Fast three-dimensional radiation field characterization in large-scale nuclear installations

The requirement of the fast three-dimensional radiation field calculation is raised during the decommissioning of large-scale nuclear installations. The most often used methods, such as the Monte Carlo and the discrete ordinates methods, have shortcomings in their simulations of such problems. The coupled Monte Carlo–point kernel computational scheme is developed to meet the requirement. The facility is separated into the source region and the bulk shielding region, with a common interface. The transport within the source region is simulated using the Monte Carlo method, which is by nature good at treating complex geometries. The radiation field in the bulk shielding region is treated by the point kernel approach to avoid the extremely expensive computation for deep penetration problems. The flow rate through the interface, which is given by the Monte Carlo simulation, is considered as the equivalent surface source for the point kernel calculation. Test calculations from simplified typical waste storage facilities have been performed to validate the coupled scheme by comparing them with the results conducted by the Monte Carlo method directly. The good agreement of the results, as well as the significant saving in computing time, indicates that the coupled method is suitable for the fast three-dimensional radiation field calculation.