Improved radiation shielding analysis considering vector calculus

The future of nuclear energy in the energy mix faces a permanent scrutiny of safety aspects in conciliation with bridled costs, either fission- or fusion-based. This affects to all the exciting milestones pursued in XXIst. To name few in the field of fission, the deployment of the IVth generation reactors is expected or the definitive solution to the radioactive wastes is sought. A mention apart is made to fusion technology, with ITER as the flagship project. It seeks a virtually infinite energy source, intrinsically safe and with reduced radioactive waste production with respect to fission the first commercial reactor. All these, and many other endeavors, share the operation of sophisticated devices in the presence of intense ionizing radiation fields. Humans and electronics must be protected to ensure safe and reliable performance, while shielding normally represents a large fraction of the budget. This involves nuclear analysis in the design phase to forecast the radiation conditions. The complexity of the simulation of 3D radiation fields that is computationally affordable nowadays is unprecedented. While sophistication in geometries and source definitions has become routine, the resulting complexity of these scalar fields makes their analysis increasingly difficult. The need of enhancement of the analysis techniques is evident today. Vector calculus is proposed following a physical interpretation of the field lines that boosts the analysis capabilities. It identifies the trajectories around which shielding is weakest in an automated errorless and effortless approach. Its power is illustrated with an example relevant to the ITER reactor.