Master of Science

thesisThe main objective of this thesis is twofold. The starting objective was to develop a model for meaningful benchmarking of different versions of GEANT4 against an experimental set-up and MCNP5 pertaining to photon transport and interactions. The following objective was to develop a preliminary design of a Fast Neutron Pencil Beam (FNPB) Facility to be applicable for the University of Utah research reactor (UUTR) using MCNP5 and GEANT4. The three various GEANT4 code versions, GEANT4.9.4, GEANT4.9.3, and GEANT4.9.2, were compared to MCNP5 and the experimental measurements of gamma attenuation in air. The average gamma dose rate was measured in the laboratory experiment at various distances from a shielded cesium source using a Ludlum model 19 portable NaI detector. As it was expected, the gamma dose rate decreased with distance. All three GEANT4 code versions agreed well with both the experimental data and the MCNP5 simulation. Additionally, a simple GEANT4 and MCNP5 model was developed to compare the code agreements for neutron interactions in various materials. Preliminary FNPB design was developed using MCNP5; a semi-accurate model was developed using GEANT4 (because GEANT4 does not support the reactor physics modeling, the reactor was represented as a surface neutron source, thus a semi-accurate model). Based on the MCNP5 model, the fast neutron flux in a sample holder of the FNPB is obtained to be 6.52x107 n/cm2s, which is one order of magnitude lower than gigantic fast neutron pencil beam facilities existing elsewhere. The MCNP5 model-based neutron spectrum indicates that the maximum expected fast neutron flux is at a neutron energy of ~1 MeV. In addition, the MCNP5 model provided information on gamma flux to be expected in this preliminary FNPB design; specifically, in the sample holder, the gamma flux is to be expected to be around 108 i/cm2s, delivering a gamma dose of 4.54x103 rem/hr. This value is one to two orders of magnitudes below the gamma exposure as exists in the currently used fast neutron irradiation facility at the UUTR. The GEANT4.9.4 semi-accurate model of the FNPB design provided higher values for neutron and gamma fluxes, indicating the importance of transfering the data from MCNP5 rather than using the GEANT4 default neutron spectra