Review of Heavy Charged Particle Transport in MCNP6.2

DOE PAGES

Zieb, Kristofer James Ekhart; Hughes, Henry Grady III; Xu, X. George; ...

2018-01-05

The release of version 6.2 of the MCNP6 radiation transport code is imminent. To complement the newest release, a summary of the heavy charged particle physics models used in the 1 MeV to 1 GeV energy regime is presented. Several changes have been introduced into the charged particle physics models since the merger of the MCNP5 and MCNPX codes into MCNP6. Here, this article discusses the default models used in MCNP6 for continuous energy loss, energy straggling, and angular scattering of heavy charged particles. Explanations of the physics models’ theories are included as well.

Methods of treating complex space vehicle geometry for charged particle radiation transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, C. W.

1973-01-01

Current methods of treating complex geometry models for space radiation transport calculations are reviewed. The geometric techniques used in three computer codes are outlined. Evaluations of geometric capability and speed are provided for these codes. Although no code development work is included several suggestions for significantly improving complex geometry codes are offered.

NANO-PARTICLE TRANSPORT AND DEPOSITION IN BIFURCATING TUBES WITH DIFFERENT INLET CONDITIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Transport and deposition of ultrafine particles in straight, bend and bifurcating tubes are considered for different inlet Reynolds numbers, velocity profiles, and particle sizes i.e., 1 nm= =150 nm. A commercial finite-volume code with user-supplied programs was validated with a...

Prompt Radiation Protection Factors

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-02-01

dimensional Monte-Carlo radiation transport code MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle) and the evaluation of the protection factors (ratio of dose in the open to...radiation was performed using the three dimensional Monte- Carlo radiation transport code MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle) and the evaluation of the protection...by detonation of a nuclear device have placed renewed emphasis on evaluation of the consequences in case of such an event. The Defense Threat

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fu, Guoyong; Budny, Robert; Gorelenkov, Nikolai

We report here the work done for the FY14 OFES Theory Performance Target as given below: "Understanding alpha particle confinement in ITER, the world's first burning plasma experiment, is a key priority for the fusion program. In FY 2014, determine linear instability trends and thresholds of energetic particle-driven shear Alfven eigenmodes in ITER for a range of parameters and profiles using a set of complementary simulation models (gyrokinetic, hybrid, and gyrofluid). Carry out initial nonlinear simulations to assess the effects of the unstable modes on energetic particle transport". In the past year (FY14), a systematic study of the alpha-driven Alfvenmore » modes in ITER has been carried out jointly by researchers from six institutions involving seven codes including the transport simulation code TRANSP (R. Budny and F. Poli, PPPL), three gyrokinetic codes: GEM (Y. Chen, Univ. of Colorado), GTC (J. McClenaghan, Z. Lin, UCI), and GYRO (E. Bass, R. Waltz, UCSD/GA), the hybrid code M3D-K (G.Y. Fu, PPPL), the gyro-fluid code TAEFL (D. Spong, ORNL), and the linear kinetic stability code NOVA-K (N. Gorelenkov, PPPL). A range of ITER parameters and profiles are specified by TRANSP simulation of a hybrid scenario case and a steady-state scenario case. Based on the specified ITER equilibria linear stability calculations are done to determine the stability boundary of alpha-driven high-n TAEs using the five initial value codes (GEM, GTC, GYRO, M3D-K, and TAEFL) and the kinetic stability code (NOVA-K). Both the effects of alpha particles and beam ions have been considered. Finally, the effects of the unstable modes on energetic particle transport have been explored using GEM and M3D-K.« less

Recent Improvements of Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System: PHITS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Tatsuhiko; Niita, Koji; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Hashimoto, Shintaro; Ogawa, Tatsuhiko; Furuta, Takuya; Abe, Shin-ichiro; Kai, Takeshi; Matsuda, Norihiro; Okumura, Keisuke; Kai, Tetsuya; Iwase, Hiroshi; Sihver, Lembit

2017-09-01

The Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System, PHITS, has been developed under the collaboration of several research institutes in Japan and Europe. This system can simulate the transport of most particles with energy levels up to 1 TeV (per nucleon for ion) using different nuclear reaction models and data libraries. More than 2,500 registered researchers and technicians have used this system for various applications such as accelerator design, radiation shielding and protection, medical physics, and space- and geo-sciences. This paper summarizes the physics models and functions recently implemented in PHITS, between versions 2.52 and 2.88, especially those related to source generation useful for simulating brachytherapy and internal exposures of radioisotopes.

A comparative study of space radiation organ doses and associated cancer risks using PHITS and HZETRN.

PubMed

Bahadori, Amir A; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Slaba, Tony C; Shavers, Mark R; Semones, Edward J; Van Baalen, Mary; Bolch, Wesley E

2013-10-21

NASA currently uses one-dimensional deterministic transport to generate values of the organ dose equivalent needed to calculate stochastic radiation risk following crew space exposures. In this study, organ absorbed doses and dose equivalents are calculated for 50th percentile male and female astronaut phantoms using both the NASA High Charge and Energy Transport Code to perform one-dimensional deterministic transport and the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System to perform three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport. Two measures of radiation risk, effective dose and risk of exposure-induced death (REID) are calculated using the organ dose equivalents resulting from the two methods of radiation transport. For the space radiation environments and simplified shielding configurations considered, small differences (<8%) in the effective dose and REID are found. However, for the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) boundary condition, compensating errors are observed, indicating that comparisons between the integral measurements of complex radiation environments and code calculations can be misleading. Code-to-code benchmarks allow for the comparison of differential quantities, such as secondary particle differential fluence, to provide insight into differences observed in integral quantities for particular components of the GCR spectrum.

A comparative study of space radiation organ doses and associated cancer risks using PHITS and HZETRN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahadori, Amir A.; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Slaba, Tony C.; Shavers, Mark R.; Semones, Edward J.; Van Baalen, Mary; Bolch, Wesley E.

2013-10-01

NASA currently uses one-dimensional deterministic transport to generate values of the organ dose equivalent needed to calculate stochastic radiation risk following crew space exposures. In this study, organ absorbed doses and dose equivalents are calculated for 50th percentile male and female astronaut phantoms using both the NASA High Charge and Energy Transport Code to perform one-dimensional deterministic transport and the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System to perform three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport. Two measures of radiation risk, effective dose and risk of exposure-induced death (REID) are calculated using the organ dose equivalents resulting from the two methods of radiation transport. For the space radiation environments and simplified shielding configurations considered, small differences (<8%) in the effective dose and REID are found. However, for the galactic cosmic ray (GCR) boundary condition, compensating errors are observed, indicating that comparisons between the integral measurements of complex radiation environments and code calculations can be misleading. Code-to-code benchmarks allow for the comparison of differential quantities, such as secondary particle differential fluence, to provide insight into differences observed in integral quantities for particular components of the GCR spectrum.

Beam-dynamics codes used at DARHT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ekdahl, Jr., Carl August

Several beam simulation codes are used to help gain a better understanding of beam dynamics in the DARHT LIAs. The most notable of these fall into the following categories: for beam production – Tricomp Trak orbit tracking code, LSP Particle in cell (PIC) code, for beam transport and acceleration – XTR static envelope and centroid code, LAMDA time-resolved envelope and centroid code, LSP-Slice PIC code, for coasting-beam transport to target – LAMDA time-resolved envelope code, LSP-Slice PIC code. These codes are also being used to inform the design of Scorpius.

DIAPHANE: A portable radiation transport library for astrophysical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, Darren S.; Dykes, Tim; Cabezón, Rubén; Gheller, Claudio; Mayer, Lucio

2018-05-01

One of the most computationally demanding aspects of the hydrodynamical modelingof Astrophysical phenomena is the transport of energy by radiation or relativistic particles. Physical processes involving energy transport are ubiquitous and of capital importance in many scenarios ranging from planet formation to cosmic structure evolution, including explosive events like core collapse supernova or gamma-ray bursts. Moreover, the ability to model and hence understand these processes has often been limited by the approximations and incompleteness in the treatment of radiation and relativistic particles. The DIAPHANE project has focused on developing a portable and scalable library that handles the transport of radiation and particles (in particular neutrinos) independently of the underlying hydrodynamic code. In this work, we present the computational framework and the functionalities of the first version of the DIAPHANE library, which has been successfully ported to three different smoothed-particle hydrodynamic codes, GADGET2, GASOLINE and SPHYNX. We also present validation of different modules solving the equations of radiation and neutrino transport using different numerical schemes.

Comparison of Stopping Power and Range Databases for Radiation Transport Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tai, H.; Bichsel, Hans; Wilson, John W.; Shinn, Judy L.; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Badavi, Francis F.

1997-01-01

The codes used to calculate stopping power and range for the space radiation shielding program at the Langley Research Center are based on the work of Ziegler but with modifications. As more experience is gained from experiments at heavy ion accelerators, prudence dictates a reevaluation of the current databases. Numerical values of stopping power and range calculated from four different codes currently in use are presented for selected ions and materials in the energy domain suitable for space radiation transport. This study of radiation transport has found that for most collision systems and for intermediate particle energies, agreement is less than 1 percent, in general, among all the codes. However, greater discrepancies are seen for heavy systems, especially at low particle energies.

Application of a Java-based, univel geometry, neutral particle Monte Carlo code to the searchlight problem

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Charles A. Wemple; Joshua J. Cogliati

2005-04-01

A univel geometry, neutral particle Monte Carlo transport code, written entirely in the Java programming language, is under development for medical radiotherapy applications. The code uses ENDF-VI based continuous energy cross section data in a flexible XML format. Full neutron-photon coupling, including detailed photon production and photonuclear reactions, is included. Charged particle equilibrium is assumed within the patient model so that detailed transport of electrons produced by photon interactions may be neglected. External beam and internal distributed source descriptions for mixed neutron-photon sources are allowed. Flux and dose tallies are performed on a univel basis. A four-tap, shift-register-sequence random numbermore » generator is used. Initial verification and validation testing of the basic neutron transport routines is underway. The searchlight problem was chosen as a suitable first application because of the simplicity of the physical model. Results show excellent agreement with analytic solutions. Computation times for similar numbers of histories are comparable to other neutron MC codes written in C and FORTRAN.« less

Reduced discretization error in HZETRN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Slaba, Tony C., E-mail: Tony.C.Slaba@nasa.gov; Blattnig, Steve R., E-mail: Steve.R.Blattnig@nasa.gov; Tweed, John, E-mail: jtweed@odu.edu

2013-02-01

The deterministic particle transport code HZETRN is an efficient analysis tool for studying the effects of space radiation on humans, electronics, and shielding materials. In a previous work, numerical methods in the code were reviewed, and new methods were developed that further improved efficiency and reduced overall discretization error. It was also shown that the remaining discretization error could be attributed to low energy light ions (A < 4) with residual ranges smaller than the physical step-size taken by the code. Accurately resolving the spectrum of low energy light particles is important in assessing risk associated with astronaut radiation exposure.more » In this work, modifications to the light particle transport formalism are presented that accurately resolve the spectrum of low energy light ion target fragments. The modified formalism is shown to significantly reduce overall discretization error and allows a physical approximation to be removed. For typical step-sizes and energy grids used in HZETRN, discretization errors for the revised light particle transport algorithms are shown to be less than 4% for aluminum and water shielding thicknesses as large as 100 g/cm{sup 2} exposed to both solar particle event and galactic cosmic ray environments.« less

Parallelization of a Monte Carlo particle transport simulation code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadjidoukas, P.; Bousis, C.; Emfietzoglou, D.

2010-05-01

We have developed a high performance version of the Monte Carlo particle transport simulation code MC4. The original application code, developed in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) for Microsoft Excel, was first rewritten in the C programming language for improving code portability. Several pseudo-random number generators have been also integrated and studied. The new MC4 version was then parallelized for shared and distributed-memory multiprocessor systems using the Message Passing Interface. Two parallel pseudo-random number generator libraries (SPRNG and DCMT) have been seamlessly integrated. The performance speedup of parallel MC4 has been studied on a variety of parallel computing architectures including an Intel Xeon server with 4 dual-core processors, a Sun cluster consisting of 16 nodes of 2 dual-core AMD Opteron processors and a 200 dual-processor HP cluster. For large problem size, which is limited only by the physical memory of the multiprocessor server, the speedup results are almost linear on all systems. We have validated the parallel implementation against the serial VBA and C implementations using the same random number generator. Our experimental results on the transport and energy loss of electrons in a water medium show that the serial and parallel codes are equivalent in accuracy. The present improvements allow for studying of higher particle energies with the use of more accurate physical models, and improve statistics as more particles tracks can be simulated in low response time.

Final Technical Report for Department of Energy award number DE-FG02-06ER54882, Revised

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eggleston, Dennis L.

The research reported here involves studies of radial particle transport in a cylindrical, low-density Malmberg-Penning non-neutral plasma trap. The research is primarily experimental but involves careful comparisons to analytical theory and includes the results of a single-particle computer code. The transport is produced by applied electric fields that break the cylindrical symmetry of the trap, hence the term ``asymmetry-induced transport.'' Our computer studies have revealed the importance of a previously ignored class of particles that become trapped in the asymmetry potential. In many common situations these particles exhibit large radial excursions and dominate the radial transport. On the experimental side,more » we have developed new data analysis techniques that allowed us to determine the magnetic field dependence of the transport and to place empirical constraints on the form on the transport equation. Experiments designed to test the computer code results gave varying degrees of agreement with further work being necessary to understand the results. This work expands our knowledge of the varied mechanisms of cross-magnetic-field transport and should be of use to other workers studying plasma confinement.« less

PyMercury: Interactive Python for the Mercury Monte Carlo Particle Transport Code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iandola, F N; O'Brien, M J; Procassini, R J

2010-11-29

Monte Carlo particle transport applications are often written in low-level languages (C/C++) for optimal performance on clusters and supercomputers. However, this development approach often sacrifices straightforward usability and testing in the interest of fast application performance. To improve usability, some high-performance computing applications employ mixed-language programming with high-level and low-level languages. In this study, we consider the benefits of incorporating an interactive Python interface into a Monte Carlo application. With PyMercury, a new Python extension to the Mercury general-purpose Monte Carlo particle transport code, we improve application usability without diminishing performance. In two case studies, we illustrate how PyMercury improvesmore » usability and simplifies testing and validation in a Monte Carlo application. In short, PyMercury demonstrates the value of interactive Python for Monte Carlo particle transport applications. In the future, we expect interactive Python to play an increasingly significant role in Monte Carlo usage and testing.« less

MCNP capabilities for nuclear well logging calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Forster, R.A.; Little, R.C.; Briesmeister, J.F.

The Los Alamos Radiation Transport Code System (LARTCS) consists of state-of-the-art Monte Carlo and discrete ordinates transport codes and data libraries. This paper discusses how the general-purpose continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MCNP ({und M}onte {und C}arlo {und n}eutron {und p}hoton), part of the LARTCS, provides a computational predictive capability for many applications of interest to the nuclear well logging community. The generalized three-dimensional geometry of MCNP is well suited for borehole-tool models. SABRINA, another component of the LARTCS, is a graphics code that can be used to interactively create a complex MCNP geometry. Users can define many source and tallymore » characteristics with standard MCNP features. The time-dependent capability of the code is essential when modeling pulsed sources. Problems with neutrons, photons, and electrons as either single particle or coupled particles can be calculated with MCNP. The physics of neutron and photon transport and interactions is modeled in detail using the latest available cross-section data.« less

Analysis of dose-LET distribution in the human body irradiated by high energy hadrons.

PubMed

Sato, T; Tsuda, S; Sakamoto, Y; Yamaguchi, Y; Niita, K

2003-01-01

For the purposes of radiological protection, it is important to analyse profiles of the particle field inside a human body irradiated by high energy hadrons, since they can produce a variety of secondary particles which play an important role in the energy deposition process, and characterise their radiation qualities. Therefore Monte Carlo calculations were performed to evaluate dose distributions in terms of the linear energy transfer of ionising particles (dose-LET distribution) using a newly developed particle transport code (Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System, PHITS) for incidences of neutrons, protons and pions with energies from 100 MeV to 200 GeV. Based on these calculations, it was found that more than 80% and 90% of the total deposition energies are attributed to ionisation by particles with LET below 10 keV microm(-1) for the irradiations of neutrons and the charged particles, respectively.

Differential Cross Section Kinematics for 3-dimensional Transport Codes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norbury, John W.; Dick, Frank

2008-01-01

In support of the development of 3-dimensional transport codes, this paper derives the relevant relativistic particle kinematic theory. Formulas are given for invariant, spectral and angular distributions in both the lab (spacecraft) and center of momentum frames, for collisions involving 2, 3 and n - body final states.

Monte Carlo Modeling of the Initial Radiation Emitted by a Nuclear Device in the National Capital Region

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-07-01

also simulated in the models. Data was derived from calculations using the three-dimensional Monte Carlo radiation transport code MCNP (Monte Carlo N...32  B.  MCNP PHYSICS OPTIONS ......................................................................................... 33  C.  HAZUS...input deck’) for the MCNP , Monte Carlo N-Particle, radiation transport code. MCNP is a general-purpose code designed to simulate neutron, photon

Considerations of MCNP Monte Carlo code to be used as a radiotherapy treatment planning tool.

PubMed

Juste, B; Miro, R; Gallardo, S; Verdu, G; Santos, A

2005-01-01

The present work has simulated the photon and electron transport in a Theratron 780® (MDS Nordion)⁶⁰Co radiotherapy unit, using the Monte Carlo transport code, MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle). This project explains mainly the different methodologies carried out to speedup calculations in order to apply this code efficiently in radiotherapy treatment planning.

A class of ejecta transport test problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oro, David M.; Hammerberg, J. E.; Buttler, William T.; Mariam, Fesseha G.; Morris, Christopher L.; Rousculp, Chris; Stone, Joseph B.

2012-03-01

Hydro code implementations of ejecta dynamics at shocked interfaces presume a source distribution function of particulate masses and velocities, f0(m,u;t). Some properties of this source distribution function have been determined from Taylor- and supported-shockwave experiments. Such experiments measure the mass moment of f0 under vacuum conditions assuming weak particle-particle interactions and, usually, fully inelastic scattering (capture) of ejecta particles from piezoelectric diagnostic probes. Recently, planar ejection of W particles into vacuum, Ar, and Xe gas atmospheres have been carried out to provide benchmark transport data for transport model development and validation. We present those experimental results and compare them with modeled transport of the W-ejecta particles in Ar and Xe.

CEM2k and LAQGSM Codes as Event-Generators for Space Radiation Shield and Cosmic Rays Propagation Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mashnik, S. G.; Gudima, K. K.; Sierk, A. J.; Moskalenko, I. V.

2002-01-01

Space radiation shield applications and studies of cosmic ray propagation in the Galaxy require reliable cross sections to calculate spectra of secondary particles and yields of the isotopes produced in nuclear reactions induced both by particles and nuclei at energies from threshold to hundreds of GeV per nucleon. Since the data often exist in a very limited energy range or sometimes not at all, the only way to obtain an estimate of the production cross sections is to use theoretical models and codes. Recently, we have developed improved versions of the Cascade-Exciton Model (CEM) of nuclear reactions: the codes CEM97 and CEM2k for description of particle-nucleus reactions at energies up to about 5 GeV. In addition, we have developed a LANL version of the Quark-Gluon String Model (LAQGSM) to describe reactions induced both by particles and nuclei at energies up to hundreds of GeVhucleon. We have tested and benchmarked the CEM and LAQGSM codes against a large variety of experimental data and have compared their results with predictions by other currently available models and codes. Our benchmarks show that CEM and LAQGSM codes have predictive powers no worse than other currently used codes and describe many reactions better than other codes; therefore both our codes can be used as reliable event-generators for space radiation shield and cosmic ray propagation applications. The CEM2k code is being incorporated into the transport code MCNPX (and several other transport codes), and we plan to incorporate LAQGSM into MCNPX in the near future. Here, we present the current status of the CEM2k and LAQGSM codes, and show results and applications to studies of cosmic ray propagation in the Galaxy.

Spheromak reactor-design study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Les, J.M.

1981-06-30

A general overview of spheromak reactor characteristics, such as MHD stability, start up, and plasma geometry is presented. In addition, comparisons are made between spheromaks, tokamaks and field reversed mirrors. The computer code Sphero is also discussed. Sphero is a zero dimensional time independent transport code that uses particle confinement times and profile parameters as input since they are not known with certainty at the present time. More specifically, Sphero numerically solves a given set of transport equations whose solutions include such variables as fuel ion (deuterium and tritium) density, electron density, alpha particle density and ion, electron temperatures.

Evaluation of the accuracy of mono-energetic electron and beta-emitting isotope dose-point kernels using particle and heavy ion transport code system: PHITS.

PubMed

Shiiba, Takuro; Kuga, Naoya; Kuroiwa, Yasuyoshi; Sato, Tatsuhiko

2017-10-01

We assessed the accuracy of mono-energetic electron and beta-emitting isotope dose-point kernels (DPKs) calculated using the particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) for patient-specific dosimetry in targeted radionuclide treatment (TRT) and compared our data with published data. All mono-energetic and beta-emitting isotope DPKs calculated using PHITS, both in water and compact bone, were in good agreement with those in literature using other MC codes. PHITS provided reliable mono-energetic electron and beta-emitting isotope scaled DPKs for patient-specific dosimetry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computation of Cosmic Ray Ionization and Dose at Mars: a Comparison of HZETRN and Planetocosmics for Proton and Alpha Particles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gronoff, Guillaume; Norman, Ryan B.; Mertens, Christopher J.

2014-01-01

The ability to evaluate the cosmic ray environment at Mars is of interest for future manned exploration. To support exploration, tools must be developed to accurately access the radiation environment in both free space and on planetary surfaces. The primary tool NASA uses to quantify radiation exposure behind shielding materials is the space radiation transport code, HZETRN. In order to build confidence in HZETRN, code benchmarking against Monte Carlo radiation transport codes is often used. This work compares the dose calculations at Mars by HZETRN and the Geant4 application Planetocosmics. The dose at ground and the energy deposited in the atmosphere by galactic cosmic ray protons and alpha particles has been calculated for the Curiosity landing conditions. In addition, this work has considered Solar Energetic Particle events, allowing for the comparison of varying input radiation environments. The results for protons and alpha particles show very good agreement between HZETRN and Planetocosmics.

Overview of Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System PHITS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Tatsuhiko; Niita, Koji; Matsuda, Norihiro; Hashimoto, Shintaro; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Furuta, Takuya; Noda, Shusaku; Ogawa, Tatsuhiko; Iwase, Hiroshi; Nakashima, Hiroshi; Fukahori, Tokio; Okumura, Keisuke; Kai, Tetsuya; Chiba, Satoshi; Sihver, Lembit

2014-06-01

A general purpose Monte Carlo Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System, PHITS, is being developed through the collaboration of several institutes in Japan and Europe. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency is responsible for managing the entire project. PHITS can deal with the transport of nearly all particles, including neutrons, protons, heavy ions, photons, and electrons, over wide energy ranges using various nuclear reaction models and data libraries. It is written in Fortran language and can be executed on almost all computers. All components of PHITS such as its source, executable and data-library files are assembled in one package and then distributed to many countries via the Research organization for Information Science and Technology, the Data Bank of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency, and the Radiation Safety Information Computational Center. More than 1,000 researchers have been registered as PHITS users, and they apply the code to various research and development fields such as nuclear technology, accelerator design, medical physics, and cosmic-ray research. This paper briefly summarizes the physics models implemented in PHITS, and introduces some important functions useful for specific applications, such as an event generator mode and beam transport functions.

Understanding large SEP events with the PATH code: Modeling of the 13 December 2006 SEP event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verkhoglyadova, O. P.; Li, G.; Zank, G. P.; Hu, Q.; Cohen, C. M. S.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Mason, G. M.; Haggerty, D. K.; von Rosenvinge, T. T.; Looper, M. D.

2010-12-01

The Particle Acceleration and Transport in the Heliosphere (PATH) numerical code was developed to understand solar energetic particle (SEP) events in the near-Earth environment. We discuss simulation results for the 13 December 2006 SEP event. The PATH code includes modeling a background solar wind through which a CME-driven oblique shock propagates. The code incorporates a mixed population of both flare and shock-accelerated solar wind suprathermal particles. The shock parameters derived from ACE measurements at 1 AU and observational flare characteristics are used as input into the numerical model. We assume that the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism is responsible for particle energization. We model the subsequent transport of particles originated at the flare site and particles escaping from the shock and propagating in the equatorial plane through the interplanetary medium. We derive spectra for protons, oxygen, and iron ions, together with their time-intensity profiles at 1 AU. Our modeling results show reasonable agreement with in situ measurements by ACE, STEREO, GOES, and SAMPEX for this event. We numerically estimate the Fe/O abundance ratio and discuss the physics underlying a mixed SEP event. We point out that the flare population is as important as shock geometry changes during shock propagation for modeling time-intensity profiles and spectra at 1 AU. The combined effects of seed population and shock geometry will be examined in the framework of an extended PATH code in future modeling efforts.

Impact of energetic-particle-driven geodesic acoustic modes on turbulence.

PubMed

Zarzoso, D; Sarazin, Y; Garbet, X; Dumont, R; Strugarek, A; Abiteboul, J; Cartier-Michaud, T; Dif-Pradalier, G; Ghendrih, Ph; Grandgirard, V; Latu, G; Passeron, C; Thomine, O

2013-03-22

The impact on turbulent transport of geodesic acoustic modes excited by energetic particles is evidenced for the first time in flux-driven 5D gyrokinetic simulations using the Gysela code. Energetic geodesic acoustic modes (EGAMs) are excited in a regime with a transport barrier in the outer radial region. The interaction between EGAMs and turbulence is such that turbulent transport can be enhanced in the presence of EGAMs, with the subsequent destruction of the transport barrier. This scenario could be particularly critical in those plasmas, such as burning plasmas, exhibiting a rich population of suprathermal particles capable of exciting energetic modes.

Comparison of fluence-to-dose conversion coefficients for deuterons, tritons and helions.

PubMed

Copeland, Kyle; Friedberg, Wallace; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Niita, Koji

2012-02-01

Secondary radiation in aircraft and spacecraft includes deuterons, tritons and helions. Two sets of fluence-to-effective dose conversion coefficients for isotropic exposure to these particles were compared: one used the particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) radiation transport code coupled with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reference phantoms (PHITS-ICRP) and the other the Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) radiation transport code coupled with modified BodyBuilder™ phantoms (MCNPX-BB). Also, two sets of fluence-to-effective dose equivalent conversion coefficients calculated using the PHITS-ICRP combination were compared: one used quality factors based on linear energy transfer; the other used quality factors based on lineal energy (y). Finally, PHITS-ICRP effective dose coefficients were compared with PHITS-ICRP effective dose equivalent coefficients. The PHITS-ICRP and MCNPX-BB effective dose coefficients were similar, except at high energies, where MCNPX-BB coefficients were higher. For helions, at most energies effective dose coefficients were much greater than effective dose equivalent coefficients. For deuterons and tritons, coefficients were similar when their radiation weighting factor was set to 2.

Comparison of space radiation calculations for deterministic and Monte Carlo transport codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Zi-Wei; Adams, James; Barghouty, Abdulnasser; Randeniya, Sharmalee; Tripathi, Ram; Watts, John; Yepes, Pablo

For space radiation protection of astronauts or electronic equipments, it is necessary to develop and use accurate radiation transport codes. Radiation transport codes include deterministic codes, such as HZETRN from NASA and UPROP from the Naval Research Laboratory, and Monte Carlo codes such as FLUKA, the Geant4 toolkit and HETC-HEDS. The deterministic codes and Monte Carlo codes complement each other in that deterministic codes are very fast while Monte Carlo codes are more elaborate. Therefore it is important to investigate how well the results of deterministic codes compare with those of Monte Carlo transport codes and where they differ. In this study we evaluate these different codes in their space radiation applications by comparing their output results in the same given space radiation environments, shielding geometry and material. Typical space radiation environments such as the 1977 solar minimum galactic cosmic ray environment are used as the well-defined input, and simple geometries made of aluminum, water and/or polyethylene are used to represent the shielding material. We then compare various outputs of these codes, such as the dose-depth curves and the flux spectra of different fragments and other secondary particles. These comparisons enable us to learn more about the main differences between these space radiation transport codes. At the same time, they help us to learn the qualitative and quantitative features that these transport codes have in common.

Two-dimensional implosion simulations with a kinetic particle code [2D implosion simulations with a kinetic particle code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sagert, Irina; Even, Wesley Paul; Strother, Terrance Timothy

Here, we perform two-dimensional implosion simulations using a Monte Carlo kinetic particle code. The application of a kinetic transport code is motivated, in part, by the occurrence of nonequilibrium effects in inertial confinement fusion capsule implosions, which cannot be fully captured by hydrodynamic simulations. Kinetic methods, on the other hand, are able to describe both continuum and rarefied flows. We perform simple two-dimensional disk implosion simulations using one-particle species and compare the results to simulations with the hydrodynamics code rage. The impact of the particle mean free path on the implosion is also explored. In a second study, we focusmore » on the formation of fluid instabilities from induced perturbations. We find good agreement with hydrodynamic studies regarding the location of the shock and the implosion dynamics. Differences are found in the evolution of fluid instabilities, originating from the higher resolution of rage and statistical noise in the kinetic studies.« less

Two-dimensional implosion simulations with a kinetic particle code [2D implosion simulations with a kinetic particle code

DOE PAGES

Sagert, Irina; Even, Wesley Paul; Strother, Terrance Timothy

2017-05-17

Here, we perform two-dimensional implosion simulations using a Monte Carlo kinetic particle code. The application of a kinetic transport code is motivated, in part, by the occurrence of nonequilibrium effects in inertial confinement fusion capsule implosions, which cannot be fully captured by hydrodynamic simulations. Kinetic methods, on the other hand, are able to describe both continuum and rarefied flows. We perform simple two-dimensional disk implosion simulations using one-particle species and compare the results to simulations with the hydrodynamics code rage. The impact of the particle mean free path on the implosion is also explored. In a second study, we focusmore » on the formation of fluid instabilities from induced perturbations. We find good agreement with hydrodynamic studies regarding the location of the shock and the implosion dynamics. Differences are found in the evolution of fluid instabilities, originating from the higher resolution of rage and statistical noise in the kinetic studies.« less

Extension of the XGC code for global gyrokinetic simulations in stellarator geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, Michael; Moritaka, Toseo; White, Roscoe; Hager, Robert; Ku, Seung-Hoe; Chang, Choong-Seock

2017-10-01

In this work, the total-f, gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code XGC is extended to treat stellarator geometries. Improvements to meshing tools and the code itself have enabled the first physics studies, including single particle tracing and flux surface mapping in the magnetic geometry of the heliotron LHD and quasi-isodynamic stellarator Wendelstein 7-X. These have provided the first successful test cases for our approach. XGC is uniquely placed to model the complex edge physics of stellarators. A roadmap to such a global confinement modeling capability will be presented. Single particle studies will include the physics of energetic particles' global stochastic motions and their effect on confinement. Good confinement of energetic particles is vital for a successful stellarator reactor design. These results can be compared in the core region with those of other codes, such as ORBIT3d. In subsequent work, neoclassical transport and turbulence can then be considered and compared to results from codes such as EUTERPE and GENE. After sufficient verification in the core region, XGC will move into the stellarator edge region including the material wall and neutral particle recycling.

Fast Flows in the Magnetotail and Energetic Particle Transport: Multiscale Coupling in the Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Y.; Wang, X.; Fok, M. C. H.; Buzulukova, N.; Perez, J. D.; Chen, L. J.

2017-12-01

The interaction between the Earth's inner and outer magnetospheric regions associated with the tail fast flows is calculated by coupling the Auburn 3-D global hybrid simulation code (ANGIE3D) to the Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere/Ionosphere (CIMI) model. The global hybrid code solves fully kinetic equations governing the ions and a fluid model for electrons in the self-consistent electromagnetic field of the dayside and night side outer magnetosphere. In the integrated computation model, the hybrid simulation provides the CIMI model with field data in the CIMI 3-D domain and particle data at its boundary, and the transport in the inner magnetosphere is calculated by the CIMI model. By joining the two existing codes, effects of the solar wind on particle transport through the outer magnetosphere into the inner magnetosphere are investigated. Our simulation shows that fast flows and flux ropes are localized transients in the magnetotail plasma sheet and their overall structures have a dawn-dusk asymmetry. Strong perpendicular ion heating is found at the fast flow braking, which affects the earthward transport of entropy-depleted bubbles. We report on the impacts from the temperature anisotropy and non-Maxwellian ion distributions associated with the fast flows on the ring current and the convection electric field.

LANL LDRD-funded project: Test particle simulations of energetic ions in natural and artificial radiation belts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cowee, Misa; Liu, Kaijun; Friedel, Reinhard H.

2012-07-17

We summarize the scientific problem and work plan for the LANL LDRD-funded project to use a test particle code to study the sudden de-trapping of inner belt protons and possible cross-L transport of debris ions after a high altitude nuclear explosion (HANE). We also discuss future application of the code for other HANE-related problems.

The NJOY Nuclear Data Processing System, Version 2016

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Macfarlane, Robert; Muir, Douglas W.; Boicourt, R. M.

The NJOY Nuclear Data Processing System, version 2016, is a comprehensive computer code package for producing pointwise and multigroup cross sections and related quantities from evaluated nuclear data in the ENDF-4 through ENDF-6 legacy card-image formats. NJOY works with evaluated files for incident neutrons, photons, and charged particles, producing libraries for a wide variety of particle transport and reactor analysis codes.

The FLUKA Code: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballarini, F.; Battistoni, G.; Campanella, M.; Carboni, M.; Cerutti, F.; Empl, A.; Fasso, A.; Ferrari, A.; Gadioli, E.; Garzelli, M. V.;

Benchmarking of Neutron Production of Heavy-Ion Transport Codes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Remec, Igor; Ronningen, Reginald M.; Heilbronn, Lawrence

Accurate prediction of radiation fields generated by heavy ion interactions is important in medical applications, space missions, and in design and operation of rare isotope research facilities. In recent years, several well-established computer codes in widespread use for particle and radiation transport calculations have been equipped with the capability to simulate heavy ion transport and interactions. To assess and validate these capabilities, we performed simulations of a series of benchmark-quality heavy ion experiments with the computer codes FLUKA, MARS15, MCNPX, and PHITS. We focus on the comparisons of secondary neutron production. Results are encouraging; however, further improvements in models andmore » codes and additional benchmarking are required.« less

Benchmarking of Heavy Ion Transport Codes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Remec, Igor; Ronningen, Reginald M.; Heilbronn, Lawrence

Accurate prediction of radiation fields generated by heavy ion interactions is important in medical applications, space missions, and in designing and operation of rare isotope research facilities. In recent years, several well-established computer codes in widespread use for particle and radiation transport calculations have been equipped with the capability to simulate heavy ion transport and interactions. To assess and validate these capabilities, we performed simulations of a series of benchmark-quality heavy ion experiments with the computer codes FLUKA, MARS15, MCNPX, and PHITS. We focus on the comparisons of secondary neutron production. Results are encouraging; however, further improvements in models andmore » codes and additional benchmarking are required.« less

Beam dynamics simulation of HEBT for the SSC-linac injector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiao-Ni; Yuan, You-Jin; Xiao, Chen; He, Yuan; Wang, Zhi-Jun; Sheng, Li-Na

2012-11-01

The SSC-linac (a new injector for the Separated Sector Cyclotron) is being designed in the HIRFL (Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou) system to accelerate 238U34+ from 3.72 keV/u to 1.008 MeV/u. As a part of the SSC-linac injector, the HEBT (high energy beam transport) has been designed by using the TRACE-3D code and simulated by the 3D PIC (particle-in-cell) Track code. The total length of the HEBT is about 12 meters and a beam line of about 6 meters are shared with the exiting beam line of the HIRFL system. The simulation results show that the particles can be delivered efficiently in the HEBT and the particles at the exit of the HEBT well match the acceptance of the SSC for further acceleration. The dispersion is eliminated absolutely in the HEBT. The space-charge effect calculated by the Track code is inconspicuous. According to the simulation, more than 60 percent of the particles from the ion source can be transported into the acceptance of the SSC.

SU-E-T-590: Optimizing Magnetic Field Strengths with Matlab for An Ion-Optic System in Particle Therapy Consisting of Two Quadrupole Magnets for Subsequent Simulations with the Monte-Carlo Code FLUKA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baumann, K; Weber, U; Simeonov, Y

Purpose: Aim of this study was to optimize the magnetic field strengths of two quadrupole magnets in a particle therapy facility in order to obtain a beam quality suitable for spot beam scanning. Methods: The particle transport through an ion-optic system of a particle therapy facility consisting of the beam tube, two quadrupole magnets and a beam monitor system was calculated with the help of Matlab by using matrices that solve the equation of motion of a charged particle in a magnetic field and field-free region, respectively. The magnetic field strengths were optimized in order to obtain a circular andmore » thin beam spot at the iso-center of the therapy facility. These optimized field strengths were subsequently transferred to the Monte-Carlo code FLUKA and the transport of 80 MeV/u C12-ions through this ion-optic system was calculated by using a user-routine to implement magnetic fields. The fluence along the beam-axis and at the iso-center was evaluated. Results: The magnetic field strengths could be optimized by using Matlab and transferred to the Monte-Carlo code FLUKA. The implementation via a user-routine was successful. Analyzing the fluence-pattern along the beam-axis the characteristic focusing and de-focusing effects of the quadrupole magnets could be reproduced. Furthermore the beam spot at the iso-center was circular and significantly thinner compared to an unfocused beam. Conclusion: In this study a Matlab tool was developed to optimize magnetic field strengths for an ion-optic system consisting of two quadrupole magnets as part of a particle therapy facility. These magnetic field strengths could subsequently be transferred to and implemented in the Monte-Carlo code FLUKA to simulate the particle transport through this optimized ion-optic system.« less

First ERO2.0 modeling of Be erosion and non-local transport in JET ITER-like wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romazanov, J.; Borodin, D.; Kirschner, A.; Brezinsek, S.; Silburn, S.; Huber, A.; Huber, V.; Bufferand, H.; Firdaouss, M.; Brömmel, D.; Steinbusch, B.; Gibbon, P.; Lasa, A.; Borodkina, I.; Eksaeva, A.; Linsmeier, Ch; Contributors, JET

2017-12-01

ERO is a Monte-Carlo code for modeling plasma-wall interaction and 3D plasma impurity transport for applications in fusion research. The code has undergone a significant upgrade (ERO2.0) which allows increasing the simulation volume in order to cover the entire plasma edge of a fusion device, allowing a more self-consistent treatment of impurity transport and comparison with a larger number and variety of experimental diagnostics. In this contribution, the physics-relevant technical innovations of the new code version are described and discussed. The new capabilities of the code are demonstrated by modeling of beryllium (Be) erosion of the main wall during JET limiter discharges. Results for erosion patterns along the limiter surfaces and global Be transport including incident particle distributions are presented. A novel synthetic diagnostic, which mimics experimental wide-angle 2D camera images, is presented and used for validating various aspects of the code, including erosion, magnetic shadowing, non-local impurity transport, and light emission simulation.

Parallel Monte Carlo transport modeling in the context of a time-dependent, three-dimensional multi-physics code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Procassini, R.J.

1997-12-31

The fine-scale, multi-space resolution that is envisioned for accurate simulations of complex weapons systems in three spatial dimensions implies flop-rate and memory-storage requirements that will only be obtained in the near future through the use of parallel computational techniques. Since the Monte Carlo transport models in these simulations usually stress both of these computational resources, they are prime candidates for parallelization. The MONACO Monte Carlo transport package, which is currently under development at LLNL, will utilize two types of parallelism within the context of a multi-physics design code: decomposition of the spatial domain across processors (spatial parallelism) and distribution ofmore » particles in a given spatial subdomain across additional processors (particle parallelism). This implementation of the package will utilize explicit data communication between domains (message passing). Such a parallel implementation of a Monte Carlo transport model will result in non-deterministic communication patterns. The communication of particles between subdomains during a Monte Carlo time step may require a significant level of effort to achieve a high parallel efficiency.« less

Importance biasing scheme implemented in the PRIZMA code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kandiev, I.Z.; Malyshkin, G.N.

1997-12-31

PRIZMA code is intended for Monte Carlo calculations of linear radiation transport problems. The code has wide capabilities to describe geometry, sources, material composition, and to obtain parameters specified by user. There is a capability to calculate path of particle cascade (including neutrons, photons, electrons, positrons and heavy charged particles) taking into account possible transmutations. Importance biasing scheme was implemented to solve the problems which require calculation of functionals related to small probabilities (for example, problems of protection against radiation, problems of detection, etc.). The scheme enables to adapt trajectory building algorithm to problem peculiarities.

A Mercury Model of Atmospheric Transport

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christensen, Alex B.; Chodash, Perry A.; Procassini, R. J.

Using the particle transport code Mercury, accurate models were built of the two sources used in Operation BREN, a series of radiation experiments performed by the United States during the 1960s. In the future, these models will be used to validate Mercury’s ability to simulate atmospheric transport.

Study of no-man's land physics in the total-f gyrokinetic code XGC1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ku, Seung Hoe; Chang, C. S.; Lang, J.

2014-10-01

While the ``transport shortfall'' in the ``no-man's land'' has been observed often in delta-f codes, it has not yet been observed in the global total-f gyrokinetic particle code XGC1. Since understanding the interaction between the edge and core transport appears to be a critical element in the prediction for ITER performance, understanding the no-man's land issue is an important physics research topic. Simulation results using the Holland case will be presented and the physics causing the shortfall phenomenon will be discussed. Nonlinear nonlocal interaction of turbulence, secondary flows, and transport appears to be the key.

Benchmarking of neutron production of heavy-ion transport codes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Remec, I.; Ronningen, R. M.; Heilbronn, L.

Document available in abstract form only, full text of document follows: Accurate prediction of radiation fields generated by heavy ion interactions is important in medical applications, space missions, and in design and operation of rare isotope research facilities. In recent years, several well-established computer codes in widespread use for particle and radiation transport calculations have been equipped with the capability to simulate heavy ion transport and interactions. To assess and validate these capabilities, we performed simulations of a series of benchmark-quality heavy ion experiments with the computer codes FLUKA, MARS15, MCNPX, and PHITS. We focus on the comparisons of secondarymore » neutron production. Results are encouraging; however, further improvements in models and codes and additional benchmarking are required. (authors)« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zieb, Kristofer James Ekhart; Hughes, Henry Grady III; Xu, X. George

The release of version 6.2 of the MCNP6 radiation transport code is imminent. To complement the newest release, a summary of the heavy charged particle physics models used in the 1 MeV to 1 GeV energy regime is presented. Several changes have been introduced into the charged particle physics models since the merger of the MCNP5 and MCNPX codes into MCNP6. Here, this article discusses the default models used in MCNP6 for continuous energy loss, energy straggling, and angular scattering of heavy charged particles. Explanations of the physics models’ theories are included as well.

Dependence of enhanced asymmetry-induced transport on collision frequency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eggleston, D. L.

2014-07-01

A single-particle code with collisional effects is used to study how asymmetry-induced radial transport in a non-neutral plasma depends on collision frequency. For asymmetries of the form ϕ1(r) cos(kz) cos(ωt-lθ), two sources for the transport have been identified: resonant particles and axially trapped particles. The simulation shows that this latter type, which occurs near the radius where ω matches the azimuthal rotation frequency ωR, is usually dominant at low collision frequency ν but becomes negligible at higher ν. This behavior can be understood by noting that axially trapped particles have a lower trapping frequency than resonant particles. In the low ν (banana) regime, the radial oscillations have amplitude Δr ≈ vr/ωT, so axially trapped particles dominate, and the transport may even exceed the resonant particle plateau regime level. As ν increases, collisions start to interrupt the slower axially trapped particle oscillations, while the resonant particles are still in the banana regime, so the axially trapped particle contribution to the transport decreases. At the largest ν values, axially trapped particle transport is negligible and the observed diffusion coefficient matches that given by plateau regime resonant particle theory. Heuristic models based on these considerations give reasonable agreement with the observed scaling laws for the value of the collision frequency where axially trapped particle transport starts to decrease and for the enhancement of the diffusion coefficient produced by axially trapped particles.

3D Multispecies Nonlinear Perturbative Particle Simulation of Intense Nonneutral Particle Beams (Research supported by the Department of Energy and the Short Pulse Spallation Source Project and LANSCE Division of LANL.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Hong; Davidson, Ronald C.; Lee, W. Wei-Li

1999-11-01

The Beam Equilibrium Stability and Transport (BEST) code, a 3D multispecies nonlinear perturbative particle simulation code, has been developed to study collective effects in intense charged particle beams described self-consistently by the Vlasov-Maxwell equations. A Darwin model is adopted for transverse electromagnetic effects. As a 3D multispecies perturbative particle simulation code, it provides several unique capabilities. Since the simulation particles are used to simulate only the perturbed distribution function and self-fields, the simulation noise is reduced significantly. The perturbative approach also enables the code to investigate different physics effects separately, as well as simultaneously. The code can be easily switched between linear and nonlinear operation, and used to study both linear stability properties and nonlinear beam dynamics. These features, combined with 3D and multispecies capabilities, provides an effective tool to investigate the electron-ion two-stream instability, periodically focused solutions in alternating focusing fields, and many other important problems in nonlinear beam dynamics and accelerator physics. Applications to the two-stream instability are presented.

Integrated modelling framework for short pulse high energy density physics experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sircombe, N. J.; Hughes, S. J.; Ramsay, M. G.

2016-03-01

Modelling experimental campaigns on the Orion laser at AWE, and developing a viable point-design for fast ignition (FI), calls for a multi-scale approach; a complete description of the problem would require an extensive range of physics which cannot realistically be included in a single code. For modelling the laser-plasma interaction (LPI) we need a fine mesh which can capture the dispersion of electromagnetic waves, and a kinetic model for each plasma species. In the dense material of the bulk target, away from the LPI region, collisional physics dominates. The transport of hot particles generated by the action of the laser is dependent on their slowing and stopping in the dense material and their need to draw a return current. These effects will heat the target, which in turn influences transport. On longer timescales, the hydrodynamic response of the target will begin to play a role as the pressure generated from isochoric heating begins to take effect. Recent effort at AWE [1] has focussed on the development of an integrated code suite based on: the particle in cell code EPOCH, to model LPI; the Monte-Carlo electron transport code THOR, to model the onward transport of hot electrons; and the radiation hydrodynamics code CORVUS, to model the hydrodynamic response of the target. We outline the methodology adopted, elucidate on the advantages of a robustly integrated code suite compared to a single code approach, demonstrate the integrated code suite's application to modelling the heating of buried layers on Orion, and assess the potential of such experiments for the validation of modelling capability in advance of more ambitious HEDP experiments, as a step towards a predictive modelling capability for FI.

Assessment and Requirements of Nuclear Reaction Databases for GCR Transport in the Atmosphere and Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cucinotta, F. A.; Wilson, J. W.; Shinn, J. L.; Tripathi, R. K.

1998-01-01

The transport properties of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) in the atmosphere, material structures, and human body (self-shielding) am of interest in risk assessment for supersonic and subsonic aircraft and for space travel in low-Earth orbit and on interplanetary missions. Nuclear reactions, such as knockout and fragmentation, present large modifications of particle type and energies of the galactic cosmic rays in penetrating materials. We make an assessment of the current nuclear reaction models and improvements in these model for developing required transport code data bases. A new fragmentation data base (QMSFRG) based on microscopic models is compared to the NUCFRG2 model and implications for shield assessment made using the HZETRN radiation transport code. For deep penetration problems, the build-up of light particles, such as nucleons, light clusters and mesons from nuclear reactions in conjunction with the absorption of the heavy ions, leads to the dominance of the charge Z = 0, 1, and 2 hadrons in the exposures at large penetration depths. Light particles are produced through nuclear or cluster knockout and in evaporation events with characteristically distinct spectra which play unique roles in the build-up of secondary radiation's in shielding. We describe models of light particle production in nucleon and heavy ion induced reactions and make an assessment of the importance of light particle multiplicity and spectral parameters in these exposures.

A graphics-card implementation of Monte-Carlo simulations for cosmic-ray transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tautz, R. C.

2016-05-01

A graphics card implementation of a test-particle simulation code is presented that is based on the CUDA extension of the C/C++ programming language. The original CPU version has been developed for the calculation of cosmic-ray diffusion coefficients in artificial Kolmogorov-type turbulence. In the new implementation, the magnetic turbulence generation, which is the most time-consuming part, is separated from the particle transport and is performed on a graphics card. In this article, the modification of the basic approach of integrating test particle trajectories to employ the SIMD (single instruction, multiple data) model is presented and verified. The efficiency of the new code is tested and several language-specific accelerating factors are discussed. For the example of isotropic magnetostatic turbulence, sample results are shown and a comparison to the results of the CPU implementation is performed.

LLNL Mercury Project Trinity Open Science Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brantley, Patrick; Dawson, Shawn; McKinley, Scott

2016-04-20

The Mercury Monte Carlo particle transport code developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is used to simulate the transport of radiation through urban environments. These challenging calculations include complicated geometries and require significant computational resources to complete. As a result, a question arises as to the level of convergence of the calculations with Monte Carlo simulation particle count. In the Trinity Open Science calculations, one main focus was to investigate convergence of the relevant simulation quantities with Monte Carlo particle count to assess the current simulation methodology. Both for this application space but also of more general applicability, wemore » also investigated the impact of code algorithms on parallel scaling on the Trinity machine as well as the utilization of the Trinity DataWarp burst buffer technology in Mercury via the LLNL Scalable Checkpoint/Restart (SCR) library.« less

Space Radiation Transport Codes: A Comparative Study for Galactic Cosmic Rays Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathi, Ram; Wilson, John W.; Townsend, Lawrence W.; Gabriel, Tony; Pinsky, Lawrence S.; Slaba, Tony

For long duration and/or deep space human missions, protection from severe space radiation exposure is a challenging design constraint and may be a potential limiting factor. The space radiation environment consists of galactic cosmic rays (GCR), solar particle events (SPE), trapped radiation, and includes ions of all the known elements over a very broad energy range. These ions penetrate spacecraft materials producing nuclear fragments and secondary particles that damage biological tissues, microelectronic devices, and materials. In deep space missions, where the Earth's magnetic field does not provide protection from space radiation, the GCR environment is significantly enhanced due to the absence of geomagnetic cut-off and is a major component of radiation exposure. Accurate risk assessments critically depend on the accuracy of the input information as well as radiation transport codes used, and so systematic verification of codes is necessary. In this study, comparisons are made between the deterministic code HZETRN2006 and the Monte Carlo codes HETC-HEDS and FLUKA for an aluminum shield followed by a water target exposed to the 1977 solar minimum GCR spectrum. Interaction and transport of high charge ions present in GCR radiation environment provide a more stringent constraint in the comparison of the codes. Dose, dose equivalent and flux spectra are compared; details of the comparisons will be discussed, and conclusions will be drawn for future directions.

A method for radiological characterization based on fluence conversion coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Froeschl, Robert

2018-06-01

Radiological characterization of components in accelerator environments is often required to ensure adequate radiation protection during maintenance, transport and handling as well as for the selection of the proper disposal pathway. The relevant quantities are typical the weighted sums of specific activities with radionuclide-specific weighting coefficients. Traditional methods based on Monte Carlo simulations are radionuclide creation-event based or the particle fluences in the regions of interest are scored and then off-line weighted with radionuclide production cross sections. The presented method bases the radiological characterization on a set of fluence conversion coefficients. For a given irradiation profile and cool-down time, radionuclide production cross-sections, material composition and radionuclide-specific weighting coefficients, a set of particle type and energy dependent fluence conversion coefficients is computed. These fluence conversion coefficients can then be used in a Monte Carlo transport code to perform on-line weighting to directly obtain the desired radiological characterization, either by using built-in multiplier features such as in the PHITS code or by writing a dedicated user routine such as for the FLUKA code. The presented method has been validated against the standard event-based methods directly available in Monte Carlo transport codes.

Development and application of a three dimensional numerical model for predicting pollutant and sediment transport using an Eulerian-Lagrangian marker particle technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pavish, D. L.; Spaulding, M. L.

1977-01-01

A computer coded Lagrangian marker particle in Eulerian finite difference cell solution to the three dimensional incompressible mass transport equation, Water Advective Particle in Cell Technique, WAPIC, was developed, verified against analytic solutions, and subsequently applied in the prediction of long term transport of a suspended sediment cloud resulting from an instantaneous dredge spoil release. Numerical results from WAPIC were verified against analytic solutions to the three dimensional incompressible mass transport equation for turbulent diffusion and advection of Gaussian dye releases in unbounded uniform and uniformly sheared uni-directional flow, and for steady-uniform plug channel flow. WAPIC was utilized to simulate an analytic solution for non-equilibrium sediment dropout from an initially vertically uniform particle distribution in one dimensional turbulent channel flow.

ORBIT: A Code for Collective Beam Dynamics in High-Intensity Rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, J. A.; Danilov, V.; Galambos, J.; Shishlo, A.; Cousineau, S.; Chou, W.; Michelotti, L.; Ostiguy, J.-F.; Wei, J.

2002-12-01

We are developing a computer code, ORBIT, specifically for beam dynamics calculations in high-intensity rings. Our approach allows detailed simulation of realistic accelerator problems. ORBIT is a particle-in-cell tracking code that transports bunches of interacting particles through a series of nodes representing elements, effects, or diagnostics that occur in the accelerator lattice. At present, ORBIT contains detailed models for strip-foil injection, including painting and foil scattering; rf focusing and acceleration; transport through various magnetic elements; longitudinal and transverse impedances; longitudinal, transverse, and three-dimensional space charge forces; collimation and limiting apertures; and the calculation of many useful diagnostic quantities. ORBIT is an object-oriented code, written in C++ and utilizing a scripting interface for the convenience of the user. Ongoing improvements include the addition of a library of accelerator maps, BEAMLINE/MXYZPTLK; the introduction of a treatment of magnet errors and fringe fields; the conversion of the scripting interface to the standard scripting language, Python; and the parallelization of the computations using MPI. The ORBIT code is an open source, powerful, and convenient tool for studying beam dynamics in high-intensity rings.

[Features of PHITS and its application to medical physics].

PubMed

Hashimoto, Shintaro; Niita, Koji; Matsuda, Norihiro; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Iwase, Hiroshi; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Noda, Shusaku; Ogawa, Tatsuhiko; Nakashima, Hiroshi; Fukahori, Tokio; Furuta, Takuya; Chiba, Satoshi

2013-01-01

PHITS is a general purpose Monte Carlo particle transport simulation code to analyze the transport in three-dimensional phase space and collisions of nearly all particles, including heavy ions, over wide energy range up to 100 GeV/u. Various quantities, such as particle fluence and deposition energies in materials, can be deduced using estimator functions "tally". Recently, a microdosimetric tally function was also developed to apply PHITS to medical physics. Owing to these features, PHITS has been used for medical applications, such as radiation therapy and protection.

Fuego/Scefire MPMD Coupling L2 Milestone Executive Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pierce, Flint; Tencer, John; Pautz, Shawn D.

2017-09-01

This milestone campaign was focused on coupling Sandia physics codes SIERRA low Mach module Fuego and RAMSES Boltzmann transport code Sceptre(Scefire). Fuego enables simulation of low Mach, turbulent, reacting, particle laden flows on unstructured meshes using CVFEM for abnormal thermal environments throughout SNL and the larger national security community. Sceptre provides simulation for photon, neutron, and charged particle transport on unstructured meshes using Discontinuous Galerkin for radiation effects calculations at SNL and elsewhere. Coupling these ”best of breed” codes enables efficient modeling of thermal/fluid environments with radiation transport, including fires (pool, propellant, composite) as well as those with directed radiantmore » fluxes. We seek to improve the experience of Fuego users who require radiation transport capabilities in two ways. The first is performance. We achieve this through leveraging additional computational resources for Scefire, reducing calculation times while leaving unaffected resources for fluid physics. This approach is new to Fuego, which previously utilized the same resources for both fluid and radiation solutions. The second improvement enables new radiation capabilities, including spectral (banded) radiation, beam boundary sources, and alternate radiation solvers (i.e. Pn). This summary provides an overview of these achievements.« less

Dependence of enhanced asymmetry-induced transport on collision frequency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eggleston, D. L.

A single-particle code with collisional effects is used to study how asymmetry-induced radial transport in a non-neutral plasma depends on collision frequency. For asymmetries of the form ϕ{sub 1}(r) cos(kz) cos(ωt−lθ), two sources for the transport have been identified: resonant particles and axially trapped particles. The simulation shows that this latter type, which occurs near the radius where ω matches the azimuthal rotation frequency ω{sub R}, is usually dominant at low collision frequency ν but becomes negligible at higher ν. This behavior can be understood by noting that axially trapped particles have a lower trapping frequency than resonant particles. In the lowmore » ν (banana) regime, the radial oscillations have amplitude Δr ≈ v{sub r}/ω{sub T}, so axially trapped particles dominate, and the transport may even exceed the resonant particle plateau regime level. As ν increases, collisions start to interrupt the slower axially trapped particle oscillations, while the resonant particles are still in the banana regime, so the axially trapped particle contribution to the transport decreases. At the largest ν values, axially trapped particle transport is negligible and the observed diffusion coefficient matches that given by plateau regime resonant particle theory. Heuristic models based on these considerations give reasonable agreement with the observed scaling laws for the value of the collision frequency where axially trapped particle transport starts to decrease and for the enhancement of the diffusion coefficient produced by axially trapped particles.« less

Comparison of Transport Codes, HZETRN, HETC and FLUKA, Using 1977 GCR Solar Minimum Spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinbockel, John H.; Slaba, Tony C.; Tripathi, Ram K.; Blattnig, Steve R.; Norbury, John W.; Badavi, Francis F.; Townsend, Lawrence W.; Handler, Thomas; Gabriel, Tony A.; Pinsky, Lawrence S.;

Monte Carlo Calculations of Suprathermal Alpha Particles Trajectories in the Rippled Field of TFTR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Punjabi, Alkesh; Lam, Maria; Boozer, Allen

1996-11-01

We study the transport of suprathermal alpha particles and their energy deposition into electrons, deuterons, tritons and carbon-12 impurity in the rippled field of TFTR. The Monte Carlo code (Punjabi A., Boozer A., Lam M., Kim M., and Burke K., J. Plasma Phys.), 44, 405 (1990) developed by Punjabi and Boozer for the transport of plasma particles due to MHD modes in toroidal plasmas is used in conjunction with the SHAF code (White R. B., and Boozer A., PPPL -3094) (1995) of White. we integrate drift Hamiltonian equation of motion in non-canonical, rectangular, Boozer coordinates. The deposition of alpha energy into electrons, deuterons, tritons and C-12 particles is calculated and recorded. The effects of energy and pitch angle scattering are included. The result of this study will be presented. This work is supported by the US DOE. The assistance provided by Professors R. B. White and S. Zweben of PPPL is gratefully acknowledged.

Nucleon interaction data bases for background estimates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, John W.; Townsend, Lawrence W.

1989-01-01

Nucleon interaction data bases available in the open literature are examined for potential use in a recently developed nucleon transport code. Particular attention is given to secondary particle penetration and the multiple charged ion products. A brief description of the transport algorithm is given.

