been no attempt by the author to include in the book a comprehensive set of the most up-to-date values of shielding data. Shielding manuals and other specialised data works are the appropriate repositories for information of that kind. The data that is included in the book should be regarded as representative values only, primarily intended to illustrate the discussion in the text, or for use in the solution of the various problems to which the data are attached. In particular the data tables contained in the book should not be regarded by the reader as a substitute for referring to shielding manuals – for it is important that anyone seriously studying the subject of shielding should familiarise himself with the type of data that is available in shielding manuals, and with the manner in which the information is set out.

A selection of suitable sources of background information in reactor physics, computer programming and numerical methods can be found in the references given at the end of this chapter.

1.4 THE COMPUTER PROGRAMS

The educational computer programs provided in the book are written in the widely used scientific programming language: FORTRAN. The program information is presented in a standard form. The basic information given includes:

(i) the flow-diagram

(ii) ‘glossary’ of main variable names

(iii) complete listing of program, with numerous descriptive ‘comment’ statements

(iv) input data format description

(v) example problem for the program

(vi) data for the example problem

(vii) results output for example problem.

In the listing, the comment, or ‘C’, statements are included to clarify to the user the purpose of the various instructions which comprise the program; these comments are important for the understanding of the program, but as they are not executed by the computer during a run, they may of course be omitted from the copy of the program extracted by the potential user from the listing provided in the book. The user should first check his copy of a particular program by running it with the example data provided, and comparing his computer output with the results given.

The programs have been purposely written in a straightforward way, using extremely few ‘tricks’, in order that the logic of the programs can be readily followed, even by those with only an elementary knowledge of computer programming. A standard, or basic, form of FORTRAN is used (corresponding roughly to FORTRAN IV) to enable the programs to compile on the widest variety of computer systems, with the minimum alteration. All the programs listed in the book have been successfully compiled and run on the following representative computers, ICL 2980, ICL 1904S, CDC 7600 and IBM 360/65. Apart from the system-dependent job control instructions which must precede and succeed a FORTRAN program, the same version of the program runs on all four computers, except for a very few instructions. Attention is drawn in the program listing to the few exceptions by means of the comment statements already mentioned. Note: job control instructions are not included in the program listings.

Following common convention, the reading of cards (i.e. the input of data) is performed from unit 5, and the writing of output (by the line printer) is performed on unit 6. Thus all the READ and WRITE statements in the programs refer, respectively, to these particular units.

To sustain uniformity in the program listing, the data is ‘read in’ in a formatted form. But to simplify data preparation, the user is advised to alter his program to take advantage of the ‘free’ format provision that is available on many computer systems. For example, the I0 and F0.0 ‘free’ field specification available on ICL machines, or the ‘list directed’ READ (5, *) facility available on CDC and IBM machines.

A Fortran usage that does differ slightly from one computer system to another, and hence requires a little care, is associated with the use of ‘locally’ provided ‘FUNCTIONS’ for generating random numbers. Detailed instructions in the use of random number generators is given at the appropriate places in the sections of Chapter 7 which deal with the Monte Carlo method.

The description in the text which accompanies each program is fairly self-contained, although at the cost of some slight repetition of the underlying theory. The intention here is to provide the prospective user with a convenient independent reference, or ‘user’s guide’, to each program. But the reader should regard the programs as a natural extension of the concepts and procedures discussed in the text, and not as separate, unrelated items. The reader is urged to make the effort to understand the programs thoroughly: so that he can extend the scope of the programs – and his knowledge of shielding and computational techniques. Above all, the programs should be used intelligently; not merely fed with received data, and the results output by the computer accepted ‘blindly’.

TABLE 1.1

Some of the Computers, and Associated FORTRAN Compilers, on which the Programs, in the Form Listed in the Book, have been Run

1.5 REFERENCES

Shielding Text Books

1. Glasstone, S., Sesonske, A.Nuclear Reactor Engineering. Princeton, N.J.: Van Nostrand Co., 1967. [Chapts. 9, 10 and 12].

