GEANT4 Transport Calculations for Neutrons and Photons Below 15 MeV

Abstract

Neutron transport calculations are needed in many fields of radiation protection and medical physics. Neutron transport is often simulated with a Monte Carlo code, which allows the calculation of neutron dose distributions in different geometries, for example in voxel phantoms. So far little information is available about neutron transport below 15 MeV in tissue-like matter performed with the Monte Carlo code GEANT4. Therefore, we compared GEANT4 results of the ambient dose equivalent for neutron energies from 10 meV to 15 MeV with MCNP results and values published in ICRU 57. The GEANT4 code was found to be appropriate to calculate neutron and photon dose at energies below 15 MeV correctly. Furthermore, a method how to include a dose-assessment factor into the calculation was developed and tested.