Feasibility study for a realistic training dedicated to radiological protection improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Courageot, Estelle; Reinald, Kutschera; Gaillard-Lecanu, Emmanuelle; Sylvie, Jahan; Riedel, Alexandre; Therache, Benjamin

2014-06-01

Any personnel involved in activities within the controlled area of a nuclear facility must be provided with appropriate radiological protection training. An evident purpose of this training is to know the regulation dedicated to workplaces where ionizing radiation may be present, in order to properly carry out the radiation monitoring, to use suitable protective equipments and to behave correctly if unexpected working conditions happen. A major difficulty of this training consist in having the most realistic reading from the monitoring devices for a given exposure situation, but without using real radioactive sources. A new approach is developed at EDF R&D for radiological protection training. This approach combines different technologies, in an environment representative of the workplace but geographically separated from the nuclear power plant: a training area representative of a workplace, a Man Machine Interface used by the trainer to define the source configuration and the training scenario, a geolocalization system, fictive radiation monitoring devices and a particle transport code able to calculate in real time the dose map due to the virtual sources. In a first approach, our real-time particles transport code, called Moderato, used only an attenuation low in straight line. To improve the realism further, we would like to switch a code based on the Monte Carlo transport of particles method like Geant 4 or MCNPX instead of Moderato. The aim of our study is the evaluation of the code in our application, in particular, the possibility to keep a real time response of our architecture.

WARP

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bergmann, Ryan M.; Rowland, Kelly L.

2017-04-12

WARP, which can stand for ``Weaving All the Random Particles,'' is a three-dimensional (3D) continuous energy Monte Carlo neutron transport code developed at UC Berkeley to efficiently execute on NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU) platforms. WARP accelerates Monte Carlo simulations while preserving the benefits of using the Monte Carlo method, namely, that very few physical and geometrical simplifications are applied. WARP is able to calculate multiplication factors, neutron flux distributions (in both space and energy), and fission source distributions for time-independent neutron transport problems. It can run in both criticality or fixed source modes, but fixed source mode is currentlymore » not robust, optimized, or maintained in the newest version. WARP can transport neutrons in unrestricted arrangements of parallelepipeds, hexagonal prisms, cylinders, and spheres. The goal of developing WARP is to investigate algorithms that can grow into a full-featured, continuous energy, Monte Carlo neutron transport code that is accelerated by running on GPUs. The crux of the effort is to make Monte Carlo calculations faster while producing accurate results. Modern supercomputers are commonly being built with GPU coprocessor cards in their nodes to increase their computational efficiency and performance. GPUs execute efficiently on data-parallel problems, but most CPU codes, including those for Monte Carlo neutral particle transport, are predominantly task-parallel. WARP uses a data-parallel neutron transport algorithm to take advantage of the computing power GPUs offer.« less

Quasilinear Line Broadened Model for Energetic Particle Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghantous, Katy; Gorelenkov, Nikolai; Berk, Herbert

2011-10-01

We present a self-consistent quasi-linear model that describes wave-particle interaction in toroidal geometry and computes fast ion transport during TAE mode evolution. The model bridges the gap between single mode resonances, where it predicts the analytically expected saturation levels, and the case of multiple modes overlapping, where particles diffuse across phase space. Results are presented in the large aspect ratio limit where analytic expressions are used for Fourier harmonics of the power exchange between waves and particles, . Implemention of a more realistic mode structure calculated by NOVAK code are also presented. This work is funded by DOE contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Numerical modeling of pollutant transport using a Lagrangian marker particle technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spaulding, M.

1976-01-01

A derivation and code were developed for the three-dimensional mass transport equation, using a particle-in-cell solution technique, to solve coastal zone waste discharge problems where particles are a major component of the waste. Improvements in the particle movement techniques are suggested and typical examples illustrated. Preliminary model comparisons with analytic solutions for an instantaneous point release in a uniform flow show good results in resolving the waste motion. The findings to date indicate that this computational model will provide a useful technique to study the motion of sediment, dredged spoils, and other particulate waste commonly deposited in coastal waters.

Galactic Cosmic Ray Event-Based Risk Model (GERM) Code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cucinotta, Francis A.; Plante, Ianik; Ponomarev, Artem L.; Kim, Myung-Hee Y.

2013-01-01

This software describes the transport and energy deposition of the passage of galactic cosmic rays in astronaut tissues during space travel, or heavy ion beams in patients in cancer therapy. Space radiation risk is a probability distribution, and time-dependent biological events must be accounted for physical description of space radiation transport in tissues and cells. A stochastic model can calculate the probability density directly without unverified assumptions about shape of probability density function. The prior art of transport codes calculates the average flux and dose of particles behind spacecraft and tissue shielding. Because of the signaling times for activation and relaxation in the cell and tissue, transport code must describe temporal and microspatial density of functions to correlate DNA and oxidative damage with non-targeted effects of signals, bystander, etc. These are absolutely ignored or impossible in the prior art. The GERM code provides scientists data interpretation of experiments; modeling of beam line, shielding of target samples, and sample holders; and estimation of basic physical and biological outputs of their experiments. For mono-energetic ion beams, basic physical and biological properties are calculated for a selected ion type, such as kinetic energy, mass, charge number, absorbed dose, or fluence. Evaluated quantities are linear energy transfer (LET), range (R), absorption and fragmentation cross-sections, and the probability of nuclear interactions after 1 or 5 cm of water equivalent material. In addition, a set of biophysical properties is evaluated, such as the Poisson distribution for a specified cellular area, cell survival curves, and DNA damage yields per cell. Also, the GERM code calculates the radiation transport of the beam line for either a fixed number of user-specified depths or at multiple positions along the Bragg curve of the particle in a selected material. The GERM code makes the numerical estimates of basic physical and biophysical quantities of high-energy protons and heavy ions that have been studied at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) for the purpose of simulating space radiation biological effects. In the first option, properties of monoenergetic beams are treated. In the second option, the transport of beams in different materials is treated. Similar biophysical properties as in the first option are evaluated for the primary ion and its secondary particles. Additional properties related to the nuclear fragmentation of the beam are evaluated. The GERM code is a computationally efficient Monte-Carlo heavy-ion-beam model. It includes accurate models of LET, range, residual energy, and straggling, and the quantum multiple scattering fragmentation (QMSGRG) nuclear database.

Multi-scale modeling of irradiation effects in spallation neutron source materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshiie, T.; Ito, T.; Iwase, H.; Kaneko, Y.; Kawai, M.; Kishida, I.; Kunieda, S.; Sato, K.; Shimakawa, S.; Shimizu, F.; Hashimoto, S.; Hashimoto, N.; Fukahori, T.; Watanabe, Y.; Xu, Q.; Ishino, S.

2011-07-01

Changes in mechanical property of Ni under irradiation by 3 GeV protons were estimated by multi-scale modeling. The code consisted of four parts. The first part was based on the Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System (PHITS) code for nuclear reactions, and modeled the interactions between high energy protons and nuclei in the target. The second part covered atomic collisions by particles without nuclear reactions. Because the energy of the particles was high, subcascade analysis was employed. The direct formation of clusters and the number of mobile defects were estimated using molecular dynamics (MD) and kinetic Monte-Carlo (kMC) methods in each subcascade. The third part considered damage structural evolutions estimated by reaction kinetic analysis. The fourth part involved the estimation of mechanical property change using three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics (DDD). Using the above four part code, stress-strain curves for high energy proton irradiated Ni were obtained.

Transport and equilibrium in field-reversed mirrors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boyd, J.K.

Two plasma models relevant to compact torus research have been developed to study transport and equilibrium in field reversed mirrors. In the first model for small Larmor radius and large collision frequency, the plasma is described as an adiabatic hydromagnetic fluid. In the second model for large Larmor radius and small collision frequency, a kinetic theory description has been developed. Various aspects of the two models have been studied in five computer codes ADB, AV, NEO, OHK, RES. The ADB code computes two dimensional equilibrium and one dimensional transport in a flux coordinate. The AV code calculates orbit average integralsmore » in a harmonic oscillator potential. The NEO code follows particle trajectories in a Hill's vortex magnetic field to study stochasticity, invariants of the motion, and orbit average formulas. The OHK code displays analytic psi(r), B/sub Z/(r), phi(r), E/sub r/(r) formulas developed for the kinetic theory description. The RES code calculates resonance curves to consider overlap regions relevant to stochastic orbit behavior.« less

Synthetic neutron camera and spectrometer in JET based on AFSI-ASCOT simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirén, P.; Varje, J.; Weisen, H.; Koskela, T.; contributors, JET

2017-09-01

The ASCOT Fusion Source Integrator (AFSI) has been used to calculate neutron production rates and spectra corresponding to the JET 19-channel neutron camera (KN3) and the time-of-flight spectrometer (TOFOR) as ideal diagnostics, without detector-related effects. AFSI calculates fusion product distributions in 4D, based on Monte Carlo integration from arbitrary reactant distribution functions. The distribution functions were calculated by the ASCOT Monte Carlo particle orbit following code for thermal, NBI and ICRH particle reactions. Fusion cross-sections were defined based on the Bosch-Hale model and both DD and DT reactions have been included. Neutrons generated by AFSI-ASCOT simulations have already been applied as a neutron source of the Serpent neutron transport code in ITER studies. Additionally, AFSI has been selected to be a main tool as the fusion product generator in the complete analysis calculation chain: ASCOT - AFSI - SERPENT (neutron and gamma transport Monte Carlo code) - APROS (system and power plant modelling code), which encompasses the plasma as an energy source, heat deposition in plant structures as well as cooling and balance-of-plant in DEMO applications and other reactor relevant analyses. This conference paper presents the first results and validation of the AFSI DD fusion model for different auxiliary heating scenarios (NBI, ICRH) with very different fast particle distribution functions. Both calculated quantities (production rates and spectra) have been compared with experimental data from KN3 and synthetic spectrometer data from ControlRoom code. No unexplained differences have been observed. In future work, AFSI will be extended for synthetic gamma diagnostics and additionally, AFSI will be used as part of the neutron transport calculation chain to model real diagnostics instead of ideal synthetic diagnostics for quantitative benchmarking.

MCNP (Monte Carlo Neutron Photon) capabilities for nuclear well logging calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Forster, R.A.; Little, R.C.; Briesmeister, J.F.

The Los Alamos Radiation Transport Code System (LARTCS) consists of state-of-the-art Monte Carlo and discrete ordinates transport codes and data libraries. The general-purpose continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MCNP (Monte Carlo Neutron Photon), part of the LARTCS, provides a computational predictive capability for many applications of interest to the nuclear well logging community. The generalized three-dimensional geometry of MCNP is well suited for borehole-tool models. SABRINA, another component of the LARTCS, is a graphics code that can be used to interactively create a complex MCNP geometry. Users can define many source and tally characteristics with standard MCNP features. The time-dependent capabilitymore » of the code is essential when modeling pulsed sources. Problems with neutrons, photons, and electrons as either single particle or coupled particles can be calculated with MCNP. The physics of neutron and photon transport and interactions is modeled in detail using the latest available cross-section data. A rich collections of variance reduction features can greatly increase the efficiency of a calculation. MCNP is written in FORTRAN 77 and has been run on variety of computer systems from scientific workstations to supercomputers. The next production version of MCNP will include features such as continuous-energy electron transport and a multitasking option. Areas of ongoing research of interest to the well logging community include angle biasing, adaptive Monte Carlo, improved discrete ordinates capabilities, and discrete ordinates/Monte Carlo hybrid development. Los Alamos has requested approval by the Department of Energy to create a Radiation Transport Computational Facility under their User Facility Program to increase external interactions with industry, universities, and other government organizations. 21 refs.« less

Time-dependent transport of energetic particles in magnetic turbulence: computer simulations versus analytical theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arendt, V.; Shalchi, A.

2018-06-01

We explore numerically the transport of energetic particles in a turbulent magnetic field configuration. A test-particle code is employed to compute running diffusion coefficients as well as particle distribution functions in the different directions of space. Our numerical findings are compared with models commonly used in diffusion theory such as Gaussian distribution functions and solutions of the cosmic ray Fokker-Planck equation. Furthermore, we compare the running diffusion coefficients across the mean magnetic field with solutions obtained from the time-dependent version of the unified non-linear transport theory. In most cases we find that particle distribution functions are indeed of Gaussian form as long as a two-component turbulence model is employed. For turbulence setups with reduced dimensionality, however, the Gaussian distribution can no longer be obtained. It is also shown that the unified non-linear transport theory agrees with simulated perpendicular diffusion coefficients as long as the pure two-dimensional model is excluded.

Study of the L-mode tokamak plasma “shortfall” with local and global nonlinear gyrokinetic δf particle-in-cell simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chowdhury, J.; Wan, Weigang; Chen, Yang

2014-11-15

The δ f particle-in-cell code GEM is used to study the transport “shortfall” problem of gyrokinetic simulations. In local simulations, the GEM results confirm the previously reported simulation results of DIII-D [Holland et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 052301 (2009)] and Alcator C-Mod [Howard et al., Nucl. Fusion 53, 123011 (2013)] tokamaks with the continuum code GYRO. Namely, for DIII-D the simulations closely predict the ion heat flux at the core, while substantially underpredict transport towards the edge; while for Alcator C-Mod, the simulations show agreement with the experimental values of ion heat flux, at least within the range of experimental error.more » Global simulations are carried out for DIII-D L-mode plasmas to study the effect of edge turbulence on the outer core ion heat transport. The edge turbulence enhances the outer core ion heat transport through turbulence spreading. However, this edge turbulence spreading effect is not enough to explain the transport underprediction.« less

Path Toward a Unified Geometry for Radiation Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Kerry

The Direct Accelerated Geometry for Radiation Analysis and Design (DAGRAD) element of the RadWorks Project under Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) within the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) of NASA will enable new designs and concepts of operation for radiation risk assessment, mitigation and protection. This element is designed to produce a solution that will allow NASA to calculate the transport of space radiation through complex CAD models using the state-of-the-art analytic and Monte Carlo radiation transport codes. Due to the inherent hazard of astronaut and spacecraft exposure to ionizing radiation in low-Earth orbit (LEO) or in deep space, risk analyses must be performed for all crew vehicles and habitats. Incorporating these analyses into the design process can minimize the mass needed solely for radiation protection. Transport of the radiation fields as they pass through shielding and body materials can be simulated using Monte Carlo techniques or described by the Boltzmann equation, which is obtained by balancing changes in particle fluxes as they traverse a small volume of material with the gains and losses caused by atomic and nuclear collisions. Deterministic codes that solve the Boltzmann transport equation, such as HZETRN (high charge and energy transport code developed by NASA LaRC), are generally computationally faster than Monte Carlo codes such as FLUKA, GEANT4, MCNP(X) or PHITS; however, they are currently limited to transport in one dimension, which poorly represents the secondary light ion and neutron radiation fields. NASA currently uses HZETRN space radiation transport software, both because it is computationally efficient and because proven methods have been developed for using this software to analyze complex geometries. Although Monte Carlo codes describe the relevant physics in a fully three-dimensional manner, their computational costs have thus far prevented their widespread use for analysis of complex CAD models, leading to the creation and maintenance of toolkit specific simplistic geometry models. The work presented here builds on the Direct Accelerated Geometry Monte Carlo (DAGMC) toolkit developed for use with the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code. The work-flow for doing radiation transport on CAD models using MCNP and FLUKA has been demonstrated and the results of analyses on realistic spacecraft/habitats will be presented. Future work is planned that will further automate this process and enable the use of multiple radiation transport codes on identical geometry models imported from CAD. This effort will enhance the modeling tools used by NASA to accurately evaluate the astronaut space radiation risk and accurately determine the protection provided by as-designed exploration mission vehicles and habitats.

Interactive three-dimensional visualization and creation of geometries for Monte Carlo calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Theis, C.; Buchegger, K. H.; Brugger, M.; Forkel-Wirth, D.; Roesler, S.; Vincke, H.

2006-06-01

The implementation of three-dimensional geometries for the simulation of radiation transport problems is a very time-consuming task. Each particle transport code supplies its own scripting language and syntax for creating the geometries. All of them are based on the Constructive Solid Geometry scheme requiring textual description. This makes the creation a tedious and error-prone task, which is especially hard to master for novice users. The Monte Carlo code FLUKA comes with built-in support for creating two-dimensional cross-sections through the geometry and FLUKACAD, a custom-built converter to the commercial Computer Aided Design package AutoCAD, exists for 3D visualization. For other codes, like MCNPX, a couple of different tools are available, but they are often specifically tailored to the particle transport code and its approach used for implementing geometries. Complex constructive solid modeling usually requires very fast and expensive special purpose hardware, which is not widely available. In this paper SimpleGeo is presented, which is an implementation of a generic versatile interactive geometry modeler using off-the-shelf hardware. It is running on Windows, with a Linux version currently under preparation. This paper describes its functionality, which allows for rapid interactive visualization as well as generation of three-dimensional geometries, and also discusses critical issues regarding common CAD systems.

Simulations of an accelerator-based shielding experiment using the particle and heavy-ion transport code system PHITS.

PubMed

Sato, T; Sihver, L; Iwase, H; Nakashima, H; Niita, K

2005-01-01

In order to estimate the biological effects of HZE particles, an accurate knowledge of the physics of interaction of HZE particles is necessary. Since the heavy ion transport problem is a complex one, there is a need for both experimental and theoretical studies to develop accurate transport models. RIST and JAERI (Japan), GSI (Germany) and Chalmers (Sweden) are therefore currently developing and bench marking the General-Purpose Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System (PHITS), which is based on the NMTC and MCNP for nucleon/meson and neutron transport respectively, and the JAM hadron cascade model. PHITS uses JAERI Quantum Molecular Dynamics (JQMD) and the Generalized Evaporation Model (GEM) for calculations of fission and evaporation processes, a model developed at NASA Langley for calculation of total reaction cross sections, and the SPAR model for stopping power calculations. The future development of PHITS includes better parameterization in the JQMD model used for the nucleus-nucleus reactions, and improvement of the models used for calculating total reaction cross sections, and addition of routines for calculating elastic scattering of heavy ions, and inclusion of radioactivity and burn up processes. As a part of an extensive bench marking of PHITS, we have compared energy spectra of secondary neutrons created by reactions of HZE particles with different targets, with thicknesses ranging from <1 to 200 cm. We have also compared simulated and measured spatial, fluence and depth-dose distributions from different high energy heavy ion reactions. In this paper, we report simulations of an accelerator-based shielding experiment, in which a beam of 1 GeV/n Fe-ions has passed through thin slabs of polyethylene, Al, and Pb at an acceptance angle up to 4 degrees. c2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

MCNP Version 6.2 Release Notes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Werner, Christopher John; Bull, Jeffrey S.; Solomon, C. J.

Monte Carlo N-Particle or MCNP ® is a general-purpose Monte Carlo radiation-transport code designed to track many particle types over broad ranges of energies. This MCNP Version 6.2 follows the MCNP6.1.1 beta version and has been released in order to provide the radiation transport community with the latest feature developments and bug fixes for MCNP. Since the last release of MCNP major work has been conducted to improve the code base, add features, and provide tools to facilitate ease of use of MCNP version 6.2 as well as the analysis of results. These release notes serve as a general guidemore » for the new/improved physics, source, data, tallies, unstructured mesh, code enhancements and tools. For more detailed information on each of the topics, please refer to the appropriate references or the user manual which can be found at http://mcnp.lanl.gov. This release of MCNP version 6.2 contains 39 new features in addition to 172 bug fixes and code enhancements. There are still some 33 known issues the user should familiarize themselves with (see Appendix).« less

(U) Introduction to Monte Carlo Methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hungerford, Aimee L.

2017-03-20

Monte Carlo methods are very valuable for representing solutions to particle transport problems. Here we describe a “cook book” approach to handling the terms in a transport equation using Monte Carlo methods. Focus is on the mechanics of a numerical Monte Carlo code, rather than the mathematical foundations of the method.

Comparison of a 3-D multi-group SN particle transport code with Monte Carlo for intracavitary brachytherapy of the cervix uteri.

PubMed

Gifford, Kent A; Wareing, Todd A; Failla, Gregory; Horton, John L; Eifel, Patricia J; Mourtada, Firas

2009-12-03

A patient dose distribution was calculated by a 3D multi-group S N particle transport code for intracavitary brachytherapy of the cervix uteri and compared to previously published Monte Carlo results. A Cs-137 LDR intracavitary brachytherapy CT data set was chosen from our clinical database. MCNPX version 2.5.c, was used to calculate the dose distribution. A 3D multi-group S N particle transport code, Attila version 6.1.1 was used to simulate the same patient. Each patient applicator was built in SolidWorks, a mechanical design package, and then assembled with a coordinate transformation and rotation for the patient. The SolidWorks exported applicator geometry was imported into Attila for calculation. Dose matrices were overlaid on the patient CT data set. Dose volume histograms and point doses were compared. The MCNPX calculation required 14.8 hours, whereas the Attila calculation required 22.2 minutes on a 1.8 GHz AMD Opteron CPU. Agreement between Attila and MCNPX dose calculations at the ICRU 38 points was within +/- 3%. Calculated doses to the 2 cc and 5 cc volumes of highest dose differed by not more than +/- 1.1% between the two codes. Dose and DVH overlays agreed well qualitatively. Attila can calculate dose accurately and efficiently for this Cs-137 CT-based patient geometry. Our data showed that a three-group cross-section set is adequate for Cs-137 computations. Future work is aimed at implementing an optimized version of Attila for radiotherapy calculations.

Comparison of a 3D multi‐group SN particle transport code with Monte Carlo for intercavitary brachytherapy of the cervix uteri

PubMed Central

Wareing, Todd A.; Failla, Gregory; Horton, John L.; Eifel, Patricia J.; Mourtada, Firas

2009-01-01

A patient dose distribution was calculated by a 3D multi‐group SN particle transport code for intracavitary brachytherapy of the cervix uteri and compared to previously published Monte Carlo results. A Cs‐137 LDR intracavitary brachytherapy CT data set was chosen from our clinical database. MCNPX version 2.5.c, was used to calculate the dose distribution. A 3D multi‐group SN particle transport code, Attila version 6.1.1 was used to simulate the same patient. Each patient applicator was built in SolidWorks, a mechanical design package, and then assembled with a coordinate transformation and rotation for the patient. The SolidWorks exported applicator geometry was imported into Attila for calculation. Dose matrices were overlaid on the patient CT data set. Dose volume histograms and point doses were compared. The MCNPX calculation required 14.8 hours, whereas the Attila calculation required 22.2 minutes on a 1.8 GHz AMD Opteron CPU. Agreement between Attila and MCNPX dose calculations at the ICRU 38 points was within ±3%. Calculated doses to the 2 cc and 5 cc volumes of highest dose differed by not more than ±1.1% between the two codes. Dose and DVH overlays agreed well qualitatively. Attila can calculate dose accurately and efficiently for this Cs‐137 CT‐based patient geometry. Our data showed that a three‐group cross‐section set is adequate for Cs‐137 computations. Future work is aimed at implementing an optimized version of Attila for radiotherapy calculations. PACS number: 87.53.Jw

Background and Recent Progress in Anomalous Transport Simulation

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-07-19

NUMBER (Include area code) 19 July 2017 Briefing Charts 14 June 2017 - 19 July 2017 Background and Recent Progress in Anomalous Transport Simulation ...and Recent Progress in Anomalous Transport Simulation 19 Jul 2017 Justin Koo AFRL/RQRS Edwards AFB, CA 2DISTRIBUTION A: Approved for public release...Baalrud, S.D. and Chabert, P., “Theory for the anomalous electron transport in Hall effect thrusters. I. Insights from particle-in-cell simulations

Space Applications of the FLUKA Monte-Carlo Code: Lunar and Planetary Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, V.; Ballarini, F.; Battistoni, G.; Campanella, M.; Carboni, M.; Cerutti, F.; Elkhayari, N.; Empl, A.; Fasso, A.; Ferrari, A.;

Particle sorting in Filter Porous Media and in Sediment Transport: A Numerical and Experimental Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glascoe, L. G.; Ezzedine, S. M.; Kanarska, Y.; Lomov, I. N.; Antoun, T.; Smith, J.; Hall, R.; Woodson, S.

2014-12-01

Understanding the flow of fines, particulate sorting in porous media and fractured media during sediment transport is significant for industrial, environmental, geotechnical and petroleum technologies to name a few. For example, the safety of dam structures requires the characterization of the granular filter ability to capture fine-soil particles and prevent erosion failure in the event of an interfacial dislocation. Granular filters are one of the most important protective design elements of large embankment dams. In case of cracking and erosion, if the filter is capable of retaining the eroded fine particles, then the crack will seal and the dam safety will be ensured. Here we develop and apply a numerical tool to thoroughly investigate the migration of fines in granular filters at the grain scale. The numerical code solves the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and uses a Lagrange multiplier technique. The numerical code is validated to experiments conducted at the USACE and ERDC. These laboratory experiments on soil transport and trapping in granular media are performed in constant-head flow chamber filled with the filter media. Numerical solutions are compared to experimentally measured flow rates, pressure changes and base particle distributions in the filter layer and show good qualitative and quantitative agreement. To further the understanding of the soil transport in granular filters, we investigated the sensitivity of the particle clogging mechanism to various parameters such as particle size ratio, the magnitude of hydraulic gradient, particle concentration, and grain-to-grain contact properties. We found that for intermediate particle size ratios, the high flow rates and low friction lead to deeper intrusion (or erosion) depths. We also found that the damage tends to be shallower and less severe with decreasing flow rate, increasing friction and concentration of suspended particles. We have extended these results to more realistic heterogeneous population particulates for sediment transport. This work performed under the auspices of the US DOE by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and was sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate, Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency.

A comparison of the COG and MCNP codes in computational neutron capture therapy modeling, Part I: boron neutron capture therapy models.

PubMed

Culbertson, C N; Wangerin, K; Ghandourah, E; Jevremovic, T

2005-08-01

The goal of this study was to evaluate the COG Monte Carlo radiation transport code, developed and tested by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, for neutron capture therapy related modeling. A boron neutron capture therapy model was analyzed comparing COG calculational results to results from the widely used MCNP4B (Monte Carlo N-Particle) transport code. The approach for computing neutron fluence rate and each dose component relevant in boron neutron capture therapy is described, and calculated values are shown in detail. The differences between the COG and MCNP predictions are qualified and quantified. The differences are generally small and suggest that the COG code can be applied for BNCT research related problems.

ecode - Electron Transport Algorithm Testing v. 1.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Franke, Brian C.; Olson, Aaron J.; Bruss, Donald Eugene

2016-10-05

ecode is a Monte Carlo code used for testing algorithms related to electron transport. The code can read basic physics parameters, such as energy-dependent stopping powers and screening parameters. The code permits simple planar geometries of slabs or cubes. Parallelization consists of domain replication, with work distributed at the start of the calculation and statistical results gathered at the end of the calculation. Some basic routines (such as input parsing, random number generation, and statistics processing) are shared with the Integrated Tiger Series codes. A variety of algorithms for uncertainty propagation are incorporated based on the stochastic collocation and stochasticmore » Galerkin methods. These permit uncertainty only in the total and angular scattering cross sections. The code contains algorithms for simulating stochastic mixtures of two materials. The physics is approximate, ranging from mono-energetic and isotropic scattering to screened Rutherford angular scattering and Rutherford energy-loss scattering (simple electron transport models). No production of secondary particles is implemented, and no photon physics is implemented.« less

Studies of HZE particle interactions and transport for space radiation protection purposes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Lawrence W.; Wilson, John W.; Schimmerling, Walter; Wong, Mervyn

1987-01-01

The main emphasis is on developing general methods for accurately predicting high-energy heavy ion (HZE) particle interactions and transport for use by researchers in mission planning studies, in evaluating astronaut self-shielding factors, and in spacecraft shield design and optimization studies. The two research tasks are: (1) to develop computationally fast and accurate solutions to the Boltzmann (transport) equation; and (2) to develop accurate HZE interaction models, from fundamental physical considerations, for use as inputs into these transport codes. Accurate solutions to the HZE transport problem have been formulated through a combination of analytical and numerical techniques. In addition, theoretical models for the input interaction parameters are under development: stopping powers, nuclear absorption cross sections, and fragmentation parameters.

Monte Carlo Analysis of Pion Contribution to Absorbed Dose from Galactic Cosmic Rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aghara, S.K.; Battnig, S.R.; Norbury, J.W.; Singleterry, R.C.

2009-01-01

Accurate knowledge of the physics of interaction, particle production and transport is necessary to estimate the radiation damage to equipment used on spacecraft and the biological effects of space radiation. For long duration astronaut missions, both on the International Space Station and the planned manned missions to Moon and Mars, the shielding strategy must include a comprehensive knowledge of the secondary radiation environment. The distribution of absorbed dose and dose equivalent is a function of the type, energy and population of these secondary products. Galactic cosmic rays (GCR) comprised of protons and heavier nuclei have energies from a few MeV per nucleon to the ZeV region, with the spectra reaching flux maxima in the hundreds of MeV range. Therefore, the MeV - GeV region is most important for space radiation. Coincidentally, the pion production energy threshold is about 280 MeV. The question naturally arises as to how important these particles are with respect to space radiation problems. The space radiation transport code, HZETRN (High charge (Z) and Energy TRaNsport), currently used by NASA, performs neutron, proton and heavy ion transport explicitly, but it does not take into account the production and transport of mesons, photons and leptons. In this paper, we present results from the Monte Carlo code MCNPX (Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended), showing the effect of leptons and mesons when they are produced and transported in a GCR environment.

Total reaction cross sections in CEM and MCNP6 at intermediate energies

DOE PAGES

Kerby, Leslie M.; Mashnik, Stepan G.

2015-05-14

Accurate total reaction cross section models are important to achieving reliable predictions from spallation and transport codes. The latest version of the Cascade Exciton Model (CEM) as incorporated in the code CEM03.03, and the Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code (MCNP6), both developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), each use such cross sections. Having accurate total reaction cross section models in the intermediate energy region (50 MeV to 5 GeV) is very important for different applications, including analysis of space environments, use in medical physics, and accelerator design, to name just a few. The current inverse cross sections used inmore » the preequilibrium and evaporation stages of CEM are based on the Dostrovsky et al. model, published in 1959. Better cross section models are now available. Implementing better cross section models in CEM and MCNP6 should yield improved predictions for particle spectra and total production cross sections, among other results.« less

3DHZETRN: Inhomogeneous Geometry Issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, John W.; Slaba, Tony C.; Badavi, Francis F.

2017-01-01

Historical methods for assessing radiation exposure inside complicated geometries for space applications were limited by computational constraints and lack of knowledge associated with nuclear processes occurring over a broad range of particles and energies. Various methods were developed and utilized to simplify geometric representations and enable coupling with simplified but efficient particle transport codes. Recent transport code development efforts, leading to 3DHZETRN, now enable such approximate methods to be carefully assessed to determine if past exposure analyses and validation efforts based on those approximate methods need to be revisited. In this work, historical methods of representing inhomogeneous spacecraft geometry for radiation protection analysis are first reviewed. Two inhomogeneous geometry cases, previously studied with 3DHZETRN and Monte Carlo codes, are considered with various levels of geometric approximation. Fluence, dose, and dose equivalent values are computed in all cases and compared. It is found that although these historical geometry approximations can induce large errors in neutron fluences up to 100 MeV, errors on dose and dose equivalent are modest (<10%) for the cases studied here.

Total reaction cross sections in CEM and MCNP6 at intermediate energies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kerby, Leslie M.; Mashnik, Stepan G.

Accurate total reaction cross section models are important to achieving reliable predictions from spallation and transport codes. The latest version of the Cascade Exciton Model (CEM) as incorporated in the code CEM03.03, and the Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code (MCNP6), both developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), each use such cross sections. Having accurate total reaction cross section models in the intermediate energy region (50 MeV to 5 GeV) is very important for different applications, including analysis of space environments, use in medical physics, and accelerator design, to name just a few. The current inverse cross sections used inmore » the preequilibrium and evaporation stages of CEM are based on the Dostrovsky et al. model, published in 1959. Better cross section models are now available. Implementing better cross section models in CEM and MCNP6 should yield improved predictions for particle spectra and total production cross sections, among other results.« less

Development Of A Parallel Performance Model For The THOR Neutral Particle Transport Code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yessayan, Raffi; Azmy, Yousry; Schunert, Sebastian

The THOR neutral particle transport code enables simulation of complex geometries for various problems from reactor simulations to nuclear non-proliferation. It is undergoing a thorough V&V requiring computational efficiency. This has motivated various improvements including angular parallelization, outer iteration acceleration, and development of peripheral tools. For guiding future improvements to the code’s efficiency, better characterization of its parallel performance is useful. A parallel performance model (PPM) can be used to evaluate the benefits of modifications and to identify performance bottlenecks. Using INL’s Falcon HPC, the PPM development incorporates an evaluation of network communication behavior over heterogeneous links and a functionalmore » characterization of the per-cell/angle/group runtime of each major code component. After evaluating several possible sources of variability, this resulted in a communication model and a parallel portion model. The former’s accuracy is bounded by the variability of communication on Falcon while the latter has an error on the order of 1%.« less

Cross-separatrix Coupling in Nonlinear Global Electrostatic Turbulent Transport in C-2U

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, Calvin; Fulton, Daniel; Bao, Jian; Lin, Zhihong; Binderbauer, Michl; Tajima, Toshiki; Schmitz, Lothar; TAE Team

2017-10-01

In recent years, the progress of the C-2/C-2U advanced beam-driven field-reversed configuration (FRC) experiments at Tri Alpha Energy, Inc. has pushed FRCs to transport limited regimes. Understanding particle and energy transport is a vital step towards an FRC reactor, and two particle-in-cell microturbulence codes, the Gyrokinetic Toroidal Code (GTC) and A New Code (ANC), are being developed and applied toward this goal. Previous local electrostatic GTC simulations find the core to be robustly stable with drift-wave instability only in the scrape-off layer (SOL) region. However, experimental measurements showed fluctuations in both regions; one possibility is that fluctuations in the core originate from the SOL, suggesting the need for non-local simulations with cross-separatrix coupling. Current global ANC simulations with gyrokinetic ions and adiabatic electrons find that non-local effects (1) modify linear growth-rates and frequencies of instabilities and (2) allow instability to move from the unstable SOL to the linearly stable core. Nonlinear spreading is also seen prior to mode saturation. We also report on the progress of the first turbulence simulations in the SOL. This work is supported by the Norman Rostoker Fellowship.

Complete event simulations of nuclear fission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogt, Ramona

2015-10-01

For many years, the state of the art for treating fission in radiation transport codes has involved sampling from average distributions. In these average fission models energy is not explicitly conserved and everything is uncorrelated because all particles are emitted independently. However, in a true fission event, the energies, momenta and multiplicities of the emitted particles are correlated. Such correlations are interesting for many modern applications. Event-by-event generation of complete fission events makes it possible to retain the kinematic information for all particles emitted: the fission products as well as prompt neutrons and photons. It is therefore possible to extract any desired correlation observables. Complete event simulations can be included in general Monte Carlo transport codes. We describe the general functionality of currently available fission event generators and compare results for several important observables. This work was performed under the auspices of the US DOE by LLNL, Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. We acknowledge support of the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development in DOE/NNSA.

Effect of anomalous transport on kinetic simulations of the H-mode pedestal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bateman, G.; Pankin, A. Y.; Kritz, A. H.; Rafiq, T.; Park, G. Y.; Ku, S.; Chang, C. S.

2009-11-01

The MMM08 and MMM95 Multi-Mode transport models [1,2], are used to investigate the effect of anomalous transport in XGC0 gyrokinetic simulations [3] of tokamak H-mode pedestal growth. Transport models are implemented in XGC0 using the Framework for Modernization and Componentization of Fusion Modules (FMCFM). Anomalous transport is driven by steep temperature and density gradients and is suppressed by high values of flow shear in the pedestal. The radial electric field, used to calculate the flow shear rate, is computed self-consistently in the XGC0 code with the anomalous transport, Lagrangian charged particle dynamics and neutral particle effects. XGC0 simulations are used to provide insight into how thermal and particle transport, together with the sources of heat and charged particles, determine the shape and growth rate of the temperature and density profiles. [1] F.D. Halpern et al., Phys. Plasmas 15 (2008) 065033; J.Weiland et al., Nucl. Fusion 49 (2009) 965933; A.Kritz et al., EPS (2009) [2] G. Bateman, et al, Phys. Plasmas 5 (1998) 1793 [3] C.S. Chang, S. Ku, H. Weitzner, Phys. Plasmas 11 (2004) 2649

Tally and geometry definition influence on the computing time in radiotherapy treatment planning with MCNP Monte Carlo code.

PubMed

Juste, B; Miro, R; Gallardo, S; Santos, A; Verdu, G

2006-01-01

The present work has simulated the photon and electron transport in a Theratron 780 (MDS Nordion) (60)Co radiotherapy unit, using the Monte Carlo transport code, MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle), version 5. In order to become computationally more efficient in view of taking part in the practical field of radiotherapy treatment planning, this work is focused mainly on the analysis of dose results and on the required computing time of different tallies applied in the model to speed up calculations.

PHITS simulations of the Matroshka experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gustafsson, Katarina; Sihver, Lembit; Mancusi, Davide; Sato, Tatsuhiko

In order to design a more secure space exploration, radiation exposure estimations are necessary; the radiation environment in space is very different from the one on Earth and it is harmful for humans and for electronic equipments. The threat origins from two sources: Galactic Cosmic Rays and Solar Particle Events. It is important to understand what happens when these particles strike matter such as space vehicle walls, human organs and electronics. We are therefore developing a tool able to estimate the radiation exposure to both humans and electronics. The tool will be based on PHITS, the Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System, a three dimensional Monte Carlo code which can calculate interactions and transport of particles and heavy ions in matter. PHITS is developed by a collaboration between RIST (Research Organization for Information Science & Technology), JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency), KEK (High Energy Accelerator Research Organization), Japan and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. A method for benchmarking and developing the code is to simulate experiments performed in space or on Earth. We have carried out simulations of the Matroshka experiment which focus on determining the radiation load on astronauts inside and outside the International Space Station by using a torso of a tissue equivalent human phantom, filled with active and passive detectors located in the positions of critical tissues and organs. We will present status and results of our simulations.

Critical Gradient Behavior of Alfvén Eigenmode Induced Fast-Ion Transport in Phase Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, C. S.; Pace, D. C.; van Zeeland, M. A.; Heidbrink, W. W.; Stagner, L.; Zhu, Y. B.; Kramer, G. J.; Podesta, M.; White, R. B.

2016-10-01

Experiments on DIII-D have shown that energetic particle (EP) transport suddenly increases when multiple Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs) cause particle orbits to become stochastic. Several key features have been observed; (1) the transport threshold is phase-space dependent and occurs above the AE linear stability threshold, (2) EP losses become intermittent above threshold and appear to depend on the types of AEs present, and (3) stiff transport causes the EP density profile to remain unchanged even if the source increases. Theoretical analysis using the NOVA and ORBIT codes shows that the threshold corresponds to when particle orbits become stochastic due to wave-particle resonances with AEs in the region of phase space measured by the diagnostics. The kick model in NUBEAM (TRANSP) is used to evolve the EP distribution function to study which modes cause the most transport and further characterize intermittent bursts of EP losses, which are associated with large scale redistribution through the domino effect. Work supported by the US DOE under DE-FC02-04ER54698.

Path Toward a Unifid Geometry for Radiation Transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Kerry; Barzilla, Janet; Davis, Andrew; Zachmann

2014-01-01

The Direct Accelerated Geometry for Radiation Analysis and Design (DAGRAD) element of the RadWorks Project under Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) within the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) of NASA will enable new designs and concepts of operation for radiation risk assessment, mitigation and protection. This element is designed to produce a solution that will allow NASA to calculate the transport of space radiation through complex computer-aided design (CAD) models using the state-of-the-art analytic and Monte Carlo radiation transport codes. Due to the inherent hazard of astronaut and spacecraft exposure to ionizing radiation in low-Earth orbit (LEO) or in deep space, risk analyses must be performed for all crew vehicles and habitats. Incorporating these analyses into the design process can minimize the mass needed solely for radiation protection. Transport of the radiation fields as they pass through shielding and body materials can be simulated using Monte Carlo techniques or described by the Boltzmann equation, which is obtained by balancing changes in particle fluxes as they traverse a small volume of material with the gains and losses caused by atomic and nuclear collisions. Deterministic codes that solve the Boltzmann transport equation, such as HZETRN [high charge and energy transport code developed by NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC)], are generally computationally faster than Monte Carlo codes such as FLUKA, GEANT4, MCNP(X) or PHITS; however, they are currently limited to transport in one dimension, which poorly represents the secondary light ion and neutron radiation fields. NASA currently uses HZETRN space radiation transport software, both because it is computationally efficient and because proven methods have been developed for using this software to analyze complex geometries. Although Monte Carlo codes describe the relevant physics in a fully three-dimensional manner, their computational costs have thus far prevented their widespread use for analysis of complex CAD models, leading to the creation and maintenance of toolkit-specific simplistic geometry models. The work presented here builds on the Direct Accelerated Geometry Monte Carlo (DAGMC) toolkit developed for use with the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code. The workflow for achieving radiation transport on CAD models using MCNP and FLUKA has been demonstrated and the results of analyses on realistic spacecraft/habitats will be presented. Future work is planned that will further automate this process and enable the use of multiple radiation transport codes on identical geometry models imported from CAD. This effort will enhance the modeling tools used by NASA to accurately evaluate the astronaut space radiation risk and accurately determine the protection provided by as-designed exploration mission vehicles and habitats

Modeling a Single SEP Event from Multiple Vantage Points Using the iPATH Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Junxiang; Li, Gang; Fu, Shuai; Zank, Gary; Ao, Xianzhi

2018-02-01

Using the recently extended 2D improved Particle Acceleration and Transport in the Heliosphere (iPATH) model, we model an example gradual solar energetic particle event as observed at multiple locations. Protons and ions that are energized via the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism are followed at a 2D coronal mass ejection-driven shock where the shock geometry varies across the shock front. The subsequent transport of energetic particles, including cross-field diffusion, is modeled by a Monte Carlo code that is based on a stochastic differential equation method. Time intensity profiles and particle spectra at multiple locations and different radial distances, separated in longitudes, are presented. The results shown here are relevant to the upcoming Parker Solar Probe mission.

2D Implosion Simulations with a Kinetic Particle Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagert, Irina; Even, Wesley; Strother, Terrance

2017-10-01

Many problems in laboratory and plasma physics are subject to flows that move between the continuum and the kinetic regime. We discuss two-dimensional (2D) implosion simulations that were performed using a Monte Carlo kinetic particle code. The application of kinetic transport theory is motivated, in part, by the occurrence of non-equilibrium effects in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) capsule implosions, which cannot be fully captured by hydrodynamics simulations. Kinetic methods, on the other hand, are able to describe both, continuum and rarefied flows. We perform simple 2D disk implosion simulations using one particle species and compare the results to simulations with the hydrodynamics code RAGE. The impact of the particle mean-free-path on the implosion is also explored. In a second study, we focus on the formation of fluid instabilities from induced perturbations. I.S. acknowledges support through the Director's fellowship from Los Alamos National Laboratory. This research used resources provided by the LANL Institutional Computing Program.

Features of MCNP6 Relevant to Medical Radiation Physics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hughes, H. Grady III; Goorley, John T.

2012-08-29

MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle) is a general-purpose Monte Carlo code for simulating the transport of neutrons, photons, electrons, positrons, and more recently other fundamental particles and heavy ions. Over many years MCNP has found a wide range of applications in many different fields, including medical radiation physics. In this presentation we will describe and illustrate a number of significant recently-developed features in the current version of the code, MCNP6, having particular utility for medical physics. Among these are major extensions of the ability to simulate large, complex geometries, improvement in memory requirements and speed for large lattices, introduction of mesh-basedmore » isotopic reaction tallies, advances in radiography simulation, expanded variance-reduction capabilities, especially for pulse-height tallies, and a large number of enhancements in photon/electron transport.« less

Fully-kinetic Ion Simulation of Global Electrostatic Turbulent Transport in C-2U

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulton, Daniel; Lau, Calvin; Bao, Jian; Lin, Zhihong; Tajima, Toshiki; TAE Team

2017-10-01

Understanding the nature of particle and energy transport in field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasmas is a crucial step towards an FRC-based fusion reactor. The C-2U device at Tri Alpha Energy (TAE) achieved macroscopically stable plasmas and electron energy confinement time which scaled favorably with electron temperature. This success led to experimental and theoretical investigation of turbulence in C-2U, including gyrokinetic ion simulations with the Gyrokinetic Toroidal Code (GTC). A primary objective of TAE's new C-2W device is to explore transport scaling in an extended parameter regime. In concert with the C-2W experimental campaign, numerical efforts have also been extended in A New Code (ANC) to use fully-kinetic (FK) ions and a Vlasov-Poisson field solver. Global FK ion simulations are presented. Future code development is also discussed.

Meson Production and Space Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norbury, John; Blattnig, Steve; Norman, Ryan; Aghara, Sukesh

Protecting astronauts from the harmful effects of space radiation is an important priority for long duration space flight. The National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) has recently recommended that pion and other mesons should be included in space radiation transport codes, especially in connection with the Martian atmosphere. In an interesting accident of nature, the galactic cosmic ray spectrum has its peak intensity near the pion production threshold. The Boltzmann transport equation is structured in such a way that particle production cross sec-tions are multiplied by particle flux. Therefore, the peak of the incident flux of the galactic cosmic ray spectrum is more important than other regions of the spectrum and cross sections near the peak are enhanced. This happens with pion cross sections. The MCNPX Monte-Carlo transport code now has the capability of transporting heavy ions, and by using a galactic cosmic ray spectrum as input, recent work has shown that pions contribute about twenty percent of the dose from galactic cosmic rays behind a shield of 20 g/cm2 aluminum and 30 g/cm2 water. It is therefore important to include pion and other hadron production in transport codes designed for space radiation studies, such as HZETRN. The status of experimental hadron production data for energies relevant to space radiation will be reviewed, as well as the predictive capa-bilities of current theoretical hadron production cross section and space radiation transport models. Charged pions decay into muons and neutrinos, and neutral pions decay into photons. An electromagnetic cascade is produced as these particles build up in a material. The cascade and transport of pions, muons, electrons and photons will be discussed as they relate to space radiation. The importance of other hadrons, such as kaons, eta mesons and antiprotons will be considered as well. Efficient methods for calculating cross sections for meson production in nucleon-nucleon and nucleus-nucleus reactions will be presented. The NCRP has also recom-mended that more attention should be paid to neutron and light ion transport. The coupling of neutrons, light ions, mesons and other hadrons will be discussed.

Comparison of heavy-ion transport simulations: Collision integral in a box

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ying-Xun; Wang, Yong-Jia; Colonna, Maria; Danielewicz, Pawel; Ono, Akira; Tsang, Manyee Betty; Wolter, Hermann; Xu, Jun; Chen, Lie-Wen; Cozma, Dan; Feng, Zhao-Qing; Das Gupta, Subal; Ikeno, Natsumi; Ko, Che-Ming; Li, Bao-An; Li, Qing-Feng; Li, Zhu-Xia; Mallik, Swagata; Nara, Yasushi; Ogawa, Tatsuhiko; Ohnishi, Akira; Oliinychenko, Dmytro; Papa, Massimo; Petersen, Hannah; Su, Jun; Song, Taesoo; Weil, Janus; Wang, Ning; Zhang, Feng-Shou; Zhang, Zhen

2018-03-01

Simulations by transport codes are indispensable to extract valuable physical information from heavy-ion collisions. In order to understand the origins of discrepancies among different widely used transport codes, we compare 15 such codes under controlled conditions of a system confined to a box with periodic boundary, initialized with Fermi-Dirac distributions at saturation density and temperatures of either 0 or 5 MeV. In such calculations, one is able to check separately the different ingredients of a transport code. In this second publication of the code evaluation project, we only consider the two-body collision term; i.e., we perform cascade calculations. When the Pauli blocking is artificially suppressed, the collision rates are found to be consistent for most codes (to within 1 % or better) with analytical results, or completely controlled results of a basic cascade code. In orderto reach that goal, it was necessary to eliminate correlations within the same pair of colliding particles that can be present depending on the adopted collision prescription. In calculations with active Pauli blocking, the blocking probability was found to deviate from the expected reference values. The reason is found in substantial phase-space fluctuations and smearing tied to numerical algorithms and model assumptions in the representation of phase space. This results in the reduction of the blocking probability in most transport codes, so that the simulated system gradually evolves away from the Fermi-Dirac toward a Boltzmann distribution. Since the numerical fluctuations are weaker in the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck codes, the Fermi-Dirac statistics is maintained there for a longer time than in the quantum molecular dynamics codes. As a result of this investigation, we are able to make judgements about the most effective strategies in transport simulations for determining the collision probabilities and the Pauli blocking. Investigation in a similar vein of other ingredients in transport calculations, like the mean-field propagation or the production of nucleon resonances and mesons, will be discussed in the future publications.

Parallel and Portable Monte Carlo Particle Transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, S. R.; Cummings, J. C.; Nolen, S. D.; Keen, N. D.

1997-08-01

We have developed a multi-group, Monte Carlo neutron transport code in C++ using object-oriented methods and the Parallel Object-Oriented Methods and Applications (POOMA) class library. This transport code, called MC++, currently computes k and α eigenvalues of the neutron transport equation on a rectilinear computational mesh. It is portable to and runs in parallel on a wide variety of platforms, including MPPs, clustered SMPs, and individual workstations. It contains appropriate classes and abstractions for particle transport and, through the use of POOMA, for portable parallelism. Current capabilities are discussed, along with physics and performance results for several test problems on a variety of hardware, including all three Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) platforms. Current parallel performance indicates the ability to compute α-eigenvalues in seconds or minutes rather than days or weeks. Current and future work on the implementation of a general transport physics framework (TPF) is also described. This TPF employs modern C++ programming techniques to provide simplified user interfaces, generic STL-style programming, and compile-time performance optimization. Physics capabilities of the TPF will be extended to include continuous energy treatments, implicit Monte Carlo algorithms, and a variety of convergence acceleration techniques such as importance combing.

Development and validation of a critical gradient energetic particle driven Alfven eigenmode transport model for DIII-D tilted neutral beam experiments

DOE PAGES

Waltz, Ronald E.; Bass, Eric M.; Heidbrink, William W.; ...

2015-10-30

Recent experiments with the DIII-D tilted neutral beam injection (NBI) varying the beam energetic particle (EP) source profiles have provided strong evidence that unstable Alfven eigenmodes (AE) drive stiff EP transport at a critical EP density gradient. Here the critical gradient is identified by the local AE growth rate being equal to the local ITG/TEM growth rate at the same low toroidal mode number. The growth rates are taken from the gyrokinetic code GYRO. Simulation show that the slowing down beam-like EP distribution has a slightly lower critical gradient than the Maxwellian. The ALPHA EP density transport code, used tomore » validate the model, combines the low-n stiff EP critical density gradient AE mid-core transport with the energy independent high-n ITG/TEM density transport model controling the central core EP density profile. For the on-axis NBI heated DIII-D shot 146102, while the net loss to the edge is small, about half the birth fast ions are transported from the central core r/a < 0.5 and the central density is about half the slowing down density. Lastly, these results are in good agreement with experimental fast ion pressure profiles inferred from MSE constrained EFIT equilibria.« less

Combined Modeling of Acceleration, Transport, and Hydrodynamic Response in Solar Flares. 1; The Numerical Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Wei; Petrosian, Vahe; Mariska, John T.

2009-01-01

Acceleration and transport of high-energy particles and fluid dynamics of atmospheric plasma are interrelated aspects of solar flares, but for convenience and simplicity they were artificially separated in the past. We present here self consistently combined Fokker-Planck modeling of particles and hydrodynamic simulation of flare plasma. Energetic electrons are modeled with the Stanford unified code of acceleration, transport, and radiation, while plasma is modeled with the Naval Research Laboratory flux tube code. We calculated the collisional heating rate directly from the particle transport code, which is more accurate than those in previous studies based on approximate analytical solutions. We repeated the simulation of Mariska et al. with an injection of power law, downward-beamed electrons using the new heating rate. For this case, a -10% difference was found from their old result. We also used a more realistic spectrum of injected electrons provided by the stochastic acceleration model, which has a smooth transition from a quasi-thermal background at low energies to a non thermal tail at high energies. The inclusion of low-energy electrons results in relatively more heating in the corona (versus chromosphere) and thus a larger downward heat conduction flux. The interplay of electron heating, conduction, and radiative loss leads to stronger chromospheric evaporation than obtained in previous studies, which had a deficit in low-energy electrons due to an arbitrarily assumed low-energy cutoff. The energy and spatial distributions of energetic electrons and bremsstrahlung photons bear signatures of the changing density distribution caused by chromospheric evaporation. In particular, the density jump at the evaporation front gives rise to enhanced emission, which, in principle, can be imaged by X-ray telescopes. This model can be applied to investigate a variety of high-energy processes in solar, space, and astrophysical plasmas.

Faster Heavy Ion Transport for HZETRN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slaba, Tony C.

2013-01-01

The deterministic particle transport code HZETRN was developed to enable fast and accurate space radiation transport through materials. As more complex transport solutions are implemented for neutrons, light ions (Z < 2), mesons, and leptons, it is important to maintain overall computational efficiency. In this work, the heavy ion (Z > 2) transport algorithm in HZETRN is reviewed, and a simple modification is shown to provide an approximate 5x decrease in execution time for galactic cosmic ray transport. Convergence tests and other comparisons are carried out to verify that numerical accuracy is maintained in the new algorithm.

Validating the performance of correlated fission multiplicity implementation in radiation transport codes with subcritical neutron multiplication benchmark experiments

DOE PAGES

Arthur, Jennifer; Bahran, Rian; Hutchinson, Jesson; ...

2018-06-14

Historically, radiation transport codes have uncorrelated fission emissions. In reality, the particles emitted by both spontaneous and induced fissions are correlated in time, energy, angle, and multiplicity. This work validates the performance of various current Monte Carlo codes that take into account the underlying correlated physics of fission neutrons, specifically neutron multiplicity distributions. The performance of 4 Monte Carlo codes - MCNP®6.2, MCNP®6.2/FREYA, MCNP®6.2/CGMF, and PoliMi - was assessed using neutron multiplicity benchmark experiments. In addition, MCNP®6.2 simulations were run using JEFF-3.2 and JENDL-4.0, rather than ENDF/B-VII.1, data for 239Pu and 240Pu. The sensitive benchmark parameters that in this workmore » represent the performance of each correlated fission multiplicity Monte Carlo code include the singles rate, the doubles rate, leakage multiplication, and Feynman histograms. Although it is difficult to determine which radiation transport code shows the best overall performance in simulating subcritical neutron multiplication inference benchmark measurements, it is clear that correlations exist between the underlying nuclear data utilized by (or generated by) the various codes, and the correlated neutron observables of interest. This could prove useful in nuclear data validation and evaluation applications, in which a particular moment of the neutron multiplicity distribution is of more interest than the other moments. It is also quite clear that, because transport is handled by MCNP®6.2 in 3 of the 4 codes, with the 4th code (PoliMi) being based on an older version of MCNP®, the differences in correlated neutron observables of interest are most likely due to the treatment of fission event generation in each of the different codes, as opposed to the radiation transport.« less

Validating the performance of correlated fission multiplicity implementation in radiation transport codes with subcritical neutron multiplication benchmark experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arthur, Jennifer; Bahran, Rian; Hutchinson, Jesson

Historically, radiation transport codes have uncorrelated fission emissions. In reality, the particles emitted by both spontaneous and induced fissions are correlated in time, energy, angle, and multiplicity. This work validates the performance of various current Monte Carlo codes that take into account the underlying correlated physics of fission neutrons, specifically neutron multiplicity distributions. The performance of 4 Monte Carlo codes - MCNP®6.2, MCNP®6.2/FREYA, MCNP®6.2/CGMF, and PoliMi - was assessed using neutron multiplicity benchmark experiments. In addition, MCNP®6.2 simulations were run using JEFF-3.2 and JENDL-4.0, rather than ENDF/B-VII.1, data for 239Pu and 240Pu. The sensitive benchmark parameters that in this workmore » represent the performance of each correlated fission multiplicity Monte Carlo code include the singles rate, the doubles rate, leakage multiplication, and Feynman histograms. Although it is difficult to determine which radiation transport code shows the best overall performance in simulating subcritical neutron multiplication inference benchmark measurements, it is clear that correlations exist between the underlying nuclear data utilized by (or generated by) the various codes, and the correlated neutron observables of interest. This could prove useful in nuclear data validation and evaluation applications, in which a particular moment of the neutron multiplicity distribution is of more interest than the other moments. It is also quite clear that, because transport is handled by MCNP®6.2 in 3 of the 4 codes, with the 4th code (PoliMi) being based on an older version of MCNP®, the differences in correlated neutron observables of interest are most likely due to the treatment of fission event generation in each of the different codes, as opposed to the radiation transport.« less

MMAPDNG: A new, fast code backed by a memory-mapped database for simulating delayed γ-ray emission with MCNPX package

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lou, Tak Pui; Ludewigt, Bernhard

2015-09-01

The simulation of the emission of beta-delayed gamma rays following nuclear fission and the calculation of time-dependent energy spectra is a computational challenge. The widely used radiation transport code MCNPX includes a delayed gamma-ray routine that is inefficient and not suitable for simulating complex problems. This paper describes the code "MMAPDNG" (Memory-Mapped Delayed Neutron and Gamma), an optimized delayed gamma module written in C, discusses usage and merits of the code, and presents results. The approach is based on storing required Fission Product Yield (FPY) data, decay data, and delayed particle data in a memory-mapped file. When compared to the original delayed gamma-ray code in MCNPX, memory utilization is reduced by two orders of magnitude and the ray sampling is sped up by three orders of magnitude. Other delayed particles such as neutrons and electrons can be implemented in future versions of MMAPDNG code using its existing framework.

Spacecraft Solar Particle Event (SPE) Shielding: Shielding Effectiveness as a Function of SPE model as Determined with the FLUKA Radiation Transport Code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koontz, Steve; Atwell, William; Reddell, Brandon; Rojdev, Kristina

2010-01-01

Analysis of both satellite and surface neutron monitor data demonstrate that the widely utilized Exponential model of solar particle event (SPE) proton kinetic energy spectra can seriously underestimate SPE proton flux, especially at the highest kinetic energies. The more recently developed Band model produces better agreement with neutron monitor data ground level events (GLEs) and is believed to be considerably more accurate at high kinetic energies. Here, we report the results of modeling and simulation studies in which the radiation transport code FLUKA (FLUktuierende KAskade) is used to determine the changes in total ionizing dose (TID) and single-event environments (SEE) behind aluminum, polyethylene, carbon, and titanium shielding masses when the assumed form (i. e., Band or Exponential) of the solar particle event (SPE) kinetic energy spectra is changed. FLUKA simulations have fully three dimensions with an isotropic particle flux incident on a concentric spherical shell shielding mass and detector structure. The effects are reported for both energetic primary protons penetrating the shield mass and secondary particle showers caused by energetic primary protons colliding with shielding mass nuclei. Our results, in agreement with previous studies, show that use of the Exponential form of the event

Phase space effects on fast ion distribution function modeling in tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podestà, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.; Gorelenkov, N. N.; White, R. B.

2016-05-01

Integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities, ad-hoc models can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions. The kick model implemented in the tokamak transport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Podestà, M., E-mail: mpodesta@pppl.gov; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.

Integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities, ad-hoc models can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions.more » The kick model implemented in the tokamak transport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.« less

Phase space effects on fast ion distribution function modeling in tokamaks

DOE Data Explorer

White, R. B. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Podesta, M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Gorelenkova, M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Fredrickson, E. D. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Gorelenkov, N. N. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

2016-06-01

Integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities, ad-hoc models can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions. The kick model implemented in the tokamak transport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.

Neoclassical transport in toroidal plasmas with nonaxisymmetric flux surfaces

DOE PAGES

Belli, Emily A.; Candy, Jefferey M.

