Nuclear Technologies Social Science Focus: Public perception and socio-political attitudes toward nuclear energy, medical isotopes, and radiation safety
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22399/ijasrar.64Keywords:
Proton accelerator, Underground shielding, FLUKA Monte Carlo, Secondary particle production, Neutron moderation, Ferroboron shieldingAbstract
Radiation safety in underground proton accelerator facilities depends not only on the determination of adequate shielding thicknesses but also on the accurate modeling of secondary particle production, transport, and interactions within shielding materials. While most previous studies have primarily focused on ambient dose equivalent or particle fluence distributions, investigations simultaneously addressing secondary particle production, particle stopping processes within shielding systems, and low-energy neutron moderation remain limited. In this study, a three-dimensional underground proton accelerator tunnel was modeled using the FLUKA Monte Carlo (MC) particle transport code. The computational model incorporated a multilayer ferroboron (FeB)-concrete shielding system surrounded by natural soil, and the radiation field generated by the interaction of a monoenergetic 250 MeV proton beam with a copper target was comprehensively investigated. Secondary particle production yields, the distributions of particles completely stopped within the shielding materials, and low-energy neutron-induced interactions were analyzed simultaneously to provide a comprehensive physical interpretation of radiation transport mechanisms. The results revealed that approximately 85% of all generated secondary particles consisted of protons, neutrons, and photons, indicating that these three particle species dominate the radiation field. Furthermore, the multilayer FeB-concrete shielding system was found to effectively attenuate charged particles through ionization energy loss and nuclear interactions, whereas low-energy neutron transport was governed predominantly by elastic scattering processes. The surrounding natural soil was also shown to enhance neutron moderation through multiple scattering mechanisms, functioning as an additional passive biological shielding layer alongside the engineered shielding system. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental physical processes governing radiation fields in underground proton accelerator facilities and offers valuable guidance for the optimization of multilayer shielding systems as well as the radiation-safe design of future proton therapy and accelerator research facilities.
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