Application of a new source model of a panoramic gamma irradiator on dose map formation in an irradiated product

Abstract

The computer simulation of radiation processing in an industrial panoramic gamma facility generates a number of complex scientific and technical problems; for example, the product is manually loaded onto turntables and rotates during the entire irradiation and the Monte Carlo MCNP three-dimensional geometry simulation is static. This causes the first problem; for this it is necessary to introduce additional approaches to describe the real irradiation process. It is important to properly represent the irradiation process and the specific conditions of the irradiator to correctly reproduce the measured results and guarantee also through the use of the model developed the most accurate dose map formations in an irradiated product, improving the service quality provided to the customer. The objective of this study is to apply the proposed source model of a panoramic gamma irradiator on dose distributions in containers of different geometric shape of an irradiated product with use of the Monte Carlo code. The influence was studied with use of a new homogenized annular source model. The validation of the MCNPX model of the GammaBeam 127 source was performed by measurements. The validation of the proposed model was based on comparative evaluation of the MCNPX absorbed-dose rates (Gy/h) in the irradiated product between the real source model and the new model. The comparative results for the MCNPX absorbed-dose rate showed that the new source model provides a better description of the irradiation process in a panoramic gamma irradiator. This indicates that the physical and mathematical MCNPX models developed are reliable and correct, and the new source model adequately reproduces the observed dose distributions in the different geometric shapes of the irradiated product.