2015-04-15

The capability to treat nonaxisymmetric flux surface geometry has been added to the drift-kinetic code NEO. Geometric quantities (i.e. metric elements) are supplied by a recently-developed local 3D equilibrium solver, allowing neoclassical transport coefficients to be systematically computed while varying the 3D plasma shape in a simple and intuitive manner. Code verification is accomplished via detailed comparison with 3D Pfirsch–Schlüter theory. A discussion of the various collisionality regimes associated with 3D transport is given, with an emphasis on non-ambipolar particle flux, neoclassical toroidal viscosity, energy flux and bootstrap current. As a result, we compute the transport in the presence ofmore » ripple-type perturbations in a DIII-D-like H-mode edge plasma.« less

Consistency evaluation between EGSnrc and Geant4 charged particle transport in an equilibrium magnetic field.

PubMed

Yang, Y M; Bednarz, B

2013-02-21

Following the proposal by several groups to integrate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with radiation therapy, much attention has been afforded to examining the impact of strong (on the order of a Tesla) transverse magnetic fields on photon dose distributions. The effect of the magnetic field on dose distributions must be considered in order to take full advantage of the benefits of real-time intra-fraction imaging. In this investigation, we compared the handling of particle transport in magnetic fields between two Monte Carlo codes, EGSnrc and Geant4, to analyze various aspects of their electromagnetic transport algorithms; both codes are well-benchmarked for medical physics applications in the absence of magnetic fields. A water-air-water slab phantom and a water-lung-water slab phantom were used to highlight dose perturbations near high- and low-density interfaces. We have implemented a method of calculating the Lorentz force in EGSnrc based on theoretical models in literature, and show very good consistency between the two Monte Carlo codes. This investigation further demonstrates the importance of accurate dosimetry for MRI-guided radiation therapy (MRIgRT), and facilitates the integration of a ViewRay MRIgRT system in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Radiation Oncology Department.

Consistency evaluation between EGSnrc and Geant4 charged particle transport in an equilibrium magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Y. M.; Bednarz, B.

2013-02-01

Following the proposal by several groups to integrate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with radiation therapy, much attention has been afforded to examining the impact of strong (on the order of a Tesla) transverse magnetic fields on photon dose distributions. The effect of the magnetic field on dose distributions must be considered in order to take full advantage of the benefits of real-time intra-fraction imaging. In this investigation, we compared the handling of particle transport in magnetic fields between two Monte Carlo codes, EGSnrc and Geant4, to analyze various aspects of their electromagnetic transport algorithms; both codes are well-benchmarked for medical physics applications in the absence of magnetic fields. A water-air-water slab phantom and a water-lung-water slab phantom were used to highlight dose perturbations near high- and low-density interfaces. We have implemented a method of calculating the Lorentz force in EGSnrc based on theoretical models in literature, and show very good consistency between the two Monte Carlo codes. This investigation further demonstrates the importance of accurate dosimetry for MRI-guided radiation therapy (MRIgRT), and facilitates the integration of a ViewRay MRIgRT system in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Radiation Oncology Department.

[Medical Applications of the PHITS Code I: Recent Improvements and Biological Dose Estimation Model].

PubMed

Sato, Tatsuhiko; Furuta, Takuya; Hashimoto, Shintaro; Kuga, Naoya

2015-01-01

PHITS is a general purpose Monte Carlo particle transport simulation code developed through the collaboration of several institutes mainly in Japan. It can analyze the motion of nearly all radiations over wide energy ranges in 3-dimensional matters. It has been used for various applications including medical physics. This paper reviews the recent improvements of the code, together with the biological dose estimation method developed on the basis of the microdosimetric function implemented in PHITS.

A Monte Carlo simulation code for calculating damage and particle transport in solids: The case for electron-bombarded solids for electron energies up to 900 MeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Qiang; Shao, Lin

2017-03-01

Current popular Monte Carlo simulation codes for simulating electron bombardment in solids focus primarily on electron trajectories, instead of electron-induced displacements. Here we report a Monte Carol simulation code, DEEPER (damage creation and particle transport in matter), developed for calculating 3-D distributions of displacements produced by electrons of incident energies up to 900 MeV. Electron elastic scattering is calculated by using full-Mott cross sections for high accuracy, and primary-knock-on-atoms (PKAs)-induced damage cascades are modeled using ZBL potential. We compare and show large differences in 3-D distributions of displacements and electrons in electron-irradiated Fe. The distributions of total displacements are similar to that of PKAs at low electron energies. But they are substantially different for higher energy electrons due to the shifting of PKA energy spectra towards higher energies. The study is important to evaluate electron-induced radiation damage, for the applications using high flux electron beams to intentionally introduce defects and using an electron analysis beam for microstructural characterization of nuclear materials.

Development of Spectral and Atomic Models for Diagnosing Energetic Particle Characteristics in Fast Ignition Experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

MacFarlane, Joseph J.; Golovkin, I. E.; Woodruff, P. R.

2009-08-07

This Final Report summarizes work performed under DOE STTR Phase II Grant No. DE-FG02-05ER86258 during the project period from August 2006 to August 2009. The project, “Development of Spectral and Atomic Models for Diagnosing Energetic Particle Characteristics in Fast Ignition Experiments,” was led by Prism Computational Sciences (Madison, WI), and involved collaboration with subcontractors University of Nevada-Reno and Voss Scientific (Albuquerque, NM). In this project, we have: Developed and implemented a multi-dimensional, multi-frequency radiation transport model in the LSP hybrid fluid-PIC (particle-in-cell) code [1,2]. Updated the LSP code to support the use of accurate equation-of-state (EOS) tables generated by Prism’smore » PROPACEOS [3] code to compute more accurate temperatures in high energy density physics (HEDP) plasmas. Updated LSP to support the use of Prism’s multi-frequency opacity tables. Generated equation of state and opacity data for LSP simulations for several materials being used in plasma jet experimental studies. Developed and implemented parallel processing techniques for the radiation physics algorithms in LSP. Benchmarked the new radiation transport and radiation physics algorithms in LSP and compared simulation results with analytic solutions and results from numerical radiation-hydrodynamics calculations. Performed simulations using Prism radiation physics codes to address issues related to radiative cooling and ionization dynamics in plasma jet experiments. Performed simulations to study the effects of radiation transport and radiation losses due to electrode contaminants in plasma jet experiments. Updated the LSP code to generate output using NetCDF to provide a better, more flexible interface to SPECT3D [4] in order to post-process LSP output. Updated the SPECT3D code to better support the post-processing of large-scale 2-D and 3-D datasets generated by simulation codes such as LSP. Updated atomic physics modeling to provide for more comprehensive and accurate atomic databases that feed into the radiation physics modeling (spectral simulations and opacity tables). Developed polarization spectroscopy modeling techniques suitable for diagnosing energetic particle characteristics in HEDP experiments. A description of these items is provided in this report. The above efforts lay the groundwork for utilizing the LSP and SPECT3D codes in providing simulation support for DOE-sponsored HEDP experiments, such as plasma jet and fast ignition physics experiments. We believe that taken together, the LSP and SPECT3D codes have unique capabilities for advancing our understanding of the physics of these HEDP plasmas. Based on conversations early in this project with our DOE program manager, Dr. Francis Thio, our efforts emphasized developing radiation physics and atomic modeling capabilities that can be utilized in the LSP PIC code, and performing radiation physics studies for plasma jets. A relatively minor component focused on the development of methods to diagnose energetic particle characteristics in short-pulse laser experiments related to fast ignition physics. The period of performance for the grant was extended by one year to August 2009 with a one-year no-cost extension, at the request of subcontractor University of Nevada-Reno.« less

Revised Extended Grid Library

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martz, Roger L.

The Revised Eolus Grid Library (REGL) is a mesh-tracking library that was developed for use with the MCNP6TM computer code so that (radiation) particles can track on an unstructured mesh. The unstructured mesh is a finite element representation of any geometric solid model created with a state-of-the-art CAE/CAD tool. The mesh-tracking library is written using modern Fortran and programming standards; the library is Fortran 2003 compliant. The library was created with a defined application programmer interface (API) so that it could easily integrate with other particle tracking/transport codes. The library does not handle parallel processing via the message passing interfacemore » (mpi), but has been used successfully where the host code handles the mpi calls. The library is thread-safe and supports the OpenMP paradigm. As a library, all features are available through the API and overall a tight coupling between it and the host code is required. Features of the library are summarized with the following list: Can accommodate first and second order 4, 5, and 6-sided polyhedra; any combination of element types may appear in a single geometry model; parts may not contain tetrahedra mixed with other element types; pentahedra and hexahedra can be together in the same part; robust handling of overlaps and gaps; tracks element-to-element to produce path length results at the element level; finds element numbers for a given mesh location; finds intersection points on element faces for the particle tracks; produce a data file for post processing results analysis; reads Abaqus .inp input (ASCII) files to obtain information for the global mesh-model; supports parallel input processing via mpi; and support parallel particle transport by both mpi and OpenMP.« less

Development of a new multi-modal Monte-Carlo radiotherapy planning system.

PubMed

Kumada, H; Nakamura, T; Komeda, M; Matsumura, A

2009-07-01

A new multi-modal Monte-Carlo radiotherapy planning system (developing code: JCDS-FX) is under development at Japan Atomic Energy Agency. This system builds on fundamental technologies of JCDS applied to actual boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) trials in JRR-4. One of features of the JCDS-FX is that PHITS has been applied to particle transport calculation. PHITS is a multi-purpose particle Monte-Carlo transport code. Hence application of PHITS enables to evaluate total doses given to a patient by a combined modality therapy. Moreover, JCDS-FX with PHITS can be used for the study of accelerator based BNCT. To verify calculation accuracy of the JCDS-FX, dose evaluations for neutron irradiation of a cylindrical water phantom and for an actual clinical trial were performed, then the results were compared with calculations by JCDS with MCNP. The verification results demonstrated that JCDS-FX is applicable to BNCT treatment planning in practical use.

Advances in Monte-Carlo code TRIPOLI-4®'s treatment of the electromagnetic cascade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancusi, Davide; Bonin, Alice; Hugot, François-Xavier; Malouch, Fadhel

2018-01-01

TRIPOLI-4® is a Monte-Carlo particle-transport code developed at CEA-Saclay (France) that is employed in the domains of nuclear-reactor physics, criticality-safety, shielding/radiation protection and nuclear instrumentation. The goal of this paper is to report on current developments, validation and verification made in TRIPOLI-4 in the electron/positron/photon sector. The new capabilities and improvements concern refinements to the electron transport algorithm, the introduction of a charge-deposition score, the new thick-target bremsstrahlung option, the upgrade of the bremsstrahlung model and the improvement of electron angular straggling at low energy. The importance of each of the developments above is illustrated by comparisons with calculations performed with other codes and with experimental data.

Space Radiation Transport Code Development: 3DHZETRN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, John W.; Slaba, Tony C.; Badavi, Francis F.; Reddell, Brandon D.; Bahadori, Amir A.

2015-01-01

The space radiation transport code, HZETRN, has been used extensively for research, vehicle design optimization, risk analysis, and related applications. One of the simplifying features of the HZETRN transport formalism is the straight-ahead approximation, wherein all particles are assumed to travel along a common axis. This reduces the governing equation to one spatial dimension allowing enormous simplification and highly efficient computational procedures to be implemented. Despite the physical simplifications, the HZETRN code is widely used for space applications and has been found to agree well with fully 3D Monte Carlo simulations in many circumstances. Recent work has focused on the development of 3D transport corrections for neutrons and light ions (Z < 2) for which the straight-ahead approximation is known to be less accurate. Within the development of 3D corrections, well-defined convergence criteria have been considered, allowing approximation errors at each stage in model development to be quantified. The present level of development assumes the neutron cross sections have an isotropic component treated within N explicit angular directions and a forward component represented by the straight-ahead approximation. The N = 1 solution refers to the straight-ahead treatment, while N = 2 represents the bi-directional model in current use for engineering design. The figure below shows neutrons, protons, and alphas for various values of N at locations in an aluminum sphere exposed to a solar particle event (SPE) spectrum. The neutron fluence converges quickly in simple geometry with N > 14 directions. The improved code, 3DHZETRN, transports neutrons, light ions, and heavy ions under space-like boundary conditions through general geometry while maintaining a high degree of computational efficiency. A brief overview of the 3D transport formalism for neutrons and light ions is given, and extensive benchmarking results with the Monte Carlo codes Geant4, FLUKA, and PHITS are provided for a variety of boundary conditions and geometries. Improvements provided by the 3D corrections are made clear in the comparisons. Developments needed to connect 3DHZETRN to vehicle design and optimization studies will be discussed. Future theoretical development will relax the forward plus isotropic interaction assumption to more general angular dependence.

CRPropa 3.1—a low energy extension based on stochastic differential equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merten, Lukas; Becker Tjus, Julia; Fichtner, Horst; Eichmann, Björn; Sigl, Günter

2017-06-01

The propagation of charged cosmic rays through the Galactic environment influences all aspects of the observation at Earth. Energy spectrum, composition and arrival directions are changed due to deflections in magnetic fields and interactions with the interstellar medium. Today the transport is simulated with different simulation methods either based on the solution of a transport equation (multi-particle picture) or a solution of an equation of motion (single-particle picture). We developed a new module for the publicly available propagation software CRPropa 3.1, where we implemented an algorithm to solve the transport equation using stochastic differential equations. This technique allows us to use a diffusion tensor which is anisotropic with respect to an arbitrary magnetic background field. The source code of CRPropa is written in C++ with python steering via SWIG which makes it easy to use and computationally fast. In this paper, we present the new low-energy propagation code together with validation procedures that are developed to proof the accuracy of the new implementation. Furthermore, we show first examples of the cosmic ray density evolution, which depends strongly on the ratio of the parallel κ∥ and perpendicular κ⊥ diffusion coefficients. This dependency is systematically examined as well the influence of the particle rigidity on the diffusion process.

Simulations of electron transport and ignition for direct-drive fast-ignition targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solodov, A. A.; Anderson, K. S.; Betti, R.; Gotcheva, V.; Myatt, J.; Delettrez, J. A.; Skupsky, S.; Theobald, W.; Stoeckl, C.

2008-11-01

The performance of high-gain, fast-ignition fusion targets is investigated using one-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of implosion and two-dimensional (2D) hybrid fluid-particle simulations of hot-electron transport, ignition, and burn. The 2D/3D hybrid-particle-in-cell code LSP [D. R. Welch et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 464, 134 (2001)] and the 2D fluid code DRACO [P. B. Radha et al., Phys. Plasmas 12, 056307 (2005)] are integrated to simulate the hot-electron transport and heating for direct-drive fast-ignition targets. LSP simulates the transport of hot electrons from the place where they are generated to the dense fuel core where their energy is absorbed. DRACO includes the physics required to simulate compression, ignition, and burn of fast-ignition targets. The self-generated resistive magnetic field is found to collimate the hot-electron beam, increase the coupling efficiency of hot electrons with the target, and reduce the minimum energy required for ignition. Resistive filamentation of the hot-electron beam is also observed. The minimum energy required for ignition is found for hot electrons with realistic angular spread and Maxwellian energy-distribution function.

Modeling Particle Acceleration and Transport at a 2-D CME-Driven Shock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Junxiang; Li, Gang; Ao, Xianzhi; Zank, Gary P.; Verkhoglyadova, Olga

2017-11-01

We extend our earlier Particle Acceleration and Transport in the Heliosphere (PATH) model to study particle acceleration and transport at a coronal mass ejection (CME)-driven shock. We model the propagation of a CME-driven shock in the ecliptic plane using the ZEUS-3D code from 20 solar radii to 2 AU. As in the previous PATH model, the initiation of the CME-driven shock is simplified and modeled as a disturbance at the inner boundary. Different from the earlier PATH model, the disturbance is now longitudinally dependent. Particles are accelerated at the 2-D shock via the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism. The acceleration depends on both the parallel and perpendicular diffusion coefficients κ|| and κ⊥ and is therefore shock-obliquity dependent. Following the procedure used in Li, Shalchi, et al. (k href="#jgra53857-bib-0045"/>), we obtain the particle injection energy, the maximum energy, and the accelerated particle spectra at the shock front. Once accelerated, particles diffuse and convect in the shock complex. The diffusion and convection of these particles are treated using a refined 2-D shell model in an approach similar to Zank et al. (k href="#jgra53857-bib-0089"/>). When particles escape from the shock, they propagate along and across the interplanetary magnetic field. The propagation is modeled using a focused transport equation with the addition of perpendicular diffusion. We solve the transport equation using a backward stochastic differential equation method where adiabatic cooling, focusing, pitch angle scattering, and cross-field diffusion effects are all included. Time intensity profiles and instantaneous particle spectra as well as particle pitch angle distributions are shown for two example CME shocks.

Transport and discrete particle noise in gyrokinetic simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas; Lee, W. W.

2006-10-01

We present results from our recent investigations regarding the effects of discrete particle noise on the long-time behavior and transport properties of gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulations. It is found that the amplitude of nonlinearly saturated drift waves is unaffected by discreteness-induced noise in plasmas whose behavior is dominated by a single mode in the saturated state. We further show that the scaling of this noise amplitude with particle count is correctly predicted by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, even though the drift waves have driven the plasma from thermal equilibrium. As well, we find that the long-term behavior of the saturated system is unaffected by discreteness-induced noise even when multiple modes are included. Additional work utilizing a code with both total-f and δf capabilities is also presented, as part of our efforts to better understand the long- time balance between entropy production, collisional dissipation, and particle/heat flux in gyrokinetic plasmas.

Production of energetic light fragments in extensions of the CEM and LAQGSM event generators of the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP6 [Production of energetic light fragments in CEM, LAQGSM, and MCNP6

DOE PAGES

Mashnik, Stepan Georgievich; Kerby, Leslie Marie; Gudima, Konstantin K.; ...

2017-03-23

We extend the cascade-exciton model (CEM), and the Los Alamos version of the quark-gluon string model (LAQGSM), event generators of the Monte Carlo N-particle transport code version 6 (MCNP6), to describe production of energetic light fragments (LF) heavier than 4He from various nuclear reactions induced by particles and nuclei at energies up to about 1 TeV/nucleon. In these models, energetic LF can be produced via Fermi breakup, preequilibrium emission, and coalescence of cascade particles. Initially, we study several variations of the Fermi breakup model and choose the best option for these models. Then, we extend the modified exciton model (MEM)more » used by these codes to account for a possibility of multiple emission of up to 66 types of particles and LF (up to 28Mg) at the preequilibrium stage of reactions. Then, we expand the coalescence model to allow coalescence of LF from nucleons emitted at the intranuclear cascade stage of reactions and from lighter clusters, up to fragments with mass numbers A ≤ 7, in the case of CEM, and A ≤ 12, in the case of LAQGSM. Next, we modify MCNP6 to allow calculating and outputting spectra of LF and heavier products with arbitrary mass and charge numbers. The improved version of CEM is implemented into MCNP6. Lastly, we test the improved versions of CEM, LAQGSM, and MCNP6 on a variety of measured nuclear reactions. The modified codes give an improved description of energetic LF from particle- and nucleus-induced reactions; showing a good agreement with a variety of available experimental data. They have an improved predictive power compared to the previous versions and can be used as reliable tools in simulating applications involving such types of reactions.« less

Production of energetic light fragments in extensions of the CEM and LAQGSM event generators of the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP6 [Production of energetic light fragments in CEM, LAQGSM, and MCNP6

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mashnik, Stepan Georgievich; Kerby, Leslie Marie; Gudima, Konstantin K.

We extend the cascade-exciton model (CEM), and the Los Alamos version of the quark-gluon string model (LAQGSM), event generators of the Monte Carlo N-particle transport code version 6 (MCNP6), to describe production of energetic light fragments (LF) heavier than 4He from various nuclear reactions induced by particles and nuclei at energies up to about 1 TeV/nucleon. In these models, energetic LF can be produced via Fermi breakup, preequilibrium emission, and coalescence of cascade particles. Initially, we study several variations of the Fermi breakup model and choose the best option for these models. Then, we extend the modified exciton model (MEM)more » used by these codes to account for a possibility of multiple emission of up to 66 types of particles and LF (up to 28Mg) at the preequilibrium stage of reactions. Then, we expand the coalescence model to allow coalescence of LF from nucleons emitted at the intranuclear cascade stage of reactions and from lighter clusters, up to fragments with mass numbers A ≤ 7, in the case of CEM, and A ≤ 12, in the case of LAQGSM. Next, we modify MCNP6 to allow calculating and outputting spectra of LF and heavier products with arbitrary mass and charge numbers. The improved version of CEM is implemented into MCNP6. Lastly, we test the improved versions of CEM, LAQGSM, and MCNP6 on a variety of measured nuclear reactions. The modified codes give an improved description of energetic LF from particle- and nucleus-induced reactions; showing a good agreement with a variety of available experimental data. They have an improved predictive power compared to the previous versions and can be used as reliable tools in simulating applications involving such types of reactions.« less

Kinetic studies of divertor heat fluxes in Alcator C-Mod

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pankin, A. Y.; Bateman, G.; Kritz, A. H.; Rafiq, T.; Park, G. Y.; Chang, C. S.; Brunner, D.; Hughes, J. W.; Labombard, B.; Terry, J.

2010-11-01

The kinetic XGC0 code [C.S. Chang et al, Phys. Plasmas 11 (2004) 2649] is used to model the H- mode pedestal and SOL regions in Alcator C-Mod discharges. The self-consistent simulations in this study include kinetic neoclassical physics and anomalous transport models along with the ExB flow shear effects. The heat fluxes on the divertor plates are computed and the fluxes to the outer plate are compared with experimental observations. The dynamics of the radial electric field near the separatrix and in the SOL region are computed with the XGC0 code, and the effect of the anomalous transport on the heat fluxes in the SOL region is investigated. In particular, the particle and thermal diffusivities obtained in the analysis mode are compared with predictions from the theory-based anomalous transport models such as MMM95 [G. Bateman et al, Phys. Plasmas 5 (1998) 1793] and DRIBM [T. Rafiq et al, to appear in Phys. Plasmas (2010)]. It is found that there is a notable pinch effect in the inner separatrix region. Possible physical mechanisms for the particle and thermal pinches are discussed.

Faster and More Accurate Transport Procedures for HZETRN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slaba, Tony C.; Blattnig, Steve R.; Badavi, Francis F.

2010-01-01

Several aspects of code verification are examined for HZETRN. First, a detailed derivation of the numerical marching algorithms is given. Next, a new numerical method for light particle transport is presented, and improvements to the heavy ion transport algorithm are discussed. A summary of various coding errors is also given, and the impact of these errors on exposure quantities is shown. Finally, a coupled convergence study is conducted. From this study, it is shown that past efforts in quantifying the numerical error in HZETRN were hindered by single precision calculations and computational resources. It is also determined that almost all of the discretization error in HZETRN is caused by charged target fragments below 50 AMeV. Total discretization errors are given for the old and new algorithms, and the improved accuracy of the new numerical methods is demonstrated. Run time comparisons are given for three applications in which HZETRN is commonly used. The new algorithms are found to be almost 100 times faster for solar particle event simulations and almost 10 times faster for galactic cosmic ray simulations.

Microdosimetric evaluation of the neutron field for BNCT at Kyoto University reactor by using the PHITS code.

PubMed

Baba, H; Onizuka, Y; Nakao, M; Fukahori, M; Sato, T; Sakurai, Y; Tanaka, H; Endo, S

2011-02-01

In this study, microdosimetric energy distributions of secondary charged particles from the (10)B(n,α)(7)Li reaction in boron-neutron capture therapy (BNCT) field were calculated using the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS). The PHITS simulation was performed to reproduce the geometrical set-up of an experiment that measured the microdosimetric energy distributions at the Kyoto University Reactor where two types of tissue-equivalent proportional counters were used, one with A-150 wall alone and another with a 50-ppm-boron-loaded A-150 wall. It was found that the PHITS code is a useful tool for the simulation of the energy deposited in tissue in BNCT based on the comparisons with experimental results.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Podesta, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.

Here, integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities,ad-hocmodels can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions. Themore » kick model implemented in the tokamaktransport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.« less

PHITS-2.76, Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2015-08-01

Version 03 PHITS can deal with the transport of almost all particles (nucleons, nuclei, mesons, photons, and electrons) over wide energy ranges, using several nuclear reaction models and nuclear data libraries. Geometrical configuration of the simulation can be set with GG (General Geometry) or CG (Combinatorial Geometry). Various quantities such as heat deposition, track length and production yields can be deduced from the simulation, using implemented estimator functions called "tally". The code also has a function to draw 2D and 3D figures of the calculated results as well as the setup geometries, using a code ANGEL. The physical processes includedmore » in PHITS can be divided into two categories, transport process and collision process. In the transport process, PHITS can simulate motion of particles under external fields such as magnetic and gravity. Without the external fields, neutral particles move along a straight trajectory with constant energy up to the next collision point. However, charge particles interact many times with electrons in the material losing energy and changing direction. PHITS treats ionization processes not as collision but as a transport process, using the continuous-slowing-down approximation. The average stopping power is given by the charge density of the material and the momentum of the particle taking into account the fluctuations of the energy loss and the angular deviation. In the collision process, PHITS can simulate the elastic and inelastic interactions as well as decay of particles. The total reaction cross section, or the life time of the particle is an essential quantity in the determination of the mean free path of the transport particle. According to the mean free path, PHITS chooses the next collision point using the Monte Carlo method. To generate the secondary particles of the collision, we need the information of the final states of the collision. For neutron induced reactions in low energy region, PHITS employs the cross sections from evaluated nuclear data libraries JENDL-4.0 (Shibata et al 2011). For high energy neutrons and other particles, we have incorporated several models such as JAM (Nara et al 1999), INCL (Cugnon et al 2011), INCL-ELF (Sawada et al 2012) and JQMD (Niita et al 1995) to simulate nuclear reactions up to 100 GeV/u. The special features of PHITS are the event generator mode (Iwamoto et al 2007) and the microdosimetric function (Sato et al 2009). Owing to the event generator mode, PHITS can determine the profiles of all secondary particles generated from a single nuclear interaction even using nuclear data libraries, taking the momentum and energy conservations into account. The microdosimetric function gives the probability densities of deposition energy in microscopic sites such as lineal energy y and specific energy z, using the mathematical model developed based on the results of the track structure simulation. These features are very important for various purposes such as the estimations of soft-error rates of semi-conductor devices induced by neutrons, and relative biological effectiveness of charged particles. From version 2.64, Prompt gamma spectrum and isomer production rates can be precisely estimated, owing to the implementation of EBITEM (ENSDF-Based Isomeric Transition and isomEr production Model). The photo-nuclear reaction model was improved up to 140 MeV. From version 2.76, electron and photon transport algorithm based on EGS5 (Hirayama et al. 2005) was incorporated. Models for describing photo-nuclear reaction above 140 MeV and muon-nuclear reaction were implemented. Event-generator mode version 2 was developed. Relativistic theory can be considered in the JQMD model.« less

Continuous Energy Photon Transport Implementation in MCATK

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, Terry R.; Trahan, Travis John; Sweezy, Jeremy Ed

2016-10-31

The Monte Carlo Application ToolKit (MCATK) code development team has implemented Monte Carlo photon transport into the MCATK software suite. The current particle transport capabilities in MCATK, which process the tracking and collision physics, have been extended to enable tracking of photons using the same continuous energy approximation. We describe the four photoatomic processes implemented, which are coherent scattering, incoherent scattering, pair-production, and photoelectric absorption. The accompanying background, implementation, and verification of these processes will be presented.

Extension of applicable neutron energy of DARWIN up to 1 GeV.

PubMed

Satoh, D; Sato, T; Endo, A; Matsufuji, N; Takada, M

2007-01-01

The radiation-dose monitor, DARWIN, needs a set of response functions of the liquid organic scintillator to assess a neutron dose. SCINFUL-QMD is a Monte Carlo based computer code to evaluate the response functions. In order to improve the accuracy of the code, a new light-output function based on the experimental data was developed for the production and transport of protons deuterons, tritons, (3)He nuclei and alpha particles, and incorporated into the code. The applicable energy of DARWIN was extended to 1 GeV using the response functions calculated by the modified SCINFUL-QMD code.

Eulerian and Lagrangian Plasma Jet Modeling for the Plasma Liner Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatcher, Richard; Cassibry, Jason; Stanic, Milos; Loverich, John; Hakim, Ammar

2011-10-01

The Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) aims to demonstrate the feasibility of using spherically-convergent plasma jets to from an imploding plasma liner. Our group has modified two hydrodynamic simulation codes to include radiative loss, tabular equations of state (EOS), and thermal transport. Nautilus, created by TechX Corporation, is a finite-difference Eulerian code which solves the MHD equations formulated as systems of hyperbolic conservation laws. The other is SPHC, a smoothed particle hydrodynamics code produced by Stellingwerf Consulting. Use of the Lagrangian fluid particle approach of SPH is motivated by the ability to accurately track jet interfaces, the plasma vacuum boundary, and mixing of various layers, but Eulerian codes have been in development for much longer and have better shock capturing. We validate these codes against experimental measurements of jet propagation, expansion, and merging of two jets. Precursor jets are observed to form at the jet interface. Conditions that govern evolution of two and more merging jets are explored.

Simulation of neoclassical transport with the continuum gyrokinetic code COGENT

DOE PAGES

Dorf, M. A.; Cohen, R. H.; Dorr, M.; ...

2013-01-25

The development of the continuum gyrokinetic code COGENT for edge plasma simulations is reported. The present version of the code models a nonlinear axisymmetric 4D (R, v∥, μ) gyrokinetic equation coupled to the long-wavelength limit of the gyro-Poisson equation. Here, R is the particle gyrocenter coordinate in the poloidal plane, and v∥ and μ are the guiding center velocity parallel to the magnetic field and the magnetic moment, respectively. The COGENT code utilizes a fourth-order finite-volume (conservative) discretization combined with arbitrary mapped multiblock grid technology (nearly field-aligned on blocks) to handle the complexity of tokamak divertor geometry with high accuracy.more » Furthermore, topics presented are the implementation of increasingly detailed model collision operators, and the results of neoclassical transport simulations including the effects of a strong radial electric field characteristic of a tokamak pedestal under H-mode conditions.« less

A Finite-Orbit-Width Fokker-Planck solver for modeling of energetic particle interactions with waves, with application to Helicons in ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrov, Yuri V.; Harvey, R. W.

2017-10-01

The bounce-average (BA) finite-difference Fokker-Planck (FP) code CQL3D [1,2] now includes the essential physics to describe the RF heating of Finite-Orbit-Width (FOW) ions in tokamaks. The FP equation is reformulated in terms of Constants-Of-Motion coordinates, which we select to be particle speed, pitch angle, and major radius on the equatorial plane thus obtaining the distribution function directly at this location. Full-orbit, low collisionality neoclassical radial transport emerges from averaging the local friction and diffusion coefficients along guiding center orbits. Similarly, the BA of local quasilinear RF diffusion terms gives rise to additional radial transport. The local RF electric field components needed for the BA operator are usually obtained by a ray-tracing code, such as GENRAY, or in conjunction with full-wave codes. As a new, practical application, the CQL3D-FOW version is used for simulation of alpha-particle heating by high-harmonic waves in ITER. Coupling of high harmonic or helicon fast waves power to electrons is a promising current drive (CD) scenario for high beta plasmas. However, the efficiency of current drive can be diminished by parasitic channeling of RF power into fast ions, such as alphas, through finite Larmor-radius effects. We investigate possibilities to reduce the fast ion heating in CD scenarios.

A new dynamical atmospheric ionizing radiation (AIR) model for epidemiological studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De Angelis, G.; Clem, J. M.; Goldhagen, P. E.; Wilson, J. W.

2003-01-01

A new Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation (AIR) model is currently being developed for use in radiation dose evaluation in epidemiological studies targeted to atmospheric flight personnel such as civilian airlines crewmembers. The model will allow computing values for biologically relevant parameters, e.g. dose equivalent and effective dose, for individual flights from 1945. Each flight is described by its actual three dimensional flight profile, i.e. geographic coordinates and altitudes varying with time. Solar modulated primary particles are filtered with a new analytical fully angular dependent geomagnetic cut off rigidity model, as a function of latitude, longitude, arrival direction, altitude and time. The particle transport results have been obtained with a technique based on the three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport code FLUKA, with a special procedure to deal with HZE particles. Particle fluxes are transformed into dose-related quantities and then integrated all along the flight path to obtain the overall flight dose. Preliminary validations of the particle transport technique using data from the AIR Project ER-2 flight campaign of measurements are encouraging. Future efforts will deal with modeling of the effects of the aircraft structure as well as inclusion of solar particle events. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

Electromagnetic Dissociation Cross Sections using Weisskopf-Ewing Theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adamczyk, Anne M.; Norbury, John W.

2011-01-01

It is important that accurate estimates of crew exposure to radiation are obtained for future long-term space missions. Presently, several space radiation transport codes exist to predict the radiation environment, all of which take as input particle interaction cross sections that describe the nuclear interactions between the particles and the shielding material. The space radiation transport code HZETRN uses the nuclear fragmentation model NUCFRG2 to calculate Electromagnetic Dissociation (EMD) cross sections. Currently, NUCFRG2 employs energy independent branching ratios to calculate these cross sections. Using Weisskopf-Ewing (WE) theory to calculate branching ratios, however, is more advantageous than the method currently employed in NUCFRG2. The WE theory can calculate not only neutron and proton emission, as in the energy independent branching ratio formalism used in NUCFRG2, but also deuteron, triton, helion, and alpha particle emission. These particles can contribute significantly to total exposure estimates. In this work, photonuclear cross sections are calculated using WE theory and the energy independent branching ratios used in NUCFRG2 and then compared to experimental data. It is found that the WE theory gives comparable, but mainly better agreement with data than the energy independent branching ratio. Furthermore, EMD cross sections for single neutron, proton, and alpha particle removal are calculated using WE theory and an energy independent branching ratio used in NUCFRG2 and compared to experimental data.

Enhancements to the MCNP6 background source

DOE PAGES

McMath, Garrett E.; McKinney, Gregg W.

2015-10-19

The particle transport code MCNP has been used to produce a background radiation data file on a worldwide grid that can easily be sampled as a source in the code. Location-dependent cosmic showers were modeled by Monte Carlo methods to produce the resulting neutron and photon background flux at 2054 locations around Earth. An improved galactic-cosmic-ray feature was used to model the source term as well as data from multiple sources to model the transport environment through atmosphere, soil, and seawater. A new elevation scaling feature was also added to the code to increase the accuracy of the cosmic neutronmore » background for user locations with off-grid elevations. Furthermore, benchmarking has shown the neutron integral flux values to be within experimental error.« less

Monte Carlo charged-particle tracking and energy deposition on a Lagrangian mesh.

PubMed

Yuan, J; Moses, G A; McKenty, P W

2005-10-01

A Monte Carlo algorithm for alpha particle tracking and energy deposition on a cylindrical computational mesh in a Lagrangian hydrodynamics code used for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) simulations is presented. The straight line approximation is used to follow propagation of "Monte Carlo particles" which represent collections of alpha particles generated from thermonuclear deuterium-tritium (DT) reactions. Energy deposition in the plasma is modeled by the continuous slowing down approximation. The scheme addresses various aspects arising in the coupling of Monte Carlo tracking with Lagrangian hydrodynamics; such as non-orthogonal severely distorted mesh cells, particle relocation on the moving mesh and particle relocation after rezoning. A comparison with the flux-limited multi-group diffusion transport method is presented for a polar direct drive target design for the National Ignition Facility. Simulations show the Monte Carlo transport method predicts about earlier ignition than predicted by the diffusion method, and generates higher hot spot temperature. Nearly linear speed-up is achieved for multi-processor parallel simulations.

Global linear gyrokinetic simulations for LHD including collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kauffmann, K.; Kleiber, R.; Hatzky, R.; Borchardt, M.

2010-11-01

The code EUTERPE uses a Particle-In-Cell (PIC) method to solve the gyrokinetic equation globally (full radius, full flux surface) for three-dimensional equilibria calculated with VMEC. Recently this code has been extended to include multiple kinetic species and electromagnetic effects. Additionally, a pitch-angle scattering operator has been implemented in order to include collisional effects in the simulation of instabilities and to be able to simulate neoclassical transport. As a first application of this extended code we study the effects of collisions on electrostatic ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) instabilities in LHD.

SciDAC Center for Gyrokinetic Particle Simulation of Turbulent Transport in Burning Plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Zhihong

2013-12-18

During the first year of the SciDAC gyrokinetic particle simulation (GPS) project, the GPS team (Zhihong Lin, Liu Chen, Yasutaro Nishimura, and Igor Holod) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) studied the tokamak electron transport driven by electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence, and by trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence and ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence with kinetic electron effects, extended our studies of ITG turbulence spreading to core-edge coupling. We have developed and optimized an elliptic solver using finite element method (FEM), which enables the implementation of advanced kinetic electron models (split-weight scheme and hybrid model) in the SciDACmore » GPS production code GTC. The GTC code has been ported and optimized on both scalar and vector parallel computer architectures, and is being transformed into objected-oriented style to facilitate collaborative code development. During this period, the UCI team members presented 11 invited talks at major national and international conferences, published 22 papers in peer-reviewed journals and 10 papers in conference proceedings. The UCI hosted the annual SciDAC Workshop on Plasma Turbulence sponsored by the GPS Center, 2005-2007. The workshop was attended by about fifties US and foreign researchers and financially sponsored several gradual students from MIT, Princeton University, Germany, Switzerland, and Finland. A new SciDAC postdoc, Igor Holod, has arrived at UCI to initiate global particle simulation of magnetohydrodynamics turbulence driven by energetic particle modes. The PI, Z. Lin, has been promoted to the Associate Professor with tenure at UCI.« less

Nonambipolar Transport and Torque in Perturbed Equilibria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Logan, N. C.; Park, J.-K.; Wang, Z. R.; Berkery, J. W.; Kim, K.; Menard, J. E.

2013-10-01

A new Perturbed Equilibrium Nonambipolar Transport (PENT) code has been developed to calculate the neoclassical toroidal torque from radial current composed of both passing and trapped particles in perturbed equilibria. This presentation outlines the physics approach used in the development of the PENT code, with emphasis on the effects of retaining general aspect-ratio geometric effects. First, nonambipolar transport coefficients and corresponding neoclassical toroidal viscous (NTV) torque in perturbed equilibria are re-derived from the first order gyro-drift-kinetic equation in the ``combined-NTV'' PENT formalism. The equivalence of NTV torque and change in potential energy due to kinetic effects [J-K. Park, Phys. Plas., 2011] is then used to showcase computational challenges shared between PENT and stability codes MISK and MARS-K. Extensive comparisons to a reduced model, which makes numerous large aspect ratio approximations, are used throughout to emphasize geometry dependent physics such as pitch angle resonances. These applications make extensive use of the PENT code's native interfacing with the Ideal Perturbed Equilibrium Code (IPEC), and the combination of these codes is a key step towards an iterative solver for self-consistent perturbed equilibrium torque. Supported by US DOE contract #DE-AC02-09CH11466 and the DOE Office of Science Graduate Fellowship administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science & Education under contract #DE-AC05-06OR23100.

Development and Implementation of Photonuclear Cross-Section Data for Mutually Coupled Neutron-Photon Transport Calculations in the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) Radiation Transport Code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, Morgan C.

2000-07-01

The fundamental motivation for the research presented in this dissertation was the need to development a more accurate prediction method for characterization of mixed radiation fields around medical electron accelerators (MEAs). Specifically, a model is developed for simulation of neutron and other particle production from photonuclear reactions and incorporated in the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) radiation transport code. This extension of the capability within the MCNP code provides for the more accurate assessment of the mixed radiation fields. The Nuclear Theory and Applications group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory has recently provided first-of-a-kind evaluated photonuclear data for a selectmore » group of isotopes. These data provide the reaction probabilities as functions of incident photon energy with angular and energy distribution information for all reaction products. The availability of these data is the cornerstone of the new methodology for state-of-the-art mutually coupled photon-neutron transport simulations. The dissertation includes details of the model development and implementation necessary to use the new photonuclear data within MCNP simulations. A new data format has been developed to include tabular photonuclear data. Data are processed from the Evaluated Nuclear Data Format (ENDF) to the new class ''u'' A Compact ENDF (ACE) format using a standalone processing code. MCNP modifications have been completed to enable Monte Carlo sampling of photonuclear reactions. Note that both neutron and gamma production are included in the present model. The new capability has been subjected to extensive verification and validation (V&V) testing. Verification testing has established the expected basic functionality. Two validation projects were undertaken. First, comparisons were made to benchmark data from literature. These calculations demonstrate the accuracy of the new data and transport routines to better than 25 percent. Second, the ability to calculate radiation dose due to the neutron environment around a MEA is shown. An uncertainty of a factor of three in the MEA calculations is shown to be due to uncertainties in the geometry modeling. It is believed that the methodology is sound and that good agreement between simulation and experiment has been demonstrated.« less

Investigation of HZETRN 2010 as a Tool for Single Event Effect Qualification of Avionics Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rojdev, Kristina; Koontz, Steve; Atwell, William; Boeder, Paul

2014-01-01

NASA's future missions are focused on long-duration deep space missions for human exploration which offers no options for a quick emergency return to Earth. The combination of long mission duration with no quick emergency return option leads to unprecedented spacecraft system safety and reliability requirements. It is important that spacecraft avionics systems for human deep space missions are not susceptible to Single Event Effect (SEE) failures caused by space radiation (primarily the continuous galactic cosmic ray background and the occasional solar particle event) interactions with electronic components and systems. SEE effects are typically managed during the design, development, and test (DD&T) phase of spacecraft development by using heritage hardware (if possible) and through extensive component level testing, followed by system level failure analysis tasks that are both time consuming and costly. The ultimate product of the SEE DD&T program is a prediction of spacecraft avionics reliability in the flight environment produced using various nuclear reaction and transport codes in combination with the component and subsystem level radiation test data. Previous work by Koontz, et al.1 utilized FLUKA, a Monte Carlo nuclear reaction and transport code, to calculate SEE and single event upset (SEU) rates. This code was then validated against in-flight data for a variety of spacecraft and space flight environments. However, FLUKA has a long run-time (on the order of days). CREME962, an easy to use deterministic code offering short run times, was also compared with FLUKA predictions and in-flight data. CREME96, though fast and easy to use, has not been updated in several years and underestimates secondary particle shower effects in spacecraft structural shielding mass. Thus, this paper will investigate the use of HZETRN 20103, a fast and easy to use deterministic transport code, similar to CREME96, that was developed at NASA Langley Research Center primarily for flight crew ionizing radiation dose assessments. HZETRN 2010 includes updates to address secondary particle shower effects more accurately, and might be used as another tool to verify spacecraft avionics system reliability in space flight SEE environments.

Calculations vs. measurements of remnant dose rates for SNS spent structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popova, I. I.; Gallmeier, F. X.; Trotter, S.; Dayton, M.

2018-06-01

Residual dose rate measurements were conducted on target vessel #13 and proton beam window #5 after extraction from their service locations. These measurements were used to verify calculation methods of radionuclide inventory assessment that are typically performed for nuclear waste characterization and transportation of these structures. Neutronics analyses for predicting residual dose rates were carried out using the transport code MCNPX and the transmutation code CINDER90. For transport analyses complex and rigorous geometry model of the structures and their surrounding are applied. The neutronics analyses were carried out using Bertini and CEM high energy physics models for simulating particles interaction. Obtained preliminary calculational results were analysed and compared to the measured dose rates and overall are showing good agreement with in 40% in average.

Calculations vs. measurements of remnant dose rates for SNS spent structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Popova, Irina I.; Gallmeier, Franz X.; Trotter, Steven M.

Residual dose rate measurements were conducted on target vessel #13 and proton beam window #5 after extraction from their service locations. These measurements were used to verify calculation methods of radionuclide inventory assessment that are typically performed for nuclear waste characterization and transportation of these structures. Neutronics analyses for predicting residual dose rates were carried out using the transport code MCNPX and the transmutation code CINDER90. For transport analyses complex and rigorous geometry model of the structures and their surrounding are applied. The neutronics analyses were carried out using Bertini and CEM high energy physics models for simulating particles interaction.more » Obtained preliminary calculational results were analysed and compared to the measured dose rates and overall are showing good agreement with in 40% in average.« less

CRPropa 3.1—a low energy extension based on stochastic differential equations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Merten, Lukas; Tjus, Julia Becker; Eichmann, Björn

The propagation of charged cosmic rays through the Galactic environment influences all aspects of the observation at Earth. Energy spectrum, composition and arrival directions are changed due to deflections in magnetic fields and interactions with the interstellar medium. Today the transport is simulated with different simulation methods either based on the solution of a transport equation (multi-particle picture) or a solution of an equation of motion (single-particle picture). We developed a new module for the publicly available propagation software CRPropa 3.1, where we implemented an algorithm to solve the transport equation using stochastic differential equations. This technique allows us tomore » use a diffusion tensor which is anisotropic with respect to an arbitrary magnetic background field. The source code of CRPropa is written in C++ with python steering via SWIG which makes it easy to use and computationally fast. In this paper, we present the new low-energy propagation code together with validation procedures that are developed to proof the accuracy of the new implementation. Furthermore, we show first examples of the cosmic ray density evolution, which depends strongly on the ratio of the parallel κ{sub ∥} and perpendicular κ{sub ⊥} diffusion coefficients. This dependency is systematically examined as well the influence of the particle rigidity on the diffusion process.« less

Combined effects of drift waves and neoclassical transport on density profiles in tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houlberg, W. A.; Strand, P.

2005-10-01

The relative importance of neoclassical and anomalous particle transport depends on the charge number of the species being studied. The detailed particle balance including the EDWM [1] drift wave model for anomalous transport that includes ITG, TEM and in some cases ETG modes, and the neoclassical model NCLASS [2], are illustrated by simulations with the DEA particle transport code. DEA models the evolution of all ion species, and can be run in a mode to evaluate dynamic responses to perturbations or to conditions far from equilibrium by perturbing the profiles from the experimental measurements. The perturbations allow the fluxes to be decomposed into diffusive and convective (pinch) terms. The different scaling with charge number between drift wave and neoclassical models favors a stronger component of neoclassical transport for higher Z impurities through the effective pinch term. Although trace impurities illustrate a simple Ficks Law form, the main ions as well as higher concentrations of intrinsic impurities exhibit non-linear responses to the density gradients as well as off-diagonal gradient dependencies, leading to a more complicated response for the particle fluxes.[1] H. Nordman, et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 47 (2005) L11. [2] W.A. Houlberg, et al., Phys. Plasmas 4 (1997) 3230.

Faster and more accurate transport procedures for HZETRN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slaba, T. C.; Blattnig, S. R.; Badavi, F. F.

2010-12-01

The deterministic transport code HZETRN was developed for research scientists and design engineers studying the effects of space radiation on astronauts and instrumentation protected by various shielding materials and structures. In this work, several aspects of code verification are examined. First, a detailed derivation of the light particle ( A ⩽ 4) and heavy ion ( A > 4) numerical marching algorithms used in HZETRN is given. References are given for components of the derivation that already exist in the literature, and discussions are given for details that may have been absent in the past. The present paper provides a complete description of the numerical methods currently used in the code and is identified as a key component of the verification process. Next, a new numerical method for light particle transport is presented, and improvements to the heavy ion transport algorithm are discussed. A summary of round-off error is also given, and the impact of this error on previously predicted exposure quantities is shown. Finally, a coupled convergence study is conducted by refining the discretization parameters (step-size and energy grid-size). From this study, it is shown that past efforts in quantifying the numerical error in HZETRN were hindered by single precision calculations and computational resources. It is determined that almost all of the discretization error in HZETRN is caused by the use of discretization parameters that violate a numerical convergence criterion related to charged target fragments below 50 AMeV. Total discretization errors are given for the old and new algorithms to 100 g/cm 2 in aluminum and water, and the improved accuracy of the new numerical methods is demonstrated. Run time comparisons between the old and new algorithms are given for one, two, and three layer slabs of 100 g/cm 2 of aluminum, polyethylene, and water. The new algorithms are found to be almost 100 times faster for solar particle event simulations and almost 10 times faster for galactic cosmic ray simulations.

COMBINED MODELING OF ACCELERATION, TRANSPORT, AND HYDRODYNAMIC RESPONSE IN SOLAR FLARES. I. THE NUMERICAL MODEL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu Wei; Petrosian, Vahe; Mariska, John T.

2009-09-10

Acceleration and transport of high-energy particles and fluid dynamics of atmospheric plasma are interrelated aspects of solar flares, but for convenience and simplicity they were artificially separated in the past. We present here self-consistently combined Fokker-Planck modeling of particles and hydrodynamic simulation of flare plasma. Energetic electrons are modeled with the Stanford unified code of acceleration, transport, and radiation, while plasma is modeled with the Naval Research Laboratory flux tube code. We calculated the collisional heating rate directly from the particle transport code, which is more accurate than those in previous studies based on approximate analytical solutions. We repeated themore » simulation of Mariska et al. with an injection of power law, downward-beamed electrons using the new heating rate. For this case, a {approx}10% difference was found from their old result. We also used a more realistic spectrum of injected electrons provided by the stochastic acceleration model, which has a smooth transition from a quasi-thermal background at low energies to a nonthermal tail at high energies. The inclusion of low-energy electrons results in relatively more heating in the corona (versus chromosphere) and thus a larger downward heat conduction flux. The interplay of electron heating, conduction, and radiative loss leads to stronger chromospheric evaporation than obtained in previous studies, which had a deficit in low-energy electrons due to an arbitrarily assumed low-energy cutoff. The energy and spatial distributions of energetic electrons and bremsstrahlung photons bear signatures of the changing density distribution caused by chromospheric evaporation. In particular, the density jump at the evaporation front gives rise to enhanced emission, which, in principle, can be imaged by X-ray telescopes. This model can be applied to investigate a variety of high-energy processes in solar, space, and astrophysical plasmas.« less

Faster and more accurate transport procedures for HZETRN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Slaba, T.C., E-mail: Tony.C.Slaba@nasa.go; Blattnig, S.R., E-mail: Steve.R.Blattnig@nasa.go; Badavi, F.F., E-mail: Francis.F.Badavi@nasa.go

The deterministic transport code HZETRN was developed for research scientists and design engineers studying the effects of space radiation on astronauts and instrumentation protected by various shielding materials and structures. In this work, several aspects of code verification are examined. First, a detailed derivation of the light particle (A {<=} 4) and heavy ion (A > 4) numerical marching algorithms used in HZETRN is given. References are given for components of the derivation that already exist in the literature, and discussions are given for details that may have been absent in the past. The present paper provides a complete descriptionmore » of the numerical methods currently used in the code and is identified as a key component of the verification process. Next, a new numerical method for light particle transport is presented, and improvements to the heavy ion transport algorithm are discussed. A summary of round-off error is also given, and the impact of this error on previously predicted exposure quantities is shown. Finally, a coupled convergence study is conducted by refining the discretization parameters (step-size and energy grid-size). From this study, it is shown that past efforts in quantifying the numerical error in HZETRN were hindered by single precision calculations and computational resources. It is determined that almost all of the discretization error in HZETRN is caused by the use of discretization parameters that violate a numerical convergence criterion related to charged target fragments below 50 AMeV. Total discretization errors are given for the old and new algorithms to 100 g/cm{sup 2} in aluminum and water, and the improved accuracy of the new numerical methods is demonstrated. Run time comparisons between the old and new algorithms are given for one, two, and three layer slabs of 100 g/cm{sup 2} of aluminum, polyethylene, and water. The new algorithms are found to be almost 100 times faster for solar particle event simulations and almost 10 times faster for galactic cosmic ray simulations.« less

PENGEOM-A general-purpose geometry package for Monte Carlo simulation of radiation transport in material systems defined by quadric surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almansa, Julio; Salvat-Pujol, Francesc; Díaz-Londoño, Gloria; Carnicer, Artur; Lallena, Antonio M.; Salvat, Francesc

2016-02-01

The Fortran subroutine package PENGEOM provides a complete set of tools to handle quadric geometries in Monte Carlo simulations of radiation transport. The material structure where radiation propagates is assumed to consist of homogeneous bodies limited by quadric surfaces. The PENGEOM subroutines (a subset of the PENELOPE code) track particles through the material structure, independently of the details of the physics models adopted to describe the interactions. Although these subroutines are designed for detailed simulations of photon and electron transport, where all individual interactions are simulated sequentially, they can also be used in mixed (class II) schemes for simulating the transport of high-energy charged particles, where the effect of soft interactions is described by the random-hinge method. The definition of the geometry and the details of the tracking algorithm are tailored to optimize simulation speed. The use of fuzzy quadric surfaces minimizes the impact of round-off errors. The provided software includes a Java graphical user interface for editing and debugging the geometry definition file and for visualizing the material structure. Images of the structure are generated by using the tracking subroutines and, hence, they describe the geometry actually passed to the simulation code.

A fast low-to-high confinement mode bifurcation dynamics in the boundary-plasma gyrokinetic code XGC1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ku, S.; Chang, C. S.; Hager, R.; Churchill, R. M.; Tynan, G. R.; Cziegler, I.; Greenwald, M.; Hughes, J.; Parker, S. E.; Adams, M. F.; D'Azevedo, E.; Worley, P.

2018-05-01

A fast edge turbulence suppression event has been simulated in the electrostatic version of the gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code XGC1 in a realistic diverted tokamak edge geometry under neutral particle recycling. The results show that the sequence of turbulent Reynolds stress followed by neoclassical ion orbit-loss driven together conspire to form the sustaining radial electric field shear and to quench turbulent transport just inside the last closed magnetic flux surface. The main suppression action is located in a thin radial layer around ψN≃0.96 -0.98 , where ψN is the normalized poloidal flux, with the time scale ˜0.1 ms.

Development of Tokamak Transport Solvers for Stiff Confinement Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

St. John, H. E.; Lao, L. L.; Murakami, M.; Park, J. M.

2006-10-01

Leading transport models such as GLF23 [1] and MM95 [2] describe turbulent plasma energy, momentum and particle flows. In order to accommodate existing transport codes and associated solution methods effective diffusivities have to be derived from these turbulent flow models. This can cause significant problems in predicting unique solutions. We have developed a parallel transport code solver, GCNMP, that can accommodate both flow based and diffusivity based confinement models by solving the discretized nonlinear equations using modern Newton, trust region, steepest descent and homotopy methods. We present our latest development efforts, including multiple dynamic grids, application of two-level parallel schemes, and operator splitting techniques that allow us to combine flow based and diffusivity based models in tokamk simulations. 6pt [1] R.E. Waltz, et al., Phys. Plasmas 4, 7 (1997). [2] G. Bateman, et al., Phys. Plasmas 5, 1793 (1998).

Phase space effects on fast ion distribution function modeling in tokamaks

DOE PAGES

Podesta, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Fredrickson, E. D.; ...

2016-04-14

Here, integrated simulations of tokamak discharges typically rely on classical physics to model energetic particle (EP) dynamics. However, there are numerous cases in which energetic particles can suffer additional transport that is not classical in nature. Examples include transport by applied 3D magnetic perturbations and, more notably, by plasma instabilities. Focusing on the effects of instabilities,ad-hocmodels can empirically reproduce increased transport, but the choice of transport coefficients is usually somehow arbitrary. New approaches based on physics-based reduced models are being developed to address those issues in a simplified way, while retaining a more correct treatment of resonant wave-particle interactions. Themore » kick model implemented in the tokamaktransport code TRANSP is an example of such reduced models. It includes modifications of the EP distribution by instabilities in real and velocity space, retaining correlations between transport in energy and space typical of resonant EP transport. The relevance of EP phase space modifications by instabilities is first discussed in terms of predicted fast ion distribution. Results are compared with those from a simple, ad-hoc diffusive model. It is then shown that the phase-space resolved model can also provide additional insight into important issues such as internal consistency of the simulations and mode stability through the analysis of the power exchanged between energetic particles and the instabilities.« less

Simulated and measured neutron/gamma light output distribution for poly-energetic neutron/gamma sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosseini, S. A.; Zangian, M.; Aghabozorgi, S.

2018-03-01

In the present paper, the light output distribution due to poly-energetic neutron/gamma (neutron or gamma) source was calculated using the developed MCNPX-ESUT-PE (MCNPX-Energy engineering of Sharif University of Technology-Poly Energetic version) computational code. The simulation of light output distribution includes the modeling of the particle transport, the calculation of scintillation photons induced by charged particles, simulation of the scintillation photon transport and considering the light resolution obtained from the experiment. The developed computational code is able to simulate the light output distribution due to any neutron/gamma source. In the experimental step of the present study, the neutron-gamma discrimination based on the light output distribution was performed using the zero crossing method. As a case study, 241Am-9Be source was considered and the simulated and measured neutron/gamma light output distributions were compared. There is an acceptable agreement between the discriminated neutron/gamma light output distributions obtained from the simulation and experiment.

Development and validation of a critical gradient energetic particle driven Alfven eigenmode transport model for DIII-D tilted neutral beam experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waltz, R. E.; Bass, E. M.; Heidbrink, W. W.; VanZeeland, M. A.

2015-11-01

Recent experiments with the DIII-D tilted neutral beam injection (NBI) varying the beam energetic particle (EP) source profiles have provided strong evidence that unstable Alfven eigenmodes (AE) drive stiff EP transport at a critical EP density gradient [Heidbrink et al 2013 Nucl. Fusion 53 093006]. Here the critical gradient is identified by the local AE growth rate being equal to the local ITG/TEM growth rate at the same low toroidal mode number. The growth rates are taken from the gyrokinetic code GYRO. Simulation show that the slowing down beam-like EP distribution has a slightly lower critical gradient than the Maxwellian. The ALPHA EP density transport code [Waltz and Bass 2014 Nucl. Fusion 54 104006], used to validate the model, combines the low-n stiff EP critical density gradient AE mid-core transport with the Angioni et al (2009 Nucl. Fusion 49 055013) energy independent high-n ITG/TEM density transport model controling the central core EP density profile. For the on-axis NBI heated DIII-D shot 146102, while the net loss to the edge is small, about half the birth fast ions are transported from the central core r/a  <  0.5 and the central density is about half the slowing down density. These results are in good agreement with experimental fast ion pressure profiles inferred from MSE constrained EFIT equilibria.

MARS15

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mokhov, Nikolai

MARS is a Monte Carlo code for inclusive and exclusive simulation of three-dimensional hadronic and electromagnetic cascades, muon, heavy-ion and low-energy neutron transport in accelerator, detector, spacecraft and shielding components in the energy range from a fraction of an electronvolt up to 100 TeV. Recent developments in the MARS15 physical models of hadron, heavy-ion and lepton interactions with nuclei and atoms include a new nuclear cross section library, a model for soft pion production, the cascade-exciton model, the quark gluon string models, deuteron-nucleus and neutrino-nucleus interaction models, detailed description of negative hadron and muon absorption and a unified treatment ofmore » muon, charged hadron and heavy-ion electromagnetic interactions with matter. New algorithms are implemented into the code and thoroughly benchmarked against experimental data. The code capabilities to simulate cascades and generate a variety of results in complex media have been also enhanced. Other changes in the current version concern the improved photo- and electro-production of hadrons and muons, improved algorithms for the 3-body decays, particle tracking in magnetic fields, synchrotron radiation by electrons and muons, significantly extended histograming capabilities and material description, and improved computational performance. In addition to direct energy deposition calculations, a new set of fluence-to-dose conversion factors for all particles including neutrino are built into the code. The code includes new modules for calculation of Displacement-per-Atom and nuclide inventory. The powerful ROOT geometry and visualization model implemented in MARS15 provides a large set of geometrical elements with a possibility of producing composite shapes and assemblies and their 3D visualization along with a possible import/export of geometry descriptions created by other codes (via the GDML format) and CAD systems (via the STEP format). The built-in MARS-MAD Beamline Builder (MMBLB) was redesigned for use with the ROOT geometry package that allows a very efficient and highly-accurate description, modeling and visualization of beam loss induced effects in arbitrary beamlines and accelerator lattices. The MARS15 code includes links to the MCNP-family codes for neutron and photon production and transport below 20 MeV, to the ANSYS code for thermal and stress analyses and to the STRUCT code for multi-turn particle tracking in large synchrotrons and collider rings.« less

Description of a Generalized Analytical Model for the Micro-dosimeter Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Badavi, Francis F.; Stewart-Sloan, Charlotte R.; Xapsos, Michael A.; Shinn, Judy L.; Wilson, John W.; Hunter, Abigail

2007-01-01

An analytical prediction capability for space radiation in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), correlated with the Space Transportation System (STS) Shuttle Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (TEPC) measurements, is presented. The model takes into consideration the energy loss straggling and chord length distribution of the TEPC detector, and is capable of predicting energy deposition fluctuations in a micro-volume by incoming ions through both direct and indirect ionic events. The charged particle transport calculations correlated with STS 56, 51, 110 and 114 flights are accomplished by utilizing the most recent version (2005) of the Langley Research Center (LaRC) deterministic ionized particle transport code High charge (Z) and Energy TRaNsport WZETRN), which has been extensively validated with laboratory beam measurements and available space flight data. The agreement between the TEPC model prediction (response function) and the TEPC measured differential and integral spectra in lineal energy (y) domain is promising.

