Concrete Modeling for Neutron Transport and Associated Sensitivity Studies Performed at the AMANDE-MIRCOM Facility

Concrete plays a major role in nuclear facilities as protection against radiation. However, its chemical composition, which is fundamental, is often unknown. Several concrete samples, extracted from the AMANDE-MIRCOM Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) facility, were anal...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNuclear science and engineering Vol. 195; no. 8; pp. 864 - 876
Main Author Petit, Michaël
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis 03.08.2021
Academic Press
Subjects
Concrete
modeling
neutrons
Physics
radiation protection
shielding
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Summary:Concrete plays a major role in nuclear facilities as protection against radiation. However, its chemical composition, which is fundamental, is often unknown. Several concrete samples, extracted from the AMANDE-MIRCOM Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) facility, were analyzed. Various simulations were performed in order to evaluate the neutron fluence behind a 40-cm-thick concrete wall. These simulations were compared to experimental measurements performed with a Bonner sphere spectrometer and a neutron survey meter. No set of parameters tested was able to produce a simulation accurately matching all the experimental results, but sensitivity studies on several parameters highlight that the three most sensitive parameters are the hydrogen content, the density, and the concrete inhomogeneity. To improve the agreement between the simulations and the measurements, the concrete inhomogeneity modeling should be studied further. Nevertheless, using concrete compositions that are close to reality, especially for hydrogen content, is crucial to correctly simulate neutron transport.
ISSN:0029-5639
1943-748X
DOI:10.1080/00295639.2020.1867436