A reconsideration of photoneutron production through a 5 MeV electron LINAC using MCNP and FLUKA

Abstract

In the present study, photoneutron production using a 5 MeV electron linear accelerator (LINAC) was investigated based on new photoneutron cross-sections (IAEA/PD-2019.2) from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). A detailed reconsideration of a past study has been done in order to make a photoneutron source based on a heavy water target. In this regard, new cross-sections of deuterium and beryllium were added to the library of the MCNP6.1 Monte Carlo code for the simulation of photoneutron production. In addition, the FLUKA4-3.0 Monte Carlo code was employed for comparison and data validation. Moreover, the obtained results from those two codes (MCNP and FLUKA) were compared and discussed with the theory and the previous study. Finally, it is concluded that the simulation of photoneutron production through an electron LINAC can have relatively different results based on the photoneutron cross-sections and even on the Monte Carlo code used. Therefore, a special attention should be paid to the difference between photoneutron cross-sections as well as the difference in Monte Carlo codes to maintain reliability.