Abstract
For the new high-power accelerators currently being designed, activation of the accelerator structure has become an important issue. To quantify this activation, a methodology was developed and utilized that coupled transport and depletion codes to obtain dose rate estimates at several locations near the accelerator. To perform these calculations, simplified computer models were developed from detailed engineering drawings of a typical high-power accelerator design. This research focused on the 20 and 100 MeV sections of the bridge-coupled drift tube linear (BCDTL) accelerator. The peak dose rate was found to be approximately 6.5 mR/h in the 100 MeV section near the quadrupoles at a 25 cm radius, given an assumed beam loss of 1 nA/m. This peak occurs after the longest irradiation time (1 year) and the 1 hour decay time considered for this research. It was determined that the activation was caused mostly by proton interactions and subsequent spallation products, as opposed to absorption of the generated neutrons. The worst contributors were the spallation products created by proton bombardment of iron, and the worst component was the beam pipe, which consists mostly of iron.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 88-97 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms |
Volume | 168 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2000 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This work was performed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science for the first author. Funding was provided by Los Alamos National Laboratory under contract to the Department of Energy.
Funders | Funder number |
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U.S. Department of Energy | |
Los Alamos National Laboratory |