TECH-X CORPORATION — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 30e

Description

Residual radiation caused by activation radioactive isotopes can stay in facilities, on instruments and clothes from several days to many years and there is a need to have a tool for automatic simulation of 3D residual dose distributions in time. Examples are accelerator enclosures, nuclear plants, fusion and nuclear medicine facilities. Several well- tested high-fidelity Monte Carlo codes can be used to perform such simulations, but they manual and approximate creation of complex geometries and lack a user-friendly interface allowing users to set up and execute the required workflows in a streamlined and error-proof fashion. Tech-X Corporation, in collaboration with SLAC and FNAL, will develop a framework for streamlined calculation of residual dose using MARS15 and Geant4 Monte Carlo codes. The framework will allow definition of complex geometries from CAD and have a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to set up simulations without the need to know programming and even the input file commands. Using two Monte Carlo codes under the same GUI will facilitate cross-validation and open this product to wider research and commercial communities. Phase I will result in (1) software code for translating CAD to MARS15 and Geant4 inputs; (2) extensions of MARS15 and Geant4 to increase automation of residual dose calculations; (3) a prototype Graphical User Interface for such simulations. The developed application will be of immediate use to the US National Laboratories doing research in High-Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Nuclear Energy, Fusion, and Non-proliferation: FNAL, SLAC, ORNL, SNS, BNL, and PPPL. Commercial applications include aerospace, nuclear energy, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy applications and nuclear waste management in these sectors.