Fluka simulation and its experimental verification

From: Dr. Bhushankumar J. Patil <amolbhushan_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:43:07 +0530

Dear fluka users and developers,

          This mail is in connection with the fluka simulation and its
experimental verification.

         We have designed Accelerator Based Neutron source using FLUKA
simulation for our 6 MeV Race-Track Microtron. In this case high
energy electron is impinged on the Tungsten target to generate
bremsstrahlung radiation, which further produces neutrons by photo nuclear
reaction in Beryllium target. The optimization of these
targets along with their spectra were estimated using fluka code.
The measurement of neutron flux was carried out by activation of
vanadium and compared with the integrated flux calculated in
fluka.
         The developed accelerator based neutron source generates
continuous neutron spectrum having energy range from 1 keV to 4
MeV. Therefore, knowledge of the spectral shape of the neutron
flux is critical
for interpreting any activation measurement. We have made an attempt to
quantify the total number of neutrons using a Vanadium activation, but we
can not verify the spectral shape that is estimated by FLUKA with a direct
measurement.

      Our neutron flux calculated by fluka is matching very well with the
measured neutron flux by activation process. These results are also
published in journal.

          The FLUKA simulations need to be bench marked by spectral
measurements in order to give confidence in the results. Now we
have to use the developed neutron source for the measurement of nuclear
reaction cross sections. So do we need to measure the neutron energy
spectra experimentally, which seem to be very difficult because of its
continuous nature. This spectrum involves from lower energy i.e 1 keV to
higher energy up to 4 MeV. So to measure such spectrum we do not have
detectors which will detects neutrons from 1 keV to 4 MeV energies. But we
need to verify and validate this spectrum of neutron estimated through
fluka with the experimental one.
          So my question is that "Is there any way on the basis of that we
can believe on fluka results which directly validate with the
experimental one ?"


With regards
Bhushan Patil


Dr. Bhushankumar Jagnnath Patil
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics,
Abasaheb Garware College,
Pune - 411004
Received on Thu Jun 20 2013 - 10:01:44 CEST