Contamination Analysis Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brieda, Lubos

2015-01-01

This talk presents 3 different tools developed recently for contamination analysis:HTML QCM analyzer: runs in a web browser, and allows for data analysis of QCM log filesJava RGA extractor: can load in multiple SRS.ana files and extract pressure vs. time dataC++ Contamination Simulation code: 3D particle tracing code for modeling transport of dust particulates and molecules. Uses residence time to determine if molecules stick. Particulates can be sampled from IEST-STD-1246 and be accelerated by aerodynamic forces.

Preliminary estimates of radiation exposures for manned interplanetary missions from anomalously large solar flare events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Lawrence W.; Nealy, John E.; Wilson, John W.

1988-01-01

Preliminary estimates of radiation exposures for manned interplanetary missions resulting from anomalously large solar flare events are presented. The calculations use integral particle fluences for the February 1956, November 1960, and August 1972 events as inputs into the Langley Research Center nucleon transport code BRYNTRN. This deterministic code transports primary and secondary nucleons (protons and neutrons) through any number of layers of target material of arbitrary thickness and composition. Contributions from target nucleus fragmentation and recoil are also included. Estimates of 5 cm depth doses and dose equivalents in tissue are presented behind various thicknesses of aluminum, water, and composite aluminum/water shields for each of the three solar flare events.

Coupled Kinetic-MHD Simulations of Divertor Heat Load with ELM Perturbations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cummings, Julian; Chang, C. S.; Park, Gunyoung; Sugiyama, Linda; Pankin, Alexei; Klasky, Scott; Podhorszki, Norbert; Docan, Ciprian; Parashar, Manish

2010-11-01

The effect of Type-I ELM activity on divertor plate heat load is a key component of the DOE OFES Joint Research Target milestones for this year. In this talk, we present simulations of kinetic edge physics, ELM activity, and the associated divertor heat loads in which we couple the discrete guiding-center neoclassical transport code XGC0 with the nonlinear extended MHD code M3D using the End-to-end Framework for Fusion Integrated Simulations, or EFFIS. In these coupled simulations, the kinetic code and the MHD code run concurrently on the same massively parallel platform and periodic data exchanges are performed using a memory-to-memory coupling technology provided by EFFIS. The M3D code models the fast ELM event and sends frequent updates of the magnetic field perturbations and electrostatic potential to XGC0, which in turn tracks particle dynamics under the influence of these perturbations and collects divertor particle and energy flux statistics. We describe here how EFFIS technologies facilitate these coupled simulations and discuss results for DIII-D, NSTX and Alcator C-Mod tokamak discharges.

Full-f version of GENE for turbulence in open-field-line systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Q.; Told, D.; Shi, E. L.; Hammett, G. W.; Jenko, F.

2018-06-01

Unique properties of plasmas in the tokamak edge, such as large amplitude fluctuations and plasma-wall interactions in the open-field-line regions, require major modifications of existing gyrokinetic codes originally designed for simulating core turbulence. To this end, the global version of the 3D2V gyrokinetic code GENE, so far employing a δf-splitting technique, is extended to simulate electrostatic turbulence in straight open-field-line systems. The major extensions are the inclusion of the velocity-space nonlinearity, the development of a conducting-sheath boundary, and the implementation of the Lenard-Bernstein collision operator. With these developments, the code can be run as a full-f code and can handle particle loss to and reflection from the wall. The extended code is applied to modeling turbulence in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD), with a reduced mass ratio and a much lower collisionality. Similar to turbulence in a tokamak scrape-off layer, LAPD turbulence involves collisions, parallel streaming, cross-field turbulent transport with steep profiles, and particle loss at the parallel boundary.

Coupled Neutron Transport for HZETRN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slaba, Tony C.; Blattnig, Steve R.

2009-01-01

Exposure estimates inside space vehicles, surface habitats, and high altitude aircrafts exposed to space radiation are highly influenced by secondary neutron production. The deterministic transport code HZETRN has been identified as a reliable and efficient tool for such studies, but improvements to the underlying transport models and numerical methods are still necessary. In this paper, the forward-backward (FB) and directionally coupled forward-backward (DC) neutron transport models are derived, numerical methods for the FB model are reviewed, and a computationally efficient numerical solution is presented for the DC model. Both models are compared to the Monte Carlo codes HETC-HEDS, FLUKA, and MCNPX, and the DC model is shown to agree closely with the Monte Carlo results. Finally, it is found in the development of either model that the decoupling of low energy neutrons from the light particle transport procedure adversely affects low energy light ion fluence spectra and exposure quantities. A first order correction is presented to resolve the problem, and it is shown to be both accurate and efficient.

Charged particle transport in magnetic fields in EGSnrc.

PubMed

Malkov, V N; Rogers, D W O

2016-07-01

To accurately and efficiently implement charged particle transport in a magnetic field in EGSnrc and validate the code for the use in phantom and ion chamber simulations. The effect of the magnetic field on the particle motion and position is determined using one- and three-point numerical integrations of the Lorentz force on the charged particle and is added to the condensed history calculation performed by the EGSnrc PRESTA-II algorithm. The code is tested with a Fano test adapted for the presence of magnetic fields. The code is compatible with all EGSnrc based applications, including egs++. Ion chamber calculations are compared to experimental measurements and the effect of the code on the efficiency and timing is determined. Agreement with the Fano test's theoretical value is obtained at the 0.1% level for large step-sizes and in magnetic fields as strong as 5 T. The NE2571 dose calculations achieve agreement with the experiment within 0.5% up to 1 T beyond which deviations up to 1.2% are observed. Uniform air gaps of 0.5 and 1 mm and a misalignment of the incoming photon beam with the magnetic field are found to produce variations in the normalized dose on the order of 1%. These findings necessitate a clear definition of all experimental conditions to allow for accurate Monte Carlo simulations. It is found that ion chamber simulation times are increased by only 38%, and a 10 × 10 × 6 cm(3) water phantom with (3 mm)(3) voxels experiences a 48% increase in simulation time as compared to the default EGSnrc with no magnetic field. The incorporation of the effect of the magnetic fields in EGSnrc provides the capability to calculate high accuracy ion chamber and phantom doses for the use in MRI-radiation systems. Further, the effect of apparently insignificant experimental details is found to be accentuated by the presence of the magnetic field.

The PHITS code for space applications: status and recent developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sihver, Lembit; Ploc, Ondrej; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Niita, Koji; Hashimoto, Shintaro; El-Jaby, Samy

Since COSPAR 2012, the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System, PHITS, has been upgraded and released to the public [1]. The code has been improved and so has the contents of its package, such as the attached data libraries. In the new version, the intra-nuclear cascade models INCL4.6 and INC-ELF have been implemented as well as the Kurotama model for the total reaction cross sections. The accuracies of the new reaction models for transporting the galactic cosmic-rays were investigated by comparing with experimental data. The incorporation of these models has improved the capabilities of PHITS to perform particle transport simulations for different space applications. A methodology for assessing the pre-mission exposure of space crew aboard the ISS has been developed in terms of an effective dose equivalent [2]. PHITS was used to calculate the particle transport of the GCR and trapped radiation through the hull of the ISS. By using the predicted spectra, and fluence-to-dose conversion factors, the semi-empirical ISSCREM [3,4,5] code was then scaled to predict the effective dose equivalent. This methodology provides an opportunity for pre-flight predictions of the effective dose equivalent, which can be compared to post-flight estimates, and therefore offers a means to assess the impact of radiation exposure on ISS flight crew. We have also simulated [6] the protective curtain experiment, which was performed to test the efficiency of water-soaked hygienic tissue wipes and towels as a simple and cost-effective additional spacecraft shielding. The dose from the trapped particles and low energetic GCR, was significantly reduced, which shows that the protective curtains are efficient when they are applied on spacecraft at LEO. The results of these benchmark calculations, as well as the mentioned applications of PHITS to space dosimetry, will be presented. [1] T. Sato et al. J. Nucl. Sci. Technol. 50, 913-923 (2013). [2] S. El-Jaby, et al. Adv. Space Res. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2013.12.022 (2013). [3] S. El-Jaby, et al. Adv. Space Res. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2013.10.006 (2013). [4] S. El-Jaby, et al. In proc. to the IEEE Aerospace Conference, Big Sky, MN, USA (2013). [5] S. El-Jaby, PhD Thesis, Royal Military College of Canada (2012). [6] O. Ploc, et al., Adv. Space Res. 52, 1911-1918 (2013).

Implementing displacement damage calculations for electrons and gamma rays in the Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwamoto, Yosuke

2018-03-01

In this study, the Monte Carlo displacement damage calculation method in the Particle and Heavy-Ion Transport code System (PHITS) was improved to calculate displacements per atom (DPA) values due to irradiation by electrons (or positrons) and gamma rays. For the damage due to electrons and gamma rays, PHITS simulates electromagnetic cascades using the Electron Gamma Shower version 5 (EGS5) algorithm and calculates DPA values using the recoil energies and the McKinley-Feshbach cross section. A comparison of DPA values calculated by PHITS and the Monte Carlo assisted Classical Method (MCCM) reveals that they were in good agreement for gamma-ray irradiations of silicon and iron at energies that were less than 10 MeV. Above 10 MeV, PHITS can calculate DPA values not only for electrons but also for charged particles produced by photonuclear reactions. In DPA depth distributions under electron and gamma-ray irradiations, build-up effects can be observed near the target's surface. For irradiation of 90-cm-thick carbon by protons with energies of more than 30 GeV, the ratio of the secondary electron DPA values to the total DPA values is more than 10% and increases with an increase in incident energy. In summary, PHITS can calculate DPA values for all particles and materials over a wide energy range between 1 keV and 1 TeV for electrons, gamma rays, and charged particles and between 10-5 eV and 1 TeV for neutrons.

Comparison between calculation and measured data on secondary neutron energy spectra by heavy ion reactions from different thick targets.

PubMed

Iwase, H; Wiegel, B; Fehrenbacher, G; Schardt, D; Nakamura, T; Niita, K; Radon, T

2005-01-01

Measured neutron energy fluences from high-energy heavy ion reactions through targets several centimeters to several hundred centimeters thick were compared with calculations made using the recently developed general-purpose particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS). It was confirmed that the PHITS represented neutron production by heavy ion reactions and neutron transport in thick shielding with good overall accuracy.

Physical basis of radiation protection in space travel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durante, Marco; Cucinotta, Francis A.

2011-10-01

The health risks of space radiation are arguably the most serious challenge to space exploration, possibly preventing these missions due to safety concerns or increasing their costs to amounts beyond what would be acceptable. Radiation in space is substantially different from Earth: high-energy (E) and charge (Z) particles (HZE) provide the main contribution to the equivalent dose in deep space, whereas γ rays and low-energy α particles are major contributors on Earth. This difference causes a high uncertainty on the estimated radiation health risk (including cancer and noncancer effects), and makes protection extremely difficult. In fact, shielding is very difficult in space: the very high energy of the cosmic rays and the severe mass constraints in spaceflight represent a serious hindrance to effective shielding. Here the physical basis of space radiation protection is described, including the most recent achievements in space radiation transport codes and shielding approaches. Although deterministic and Monte Carlo transport codes can now describe well the interaction of cosmic rays with matter, more accurate double-differential nuclear cross sections are needed to improve the codes. Energy deposition in biological molecules and related effects should also be developed to achieve accurate risk models for long-term exploratory missions. Passive shielding can be effective for solar particle events; however, it is limited for galactic cosmic rays (GCR). Active shielding would have to overcome challenging technical hurdles to protect against GCR. Thus, improved risk assessment and genetic and biomedical approaches are a more likely solution to GCR radiation protection issues.

The radiation fields around a proton therapy facility: A comparison of Monte Carlo simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ottaviano, G.; Picardi, L.; Pillon, M.; Ronsivalle, C.; Sandri, S.

2014-02-01

A proton therapy test facility with a beam current lower than 10 nA in average, and an energy up to 150 MeV, is planned to be sited at the Frascati ENEA Research Center, in Italy. The accelerator is composed of a sequence of linear sections. The first one is a commercial 7 MeV proton linac, from which the beam is injected in a SCDTL (Side Coupled Drift Tube Linac) structure reaching the energy of 52 MeV. Then a conventional CCL (coupled Cavity Linac) with side coupling cavities completes the accelerator. The linear structure has the important advantage that the main radiation losses during the acceleration process occur to protons with energy below 20 MeV, with a consequent low production of neutrons and secondary radiation. From the radiation protection point of view the source of radiation for this facility is then almost completely located at the final target. Physical and geometrical models of the device have been developed and implemented into radiation transport computer codes based on the Monte Carlo method. The scope is the assessment of the radiation field around the main source for supporting the safety analysis. For the assessment independent researchers used two different Monte Carlo computer codes named FLUKA (FLUktuierende KAskade) and MCNPX (Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended) respectively. Both are general purpose tools for calculations of particle transport and interactions with matter, covering an extended range of applications including proton beam analysis. Nevertheless each one utilizes its own nuclear cross section libraries and uses specific physics models for particle types and energies. The models implemented into the codes are described and the results are presented. The differences between the two calculations are reported and discussed pointing out disadvantages and advantages of each code in the specific application.

ALPHACAL: A new user-friendly tool for the calibration of alpha-particle sources.

PubMed

Timón, A Fernández; Vargas, M Jurado; Gallardo, P Álvarez; Sánchez-Oro, J; Peralta, L

2018-05-01

In this work, we present and describe the program ALPHACAL, specifically developed for the calibration of alpha-particle sources. It is therefore more user-friendly and less time-consuming than multipurpose codes developed for a wide range of applications. The program is based on the recently developed code AlfaMC, which simulates specifically the transport of alpha particles. Both cylindrical and point sources mounted on the surface of polished backings can be simulated, as is the convention in experimental measurements of alpha-particle sources. In addition to the efficiency calculation and determination of the backscattering coefficient, some additional tools are available to the user, like the visualization of energy spectrum, use of energy cut-off or low-energy tail corrections. ALPHACAL has been implemented in C++ language using QT library, so it is available for Windows, MacOs and Linux platforms. It is free and can be provided under request to the authors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Microphysical Models in the National Combustion Code (NCC) for Aircraft Particulate Emissions: Particle Loss in Sampling Lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wey, Thomas; Liu, Nan-Suey

2008-01-01

This paper at first describes the fluid network approach recently implemented into the National Combustion Code (NCC) for the simulation of transport of aerosols (volatile particles and soot) in the particulate sampling systems. This network-based approach complements the other two approaches already in the NCC, namely, the lower-order temporal approach and the CFD-based approach. The accuracy and the computational costs of these three approaches are then investigated in terms of their application to the prediction of particle losses through sample transmission and distribution lines. Their predictive capabilities are assessed by comparing the computed results with the experimental data. The present work will help establish standard methodologies for measuring the size and concentration of particles in high-temperature, high-velocity jet engine exhaust. Furthermore, the present work also represents the first step of a long term effort of validating physics-based tools for the prediction of aircraft particulate emissions.

A new Monte Carlo code for light transport in biological tissue.

PubMed

Torres-García, Eugenio; Oros-Pantoja, Rigoberto; Aranda-Lara, Liliana; Vieyra-Reyes, Patricia

2018-04-01

The aim of this work was to develop an event-by-event Monte Carlo code for light transport (called MCLTmx) to identify and quantify ballistic, diffuse, and absorbed photons, as well as their interaction coordinates inside the biological tissue. The mean free path length was computed between two interactions for scattering or absorption processes, and if necessary scatter angles were calculated, until the photon disappeared or went out of region of interest. A three-layer array (air-tissue-air) was used, forming a semi-infinite sandwich. The light source was placed at (0,0,0), emitting towards (0,0,1). The input data were: refractive indices, target thickness (0.02, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, and 1 cm), number of particle histories, and λ from which the code calculated: anisotropy, scattering, and absorption coefficients. Validation presents differences less than 0.1% compared with that reported in the literature. The MCLTmx code discriminates between ballistic and diffuse photons, and inside of biological tissue, it calculates: specular reflection, diffuse reflection, ballistics transmission, diffuse transmission and absorption, and all parameters dependent on wavelength and thickness. The MCLTmx code can be useful for light transport inside any medium by changing the parameters that describe the new medium: anisotropy, dispersion and attenuation coefficients, and refractive indices for specific wavelength.

Dose calculations at high altitudes and in deep space with GEANT4 using BIC and JQMD models for nucleus nucleus reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sihver, L.; Matthiä, D.; Koi, T.; Mancusi, D.

2008-10-01

Radiation exposure of aircrew is more and more recognized as an occupational hazard. The ionizing environment at standard commercial aircraft flight altitudes consists mainly of secondary particles, of which the neutrons give a major contribution to the dose equivalent. Accurate estimations of neutron spectra in the atmosphere are therefore essential for correct calculations of aircrew doses. Energetic solar particle events (SPE) could also lead to significantly increased dose rates, especially at routes close to the North Pole, e.g. for flights between Europe and USA. It is also well known that the radiation environment encountered by personnel aboard low Earth orbit (LEO) spacecraft or aboard a spacecraft traveling outside the Earth's protective magnetosphere is much harsher compared with that within the atmosphere since the personnel are exposed to radiation from both galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and SPE. The relative contribution to the dose from GCR when traveling outside the Earth's magnetosphere, e.g. to the Moon or Mars, is even greater, and reliable and accurate particle and heavy ion transport codes are essential to calculate the radiation risks for both aircrew and personnel on spacecraft. We have therefore performed calculations of neutron distributions in the atmosphere, total dose equivalents, and quality factors at different depths in a water sphere in an imaginary spacecraft during solar minimum in a geosynchronous orbit. The calculations were performed with the GEANT4 Monte Carlo (MC) code using both the binary cascade (BIC) model, which is part of the standard GEANT4 package, and the JQMD model, which is used in the particle and heavy ion transport code PHITS GEANT4.

Modelling of aircrew radiation exposure from galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events.

PubMed

Takada, M; Lewis, B J; Boudreau, M; Al Anid, H; Bennett, L G I

2007-01-01

Correlations have been developed for implementation into the semi-empirical Predictive Code for Aircrew Radiation Exposure (PCAIRE) to account for effects of extremum conditions of solar modulation and low altitude based on transport code calculations. An improved solar modulation model, as proposed by NASA, has been further adopted to interpolate between the bounding correlations for solar modulation. The conversion ratio of effective dose to ambient dose equivalent, as applied to the PCAIRE calculation (based on measurements) for the legal regulation of aircrew exposure, was re-evaluated in this work to take into consideration new ICRP-92 radiation-weighting factors and different possible irradiation geometries of the source cosmic-radiation field. A computational analysis with Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended Code was further used to estimate additional aircrew exposure that may result from sporadic solar energetic particle events considering real-time monitoring by the Geosynchronous Operational Environmental Satellite. These predictions were compared with the ambient dose equivalent rates measured on-board an aircraft and to count rate data observed at various ground-level neutron monitors.

Recent Developments in Three Dimensional Radiation Transport Using the Green's Function Technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rockell, Candice; Tweed, John; Blattnig, Steve R.; Mertens, Christopher J.

2010-01-01

In the future, astronauts will be sent into space for longer durations of time compared to previous missions. The increased risk of exposure to dangerous radiation, such as Galactic Cosmic Rays and Solar Particle Events, is of great concern. Consequently, steps must be taken to ensure astronaut safety by providing adequate shielding. In order to better determine and verify shielding requirements, an accurate and efficient radiation transport code based on a fully three dimensional radiation transport model using the Green's function technique is being developed

Treating electron transport in MCNP{sup trademark}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hughes, H.G.

1996-12-31

The transport of electrons and other charged particles is fundamentally different from that of neutrons and photons. A neutron, in aluminum slowing down from 0.5 MeV to 0.0625 MeV will have about 30 collisions; a photon will have fewer than ten. An electron with the same energy loss will undergo 10{sup 5} individual interactions. This great increase in computational complexity makes a single- collision Monte Carlo approach to electron transport unfeasible for many situations of practical interest. Considerable theoretical work has been done to develop a variety of analytic and semi-analytic multiple-scattering theories for the transport of charged particles. Themore » theories used in the algorithms in MCNP are the Goudsmit-Saunderson theory for angular deflections, the Landau an theory of energy-loss fluctuations, and the Blunck-Leisegang enhancements of the Landau theory. In order to follow an electron through a significant energy loss, it is necessary to break the electron`s path into many steps. These steps are chosen to be long enough to encompass many collisions (so that multiple-scattering theories are valid) but short enough that the mean energy loss in any one step is small (for the approximations in the multiple-scattering theories). The energy loss and angular deflection of the electron during each step can then be sampled from probability distributions based on the appropriate multiple- scattering theories. This subsumption of the effects of many individual collisions into single steps that are sampled probabilistically constitutes the ``condensed history`` Monte Carlo method. This method is exemplified in the ETRAN series of electron/photon transport codes. The ETRAN codes are also the basis for the Integrated TIGER Series, a system of general-purpose, application-oriented electron/photon transport codes. The electron physics in MCNP is similar to that of the Integrated TIGER Series.« less

Gyrokinetic Simulations of Transport Scaling and Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahm, Taik Soo

2001-10-01

There is accumulating evidence from global gyrokinetic particle simulations with profile variations and experimental fluctuation measurements that microturbulence, with its time-averaged eddy size which scales with the ion gyroradius, can cause ion thermal transport which deviates from the gyro-Bohm scaling. The physics here can be best addressed by large scale (rho* = rho_i/a = 0.001) full torus gyrokinetic particle-in-cell turbulence simulations using our massively parallel, general geometry gyrokinetic toroidal code with field-aligned mesh. Simulation results from device-size scans for realistic parameters show that ``wave transport'' mechanism is not the dominant contribution for this Bohm-like transport and that transport is mostly diffusive driven by microscopic scale fluctuations in the presence of self-generated zonal flows. In this work, we analyze the turbulence and zonal flow statistics from simulations and compare to nonlinear theoretical predictions including the radial decorrelation of the transport events by zonal flows and the resulting probability distribution function (PDF). In particular, possible deviation of the characteristic radial size of transport processes from the time-averaged radial size of the density fluctuation eddys will be critically examined.

Lagrangian simulation of mixing and reactions in complex geochemical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engdahl, Nicholas B.; Benson, David A.; Bolster, Diogo

2017-04-01

Simulations of detailed geochemical systems have traditionally been restricted to Eulerian reactive transport algorithms. This note introduces a Lagrangian method for modeling multicomponent reaction systems. The approach uses standard random walk-based methods for the particle motion steps but allows the particles to interact with each other by exchanging mass of their various chemical species. The colocation density of each particle pair is used to calculate the mass transfer rate, which creates a local disequilibrium that is then relaxed back toward equilibrium using the reaction engine PhreeqcRM. The mass exchange is the only step where the particles interact and the remaining transport and reaction steps are entirely independent for each particle. Several validation examples are presented, which reproduce well-known analytical solutions. These are followed by two demonstration examples of a competitive decay chain and an acid-mine drainage system. The source code, entitled Complex Reaction on Particles (CRP), and files needed to run these examples are hosted openly on GitHub (https://github.com/nbengdahl/CRP), so as to enable interested readers to readily apply this approach with minimal modifications.

The Fireball integrated code package

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dobranich, D.; Powers, D.A.; Harper, F.T.

1997-07-01

Many deep-space satellites contain a plutonium heat source. An explosion, during launch, of a rocket carrying such a satellite offers the potential for the release of some of the plutonium. The fireball following such an explosion exposes any released plutonium to a high-temperature chemically-reactive environment. Vaporization, condensation, and agglomeration processes can alter the distribution of plutonium-bearing particles. The Fireball code package simulates the integrated response of the physical and chemical processes occurring in a fireball and the effect these processes have on the plutonium-bearing particle distribution. This integrated treatment of multiple phenomena represents a significant improvement in the state ofmore » the art for fireball simulations. Preliminary simulations of launch-second scenarios indicate: (1) most plutonium vaporization occurs within the first second of the fireball; (2) large non-aerosol-sized particles contribute very little to plutonium vapor production; (3) vaporization and both homogeneous and heterogeneous condensation occur simultaneously; (4) homogeneous condensation transports plutonium down to the smallest-particle sizes; (5) heterogeneous condensation precludes homogeneous condensation if sufficient condensation sites are available; and (6) agglomeration produces larger-sized particles but slows rapidly as the fireball grows.« less

A fast low-to-high confinement mode bifurcation dynamics in the boundary-plasma gyrokinetic code XGC1

DOE PAGES

Ku, S.; Chang, C. S.; Hager, R.; ...

2018-04-18

Here, a fast edge turbulence suppression event has been simulated in the electrostatic version of the gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code XGC1 in a realistic diverted tokamak edge geometry under neutral particle recycling. The results show that the sequence of turbulent Reynolds stress followed by neoclassical ion orbit-loss driven together conspire to form the sustaining radial electric field shear and to quench turbulent transport just inside the last closed magnetic flux surface. As a result, the main suppression action is located in a thin radial layer around ψ N≃0.96–0.98, where ψ N is the normalized poloidal flux, with the time scale ~0.1more » ms.« less

Equilibrium Spline Interface (ESI) for magnetic confinement codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xujing; Zakharov, Leonid E.

2017-12-01

A compact and comprehensive interface between magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium codes and gyro-kinetic, particle orbit, MHD stability, and transport codes is presented. Its irreducible set of equilibrium data consists of three (in the 2-D case with occasionally one extra in the 3-D case) functions of coordinates and four 1-D radial profiles together with their first and mixed derivatives. The C reconstruction routines, accessible also from FORTRAN, allow the calculation of basis functions and their first derivatives at any position inside the plasma and in its vicinity. After this all vector fields and geometric coefficients, required for the above mentioned types of codes, can be calculated using only algebraic operations with no further interpolation or differentiation.

Plasma Heating Simulation in the VASIMR System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ilin, Andrew V.; ChangDiaz, Franklin R.; Squire, Jared P.; Carter, Mark D.

2005-01-01

The paper describes the recent development in the simulation of the ion-cyclotron acceleration of the plasma in the VASIMR experiment. The modeling is done using an improved EMIR code for RF field calculation together with particle trajectory code for plasma transport calculat ion. The simulation results correlate with experimental data on the p lasma loading and predict higher ICRH performance for a higher density plasma target. These simulations assist in optimizing the ICRF anten na so as to achieve higher VASIMR efficiency.

Particle Clogging in Filter Media of Embankment Dams: A Numerical and Experimental Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antoun, T.; Kanarska, Y.; Ezzedine, S. M.; Lomov, I.; Glascoe, L. G.; Smith, J.; Hall, R. L.; Woodson, S. C.

2013-12-01

The safety of dam structures requires the characterization of the granular filter ability to capture fine-soil particles and prevent erosion failure in the event of an interfacial dislocation. Granular filters are one of the most important protective design elements of large embankment dams. In case of cracking and erosion, if the filter is capable of retaining the eroded fine particles, then the crack will seal and the dam safety will be ensured. Here we develop and apply a numerical tool to thoroughly investigate the migration of fines in granular filters at the grain scale. The numerical code solves the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and uses a Lagrange multiplier technique which enforces the correct in-domain computational boundary conditions inside and on the boundary of the particles. The numerical code is validated to experiments conducted at the US Army Corps of Engineering and Research Development Center (ERDC). These laboratory experiments on soil transport and trapping in granular media are performed in constant-head flow chamber filled with the filter media. Numerical solutions are compared to experimentally measured flow rates, pressure changes and base particle distributions in the filter layer and show good qualitative and quantitative agreement. To further the understanding of the soil transport in granular filters, we investigated the sensitivity of the particle clogging mechanism to various parameters such as particle size ratio, the magnitude of hydraulic gradient, particle concentration, and grain-to-grain contact properties. We found that for intermediate particle size ratios, the high flow rates and low friction lead to deeper intrusion (or erosion) depths. We also found that the damage tends to be shallower and less severe with decreasing flow rate, increasing friction and concentration of suspended particles. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and was sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology Directorate, Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA).

Use of Fluka to Create Dose Calculations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Kerry T.; Barzilla, Janet; Townsend, Lawrence; Brittingham, John

2012-01-01

Monte Carlo codes provide an effective means of modeling three dimensional radiation transport; however, their use is both time- and resource-intensive. The creation of a lookup table or parameterization from Monte Carlo simulation allows users to perform calculations with Monte Carlo results without replicating lengthy calculations. FLUKA Monte Carlo transport code was used to develop lookup tables and parameterizations for data resulting from the penetration of layers of aluminum, polyethylene, and water with areal densities ranging from 0 to 100 g/cm^2. Heavy charged ion radiation including ions from Z=1 to Z=26 and from 0.1 to 10 GeV/nucleon were simulated. Dose, dose equivalent, and fluence as a function of particle identity, energy, and scattering angle were examined at various depths. Calculations were compared against well-known results and against the results of other deterministic and Monte Carlo codes. Results will be presented.

The EGS4 Code System: Solution of Gamma-ray and Electron Transport Problems

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

Nelson, W. R.; Namito, Yoshihito

1990-03-01

In this paper we present an overview of the EGS4 Code System -- a general purpose package for the Monte Carlo simulation of the transport of electrons and photons. During the last 10-15 years EGS has been widely used to design accelerators and detectors for high-energy physics. More recently the code has been found to be of tremendous use in medical radiation physics and dosimetry. The problem-solving capabilities of EGS4 will be demonstrated by means of a variety of practical examples. To facilitate this review, we will take advantage of a new add-on package, called SHOWGRAF, to display particle trajectories in complicated geometries. These are shown as 2-D laser pictures in the written paper and as photographic slides of a 3-D high-resolution color monitor during the oral presentation. 11 refs., 15 figs.

Study of SOL in DIII-D tokamak with SOLPS suite of codes.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pankin, Alexei; Bateman, Glenn; Brennan, Dylan; Coster, David; Hogan, John; Kritz, Arnold; Kukushkin, Andrey; Schnack, Dalton; Snyder, Phil

2005-10-01

The scrape-of-layer (SOL) region in DIII-D tokamak is studied with the SOLPS integrated suite of codes. The SOLPS package includes the 3D multi-species Monte-Carlo neutral code EIRINE and 2D multi-fluid code B2. The EIRINE and B2 codes are cross-coupled through B2-EIRINE interface. The results of SOLPS simulations are used in the integrated modeling of the plasma edge in DIII-D tokamak with the ASTRA transport code. Parameterized dependences for neutral particle fluxes that are computed with the SOLPS code are implemented in a model for the H-mode pedestal and ELMs [1] in the ASTRA code. The effects of neutrals on the H-mode pedestal and ELMs are studied in this report. [1] A. Y. Pankin, I. Voitsekhovitch, G. Bateman, et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 47, 483 (2005).

Monte Carlo simulation of ion-material interactions in nuclear fusion devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nieto Perez, M.; Avalos-Zuñiga, R.; Ramos, G.

2017-06-01

One of the key aspects regarding the technological development of nuclear fusion reactors is the understanding of the interaction between high-energy ions coming from the confined plasma and the materials that the plasma-facing components are made of. Among the multiple issues important to plasma-wall interactions in fusion devices, physical erosion and composition changes induced by energetic particle bombardment are considered critical due to possible material flaking, changes to surface roughness, impurity transport and the alteration of physicochemical properties of the near surface region due to phenomena such as redeposition or implantation. A Monte Carlo code named MATILDA (Modeling of Atomic Transport in Layered Dynamic Arrays) has been developed over the years to study phenomena related to ion beam bombardment such as erosion rate, composition changes, interphase mixing and material redeposition, which are relevant issues to plasma-aided manufacturing of microelectronics, components on object exposed to intense solar wind, fusion reactor technology and other important industrial fields. In the present work, the code is applied to study three cases of plasma material interactions relevant to fusion devices in order to highlight the code's capabilities: (1) the Be redeposition process on the ITER divertor, (2) physical erosion enhancement in castellated surfaces and (3) damage to multilayer mirrors used on EUV diagnostics in fusion devices due to particle bombardment.

Physics and biophysics experiments needed for improved risk assessment in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sihver, L.

To improve the risk assessment of radiation carcinogenesis, late degenerative tissue effects, acute syndromes, synergistic effects of radiation and microgravity or other spacecraft factors, and hereditary effects, on future LEO and interplanetary space missions, the radiobiological effects of cosmic radiation before and after shielding must be well understood. However, cosmic radiation is very complex and includes low and high LET components of many different neutral and charged particles. The understanding of the radiobiology of the heavy ions, from GCRs and SPEs, is still a subject of great concern due to the complicated dependence of their biological effects on the type of ion and energy, and its interaction with various targets both outside and within the spacecraft and the human body. In order to estimate the biological effects of cosmic radiation, accurate knowledge of the physics of the interactions of both charged and non-charged high-LET particles is necessary. Since it is practically impossible to measure all primary and secondary particles from all projectile-target-energy combinations needed for a correct risk assessment in space, accurate particle and heavy ion transport codes might be a helpful instrument to overcome those difficulties. These codes have to be carefully validated to make sure they fulfill preset accuracy criteria, e.g. to be able to predict particle fluence and energy distributions within a certain accuracy. When validating the accuracy of the transport codes, both space and ground-based accelerator experiments are needed. In this paper current and future physics and biophysics experiments needed for improved risk assessment in space will be discussed. The cyclotron HIRFL (heavy ion research facility in Lanzhou) and the new synchrotron CSR (cooling storage ring), which can be used to provide ion beams for space related experiments at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMP-CAS), will be presented together with the physical and biomedical research performed at IMP-CAS.

MO-E-18C-04: Advanced Computer Simulation and Visualization Tools for Enhanced Understanding of Core Medical Physics Concepts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Naqvi, S

2014-06-15

Purpose: Most medical physics programs emphasize proficiency in routine clinical calculations and QA. The formulaic aspect of these calculations and prescriptive nature of measurement protocols obviate the need to frequently apply basic physical principles, which, therefore, gradually decay away from memory. E.g. few students appreciate the role of electron transport in photon dose, making it difficult to understand key concepts such as dose buildup, electronic disequilibrium effects and Bragg-Gray theory. These conceptual deficiencies manifest when the physicist encounters a new system, requiring knowledge beyond routine activities. Methods: Two interactive computer simulation tools are developed to facilitate deeper learning of physicalmore » principles. One is a Monte Carlo code written with a strong educational aspect. The code can “label” regions and interactions to highlight specific aspects of the physics, e.g., certain regions can be designated as “starters” or “crossers,” and any interaction type can be turned on and off. Full 3D tracks with specific portions highlighted further enhance the visualization of radiation transport problems. The second code calculates and displays trajectories of a collection electrons under arbitrary space/time dependent Lorentz force using relativistic kinematics. Results: Using the Monte Carlo code, the student can interactively study photon and electron transport through visualization of dose components, particle tracks, and interaction types. The code can, for instance, be used to study kerma-dose relationship, explore electronic disequilibrium near interfaces, or visualize kernels by using interaction forcing. The electromagnetic simulator enables the student to explore accelerating mechanisms and particle optics in devices such as cyclotrons and linacs. Conclusion: The proposed tools are designed to enhance understanding of abstract concepts by highlighting various aspects of the physics. The simulations serve as virtual experiments that give deeper and long lasting understanding of core principles. The student can then make sound judgements in novel situations encountered beyond routine clinical activities.« less

Modeling Potential Tephra Dispersal at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hooper, D.; Franklin, N.; Adams, N.; Basu, D.

2006-12-01

Quaternary basaltic volcanoes exist within 20 km [12 mi] of the potential radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and future basaltic volcanism at the repository is considered a low-probability, potentially high-consequence event. If radioactive waste was entrained in the conduit of a future volcanic event, tephra and waste could be transported in the resulting eruption plume. During an eruption, basaltic tephra would be dispersed primarily according to the height of the eruption column, particle-size distribution, and structure of the winds aloft. Following an eruption, contaminated tephra-fall deposits would be affected by surface redistribution processes. The Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses developed the computer code TEPHRA to calculate atmospheric dispersion and subsequent deposition of tephra and spent nuclear fuel from a potential eruption at Yucca Mountain and to help prepare the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review a potential U.S. Department of Energy license application. The TEPHRA transport code uses the Suzuki model to simulate the thermo-fluid dynamics of atmospheric tephra dispersion. TEPHRA models the transport of airborne pyroclasts based on particle diffusion from an eruption column, horizontal diffusion of particles by atmospheric and plume turbulence, horizontal advection by atmospheric circulation, and particle settling by gravity. More recently, TEPHRA was modified to calculate potential tephra deposit distributions using stratified wind fields based on upper atmosphere data from the Nevada Test Site. Wind data are binned into 1-km [0.62-mi]-high intervals with coupled distributions of wind speed and direction produced for each interval. Using this stratified wind field and discretization with respect to height, TEPHRA calculates particle fall and lateral displacement for each interval. This implementation permits modeling of split wind fields. We use a parallel version of the code to calculate expected tephra and high-level waste accumulation at specified points on a two-dimensional spatial grid, thereby simulating a three- dimensional initial deposit. To assess subsequent tephra and high-level waste redistribution and resuspension, modeling grids were devised to measure deposition in eolian and fluvial source regions. The eolian grid covers an area of 2,600 km2 [1,000 mi2] and the fluvial grid encompasses 318 km2 [123 mi2] of the southernmost portion of the Fortymile Wash catchment basin. Because each realization is independent, distributions of tephra and high-level waste reflect anticipated variations in source-term and transport characteristics. This abstract is an independent product of the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses and does not necessarily reflect the view or regulatory position of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Comparisons of rational engineering correlations of thermophoretically-augmented particle mass transfer with STAN5-predictions for developing boundary layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gokoglu, S. A.; Rosner, D. E.

1984-01-01

Modification of the code STAN5 to properly include thermophoretic mass transport, and examination of selected test cases developing boundary layers which include variable properties, viscous dissipation, transition to turbulence and transpiration cooling. Under conditions representative of current and projected GT operation, local application of St(M)/St(M),o correlations evidently provides accurate and economical engineering design predictions, especially for suspended particles characterized by Schmidt numbers outside of the heavy vapor range.

Development of MCNPX-ESUT computer code for simulation of neutron/gamma pulse height distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abolfazl Hosseini, Seyed; Vosoughi, Naser; Zangian, Mehdi

2015-05-01

In this paper, the development of the MCNPX-ESUT (MCNPX-Energy Engineering of Sharif University of Technology) computer code for simulation of neutron/gamma pulse height distribution is reported. Since liquid organic scintillators like NE-213 are well suited and routinely used for spectrometry in mixed neutron/gamma fields, this type of detectors is selected for simulation in the present study. The proposed algorithm for simulation includes four main steps. The first step is the modeling of the neutron/gamma particle transport and their interactions with the materials in the environment and detector volume. In the second step, the number of scintillation photons due to charged particles such as electrons, alphas, protons and carbon nuclei in the scintillator material is calculated. In the third step, the transport of scintillation photons in the scintillator and lightguide is simulated. Finally, the resolution corresponding to the experiment is considered in the last step of the simulation. Unlike the similar computer codes like SCINFUL, NRESP7 and PHRESP, the developed computer code is applicable to both neutron and gamma sources. Hence, the discrimination of neutron and gamma in the mixed fields may be performed using the MCNPX-ESUT computer code. The main feature of MCNPX-ESUT computer code is that the neutron/gamma pulse height simulation may be performed without needing any sort of post processing. In the present study, the pulse height distributions due to a monoenergetic neutron/gamma source in NE-213 detector using MCNPX-ESUT computer code is simulated. The simulated neutron pulse height distributions are validated through comparing with experimental data (Gohil et al. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 664 (2012) 304-309.) and the results obtained from similar computer codes like SCINFUL, NRESP7 and Geant4. The simulated gamma pulse height distribution for a 137Cs source is also compared with the experimental data.

Whole Device Modeling of Compact Tori: Stability and Transport Modeling of C-2W

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dettrick, Sean; Fulton, Daniel; Lau, Calvin; Lin, Zhihong; Ceccherini, Francesco; Galeotti, Laura; Gupta, Sangeeta; Onofri, Marco; Tajima, Toshiki; TAE Team

2017-10-01

Recent experimental evidence from the C-2U FRC experiment shows that the confinement of energy improves with inverse collisionality, similar to other high beta toroidal devices, NSTX and MAST. This motivated the construction of a new FRC experiment, C-2W, to study the energy confinement scaling at higher electron temperature. Tri Alpha Energy is working towards catalysing a community-wide collaboration to develop a Whole Device Model (WDM) of Compact Tori. One application of the WDM is the study of stability and transport properties of C-2W using two particle-in-cell codes, ANC and FPIC. These codes can be used to find new stable operating points, and to make predictions of the turbulent transport at those points. They will be used in collaboration with the C-2W experimental program to validate the codes against C-2W, mitigate experimental risk inherent in the exploration of new parameter regimes, accelerate the optimization of experimental operating scenarios, and to find operating points for future FRC reactor designs.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haghighat, A.; Sjoden, G.E.; Wagner, J.C.

In the past 10 yr, the Penn State Transport Theory Group (PSTTG) has concentrated its efforts on developing accurate and efficient particle transport codes to address increasing needs for efficient and accurate simulation of nuclear systems. The PSTTG's efforts have primarily focused on shielding applications that are generally treated using multigroup, multidimensional, discrete ordinates (S{sub n}) deterministic and/or statistical Monte Carlo methods. The difficulty with the existing public codes is that they require significant (impractical) computation time for simulation of complex three-dimensional (3-D) problems. For the S{sub n} codes, the large memory requirements are handled through the use of scratchmore » files (i.e., read-from and write-to-disk) that significantly increases the necessary execution time. Further, the lack of flexible features and/or utilities for preparing input and processing output makes these codes difficult to use. The Monte Carlo method becomes impractical because variance reduction (VR) methods have to be used, and normally determination of the necessary parameters for the VR methods is very difficult and time consuming for a complex 3-D problem. For the deterministic method, the authors have developed the 3-D parallel PENTRAN (Parallel Environment Neutral-particle TRANsport) code system that, in addition to a parallel 3-D S{sub n} solver, includes pre- and postprocessing utilities. PENTRAN provides for full phase-space decomposition, memory partitioning, and parallel input/output to provide the capability of solving large problems in a relatively short time. Besides having a modular parallel structure, PENTRAN has several unique new formulations and features that are necessary for achieving high parallel performance. For the Monte Carlo method, the major difficulty currently facing most users is the selection of an effective VR method and its associated parameters. For complex problems, generally, this process is very time consuming and may be complicated due to the possibility of biasing the results. In an attempt to eliminate this problem, the authors have developed the A{sup 3}MCNP (automated adjoint accelerated MCNP) code that automatically prepares parameters for source and transport biasing within a weight-window VR approach based on the S{sub n} adjoint function. A{sup 3}MCNP prepares the necessary input files for performing multigroup, 3-D adjoint S{sub n} calculations using TORT.« less

Benchmark Analysis of Pion Contribution from Galactic Cosmic Rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aghara, Sukesh K.; Blattnig, Steve R.; Norbury, John W.; Singleterry, Robert C., Jr.

2008-01-01

Shielding strategies for extended stays in space must include a comprehensive resolution of the secondary radiation environment inside the spacecraft induced by the primary, external radiation. The distribution of absorbed dose and dose equivalent is a function of the type, energy and population of these secondary products. A systematic verification and validation effort is underway for HZETRN, which is a space radiation transport code currently used by NASA. It performs neutron, proton and heavy ion transport explicitly, but it does not take into account the production and transport of mesons, photons and leptons. The question naturally arises as to what is the contribution of these particles to space radiation. The pion has a production kinetic energy threshold of about 280 MeV. The Galactic cosmic ray (GCR) spectra, coincidentally, reaches flux maxima in the hundreds of MeV range, corresponding to the pion production threshold. We present results from the Monte Carlo code MCNPX, showing the effect of lepton and meson physics when produced and transported explicitly in a GCR environment.

Verification of ARES transport code system with TAKEDA benchmarks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Liang; Zhang, Bin; Zhang, Penghe; Chen, Mengteng; Zhao, Jingchang; Zhang, Shun; Chen, Yixue

2015-10-01

Neutron transport modeling and simulation are central to many areas of nuclear technology, including reactor core analysis, radiation shielding and radiation detection. In this paper the series of TAKEDA benchmarks are modeled to verify the critical calculation capability of ARES, a discrete ordinates neutral particle transport code system. SALOME platform is coupled with ARES to provide geometry modeling and mesh generation function. The Koch-Baker-Alcouffe parallel sweep algorithm is applied to accelerate the traditional transport calculation process. The results show that the eigenvalues calculated by ARES are in excellent agreement with the reference values presented in NEACRP-L-330, with a difference less than 30 pcm except for the first case of model 3. Additionally, ARES provides accurate fluxes distribution compared to reference values, with a deviation less than 2% for region-averaged fluxes in all cases. All of these confirms the feasibility of ARES-SALOME coupling and demonstrate that ARES has a good performance in critical calculation.

Radiation transport simulation of the Martian GCR surface flux and dose estimation using spherical geometry in PHITS compared to MSL-RAD measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores-McLaughlin, John

2017-08-01

Planetary bodies and spacecraft are predominantly exposed to isotropic radiation environments that are subject to transport and interaction in various material compositions and geometries. Specifically, the Martian surface radiation environment is composed of galactic cosmic radiation, secondary particles produced by their interaction with the Martian atmosphere, albedo particles from the Martian regolith and occasional solar particle events. Despite this complex physical environment with potentially significant locational and geometric dependencies, computational resources often limit radiation environment calculations to a one-dimensional or slab geometry specification. To better account for Martian geometry, spherical volumes with respective Martian material densities are adopted in this model. This physical description is modeled with the PHITS radiation transport code and compared to a portion of measurements from the Radiation Assessment Detector of the Mars Science Laboratory. Particle spectra measured between 15 November 2015 and 15 January 2016 and PHITS model results calculated for this time period are compared. Results indicate good agreement between simulated dose rates, proton, neutron and gamma spectra. This work was originally presented at the 1st Mars Space Radiation Modeling Workshop held in 2016 in Boulder, CO.

Radiation transport simulation of the Martian GCR surface flux and dose estimation using spherical geometry in PHITS compared to MSL-RAD measurements.

PubMed

Flores-McLaughlin, John

2017-08-01

Planetary bodies and spacecraft are predominantly exposed to isotropic radiation environments that are subject to transport and interaction in various material compositions and geometries. Specifically, the Martian surface radiation environment is composed of galactic cosmic radiation, secondary particles produced by their interaction with the Martian atmosphere, albedo particles from the Martian regolith and occasional solar particle events. Despite this complex physical environment with potentially significant locational and geometric dependencies, computational resources often limit radiation environment calculations to a one-dimensional or slab geometry specification. To better account for Martian geometry, spherical volumes with respective Martian material densities are adopted in this model. This physical description is modeled with the PHITS radiation transport code and compared to a portion of measurements from the Radiation Assessment Detector of the Mars Science Laboratory. Particle spectra measured between 15 November 2015 and 15 January 2016 and PHITS model results calculated for this time period are compared. Results indicate good agreement between simulated dose rates, proton, neutron and gamma spectra. This work was originally presented at the 1st Mars Space Radiation Modeling Workshop held in 2016 in Boulder, CO. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

In vitro cell irradiation systems based on 210Po alpha source: construction and characterisation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szabo, J.; Feher, I.; Palfalvi, J.; Balashazy, I.; Dam, A. M.; Polonyi, I.; Bogdandi, E. N.

2002-01-01

One way of studying the risk to human health of low-level radiation exposure is to make biological experiments on living cell cultures. Two 210Po alpha-particle emitting devices, with 0.5 and 100 MBq activity, were designed and constructed to perform such experiments irradiating monolayers of cells. Estimates of dose rate at the cell surface were obtained from measurements by a PIPS alpha-particle spectrometer and from calculations by the SRIM 2000, Monte Carlo charged particle transport code. Particle fluence area distributions were measured by solid state nuclear track detectors. The design and dosimetric characterisation of the devices are discussed. c2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modelling of aircrew radiation exposure during solar particle events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al Anid, Hani Khaled

In 1990, the International Commission on Radiological Protection recognized the occupational exposure of aircrew to cosmic radiation. In Canada, a Commercial and Business Aviation Advisory Circular was issued by Transport Canada suggesting that action should be taken to manage such exposure. In anticipation of possible regulations on exposure of Canadian-based aircrew in the near future, an extensive study was carried out at the Royal Military College of Canada to measure the radiation exposure during commercial flights. The radiation exposure to aircrew is a result of a complex mixed-radiation field resulting from Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs). Supernova explosions and active galactic nuclei are responsible for GCRs which consist of 90% protons, 9% alpha particles, and 1% heavy nuclei. While they have a fairly constant fluence rate, their interaction with the magnetic field of the Earth varies throughout the solar cycles, which has a period of approximately 11 years. SEPs are highly sporadic events that are associated with solar flares and coronal mass ejections. This type of exposure may be of concern to certain aircrew members, such as pregnant flight crew, for which the annual effective dose is limited to 1 mSv over the remainder of the pregnancy. The composition of SEPs is very similar to GCRs, in that they consist of mostly protons, some alpha particles and a few heavy nuclei, but with a softer energy spectrum. An additional factor when analysing SEPs is the effect of flare anisotropy. This refers to the way charged particles are transported through the Earth's magnetosphere in an anisotropic fashion. Solar flares that are fairly isotropic produce a uniform radiation exposure for areas that have similar geomagnetic shielding, while highly anisotropic events produce variable exposures at different locations on the Earth. Studies of neutron monitor count rates from detectors sharing similar geomagnetic shielding properties show a very different response during anisotropic events, leading to variations in aircrew radiation doses that may be significant for dose assessment. To estimate the additional exposure due to solar flares, a model was developed using a Monte-Carlo radiation transport code, MCNPX. The model transports an extrapolated particle spectrum based on satellite measurements through the atmosphere using the MCNPX analysis. This code produces the estimated flux at a specific altitude where radiation dose conversion coefficients are applied to convert the particle flux into effective and ambient dose-equivalent rates. A cut-off rigidity model accounts for the shielding effects of the Earth's magnetic field. Comparisons were made between the model predictions and actual flight measurements taken with various types of instruments used to measure the mixed radiation field during Ground Level Enhancements 60 and 65. An anisotropy analysis that uses neutron monitor responses and the pitch angle distribution of energetic solar particles was used to identify particle anisotropy for a solar event in December 2006. In anticipation of future commercial use, a computer code has been developed to implement the radiation dose assessment model for routine analysis. Keywords: Radiation Dosimetry, Radiation Protection, Space Physics.

Tango

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parker, Jeffrey

Tango enables the accelerated numerical solution of the multiscale problem of self-consistent transport and turbulence. Fast turbulence results in fluxes of heat and particles that slowly change the mean profiles of temperature and density. The fluxes are computed by separate turbulence simulation codes; Tang solves for the self-consistent change in mean temperature or density given those fluxes.

New approach to description of (d,xn) spectra at energies below 50 MeV in Monte Carlo simulation by intra-nuclear cascade code with Distorted Wave Born Approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashimoto, S.; Iwamoto, Y.; Sato, T.; Niita, K.; Boudard, A.; Cugnon, J.; David, J.-C.; Leray, S.; Mancusi, D.

2014-08-01

A new approach to describing neutron spectra of deuteron-induced reactions in the Monte Carlo simulation for particle transport has been developed by combining the Intra-Nuclear Cascade of Liège (INCL) and the Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA) calculation. We incorporated this combined method into the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) and applied it to estimate (d,xn) spectra on natLi, 9Be, and natC targets at incident energies ranging from 10 to 40 MeV. Double differential cross sections obtained by INCL and DWBA successfully reproduced broad peaks and discrete peaks, respectively, at the same energies as those observed in experimental data. Furthermore, an excellent agreement was observed between experimental data and PHITS-derived results using the combined method in thick target neutron yields over a wide range of neutron emission angles in the reactions. We also applied the new method to estimate (d,xp) spectra in the reactions, and discussed the validity for the proton emission spectra.

The linear Boltzmann equation in slab geometry - Development and verification of a reliable and efficient solution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stamnes, K.; Lie-Svendsen, O.; Rees, M. H.

1991-01-01

The linear Boltzmann equation can be cast in a form mathematically identical to the radiation-transport equation. A multigroup procedure is used to reduce the energy (or velocity) dependence of the transport equation to a series of one-speed problems. Each of these one-speed problems is equivalent to the monochromatic radiative-transfer problem, and existing software is used to solve this problem in slab geometry. The numerical code conserves particles in elastic collisions. Generic examples are provided to illustrate the applicability of this approach. Although this formalism can, in principle, be applied to a variety of test particle or linearized gas dynamics problems, it is particularly well-suited to study the thermalization of suprathermal particles interacting with a background medium when the thermal motion of the background cannot be ignored. Extensions of the formalism to include external forces and spherical geometry are also feasible.

GPU accelerated simulations of 3D deterministic particle transport using discrete ordinates method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Chunye; Liu, Jie; Chi, Lihua; Huang, Haowei; Fang, Jingyue; Gong, Zhenghu

2011-07-01

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), originally developed for real-time, high-definition 3D graphics in computer games, now provides great faculty in solving scientific applications. The basis of particle transport simulation is the time-dependent, multi-group, inhomogeneous Boltzmann transport equation. The numerical solution to the Boltzmann equation involves the discrete ordinates ( Sn) method and the procedure of source iteration. In this paper, we present a GPU accelerated simulation of one energy group time-independent deterministic discrete ordinates particle transport in 3D Cartesian geometry (Sweep3D). The performance of the GPU simulations are reported with the simulations of vacuum boundary condition. The discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the GPU implementation, the simulation on multi GPUs, the programming effort and code portability are also reported. The results show that the overall performance speedup of one NVIDIA Tesla M2050 GPU ranges from 2.56 compared with one Intel Xeon X5670 chip to 8.14 compared with one Intel Core Q6600 chip for no flux fixup. The simulation with flux fixup on one M2050 is 1.23 times faster than on one X5670.

Biological dose estimation for charged-particle therapy using an improved PHITS code coupled with a microdosimetric kinetic model.

PubMed

Sato, Tatsuhiko; Kase, Yuki; Watanabe, Ritsuko; Niita, Koji; Sihver, Lembit

2009-01-01

Microdosimetric quantities such as lineal energy, y, are better indexes for expressing the RBE of HZE particles in comparison to LET. However, the use of microdosimetric quantities in computational dosimetry is severely limited because of the difficulty in calculating their probability densities in macroscopic matter. We therefore improved the particle transport simulation code PHITS, providing it with the capability of estimating the microdosimetric probability densities in a macroscopic framework by incorporating a mathematical function that can instantaneously calculate the probability densities around the trajectory of HZE particles with a precision equivalent to that of a microscopic track-structure simulation. A new method for estimating biological dose, the product of physical dose and RBE, from charged-particle therapy was established using the improved PHITS coupled with a microdosimetric kinetic model. The accuracy of the biological dose estimated by this method was tested by comparing the calculated physical doses and RBE values with the corresponding data measured in a slab phantom irradiated with several kinds of HZE particles. The simulation technique established in this study will help to optimize the treatment planning of charged-particle therapy, thereby maximizing the therapeutic effect on tumors while minimizing unintended harmful effects on surrounding normal tissues.

Effects of Hot-Spot Geometry on Backscattering and Down-Scattering Neutron Spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamed, Z. L.; Mannion, O. M.; Forrest, C. J.; Knauer, J. P.; Anderson, K. S.; Radha, P. B.

2017-10-01

The measured neutron spectrum produced by a fusion experiment plays a key role in inferring observable quantities. One important observable is the areal density of an implosion, which is inferred by measuring the scattering of neutrons. This project seeks to use particle-transport simulations to model the effects of hot-spot geometry on backscattering and down-scattering neutron spectra along different lines of sight. Implosions similar to those conducted at the Laboratory of Laser Energetics are modeled by neutron transport through a DT plasma and a DT ice shell using the particle transport codes MCNP and IRIS. Effects of hot-spot geometry are obtained by ``detecting'' scattered neutrons along different lines of sight. This process is repeated for various hot-spot geometries representing known shape distortions between the hot spot and the shell. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

Numerical verification of bounce-harmonic resonances in neoclassical toroidal viscosity for tokamaks.

PubMed

Kim, Kimin; Park, Jong-Kyu; Boozer, Allen H

2013-05-03

This Letter presents the first numerical verification for the bounce-harmonic (BH) resonance phenomena of the neoclassical transport in a tokamak perturbed by nonaxisymmetric magnetic fields. The BH resonances were predicted by analytic theories of neoclassical toroidal viscosity (NTV), as the parallel and perpendicular drift motions can be resonant and result in a great enhancement of the radial momentum transport. A new drift-kinetic δf guiding-center particle code, POCA, clearly verified that the perpendicular drift motions can reduce the transport by phase-mixing, but in the BH resonances the motions can form closed orbits and particles radially drift out fast. The POCA calculations on resulting NTV torque are largely consistent with analytic calculations, and show that the BH resonances can easily dominate the NTV torque when a plasma rotates in the perturbed tokamak and therefore, is a critical physics for predicting the rotation and stability in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.

The charged particle radiation environment on Mars measured by MSL/RAD from November 15, 2015 to January 15, 2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehresmann, Bent; Zeitlin, Cary J.; Hassler, Donald M.; Matthiä, Daniel; Guo, Jingnan; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Appel, Jan K.; Brinza, David E.; Rafkin, Scot C. R.; Böttcher, Stephan I.; Burmeister, Sönke; Lohf, Henning; Martin, Cesar; Böhm, Eckart; Reitz, Günther

2017-08-01

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on board the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover has been measuring the radiation environment in Gale crater on Mars since August, 2012. These first in-situ measurements provide an important data set for assessing the radiation-associated health risks for future manned missions to Mars. Mainly, the radiation field on the Martian surface stems from Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and secondary particles created by the GCRs' interactions with the Martian atmosphere and soil. RAD is capable of measuring differential particle fluxes for lower-energy ions and isotopes of hydrogen and helium (up to hundreds of MeV/nuc). Additionally, RAD also measures integral particle fluxes for higher energies of these ions. Besides providing insight on the current Martian radiation environment, these fluxes also present an essential input for particle transport codes that are used to model the radiation to be encountered during future manned missions to Mars. Comparing simulation results with actual ground-truth measurements helps to validate these transport codes and identify potential areas of improvements in the underlying physics of these codes. At the First Mars Radiation Modeling Workshop (June 2016 in Boulder, CO), different groups of modelers were asked to calculate the Martian surface radiation environment for the time of November 15, 2015 to January 15, 2016. These model results can then be compared with in-situ measurements of MSL/RAD conducted during the same time frame. In this publication, we focus on presenting the charged particle fluxes measured by RAD between November 15, 2015 and January 15, 2016, providing the necessary data set for the comparison to model outputs from the modeling workshop. We also compare the fluxes to initial GCR intensities, as well as to RAD measurements from an earlier time period (August 2012 to January 2013). Furthermore, we describe how changes and updates in RAD on board processing and the on ground analysis tools effect and improve the flux calculations. An in-depth comparison of modeling results from the workshop and RAD fluxes of this publication is presented elsewhere in this issue (Matthiä et al., 2017).