2. Goldstein, H.Fundamental Aspects of Reactor Shielding. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1959.

3. Price, B. T., Horton, C. C., Spinney, K. T.Radiation Shielding. London.: Pergamon Press, 1957.

Advanced Shielding Text Book

4. Schaeffer, N. M. (Ed.) (1973). Reactor Shielding for Nuclear Engineers. USAEC Report TID-25951.

Shielding Manuals

5. Blizard, E.P., Abbott, L.S., eds., 2nd ed. Reactor Handbook; 3. Interscience Publishers, a division of J. Wiley and Sons, London., 1962. part B; Shielding.

6. Jaeger, R.G., eds. Engineering Compendium on Radiation Shielding, I. Berlin.: Springer-Verlag, 1968. [(Ed. in Chief); Vol. II (1975); Vol. III (1970).].

7. Rockwell, T. (Ed.) (1956). Reactor Shielding Design Manual. USAEC Report TID-7004.

Reactor Physics Text Books

8. Glasstone, S., Edlund, M. C.Elements of Nuclear Reactor Theory. Princeton; N.J.: Van Nostrand Co., 1952.

9. Lamarsh, J. R.Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory. London.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1966.

10. Lamarsh, J. R.Introduction to Nuclear Engineering. London.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1975.

Computing, Numerical Methods and FORTRAN Programming

11. Fox, L., Mayers, D. F.Computing Methods for Scientists and Engineers. Oxford.: Clarendon, 1968.

12. Hornbeck, R. W.Numerical Methods. New York.: Quantum, 1975.

13. McCracken, D. D.A Guide to Fortran IV Programming. London.: J. Wiley and Sons, 1965.

Mathematical Functions and Tables

14. Abramowitz M., Stegun I.A., eds. Handbook of Mathematical Functions. Washington, D.C., USA.: National Bureau of Standards, 1964.

Additional Sources of Cross Section Data

15. Butler, J. (1978). Nuclear Data for Reactor Shielding. A paper presented at a NEA and UKAEA Conference on Neutron Physics and Nuclear Data for Reactors and Other Applied Purposes, Harwell, England.

16. Hughes, D. J. and R. B. Schwartz (1958). Neutron Cross Sections, 2nd ed. USAEC Report BNL-325.

17. Templin, L. J. (Ed.) (1963). Reactor Physics Constants, 2nd ed. USAEC Report ANL-5800.

18. Storm, E., Israel, H. I., Photon Cross Sections. Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables; 7. Academic Press, New York., 1970:565.

19. Pearlstein, S., Evaluated Nuclear Data Files. Adv. Nucl. Sci. & Tech. 1975; 8:115 ENDF/B (Evaluated Nuclear Data File). References for which are :; Academic Press, London. H. C. Honeck (1966). ENDF/B Specifications for an Evaluated Nuclear Data File for Reactor Applications, USAEC Report BNL-50066.

20. UK Nuclear Data Library. References for which are : J. S. Story and others (1964). Proc. 3rd Inter. Conf. Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, Geneva, 2, p. 168. D. S. Norton (1968). The UKAEA Nuclear Data Library Feb 1968, AEEW-M824.

Chapter 2

RADIATION QUANTITIES AND UNITS

Publisher Summary

Ionizing radiation produces ion pairs in its passage through a substance; it is any radiation consisting of direct or indirect ionizing particles or a mixture of both. Direct ionizing particles are charged particles, such as electrons, protons, and alpha particles, having sufficient kinetic energy to produce ionization by collision. Indirect ionizing particles are uncharged particles, such as neutrons and gamma rays, that can liberate direct ionizing particles or initiate a nuclear transformation. Thus, neutrons and gamma rays can only cause ionization as a result of secondary processes. In the fields of radiobiology and radiation