Numerical Experiments on Advective Transport in Large Three-Dimensional Discrete Fracture Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makedonska, N.; Painter, S. L.; Karra, S.; Gable, C. W.

2013-12-01

Modeling of flow and solute transport in discrete fracture networks is an important approach for understanding the migration of contaminants in impermeable hard rocks such as granite, where fractures provide dominant flow and transport pathways. The discrete fracture network (DFN) model attempts to mimic discrete pathways for fluid flow through a fractured low-permeable rock mass, and may be combined with particle tracking simulations to address solute transport. However, experience has shown that it is challenging to obtain accurate transport results in three-dimensional DFNs because of the high computational burden and difficulty in constructing a high-quality unstructured computational mesh on simulated fractures. An integrated DFN meshing [1], flow, and particle tracking [2] simulation capability that enables accurate flow and particle tracking simulation on large DFNs has recently been developed. The new capability has been used in numerical experiments on advective transport in large DFNs with tens of thousands of fractures and millions of computational cells. The modeling procedure starts from the fracture network generation using a stochastic model derived from site data. A high-quality computational mesh is then generated [1]. Flow is then solved using the highly parallel PFLOTRAN [3] code. PFLOTRAN uses the finite volume approach, which is locally mass conserving and thus eliminates mass balance problems during particle tracking. The flow solver provides the scalar fluxes on each control volume face. From the obtained fluxes the Darcy velocity is reconstructed for each node in the network [4]. Velocities can then be continuously interpolated to any point in the domain of interest, thus enabling random walk particle tracking. In order to describe the flow field on fractures intersections, the control volume cells on intersections are split into four planar polygons, where each polygon corresponds to a piece of a fracture near the intersection line. Thus, computational nodes lying on fracture intersections have four associated velocities, one on each side of the intersection in each fracture plane [2]. This information is used to route particles arriving at the fracture intersection to the appropriate downstream fracture segment. Verified for small DFNs, the new simulation capability allows accurate particle tracking on more realistic representations of fractured rock sites. In the current work we focus on travel time statistics and spatial dispersion and show numerical results in DFNs of different sizes, fracture densities, and transmissivity distributions. [1] Hyman J.D., Gable C.W., Painter S.L., Automated meshing of stochastically generated discrete fracture networks, Abstract H33G-1403, 2011 AGU, San Francisco, CA, 5-9 Dec. [2] N. Makedonska, S. L. Painter, T.-L. Hsieh, Q.M. Bui, and C. W. Gable., Development and verification of a new particle tracking capability for modeling radionuclide transport in discrete fracture networks, Abstract, 2013 IHLRWM, Albuquerque, NM, Apr. 28 - May 3. [3] Lichtner, P.C., Hammond, G.E., Bisht, G., Karra, S., Mills, R.T., and Kumar, J. (2013) PFLOTRAN User's Manual: A Massively Parallel Reactive Flow Code. [4] Painter S.L., Gable C.W., Kelkar S., Pathline tracing on fully unstructured control-volume grids, Computational Geosciences, 16 (4), 2012, 1125-1134.

2013 R&D 100 Award: DNATrax could revolutionize air quality detection and tracking

ScienceCinema

Farquar, George

2018-01-16

A team of LLNL scientists and engineers has developed a safe and versatile material, known as DNA Tagged Reagents for Aerosol Experiments (DNATrax), that can be used to reliably and rapidly diagnose airflow patterns and problems in both indoor and outdoor venues. Until DNATrax particles were developed, no rapid or safe way existed to validate air transport models with realistic particles in the range of 1-10 microns. Successful DNATrax testing was conducted at the Pentagon in November 2012 in conjunction with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. This study enhanced the team's understanding of indoor ventilation environments created by heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. DNATrax are particles comprised of sugar and synthetic DNA that serve as a bar code for the particle. The potential for creating unique bar-coded particles is virtually unlimited, thus allowing for simultaneous and repeated releases, which dramatically reduces the costs associated with conducting tests for contaminants. Among the applications for the new material are indoor air quality detection, for homes, offices, ships and airplanes; urban particulate tracking, for subway stations, train stations, and convention centers; environmental release tracking; and oil and gas uses, including fracking, to better track fluid flow.

2013 R&D 100 Award: DNATrax could revolutionize air quality detection and tracking

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farquar, George

A team of LLNL scientists and engineers has developed a safe and versatile material, known as DNA Tagged Reagents for Aerosol Experiments (DNATrax), that can be used to reliably and rapidly diagnose airflow patterns and problems in both indoor and outdoor venues. Until DNATrax particles were developed, no rapid or safe way existed to validate air transport models with realistic particles in the range of 1-10 microns. Successful DNATrax testing was conducted at the Pentagon in November 2012 in conjunction with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. This study enhanced the team's understanding of indoor ventilation environments created by heating, ventilationmore » and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. DNATrax are particles comprised of sugar and synthetic DNA that serve as a bar code for the particle. The potential for creating unique bar-coded particles is virtually unlimited, thus allowing for simultaneous and repeated releases, which dramatically reduces the costs associated with conducting tests for contaminants. Among the applications for the new material are indoor air quality detection, for homes, offices, ships and airplanes; urban particulate tracking, for subway stations, train stations, and convention centers; environmental release tracking; and oil and gas uses, including fracking, to better track fluid flow.« less

Beam Dynamics in an Electron Lens with the Warp Particle-in-cell Code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stancari, Giulio; Moens, Vince; Redaelli, Stefano

2014-07-01

Electron lenses are a mature technique for beam manipulation in colliders and storage rings. In an electron lens, a pulsed, magnetically confined electron beam with a given current-density profile interacts with the circulating beam to obtain the desired effect. Electron lenses were used in the Fermilab Tevatron collider for beam-beam compensation, for abort-gap clearing, and for halo scraping. They will be used in RHIC at BNL for head-on beam-beam compensation, and their application to the Large Hadron Collider for halo control is under development. At Fermilab, electron lenses will be implemented as lattice elements for nonlinear integrable optics. The designmore » of electron lenses requires tools to calculate the kicks and wakefields experienced by the circulating beam. We use the Warp particle-in-cell code to study generation, transport, and evolution of the electron beam. For the first time, a fully 3-dimensional code is used for this purpose.« less

Simulation the spatial resolution of an X-ray imager based on zinc oxide nanowires in anodic aluminium oxide membrane by using MCNP and OPTICS Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samarin, S. N.; Saramad, S.

2018-05-01

The spatial resolution of a detector is a very important parameter for x-ray imaging. A bulk scintillation detector because of spreading of light inside the scintillator does't have a good spatial resolution. The nanowire scintillators because of their wave guiding behavior can prevent the spreading of light and can improve the spatial resolution of traditional scintillation detectors. The zinc oxide (ZnO) scintillator nanowire, with its simple construction by electrochemical deposition in regular hexagonal structure of Aluminum oxide membrane has many advantages. The three dimensional absorption of X-ray energy in ZnO scintillator is simulated by a Monte Carlo transport code (MCNP). The transport, attenuation and scattering of the generated photons are simulated by a general-purpose scintillator light response simulation code (OPTICS). The results are compared with a previous publication which used a simulation code of the passage of particles through matter (Geant4). The results verify that this scintillator nanowire structure has a spatial resolution less than one micrometer.

GUI to Facilitate Research on Biological Damage from Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cucinotta, Frances A.; Ponomarev, Artem Lvovich

2010-01-01

A graphical-user-interface (GUI) computer program has been developed to facilitate research on the damage caused by highly energetic particles and photons impinging on living organisms. The program brings together, into one computational workspace, computer codes that have been developed over the years, plus codes that will be developed during the foreseeable future, to address diverse aspects of radiation damage. These include codes that implement radiation-track models, codes for biophysical models of breakage of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by radiation, pattern-recognition programs for extracting quantitative information from biological assays, and image-processing programs that aid visualization of DNA breaks. The radiation-track models are based on transport models of interactions of radiation with matter and solution of the Boltzmann transport equation by use of both theoretical and numerical models. The biophysical models of breakage of DNA by radiation include biopolymer coarse-grained and atomistic models of DNA, stochastic- process models of deposition of energy, and Markov-based probabilistic models of placement of double-strand breaks in DNA. The program is designed for use in the NT, 95, 98, 2000, ME, and XP variants of the Windows operating system.

Analysis of multi-fragmentation reactions induced by relativistic heavy ions using the statistical multi-fragmentation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogawa, T.; Sato, T.; Hashimoto, S.; Niita, K.

2013-09-01

The fragmentation cross-sections of relativistic energy nucleus-nucleus collisions were analyzed using the statistical multi-fragmentation model (SMM) incorporated with the Monte-Carlo radiation transport simulation code particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS). Comparison with the literature data showed that PHITS-SMM reproduces fragmentation cross-sections of heavy nuclei at relativistic energies better than the original PHITS by up to two orders of magnitude. It was also found that SMM does not degrade the neutron production cross-sections in heavy ion collisions or the fragmentation cross-sections of light nuclei, for which SMM has not been benchmarked. Therefore, SMM is a robust model that can supplement conventional nucleus-nucleus reaction models, enabling more accurate prediction of fragmentation cross-sections.

Multitasking the three-dimensional transport code TORT on CRAY platforms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Azmy, Y.Y.; Barnett, D.A.; Burre, C.A.

1996-04-01

The multitasking options in the three-dimensional neutral particle transport code TORT originally implemented for Cray`s CTSS operating system are revived and extended to run on Cray Y/MP and C90 computers using the UNICOS operating system. These include two coarse-grained domain decompositions; across octants, and across directions within an octant, termed Octant Parallel (OP), and Direction Parallel (DP), respectively. Parallel performance of the DP is significantly enhanced by increasing the task grain size and reducing load imbalance via dynamic scheduling of the discrete angles among the participating tasks. Substantial Wall Clock speedup factors, approaching 4.5 using 8 tasks, have been measuredmore » in a time-sharing environment, and generally depend on the test problem specifications, number of tasks, and machine loading during execution.« less

Transport modeling of convection dominated helicon discharges in Proto-MPEX with the B2.5-Eirene code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owen, L. W.; Rapp, J.; Canik, J.; Lore, J. D.

2017-11-01

Data-constrained interpretative analyses of plasma transport in convection dominated helicon discharges in the Proto-MPEX linear device, and predictive calculations with additional Electron Cyclotron Heating/Electron Bernstein Wave (ECH/EBW) heating, are reported. The B2.5-Eirene code, in which the multi-fluid plasma code B2.5 is coupled to the kinetic Monte Carlo neutrals code Eirene, is used to fit double Langmuir probe measurements and fast camera data in front of a stainless-steel target. The absorbed helicon and ECH power (11 kW) and spatially constant anomalous transport coefficients that are deduced from fitting of the probe and optical data are additionally used for predictive simulations of complete axial distributions of the densities, temperatures, plasma flow velocities, particle and energy fluxes, and possible effects of alternate fueling and pumping scenarios. The somewhat hollow electron density and temperature radial profiles from the probe data suggest that Trivelpiece-Gould wave absorption is the dominant helicon electron heating source in the discharges analyzed here. There is no external ion heating, but the corresponding calculated ion temperature radial profile is not hollow. Rather it reflects ion heating by the electron-ion equilibration terms in the energy balance equations and ion radial transport resulting from the hollow density profile. With the absorbed power and the transport model deduced from fitting the sheath limited discharge data, calculated conduction limited higher recycling conditions were produced by reducing the pumping and increasing the gas fueling rate, resulting in an approximate doubling of the target ion flux and reduction of the target heat flux.

Fred: a GPU-accelerated fast-Monte Carlo code for rapid treatment plan recalculation in ion beam therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schiavi, A.; Senzacqua, M.; Pioli, S.; Mairani, A.; Magro, G.; Molinelli, S.; Ciocca, M.; Battistoni, G.; Patera, V.

2017-09-01

Ion beam therapy is a rapidly growing technique for tumor radiation therapy. Ions allow for a high dose deposition in the tumor region, while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. For this reason, the highest possible accuracy in the calculation of dose and its spatial distribution is required in treatment planning. On one hand, commonly used treatment planning software solutions adopt a simplified beam-body interaction model by remapping pre-calculated dose distributions into a 3D water-equivalent representation of the patient morphology. On the other hand, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, which explicitly take into account all the details in the interaction of particles with human tissues, are considered to be the most reliable tool to address the complexity of mixed field irradiation in a heterogeneous environment. However, full MC calculations are not routinely used in clinical practice because they typically demand substantial computational resources. Therefore MC simulations are usually only used to check treatment plans for a restricted number of difficult cases. The advent of general-purpose programming GPU cards prompted the development of trimmed-down MC-based dose engines which can significantly reduce the time needed to recalculate a treatment plan with respect to standard MC codes in CPU hardware. In this work, we report on the development of fred, a new MC simulation platform for treatment planning in ion beam therapy. The code can transport particles through a 3D voxel grid using a class II MC algorithm. Both primary and secondary particles are tracked and their energy deposition is scored along the trajectory. Effective models for particle-medium interaction have been implemented, balancing accuracy in dose deposition with computational cost. Currently, the most refined module is the transport of proton beams in water: single pencil beam dose-depth distributions obtained with fred agree with those produced by standard MC codes within 1-2% of the Bragg peak in the therapeutic energy range. A comparison with measurements taken at the CNAO treatment center shows that the lateral dose tails are reproduced within 2% in the field size factor test up to 20 cm. The tracing kernel can run on GPU hardware, achieving 10 million primary s-1 on a single card. This performance allows one to recalculate a proton treatment plan at 1% of the total particles in just a few minutes.

Validation of a multi-layer Green's function code for ion beam transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Steven; Tweed, John; Tripathi, Ram; Badavi, Francis F.; Miller, Jack; Zeitlin, Cary; Heilbronn, Lawrence

To meet the challenge of future deep space programs, an accurate and efficient engineering code for analyzing the shielding requirements against high-energy galactic heavy radiations is needed. In consequence, a new version of the HZETRN code capable of simulating high charge and energy (HZE) ions with either laboratory or space boundary conditions is currently under development. The new code, GRNTRN, is based on a Green's function approach to the solution of Boltzmann's transport equation and like its predecessor is deterministic in nature. The computational model consists of the lowest order asymptotic approximation followed by a Neumann series expansion with non-perturbative corrections. The physical description includes energy loss with straggling, nuclear attenuation, nuclear fragmentation with energy dispersion and down shift. Code validation in the laboratory environment is addressed by showing that GRNTRN accurately predicts energy loss spectra as measured by solid-state detectors in ion beam experiments with multi-layer targets. In order to validate the code with space boundary conditions, measured particle fluences are propagated through several thicknesses of shielding using both GRNTRN and the current version of HZETRN. The excellent agreement obtained indicates that GRNTRN accurately models the propagation of HZE ions in the space environment as well as in laboratory settings and also provides verification of the HZETRN propagator.

Delayed photo-emission model for beam optics codes

DOE PAGES

Jensen, Kevin L.; Petillo, John J.; Panagos, Dimitrios N.; ...

2016-11-22

Future advanced light sources and x-ray Free Electron Lasers require fast response from the photocathode to enable short electron pulse durations as well as pulse shaping, and so the ability to model delays in emission is needed for beam optics codes. The development of a time-dependent emission model accounting for delayed photoemission due to transport and scattering is given, and its inclusion in the Particle-in-Cell code MICHELLE results in changes to the pulse shape that are described. Furthermore, the model is applied to pulse elongation of a bunch traversing an rf injector, and to the smoothing of laser jitter onmore » a short pulse.« less

EBQ code: Transport of space-charge beams in axially symmetric devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, A. C.

1982-11-01

Such general-purpose space charge codes as EGUN, BATES, WODF, and TRANSPORT do not gracefully accommodate the simulation of relativistic space-charged beams propagating a long distance in axially symmetric devices where a high degree of cancellation has occurred between the self-magnetic and self-electric forces of the beam. The EBQ code was written specifically to follow high current beam particles where space charge is important in long distance flight in axially symmetric machines possessing external electric and magnetic field. EBQ simultaneously tracks all trajectories so as to allow procedures for charge deposition based on inter-ray separations. The orbits are treated in Cartesian geometry (position and momentum) with z as the independent variable. Poisson's equation is solved in cylindrical geometry on an orthogonal rectangular mesh. EBQ can also handle problems involving multiple ion species where the space charge from each must be included. Such problems arise in the design of ion sources where different charge and mass states are present.

Simulation of Charge Collection in Diamond Detectors Irradiated with Deuteron-Triton Neutron Sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Milocco, Alberto; Trkov, Andrej; Pillon, Mario

2011-12-13

Diamond-based neutron spectrometers exhibit outstanding properties such as radiation hardness, low sensitivity to gamma rays, fast response and high-energy resolution. They represent a very promising application of diamonds for plasma diagnostics in fusion devices. The measured pulse height spectrum is obtained from the collection of helium and beryllium ions produced by the reactions on {sup 12}C. An original code is developed to simulate the production and the transport of charged particles inside the diamond detector. The ion transport methodology is based on the well-known TRIM code. The reactions of interest are triggered using the ENDF/B-VII.0 nuclear data for the neutronmore » interactions on carbon. The model is implemented in the TALLYX subroutine of the MCNP5 and MCNPX codes. Measurements with diamond detectors in a {approx}14 MeV neutron field have been performed at the FNG (Rome, Italy) and IRMM (Geel, Belgium) facilities. The comparison of the experimental data with the simulations validates the proposed model.« less

Coupling molecular dynamics with lattice Boltzmann method based on the immersed boundary method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Jifu; Sinno, Talid; Diamond, Scott

2017-11-01

The study of viscous fluid flow coupled with rigid or deformable solids has many applications in biological and engineering problems, e.g., blood cell transport, drug delivery, and particulate flow. We developed a partitioned approach to solve this coupled Multiphysics problem. The fluid motion was solved by Palabos (Parallel Lattice Boltzmann Solver), while the solid displacement and deformation was simulated by LAMMPS (Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator). The coupling was achieved through the immersed boundary method (IBM). The code modeled both rigid and deformable solids exposed to flow. The code was validated with the classic problem of rigid ellipsoid particle orbit in shear flow, blood cell stretching test and effective blood viscosity, and demonstrated essentially linear scaling over 16 cores. An example of the fluid-solid coupling was given for flexible filaments (drug carriers) transport in a flowing blood cell suspensions, highlighting the advantages and capabilities of the developed code. NIH 1U01HL131053-01A1.

New methods in WARP, a particle-in-cell code for space-charge dominated beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grote, D., LLNL

1998-01-12

The current U.S. approach for a driver for inertial confinement fusion power production is a heavy-ion induction accelerator; high-current beams of heavy ions are focused onto the fusion target. The space-charge of the high-current beams affects the behavior more strongly than does the temperature (the beams are described as being ``space-charge dominated``) and the beams behave like non-neutral plasmas. The particle simulation code WARP has been developed and used to study the transport and acceleration of space-charge dominated ion beams in a wide range of applications, from basic beam physics studies, to ongoing experiments, to fusion driver concepts. WARP combinesmore » aspects of a particle simulation code and an accelerator code; it uses multi-dimensional, electrostatic particle-in-cell (PIC) techniques and has a rich mechanism for specifying the lattice of externally applied fields. There are both two- and three-dimensional versions, the former including axisymmetric (r-z) and transverse slice (x-y) models. WARP includes a number of novel techniques and capabilities that both enhance its performance and make it applicable to a wide range of problems. Some of these have been described elsewhere. Several recent developments will be discussed in this paper. A transverse slice model has been implemented with the novel capability of including bends, allowing more rapid simulation while retaining essential physics. An interface using Python as the interpreter layer instead of Basis has been developed. A parallel version of WARP has been developed using Python.« less

Comparative study of Monte Carlo particle transport code PHITS and nuclear data processing code NJOY for recoil cross section spectra under neutron irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwamoto, Yosuke; Ogawa, Tatsuhiko

2017-04-01

Because primary knock-on atoms (PKAs) create point defects and clusters in materials that are irradiated with neutrons, it is important to validate the calculations of recoil cross section spectra that are used to estimate radiation damage in materials. Here, the recoil cross section spectra of fission- and fusion-relevant materials were calculated using the Event Generator Mode (EGM) of the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) and also using the data processing code NJOY2012 with the nuclear data libraries TENDL2015, ENDF/BVII.1, and JEFF3.2. The heating number, which is the integral of the recoil cross section spectra, was also calculated using PHITS-EGM and compared with data extracted from the ACE files of TENDL2015, ENDF/BVII.1, and JENDL4.0. In general, only a small difference was found between the PKA spectra of PHITS + TENDL2015 and NJOY + TENDL2015. From analyzing the recoil cross section spectra extracted from the nuclear data libraries using NJOY2012, we found that the recoil cross section spectra were incorrect for 72Ge, 75As, 89Y, and 109Ag in the ENDF/B-VII.1 library, and for 90Zr and 55Mn in the JEFF3.2 library. From analyzing the heating number, we found that the data extracted from the ACE file of TENDL2015 for all nuclides were problematic in the neutron capture region because of incorrect data regarding the emitted gamma energy. However, PHITS + TENDL2015 can calculate PKA spectra and heating numbers correctly.

Ionizing Radiation Environments and Exposure Risks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, M. H. Y.

2015-12-01

Space radiation environments for historically large solar particle events (SPE) and galactic cosmic rays (GCR) are simulated to characterize exposures to radio-sensitive organs for missions to low-Earth orbit (LEO), moon, near-Earth asteroid, and Mars. Primary and secondary particles for SPE and GCR are transported through the respective atmospheres of Earth or Mars, space vehicle, and astronaut's body tissues using NASA's HZETRN/QMSFRG computer code. Space radiation protection methods, which are derived largely from ground-based methods recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) or International Commission on Radiological Protections (ICRP), are built on the principles of risk justification, limitation, and ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable). However, because of the large uncertainties in high charge and energy (HZE) particle radiobiology and the small population of space crews, NASA develops distinct methods to implement a space radiation protection program. For the fatal cancer risks, which have been considered the dominant risk for GCR, the NASA Space Cancer Risk (NSCR) model has been developed from recommendations by NCRP; and undergone external review by the National Research Council (NRC), NCRP, and through peer-review publications. The NSCR model uses GCR environmental models, particle transport codes describing the GCR modification by atomic and nuclear interactions in atmospheric shielding coupled with spacecraft and tissue shielding, and NASA-defined quality factors for solid cancer and leukemia risk estimates for HZE particles. By implementing the NSCR model, the exposure risks from various heliospheric conditions are assessed for the radiation environments for various-class mission types to understand architectures and strategies of human exploration missions and ultimately to contribute to the optimization of radiation safety and well-being of space crewmembers participating in long-term space missions.

Coupling LAMMPS with Lattice Boltzmann fluid solver: theory, implementation, and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Jifu; Sinno, Talid; Diamond, Scott

2016-11-01

Studying of fluid flow coupled with solid has many applications in biological and engineering problems, e.g., blood cell transport, particulate flow, drug delivery. We present a partitioned approach to solve the coupled Multiphysics problem. The fluid motion is solved by the Lattice Boltzmann method, while the solid displacement and deformation is simulated by Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS). The coupling is achieved through the immersed boundary method so that the expensive remeshing step is eliminated. The code can model both rigid and deformable solids. The code also shows very good scaling results. It was validated with classic problems such as migration of rigid particles, ellipsoid particle's orbit in shear flow. Examples of the applications in blood flow, drug delivery, platelet adhesion and rupture are also given in the paper. NIH.

Comparisons Between Model Predictions and Spectral Measurements of Charged and Neutral Particles on the Martian Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Myung-Hee Y.; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Zeitlin, Cary; Hassler, Donald M.; Ehresmann, Bent; Rafkin, Scot C. R.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Boettcher, Stephan; Boehm, Eckart; Guo, Jingnan;

Rates for neutron-capture reactions on tungsten isotopes in iron meteorites. [Abstract only

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Masarik, J.; Reedy, R. C.

1994-01-01

High-precision W isotopic analyses by Harper and Jacobsen indicate the W-182/W-183 ratio in the Toluca iron meteorite is shifted by -(3.0 +/- 0.9) x 10(exp -4) relative to a terrestrial standard. Possible causes of this shift are neutron-capture reactions on W during Toluca's approximately 600-Ma exposure to cosmic ray particles or radiogenic growth of W-182 from 9-Ma Hf-182 in the silicate portion of the Earth after removal of W to the Earth's core. Calculations for the rates of neutron-capture reactions on W isotopes were done to study the first possibility. The LAHET Code System (LCS) which consists of the Los Alamos High Energy Transport (LAHET) code and the Monte Carlo N-Particle(MCNP) transport code was used to numerically simulate the irradiation of the Toluca iron meteorite by galactic-cosmic-ray (GCR) particles and to calculate the rates of W(n, gamma) reactions. Toluca was modeled as a 3.9-m-radius sphere with the composition of a typical IA iron meteorite. The incident GCR protons and their interactions were modeled with LAHET, which also handled the interactions of neutrons with energies above 20 MeV. The rates for the capture of neutrons by W-182, W-183, and W-186 were calculated using the detailed library of (n, gamma) cross sections in MCNP. For this study of the possible effect of W(n, gamma) reactions on W isotope systematics, we consider the peak rates. The calculated maximum change in the normalized W-182/W-183 ratio due to neutron-capture reactions cannot account for more than 25% of the mass 182 deficit observed in Toluca W.

Stochastic analog neutron transport with TRIPOLI-4 and FREYA: Bayesian uncertainty quantification for neutron multiplicity counting

DOE PAGES

Verbeke, J. M.; Petit, O.

2016-06-01

From nuclear safeguards to homeland security applications, the need for the better modeling of nuclear interactions has grown over the past decades. Current Monte Carlo radiation transport codes compute average quantities with great accuracy and performance; however, performance and averaging come at the price of limited interaction-by-interaction modeling. These codes often lack the capability of modeling interactions exactly: for a given collision, energy is not conserved, energies of emitted particles are uncorrelated, and multiplicities of prompt fission neutrons and photons are uncorrelated. Many modern applications require more exclusive quantities than averages, such as the fluctuations in certain observables (e.g., themore » neutron multiplicity) and correlations between neutrons and photons. In an effort to meet this need, the radiation transport Monte Carlo code TRIPOLI-4® was modified to provide a specific mode that models nuclear interactions in a full analog way, replicating as much as possible the underlying physical process. Furthermore, the computational model FREYA (Fission Reaction Event Yield Algorithm) was coupled with TRIPOLI-4 to model complete fission events. As a result, FREYA automatically includes fluctuations as well as correlations resulting from conservation of energy and momentum.« less

Pellet Injection in ITER with ∇B-induced Drift Effect using TASK/TR and HPI2 Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kongkurd, R.; Wisitsorasak, A.

2017-09-01

The impact of pellet injection in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) are investigated using integrated predictive modeling codes TASK/TR and HPI2 . In the core, the plasma profiles are predicted by the TASK/TR code in which the core transport models consist of a combination of the MMM95 anomalous transport model and NCLASS neoclassical transport. The pellet ablation in the plasma is described using neutral gas shielding (NGS) model with inclusion of the ∇B-induced \\overrightarrow{E}× \\overrightarrow{B} drift of the ionized ablated pellet particles. It is found that the high-field-side injection can deposit the pellet mass deeper than the injection from the low-field-side due to the advantage of the ∇B-induced drift. When pellets with deuterium-tritium mixing ratio of unity are launched with speed of 200 m/s, radius of 3 mm and injected at frequency of 2 Hz, the line average density and the plasma stored energy are increased by 80% and 25% respectively. The pellet material is mostly deposited at the normalized minor radius of 0.5 from the edge.

Simulation of the alpha particle heating and the helium ash source in an International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor-like tokamak with an internal transport barrier

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ye, Lei, E-mail: lye@ipp.ac.cn; Guo, Wenfeng; Xiao, Xiaotao

2014-12-15

A guiding center orbit following code, which incorporates a set of non-singular coordinates for orbit integration, was developed and applied to investigate the alpha particle heating in an ITER-like tokamak with an internal transport barrier. It is found that a relatively large q (safety factor) value can significantly broaden the alpha heating profile in comparison with the local heating approximation; this broadening is due to the finite orbit width effects; when the orbit width is much smaller than the scale length of the alpha particle source profile, the heating profile agrees with the source profile, otherwise, the heating profile canmore » be significantly broadened. It is also found that the stagnation particles move to the magnetic axis during the slowing-down process, thus the effect of stagnation orbits is not beneficial to the helium ash removal. The source profile of helium ash is broadened in comparison with the alpha source profile, which is similar to the heating profile.« less

Nano-optical conveyor belt with waveguide-coupled excitation.

PubMed

Wang, Guanghui; Ying, Zhoufeng; Ho, Ho-pui; Huang, Ying; Zou, Ningmu; Zhang, Xuping

2016-02-01

We propose a plasmonic nano-optical conveyor belt for peristaltic transport of nano-particles. Instead of illumination from the top, waveguide-coupled excitation is used for trapping particles with a higher degree of precision and flexibility. Graded nano-rods with individual dimensions coded to have resonance at specific wavelengths are incorporated along the waveguide in order to produce spatially addressable hot spots. Consequently, by switching the excitation wavelength sequentially, particles can be transported to adjacent optical traps along the waveguide. The feasibility of this design is analyzed using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain and Maxwell stress tensor methods. Simulation results show that this system is capable of exciting addressable traps and moving particles in a peristaltic fashion with tens of nanometers resolution. It is the first, to the best of our knowledge, report about a nano-optical conveyor belt with waveguide-coupled excitation, which is very important for scalability and on-chip integration. The proposed approach offers a new design direction for integrated waveguide-based optical manipulation devices and its application in large scale lab-on-a-chip integration.

Inner Radiation Belt Representation of the Energetic Electron Environment: Model and Data Synthesis Using the Salammbo Radiation Belt Transport Code and Los Alamos Geosynchronous and GPS Energetic Particle Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Friedel, R. H. W.; Bourdarie, S.; Fennell, J.; Kanekal, S.; Cayton, T. E.

2004-01-01

The highly energetic electron environment in the inner magnetosphere (GEO inward) has received a lot of research attention in resent years, as the dynamics of relativistic electron acceleration and transport are not yet fully understood. These electrons can cause deep dielectric charging in any space hardware in the MEO to GEO region. We use a new and novel approach to obtain a global representation of the inner magnetospheric energetic electron environment, which can reproduce the absolute environment (flux) for any spacecraft orbit in that region to within a factor of 2 for the energy range of 100 KeV to 5 MeV electrons, for any levels of magnetospheric activity. We combine the extensive set of inner magnetospheric energetic electron observations available at Los Alamos with the physics based Salammbo transport code, using the data assimilation technique of "nudging". This in effect input in-situ data into the code and allows the diffusion mechanisms in the code to interpolate the data into regions and times of no data availability. We present here details of the methods used, both in the data assimilation process and in the necessary inter-calibration of the input data used. We will present sample runs of the model/data code and compare the results to test spacecraft data not used in the data assimilation process.

Draco,Version 6.x.x

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thompson, Kelly; Budge, Kent; Lowrie, Rob

2016-03-03

Draco is an object-oriented component library geared towards numerically intensive, radiation (particle) transport applications built for parallel computing hardware. It consists of semi-independent packages and a robust build system. The packages in Draco provide a set of components that can be used by multiple clients to build transport codes. The build system can also be extracted for use in clients. Software includes smart pointers, Design-by-Contract assertions, unit test framework, wrapped MPI functions, a file parser, unstructured mesh data structures, a random number generator, root finders and an angular quadrature component.

On neoclassical impurity transport in stellarator geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Regaña, J. M.; Kleiber, R.; Beidler, C. D.; Turkin, Y.; Maaßberg, H.; Helander, P.

2013-07-01

The impurity dynamics in stellarators has become an issue of moderate concern due to the inherent tendency of the impurities to accumulate in the core when the neoclassical ambipolar radial electric field points radially inwards (ion root regime). This accumulation can lead to collapse of the plasma due to radiative losses, and thus limit high performance plasma discharges in non-axisymmetric devices. A quantitative description of the neoclassical impurity transport is complicated by the breakdown of the assumption of small E × B drift and trapping due to the electrostatic potential variation on a flux surface \\tilde{\\Phi} compared with those due to the magnetic field gradient. This work examines the impact of this potential variation on neoclassical impurity transport in the Large Helical Device heliotron. It shows that the neoclassical impurity transport can be strongly affected by \\tilde{\\Phi} . The central numerical tool used is the δf particle in cell Monte Carlo code EUTERPE. The \\tilde{\\Phi} used in the calculations is provided by the neoclassical code GSRAKE. The possibility of obtaining a more general \\tilde{\\Phi} self-consistently with EUTERPE is also addressed and a preliminary calculation is presented.

Simulating Coupling Complexity in Space Plasmas: First Results from a new code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kryukov, I.; Zank, G. P.; Pogorelov, N. V.; Raeder, J.; Ciardo, G.; Florinski, V. A.; Heerikhuisen, J.; Li, G.; Petrini, F.; Shematovich, V. I.; Winske, D.; Shaikh, D.; Webb, G. M.; Yee, H. M.

2005-12-01

The development of codes that embrace 'coupling complexity' via the self-consistent incorporation of multiple physical scales and multiple physical processes in models has been identified by the NRC Decadal Survey in Solar and Space Physics as a crucial necessary development in simulation/modeling technology for the coming decade. The National Science Foundation, through its Information Technology Research (ITR) Program, is supporting our efforts to develop a new class of computational code for plasmas and neutral gases that integrates multiple scales and multiple physical processes and descriptions. We are developing a highly modular, parallelized, scalable code that incorporates multiple scales by synthesizing 3 simulation technologies: 1) Computational fluid dynamics (hydrodynamics or magneto-hydrodynamics-MHD) for the large-scale plasma; 2) direct Monte Carlo simulation of atoms/neutral gas, and 3) transport code solvers to model highly energetic particle distributions. We are constructing the code so that a fourth simulation technology, hybrid simulations for microscale structures and particle distributions, can be incorporated in future work, but for the present, this aspect will be addressed at a test-particle level. This synthesis we will provide a computational tool that will advance our understanding of the physics of neutral and charged gases enormously. Besides making major advances in basic plasma physics and neutral gas problems, this project will address 3 Grand Challenge space physics problems that reflect our research interests: 1) To develop a temporal global heliospheric model which includes the interaction of solar and interstellar plasma with neutral populations (hydrogen, helium, etc., and dust), test-particle kinetic pickup ion acceleration at the termination shock, anomalous cosmic ray production, interaction with galactic cosmic rays, while incorporating the time variability of the solar wind and the solar cycle. 2) To develop a coronal mass ejection and interplanetary shock propagation model for the inner and outer heliosphere, including, at a test-particle level, wave-particle interactions and particle acceleration at traveling shock waves and compression regions. 3) To develop an advanced Geospace General Circulation Model (GGCM) capable of realistically modeling space weather events, in particular the interaction with CMEs and geomagnetic storms. Furthermore, by implementing scalable run-time supports and sophisticated off- and on-line prediction algorithms, we anticipate important advances in the development of automatic and intelligent system software to optimize a wide variety of 'embedded' computations on parallel computers. Finally, public domain MHD and hydrodynamic codes had a transforming effect on space and astrophysics. We expect that our new generation, open source, public domain multi-scale code will have a similar transformational effect in a variety of disciplines, opening up new classes of problems to physicists and engineers alike.

Modelling of soot formation in laminar diffusion flames using a comprehensive CFD-PBE model with detailed gas-phase chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akridis, Petros; Rigopoulos, Stelios

2017-01-01

A discretised population balance equation (PBE) is coupled with an in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code in order to model soot formation in laminar diffusion flames. The unsteady Navier-Stokes, species and enthalpy transport equations and the spatially-distributed discretised PBE for the soot particles are solved in a coupled manner, together with comprehensive gas-phase chemistry and an optically thin radiation model, thus yielding the complete particle size distribution of the soot particles. Nucleation, surface growth and oxidation are incorporated into the PBE using an acetylene-based soot model. The potential of the proposed methodology is investigated by comparing with experimental results from the Santoro jet burner [Santoro, Semerjian and Dobbins, Soot particle measurements in diffusion flames, Combustion and Flame, Vol. 51 (1983), pp. 203-218; Santoro, Yeh, Horvath and Semerjian, The transport and growth of soot particles in laminar diffusion flames, Combustion Science and Technology, Vol. 53 (1987), pp. 89-115] for three laminar axisymmetric non-premixed ethylene flames: a non-smoking, an incipient smoking and a smoking flame. Overall, good agreement is observed between the numerical and the experimental results.

A calculation of the radiation environment on the Martian surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Wet, Wouter C.; Townsend, Lawrence W.

2017-08-01

In this work, the radiation environment on the Martian surface, as produced by galactic cosmic radiation incident on the atmosphere, is modeled using the Monte Carlo radiation transport code, High Energy Transport Code-Human Exploration and Development in Space (HETC-HEDS). This work is performed in participation of the 2016 Mars Space Radiation Modeling Workshop held in Boulder, CO, and is part of a larger collaborative effort to study the radiation environment on the surface of Mars. Calculated fluxes for neutrons, protons, deuterons, tritons, helions, alpha particles, and heavier ions up to Fe are compared with measurements taken by Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) instrument aboard the Mars Science Laboratory over a period of 2 months. The degree of agreement between measured and calculated surface flux values over the limited energy range of the measurements is found to vary significantly depending on the particle species or group. However, in many cases the fluxes predicted by HETC-HEDS fall well within the experimental uncertainty. The calculated results for alpha particles and the heavy ion groups Z = 3-5, Z = 6-8, Z = 9-13 and Z > 24 are in the best agreement, each with an average relative difference from measured data of less than 40%. Predictions for neutrons, protons, deuterons, tritons, Helium-3, and the heavy ion group Z = 14-24 have differences from the measurements, in some cases, greater than 50%. Future updates to the secondary light particle production methods in the nuclear model within HETC-HEDS are expected to improve light ion flux predictions.

Proton Dose Assessment to the Human Eye Using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNPX)

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-08-01

current treatments are applied using an infrared diode laser 10 (projecting a spot size of 2-3 mm), used for about 1 minute per exposure. The laser heats...1983. Shultis J, Faw R. An MCNP Primer. Available at: http:// ww2 .mne.ksu.edu/-jks/MCNPprmr.pdf. Accessed 3 January 2006. Stys P, Lopachin R

Human exposure to large solar particle events in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, L. W.; Wilson, J. W.; Shinn, J. L.; Curtis, S. B.

1992-01-01

Whenever energetic solar protons produced by solar particle events traverse bulk matter, they undergo various nuclear and atomic collision processes which significantly alter the physical characteristics and biologically important properties of their transported radiation fields. These physical interactions and their effect on the resulting radiation field within matter are described within the context of a recently developed deterministic, coupled neutron-proton space radiation transport computer code (BRYNTRN). Using this computer code, estimates of human exposure in interplanetary space, behind nominal (2 g/sq cm) and storm shelter (20 g/sq cm) thicknesses of aluminum shielding, are made for the large solar proton event of August 1972. Included in these calculations are estimates of cumulative exposures to the skin, ocular lens, and bone marrow as a function of time during the event. Risk assessment in terms of absorbed dose and dose equivalent is discussed for these organs. Also presented are estimates of organ exposures for hypothetical, worst-case flare scenarios. The rate of dose equivalent accumulation places this situation in an interesting region of dose rate between the very low values of usual concern in terrestrial radiation environments and the high-dose-rate values prevalent in radiation therapy.

Calculation of the Neoclassical Radial Electric Field using a Gyrokinetic δ f Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewandowski, J. L. V.; Boozer, A.; Williams, J.; Lin, Z.; Zarnstorff, M.

2000-10-01

The calculation of the radial electric field in stellarator devices is an important issue in neoclassical transport. The radial electric field, which is also related to the formation of transport barriers, can affect the anomalous transport. In stellarator configurations which depart only weakly from axi-symmetry, a direct Monte Carlo calculations of the radial electric is difficult due to the large statistical fluctuations. We present a novel method based on the evaluation of the perpendicular ( p_⊥ ) and parallel ( p_|| ) pressures. The variation of widehatp ≡ ( p_|| + p_⊥ ) /2 on the magnetic surface provides a low-noise calculation of the radial electric field. The low-noise method has been implemented in a three-dimensional gyro-kinetic particle code [1]. The calculation of the radial electric field for the National Compact Stellarator Experiment [2] will be presented. [ 1 ] Z. Lin, T. S. Hahm, W. W. Lee, W. M. Tang, and R. White Science 281, 1835 (1998). [ 2 ] A. Reiman et al, invited talk (this conference).

Review of the Microdosimetric Studies for High-Energy Charged Particle Beams Using a Tissue-Equivalent Proportional Counter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuda, Shuichi; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Ogawa, Tatsuhiko; Sasaki, Shinichi

Lineal energy (y) distributions were measured for various types of charged particles such as protons and iron, with kinetic energies of up to 500 MeV/u, via the use of a wall-less tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC). Radial dependencies of y distributions were also experimentally evaluated to investigate the track structures of protons, carbon, and iron beams. This paper reviews a series of measured data using the aforementioned TEPC as well as assesses the systematic verification of a microdosimetric calculation model of a y distribution incorporated into the particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS) and associated track structure models.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zardecki, A.

The effect of multiple scattering on the validity of the Beer-Lambert law is discussed for a wide range of particle-size parameters and optical depths. To predict the amount of received radiant power, appropriate correction terms are introduced. For particles larger than or comparable to the wavelength of radiation, the small-angle approximation is adequate; whereas for small densely packed particles, the diffusion theory is advantageously employed. These two approaches are used in the context of the problem of laser-beam propagation in a dense aerosol medium. In addition, preliminary results obtained by using a two-dimensional finite-element discrete-ordinates transport code are described. Multiple-scatteringmore » effects for laser propagation in fog, cloud, rain, and aerosol cloud are modeled.« less

TEMPEST simulations of the plasma transport in a single-null tokamak geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X. Q.; Bodi, K.; Cohen, R. H.; Krasheninnikov, S.; Rognlien, T. D.

2010-06-01

We present edge kinetic ion transport simulations of tokamak plasmas in magnetic divertor geometry using the fully nonlinear (full-f) continuum code TEMPEST. Besides neoclassical transport, a term for divergence of anomalous kinetic radial flux is added to mock up the effect of turbulent transport. To study the relative roles of neoclassical and anomalous transport, TEMPEST simulations were carried out for plasma transport and flow dynamics in a single-null tokamak geometry, including the pedestal region that extends across the separatrix into the scrape-off layer and private flux region. A series of TEMPEST simulations were conducted to investigate the transition of midplane pedestal heat flux and flow from the neoclassical to the turbulent limit and the transition of divertor heat flux and flow from the kinetic to the fluid regime via an anomalous transport scan and a density scan. The TEMPEST simulation results demonstrate that turbulent transport (as modelled by large diffusion) plays a similar role to collisional decorrelation of particle orbits and that the large turbulent transport (large diffusion) leads to an apparent Maxwellianization of the particle distribution. We also show the transition of parallel heat flux and flow at the entrance to the divertor plates from the fluid to the kinetic regime. For an absorbing divertor plate boundary condition, a non-half-Maxwellian is found due to the balance between upstream radial anomalous transport and energetic ion endloss.

A combined PHREEQC-2/parallel fracture model for the simulation of laminar/non-laminar flow and contaminant transport with reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masciopinto, Costantino; Volpe, Angela; Palmiotta, Domenico; Cherubini, Claudia

2010-09-01

A combination of a parallel fracture model with the PHREEQC-2 geochemical model was developed to simulate sequential flow and chemical transport with reactions in fractured media where both laminar and turbulent flows occur. The integration of non-laminar flow resistances in one model produced relevant effects on water flow velocities, thus improving model prediction capabilities on contaminant transport. The proposed conceptual model consists of 3D rock-blocks, separated by horizontal bedding plane fractures with variable apertures. Particle tracking solved the transport equations for conservative compounds and provided input for PHREEQC-2. For each cluster of contaminant pathways, PHREEQC-2 determined the concentration for mass-transfer, sorption/desorption, ion exchange, mineral dissolution/precipitation and biodegradation, under kinetically controlled reactive processes of equilibrated chemical species. Field tests have been performed for the code verification. As an example, the combined model has been applied to a contaminated fractured aquifer of southern Italy in order to simulate the phenol transport. The code correctly fitted the field available data and also predicted a possible rapid depletion of phenols as a result of an increased biodegradation rate induced by a simulated artificial injection of nitrates, upgradient to the sources.

Spectroscopic investigation of carbon migration with tungsten walls in ASDEX Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kallenbach, A.; Dux, R.; Harhausen, J.; Maggi, C. F.; Neu, R.; Pütterich, T.; Rohde, V.; Schmid, K.; Wolfrum, E.; ASDEX Upgrade Team

2007-06-01

Spectroscopic measurements of carbon fluxes in the mainly tungsten-coated ASDEX Upgrade tokamak are analysed with a particle transport and migration code. The transport parameters for deuterium and carbon are calibrated against flux measurements for different experimental conditions. Additional information is obtained from the re-appearance time of carbon after a boronisation. The code reproduces the experimental finding that despite a 85% (2006 campaign) tungsten coverage of the primary PFCs, the carbon concentration in the core and edge plasma is reduced by about a factor 2 only compared to full carbon PFCs. This behaviour is explained by the strong main chamber recycling of carbon in comparison with the loss flux to the inner divertor. The quick recovery of the carbon level in the plasma after a boronisation is explained by carbon influx from the outer divertor.

Data decomposition of Monte Carlo particle transport simulations via tally servers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Romano, Paul K.; Siegel, Andrew R.; Forget, Benoit

An algorithm for decomposing large tally data in Monte Carlo particle transport simulations is developed, analyzed, and implemented in a continuous-energy Monte Carlo code, OpenMC. The algorithm is based on a non-overlapping decomposition of compute nodes into tracking processors and tally servers. The former are used to simulate the movement of particles through the domain while the latter continuously receive and update tally data. A performance model for this approach is developed, suggesting that, for a range of parameters relevant to LWR analysis, the tally server algorithm should perform with minimal overhead on contemporary supercomputers. An implementation of the algorithmmore » in OpenMC is then tested on the Intrepid and Titan supercomputers, supporting the key predictions of the model over a wide range of parameters. We thus conclude that the tally server algorithm is a successful approach to circumventing classical on-node memory constraints en route to unprecedentedly detailed Monte Carlo reactor simulations.« less

Measurements of the neutral particle spectra on Mars by MSL/RAD from 2015-11-15 to 2016-01-15

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jingnan; Zeitlin, Cary; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert; Hassler, Donald M.; Köhler, Jan; Ehresmann, Bent; Böttcher, Stephan; Böhm, Eckart; Brinza, David E.

2017-08-01

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity, has been measuring the energetic charged and neutral particles and the radiation dose rate on the surface of Mars since the landing of the rover in August 2012. In contrast to charged particles, neutral particles (neutrons and γ-rays) are measured indirectly: the energy deposition spectra produced by neutral particles are complex convolutions of the incident particle spectra with the detector response functions. An inversion technique has been developed and applied to jointly unfold the deposited energy spectra measured in two scintillators of different types (CsI for high γ detection efficiency, and plastic for neutrons) to obtain the neutron and γ-ray spectra. This result is important for determining the biological impact of the Martian surface radiation contributed by neutrons, which interact with materials differently from the charged particles. These first in-situ measurements on Mars provide (1) an important reference for assessing the radiation-associated health risks for future manned missions to the red planet and (2) an experimental input for validating the particle transport codes used to model the radiation environments within spacecraft or on the surface of planets. Here we present neutral particle spectra as well as the corresponding dose and dose equivalent rates derived from RAD measurement during a period (November 15, 2015 to January 15, 2016) for which the surface particle spectra have been simulated via different transport models.

Real-time particle tracking for studying intracellular trafficking of pharmaceutical nanocarriers.

PubMed

Huang, Feiran; Watson, Erin; Dempsey, Christopher; Suh, Junghae

2013-01-01

Real-time particle tracking is a technique that combines fluorescence microscopy with object tracking and computing and can be used to extract quantitative transport parameters for small particles inside cells. Since the success of a nanocarrier can often be determined by how effectively it delivers cargo to the target organelle, understanding the complex intracellular transport of pharmaceutical nanocarriers is critical. Real-time particle tracking provides insight into the dynamics of the intracellular behavior of nanoparticles, which may lead to significant improvements in the design and development of novel delivery systems. Unfortunately, this technique is not often fully understood, limiting its implementation by researchers in the field of nanomedicine. In this chapter, one of the most complicated aspects of particle tracking, the mean square displacement (MSD) calculation, is explained in a simple manner designed for the novice particle tracker. Pseudo code for performing the MSD calculation in MATLAB is also provided. This chapter contains clear and comprehensive instructions for a series of basic procedures in the technique of particle tracking. Instructions for performing confocal microscopy of nanoparticle samples are provided, and two methods of determining particle trajectories that do not require commercial particle-tracking software are provided. Trajectory analysis and determination of the tracking resolution are also explained. By providing comprehensive instructions needed to perform particle-tracking experiments, this chapter will enable researchers to gain new insight into the intracellular dynamics of nanocarriers, potentially leading to the development of more effective and intelligent therapeutic delivery vectors.

Simulating nanoparticle transport in 3D geometries with MNM3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianco, Carlo; Tosco, Tiziana; Sethi, Rajandrea

2017-04-01

The application of NP transport to real cases, such as the design of a field-scale injection or the prediction of the long term fate of nanoparticles (NPs) in the environment, requires the support of mathematical tools to effectively assess the expected NP mobility at the field scale. In general, micro- and nanoparticle transport in porous media is controlled by particle-particle and particle-porous media interactions, which are in turn affected by flow velocity and pore water chemistry. During the injection, a strong perturbation of the flow field is induced around the well, and the NP transport is mainly controlled by the consequent sharp variation of pore-water velocity. Conversely, when the injection is stopped, the particles are transported solely due to the natural flow, and the influence of groundwater geochemistry (ionic strength, IS, in particular) on the particle behaviour becomes predominant. Pore-water velocity and IS are therefore important parameters influencing particle transport in groundwater, and have to be taken into account by the numerical codes used to simulate NP transport. Several analytical and numerical tools have been developed in recent years to model the transport of colloidal particles in simplified geometry and boundary conditions. For instance, the numerical tool MNMs was developed by the authors of this work to simulate colloidal transport in 1D Cartesian and radial coordinates. Only few simulation tools are instead available for 3D colloid transport, and none of them implements direct correlations accounting for variations of groundwater IS and flow velocity. In this work a new modelling tool, MNM3D (Micro and Nanoparticle transport Model in 3D geometries), is proposed for the simulation of injection and transport of nanoparticle suspensions in generic complex scenarios. MNM3D implements a new formulation to account for the simultaneous dependency of the attachment and detachment kinetic coefficients on groundwater IS and velocity. The software was developed in the framework of the FP7 European research project NanoRem and can be used to predict the NP mobility at different stages of a nanoremediation application, both in the planning and design stages (i.e. support the design of the injection plan), and later to predict the long-term particle mobility after injection (i.e. support the monitoring, final fate of the injected particles). In this work MNM3D an integrated experimental-modelling procedure is used to assess and predict the nanoparticle transport in porous media at different spatial and time scales: laboratory tests are performed and interpreted using MNMs to characterize the nanoparticle mobility and derive the constitutive equations describing the suspension behavior in groundwater. MNM3D is then used to predict the NP transport at the field scale. The procedure is here applied to two practical cases: a 3D pilot scale injection of CARBO-IRON® in a large scale flume carried out at the VEGAS facilities in the framework of the NanoRem project; the long term fate of an hypothetical release of nanoparticles into the environment from a landfill is simulated.

Varying stopping and self-focusing of intense proton beams as they heat solid density matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.; McGuffey, C.; Qiao, B.; Wei, M. S.; Grabowski, P. E.; Beg, F. N.

2016-04-01

Transport of intense proton beams in solid-density matter is numerically investigated using an implicit hybrid particle-in-cell code. Both collective effects and stopping for individual beam particles are included through the electromagnetic fields solver and stopping power calculations utilizing the varying local target conditions, allowing self-consistent transport studies. Two target heating mechanisms, the beam energy deposition and Ohmic heating driven by the return current, are compared. The dependences of proton beam transport in solid targets on the beam parameters are systematically analyzed, i.e., simulations with various beam intensities, pulse durations, kinetic energies, and energy distributions are compared. The proton beam deposition profile and ultimate target temperature show strong dependence on intensity and pulse duration. A strong magnetic field is generated from a proton beam with high density and tight beam radius, resulting in focusing of the beam and localized heating of the target up to hundreds of eV.

Varying stopping and self-focusing of intense proton beams as they heat solid density matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, J.; McGuffey, C., E-mail: cmcguffey@ucsd.edu; Qiao, B.

2016-04-15

Transport of intense proton beams in solid-density matter is numerically investigated using an implicit hybrid particle-in-cell code. Both collective effects and stopping for individual beam particles are included through the electromagnetic fields solver and stopping power calculations utilizing the varying local target conditions, allowing self-consistent transport studies. Two target heating mechanisms, the beam energy deposition and Ohmic heating driven by the return current, are compared. The dependences of proton beam transport in solid targets on the beam parameters are systematically analyzed, i.e., simulations with various beam intensities, pulse durations, kinetic energies, and energy distributions are compared. The proton beam depositionmore » profile and ultimate target temperature show strong dependence on intensity and pulse duration. A strong magnetic field is generated from a proton beam with high density and tight beam radius, resulting in focusing of the beam and localized heating of the target up to hundreds of eV.« less

A 3D smoothed particle hydrodynamics model for erosional dam-break floods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amicarelli, Andrea; Kocak, Bozhana; Sibilla, Stefano; Grabe, Jürgen

2017-11-01

A mesh-less smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model for bed-load transport on erosional dam-break floods is presented. This mixture model describes both the liquid phase and the solid granular material. The model is validated on the results from several experiments on erosional dam breaks. A comparison between the present model and a 2-phase SPH model for geotechnical applications (Gadget Soil; TUHH) is performed. A demonstrative 3D erosional dam break on complex topography is investigated. The present 3D mixture model is characterised by: no tuning parameter for the mixture viscosity; consistency with the Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow; ability to reproduce the evolution of the free surface and the bed-load transport layer; applicability to practical problems in civil engineering. The numerical developments of this study are represented by a new SPH scheme for bed-load transport, which is implemented in the SPH code SPHERA v.8.0 (RSE SpA), distributed as FOSS on GitHub.

Nonlinear electromagnetic gyrokinetic particle simulations with the electron hybrid model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishimura, Y.; Lin, Z.; Chen, L.; Hahm, T.; Wang, W.; Lee, W.

2006-10-01

The electromagnetic model with fluid electrons is successfully implemented into the global gyrokinetic code GTC. In the ideal MHD limit, shear Alfven wave oscillation and continuum damping is demonstrated. Nonlinear electromagnetic simulation is further pursued in the presence of finite ηi. Turbulence transport in the AITG unstable β regime is studied. This work is supported by Department of Energy (DOE) Grant DE-FG02-03ER54724, Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC02-04ER54796 (UCI), DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-76CH03073 (PPPL), and in part by SciDAC Center for Gyrokinetic Particle Simulation of Turbulent Transport in Burning Plasmas. Z. Lin, et al., Science 281, 1835 (1998). F. Zonca and L. Chen, Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 30, 2240 (1998); G. Zhao and L. Chen, Phys. Plasmas 9, 861 (2002).

Transport, Acceleration and Spatial Access of Solar Energetic Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borovikov, D.; Sokolov, I.; Effenberger, F.; Jin, M.; Gombosi, T. I.

2017-12-01

Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) are a major branch of space weather. Often driven by Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), SEPs have a very high destructive potential, which includes but is not limited to disrupting communication systems on Earth, inflicting harmful and potentially fatal radiation doses to crew members onboard spacecraft and, in extreme cases, to people aboard high altitude flights. However, currently the research community lacks efficient tools to predict such hazardous SEP events. Such a tool would serve as the first step towards improving humanity's preparedness for SEP events and ultimately its ability to mitigate their effects. The main goal of the presented research is to develop a computational tool that provides the said capabilities and meets the community's demand. Our model has the forecasting capability and can be the basis for operational system that will provide live information on the current potential threats posed by SEPs based on observations of the Sun. The tool comprises several numerical models, which are designed to simulate different physical aspects of SEPs. The background conditions in the interplanetary medium, in particular, the Coronal Mass Ejection driving the particle acceleration, play a defining role and are simulated with the state-of-the-art MHD solver, Block-Adaptive-Tree Solar-wind Roe-type Upwind Scheme (BATS-R-US). The newly developed particle code, Multiple-Field-Line-Advection Model for Particle Acceleration (M-FLAMPA), simulates the actual transport and acceleration of SEPs and is coupled to the MHD code. The special property of SEPs, the tendency to follow magnetic lines of force, is fully taken advantage of in the computational model, which substitutes a complicated 3-D model with a multitude of 1-D models. This approach significantly simplifies computations and improves the time performance of the overall model. Also, it plays an important role of mapping the affected region by connecting it with the origin of SEPs at the solar surface. Our model incorporates the effects of the near-Sun field line meandering that affects the perpendicular transport of SEPs and can explain the occurrence of large longitudinal spread observed even in the early phases of such events.

Implementation of tetrahedral-mesh geometry in Monte Carlo radiation transport code PHITS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furuta, Takuya; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Han, Min Cheol; Yeom, Yeon Soo; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Brown, Justin L.; Bolch, Wesley E.

2017-06-01

A new function to treat tetrahedral-mesh geometry was implemented in the particle and heavy ion transport code systems. To accelerate the computational speed in the transport process, an original algorithm was introduced to initially prepare decomposition maps for the container box of the tetrahedral-mesh geometry. The computational performance was tested by conducting radiation transport simulations of 100 MeV protons and 1 MeV photons in a water phantom represented by tetrahedral mesh. The simulation was repeated with varying number of meshes and the required computational times were then compared with those of the conventional voxel representation. Our results show that the computational costs for each boundary crossing of the region mesh are essentially equivalent for both representations. This study suggests that the tetrahedral-mesh representation offers not only a flexible description of the transport geometry but also improvement of computational efficiency for the radiation transport. Due to the adaptability of tetrahedrons in both size and shape, dosimetrically equivalent objects can be represented by tetrahedrons with a much fewer number of meshes as compared its voxelized representation. Our study additionally included dosimetric calculations using a computational human phantom. A significant acceleration of the computational speed, about 4 times, was confirmed by the adoption of a tetrahedral mesh over the traditional voxel mesh geometry.

Implementation of tetrahedral-mesh geometry in Monte Carlo radiation transport code PHITS.

PubMed

Furuta, Takuya; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Han, Min Cheol; Yeom, Yeon Soo; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Brown, Justin L; Bolch, Wesley E

2017-06-21

A new function to treat tetrahedral-mesh geometry was implemented in the particle and heavy ion transport code systems. To accelerate the computational speed in the transport process, an original algorithm was introduced to initially prepare decomposition maps for the container box of the tetrahedral-mesh geometry. The computational performance was tested by conducting radiation transport simulations of 100 MeV protons and 1 MeV photons in a water phantom represented by tetrahedral mesh. The simulation was repeated with varying number of meshes and the required computational times were then compared with those of the conventional voxel representation. Our results show that the computational costs for each boundary crossing of the region mesh are essentially equivalent for both representations. This study suggests that the tetrahedral-mesh representation offers not only a flexible description of the transport geometry but also improvement of computational efficiency for the radiation transport. Due to the adaptability of tetrahedrons in both size and shape, dosimetrically equivalent objects can be represented by tetrahedrons with a much fewer number of meshes as compared its voxelized representation. Our study additionally included dosimetric calculations using a computational human phantom. A significant acceleration of the computational speed, about 4 times, was confirmed by the adoption of a tetrahedral mesh over the traditional voxel mesh geometry.

The charged particle radiation environment on Mars measured by MSL/RAD from November 15, 2015 to January 15, 2016.

PubMed

Ehresmann, Bent; Zeitlin, Cary J; Hassler, Donald M; Matthiä, Daniel; Guo, Jingnan; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F; Appel, Jan K; Brinza, David E; Rafkin, Scot C R; Böttcher, Stephan I; Burmeister, Sönke; Lohf, Henning; Martin, Cesar; Böhm, Eckart; Reitz, Günther

2017-08-01

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on board the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover has been measuring the radiation environment in Gale crater on Mars since August, 2012. These first in-situ measurements provide an important data set for assessing the radiation-associated health risks for future manned missions to Mars. Mainly, the radiation field on the Martian surface stems from Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) and secondary particles created by the GCRs' interactions with the Martian atmosphere and soil. RAD is capable of measuring differential particle fluxes for lower-energy ions and isotopes of hydrogen and helium (up to hundreds of MeV/nuc). Additionally, RAD also measures integral particle fluxes for higher energies of these ions. Besides providing insight on the current Martian radiation environment, these fluxes also present an essential input for particle transport codes that are used to model the radiation to be encountered during future manned missions to Mars. Comparing simulation results with actual ground-truth measurements helps to validate these transport codes and identify potential areas of improvements in the underlying physics of these codes. At the First Mars Radiation Modeling Workshop (June 2016 in Boulder, CO), different groups of modelers were asked to calculate the Martian surface radiation environment for the time of November 15, 2015 to January 15, 2016. These model results can then be compared with in-situ measurements of MSL/RAD conducted during the same time frame. In this publication, we focus on presenting the charged particle fluxes measured by RAD between November 15, 2015 and January 15, 2016, providing the necessary data set for the comparison to model outputs from the modeling workshop. We also compare the fluxes to initial GCR intensities, as well as to RAD measurements from an earlier time period (August 2012 to January 2013). Furthermore, we describe how changes and updates in RAD on board processing and the on ground analysis tools effect and improve the flux calculations. An in-depth comparison of modeling results from the workshop and RAD fluxes of this publication is presented elsewhere in this issue (Matthiä et al., 2017). Copyright © 2017 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). All rights reserved.

Accelerating Pseudo-Random Number Generator for MCNP on GPU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Chunye; Liu, Jie; Chi, Lihua; Hu, Qingfeng; Deng, Li; Gong, Zhenghu

2010-09-01

Pseudo-random number generators (PRNG) are intensively used in many stochastic algorithms in particle simulations, artificial neural networks and other scientific computation. The PRNG in Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) requires long period, high quality, flexible jump and fast enough. In this paper, we implement such a PRNG for MCNP on NVIDIA's GTX200 Graphics Processor Units (GPU) using CUDA programming model. Results shows that 3.80 to 8.10 times speedup are achieved compared with 4 to 6 cores CPUs and more than 679.18 million double precision random numbers can be generated per second on GPU.

Global Particle-in-Cell Simulations of Mercury's Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schriver, D.; Travnicek, P. M.; Lapenta, G.; Amaya, J.; Gonzalez, D.; Richard, R. L.; Berchem, J.; Hellinger, P.

2017-12-01

Spacecraft observations of Mercury's magnetosphere have shown that kinetic ion and electron particle effects play a major role in the transport, acceleration, and loss of plasma within the magnetospheric system. Kinetic processes include reconnection, the breakdown of particle adiabaticity and wave-particle interactions. Because of the vast range in spatial scales involved in magnetospheric dynamics, from local electron Debye length scales ( meters) to solar wind/planetary magnetic scale lengths (tens to hundreds of planetary radii), fully self-consistent kinetic simulations of a global planetary magnetosphere remain challenging. Most global simulations of Earth's and other planet's magnetosphere are carried out using MHD, enhanced MHD (e.g., Hall MHD), hybrid, or a combination of MHD and particle in cell (PIC) simulations. Here, 3D kinetic self-consistent hybrid (ion particle, electron fluid) and full PIC (ion and electron particle) simulations of the solar wind interaction with Mercury's magnetosphere are carried out. Using the implicit PIC and hybrid simulations, Mercury's relatively small, but highly kinetic magnetosphere will be examined to determine how the self-consistent inclusion of electrons affects magnetic reconnection, particle transport and acceleration of plasma at Mercury. Also the spatial and energy profiles of precipitating magnetospheric ions and electrons onto Mercury's surface, which can strongly affect the regolith in terms of space weathering and particle outflow, will be examined with the PIC and hybrid codes. MESSENGER spacecraft observations are used both to initiate and validate the global kinetic simulations to achieve a deeper understanding of the role kinetic physics play in magnetospheric dynamics.

Monte Carlo Techniques for Nuclear Systems - Theory Lectures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Forrest B.

These are lecture notes for a Monte Carlo class given at the University of New Mexico. The following topics are covered: course information; nuclear eng. review & MC; random numbers and sampling; computational geometry; collision physics; tallies and statistics; eigenvalue calculations I; eigenvalue calculations II; eigenvalue calculations III; variance reduction; parallel Monte Carlo; parameter studies; fission matrix and higher eigenmodes; doppler broadening; Monte Carlo depletion; HTGR modeling; coupled MC and T/H calculations; fission energy deposition. Solving particle transport problems with the Monte Carlo method is simple - just simulate the particle behavior. The devil is in the details, however. Thesemore » lectures provide a balanced approach to the theory and practice of Monte Carlo simulation codes. The first lectures provide an overview of Monte Carlo simulation methods, covering the transport equation, random sampling, computational geometry, collision physics, and statistics. The next lectures focus on the state-of-the-art in Monte Carlo criticality simulations, covering the theory of eigenvalue calculations, convergence analysis, dominance ratio calculations, bias in Keff and tallies, bias in uncertainties, a case study of a realistic calculation, and Wielandt acceleration techniques. The remaining lectures cover advanced topics, including HTGR modeling and stochastic geometry, temperature dependence, fission energy deposition, depletion calculations, parallel calculations, and parameter studies. This portion of the class focuses on using MCNP to perform criticality calculations for reactor physics and criticality safety applications. It is an intermediate level class, intended for those with at least some familiarity with MCNP. Class examples provide hands-on experience at running the code, plotting both geometry and results, and understanding the code output. The class includes lectures & hands-on computer use for a variety of Monte Carlo calculations. Beginning MCNP users are encouraged to review LA-UR-09-00380, "Criticality Calculations with MCNP: A Primer (3nd Edition)" (available at http:// mcnp.lanl.gov under "Reference Collection") prior to the class. No Monte Carlo class can be complete without having students write their own simple Monte Carlo routines for basic random sampling, use of the random number generator, and simplified particle transport simulation.« less

Multi-channel transport experiments at Alcator C-Mod and comparison with gyrokinetic simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, A. E.; Howard, N. T.; Greenwald, M.

2013-05-15

Multi-channel transport experiments have been conducted in auxiliary heated (Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequencies) L-mode plasmas at Alcator C-Mod [Marmar and Alcator C-Mod Group, Fusion Sci. Technol. 51(3), 3261 (2007)]. These plasmas provide good diagnostic coverage for measurements of kinetic profiles, impurity transport, and turbulence (electron temperature and density fluctuations). In the experiments, a steady sawtoothing L-mode plasma with 1.2 MW of on-axis RF heating is established and density is scanned by 20%. Measured rotation profiles change from peaked to hollow in shape as density is increased, but electron density and impurity profiles remain peaked. Ion or electron heat fluxesmore » from the two plasmas are the same. The experimental results are compared directly to nonlinear gyrokinetic theory using synthetic diagnostics and the code GYRO [Candy and Waltz, J. Comput. Phys. 186, 545 (2003)]. We find good agreement with experimental ion heat flux, impurity particle transport, and trends in the fluctuation level ratio (T(tilde sign){sub e}/T{sub e})/(ñ{sub e}/n{sub e}), but underprediction of electron heat flux. We find that changes in momentum transport (rotation profiles changing from peaked to hollow) do not correlate with changes in particle transport, and also do not correlate with changes in linear mode dominance, e.g., Ion Temperature Gradient versus Trapped Electron Mode. The new C-Mod results suggest that the drives for momentum transport differ from drives for heat and particle transport. The experimental results are inconsistent with present quasilinear models, and the strong sensitivity of core rotation to density remains unexplained.« less

PYFLOW 2.0. A new open-source software for quantifying the impact and depositional properties of dilute pyroclastic density currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dioguardi, Fabio; Dellino, Pierfrancesco

2017-04-01

Dilute pyroclastic density currents (DPDC) are ground-hugging turbulent gas-particle flows that move down volcano slopes under the combined action of density contrast and gravity. DPDCs are dangerous for human lives and infrastructures both because they exert a dynamic pressure in their direction of motion and transport volcanic ash particles, which remain in the atmosphere during the waning stage and after the passage of a DPDC. Deposits formed by the passage of a DPDC show peculiar characteristics that can be linked to flow field variables with sedimentological models. Here we present PYFLOW_2.0, a significantly improved version of the code of Dioguardi and Dellino (2014) that was already extensively used for the hazard assessment of DPDCs at Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius (Italy). In the latest new version the code structure, the computation times and the data input method have been updated and improved. A set of shape-dependent drag laws have been implemented as to better estimate the aerodynamic drag of particles transported and deposited by the flow. A depositional model for calculating the deposition time and rate of the ash and lapilli layer formed by the pyroclastic flow has also been included. This model links deposit (e.g. componentry, grainsize) to flow characteristics (e.g. flow average density and shear velocity), the latter either calculated by the code itself or given in input by the user. The deposition rate is calculated by summing the contributions of each grainsize class of all components constituting the deposit (e.g. juvenile particles, crystals, etc.), which are in turn computed as a function of particle density, terminal velocity, concentration and deposition probability. Here we apply the concept of deposition probability, previously introduced for estimating the deposition rates of turbidity currents (Stow and Bowen, 1980), to DPDCs, although with a different approach, i.e. starting from what is observed in the deposit (e.g. the weight fractions ratios between the different grainsize classes). In this way, more realistic estimates of the deposition rate can be obtained, as the deposition probability of different grainsize constituting the DPDC deposit could be different and not necessarily equal to unity. Calculations of the deposition rates of large-scale experiments, previously computed with different methods, have been performed as experimental validation and are presented. Results of model application to DPDCs and turbidity currents will also be presented. Dioguardi, F, and P. Dellino (2014), PYFLOW: A computer code for the calculation of the impact parameters of Dilute Pyroclastic Density Currents (DPDC) based on field data, Powder Technol., 66, 200-210, doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2014.01.013 Stow, D. A. V., and A. J. Bowen (1980), A physical model for the transport and sorting of fine-grained sediment by turbidity currents, Sedimentology, 27, 31-46

A Deep Penetration Problem Calculation Using AETIUS:An Easy Modeling Discrete Ordinates Transport Code UsIng Unstructured Tetrahedral Mesh, Shared Memory Parallel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

KIM, Jong Woon; LEE, Young-Ouk

2017-09-01

As computing power gets better and better, computer codes that use a deterministic method seem to be less useful than those using the Monte Carlo method. In addition, users do not like to think about space, angles, and energy discretization for deterministic codes. However, a deterministic method is still powerful in that we can obtain a solution of the flux throughout the problem, particularly as when particles can barely penetrate, such as in a deep penetration problem with small detection volumes. Recently, a new state-of-the-art discrete-ordinates code, ATTILA, was developed and has been widely used in several applications. ATTILA provides the capabilities to solve geometrically complex 3-D transport problems by using an unstructured tetrahedral mesh. Since 2009, we have been developing our own code by benchmarking ATTILA. AETIUS is a discrete ordinates code that uses an unstructured tetrahedral mesh such as ATTILA. For pre- and post- processing, Gmsh is used to generate an unstructured tetrahedral mesh by importing a CAD file (*.step) and visualizing the calculation results of AETIUS. Using a CAD tool, the geometry can be modeled very easily. In this paper, we describe a brief overview of AETIUS and provide numerical results from both AETIUS and a Monte Carlo code, MCNP5, in a deep penetration problem with small detection volumes. The results demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of AETIUS for such calculations.

Magnetic Local Time dependency in modeling of the Earth radiation belts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrera, Damien; Maget, Vincent; Bourdarie, Sébastien; Rolland, Guy

2017-04-01

For many years, ONERA has been at the forefront of the modeling of the Earth radiation belts thanks to the Salammbô model, which accurately reproduces their dynamics over a time scale of the particles' drift period. This implies that we implicitly assume an homogeneous repartition of the trapped particles along a given drift shell. However, radiation belts are inhomogeneous in Magnetic Local Time (MLT). So, we need to take this new coordinate into account to model rigorously the dynamical structures, particularly induced during a geomagnetic storm. For this purpose, we are working on both the numerical resolution of the Fokker-Planck diffusion equation included in the model and on the MLT dependency of physic-based processes acting in the Earth radiation belts. The aim of this talk is first to present the 4D-equation used and the different steps we used to build Salammbô 4D model before focusing on physical processes taken into account in the Salammbô code, specially transport due to convection electric field. Firstly, we will briefly introduce the Salammbô 4D code developped by talking about its numerical scheme and physic-based processes modeled. Then, we will focus our attention on the impact of the outer boundary condition (localisation and spectrum) at lower L∗ shell by comparing modeling performed with geosynchronous data from LANL-GEO satellites. Finally, we will discuss the prime importance of the convection electric field to the radial and drift transport of low energy particles around the Earth.

Spacecraft Solar Particle Event (SPE) Shielding: Shielding Effectiveness as a Function of SPE Model as Determined with the FLUKA Radiation Transport Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koontz, S. L.; Atwell, W. A.; Reddell, B.; Rojdev, K.

2010-12-01

In the this paper, we report the results of modeling and simulation studies in which the radiation transport code FLUKA (FLUktuierende KAskade) is used to determine the changes in total ionizing dose (TID) and single-event effect (SEE) environments behind aluminum, polyethylene, carbon, and titanium shielding masses when the assumed form (i.e., Band or Exponential) of the solar particle event (SPE) kinetic energy spectra is changed. FLUKA simulations are fully three dimensional with an isotropic particle flux incident on a concentric spherical shell shielding mass and detector structure. FLUKA is a fully integrated and extensively verified Monte Carlo simulation package for the interaction and transport of high-energy particles and nuclei in matter. The effects are reported of both energetic primary protons penetrating the shield mass and secondary particle showers caused by energetic primary protons colliding with shielding mass nuclei. SPE heavy ion spectra are not addressed. Our results, in agreement with previous studies, show that use of the Exponential form of the event spectra can seriously underestimate spacecraft SPE TID and SEE environments in some, but not all, shielding mass cases. The SPE spectra investigated are taken from four specific SPEs that produced ground-level events (GLEs) during solar cycle 23 (1997-2008). GLEs are produced by highly energetic solar particle events (ESP), i.e., those that contain significant fluences of 700 MeV to 10 GeV protons. Highly energetic SPEs are implicated in increased rates of spacecraft anomalies and spacecraft failures. High-energy protons interact with Earth’s atmosphere via nuclear reaction to produce secondary particles, some of which are neutrons that can be detected at the Earth’s surface by the global neutron monitor network. GLEs are one part of the overall SPE resulting from a particular solar flare or coronal mass ejection event on the sun. The ESP part of the particle event, detected by spacecraft, is often associated with the arrival of a “shock front” at Earth some hours after the arrival of the GLE. The specific SPEs used in this analysis are those of: 1) November 6, 1997 - GLE only; 2) July 14-15, 2000 - GLE from the 14th plus ESP from the 15th; 3) November 4-6, 2001 - GLE and ESP from the 4th; and 4) October 28-29, 2003 - GLE and ESP from the 28th plus GLE from the 29th. The corresponding Band and Exponential spectra used in this paper are like those previously reported.

Toward efficiency in heterogeneous multispecies reactive transport modeling: A particle-tracking solution for first-order network reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henri, Christopher; Fernàndez-Garcia, Daniel

2015-04-01

Modeling multi-species reactive transport in natural systems with strong heterogeneities and complex biochemical reactions is a major challenge for assessing groundwater polluted sites with organic and inorganic contaminants. A large variety of these contaminants react according to serial-parallel reaction networks commonly simplified by a combination of first-order kinetic reactions. In this context, a random-walk particle tracking method is presented. This method is capable of efficiently simulating the motion of particles affected by first-order network reactions in three-dimensional systems, which are represented by spatially variable physical and biochemical coefficients described at high resolution. The approach is based on the development of transition probabilities that describe the likelihood that particles belonging to a given species and location at a given time will be transformed into and moved to another species and location afterwards. These probabilities are derived from the solution matrix of the spatial moments governing equations. The method is fully coupled with reactions, free of numerical dispersion and overcomes the inherent numerical problems stemming from the incorporation of heterogeneities to reactive transport codes. In doing this, we demonstrate that the motion of particles follows a standard random walk with time-dependent effective retardation and dispersion parameters that depend on the initial and final chemical state of the particle. The behavior of effective parameters develops as a result of differential retardation effects among species. Moreover, explicit analytic solutions of the transition probability matrix and related particle motions are provided for serial reactions. An example of the effect of heterogeneity on the dechlorination of organic solvents in a three-dimensional random porous media shows that the power-law behavior typically observed in conservative tracers breakthrough curves can be largely compromised by the effect of biochemical reactions.

Toward efficiency in heterogeneous multispecies reactive transport modeling: A particle-tracking solution for first-order network reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henri, Christopher V.; Fernàndez-Garcia, Daniel

2014-09-01

Modeling multispecies reactive transport in natural systems with strong heterogeneities and complex biochemical reactions is a major challenge for assessing groundwater polluted sites with organic and inorganic contaminants. A large variety of these contaminants react according to serial-parallel reaction networks commonly simplified by a combination of first-order kinetic reactions. In this context, a random-walk particle tracking method is presented. This method is capable of efficiently simulating the motion of particles affected by first-order network reactions in three-dimensional systems, which are represented by spatially variable physical and biochemical coefficients described at high resolution. The approach is based on the development of transition probabilities that describe the likelihood that particles belonging to a given species and location at a given time will be transformed into and moved to another species and location afterward. These probabilities are derived from the solution matrix of the spatial moments governing equations. The method is fully coupled with reactions, free of numerical dispersion and overcomes the inherent numerical problems stemming from the incorporation of heterogeneities to reactive transport codes. In doing this, we demonstrate that the motion of particles follows a standard random walk with time-dependent effective retardation and dispersion parameters that depend on the initial and final chemical state of the particle. The behavior of effective parameters develops as a result of differential retardation effects among species. Moreover, explicit analytic solutions of the transition probability matrix and related particle motions are provided for serial reactions. An example of the effect of heterogeneity on the dechlorination of organic solvents in a three-dimensional random porous media shows that the power-law behavior typically observed in conservative tracers breakthrough curves can be largely compromised by the effect of biochemical reactions.

RMP Enhanced Transport and Rotation Screening in DIII-D Simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Izzo, V; Joseph, I; Moyer, R

The application of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMP) to DIII-D plasmas at low collisionality has achieved ELM suppression, primarily due to a pedestal density reduction. The mechanism of the enhanced particle transport is investigated in 3D MHD simulations with the NIMROD code. The simulations apply realistic vacuum fields from the DIII-D I-coils, C-coils and measure intrinsic error fields to an EFIT reconstructed DIII-D equilibrium, and allow the plasma to respond to the applied fields while the fields are fixed at the boundary, which lies in the vacuum region. A non-rotating plasma amplifies the resonant components of the applied fields by factorsmore » of 2-5. The poloidal velocity forms E x B convection cells crossing the separatrix, which push particles into the vacuum region and reduce the pedestal density. Low toroidal rotation at the separatrix reduces the resonant field amplitudes, but does not strongly affect the particle pumpout. At higher separatrix rotation, the poloidal E x B velocity is reduced by half, while the enhanced particle transport is entirely eliminated. A high collisionality DIII-D equilibrium with an experimentally measured rotation profile serves as the starting point for a simulation with odd parity I-coil fields that can ultimately be compared with experimental results. All of the NIMROD results are compared with analytic error field theory.« less

GRMHD and GRPIC Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nishikawa, K.-I.; Mizuno, Y.; Watson, M.; Fuerst, S.; Wu, K.; Hardee, P.; Fishman, G. J.

2007-01-01

We have developed a new three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) code by using a conservative, high-resolution shock-capturing scheme. The numerical fluxes are calculated using the HLL approximate Riemann solver scheme. The flux-interpolated constrained transport scheme is used to maintain a divergence-free magnetic field. We have performed various 1-dimensional test problems in both special and general relativity by using several reconstruction methods and found that the new 3D GRMHD code shows substantial improvements over our previous code. The simulation results show the jet formations from a geometrically thin accretion disk near a nonrotating and a rotating black hole. We will discuss the jet properties depended on the rotation of a black hole and the magnetic field configuration including issues for future research. A General Relativistic Particle-in-Cell Code (GRPIC) has been developed using the Kerr-Schild metric. The code includes kinetic effects, and is in accordance with GRMHD code. Since the gravitational force acting on particles is extreme near black holes, there are some difficulties in numerically describing these processes. The preliminary code consists of an accretion disk and free-falling corona. Results indicate that particles are ejected from the black hole. These results are consistent with other GRMHD simulations. The GRPIC simulation results will be presented, along with some remarks and future improvements. The emission is calculated from relativistic flows in black hole systems using a fully general relativistic radiative transfer formulation, with flow structures obtained by GRMHD simulations considering thermal free-free emission and thermal synchrotron emission. Bright filament-like features protrude (visually) from the accretion disk surface, which are enhancements of synchrotron emission where the magnetic field roughly aligns with the line-of-sight in the co-moving frame. The features move back and forth as the accretion flow evolves, but their visibility and morphology are robust. We would like to extend this research using GRPIC simulations and examine a possible new mechanism for certain X-ray quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in blackhole X-ray binaries.

Optimization of monitoring networks based on uncertainty quantification of model predictions of contaminant transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vesselinov, V. V.; Harp, D.

2010-12-01

The process of decision making to protect groundwater resources requires a detailed estimation of uncertainties in model predictions. Various uncertainties associated with modeling a natural system, such as: (1) measurement and computational errors; (2) uncertainties in the conceptual model and model-parameter estimates; (3) simplifications in model setup and numerical representation of governing processes, contribute to the uncertainties in the model predictions. Due to this combination of factors, the sources of predictive uncertainties are generally difficult to quantify individually. Decision support related to optimal design of monitoring networks requires (1) detailed analyses of existing uncertainties related to model predictions of groundwater flow and contaminant transport, (2) optimization of the proposed monitoring network locations in terms of their efficiency to detect contaminants and provide early warning. We apply existing and newly-proposed methods to quantify predictive uncertainties and to optimize well locations. An important aspect of the analysis is the application of newly-developed optimization technique based on coupling of Particle Swarm and Levenberg-Marquardt optimization methods which proved to be robust and computationally efficient. These techniques and algorithms are bundled in a software package called MADS. MADS (Model Analyses for Decision Support) is an object-oriented code that is capable of performing various types of model analyses and supporting model-based decision making. The code can be executed under different computational modes, which include (1) sensitivity analyses (global and local), (2) Monte Carlo analysis, (3) model calibration, (4) parameter estimation, (5) uncertainty quantification, and (6) model selection. The code can be externally coupled with any existing model simulator through integrated modules that read/write input and output files using a set of template and instruction files (consistent with the PEST I/O protocol). MADS can also be internally coupled with a series of built-in analytical simulators. MADS provides functionality to work directly with existing control files developed for the code PEST (Doherty 2009). To perform the computational modes mentioned above, the code utilizes (1) advanced Latin-Hypercube sampling techniques (including Improved Distributed Sampling), (2) various gradient-based Levenberg-Marquardt optimization methods, (3) advanced global optimization methods (including Particle Swarm Optimization), and (4) a selection of alternative objective functions. The code has been successfully applied to perform various model analyses related to environmental management of real contamination sites. Examples include source identification problems, quantification of uncertainty, model calibration, and optimization of monitoring networks. The methodology and software codes are demonstrated using synthetic and real case studies where monitoring networks are optimized taking into account the uncertainty in model predictions of contaminant transport.

The Martian surface radiation environment - a comparison of models and MSL/RAD measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthiä, Daniel; Ehresmann, Bent; Lohf, Henning; Köhler, Jan; Zeitlin, Cary; Appel, Jan; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Slaba, Tony; Martin, Cesar; Berger, Thomas; Boehm, Eckart; Boettcher, Stephan; Brinza, David E.; Burmeister, Soenke; Guo, Jingnan; Hassler, Donald M.; Posner, Arik; Rafkin, Scot C. R.; Reitz, Günther; Wilson, John W.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.

2016-03-01

Context: The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) has been measuring the radiation environment on the surface of Mars since August 6th 2012. MSL-RAD is the first instrument to provide detailed information about charged and neutral particle spectra and dose rates on the Martian surface, and one of the primary objectives of the RAD investigation is to help improve and validate current radiation transport models. Aims: Applying different numerical transport models with boundary conditions derived from the MSL-RAD environment the goal of this work was to both provide predictions for the particle spectra and the radiation exposure on the Martian surface complementing the RAD sensitive range and, at the same time, validate the results with the experimental data, where applicable. Such validated models can be used to predict dose rates for future manned missions as well as for performing shield optimization studies. Methods: Several particle transport models (GEANT4, PHITS, HZETRN/OLTARIS) were used to predict the particle flux and the corresponding radiation environment caused by galactic cosmic radiation on Mars. From the calculated particle spectra the dose rates on the surface are estimated. Results: Calculations of particle spectra and dose rates induced by galactic cosmic radiation on the Martian surface are presented. Although good agreement is found in many cases for the different transport codes, GEANT4, PHITS, and HZETRN/OLTARIS, some models still show large, sometimes order of magnitude discrepancies in certain particle spectra. We have found that RAD data is helping to make better choices of input parameters and physical models. Elements of these validated models can be applied to more detailed studies on how the radiation environment is influenced by solar modulation, Martian atmosphere and soil, and changes due to the Martian seasonal pressure cycle. By extending the range of the calculated particle spectra with respect to the experimental data additional information about the radiation environment is gained, and the contribution of different particle species to the dose is estimated.

Beta particle transport and its impact on betavoltaic battery modeling.

PubMed

Alam, Tariq R; Pierson, Mark A; Prelas, Mark A

2017-12-01

Simulation of beta particle transport from a Ni-63 radioisotope in silicon using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code for monoenergetic beta particle average energy, monoenergetic beta particle maximum energy, and the more precise full beta energy spectrum of Ni-63 were demonstrated. The beta particle penetration depth and the shape of the energy deposition varied significantly for different transport approaches. A penetration depth of 2.25±0.25µm with a peak in energy deposition was found when using a monoenergetic beta particle average energy and a depth of 14.25±0.25µm with an exponential decrease in energy deposition was found when using a full beta energy spectrum and a 0° angular variation. For a 90° angular variation, i.e. an isotropic source, the penetration depth was decreased to 12.75±0.25µm and the backscattering coefficient increased to 0.46 with 30.55% of the beta energy escaping when using a full beta energy spectrum. Similarly, for a 0° angular variation and an isotropic source, an overprediction in the short circuit current and open circuit voltage solved by a simplified drift-diffusion model was observed when compared to experimental results from the literature. A good agreement in the results was found when self-absorption and isotope dilution in the source was considered. The self-absorption effect was 15% for a Ni-63 source with an activity of 0.25mCi. This effect increased to about 28.5% for a higher source activity of 1mCi due to an increase in thickness of the Ni-63 source. Source thicknesses of approximately 0.1µm and 0.4µm for these Ni-63 activities predicted about 15% and 28.5% self-absorption in the source, respectively, using MCNP simulations with an isotropic source. The modeling assumptions with different beta particle energy inputs, junction depth of the semiconductor, backscattering of beta particles, an isotropic beta source, and self-absorption of the radioisotope have significant impacts in betavoltaic battery design. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intercomparison of 3D pore-scale flow and solute transport simulation methods

DOE PAGES

Mehmani, Yashar; Schoenherr, Martin; Pasquali, Andrea; ...

2015-09-28

Multiple numerical approaches have been developed to simulate porous media fluid flow and solute transport at the pore scale. These include 1) methods that explicitly model the three-dimensional geometry of pore spaces and 2) methods that conceptualize the pore space as a topologically consistent set of stylized pore bodies and pore throats. In previous work we validated a model of the first type, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes employing a standard finite volume method (FVM), against magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV) measurements of pore-scale velocities. Here we expand that validation to include additional models of the first type based onmore » the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), as well as a model of the second type, a pore-network model (PNM). The PNM approach used in the current study was recently improved and demonstrated to accurately simulate solute transport in a two-dimensional experiment. While the PNM approach is computationally much less demanding than direct numerical simulation methods, the effect of conceptualizing complex three-dimensional pore geometries on solute transport in the manner of PNMs has not been fully determined. We apply all four approaches (FVM-based CFD, LBM, SPH and PNM) to simulate pore-scale velocity distributions and (for capable codes) nonreactive solute transport, and intercompare the model results. Comparisons are drawn both in terms of macroscopic variables (e.g., permeability, solute breakthrough curves) and microscopic variables (e.g., local velocities and concentrations). Generally good agreement was achieved among the various approaches, but some differences were observed depending on the model context. The intercomparison work was challenging because of variable capabilities of the codes, and inspired some code enhancements to allow consistent comparison of flow and transport simulations across the full suite of methods. This paper provides support for confidence in a variety of pore-scale modeling methods and motivates further development and application of pore-scale simulation methods.« less

Intercomparison of 3D pore-scale flow and solute transport simulation methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Xiaofan; Mehmani, Yashar; Perkins, William A.

2016-09-01

Multiple numerical approaches have been developed to simulate porous media fluid flow and solute transport at the pore scale. These include 1) methods that explicitly model the three-dimensional geometry of pore spaces and 2) methods that conceptualize the pore space as a topologically consistent set of stylized pore bodies and pore throats. In previous work we validated a model of the first type, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes employing a standard finite volume method (FVM), against magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV) measurements of pore-scale velocities. Here we expand that validation to include additional models of the first type based onmore » the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), as well as a model of the second type, a pore-network model (PNM). The PNM approach used in the current study was recently improved and demonstrated to accurately simulate solute transport in a two-dimensional experiment. While the PNM approach is computationally much less demanding than direct numerical simulation methods, the effect of conceptualizing complex three-dimensional pore geometries on solute transport in the manner of PNMs has not been fully determined. We apply all four approaches (FVM-based CFD, LBM, SPH and PNM) to simulate pore-scale velocity distributions and (for capable codes) nonreactive solute transport, and intercompare the model results. Comparisons are drawn both in terms of macroscopic variables (e.g., permeability, solute breakthrough curves) and microscopic variables (e.g., local velocities and concentrations). Generally good agreement was achieved among the various approaches, but some differences were observed depending on the model context. The intercomparison work was challenging because of variable capabilities of the codes, and inspired some code enhancements to allow consistent comparison of flow and transport simulations across the full suite of methods. This study provides support for confidence in a variety of pore-scale modeling methods and motivates further development and application of pore-scale simulation methods.« less

Parallel Transport with Sheath and Collisional Effects in Global Electrostatic Turbulent Transport in FRCs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, Jian; Lau, Calvin; Kuley, Animesh; Lin, Zhihong; Fulton, Daniel; Tajima, Toshiki; Tri Alpha Energy, Inc. Team

2017-10-01

Collisional and turbulent transport in a field reversed configuration (FRC) is studied in global particle simulation by using GTC (gyrokinetic toroidal code). The global FRC geometry is incorporated in GTC by using a field-aligned mesh in cylindrical coordinates, which enables global simulation coupling core and scrape-off layer (SOL) across the separatrix. Furthermore, fully kinetic ions are implemented in GTC to treat magnetic-null point in FRC core. Both global simulation coupling core and SOL regions and independent SOL region simulation have been carried out to study turbulence. In this work, the ``logical sheath boundary condition'' is implemented to study parallel transport in the SOL. This method helps to relax time and spatial steps without resolving electron plasma frequency and Debye length, which enables turbulent transports simulation with sheath effects. We will study collisional and turbulent SOL parallel transport with mirror geometry and sheath boundary condition in C2-W divertor.

Kinetic modeling of x-ray laser-driven solid Al plasmas via particle-in-cell simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Royle, R.; Sentoku, Y.; Mancini, R. C.; Paraschiv, I.; Johzaki, T.

2017-06-01

Solid-density plasmas driven by intense x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) radiation are seeded by sources of nonthermal photoelectrons and Auger electrons that ionize and heat the target via collisions. Simulation codes that are commonly used to model such plasmas, such as collisional-radiative (CR) codes, typically assume a Maxwellian distribution and thus instantaneous thermalization of the source electrons. In this study, we present a detailed description and initial applications of a collisional particle-in-cell code, picls, that has been extended with a self-consistent radiation transport model and Monte Carlo models for photoionization and K L L Auger ionization, enabling the fully kinetic simulation of XFEL-driven plasmas. The code is used to simulate two experiments previously performed at the Linac Coherent Light Source investigating XFEL-driven solid-density Al plasmas. It is shown that picls-simulated pulse transmissions using the Ecker-Kröll continuum-lowering model agree much better with measurements than do simulations using the Stewart-Pyatt model. Good quantitative agreement is also found between the time-dependent picls results and those of analogous simulations by the CR code scfly, which was used in the analysis of the experiments to accurately reproduce the observed K α emissions and pulse transmissions. Finally, it is shown that the effects of the nonthermal electrons are negligible for the conditions of the particular experiments under investigation.

Radioactive Sediment Transport on Ogaki Dam Reservoir in Fukushima Evacuated Zone: Numerical Simulation Studies by 2-D River Simulation Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, Susumu; Kitamura, Akihiro; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Machida, Masahiko

2015-04-01

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident on March 2011 released significant quantities of radionuclides to atmosphere. The most significant nuclide is radioactive cesium isotopes. Therefore, the movement of the cesium is one of the critical issues for the environmental assessment. Since the cesium is strongly sorbed by soil particles, the cesium transport can be regarded as the sediment transport which is mainly brought about by the aquatic system such as a river and a lake. In this research, our target is the sediment transport on Ogaki dam reservoir which is located in about 16 km northwest from FDNPP. The reservoir is one of the principal irrigation dam reservoirs in Fukushima Prefecture and its upstream river basin was heavily contaminated by radioactivity. We simulate the sediment transport on the reservoir using 2-D river simulation code named Nays2D originally developed by Shimizu et al. (The latest version of Nays2D is available as a code included in iRIC (http://i-ric.org/en/), which is a river flow and riverbed variation analysis software package). In general, a 2-D simulation code requires a huge amount of calculation time. Therefore, we parallelize the code and execute it on a parallel computer. We examine the relationship between the behavior of the sediment transport and the height of the reservoir exit. The simulation result shows that almost all the sand that enter into the reservoir deposit close to the entrance of the reservoir for any height of the exit. The amounts of silt depositing within the reservoir slightly increase by raising the height of the exit. However, that of the clay dramatically increases. Especially, more than half of the clay deposits, if the exit is sufficiently high. These results demonstrate that the water level of the reservoir has a strong influence on the amount of the clay discharged from the reservoir. As a result, we conclude that the tuning of the water level has a possibility for controlling the recontamination to the downstream.

TEMPEST Simulations of the Plasma Transport in a Single-Null Tokamak Geometry

DOE PAGES

X. Q. Xu; Bodi, K.; Cohen, R. H.; ...

2010-05-28

We present edge kinetic ion transport simulations of tokamak plasmas in magnetic divertor geometry using the fully nonlinear (full-f) continuum code TEMPEST. Besides neoclassical transport, a term for divergence of anomalous kinetic radial flux is added to mock up the effect of turbulent transport. In order to study the relative roles of neoclassical and anomalous transport, TEMPEST simulations were carried out for plasma transport and flow dynamics in a single-null tokamak geometry, including the pedestal region that extends across the separatrix into the scrape-off layer and private flux region. In a series of TEMPEST simulations were conducted to investigate themore » transition of midplane pedestal heat flux and flow from the neoclassical to the turbulent limit and the transition of divertor heat flux and flow from the kinetic to the fluid regime via an anomalous transport scan and a density scan. The TEMPEST simulation results demonstrate that turbulent transport (as modelled by large diffusion) plays a similar role to collisional decorrelation of particle orbits and that the large turbulent transport (large diffusion) leads to an apparent Maxwellianization of the particle distribution. Moreover, we show the transition of parallel heat flux and flow at the entrance to the divertor plates from the fluid to the kinetic regime. For an absorbing divertor plate boundary condition, a non-half-Maxwellian is found due to the balance between upstream radial anomalous transport and energetic ion endloss.« less

TEMPEST Simulations of the Plasma Transport in a Single-Null Tokamak Geometry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

X. Q. Xu; Bodi, K.; Cohen, R. H.

We present edge kinetic ion transport simulations of tokamak plasmas in magnetic divertor geometry using the fully nonlinear (full-f) continuum code TEMPEST. Besides neoclassical transport, a term for divergence of anomalous kinetic radial flux is added to mock up the effect of turbulent transport. In order to study the relative roles of neoclassical and anomalous transport, TEMPEST simulations were carried out for plasma transport and flow dynamics in a single-null tokamak geometry, including the pedestal region that extends across the separatrix into the scrape-off layer and private flux region. In a series of TEMPEST simulations were conducted to investigate themore » transition of midplane pedestal heat flux and flow from the neoclassical to the turbulent limit and the transition of divertor heat flux and flow from the kinetic to the fluid regime via an anomalous transport scan and a density scan. The TEMPEST simulation results demonstrate that turbulent transport (as modelled by large diffusion) plays a similar role to collisional decorrelation of particle orbits and that the large turbulent transport (large diffusion) leads to an apparent Maxwellianization of the particle distribution. Moreover, we show the transition of parallel heat flux and flow at the entrance to the divertor plates from the fluid to the kinetic regime. For an absorbing divertor plate boundary condition, a non-half-Maxwellian is found due to the balance between upstream radial anomalous transport and energetic ion endloss.« less

The ePLAS Code for Ignition Studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mason, Rodney J

2012-09-20

Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) presents unique opportunities for the extraction of clean energy from Fusion. Intense lasers and particle beams can create and interact with such plasmas, potentially yielding sufficient energy to satisfy all our national needs. However, few models are available to help aid the scientific community in the study and optimization of such interactions. This project enhanced and disseminated the computer code ePLAS for the early understanding and control of Ignition in ICF. ePLAS is a unique simulation code that tracks the transport of laser light to a target, the absorption of that light resulting in the generationmore » and transport of hot electrons, and the heating and flow dynamics of the background plasma. It uses an implicit electromagnetic field-solving method to greatly reduce computing demands, so that useful target interaction studies can often be completed in 15 minutes on a portable 2.1 GHz PC. The code permits the rapid scoping of calculations for the optimization of laser target interactions aimed at fusion. Recent efforts have initiated the use of analytic equations of state (EOS), K-alpha image rendering graphics, allocatable memory for source-free usage, and adaption to the latest Mac and Linux Operating Systems. The speed and utility of ePLAS are unequaled in the ICF simulation community. This project evaluated the effects of its new EOSs on target heating, compared fluid and particle models for the ions, initiated the simultaneous use of both ion models in the code, and studied long time scale 500 ps hot electron deposition for shock ignition. ePLAS has been granted EAR99 export control status, permitting export without a license to most foreign countries. Beta-test versions of ePLAS have been granted to several Universities and Commercial users. The net Project was aimed at achieving early success in the laboratory ignition of thermonuclear targets and the mastery of controlled fusion power for the nation.« less

Effects of photophoresis on the dust distribution in a 3D protoplanetary disc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuello, N.; Gonzalez, J.-F.; Pignatale, F. C.

2016-05-01

Photophoresis is a physical process based on momentum exchange between an illuminated dust particle and its gaseous environment. Its net effect in protoplanetary discs (PPD) is the outward transport of solid bodies from hot to cold regions. This process naturally leads to the formation of ring-shaped features where dust piles up. In this work, we study the dynamical effects of photophoresis in PPD by including the photophoretic force in the two-fluid (gas+dust) smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code developed by Barrière-Fouchet et al. (2005). We find that the conditions of pressure and temperature encountered in the inner regions of PPD result in important photophoretic forces, which dramatically affect the radial motion of solid bodies. Moreover, dust particles have different equilibrium locations in the disc depending on their size and their intrinsic density. The radial transport towards the outer parts of the disc is more efficient for silicates than for iron particles, which has important implications for meteoritic composition. Our results indicate that photophoresis must be taken into account in the inner regions of PPD to fully understand the dynamics and the evolution of the dust composition.

Modeling Cell and Tumor-Metastasis Dosimetry with the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System (PHITS) Software for Targeted Alpha-Particle Radionuclide Therapy.

PubMed

Lee, Dongyoul; Li, Mengshi; Bednarz, Bryan; Schultz, Michael K

2018-06-26

The use of targeted radionuclide therapy for cancer is on the rise. While beta-particle-emitting radionuclides have been extensively explored for targeted radionuclide therapy, alpha-particle-emitting radionuclides are emerging as effective alternatives. In this context, fundamental understanding of the interactions and dosimetry of these emitted particles with cells in the tumor microenvironment is critical to ascertaining the potential of alpha-particle-emitting radionuclides. One important parameter that can be used to assess these metrics is the S-value. In this study, we characterized several alpha-particle-emitting radionuclides (and their associated radionuclide progeny) regarding S-values in the cellular and tumor-metastasis environments. The Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) was used to obtain S-values via Monte Carlo simulation for cell and tumor metastasis resulting from interactions with the alpha-particle-emitting radionuclides, lead-212 ( 212 Pb), actinium-225 ( 225 Ac) and bismuth-213 ( 213 Bi); these values were compared to the beta-particle-emitting radionuclides yttrium-90 ( 90 Y) and lutetium-177 ( 177 Lu) and an Auger-electron-emitting radionuclide indium-111 ( 111 In). The effect of cellular internalization on S-value was explored at increasing degree of internalization for each radionuclide. This aspect of S-value determination was further explored in a cell line-specific fashion for six different cancer cell lines based on the cell dimensions obtained by confocal microscopy. S-values from PHITS were in good agreement with MIRDcell S-values (cellular S-values) and the values found by Hindié et al. (tumor S-values). In the cellular model, 212 Pb and 213 Bi decay series produced S-values that were 50- to 120-fold higher than 177 Lu, while 225 Ac decay series analysis suggested S-values that were 240- to 520-fold higher than 177 Lu. S-values arising with 100% cellular internalization were two- to sixfold higher for the nucleus when compared to 0% internalization. The tumor dosimetry model defines the relative merit of radionuclides and suggests alpha particles may be effective for large tumors as well as small tumor metastases. These results from PHITS modeling substantiate emerging evidence that alpha-particle-emitting radionuclides may be an effective alternative to beta-particle-emitting radionuclides for targeted radionuclide therapy due to preferred dose-deposition profiles in the cellular and tumor metastasis context. These results further suggest that internalization of alpha-particle-emitting radionuclides via radiolabeled ligands may increase the relative biological effectiveness of radiotherapeutics.

Measurements of the neutral particle spectra on Mars by MSL/RAD from 2015-11-15 to 2016-01-15.

PubMed

Guo, Jingnan; Zeitlin, Cary; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert; Hassler, Donald M; Köhler, Jan; Ehresmann, Bent; Böttcher, Stephan; Böhm, Eckart; Brinza, David E

2017-08-01

The Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity, has been measuring the energetic charged and neutral particles and the radiation dose rate on the surface of Mars since the landing of the rover in August 2012. In contrast to charged particles, neutral particles (neutrons and γ-rays) are measured indirectly: the energy deposition spectra produced by neutral particles are complex convolutions of the incident particle spectra with the detector response functions. An inversion technique has been developed and applied to jointly unfold the deposited energy spectra measured in two scintillators of different types (CsI for high γ detection efficiency, and plastic for neutrons) to obtain the neutron and γ-ray spectra. This result is important for determining the biological impact of the Martian surface radiation contributed by neutrons, which interact with materials differently from the charged particles. These first in-situ measurements on Mars provide (1) an important reference for assessing the radiation-associated health risks for future manned missions to the red planet and (2) an experimental input for validating the particle transport codes used to model the radiation environments within spacecraft or on the surface of planets. Here we present neutral particle spectra as well as the corresponding dose and dose equivalent rates derived from RAD measurement during a period (November 15, 2015 to January 15, 2016) for which the surface particle spectra have been simulated via different transport models. Copyright © 2017 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Particle Module for the PLUTO Code. I. An Implementation of the MHD–PIC Equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mignone, A.; Bodo, G.; Vaidya, B.; Mattia, G.

2018-05-01

We describe an implementation of a particle physics module available for the PLUTO code appropriate for the dynamical evolution of a plasma consisting of a thermal fluid and a nonthermal component represented by relativistic charged particles or cosmic rays (CRs). While the fluid is approached using standard numerical schemes for magnetohydrodynamics, CR particles are treated kinetically using conventional Particle-In-Cell (PIC) techniques. The module can be used either to describe test-particle motion in the fluid electromagnetic field or to solve the fully coupled magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)–PIC system of equations with particle backreaction on the fluid as originally introduced by Bai et al. Particle backreaction on the fluid is included in the form of momentum–energy feedback and by introducing the CR-induced Hall term in Ohm’s law. The hybrid MHD–PIC module can be employed to study CR kinetic effects on scales larger than the (ion) skin depth provided that the Larmor gyration scale is properly resolved. When applicable, this formulation avoids resolving microscopic scales, offering substantial computational savings with respect to PIC simulations. We present a fully conservative formulation that is second-order accurate in time and space, and extends to either the Runge–Kutta (RK) or the corner transport upwind time-stepping schemes (for the fluid), while a standard Boris integrator is employed for the particles. For highly energetic relativistic CRs and in order to overcome the time-step restriction, a novel subcycling strategy that retains second-order accuracy in time is presented. Numerical benchmarks and applications including Bell instability, diffusive shock acceleration, and test-particle acceleration in reconnecting layers are discussed.

Galactic and solar radiation exposure to aircrew during a solar cycle.

PubMed

Lewis, B J; Bennett, L G I; Green, A R; McCall, M J; Ellaschuk, B; Butler, A; Pierre, M

2002-01-01

An on-going investigation using a tissue-equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) has been carried out to measure the ambient dose equivalent rate of the cosmic radiation exposure of aircrew during a solar cycle. A semi-empirical model has been derived from these data to allow for the interpolation of the dose rate for any global position. The model has been extended to an altitude of up to 32 km with further measurements made on board aircraft and several balloon flights. The effects of changing solar modulation during the solar cycle are characterised by correlating the dose rate data to different solar potential models. Through integration of the dose-rate function over a great circle flight path or between given waypoints, a Predictive Code for Aircrew Radiation Exposure (PCAIRE) has been further developed for estimation of the route dose from galactic cosmic radiation exposure. This estimate is provided in units of ambient dose equivalent as well as effective dose, based on E/H x (10) scaling functions as determined from transport code calculations with LUIN and FLUKA. This experimentally based treatment has also been compared with the CARI-6 and EPCARD codes that are derived solely from theoretical transport calculations. Using TEPC measurements taken aboard the International Space Station, ground based neutron monitoring, GOES satellite data and transport code analysis, an empirical model has been further proposed for estimation of aircrew exposure during solar particle events. This model has been compared to results obtained during recent solar flare events.

B2.5-Eirene modeling of radial transport in the MAGPIE linear plasma device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Owen, L. W.; Caneses, J. F.; Canik, J.; Lore, J. D.; Corr, C.; Blackwell, B.; Bonnin, X.; Rapp, J.

2017-05-01

Radial transport in helicon heated hydrogen plasmas in the MAGnetized Plasma Interaction Experiment (MAGPIE) is studied with the B2.5-Eirene (SOLPS5.0) code. Radial distributions of plasma density, temperature and ambipolar potential are computed for several magnetic field configurations and compared to double Langmuir probe measurements. Evidence for an unmagnetized ion population is seen in the requirement for a convective pinch term in the continuity equation in order to fit the centrally peaked density profile data. The measured slightly hollow electron temperature profiles are reproduced with combinations of on-axis and edge heating which can be interpreted as helicon and Trivelpiece-Gould wave absorption, respectively. Pressure gradient driven radial charged particle diffusion is chosen to describe the diffusive particle flux since the hollowness of the temperature profiles assists the establishment of on-axis density peaking.

An information theoretic approach to use high-fidelity codes to calibrate low-fidelity codes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, Allison, E-mail: lewis.allison10@gmail.com; Smith, Ralph; Williams, Brian

For many simulation models, it can be prohibitively expensive or physically infeasible to obtain a complete set of experimental data to calibrate model parameters. In such cases, one can alternatively employ validated higher-fidelity codes to generate simulated data, which can be used to calibrate the lower-fidelity code. In this paper, we employ an information-theoretic framework to determine the reduction in parameter uncertainty that is obtained by evaluating the high-fidelity code at a specific set of design conditions. These conditions are chosen sequentially, based on the amount of information that they contribute to the low-fidelity model parameters. The goal is tomore » employ Bayesian experimental design techniques to minimize the number of high-fidelity code evaluations required to accurately calibrate the low-fidelity model. We illustrate the performance of this framework using heat and diffusion examples, a 1-D kinetic neutron diffusion equation, and a particle transport model, and include initial results from the integration of the high-fidelity thermal-hydraulics code Hydra-TH with a low-fidelity exponential model for the friction correlation factor.« less

Bio-Fluid Transport Models Through Nano and Micro-Fluidic Components

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-08-01

nm of the wall in steady electroosmotic flow with good accuracy. The nPIV data were in excellent agreement with the model predictions for monovalent...first experimental probe inside the electric double layer in electroosmotic flow of an aqueous electrolyte solution. 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 225 14...SUBJECT TERMS Micro And Nanofluidics, Electroosmotic Flow, Nano Particle Image Velocimetry 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF REPORT

Development of a multi-modal Monte-Carlo radiation treatment planning system combined with PHITS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kumada, Hiroaki; Nakamura, Takemi; Komeda, Masao

A new multi-modal Monte-Carlo radiation treatment planning system is under development at Japan Atomic Energy Agency. This system (developing code: JCDS-FX) builds on fundamental technologies of JCDS. JCDS was developed by JAEA to perform treatment planning of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) which is being conducted at JRR-4 in JAEA. JCDS has many advantages based on practical accomplishments for actual clinical trials of BNCT at JRR-4, the advantages have been taken over to JCDS-FX. One of the features of JCDS-FX is that PHITS has been applied to particle transport calculation. PHITS is a multipurpose particle Monte-Carlo transport code, thus applicationmore » of PHITS enables to evaluate doses for not only BNCT but also several radiotherapies like proton therapy. To verify calculation accuracy of JCDS-FX with PHITS for BNCT, treatment planning of an actual BNCT conducted at JRR-4 was performed retrospectively. The verification results demonstrated the new system was applicable to BNCT clinical trials in practical use. In framework of R and D for laser-driven proton therapy, we begin study for application of JCDS-FX combined with PHITS to proton therapy in addition to BNCT. Several features and performances of the new multimodal Monte-Carlo radiotherapy planning system are presented.« less

Multiprocessing MCNP on an IBM RS/6000 cluster

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McKinney, G.W.; West, J.T.

1993-01-01

The advent of high-performance computer systems has brought to maturity programming concepts like vectorization, multiprocessing, and multitasking. While there are many schools of thought as to the most significant factor in obtaining order-of-magnitude increases in performance, such speedup can only be achieved by integrating the computer system and application code. Vectorization leads to faster manipulation of arrays by overlapping instruction CPU cycles. Discrete ordinates codes, which require the solving of large matrices, have proved to be major benefactors of vectorization. Monte Carlo transport, on the other hand, typically contains numerous logic statements and requires extensive redevelopment to benefit from vectorization.more » Multiprocessing and multitasking provide additional CPU cycles via multiple processors. Such systems are generally designed with either common memory access (multitasking) or distributed memory access. In both cases, theoretical speedup, as a function of the number of processors (P) and the fraction of task time that multiprocesses (f), can be formulated using Amdahl's Law S ((f,P) = 1 f + f/P). However, for most applications this theoretical limit cannot be achieved, due to additional terms not included in Amdahl's Law. Monte Carlo transport is a natural candidate for multiprocessing, since the particle tracks are generally independent and the precision of the result increases as the square root of the number of particles tracked.« less

The Enceladus Ionizing Radiation Environment: Implications for Biomolecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teodoro, L. A.; Elphic, R. C.; Davila, A. F.; McKay, C.; Dartnell, L.

2016-12-01

Enceladus' subsurface ocean is a possible abode for life, but it is inaccessible with current technology. However, icy particles and vapor are being expelled into space through surface fractures known as Tiger Stripes, forming a large plume centered in the South Polar Terrains. Direct chemical analyses by Cassini have revealed salts and organic compounds in a significant fraction of plume particles, which suggests that the subsurface ocean is the main source of materials in the plume (i.e. frozen ocean spray). While smaller icy particles in the plume reach escape velocity and feed Saturn's E-ring, larger particles fall back on the moon's surface, where they accumulate as icy mantling deposits at practically all latitudes. The organic content of these fall-out materials could be of great astrobiological relevance. Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) that strike both Enceladus' surface and the lofted icy particles produce ionizing radiation in the form of high-energy electrons, protons, gamma rays, neutrons and muons. An additional source of ionizing radiation is the population of energetic charged particles in Saturn's magnetosphere. The effects of ionizing radiation in matter always involve the destruction of chemical bonds and the creation of free radicals. Both affect organic matter, and can damage or destroy biomarkers over time. Using ionizing radiation transport codes, we recreated the radiation environment on the surface of Enceladus, and evaluated its possible effects on organic matter (including biomarkers) in the icy mantling deposits. Here, we present full Monte-Carlo simulations of the nuclear reactions induced by the GCRs hitting Enceladus's surface using a code based on the GEANT-4 toolkit for the transport of particles. To model the GCR primary spectra for Z= 1-26 (protons to iron nuclei) we assumed the CREAME96 model under solar minimum, modified to take into account Enceladus' location. We considered bulk compositions of: i) pure water ice, ii) water ice and organics (1-10%), and iii) water ice, organics and salts (up to 2%). The computed flux of ionizing radiation is converted into dosage at the molecular level using a "biologically-weighted" scheme, which provides an estimate of the biomarkers' survival time.

Compressible cavitation with stochastic field method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Class, Andreas; Dumond, Julien

2012-11-01

Non-linear phenomena can often be well described using probability density functions (pdf) and pdf transport models. Traditionally the simulation of pdf transport requires Monte-Carlo codes based on Lagrange particles or prescribed pdf assumptions including binning techniques. Recently, in the field of combustion, a novel formulation called the stochastic field method solving pdf transport based on Euler fields has been proposed which eliminates the necessity to mix Euler and Lagrange techniques or prescribed pdf assumptions. In the present work, part of the PhD Design and analysis of a Passive Outflow Reducer relying on cavitation, a first application of the stochastic field method to multi-phase flow and in particular to cavitating flow is presented. The application considered is a nozzle subjected to high velocity flow so that sheet cavitation is observed near the nozzle surface in the divergent section. It is demonstrated that the stochastic field formulation captures the wide range of pdf shapes present at different locations. The method is compatible with finite-volume codes where all existing physical models available for Lagrange techniques, presumed pdf or binning methods can be easily extended to the stochastic field formulation.

Pion and electromagnetic contribution to dose: Comparisons of HZETRN to Monte Carlo results and ISS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slaba, Tony C.; Blattnig, Steve R.; Reddell, Brandon; Bahadori, Amir; Norman, Ryan B.; Badavi, Francis F.

2013-07-01

Recent work has indicated that pion production and the associated electromagnetic (EM) cascade may be an important contribution to the total astronaut exposure in space. Recent extensions to the deterministic space radiation transport code, HZETRN, allow the production and transport of pions, muons, electrons, positrons, and photons. In this paper, the extended code is compared to the Monte Carlo codes, Geant4, PHITS, and FLUKA, in slab geometries exposed to galactic cosmic ray (GCR) boundary conditions. While improvements in the HZETRN transport formalism for the new particles are needed, it is shown that reasonable agreement on dose is found at larger shielding thicknesses commonly found on the International Space Station (ISS). Finally, the extended code is compared to ISS data on a minute-by-minute basis over a seven day period in 2001. The impact of pion/EM production on exposure estimates and validation results is clearly shown. The Badhwar-O'Neill (BO) 2004 and 2010 models are used to generate the GCR boundary condition at each time-step allowing the impact of environmental model improvements on validation results to be quantified as well. It is found that the updated BO2010 model noticeably reduces overall exposure estimates from the BO2004 model, and the additional production mechanisms in HZETRN provide some compensation. It is shown that the overestimates provided by the BO2004 GCR model in previous validation studies led to deflated uncertainty estimates for environmental, physics, and transport models, and allowed an important physical interaction (π/EM) to be overlooked in model development. Despite the additional π/EM production mechanisms in HZETRN, a systematic under-prediction of total dose is observed in comparison to Monte Carlo results and measured data.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ku, S.; Chang, C. S.; Hager, R.

Here, a fast edge turbulence suppression event has been simulated in the electrostatic version of the gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code XGC1 in a realistic diverted tokamak edge geometry under neutral particle recycling. The results show that the sequence of turbulent Reynolds stress followed by neoclassical ion orbit-loss driven together conspire to form the sustaining radial electric field shear and to quench turbulent transport just inside the last closed magnetic flux surface. As a result, the main suppression action is located in a thin radial layer around ψ N≃0.96–0.98, where ψ N is the normalized poloidal flux, with the time scale ~0.1more » ms.« less

ORBIT modelling of fast particle redistribution induced by sawtooth instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Doohyun; Podestà, Mario; Poli, Francesca; Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Team

2017-10-01

Initial tests on NSTX-U show that introducing energy selectivity for sawtooth (ST) induced fast ion redistribution improves the agreement between experimental and simulated quantities, e.g. neutron rate. Thus, it is expected that a proper description of the fast particle redistribution due to ST can improve the modelling of ST instability and interpretation of experiments using a transport code. In this work, we use ORBIT code to characterise the redistribution of fast particles. In order to simulate a ST crash, a spatial and temporal displacement is implemented as ξ (ρ , t , θ , ϕ) = ∑ξmn (ρ , t) cos (mθ + nϕ) to produce perturbed magnetic fields from the equilibrium field B-> , δB-> = ∇ × (ξ-> × B->) , which affect the fast particle distribution. From ORBIT simulations, we find suitable amplitudes of ξ for each ST crash to reproduce the experimental results. The comparison of the simulation and the experimental results will be discussed as well as the dependence of fast ion redistribution on fast ion phase space variables (i.e. energy, magnetic moment and toroidal angular momentum). Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences under Contract Number DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Study of transport of laser-driven relativistic electrons in solid materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leblanc, Philippe

With the ultra intense lasers available today, it is possible to generate very hot electron beams in solid density materials. These intense laser-matter interactions result in many applications which include the generation of ultrashort secondary sources of particles and radiation such as ions, neutrons, positrons, x-rays, or even laser-driven hadron therapy. For these applications to become reality, a comprehensive understanding of laser-driven energy transport including hot electron generation through the various mechanisms of ionization, and their subsequent transport in solid density media is required. This study will focus on the characterization of electron transport effects in solid density targets using the state-of- the-art particle-in-cell code PICLS. A number of simulation results will be presented on the topics of ionization propagation in insulator glass targets, non-equilibrium ionization modeling featuring electron impact ionization, and electron beam guiding by the self-generated resistive magnetic field. An empirically derived scaling relation for the resistive magnetic in terms of the laser parameters and material properties is presented and used to derive a guiding condition. This condition may prove useful for the design of future laser-matter interaction experiments.

MESTRN: A Deterministic Meson-Muon Transport Code for Space Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blattnig, Steve R.; Norbury, John W.; Norman, Ryan B.; Wilson, John W.; Singleterry, Robert C., Jr.; Tripathi, Ram K.

2004-01-01

A safe and efficient exploration of space requires an understanding of space radiations, so that human life and sensitive equipment can be protected. On the way to these sensitive sites, the radiation fields are modified in both quality and quantity. Many of these modifications are thought to be due to the production of pions and muons in the interactions between the radiation and intervening matter. A method used to predict the effects of the presence of these particles on the transport of radiation through materials is developed. This method was then used to develop software, which was used to calculate the fluxes of pions and muons after the transport of a cosmic ray spectrum through aluminum and water. Software descriptions are given in the appendices.

Verification of TEMPEST with neoclassical transport theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Z.; Cohen, B. I.; Cohen, R. H.; Dorr, M.; Hittinger, J.; Kerbel, G.; Nevins, W. M.; Rognlien, T.; Umansky, M.; Xu, X.

2006-10-01

TEMPEST is an edge gyro-kinetic continuum code developed to study boundary plasma transport over the region extending from the H-mode pedestal across the separatrix to the divertor plates. For benchmark purposes, we present results from the 4D (2r,2v) TEMPEST for both steady-state transport and time-dependent Geodesic Acoustic Modes (GAMs). We focus on an annular region inside the separatrix of a circular cross-section tokamak where analytical and numerical results are available. The parallel flow velocity and radial particle flux are obtained for different collisional regimes and compared with previous neoclassical results. The effect of radial electric field and the transition to steep edge gradients is emphasized. The dynamical response of GAMs is also shown and compared to recent theory.

Discrete element modelling of bedload transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loyer, A.; Frey, P.

2011-12-01

Discrete element modelling (DEM) has been widely used in solid mechanics and in granular physics. In this type of modelling, each individual particle is taken into account and intergranular interactions are modelled with simple laws (e.g. Coulomb friction). Gravity and contact forces permit to solve the dynamical behaviour of the system. DEM is interesting to model configurations and access to parameters not directly available in laboratory experimentation, hence the term "numerical experimentations" sometimes used to describe DEM. DEM was used to model bedload transport experiments performed at the particle scale with spherical glass beads in a steep and narrow flume. Bedload is the larger material that is transported on the bed on stream channels. It has a great geomorphic impact. Physical processes ruling bedload transport and more generally coarse-particle/fluid systems are poorly known, arguably because granular interactions have been somewhat neglected. An existing DEM code (PFC3D) already computing granular interactions was used. We implemented basic hydrodynamic forces to model the fluid interactions (buoyancy, drag, lift). The idea was to use the minimum number of ingredients to match the experimental results. Experiments were performed with one-size and two-size mixtures of coarse spherical glass beads entrained by a shallow turbulent and supercritical water flow down a steep channel with a mobile bed. The particle diameters were 4 and 6mm, the channel width 6.5mm (about the same width as the coarser particles) and the channel inclination was typically 10%. The water flow rate and the particle rate were kept constant at the upstream entrance and adjusted to obtain bedload transport equilibrium. Flows were filmed from the side by a high-speed camera. Using image processing algorithms made it possible to determine the position, velocity and trajectory of both smaller and coarser particles. Modelled and experimental particle velocity and concentration depth profiles were compared in the case of the one-size mixture. The turbulent fluid velocity profile was prescribed and attached to the variable upper bedline. Provided the upper bedline was calculated with a refined space and time resolution, a fair agreement between DEM and experiments was reached. Experiments with two-size mixtures were designed to study vertical grain size sorting or segregation patterns. Sorting is arguably the reason why the predictive capacity of bedload formulations remains so poor. Modelling of the two-size mixture was also performed and gave promising qualitative results.

A UBK-space Visualization Tool for the Magnetosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohan, M.; Sheldon, R. B.

2001-12-01

One of the stumbling blocks to understanding particle transport in the magnetosphere has been the difficulty to follow, track and model the motion of ions through the realistic magnetic and electric fields of the Earth. Under the weak assumption that the first two invariants remain conserved, Whipple [1978] found a coordinate transformation that makes all charged particles travel on straight lines in UBK-space. The transform permits the quantitative calculation of conservative phase space transport for all particles with energies less than ~100 MeV, especially ring current energies (Sheldon and Gaffey [1993]). Furthermore Sheldon and Eastman [1997] showed how this transform extended the validity of diffusion models to realistic magnetospheres over the entire energy range. However, widespread usage of this transform has been limited by its non-intuitive UBK coordinates. We present a Virtual Reality Meta Language (VRML) interface to the calculation of UBK transform demonstrating its usefulness in describing both static features of the magnetosphere, such as the plasmapause, and dynamic features, such as ring current injection and loss. The core software is written in C for speed, whereas the interface is constructed in Perl and Javascript. The code is freely available, and intended for portability and modularity. R.B. Sheldon and T. Eastman ``Particle Transport in the Magnetosphere: A New Diffusion Model", GRL, 24(7), 811-814, 1997. Whipple, Jr, E. C. ``(U,B,K) coordinates: A natural system for studying magnetospheric convection". JGR, 83, 4318-4326, 1978. Sheldon, R. B. and J. D. Gaffey, Jr. ``Particle tracing in the magnetosphere: New algorithms and results." GRL, 20, 767-770, 1993.

Study of electron transport in a Hall thruster by axial–radial fully kinetic particle simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cho, Shinatora, E-mail: choh.shinatora@jaxa.jp; Kubota, Kenichi; Funaki, Ikkoh

2015-10-15

Electron transport across a magnetic field in a magnetic-layer-type Hall thruster was numerically investigated for the future predictive modeling of Hall thrusters. The discharge of a 1-kW-class magnetic-layer-type Hall thruster designed for high-specific-impulse operation was modeled using an r-z two-dimensional fully kinetic particle code with and without artificial electron-diffusion models. The thruster performance results showed that both electron transport models captured the experimental result within discrepancies less than 20% in thrust and discharge current for all the simulated operation conditions. The electron cross-field transport mechanism of the so-called anomalous diffusion was self-consistently observed in the simulation without artificial diffusion models;more » the effective electron mobility was two orders of magnitude higher than the value obtained using the classical diffusion theory. To account for the self-consistently observed anomalous transport, the oscillation of plasma properties was speculated. It was suggested that the enhanced random-walk diffusion due to the velocity oscillation of low-frequency electron flow could explain the observed anomalous diffusion within an order of magnitude. The dominant oscillation mode of the electron flow velocity was found to be 20 kHz, which was coupled to electrostatic oscillation excited by global ionization instability.« less

Adjoint of the global Eulerian-Lagrangian coupled atmospheric transport model (A-GELCA v1.0): development and validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belikov, Dmitry A.; Maksyutov, Shamil; Yaremchuk, Alexey; Ganshin, Alexander; Kaminski, Thomas; Blessing, Simon; Sasakawa, Motoki; Gomez-Pelaez, Angel J.; Starchenko, Alexander

2016-02-01

We present the development of the Adjoint of the Global Eulerian-Lagrangian Coupled Atmospheric (A-GELCA) model that consists of the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) model as an Eulerian three-dimensional transport model (TM), and FLEXPART (FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model) as the Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model (LPDM). The forward tangent linear and adjoint components of the Eulerian model were constructed directly from the original NIES TM code using an automatic differentiation tool known as TAF (Transformation of Algorithms in Fortran; http://www.FastOpt.com, with additional manual pre- and post-processing aimed at improving transparency and clarity of the code and optimizing the performance of the computing, including MPI (Message Passing Interface). The Lagrangian component did not require any code modification, as LPDMs are self-adjoint and track a significant number of particles backward in time in order to calculate the sensitivity of the observations to the neighboring emission areas. The constructed Eulerian adjoint was coupled with the Lagrangian component at a time boundary in the global domain. The simulations presented in this work were performed using the A-GELCA model in forward and adjoint modes. The forward simulation shows that the coupled model improves reproduction of the seasonal cycle and short-term variability of CO2. Mean bias and standard deviation for five of the six Siberian sites considered decrease roughly by 1 ppm when using the coupled model. The adjoint of the Eulerian model was shown, through several numerical tests, to be very accurate (within machine epsilon with mismatch around to ±6 e-14) compared to direct forward sensitivity calculations. The developed adjoint of the coupled model combines the flux conservation and stability of an Eulerian discrete adjoint formulation with the flexibility, accuracy, and high resolution of a Lagrangian backward trajectory formulation. A-GELCA will be incorporated into a variational inversion system designed to optimize surface fluxes of greenhouse gases.

Progress Towards a Rad-Hydro Code for Modern Computing Architectures LA-UR-10-02825

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wohlbier, J. G.; Lowrie, R. B.; Bergen, B.; Calef, M.

2010-11-01

We are entering an era of high performance computing where data movement is the overwhelming bottleneck to scalable performance, as opposed to the speed of floating-point operations per processor. All multi-core hardware paradigms, whether heterogeneous or homogeneous, be it the Cell processor, GPGPU, or multi-core x86, share this common trait. In multi-physics applications such as inertial confinement fusion or astrophysics, one may be solving multi-material hydrodynamics with tabular equation of state data lookups, radiation transport, nuclear reactions, and charged particle transport in a single time cycle. The algorithms are intensely data dependent, e.g., EOS, opacity, nuclear data, and multi-core hardware memory restrictions are forcing code developers to rethink code and algorithm design. For the past two years LANL has been funding a small effort referred to as Multi-Physics on Multi-Core to explore ideas for code design as pertaining to inertial confinement fusion and astrophysics applications. The near term goals of this project are to have a multi-material radiation hydrodynamics capability, with tabular equation of state lookups, on cartesian and curvilinear block structured meshes. In the longer term we plan to add fully implicit multi-group radiation diffusion and material heat conduction, and block structured AMR. We will report on our progress to date.

Distributed multitasking ITS with PVM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fan, W.C.; Halbleib, J.A. Sr.

1995-12-31

Advances in computer hardware and communication software have made it possible to perform parallel-processing computing on a collection of desktop workstations. For many applications, multitasking on a cluster of high-performance workstations has achieved performance comparable to or better than that on a traditional supercomputer. From the point of view of cost-effectiveness, it also allows users to exploit available but unused computational resources and thus achieve a higher performance-to-cost ratio. Monte Carlo calculations are inherently parallelizable because the individual particle trajectories can be generated independently with minimum need for interprocessor communication. Furthermore, the number of particle histories that can be generatedmore » in a given amount of wall-clock time is nearly proportional to the number of processors in the cluster. This is an important fact because the inherent statistical uncertainty in any Monte Carlo result decreases as the number of histories increases. For these reasons, researchers have expended considerable effort to take advantage of different parallel architectures for a variety of Monte Carlo radiation transport codes, often with excellent results. The initial interest in this work was sparked by the multitasking capability of the MCNP code on a cluster of workstations using the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) software. On a 16-machine IBM RS/6000 cluster, it has been demonstrated that MCNP runs ten times as fast as on a single-processor CRAY YMP. In this paper, we summarize the implementation of a similar multitasking capability for the coupled electronphoton transport code system, the Integrated TIGER Series (ITS), and the evaluation of two load-balancing schemes for homogeneous and heterogeneous networks.« less

Effect of injection velocity and particle concentration on transport of nanoscale zero-valent iron and hydraulic conductivity in saturated porous media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strutz, Tessa J.; Hornbruch, Götz; Dahmke, Andreas; Köber, Ralf

2016-08-01

Successful groundwater remediation by injecting nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) particles requires efficient particle transportation and distribution in the subsurface. This study focused on the influence of injection velocity and particle concentration on the spatial NZVI particle distribution, the deposition processes and on quantifying the induced decrease in hydraulic conductivity (K) as a result of particle retention by lab tests and numerical simulations. Horizontal column tests of 2 m length were performed with initial Darcy injection velocities (q0) of 0.5, 1.5, and 4.1 m/h and elemental iron input concentrations (Fe0in) of 0.6, 10, and 17 g/L. Concentrations of Fe0 in the sand were determined by magnetic susceptibility scans, which provide detailed Fe0 distribution profiles along the column. NZVI particles were transported farther at higher injection velocity and higher input concentrations. K decreased by one order of magnitude during injection in all experiments, with a stronger decrease after reaching Fe0 concentrations of about 14-18 g/kg(sand). To simulate the observed nanoparticle transport behavior the existing finite-element code OGS has been successfully extended and parameterized for the investigated experiments using blocking, ripening, and straining as governing deposition processes. Considering parameter relationships deduced from single simulations for each experiment (e.g. deposition rate constants as a function of flow velocity) one mean parameter set has been generated reproducing the observations in an adequate way for most cases of the investigated realistic injection conditions. An assessment of the deposition processes related to clogging effects showed that the percentage of retention due to straining and ripening increased during experimental run time resulting in an ongoing reduction of K. Clogging is mainly evoked by straining which dominates particle deposition at higher flow velocities, while blocking and ripening play a significant role for attachment, mainly at lower injection velocities. Since the injection of fluids at real sites leads to descending flow velocities with increasing radial distance from the injection point, the simulation of particle transport requires accounting for all deposition processes mentioned above. Thus, the derived mean parameter set can be used as a basis for quantitative and predictive simulations of particle distributions and clogging effects at both lab and field scale. Since decreases in K can change the flow system, which may have positive as well as negative implications for the in situ remediation technology at a contaminated site, a reliable simulation is thus of great importance for NZVI injection and prediction.

A fully-neoclassical finite-orbit-width version of the CQL3D Fokker–Planck code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petrov, Yu V.; Harvey, R. W.

The time-dependent bounce-averaged CQL3D flux-conservative finite-difference Fokker–Planck equation (FPE) solver has been upgraded to include finite-orbit-width (FOW) capabilities which are necessary for an accurate description of neoclassical transport, losses to the walls, and transfer of particles, momentum, and heat to the scrape-off layer. The FOW modifications are implemented in the formulation of the neutral beam source, collision operator, RF quasilinear diffusion operator, and in synthetic particle diagnostics. The collisional neoclassical radial transport appears naturally in the FOW version due to the orbit-averaging of local collision coefficients coupled with transformation coefficients from local (R, Z) coordinates along each guiding-center orbit tomore » the corresponding midplane computational coordinates, where the FPE is solved. In a similar way, the local quasilinear RF diffusion terms give rise to additional radial transport of orbits. We note that the neoclassical results are obtained for ‘full’ orbits, not dependent on a common small orbit-width approximation. Results of validation tests for the FOW version are also presented.« less

A fully-neoclassical finite-orbit-width version of the CQL3D Fokker–Planck code

DOE PAGES

Petrov, Yu V.; Harvey, R. W.

2016-09-08

The time-dependent bounce-averaged CQL3D flux-conservative finite-difference Fokker–Planck equation (FPE) solver has been upgraded to include finite-orbit-width (FOW) capabilities which are necessary for an accurate description of neoclassical transport, losses to the walls, and transfer of particles, momentum, and heat to the scrape-off layer. The FOW modifications are implemented in the formulation of the neutral beam source, collision operator, RF quasilinear diffusion operator, and in synthetic particle diagnostics. The collisional neoclassical radial transport appears naturally in the FOW version due to the orbit-averaging of local collision coefficients coupled with transformation coefficients from local (R, Z) coordinates along each guiding-center orbit tomore » the corresponding midplane computational coordinates, where the FPE is solved. In a similar way, the local quasilinear RF diffusion terms give rise to additional radial transport of orbits. We note that the neoclassical results are obtained for ‘full’ orbits, not dependent on a common small orbit-width approximation. Results of validation tests for the FOW version are also presented.« less

GPU-accelerated Red Blood Cells Simulations with Transport Dissipative Particle Dynamics.

PubMed

Blumers, Ansel L; Tang, Yu-Hang; Li, Zhen; Li, Xuejin; Karniadakis, George E

2017-08-01

Mesoscopic numerical simulations provide a unique approach for the quantification of the chemical influences on red blood cell functionalities. The transport Dissipative Particles Dynamics (tDPD) method can lead to such effective multiscale simulations due to its ability to simultaneously capture mesoscopic advection, diffusion, and reaction. In this paper, we present a GPU-accelerated red blood cell simulation package based on a tDPD adaptation of our red blood cell model, which can correctly recover the cell membrane viscosity, elasticity, bending stiffness, and cross-membrane chemical transport. The package essentially processes all computational workloads in parallel by GPU, and it incorporates multi-stream scheduling and non-blocking MPI communications to improve inter-node scalability. Our code is validated for accuracy and compared against the CPU counterpart for speed. Strong scaling and weak scaling are also presented to characterizes scalability. We observe a speedup of 10.1 on one GPU over all 16 cores within a single node, and a weak scaling efficiency of 91% across 256 nodes. The program enables quick-turnaround and high-throughput numerical simulations for investigating chemical-driven red blood cell phenomena and disorders.

Cosmic-Ray Transport in Heliospheric Magnetic Structures. II. Modeling Particle Transport through Corotating Interaction Regions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kopp, Andreas; Wiengarten, Tobias; Fichtner, Horst

The transport of cosmic rays (CRs) in the heliosphere is determined by the properties of the solar wind plasma. The heliospheric plasma environment has been probed by spacecraft for decades and provides a unique opportunity for testing transport theories. Of particular interest for the three-dimensional (3D) heliospheric CR transport are structures such as corotating interaction regions (CIRs), which, due to the enhancement of the magnetic field strength and magnetic fluctuations within and due to the associated shocks as well as stream interfaces, do influence the CR diffusion and drift. In a three-fold series of papers, we investigate these effects bymore » modeling inner-heliospheric solar wind conditions with the numerical magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) framework Cronos (Wiengarten et al., referred as Paper I), and the results serve as input to a transport code employing a stochastic differential equation approach (this paper). While, in Paper I, we presented results from 3D simulations with Cronos, the MHD output is now taken as an input to the CR transport modeling. We discuss the diffusion and drift behavior of Galactic cosmic rays using the example of different theories, and study the effects of CIRs on these transport processes. In particular, we point out the wide range of possible particle fluxes at a given point in space resulting from these different theories. The restriction of this variety by fitting the numerical results to spacecraft data will be the subject of the third paper of this series.« less

Analysis of linear energy transfers and quality factors of charged particles produced by spontaneous fission neutrons from 252Cf and 244Pu in the human body.

PubMed

Endo, Akira; Sato, Tatsuhiko

2013-04-01

Absorbed doses, linear energy transfers (LETs) and quality factors of secondary charged particles in organs and tissues, generated via the interactions of the spontaneous fission neutrons from (252)Cf and (244)Pu within the human body, were studied using the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System (PHITS) coupled with the ICRP Reference Phantom. Both the absorbed doses and the quality factors in target organs generally decrease with increasing distance from the source organ. The analysis of LET distributions of secondary charged particles led to the identification of the relationship between LET spectra and target-source organ locations. A comparison between human body-averaged mean quality factors and fluence-averaged radiation weighting factors showed that the current numerical conventions for the radiation weighting factors of neutrons, updated in ICRP103, and the quality factors for internal exposure are valid.

Advances in stellarator gyrokinetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helander, P.; Bird, T.; Jenko, F.; Kleiber, R.; Plunk, G. G.; Proll, J. H. E.; Riemann, J.; Xanthopoulos, P.

2015-05-01

Recent progress in the gyrokinetic theory of stellarator microinstabilities and turbulence simulations is summarized. The simulations have been carried out using two different gyrokinetic codes, the global particle-in-cell code EUTERPE and the continuum code GENE, which operates in the geometry of a flux tube or a flux surface but is local in the radial direction. Ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) and trapped-electron modes are studied and compared with their counterparts in axisymmetric tokamak geometry. Several interesting differences emerge. Because of the more complicated structure of the magnetic field, the fluctuations are much less evenly distributed over each flux surface in stellarators than in tokamaks. Instead of covering the entire outboard side of the torus, ITG turbulence is localized to narrow bands along the magnetic field in regions of unfavourable curvature, and the resulting transport depends on the normalized gyroradius ρ* even in radially local simulations. Trapped-electron modes can be significantly more stable than in typical tokamaks, because of the spatial separation of regions with trapped particles from those with bad magnetic curvature. Preliminary non-linear simulations in flux-tube geometry suggest differences in the turbulence levels in Wendelstein 7-X and a typical tokamak.

Simulation of Plasma Transport in a Toroidal Annulus with TEMPEST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Z.

2005-10-01

TEMPEST is an edge gyro-kinetic continuum code currently under development at LLNL to study boundary plasma transport over a region extending from inside the H-mode pedestal across the separatrix to the divertor plates. Here we report simulation results from the 4D (θ, ψ, E, μ) TEMPEST, for benchmark purpose, in an annulus region immediately inside the separatrix of a large aspect ratio, circular cross-section tokamak. Besides the normal poloidal trapping regions, there are radial inaccessible regions at a fixed poloid angle, energy and magnetic moment due to the radial variation of the B field. To handle such cases, a fifth-order WENO differencing scheme is used in the radial direction. The particle and heat transport coefficients are obtained for different collisional regimes and compared with the neo-classical transport theory.

Advanced tokamak research with integrated modeling in JT-60 Upgrade

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hayashi, N.

2010-05-15

Researches on advanced tokamak (AT) have progressed with integrated modeling in JT-60 Upgrade [N. Oyama et al., Nucl. Fusion 49, 104007 (2009)]. Based on JT-60U experimental analyses and first principle simulations, new models were developed and integrated into core, rotation, edge/pedestal, and scrape-off-layer (SOL)/divertor codes. The integrated models clarified complex and autonomous features in AT. An integrated core model was implemented to take account of an anomalous radial transport of alpha particles caused by Alfven eigenmodes. It showed the reduction in the fusion gain by the anomalous radial transport and further escape of alpha particles. Integrated rotation model showed mechanismsmore » of rotation driven by the magnetic-field-ripple loss of fast ions and the charge separation due to fast-ion drift. An inward pinch model of high-Z impurity due to the atomic process was developed and indicated that the pinch velocity increases with the toroidal rotation. Integrated edge/pedestal model clarified causes of collisionality dependence of energy loss due to the edge localized mode and the enhancement of energy loss by steepening a core pressure gradient just inside the pedestal top. An ideal magnetohydrodynamics stability code was developed to take account of toroidal rotation and clarified a destabilizing effect of rotation on the pedestal. Integrated SOL/divertor model clarified a mechanism of X-point multifaceted asymmetric radiation from edge. A model of the SOL flow driven by core particle orbits which partially enter the SOL was developed by introducing the ion-orbit-induced flow to fluid equations.« less

The Plasma Simulation Code: A modern particle-in-cell code with patch-based load-balancing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Germaschewski, Kai; Fox, William; Abbott, Stephen; Ahmadi, Narges; Maynard, Kristofor; Wang, Liang; Ruhl, Hartmut; Bhattacharjee, Amitava

2016-08-01

This work describes the Plasma Simulation Code (PSC), an explicit, electromagnetic particle-in-cell code with support for different order particle shape functions. We review the basic components of the particle-in-cell method as well as the computational architecture of the PSC code that allows support for modular algorithms and data structure in the code. We then describe and analyze in detail a distinguishing feature of PSC: patch-based load balancing using space-filling curves which is shown to lead to major efficiency gains over unbalanced methods and a previously used simpler balancing method.

Geometric effects in the electronic transport of deformed nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, Fernando; Fumeron, Sébastien; Berche, Bertrand; Moraes, Fernando

2016-04-01

Quasi-two-dimensional systems may exibit curvature, which adds three-dimensional influence to their internal properties. As shown by da Costa (1981 Phys. Rev. A 23 1982-7), charged particles moving on a curved surface experience a curvature-dependent potential which greatly influence their dynamics. In this paper, we study the electronic ballistic transport in deformed nanotubes. The one-electron Schrödinger equation with open boundary conditions is solved numerically with a flexible MAPLE code made available as supplementary data. We find that the curvature of the deformations indeed has strong effects on the electron dynamics, suggesting its use in the design of nanotube-based electronic devices.

Applicability of a Bonner Shere technique for pulsed neutron in 120 GeV proton facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sanami, T.; Hagiwara, M.; Iwase, H.

2008-02-01

The data on neutron spectra and intensity behind shielding are important for radiation safety design of high-energy accelerators since neutrons are capable of penetrating thick shielding and activating materials. Corresponding particle transport codes--that involve physics models of neutron and other particle production, transportation, and interaction--have been developed and used world-wide [1-8]. The results of these codes have been ensured through plenty of comparisons with experimental results taken in simple geometries. For neutron generation and transport, several related experiments have been performed to measure neutron spectra, attenuation length and reaction rates behind shielding walls of various thicknesses and materials in energymore » range up to several hundred of MeV [9-11]. The data have been used to benchmark--and modify if needed--the simulation modes and parameters in the codes, as well as the reference data for radiation safety design. To obtain such kind of data above several hundred of MeV, Japan-Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) collaboration for shielding experiments has been started in 2007, based on suggestion from the specialist meeting of shielding, Shielding Aspects of Target, Irradiation Facilities (SATIF), because of very limited data available in high-energy region (see, for example, [12]). As a part of this shielding experiment, a set of Bonner sphere (BS) was tested at the antiproton production target facility (pbar target station) at FNAL to obtain neutron spectra induced by a 120-GeV proton beam in concrete and iron shielding. Generally, utilization of an active detector around high-energy accelerators requires an improvement on its readout to overcome burst of secondary radiation since the accelerator delivers an intense beam to a target in a short period after relatively long acceleration period. In this paper, we employ BS for a spectrum measurement of neutrons that penetrate the shielding wall of the pbar target station in FNAL.« less

Comparisons of 'Identical' Simulations by the Eulerian Gyrokinetic Codes GS2 and GYRO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bravenec, R. V.; Ross, D. W.; Candy, J.; Dorland, W.; McKee, G. R.

2003-10-01

A major goal of the fusion program is to be able to predict tokamak transport from first-principles theory. To this end, the Eulerian gyrokinetic code GS2 was developed years ago and continues to be improved [1]. Recently, the Eulerian code GYRO was developed [2]. These codes are not subject to the statistical noise inherent to particle-in-cell (PIC) codes, and have been very successful in treating electromagnetic fluctuations. GS2 is fully spectral in the radial coordinate while GYRO uses finite-differences and ``banded" spectral schemes. To gain confidence in nonlinear simulations of experiment with these codes, ``apples-to-apples" comparisons (identical profile inputs, flux-tube geometry, two species, etc.) are first performed. We report on a series of linear and nonlinear comparisons (with overall agreement) including kinetic electrons, collisions, and shaped flux surfaces. We also compare nonlinear simulations of a DIII-D discharge to measurements of not only the fluxes but also the turbulence parameters. [1] F. Jenko, et al., Phys. Plasmas 7, 1904 (2000) and refs. therein. [2] J. Candy, J. Comput. Phys. 186, 545 (2003).

Spatially-Dependent Modelling of Pulsar Wind Nebula G0.9+0.1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Rensburg, C.; Krüger, P. P.; Venter, C.

2018-03-01

We present results from a leptonic emission code that models the spectral energy distribution of a pulsar wind nebula by solving a Fokker-Planck-type transport equation and calculating inverse Compton and synchrotron emissivities. We have created this time-dependent, multi-zone model to investigate changes in the particle spectrum as they traverse the pulsar wind nebula, by considering a time and spatially-dependent B-field, spatially-dependent bulk particle speed implying convection and adiabatic losses, diffusion, as well as radiative losses. Our code predicts the radiation spectrum at different positions in the nebula, yielding the surface brightness versus radius and the nebular size as function of energy. We compare our new model against more basic models using the observed spectrum of pulsar wind nebula G0.9+0.1, incorporating data from H.E.S.S. as well as radio and X-ray experiments. We show that simultaneously fitting the spectral energy distribution and the energy-dependent source size leads to more stringent constraints on several model parameters.

Open-source Framework for Storing and Manipulation of Plasma Chemical Reaction Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, T. G.; Averkin, S. N.; Cary, J. R.; Kruger, S. E.

2017-10-01

We present a new open-source framework for storage and manipulation of plasma chemical reaction data that has emerged from our in-house project MUNCHKIN. This framework consists of python scripts and C + + programs. It stores data in an SQL data base for fast retrieval and manipulation. For example, it is possible to fit cross-section data into most widely used analytical expressions, calculate reaction rates for Maxwellian distribution functions of colliding particles, and fit them into different analytical expressions. Another important feature of this framework is the ability to calculate transport properties based on the cross-section data and supplied distribution functions. In addition, this framework allows the export of chemical reaction descriptions in LaTeX format for ease of inclusion in scientific papers. With the help of this framework it is possible to generate corresponding VSim (Particle-In-Cell simulation code) and USim (unstructured multi-fluid code) input blocks with appropriate cross-sections.

Spatially dependent modelling of pulsar wind nebula G0.9+0.1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Rensburg, C.; Krüger, P. P.; Venter, C.

2018-07-01

We present results from a leptonic emission code that models the spectral energy distribution of a pulsar wind nebula by solving a Fokker-Planck-type transport equation and calculating inverse Compton and synchrotron emissivities. We have created this time-dependent, multizone model to investigate changes in the particle spectrum as they traverse the pulsar wind nebula, by considering a time and spatially dependent B-field, spatially dependent bulk particle speed implying convection and adiabatic losses, diffusion, as well as radiative losses. Our code predicts the radiation spectrum at different positions in the nebula, yielding the surface brightness versus radius and the nebular size as function of energy. We compare our new model against more basic models using the observed spectrum of pulsar wind nebula G0.9+0.1, incorporating data from H.E.S.S. as well as radio and X-ray experiments. We show that simultaneously fitting the spectral energy distribution and the energy-dependent source size leads to more stringent constraints on several model parameters.

Development of deterministic transport methods for low energy neutrons for shielding in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ganapol, Barry

1993-01-01

Transport of low energy neutrons associated with the galactic cosmic ray cascade is analyzed in this dissertation. A benchmark quality analytical algorithm is demonstrated for use with BRYNTRN, a computer program written by the High Energy Physics Division of NASA Langley Research Center, which is used to design and analyze shielding against the radiation created by the cascade. BRYNTRN uses numerical methods to solve the integral transport equations for baryons with the straight-ahead approximation, and numerical and empirical methods to generate the interaction probabilities. The straight-ahead approximation is adequate for charged particles, but not for neutrons. As NASA Langley improves BRYNTRN to include low energy neutrons, a benchmark quality solution is needed for comparison. The neutron transport algorithm demonstrated in this dissertation uses the closed-form Green's function solution to the galactic cosmic ray cascade transport equations to generate a source of neutrons. A basis function expansion for finite heterogeneous and semi-infinite homogeneous slabs with multiple energy groups and isotropic scattering is used to generate neutron fluxes resulting from the cascade. This method, called the FN method, is used to solve the neutral particle linear Boltzmann transport equation. As a demonstration of the algorithm coded in the programs MGSLAB and MGSEMI, neutron and ion fluxes are shown for a beam of fluorine ions at 1000 MeV per nucleon incident on semi-infinite and finite aluminum slabs. Also, to demonstrate that the shielding effectiveness against the radiation from the galactic cosmic ray cascade is not directly proportional to shield thickness, a graph of transmitted total neutron scalar flux versus slab thickness is shown. A simple model based on the nuclear liquid drop assumption is used to generate cross sections for the galactic cosmic ray cascade. The ENDF/B V database is used to generate the total and scattering cross sections for neutrons in aluminum. As an external verification, the results from MGSLAB and MGSEMI were compared to ANISN/PC, a routinely used neutron transport code, showing excellent agreement. In an application to an aluminum shield, the FN method seems to generate reasonable results.

Measurement of DT and DD components in neutron spectrum with a double-crystal time-of-flight spectrometer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Okada, K.; Okamoto, A.; Kitajima, S.

To investigate the deuteron and triton density ratio in core plasmas, a new methodology with measurement of tritium (DT) and deuterium (DD) neutron count rate ratio using a double-crystal time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometer is proposed. Multi-discriminator electronic circuits for the first and second detectors are used in addition to the TOF technique. The optimum arrangement of the detectors and discrimination window were examined considering the relations between the geometrical arrangement and deposited energy using a Monte Carlo Code, PHITS (Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System). An experiment to verify the calculations was performed using DD neutrons from an accelerator.

Geometry creation for MCNP by Sabrina and XSM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Riper, K.A.

The Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code MCNP is based on a surface description of 3-dimensional geometry. Cells are defined in terms of boolean operations on signed quadratic surfaces. MCNP geometry is entered as a card image file containing coefficients of the surface equations and a list of surfaces and operators describing cells. Several programs are available to assist in creation of the geometry specification, among them Sabrina and the new ``Smart Editor`` code XSM. We briefly describe geometry creation in Sabrina and then discuss XSM in detail. XSM is under development; our discussion is based on the state of XSMmore » as of January 1, 1994.« less

Improved Convergence Rate of Multi-Group Scattering Moment Tallies for Monte Carlo Neutron Transport Codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Adam

Multi-group scattering moment matrices are critical to the solution of the multi-group form of the neutron transport equation, as they are responsible for describing the change in direction and energy of neutrons. These matrices, however, are difficult to correctly calculate from the measured nuclear data with both deterministic and stochastic methods. Calculating these parameters when using deterministic methods requires a set of assumptions which do not hold true in all conditions. These quantities can be calculated accurately with stochastic methods, however doing so is computationally expensive due to the poor efficiency of tallying scattering moment matrices. This work presents an improved method of obtaining multi-group scattering moment matrices from a Monte Carlo neutron transport code. This improved method of tallying the scattering moment matrices is based on recognizing that all of the outgoing particle information is known a priori and can be taken advantage of to increase the tallying efficiency (therefore reducing the uncertainty) of the stochastically integrated tallies. In this scheme, the complete outgoing probability distribution is tallied, supplying every one of the scattering moment matrices elements with its share of data. In addition to reducing the uncertainty, this method allows for the use of a track-length estimation process potentially offering even further improvement to the tallying efficiency. Unfortunately, to produce the needed distributions, the probability functions themselves must undergo an integration over the outgoing energy and scattering angle dimensions. This integration is too costly to perform during the Monte Carlo simulation itself and therefore must be performed in advance by way of a pre-processing code. The new method increases the information obtained from tally events and therefore has a significantly higher efficiency than the currently used techniques. The improved method has been implemented in a code system containing a new pre-processor code, NDPP, and a Monte Carlo neutron transport code, OpenMC. This method is then tested in a pin cell problem and a larger problem designed to accentuate the importance of scattering moment matrices. These tests show that accuracy was retained while the figure-of-merit for generating scattering moment matrices and fission energy spectra was significantly improved.

Verification and Validation of Monte Carlo n-Particle Code 6 (MCNP6) with Neutron Protection Factor Measurements of an Iron Box

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF MONTE CARLO N- PARTICLE CODE 6 (MCNP6) WITH NEUTRON PROTECTION FACTOR... PARTICLE CODE 6 (MCNP6) WITH NEUTRON PROTECTION FACTOR MEASUREMENTS OF AN IRON BOX THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department of Engineering...STATEMENT A. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED iv AFIT-ENP-14-M-05 VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF MONTE CARLO N- PARTICLE CODE 6

Simulation of Earth-Moon-Mars Environments for the Assessment of Organ Doses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, M. Y.; Schwadron, N. A.; Townsend, L.; Cucinotta, F. A.

2010-12-01

Space radiation environments for historically large solar particle events (SPE) and galactic cosmic rays (GCR) at solar minimum and solar maximum are simulated in order to characterize exposures to radio-sensitive organs for missions to low-Earth orbit (LEO), moon, and Mars. Primary and secondary particles for SPE and GCR are transported through the respective atmosphere of Earth or Mars, space vehicle, and astronaut’s body tissues using the HZETRN/QMSFRG computer code. In LEO, exposures are reduced compared to deep space because particles are deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field and absorbed by the solid body of the Earth. Geomagnetic transmission function as a function of altitude was applied for the particle flux of charged particles, and the shift of the organ exposures to higher velocity or lower stopping powers compared to those in deep space was analyzed. In the transport through Mars atmosphere, a vertical distribution of atmospheric thickness was calculated from the temperature and pressure data of Mars Global Surveyor, and the directional cosine distribution was implemented to describe the spherically distributed atmospheric distance along the slant path at each altitude. The resultant directional shielding by Mars atmosphere at solar minimum and solar maximum was used for the particle flux simulation at various altitudes on the Martian surface. Finally, atmospheric shielding was coupled with vehicle and body shielding for organ dose estimates. We made predictions of radiation dose equivalents and evaluated acute symptoms at LEO, moon, and Mars at solar minimum and solar maximum.

GASFLOW: A Computational Fluid Dynamics Code for Gases, Aerosols, and Combustion, Volume 3: Assessment Manual

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Müller, C.; Hughes, E. D.; Niederauer, G. F.

1998-10-01

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FzK) are developing GASFLOW, a three-dimensional (3D) fluid dynamics field code as a best- estimate tool to characterize local phenomena within a flow field. Examples of 3D phenomena include circulation patterns; flow stratification; hydrogen distribution mixing and stratification; combustion and flame propagation; effects of noncondensable gas distribution on local condensation and evaporation; and aerosol entrainment, transport, and deposition. An analysis with GASFLOW will result in a prediction of the gas composition and discrete particle distribution in space and time throughout the facility and the resulting pressure and temperature loadings on the wallsmore » and internal structures with or without combustion. A major application of GASFLOW is for predicting the transport, mixing, and combustion of hydrogen and other gases in nuclear reactor containment and other facilities. It has been applied to situations involving transporting and distributing combustible gas mixtures. It has been used to study gas dynamic behavior in low-speed, buoyancy-driven flows, as well as sonic flows or diffusion dominated flows; and during chemically reacting flows, including deflagrations. The effects of controlling such mixtures by safety systems can be analyzed. The code version described in this manual is designated GASFLOW 2.1, which combines previous versions of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission code HMS (for Hydrogen Mixing Studies) and the Department of Energy and FzK versions of GASFLOW. The code was written in standard Fortran 90. This manual comprises three volumes. Volume I describes the governing physical equations and computational model. Volume II describes how to use the code to set up a model geometry, specify gas species and material properties, define initial and boundary conditions, and specify different outputs, especially graphical displays. Sample problems are included. Volume III contains some of the assessments performed by LANL and FzK« less

Evidence for collective expansion in light-particle emission following Au+Au collisions at 100, 150 and 250 A·MeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poggi, G.; Pasquali, G.; Bini, M.; Maurenzig, P.; Olmi, A.; Taccetti, N.; Alard, J. P.; Amouroux, V.; Basrak, Z.; Bastid, N.; Belayev, I. M.; Berger, L.; Blaich, Th.; Boussange, S.; Buta, A.; Čaplar, R.; Cerruti, C.; Cindro, N.; Coffin, J. P.; Donà, R.; Dupieux, P.; Dželalija, M.; Erö, J.; Fan, Z. G.; Fintz, P.; Fodor, Z.; Fraysse, L.; Freifelder, R.; Frolov, S.; Gobbi, A.; Grigorian, Y.; Guillaume, G.; Herrmann, N.; Hildenbrand, K. D.; Hölbling, S.; Houari, A.; Jeong, S. C.; Jundt, F.; Kecskemeti, J.; Koncz, P.; Korchagin, Y.; Kotte, R.; Krämer, M.; Kuhn, C.; Ibnouzahir, M.; Legrand, I.; Lebedev, A.; Maguire, C.; Manko, V.; Mgebrishvili, G.; Mösner, J.; Moisa, D.; Montarou, G.; Montbel, I.; Morel, P.; Neubert, W.; Pelte, D.; Petrovici, M.; Rami, F.; Ramillien, V.; Reisdorf, W.; Sadchikov, A.; Schüll, D.; Seres, Z.; Sikora, B.; Simion, V.; Smolyankin, S.; Sodan, U.; The, K.; Tezkratt, R.; Trzaska, M.; Vasiliev, M. A.; Wagner, P.; Wessels, J. P.; Wienold, T.; Wilhelmi, Z.; Wohlfarth, D.; Zhilin, A. V.; Danielewicz, P.; FOPI Collaboration

1995-02-01

Light-particle emission from Au+Au collisions has been studied in the bombarding-energy range 100-250 A·MeV, using ΔE- ER telescopes in coincidence with the FOPI detector in its phase I configuration. Center-of-mass energy spectra have been measured for Z = 1,2 isotopes emitted in central collisions at CM polar angles between 60° and 90°. Evidence for a collective expansion is reported, on the basis of the mean kinetic energies of hydrogen isotopes. Comparison is presented with statistical calculations (WIX code). For CM kinetic energy spectra, fair agreement is found between data and a recently developed transport model.

Simulation of drift wave instability in field-reversed configurations using global magnetic geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulton, D. P.; Lau, C. K.; Lin, Z.; Tajima, T.; Holod, I.; the TAE Team

2016-10-01

Minimizing transport in the field-reversed configuration (FRC) is essential to enable FRC-based fusion reactors. Recently, significant progress on advanced beam-driven FRCs in C-2 and C-2U (at Tri Alpha Energy) provides opportunities to study transport properties using Doppler backscattering (DBS) measurements of turbulent fluctuations and kinetic particle-in-cell simulations of driftwaves in realistic equilibria via the Gyrokinetic Toroidal Code (GTC). Both measurements and simulations indicate relatively small fluctuations in the scrape-off layer (SOL). In the FRC core, local, single flux surface simulations reveal strong stabilization, while experiments indicate quiescent but finite fluctuations. One possible explanation is that turbulence may originate in the SOL and propagate at very low levels across the separatrix into the core. To test this hypothesis, a significant effort has been made to develop A New Code (ANC) based on GTC physics formulations, but using cylindrical coordinates which span the magnetic separatrix, including both core and SOL. Here, we present first results from global ANC simulations.

Coupled two-dimensional edge plasma and neutral gas modeling of tokamak scrape-off-layers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maingi, Rajesh

1992-08-01

The objective of this study is to devise a detailed description of the tokamak scrape-off-layer (SOL), which includes the best available models of both the plasma and neutral species and the strong coupling between the two in many SOL regimes. A good estimate of both particle flux and heat flux profiles at the limiter/divertor target plates is desired. Peak heat flux is one of the limiting factors in determining the survival probability of plasma-facing-components at high power levels. Plate particle flux affects the neutral flux to the pump, which determines the particle exhaust rate. A technique which couples a two-dimensionalmore » (2-D) plasma and a 2-D neutral transport code has been developed (coupled code technique), but this procedure requires large amounts of computer time. Relevant physics has been added to an existing two-neutral-species model which takes the SOL plasma/neutral coupling into account in a simple manner (molecular physics model), and this model is compared with the coupled code technique mentioned above. The molecular physics model is benchmarked against experimental data from a divertor tokamak (DIII-D), and a similar model (single-species model) is benchmarked against data from a pump-limiter tokamak (Tore Supra). The models are then used to examine two key issues: free-streaming-limits (ion energy conduction and momentum flux) and the effects of the non-orthogonal geometry of magnetic flux surfaces and target plates on edge plasma parameter profiles.« less

Galactic cosmic ray radiation levels in spacecraft on interplanetary missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shinn, J. L.; Nealy, J. E.; Townsend, L. W.; Wilson, J. W.; Wood, J.S.

1994-01-01

Using the Langley Research Center Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) transport computer code (HZETRN) and the Computerized Anatomical Man (CAM) model, crew radiation levels inside manned spacecraft on interplanetary missions are estimated. These radiation-level estimates include particle fluxes, LET (Linear Energy Transfer) spectra, absorbed dose, and dose equivalent within various organs of interest in GCR protection studies. Changes in these radiation levels resulting from the use of various different types of shield materials are presented.

Unstructured Polyhedral Mesh Thermal Radiation Diffusion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Palmer, T.S.; Zika, M.R.; Madsen, N.K.

2000-07-27

Unstructured mesh particle transport and diffusion methods are gaining wider acceptance as mesh generation, scientific visualization and linear solvers improve. This paper describes an algorithm that is currently being used in the KULL code at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to solve the radiative transfer equations. The algorithm employs a point-centered diffusion discretization on arbitrary polyhedral meshes in 3D. We present the results of a few test problems to illustrate the capabilities of the radiation diffusion module.

Multiprocessing MCNP on an IBN RS/6000 cluster

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McKinney, G.W.; West, J.T.

1993-01-01

The advent of high-performance computer systems has brought to maturity programming concepts like vectorization, multiprocessing, and multitasking. While there are many schools of thought as to the most significant factor in obtaining order-of-magnitude increases in performance, such speedup can only be achieved by integrating the computer system and application code. Vectorization leads to faster manipulation of arrays by overlapping instruction CPU cycles. Discrete ordinates codes, which require the solving of large matrices, have proved to be major benefactors of vectorization. Monte Carlo transport, on the other hand, typically contains numerous logic statements and requires extensive redevelopment to benefit from vectorization.more » Multiprocessing and multitasking provide additional CPU cycles via multiple processors. Such systems are generally designed with either common memory access (multitasking) or distributed memory access. In both cases, theoretical speedup, as a function of the number of processors P and the fraction f of task time that multiprocesses, can be formulated using Amdahl's law: S(f, P) =1/(1-f+f/P). However, for most applications, this theoretical limit cannot be achieved because of additional terms (e.g., multitasking overhead, memory overlap, etc.) that are not included in Amdahl's law. Monte Carlo transport is a natural candidate for multiprocessing because the particle tracks are generally independent, and the precision of the result increases as the square Foot of the number of particles tracked.« less

Multiprocessing MCNP on an IBM RS/6000 cluster

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McKinney, G.W.; West, J.T.

1993-03-01

The advent of high-performance computer systems has brought to maturity programming concepts like vectorization, multiprocessing, and multitasking. While there are many schools of thought as to the most significant factor in obtaining order-of-magnitude increases in performance, such speedup can only be achieved by integrating the computer system and application code. Vectorization leads to faster manipulation of arrays by overlapping instruction CPU cycles. Discrete ordinates codes, which require the solving of large matrices, have proved to be major benefactors of vectorization. Monte Carlo transport, on the other hand, typically contains numerous logic statements and requires extensive redevelopment to benefit from vectorization.more » Multiprocessing and multitasking provide additional CPU cycles via multiple processors. Such systems are generally designed with either common memory access (multitasking) or distributed memory access. In both cases, theoretical speedup, as a function of the number of processors (P) and the fraction of task time that multiprocesses (f), can be formulated using Amdahl`s Law S ((f,P) = 1 f + f/P). However, for most applications this theoretical limit cannot be achieved, due to additional terms not included in Amdahl`s Law. Monte Carlo transport is a natural candidate for multiprocessing, since the particle tracks are generally independent and the precision of the result increases as the square root of the number of particles tracked.« less

Computational Thermodynamics Analysis of Vaporizing Fuel Droplets in the Human Upper Airways

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhe; Kleinstreuer, Clement

The detailed knowledge of air flow structures as well as particle transport and deposition in the human lung for typical inhalation flow rates is an important precursor for dosimetry-and-health-effect studies of toxic particles as well as for targeted drug delivery of therapeutic aerosols. Focusing on highly toxic JP-8 fuel aerosols, 3-D airflow and fluid-particle thermodynamics in a human upper airway model starting from mouth to Generation G3 (G0 is the trachea) are simulated using a user-enhanced and experimentally validated finite-volume code. The temperature distributions and their effects on airflow structures, fuel vapor deposition and droplet motion/evaporation are discussed. The computational results show that the thermal effect on vapor deposition is minor, but it may greatly affect droplet deposition in human airways.

Spallation reactions: A successful interplay between modeling and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

David, J.-C.

2015-06-01

The spallation reactions are a type of nuclear reaction which occur in space by interaction of the cosmic rays with interstellar bodies. The first spallation reactions induced with an accelerator took place in 1947 at the Berkeley cyclotron (University of California) with 200MeV deuterons and 400MeV alpha beams. They highlighted the multiple emission of neutrons and charged particles and the production of a large number of residual nuclei far different from the target nuclei. In the same year, R. Serber described the reaction in two steps: a first and fast one with high-energy particle emission leading to an excited remnant nucleus, and a second one, much slower, the de-excitation of the remnant. In 2010 IAEA organized a workshop to present the results of the most widely used spallation codes within a benchmark of spallation models. If one of the goals was to understand the deficiencies, if any, in each code, one remarkable outcome points out the overall high-quality level of some models and so the great improvements achieved since Serber. Particle transport codes can then rely on such spallation models to treat the reactions between a light particle and an atomic nucleus with energies spanning from few tens of MeV up to some GeV. An overview of the spallation reactions modeling is presented in order to point out the incomparable contribution of models based on basic physics to numerous applications where such reactions occur. Validations or benchmarks, which are necessary steps in the improvement process, are also addressed, as well as the potential future domains of development. Spallation reactions modeling is a representative case of continuous studies aiming at understanding a reaction mechanism and which end up in a powerful tool.

Modelling of the physico-chemical behaviour of clay minerals with a thermo-kinetic model taking into account particles morphology in compacted material.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sali, D.; Fritz, B.; Clément, C.; Michau, N.

2003-04-01

Modelling of fluid-mineral interactions is largely used in Earth Sciences studies to better understand the involved physicochemical processes and their long-term effect on the materials behaviour. Numerical models simplify the processes but try to preserve their main characteristics. Therefore the modelling results strongly depend on the data quality describing initial physicochemical conditions for rock materials, fluids and gases, and on the realistic way of processes representations. The current geo-chemical models do not well take into account rock porosity and permeability and the particle morphology of clay minerals. In compacted materials like those considered as barriers in waste repositories, low permeability rocks like mudstones or compacted powders will be used : they contain mainly fine particles and the geochemical models used for predicting their interactions with fluids tend to misjudge their surface areas, which are fundamental parameters in kinetic modelling. The purpose of this study was to improve how to take into account the particles morphology in the thermo-kinetic code KINDIS and the reactive transport code KIRMAT. A new function was integrated in these codes, considering the reaction surface area as a volume depending parameter and the calculated evolution of the mass balance in the system was coupled with the evolution of reactive surface areas. We made application exercises for numerical validation of these new versions of the codes and the results were compared with those of the pre-existing thermo-kinetic code KINDIS. Several points are highlighted. Taking into account reactive surface area evolution during simulation modifies the predicted mass transfers related to fluid-minerals interactions. Different secondary mineral phases are also observed during modelling. The evolution of the reactive surface parameter helps to solve the competition effects between different phases present in the system which are all able to fix the chemical elements mobilised by the water-minerals interaction processes. To validate our model we simulated the compacted bentonite (MX80) studied for engineered barriers for radioactive waste confinement and mainly composed of Na-Ca-montmorillonite. The study of particles morphology and reactive surfaces evolutions reveals that aqueous ions have a complex behaviour, especially when competitions between various mineral phases occur. In that case, our model predicts a preferential precipitation of finest particles, favouring smectites instead of zeolites. This work is a part of a PhD Thesis supported by Andra, the French Radioactive Waste Management Agency.

Influence of emissivity on behavior of metallic dust particles in plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tanaka, Y.; Smirnov, R. D.; Pigarov, A. Yu.

Influence of thermal radiation emissivity on the lifetime of a dust particle in plasmas is investigated for different fusion relevant metals (Li, Be, Mo, and W). The thermal radiation is one of main cooling mechanisms of the dust in plasmas especially for dust with evaporation temperature higher than 2500 K. In this paper, the temperature- and radius-dependent emissivity of dust particles is calculated using Mie theory and temperature-dependent optical constants for the above metallic materials. The lifetime of a dust particle in uniform plasmas is estimated with the calculated emissivity using the dust transport code DUSTT[A. Pigarov et al., Physicsmore » of Plasmas 12, 122508 (2005)], considering other dust cooling and destruction processes such as physical and chemical sputtering, melting and evaporation, electron emission etc. The use of temperature-dependent emissivity calculated with Mie theory provides a longer lifetime of the refractory metal dust particle compared with that obtained using conventional emissivity constants in the literature. The dynamics of heavy metal dust particles are also presented using the calculated emissivity in a tokamak plasma.« less

Effects of MHD instabilities on neutral beam current drive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podestà, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Darrow, D. S.; Fredrickson, E. D.; Gerhardt, S. P.; White, R. B.

2015-05-01

Neutral beam injection (NBI) is one of the primary tools foreseen for heating, current drive (CD) and q-profile control in future fusion reactors such as ITER and a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility. However, fast ions from NBI may also provide the drive for energetic particle-driven instabilities (e.g. Alfvénic modes (AEs)), which in turn redistribute fast ions in both space and energy, thus hampering the control capabilities and overall efficiency of NB-driven current. Based on experiments on the NSTX tokamak (M. Ono et al 2000 Nucl. Fusion 40 557), the effects of AEs and other low-frequency magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities on NB-CD efficiency are investigated. A new fast ion transport model, which accounts for particle transport in phase space as required for resonant AE perturbations, is utilized to obtain consistent simulations of NB-CD through the tokamak transport code TRANSP. It is found that instabilities do indeed reduce the NB-driven current density over most of the plasma radius by up to ∼50%. Moreover, the details of the current profile evolution are sensitive to the specific model used to mimic the interaction between NB ions and instabilities. Implications for fast ion transport modeling in integrated tokamak simulations are briefly discussed.

SediFoam: A general-purpose, open-source CFD-DEM solver for particle-laden flow with emphasis on sediment transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Rui; Xiao, Heng

2016-04-01

With the growth of available computational resource, CFD-DEM (computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method) becomes an increasingly promising and feasible approach for the study of sediment transport. Several existing CFD-DEM solvers are applied in chemical engineering and mining industry. However, a robust CFD-DEM solver for the simulation of sediment transport is still desirable. In this work, the development of a three-dimensional, massively parallel, and open-source CFD-DEM solver SediFoam is detailed. This solver is built based on open-source solvers OpenFOAM and LAMMPS. OpenFOAM is a CFD toolbox that can perform three-dimensional fluid flow simulations on unstructured meshes; LAMMPS is a massively parallel DEM solver for molecular dynamics. Several validation tests of SediFoam are performed using cases of a wide range of complexities. The results obtained in the present simulations are consistent with those in the literature, which demonstrates the capability of SediFoam for sediment transport applications. In addition to the validation test, the parallel efficiency of SediFoam is studied to test the performance of the code for large-scale and complex simulations. The parallel efficiency tests show that the scalability of SediFoam is satisfactory in the simulations using up to O(107) particles.

Effects of MHD instabilities on neutral beam current drive

DOE PAGES

Podestà, M.; Gorelenkova, M.; Darrow, D. S.; ...

2015-04-17

One of the primary tools foreseen for heating, current drive (CD) and q-profile control in future fusion reactors such as ITER and a Fusion Nuclear Science Facility is the neutral beam injection (NBI). However, fast ions from NBI may also provide the drive for energetic particle-driven instabilities (e.g. Alfvénic modes (AEs)), which in turn redistribute fast ions in both space and energy, thus hampering the control capabilities and overall efficiency of NB-driven current. Based on experiments on the NSTX tokamak (M. Ono et al 2000 Nucl. Fusion 40 557), the effects of AEs and other low-frequency magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities on NB-CDmore » efficiency are investigated. When looking at the new fast ion transport model, which accounts for particle transport in phase space as required for resonant AE perturbations, is utilized to obtain consistent simulations of NB-CD through the tokamak transport code TRANSP. It is found that instabilities do indeed reduce the NB-driven current density over most of the plasma radius by up to ~50%. Moreover, the details of the current profile evolution are sensitive to the specific model used to mimic the interaction between NB ions and instabilities. Finally, implications for fast ion transport modeling in integrated tokamak simulations are briefly discussed.« less

An Improved Neutron Transport Algorithm for Space Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinbockel, John H.; Clowdsley, Martha S.; Wilson, John W.

2000-01-01

A low-energy neutron transport algorithm for use in space radiation protection is developed. The algorithm is based upon a multigroup analysis of the straight-ahead Boltzmann equation by using a mean value theorem for integrals. This analysis is accomplished by solving a realistic but simplified neutron transport test problem. The test problem is analyzed by using numerical and analytical procedures to obtain an accurate solution within specified error bounds. Results from the test problem are then used for determining mean values associated with rescattering terms that are associated with a multigroup solution of the straight-ahead Boltzmann equation. The algorithm is then coupled to the Langley HZETRN code through the evaporation source term. Evaluation of the neutron fluence generated by the solar particle event of February 23, 1956, for a water and an aluminum-water shield-target configuration is then compared with LAHET and MCNPX Monte Carlo code calculations for the same shield-target configuration. The algorithm developed showed a great improvement in results over the unmodified HZETRN solution. In addition, a two-directional solution of the evaporation source showed even further improvement of the fluence near the front of the water target where diffusion from the front surface is important.

Turbulent transport in 2D collisionless guide field reconnection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muñoz, P. A.; Büchner, J.; Kilian, P.

2017-02-01

Transport in hot and dilute, i.e., collisionless, astrophysical and space, plasmas is called "anomalous." This transport is due to the interaction between the particles and the self-generated turbulence by their collective interactions. The anomalous transport has very different and not well known properties compared to the transport due to binary collisions, dominant in colder and denser plasmas. Because of its relevance for astrophysical and space plasmas, we explore the excitation of turbulence in current sheets prone to component- or guide-field reconnection, a process not well understood yet. This configuration is typical for stellar coronae, and it is created in the laboratory for which a 2.5D geometry applies. In our analysis, in addition to the immediate vicinity of the X-line, we also include regions outside and near the separatrices. We analyze the anomalous transport properties by using 2.5D Particle-in-Cell code simulations. We split off the mean slow variation (in contrast to the fast turbulent fluctuations) of the macroscopic observables and determine the main transport terms of the generalized Ohm's law. We verify our findings by comparing with the independently determined slowing-down rate of the macroscopic currents (due to a net momentum transfer from particles to waves) and with the transport terms obtained by the first order correlations of the turbulent fluctuations. We find that the turbulence is most intense in the "low density" separatrix region of guide-field reconnection. It is excited by streaming instabilities, is mainly electrostatic and "patchy" in space, and so is the associated anomalous transport. Parts of the energy exchange between turbulence and particles are reversible and quasi-periodic. The remaining irreversible anomalous resistivity can be parametrized by an effective collision rate ranging from the local ion-cyclotron to the lower-hybrid frequency. The contributions to the parallel and the perpendicular (to the magnetic field) components of the slowly varying DC-electric fields, balanced by the turbulence, are similar. This anomalous electric field is, however, smaller than the contributions of the off-diagonal pressure and electron inertia terms of Ohm's law. This result can now be verified by in-situ measurements of the turbulence, in and around the magnetic reconnection regions of the Earth's magnetosphere by the multi-spacecraft mission MMS and in laboratory experiments like MRX and VINETA-II.

Verification and Validation: High Charge and Energy (HZE) Transport Codes and Future Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, John W.; Tripathi, Ram K.; Mertens, Christopher J.; Blattnig, Steve R.; Clowdsley, Martha S.; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Tweed, John; Heinbockel, John H.; Walker, Steven A.; Nealy, John E.

2005-01-01

In the present paper, we give the formalism for further developing a fully three-dimensional HZETRN code using marching procedures but also development of a new Green's function code is discussed. The final Green's function code is capable of not only validation in the space environment but also in ground based laboratories with directed beams of ions of specific energy and characterized with detailed diagnostic particle spectrometer devices. Special emphasis is given to verification of the computational procedures and validation of the resultant computational model using laboratory and spaceflight measurements. Due to historical requirements, two parallel development paths for computational model implementation using marching procedures and Green s function techniques are followed. A new version of the HZETRN code capable of simulating HZE ions with either laboratory or space boundary conditions is under development. Validation of computational models at this time is particularly important for President Bush s Initiative to develop infrastructure for human exploration with first target demonstration of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) in low Earth orbit in 2008.

Simulation of the effects of sub-breakdown electric fields on the chemical kinetics in nonpremixed counterflow methane/air flames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belhi, Memdouh; Im, Hong; Computational Reacting Flows Laboratory, Clean Combustion Research Center Team

2017-11-01

The effects of an electric field on the combustion kinetics in nonpremixed counterflow methane/air flames were investigated via one-dimensional numerical simulations. A classical fluid model coupling Poison's equation with transport equations for combustion species and electric field-induced particles was used. A methane-air reaction mechanism accounting for the natural ionization in flames was combined with a set of reactions that describe the formation of active particles induced by the electric field. Kinetic parameters for electron-impact reactions and transport coefficients of electrons were modeled as functions of reduced electric field via solutions to the Boltzmann kinetic equation using the BOLSIG code. Mobility of ions was computed based on the (n,6,4) and coulomb interaction potentials, while the diffusion coefficient was approximated from the mobility using Einstein relation. Contributions of electron dissociation, excitation and ionization processes were characterized quantitatively. An analysis to identify the plasma regime where the electric field can alter the combustion kinetic was proposed.

HARD X-RAY ASYMMETRY LIMITS IN SOLAR FLARE CONJUGATE FOOTPOINTS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daou, Antoun G.; Alexander, David, E-mail: agdaou@rice.edu, E-mail: dalex@rice.edu

2016-11-20

The transport of energetic electrons in a solar flare is modeled using a time-dependent one-dimensional Fokker–Planck code that incorporates asymmetric magnetic convergence. We derive the temporal and spectral evolution of the resulting hard X-ray (HXR) emission in the conjugate chromospheric footpoints, assuming thick target photon production, and characterize the time evolution of the numerically simulated footpoint asymmetry and its relationship to the photospheric magnetic configuration. The thick target HXR asymmetry in the conjugate footpoints is found to increase with magnetic field ratio as expected. However, we find that the footpoint HXR asymmetry saturates for conjugate footpoint magnetic field ratios ≥4.more » This result is borne out in a direct comparison with observations of 44 double-footpoint flares. The presence of such a limit has not been reported before, and may serve as both a theoretical and observational benchmark for testing a range of particle transport and flare morphology constraints, particularly as a means to differentiate between isotropic and anisotropic particle injection.« less

Design Considerations of a Virtual Laboratory for Advanced X-ray Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luginsland, J. W.; Frese, M. H.; Frese, S. D.; Watrous, J. J.; Heileman, G. L.

2004-11-01

The field of scientific computation has greatly advanced in the last few years, resulting in the ability to perform complex computer simulations that can predict the performance of real-world experiments in a number of fields of study. Among the forces driving this new computational capability is the advent of parallel algorithms, allowing calculations in three-dimensional space with realistic time scales. Electromagnetic radiation sources driven by high-voltage, high-current electron beams offer an area to further push the state-of-the-art in high fidelity, first-principles simulation tools. The physics of these x-ray sources combine kinetic plasma physics (electron beams) with dense fluid-like plasma physics (anode plasmas) and x-ray generation (bremsstrahlung). There are a number of mature techniques and software packages for dealing with the individual aspects of these sources, such as Particle-In-Cell (PIC), Magneto-Hydrodynamics (MHD), and radiation transport codes. The current effort is focused on developing an object-oriented software environment using the Rational© Unified Process and the Unified Modeling Language (UML) to provide a framework where multiple 3D parallel physics packages, such as a PIC code (ICEPIC), a MHD code (MACH), and a x-ray transport code (ITS) can co-exist in a system-of-systems approach to modeling advanced x-ray sources. Initial software design and assessments of the various physics algorithms' fidelity will be presented.

Impact of the plasma response in three-dimensional edge plasma transport modelling for RMP ELM control scenarios at ITER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitz, Oliver

2014-10-01

The constrains used in magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) modeling of the plasma response to external resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields have a profound impact on the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of the plasma boundary induced by RMP fields. In this contribution, the consequences of the plasma response on the actual 3D boundary structure and transport during RMP application at ITER are investigated. The 3D fluid plasma and kinetic neutral transport code EMC3-Eirene is used for edge transport modeling. Plasma response modeling is conducted with the M3D-C1 code using a single fluid, non-linear and a two fluid, linear MHD constrain. These approaches are compared to results with an ideal MHD like plasma response. A 3D plasma boundary is formed for all cases consisting of magnetic finger structures at the X-point intersecting the divertor surface in a helical footprint pattern. The width of the helical footprint pattern is largely reduced compared to vacuum magnetic fields when using the ideal MHD like screening model. This yields increasing peak heat fluxes in contrast to a beneficial heat flux spreading seen with vacuum fields. The particle pump out as well as loss of thermal energy is reduced by a factor of two compared to vacuum fields. In contrast, the impact of the plasma response obtained from both MHD constrains in M3D-C1 is nearly negligible at the plasma boundary and only a small modification of the magnetic footprint topology is detected. Accordingly, heat and particle fluxes on the target plates as well as the edge transport characteristics are comparable to the vacuum solution. This span of modeling results with different plasma response models highlights the importance of thoroughly validating both, plasma response and 3D edge transport models for a robust extrapolation towards ITER. Supported by ITER Grant IO/CT/11/4300000497 and F4E Grant GRT-055 (PMS-PE) and by Start-Up Funds of the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Computational electronics and electromagnetics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shang, C C

The Computational Electronics and Electromagnetics thrust area serves as the focal point for Engineering R and D activities for developing computer-based design and analysis tools. Representative applications include design of particle accelerator cells and beamline components; design of transmission line components; engineering analysis and design of high-power (optical and microwave) components; photonics and optoelectronics circuit design; electromagnetic susceptibility analysis; and antenna synthesis. The FY-97 effort focuses on development and validation of (1) accelerator design codes; (2) 3-D massively parallel, time-dependent EM codes; (3) material models; (4) coupling and application of engineering tools for analysis and design of high-power components; andmore » (5) development of beam control algorithms coupled to beam transport physics codes. These efforts are in association with technology development in the power conversion, nondestructive evaluation, and microtechnology areas. The efforts complement technology development in Lawrence Livermore National programs.« less

A new response matrix for a 6LiI scintillator BSS system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacerda, M. A. S.; Méndez-Villafañe, R.; Lorente, A.; Ibañez, S.; Gallego, E.; Vega-Carrillo, H. R.

2017-10-01

A new response matrix was calculated for a Bonner Sphere Spectrometer (BSS) with a 6 LiI(Eu) scintillator, using the Monte Carlo N-Particle radiation transport code MCNPX. Responses were calculated for 6 spheres and the bare detector, for energies varying from 1.059E(-9) MeV to 105.9 MeV, with 20 equal-log(E)-width bins per energy decade, totalizing 221 energy groups. A comparison was done among the responses obtained in this work and other published elsewhere, for the same detector model. The calculated response functions were inserted in the response input file of the MAXED code and used to unfold the total and direct neutron spectra generated by the 241Am-Be source of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM). These spectra were compared with those obtained using the same unfolding code with the Mares and Schraube matrix response.

The ePLAS code for Ignition Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faehl, R. J.; Mason, R. J.; Kirkpatrick, R. C.

2012-10-01

The ePLAS code is a multi-fluid/PIC hybrid developing self-consistent E & B-fields by the Implicit Moment Method for stable calculations of high density plasma problems with voids on the electron Courant time scale. See: http://www.researchapplicationscorp.com. Here, we outline typical applications to: 1) short pulse driven electron transport along void (or high Z) insulated wires, and 2) the 2D development of shock ignition pressure peaks with B-fields. We outline the code's recent inclusion of SESAME EOS data, a DT/DD burn capability, a new option for K-alpha imaging of modeling output, and demonstrate a foil expansion tracked with either fluid or particle ions. Also, we describe a new super-hybrid extension of our implicit solver that permits full target dynamics studies on the ion Courant scale. Finally, we will touch on the very recent application of ePLAS to possible non-local/kinetic hydro effects NIF capsules.

A two-dimensional model of odd nitrogen in the thermosphere and mesosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gerard, J. C.; Roble, R. G.; Rusch, D. W.

1980-01-01

Satellite measurements of the global nitric oxide distribution demonstrating the need for a two dimensional model of odd nitrogen photochemistry and transport in the thermosphere and mesosphere are reviewed. The main characteristics of a new code solving the transport equation for N(4S), N(2D), and N0 are given. This model extends from pole to pole between 75 and 275 km and reacts to the magnetic activity, the ultraviolet solar flux, and the neutral wind field. The effects of ionization and subsequent odd nitrogen production by high latitude particle precipitation are also included. Preliminary results are illustrated for a magnetically quiet solar minimum period with no neutral wind.

Computational Transport Modeling of High-Energy Neutrons Found in the Space Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cox, Brad; Theriot, Corey A.; Rohde, Larry H.; Wu, Honglu

2012-01-01

The high charge and high energy (HZE) particle radiation environment in space interacts with spacecraft materials and the human body to create a population of neutrons encompassing a broad kinetic energy spectrum. As an HZE ion penetrates matter, there is an increasing chance of fragmentation as penetration depth increases. When an ion fragments, secondary neutrons are released with velocities up to that of the primary ion, giving some neutrons very long penetration ranges. These secondary neutrons have a high relative biological effectiveness, are difficult to effectively shield, and can cause more biological damage than the primary ions in some scenarios. Ground-based irradiation experiments that simulate the space radiation environment must account for this spectrum of neutrons. Using the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport Code System (PHITS), it is possible to simulate a neutron environment that is characteristic of that found in spaceflight. Considering neutron dosimetry, the focus lies on the broad spectrum of recoil protons that are produced in biological targets. In a biological target, dose at a certain penetration depth is primarily dependent upon recoil proton tracks. The PHITS code can be used to simulate a broad-energy neutron spectrum traversing biological targets, and it account for the recoil particle population. This project focuses on modeling a neutron beamline irradiation scenario for determining dose at increasing depth in water targets. Energy-deposition events and particle fluence can be simulated by establishing cross-sectional scoring routines at different depths in a target. This type of model is useful for correlating theoretical data with actual beamline radiobiology experiments. Other work exposed human fibroblast cells to a high-energy neutron source to study micronuclei induction in cells at increasing depth behind water shielding. Those findings provide supporting data describing dose vs. depth across a water-equivalent medium. This poster presents PHITS data suggesting an increase in dose, up to roughly 10 cm depth, followed by a continual decrease as neutrons come to a stop in the target.

SciDAC GSEP: Gyrokinetic Simulation of Energetic Particle Turbulence and Transport

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Zhihong

Energetic particle (EP) confinement is a key physics issue for burning plasma experiment ITER, the crucial next step in the quest for clean and abundant energy, since ignition relies on self-heating by energetic fusion products (α-particles). Due to the strong coupling of EP with burning thermal plasmas, plasma confinement property in the ignition regime is one of the most uncertain factors when extrapolating from existing fusion devices to the ITER tokamak. EP population in current tokamaks are mostly produced by auxiliary heating such as neutral beam injection (NBI) and radio frequency (RF) heating. Remarkable progress in developing comprehensive EP simulationmore » codes and understanding basic EP physics has been made by two concurrent SciDAC EP projects GSEP funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fusion Energy Science (OFES), which have successfully established gyrokinetic turbulence simulation as a necessary paradigm shift for studying the EP confinement in burning plasmas. Verification and validation have rapidly advanced through close collaborations between simulation, theory, and experiment. Furthermore, productive collaborations with computational scientists have enabled EP simulation codes to effectively utilize current petascale computers and emerging exascale computers. We review here key physics progress in the GSEP projects regarding verification and validation of gyrokinetic simulations, nonlinear EP physics, EP coupling with thermal plasmas, and reduced EP transport models. Advances in high performance computing through collaborations with computational scientists that enable these large scale electromagnetic simulations are also highlighted. These results have been widely disseminated in numerous peer-reviewed publications including many Phys. Rev. Lett. papers and many invited presentations at prominent fusion conferences such as the biennial International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Fusion Energy Conference and the annual meeting of the American Physics Society, Division of Plasma Physics (APS-DPP).« less

Charged particle spectra measured during the transit to Mars with the Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment Detector (MSL/RAD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehresmann, Bent; Hassler, Donald M.; Zeitlin, Cary; Guo, Jingnan; Köhler, Jan; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F.; Appel, Jan K.; Brinza, David E.; Rafkin, Scot C. R.; Böttcher, Stephan I.; Burmeister, Sönke; Lohf, Henning; Martin, Cesar; Böhm, Eckart; Matthiä, Daniel; Reitz, Günther

2016-08-01

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) started its 253-day cruise to Mars on November 26, 2011. During cruise the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), situated on board the Curiosity rover, conducted measurements of the energetic-particle radiation environment inside the spacecraft. This environment consists mainly of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), as well as secondary particles created by interactions of these GCRs with the spacecraft. The RAD measurements can serve as a proxy for the radiation environment a human crew would encounter during a transit to Mars, for a given part of the solar cycle, assuming that a crewed vehicle would have comparable shielding. The measurements of radiological quantities made by RAD are important in themselves, and, the same data set allow for detailed analysis of GCR-induced particle spectra inside the spacecraft. This provides important inputs for the evaluation of current transport models used to model the free-space (and spacecraft) radiation environment for different spacecraft shielding and different times in the solar cycle. Changes in these conditions can lead to significantly different radiation fields and, thus, potential health risks, emphasizing the need for validated transport codes. Here, we present the first measurements of charged particle fluxes inside a spacecraft during the transit from Earth to Mars. Using data obtained during the last two month of the cruise to Mars (June 11-July 14, 2012), we have derived detailed energy spectra for low-Z particles stopping in the instrument's detectors, as well as integral fluxes for penetrating particles with higher energies. Furthermore, we analyze the temporal changes in measured proton fluxes during quiet solar periods (i.e., when no solar energetic particle events occurred) over the duration of the transit (December 9, 2011-July 14, 2012) and correlate them with changing heliospheric conditions.

Overview of transport, fast particle and heating and current drive physics using tritium in JET plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stork, D.; Baranov, Yu.; Belo, P.; Bertalot, L.; Borba, D.; Brzozowski, J. H.; Challis, C. D.; Ciric, D.; Conroy, S.; de Baar, M.; de Vries, P.; Dumortier, P.; Garzotti, L.; Hawkes, N. C.; Hender, T. C.; Joffrin, E.; Jones, T. T. C.; Kiptily, V.; Lamalle, P.; Mailloux, J.; Mantsinen, M.; McDonald, D. C.; Nave, M. F. F.; Neu, R.; O'Mullane, M.; Ongena, J.; Pearce, R. J.; Popovichev, S.; Sharapov, S. E.; Stamp, M.; Stober, J.; Surrey, E.; Valovic, M.; Voitsekhovitch, I.; Weisen, H.; Whiteford, A. D.; Worth, L.; Yavorskij, V.; Zastrow, K.-D.; EFDA contributors, JET

2005-10-01

Results are presented from the JET Trace Tritium Experimental (TTE) campaign using minority tritium (T) plasmas (nT/nD < 3%). Thermal tritium particle transport coefficients (DT, vT) are found to exceed neo-classical values in all regimes, except in ELMy H-modes at high densities and in the region of internal transport barriers (ITBs) in reversed shear plasmas. In ELMy H-mode dimensionless parameter scans, at q95 ~ 2.8 and triangularity δ = 0.2, the T particle transport scales in a gyro-Bohm manner in the inner plasma (r/a < 0.4), whilst the outer plasma particle transport scaling is more Bohm-like. Dimensionless parameter scans show contrasting behaviour for the trace particle confinement (increases with collisionality, ν* and β) and bulk energy confinement (decreases with ν* and is independent of β). In an extended ELMy H-mode data set, with ρ*, ν*, β and q varied but with neo-classical tearing modes (NTMs) either absent or limited to weak, benign core modes (4/3 or above), the multiparameter fit to the normalized diffusion coefficient in the outer plasma (0.65 < r/a < 0.8) gives DT/Bphi ~ ρ*2.46ν*-0.23β-1.01q2.03. In hybrid scenarios (qmin ~ 1, low positive shear, no sawteeth), the T particle confinement is found to scale with increasing triangularity and plasma current. Comparing regimes (ELMy H-mode, ITB plasma and hybrid scenarios) in the outer plasma region, a correlation of high values of DT with high values of vT is seen. The normalized diffusion coefficients for the hybrid and ITB scenarios do not fit the scaling derived for ELMy H-modes. The normalized tritium diffusion scales with normalized poloidal Larmor radius (\\rho_{\\theta}^\\ast=q\\rho^{\\ast}) in a manner close to gyro-Bohm ({\\sim}\\rho_{\\theta}^{\\ast 3}) , with an added inverse β dependence. The effects of ELMs, sawteeth and NTMs on the T particle transport are described. Fast-ion confinement in current-hole (CH) plasmas was tested in TTE by tritium neutral beam injection into JET CH plasmas. γ-rays from the reactions of fusion alpha and beryllium impurities (9Be(α, nγ)12C) characterized the fast fusion-alpha population evolution. The γ-decay times are consistent with classical alpha plus parent fast triton slowing down times (τTs + ταs) for high plasma currents (Ip > 2 MA) and monotonic q-profiles. In CH discharges the γ-ray emission decay times are much lower than classical (τTs+ταs), indicating alpha confinement degradation, due to the orbit losses and particle orbit drift predicted by a 3-D Fokker-Planck numerical code and modelled using TRANSP.

The HIBEAM Manual

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fawley, William M.

2000-02-01

HIBEAM is a 2 1/2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation code developed in the late 1990's in the Heavy-Ion Fusion research program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The major purpose of HIBEAM is to simulate the transverse (i.e., X-Y) dynamics of a space-charge-dominated, non-relativistic heavy-ion beam being transported in a static accelerator focusing lattice. HIBEAM has been used to study beam combining systems, effective dynamic apertures in electrostatic quadrupole lattices, and emittance growth due to transverse misalignments. At present, HIBEAM runs on the CRAY vector machines (C90 and J90's) at NERSC, although it would be relatively simple to port the code tomore » UNIX workstations so long as IMSL math routines were available.« less

Feasibility study of nuclear transmutation by negative muon capture reaction using the PHITS code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abe, Shin-ichiro; Sato, Tatsuhiko

2016-06-01

Feasibility of nuclear transmutation of fission products in high-level radioactive waste by negative muon capture reaction is investigated using the Particle and Heave Ion Transport code System (PHITS). It is found that about 80 % of stopped negative muons contribute to transmute target nuclide into stable or short-lived nuclide in the case of 135Cs, which is one of the most important nuclide in the transmutation. The simulation result also indicates that the position of transmutation is controllable by changing the energy of incident negative muon. Based on our simulation, it takes approximately 8.5 × 108years to transmute 500 g of 135Cs by negative muon beam with the highest intensity currently available.

Numerical simulation of ion charge breeding in electron beam ion source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, L., E-mail: zhao@far-tech.com; Kim, Jin-Soo

2014-02-15

The Electron Beam Ion Source particle-in-cell code (EBIS-PIC) tracks ions in an EBIS electron beam while updating electric potential self-consistently and atomic processes by the Monte Carlo method. Recent improvements to the code are reported in this paper. The ionization module has been improved by using experimental ionization energies and shell effects. The acceptance of injected ions and the emittance of extracted ion beam are calculated by extending EBIS-PIC to the beam line transport region. An EBIS-PIC simulation is performed for a Cs charge-breeding experiment at BNL. The charge state distribution agrees well with experiments, and additional simulation results ofmore » radial profiles and velocity space distributions of the trapped ions are presented.« less

Phase-space dependent critical gradient behavior of fast-ion transport due to Alfvén eigenmodes

DOE PAGES

Collins, C. S.; Heidbrink, W. W.; Podestà, M.; ...

2017-06-09

Experiments in the DIII-D tokamak show that many overlapping small-amplitude Alfv en eigenmodes (AEs) cause fast-ion transport to sharply increase above a critical threshold, leading to fast-ion density profile resilience and reduced fusion performance. The threshold is above the AE linear stability limit and varies between diagnostics that are sensitive to different parts of fast-ion phase-space. A comparison with theoretical analysis using the nova and orbit codes shows that, for the neutral particle diagnostic, the threshold corresponds to the onset of stochastic particle orbits due to wave-particle resonances with AEs in the measured region of phase space. We manipulated themore » bulk fast-ion distribution and instability behavior through variations in beam deposition geometry, and no significant differences in the onset threshold outside of measurement uncertainties were found, in agreement with the theoretical stochastic threshold analysis. Simulations using the `kick model' produce beam ion density gradients consistent with the empirically measured radial critical gradient and highlight the importance of including the energy and pitch dependence of the fast-ion distribution function in critical gradient models. The addition of electron cyclotron heating changes the types of AEs present in the experiment, comparatively increasing the measured fast-ion density and radial gradient. Our studies provide the basis for understanding how to avoid AE transport that can undesirably redistribute current and cause fast-ion losses, and the measurements are being used to validate AE-induced transport models that use the critical gradient paradigm, giving greater confidence when applied to ITER.« less

Phase-space dependent critical gradient behavior of fast-ion transport due to Alfvén eigenmodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collins, C. S.; Heidbrink, W. W.; Podestà, M.

Experiments in the DIII-D tokamak show that many overlapping small-amplitude Alfv en eigenmodes (AEs) cause fast-ion transport to sharply increase above a critical threshold, leading to fast-ion density profile resilience and reduced fusion performance. The threshold is above the AE linear stability limit and varies between diagnostics that are sensitive to different parts of fast-ion phase-space. A comparison with theoretical analysis using the nova and orbit codes shows that, for the neutral particle diagnostic, the threshold corresponds to the onset of stochastic particle orbits due to wave-particle resonances with AEs in the measured region of phase space. We manipulated themore » bulk fast-ion distribution and instability behavior through variations in beam deposition geometry, and no significant differences in the onset threshold outside of measurement uncertainties were found, in agreement with the theoretical stochastic threshold analysis. Simulations using the `kick model' produce beam ion density gradients consistent with the empirically measured radial critical gradient and highlight the importance of including the energy and pitch dependence of the fast-ion distribution function in critical gradient models. The addition of electron cyclotron heating changes the types of AEs present in the experiment, comparatively increasing the measured fast-ion density and radial gradient. Our studies provide the basis for understanding how to avoid AE transport that can undesirably redistribute current and cause fast-ion losses, and the measurements are being used to validate AE-induced transport models that use the critical gradient paradigm, giving greater confidence when applied to ITER.« less

Gyrokinetic simulations of particle transport in pellet fuelled JET discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tegnered, D.; Oberparleiter, M.; Nordman, H.; Strand, P.; Garzotti, L.; Lupelli, I.; Roach, C. M.; Romanelli, M.; Valovič, M.; Contributors, JET

2017-10-01

Pellet injection is a likely fuelling method of reactor grade plasmas. When the pellet ablates, it will transiently perturb the density and temperature profiles of the plasma. This will in turn change dimensionless parameters such as a/{L}n,a/{L}T and plasma β. The microstability properties of the plasma then changes which influences the transport of heat and particles. In this paper, gyrokinetic simulations of a JET L-mode pellet fuelled discharge are performed. The ion temperature gradient/trapped electron mode turbulence is compared at the time point when the effect from the pellet is the most pronounced with a hollow density profile and when the profiles have relaxed again. Linear and nonlinear simulations are performed using the gyrokinetic code GENE including electromagnetic effects and collisions in a realistic geometry in local mode. Furthermore, global nonlinear simulations are performed in order to assess any nonlocal effects. It is found that the positive density gradient has a stabilizing effect that is partly counteracted by the increased temperature gradient in the this region. The effective diffusion coefficients are reduced in the positive density region region compared to the intra pellet time point. No major effect on the turbulent transport due to nonlocal effects are observed.

Nonlinear simulations of particle source effects on edge localized mode

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, J.; Tang, C. J.; Key Laboratory of High Energy Density Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064

2015-12-15

The effects of particle source (PS) with different intensities and located positions on Edge Localized Mode (ELM) are systematically studied with BOUT++ code. The results show the ELM size strongly decreases with increasing the PS intensity once the PS is located in the middle or bottom of the pedestal. The effects of PS on ELM depend on the located position of PS. When it is located at the top of the pedestal, peeling-ballooning (P-B) modes can extract more free energy from the pressure gradient and grow up to be a large filament at the initial crash phase and the broadeningmore » of mode spectrum can be suppressed by PS, which leads to more energy loss. When it is located in the middle or bottom of the pedestal, the extraction of free energy by P-B modes can be suppressed, and a small filament is generated. During the turbulence transport phase, the broader mode spectrum suppresses the turbulence transport when PS is located in the middle, while the zonal flow plays an important role in damping the turbulence transport when PS is located at the bottom.« less

Integration of OpenMC methods into MAMMOTH and Serpent

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kerby, Leslie; DeHart, Mark; Tumulak, Aaron

OpenMC, a Monte Carlo particle transport simulation code focused on neutron criticality calculations, contains several methods we wish to emulate in MAMMOTH and Serpent. First, research coupling OpenMC and the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) has shown promising results. Second, the utilization of Functional Expansion Tallies (FETs) allows for a more efficient passing of multiphysics data between OpenMC and MOOSE. Both of these capabilities have been preliminarily implemented into Serpent. Results are discussed and future work recommended.

A collision scheme for hybrid fluid-particle simulation of plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Christine; Lim, Chul-Hyun; Verboncoeur, John

2006-10-01

Desorption phenomena at the wall of a tokamak can lead to the introduction of impurities at the edge of a thermonuclear plasma. In particular, the use of carbon as a constituent of the tokamak wall, as planned for ITER, requires the study of carbon and hydrocarbon transport in the plasma, including understanding of collisional interaction with the plasma. These collisions can result in new hydrocarbons, hydrogen, secondary electrons and so on. Computational modeling is a primary tool for studying these phenomena. XOOPIC [1] and OOPD1 are widely used computer modeling tools for the simulation of plasmas. Both are particle type codes. Particle simulation gives more kinetic information than fluid simulation, but more computation time is required. In order to reduce this disadvantage, hybrid simulation has been developed, and applied to the modeling of collisions. Present particle simulation tools such as XOOPIC and OODP1 employ a Monte Carlo model for the collisions between particle species and a neutral background gas defined by its temperature and pressure. In fluid-particle hybrid plasma models, collisions include combinations of particle and fluid interactions categorized by projectile-target pairing: particle-particle, particle-fluid, and fluid-fluid. For verification of this hybrid collision scheme, we compare simulation results to analytic solutions for classical plasma models. [1] Verboncoeur et al. Comput. Phys. Comm. 87, 199 (1995).

Transport of cosmic ray nuclei in various materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silberberg, R.; Tsao, C. H.; Letaw, J. R.

1988-01-01

Cosmic-ray heavy ions have become a concern in space radiation effects analyses. Heavy ions rapidly deposit energy and create dense ionization trails as they traverse materials. Collection of the free charge disrupts the operation of microelectronic circuits. This effect, called the single-event upset, can cause a loss of digital data. Passage of high linear energy transfer particles through the eyes has been observed by Apollo astronauts. These heavy ions have great radiobiological effectiveness and are the primary risk factor for leukemia induction on a manned Mars mission. Models of the transport of heavy cosmic-ray nuclei through materials depend heavily on our understanding of the cosmic-ray environment, nuclear spallation cross sections, and computer transport codes. Our group has initiated and pursued the development of a full capability for modeling these transport processes. A recent review of this ongoing effort is presented in Ref. 5. In this paper, we discuss transport methods and present new results comparing the attenuation of cosmic rays in various materials.

Monte Carlo calculations of thermal neutron capture in gadolinium: a comparison of GEANT4 and MCNP with measurements.

PubMed

Enger, Shirin A; Munck af Rosenschöld, Per; Rezaei, Arash; Lundqvist, Hans

2006-02-01

GEANT4 is a Monte Carlo code originally implemented for high-energy physics applications and is well known for particle transport at high energies. The capacity of GEANT4 to simulate neutron transport in the thermal energy region is not equally well known. The aim of this article is to compare MCNP, a code commonly used in low energy neutron transport calculations and GEANT4 with experimental results and select the suitable code for gadolinium neutron capture applications. To account for the thermal neutron scattering from chemically bound atoms [S(alpha,beta)] in biological materials a comparison of thermal neutron fluence in tissue-like poly(methylmethacrylate) phantom is made with MCNP4B, GEANT4 6.0 patch1, and measurements from the neutron capture therapy (NCT) facility at the Studsvik, Sweden. The fluence measurements agreed with MCNP calculated results considering S(alpha,beta). The location of the thermal neutron peak calculated with MCNP without S(alpha,beta) and GEANT4 is shifted by about 0.5 cm towards a shallower depth and is 25%-30% lower in amplitude. Dose distribution from the gadolinium neutron capture reaction is then simulated by MCNP and compared with measured data. The simulations made by MCNP agree well with experimental results. As long as thermal neutron scattering from chemically bound atoms are not included in GEANT4 it is not suitable for NCT applications.

Impact of centrifugal drifts on ion turbulent transport

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Belli, Emily A.; Candy, J.

Here, the influence of sonic toroidal rotation on gyrokinetic stability and transport is studied, with important implications for heavy impurity dynamics. When centrifugal drifts and electrostatic trapping corrections are included, significant modifications to the calculated transport of heavy impurities are observed. These high-rotation corrections add to the standard Coriolis drift and toroidal rotation shear drive which are normally included in gyrokinetics. Yet, because of their complexity, centrifugal and electrostatic trapping terms (quadratic in the main ion Mach number) are not generally included in gyrokinetic codes. In this work, we explore the implications of using reduced descriptions of the rotational physics.more » For heavy impurities such as tungsten, cross terms due to the centrifugal force can dominate the rotation dynamics, and neglecting them is shown to lead to large errors in the impurity particle flux.« less

Impact of centrifugal drifts on ion turbulent transport

DOE PAGES

Belli, Emily A.; Candy, J.

2018-03-01

Here, the influence of sonic toroidal rotation on gyrokinetic stability and transport is studied, with important implications for heavy impurity dynamics. When centrifugal drifts and electrostatic trapping corrections are included, significant modifications to the calculated transport of heavy impurities are observed. These high-rotation corrections add to the standard Coriolis drift and toroidal rotation shear drive which are normally included in gyrokinetics. Yet, because of their complexity, centrifugal and electrostatic trapping terms (quadratic in the main ion Mach number) are not generally included in gyrokinetic codes. In this work, we explore the implications of using reduced descriptions of the rotational physics.more » For heavy impurities such as tungsten, cross terms due to the centrifugal force can dominate the rotation dynamics, and neglecting them is shown to lead to large errors in the impurity particle flux.« less

Air shower simulation for WASAVIES: warning system for aviation exposure to solar energetic particles.

PubMed

Sato, T; Kataoka, R; Yasuda, H; Yashiro, S; Kuwabara, T; Shiota, D; Kubo, Y

2014-10-01

WASAVIES, a warning system for aviation exposure to solar energetic particles (SEPs), is under development by collaboration between several institutes in Japan and the USA. It is designed to deterministically forecast the SEP fluxes incident on the atmosphere within 6 h after flare onset using the latest space weather research. To immediately estimate the aircrew doses from the obtained SEP fluxes, the response functions of the particle fluxes generated by the incidence of monoenergetic protons into the atmosphere were developed by performing air shower simulations using the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code system. The accuracy of the simulation was well verified by calculating the increase count rates of a neutron monitor during a ground-level enhancement, combining the response function with the SEP fluxes measured by the PAMELA spectrometer. The response function will be implemented in WASAVIES and used to protect aircrews from additional SEP exposure. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Comparison of Martian Surface Radiation Predictions to the Measurements of Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment Detector (MSL/RAD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Myung-Hee Y.; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Zeitlin, Cary; Hassler, Donald M.; Ehresmann, Bent; Rafkin, Scot C. R.; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F; Boettcher, Stephan; Boehm, Eckart; Guo, Jingnan;

Description of Transport Codes for Space Radiation Shielding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Myung-Hee Y.; Wilson, John W.; Cucinotta, Francis A.

2011-01-01

This slide presentation describes transport codes and their use for studying and designing space radiation shielding. When combined with risk projection models radiation transport codes serve as the main tool for study radiation and designing shielding. There are three criteria for assessing the accuracy of transport codes: (1) Ground-based studies with defined beams and material layouts, (2) Inter-comparison of transport code results for matched boundary conditions and (3) Comparisons to flight measurements. These three criteria have a very high degree with NASA's HZETRN/QMSFRG.

Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Numerical Simulation of Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Partial Contents are as follows: Numerical Simulations of the Vlasov-Maxwell Equations by Coupled Particle-Finite Element Methods on Unstructured Meshes; Electromagnetic PIC Simulations Using Finite Elements on Unstructured Grids; Modelling Travelling Wave Output Structures with the Particle-in-Cell Code CONDOR; SST--A Single-Slice Particle Simulation Code; Graphical Display and Animation of Data Produced by Electromagnetic, Particle-in-Cell Codes; A Post-Processor for the PEST Code; Gray Scale Rendering of Beam Profile Data; A 2D Electromagnetic PIC Code for Distributed Memory Parallel Computers; 3-D Electromagnetic PIC Simulation on the NRL Connection Machine; Plasma PIC Simulations on MIMD Computers; Vlasov-Maxwell Algorithm for Electromagnetic Plasma Simulation on Distributed Architectures; MHD Boundary Layer Calculation Using the Vortex Method; and Eulerian Codes for Plasma Simulations.

Axisymmetric Tandem Mirrors: Stabilization and Confinement Studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Post, R.F.; Fowler, T.K.; Bulmer, R.

2005-01-15

The 'Kinetic Stabilizer' has been proposed as a means of MHD stabilizing an axisymmetric tandem mirror system. The K-S concept is based on theoretical studies by Ryutov, confirmed experimentally in the Gas Dynamic Trap experiment in Novosibirsk. In the K-S beams of ions are directed into the end of an 'expander' region outside the outer mirror of a tandem mirror. These ions, slowed, stagnated, and reflected as they move up the magnetic gradient, produce a low-density stabilizing plasma.At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory we have been conducting theoretical and computational studies of the K-S Tandem Mirror. These studies have employedmore » a low-beta code written especially to analyze the beam injection/stabilization process,and a new code SYMTRAN (by Hua and Fowler)that solves the coupled radial and axial particle and energy transport in a K-S T-M. Also, a 'legacy' MHD stability code, FLORA, has been upgraded and employed to benchmark the injection/stabilization code and to extend its results to high beta values.The FLORA code studies so far have confirmed the effectiveness of the K-S in stabilizing high-beta (40%) plasmas with stabilizer plasmas the peak pressures of which are several orders of magnitude smaller than those of the confined plasma.Also the SYMTRAN code has shown D-T plasma ignition from alpha particle energy deposition in T-M regimes with strong end plugging.Our studies have confirmed the viability of the K-S T-M concept with respect to MHD stability and radial and axial confinement. We are continuing these studies in order to optimize the parameters and to examine means for the stabilization of possible residual instability modes, such as drift modes and 'trapped-particle' modes. These modes may in principle be controlled by tailoring the stabilizer plasma distribution and/or the radial potential distribution.In the paper the results to date of our studies are summarized and projected to scope out possible fusion-power versions of the K-S T-M.« less

Axisymmetric Tandem Mirrors: Stabilization and Confinement Studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Post, R F; Fowler, T K; Bulmer, R

2004-07-15

The 'Kinetic Stabilizer' has been proposed as a means of MHD stabilizing an axisymmetric tandem mirror system. The K-S concept is based on theoretical studies by Ryutov, confirmed experimentally in the Gas Dynamic Trap experiment in Novosibirsk. In the K-S beams of ions are directed into the end of an 'expander' region outside the outer mirror of a tandem mirror. These ions, slowed, stagnated, and reflected as they move up the magnetic gradient, produce a low-density stabilizing plasma. At the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory we have been conducting theoretical and computational studies of the K-S Tandem Mirror. These studies havemore » employed a low-beta code written especially to analyze the beam injection/stabilization process, and a new code SYMTRAN (by Hua and Fowler) that solves the coupled radial and axial particle and energy transport in a K-S TM. Also, a 'legacy' MHD stability code, FLORA, has been upgraded and employed to benchmark the injection/stabilization code and to extend its results to high beta values. The FLORA code studies so far have confirmed the effectiveness of the K-S in stabilizing high-beta (40%) plasmas with stabilizer plasmas the peak pressures of which are several orders of magnitude smaller than those of the confined plasma. Also the SYMTRAN code has shown D-T plasma ignition from alpha particle energy deposition in T-M regimes with strong end plugging. Our studies have confirmed the viability of the K-S-T-M concept with respect to MHD stability and radial and axial confinement. We are continuing these studies in order to optimize the parameters and to examine means for the stabilization of possible residual instability modes, such as drift modes and 'trapped-particle' modes. These modes may in principle be controlled by tailoring the stabilizer plasma distribution and/or the radial potential distribution. In the paper the results to date of our studies are summarized and projected to scope out possible fusion-power versions of the K-S T-M« less

Analysis of rapid increase in the plasma density during the ramp-up phase in a radio frequency negative ion source by large-scale particle simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasumoto, M.; Ohta, M.; Kawamura, Y.; Hatayama, A.

2014-02-01

Numerical simulations become useful for the developing RF-ICP (Radio Frequency Inductively Coupled Plasma) negative ion sources. We are developing and parallelizing a two-dimensional three velocity electromagnetic Particle-In-Cell code. The result shows rapid increase in the electron density during the density ramp-up phase. A radial electric field due to the space charge is produced with increase in the electron density and the electron transport in the radial direction is suppressed. As a result, electrons stay for a long period in the region where the inductive electric field is strong, and this leads efficient electron acceleration and a rapid increasing of the electron density.

Model Estimated GCR Particle Flux Variation - Assessment with CRIS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saganti, Premkumar

We present model calculated particle flux as a function of time during the current solar cycle along with the comparisons from the ACE/CRIS data and the Mars/MARIE data. In our model calculations we make use of the NASA's HZETRN (High Z and Energy Transport) code along with the nuclear fragmentation cross sections that are described by the quantum multiple scattering (QMSFRG) model. The time dependant variation of the GCR environment is derived making use of the solar modulation potential, phi. For the past ten years, Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) has been in orbit at the Sun- Earth libration point (L1). Data from the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS) instrument onboard the ACE spacecraft has been available from 1997 through the present time. Our model calculated particle flux showed high degree of correlation during the earlier phase of the current solar cycle (2003) in the lower Z region within 15

Calculation of dose contributions of electron and charged heavy particles inside phantoms irradiated by monoenergetic neutron.

PubMed

Satoh, Daiki; Takahashi, Fumiaki; Endo, Akira; Ohmachi, Yasushi; Miyahara, Nobuyuki

2008-09-01

The radiation-transport code PHITS with an event generator mode has been applied to analyze energy depositions of electrons and charged heavy particles in two spherical phantoms and a voxel-based mouse phantom upon neutron irradiation. The calculations using the spherical phantoms quantitatively clarified the type and energy of charged particles which are released through interactions of neutrons with the phantom elements and contribute to the radiation dose. The relative contribution of electrons increased with an increase in the size of the phantom and with a decrease in the energy of the incident neutrons. Calculations with the voxel-based mouse phantom for 2.0-MeV neutron irradiation revealed that the doses to different locations inside the body are uniform, and that the energy is mainly deposited by recoil protons. The present study has demonstrated that analysis using PHITS can yield dose distributions that are accurate enough for RBE evaluation.

Transit Time and Normal Orientation of ICME-driven Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Case, A. W.; Spence, H.; Owens, M.; Riley, P.; Linker, J.; Odstrcil, D.

2006-12-01

Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs) can drive shocks that accelerate particles to great energies. It is important to understand the acceleration, transport, and spectra of these particles in order to quantify this fundamental physical process operating throughout the cosmos. This understanding also helps to better protect astronauts and spacecraft in upcoming missions. We show that the ambient solar wind is crucial in determining characteristics of ICME-driven shocks, which in turn affect energetic particle production. We use a coupled 3-D MHD code of the corona and heliosphere to simulate ICME propagation from 30 solar radii to 1AU. ICMEs of different velocities are injected into a realistic solar wind to determine how the initial speed affects the shape and deceleration of the ICME-driven shock. We use shock transit time and shock normal orientation to quantify these dependencies. We also inject identical ICMEs into different ambient solar winds to quantify the effective drag force on an ICME.

Improvement of Mishchenko's T-matrix code for absorbing particles.

PubMed

Moroz, Alexander

2005-06-10

The use of Gaussian elimination with backsubstitution for matrix inversion in scattering theories is discussed. Within the framework of the T-matrix method (the state-of-the-art code by Mishchenko is freely available at http://www.giss.nasa.gov/-crmim), it is shown that the domain of applicability of Mishchenko's FORTRAN 77 (F77) code can be substantially expanded in the direction of strongly absorbing particles where the current code fails to converge. Such an extension is especially important if the code is to be used in nanoplasmonic or nanophotonic applications involving metallic particles. At the same time, convergence can also be achieved for large nonabsorbing particles, in which case the non-Numerical Algorithms Group option of Mishchenko's code diverges. Computer F77 implementation of Mishchenko's code supplemented with Gaussian elimination with backsubstitution is freely available at http://www.wave-scattering.com.

PHAZR: A phenomenological code for holeboring in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picone, J. M.; Boris, J. P.; Lampe, M.; Kailasanath, K.

1985-09-01

This report describes a new code for studying holeboring by a charged particle beam, laser, or electric discharge in a gas. The coordinates which parameterize the channel are radial displacement (r) from the channel axis and distance (z) along the channel axis from the energy source. The code is primarily phenomenological that is, we use closed solutions of simple models in order to represent many of the effects which are important in holeboring. The numerical simplicity which we gain from the use of these solutions enables us to estimate the structure of channel over long propagation distances while using a minimum of computer time. This feature makes PHAZR a useful code for those studying and designing future systems. Of particular interest is the design and implementation of the subgrid turbulence model required to compute the enhanced channel cooling caused by asymmetry-driven turbulence. The approximate equations of Boris and Picone form the basis of the model which includes the effects of turbulent diffusion and fluid transport on the turbulent field itself as well as on the channel parameters. The primary emphasis here is on charged particle beams, and as an example, we present typical results for an ETA-like beam propagating in air. These calculations demonstrate how PHAZAR may be used to investigate accelerator parameter space and to isolate the important physical parameters which determine the holeboring properties of a given system. The comparison with two-dimensional calculations provide a calibration of the subgrid turbulence model.

Investigation of HZETRN 2010 as a Tool for Single Event Effect Qualification of Avionics Systems - Part II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rojdev, Kristina; Koontz, Steve; Reddell, Brandon; Atwell, William; Boeder, Paul

2015-01-01

An accurate prediction of spacecraft avionics single event effect (SEE) radiation susceptibility is key to ensuring a safe and reliable vehicle. This is particularly important for long-duration deep space missions for human exploration where there is little or no chance for a quick emergency return to Earth. Monte Carlo nuclear reaction and transport codes such as FLUKA can be used to generate very accurate models of the expected in-flight radiation environment for SEE analyses. A major downside to using a Monte Carlo-based code is that the run times can be very long (on the order of days). A more popular choice for SEE calculations is the CREME96 deterministic code, which offers significantly shorter run times (on the order of seconds). However, CREME96, though fast and easy to use, has not been updated in several years and underestimates secondary particle shower effects in spacecraft structural shielding mass. Another modeling option to consider is the deterministic code HZETRN 20104, which includes updates to address secondary particle shower effects more accurately. This paper builds on previous work by Rojdev, et al. to compare the use of HZETRN 2010 against CREME96 as a tool to verify spacecraft avionics system reliability in a space flight SEE environment. This paper will discuss modifications made to HZETRN 2010 to improve its performance for calculating SEE rates and compare results with both in-flight SEE rates and other calculation methods.

Anisotropic diffusion in mesh-free numerical magnetohydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopkins, Philip F.

2017-04-01

We extend recently developed mesh-free Lagrangian methods for numerical magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) to arbitrary anisotropic diffusion equations, including: passive scalar diffusion, Spitzer-Braginskii conduction and viscosity, cosmic ray diffusion/streaming, anisotropic radiation transport, non-ideal MHD (Ohmic resistivity, ambipolar diffusion, the Hall effect) and turbulent 'eddy diffusion'. We study these as implemented in the code GIZMO for both new meshless finite-volume Godunov schemes (MFM/MFV). We show that the MFM/MFV methods are accurate and stable even with noisy fields and irregular particle arrangements, and recover the correct behaviour even in arbitrarily anisotropic cases. They are competitive with state-of-the-art AMR/moving-mesh methods, and can correctly treat anisotropic diffusion-driven instabilities (e.g. the MTI and HBI, Hall MRI). We also develop a new scheme for stabilizing anisotropic tensor-valued fluxes with high-order gradient estimators and non-linear flux limiters, which is trivially generalized to AMR/moving-mesh codes. We also present applications of some of these improvements for SPH, in the form of a new integral-Godunov SPH formulation that adopts a moving-least squares gradient estimator and introduces a flux-limited Riemann problem between particles.

Detailed study of spontaneous rotation generation in diverted H-mode plasma using the full-f gyrokinetic code XGC1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Janghoon; Chang, C. S.; Ku, S.; Kwon, J. M.; Yoon, E. S.

2013-10-01

The Full-f gyrokinetic code XGC1 is used to study the details of toroidal momentum generation in H-mode plasma. Diverted DIII-D geometry is used, with Monte Carlo neutral particles that are recycled at the limiter wall. Nonlinear Coulomb collisions conserve particle, momentum, and energy. Gyrokinetic ions and adiabatic electrons are used in the present simulation to include the effects from ion gyrokinetic turbulence and neoclassical physics, under self-consistent radial electric field generation. Ion orbit loss physics is automatically included. Simulations show a strong co-Ip flow in the H-mode layer at outside midplane, similarly to the experimental observation from DIII-D and ASDEX-U. The co-Ip flow in the edge propagates inward into core. It is found that the strong co-Ip flow generation is mostly from neoclassical physics. On the other hand, the inward momentum transport is from turbulence physics, consistently with the theory of residual stress from symmetry breaking. Therefore, interaction between the neoclassical and turbulence physics is a key factor in the spontaneous momentum generation.

Full-Process Computer Model of Magnetron Sputter, Part I: Test Existing State-of-Art Components

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walton, C C; Gilmer, G H; Wemhoff, A P

2007-09-26

This work is part of a larger project to develop a modeling capability for magnetron sputter deposition. The process is divided into four steps: plasma transport, target sputter, neutral gas and sputtered atom transport, and film growth, shown schematically in Fig. 1. Each of these is simulated separately in this Part 1 of the project, which is jointly funded between CMLS and Engineering. The Engineering portion is the plasma modeling, in step 1. The plasma modeling was performed using the Object-Oriented Particle-In-Cell code (OOPIC) from UC Berkeley [1]. Figure 2 shows the electron density in the simulated region, using magneticmore » field strength input from experiments by Bohlmark [2], where a scale of 1% is used. Figures 3 and 4 depict the magnetic field components that were generated using two-dimensional linear interpolation of Bohlmark's experimental data. The goal of the overall modeling tool is to understand, and later predict, relationships between parameters of film deposition we can change (such as gas pressure, gun voltage, and target-substrate distance) and key properties of the results (such as film stress, density, and stoichiometry.) The simulation must use existing codes, either open-source or low-cost, not develop new codes. In part 1 (FY07) we identified and tested the best available code for each process step, then determined if it can cover the size and time scales we need in reasonable computation times. We also had to determine if the process steps are sufficiently decoupled that they can be treated separately, and identify any research-level issues preventing practical use of these codes. Part 2 will consider whether the codes can be (or need to be) made to talk to each other and integrated into a whole.« less

Los Alamos radiation transport code system on desktop computing platforms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Briesmeister, J.F.; Brinkley, F.W.; Clark, B.A.

The Los Alamos Radiation Transport Code System (LARTCS) consists of state-of-the-art Monte Carlo and discrete ordinates transport codes and data libraries. These codes were originally developed many years ago and have undergone continual improvement. With a large initial effort and continued vigilance, the codes are easily portable from one type of hardware to another. The performance of scientific work-stations (SWS) has evolved to the point that such platforms can be used routinely to perform sophisticated radiation transport calculations. As the personal computer (PC) performance approaches that of the SWS, the hardware options for desk-top radiation transport calculations expands considerably. Themore » current status of the radiation transport codes within the LARTCS is described: MCNP, SABRINA, LAHET, ONEDANT, TWODANT, TWOHEX, and ONELD. Specifically, the authors discuss hardware systems on which the codes run and present code performance comparisons for various machines.« less

OEDGE Modeling of Collector Probe measurements in L-mode from the DIII-D tungsten ring campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elder, J. D.; Stangeby, P. C.; Unterberg, Z.; Donovan, D.; Wampler, W. R.; Watkins, J.; Abrams, T.; McLean, A. G.

2017-10-01

During the tungsten ring campaign on DIII-D, a collector probe system with multiple diameter, dual-facing collector rods was inserted into the far scrape off layer (SOL) near the outer midplane to measure the plasma tungsten content. For most probes more tungsten was observed on the side connected along field lines to the inner divertor, with the larger probes showing largest divertor-facing asymmetries The OEDGE code is used to model the tungsten erosion, transport and deposition. It has been enhanced with (i) a peripheral particle transport and deposition model to record the impurity content in the peripheral region outside the regular mesh, and (ii) a collector probe model. The OEDGE results approximately reproduce both the divertor-facing asymmetries and the radial decay of each collector probe profile. The effect of changing impurity transport assumptions and wall location are examined. The measured divertor-facing asymmetries imply a higher tungsten density in the plasma upstream of the probe; this was expected theoretically from the effect of the parallel ion temperature gradient force driving upstream transport of tungsten from the outer divertor and was also found in the code analysis. Work supported by the US Department of Energy under DE-FC02-04ER54698, DE-NA0003525, DE-AC05-00OR22725, and DE-AC52-07NA27344.

A general time-dependent stochastic method for solving Parker's transport equation in spherical coordinates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pei, C.; Bieber, J. W.; Burger, R. A.; Clem, J.

2010-12-01

We present a detailed description of our newly developed stochastic approach for solving Parker's transport equation, which we believe is the first attempt to solve it with time dependence in 3-D, evolving from our 3-D steady state stochastic approach. Our formulation of this method is general and is valid for any type of heliospheric magnetic field, although we choose the standard Parker field as an example to illustrate the steps to calculate the transport of galactic cosmic rays. Our 3-D stochastic method is different from other stochastic approaches in the literature in several ways. For example, we employ spherical coordinates to integrate directly, which makes the code much more efficient by reducing coordinate transformations. What is more, the equivalence between our stochastic differential equations and Parker's transport equation is guaranteed by Ito's theorem in contrast to some other approaches. We generalize the technique for calculating particle flux based on the pseudoparticle trajectories for steady state solutions and for time-dependent solutions in 3-D. To validate our code, first we show that good agreement exists between solutions obtained by our steady state stochastic method and a traditional finite difference method. Then we show that good agreement also exists for our time-dependent method for an idealized and simplified heliosphere which has a Parker magnetic field and a simple initial condition for two different inner boundary conditions.

Synergism of the method of characteristics and CAD technology for neutron transport calculation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Z.; Wang, D.; He, T.

2013-07-01

The method of characteristics (MOC) is a very popular methodology in neutron transport calculation and numerical simulation in recent decades for its unique advantages. One of the key problems determining whether the MOC can be applied in complicated and highly heterogeneous geometry is how to combine an effective geometry processing method with MOC. Most of the existing MOC codes describe the geometry by lines and arcs with extensive input data, such as circles, ellipses, regular polygons and combination of them. Thus they have difficulty in geometry modeling, background meshing and ray tracing for complicated geometry domains. In this study, amore » new idea making use of a CAD solid modeler MCAM which is a CAD/Image-based Automatic Modeling Program for Neutronics and Radiation Transport developed by FDS Team in China was introduced for geometry modeling and ray tracing of particle transport to remove these geometrical limitations mentioned above. The diamond-difference scheme was applied to MOC to reduce the spatial discretization error of the flat flux approximation in theory. Based on MCAM and MOC, a new MOC code was developed and integrated into SuperMC system, which is a Super Multi-function Computational system for neutronics and radiation simulation. The numerical testing results demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the new idea for geometry treatment in SuperMC. (authors)« less

Development of a model and computer code to describe solar grade silicon production processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gould, R. K.; Srivastava, R.

1979-01-01

Two computer codes were developed for describing flow reactors in which high purity, solar grade silicon is produced via reduction of gaseous silicon halides. The first is the CHEMPART code, an axisymmetric, marching code which treats two phase flows with models describing detailed gas-phase chemical kinetics, particle formation, and particle growth. It can be used to described flow reactors in which reactants, mix, react, and form a particulate phase. Detailed radial gas-phase composition, temperature, velocity, and particle size distribution profiles are computed. Also, deposition of heat, momentum, and mass (either particulate or vapor) on reactor walls is described. The second code is a modified version of the GENMIX boundary layer code which is used to compute rates of heat, momentum, and mass transfer to the reactor walls. This code lacks the detailed chemical kinetics and particle handling features of the CHEMPART code but has the virtue of running much more rapidly than CHEMPART, while treating the phenomena occurring in the boundary layer in more detail.

Comparison of Radiation Transport Codes, HZETRN, HETC and FLUKA, Using the 1956 Webber SPE Spectrum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinbockel, John H.; Slaba, Tony C.; Blattnig, Steve R.; Tripathi, Ram K.; Townsend, Lawrence W.; Handler, Thomas; Gabriel, Tony A.; Pinsky, Lawrence S.; Reddell, Brandon; Clowdsley, Martha S.;

A velocity-dependent anomalous radial transport model for (2-D, 2-V) kinetic transport codes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodi, Kowsik; Krasheninnikov, Sergei; Cohen, Ron; Rognlien, Tom

2008-11-01

Plasma turbulence constitutes a significant part of radial plasma transport in magnetically confined plasmas. This turbulent transport is modeled in the form of anomalous convection and diffusion coefficients in fluid transport codes. There is a need to model the same in continuum kinetic edge codes [such as the (2-D, 2-V) transport version of TEMPEST, NEO, and the code being developed by the Edge Simulation Laboratory] with non-Maxwellian distributions. We present an anomalous transport model with velocity-dependent convection and diffusion coefficients leading to a diagonal transport matrix similar to that used in contemporary fluid transport models (e.g., UEDGE). Also presented are results of simulations corresponding to radial transport due to long-wavelength ExB turbulence using a velocity-independent diffusion coefficient. A BGK collision model is used to enable comparison with fluid transport codes.

Comparison of Model Calculations of Biological Damage from Exposure to Heavy Ions with Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Myung-Hee Y.; Wu, Honglu; Hada, Megumi; Cucinotta, Francis

The space environment consists of a varying field of radiation particles including high-energy ions, with spacecraft shielding material providing the major protection to astronauts from harmful exposure. Unlike low-LET g or X rays, the presence of shielding does not always reduce the radiation risks for energetic charged-particle exposure. Dose delivered by the charged particle increases sharply at the Bragg peak. However, the Bragg curve does not necessarily represent the biological damage along the particle path since biological effects are influenced by the track structures of both primary and secondary particles. Therefore, the ‘‘biological Bragg curve’’ is dependent on the energy and the type of the primary particle and may vary for different biological end points. Measurements of the induction of micronuclei (MN) have made across the Bragg curve in human fibroblasts exposed to energetic silicon and iron ions in vitro at two different energies, 300 MeV/nucleon and 1 GeV/nucleon. Although the data did not reveal an increased yield of MN at the location of the Bragg peak, the increased inhibition of cell progression, which is related to cell death, was found at the Bragg peak location. These results are compared to the calculations of biological damage using a stochastic Monte-Carlo track structure model, Galactic Cosmic Ray Event-based Risk Model (GERM) code (Cucinotta et al., 2011). The GERM code estimates the basic physical properties along the passage of heavy ions in tissue and shielding materials, by which the experimental set-up can be interpreted. The code can also be used to describe the biophysical events of interest in radiobiology, cancer therapy, and space exploration. The calculation has shown that the severely damaged cells at the Bragg peak are more likely to go through reproductive death, the so called “overkill”. F. A. Cucinotta, I. Plante, A. L. Ponomarev, and M. Y. Kim, Nuclear Interactions in Heavy Ion Transport and Event-based Risk Models, Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 143 (2-4), 384-390, 2011, doi:10.1093/rpd/ncq512

Optimization of GATE and PHITS Monte Carlo code parameters for uniform scanning proton beam based on simulation with FLUKA general-purpose code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurosu, Keita; Takashina, Masaaki; Koizumi, Masahiko; Das, Indra J.; Moskvin, Vadim P.

2014-10-01

Although three general-purpose Monte Carlo (MC) simulation tools: Geant4, FLUKA and PHITS have been used extensively, differences in calculation results have been reported. The major causes are the implementation of the physical model, preset value of the ionization potential or definition of the maximum step size. In order to achieve artifact free MC simulation, an optimized parameters list for each simulation system is required. Several authors have already proposed the optimized lists, but those studies were performed with a simple system such as only a water phantom. Since particle beams have a transport, interaction and electromagnetic processes during beam delivery, establishment of an optimized parameters-list for whole beam delivery system is therefore of major importance. The purpose of this study was to determine the optimized parameters list for GATE and PHITS using proton treatment nozzle computational model. The simulation was performed with the broad scanning proton beam. The influences of the customizing parameters on the percentage depth dose (PDD) profile and the proton range were investigated by comparison with the result of FLUKA, and then the optimal parameters were determined. The PDD profile and the proton range obtained from our optimized parameters list showed different characteristics from the results obtained with simple system. This led to the conclusion that the physical model, particle transport mechanics and different geometry-based descriptions need accurate customization in planning computational experiments for artifact-free MC simulation.

Role of zonal flows in trapped electron mode turbulence through nonlinear gyrokinetic particle and continuum simulationa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ernst, D. R.; Lang, J.; Nevins, W. M.; Hoffman, M.; Chen, Y.; Dorland, W.; Parker, S.

2009-05-01

Trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence exhibits a rich variety of collisional and zonal flow physics. This work explores the parametric variation of zonal flows and underlying mechanisms through a series of linear and nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations, using both particle-in-cell and continuum methods. A new stability diagram for electron modes is presented, identifying a critical boundary at ηe=1, separating long and short wavelength TEMs. A novel parity test is used to separate TEMs from electron temperature gradient driven modes. A nonlinear scan of ηe reveals fine scale structure for ηe≳1, consistent with linear expectation. For ηe<1, zonal flows are the dominant saturation mechanism, and TEM transport is insensitive to ηe. For ηe>1, zonal flows are weak, and TEM transport falls inversely with a power law in ηe. The role of zonal flows appears to be connected to linear stability properties. Particle and continuum methods are compared in detail over a range of ηe=d ln Te/d ln ne values from zero to five. Linear growth rate spectra, transport fluxes, fluctuation wavelength spectra, zonal flow shearing spectra, and correlation lengths and times are in close agreement. In addition to identifying the critical parameter ηe for TEM zonal flows, this paper takes a challenging step in code verification, directly comparing very different methods of simulating simultaneous kinetic electron and ion dynamics in TEM turbulence.

SYMTRAN - A Time-dependent Symmetric Tandem Mirror Transport Code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hua, D; Fowler, T

2004-06-15

A time-dependent version of the steady-state radial transport model in symmetric tandem mirrors in Ref. [1] has been coded up and first tests performed. Our code, named SYMTRAN, is an adaptation of the earlier SPHERE code for spheromaks, now modified for tandem mirror physics. Motivated by Post's new concept of kinetic stabilization of symmetric mirrors, it is an extension of the earlier TAMRAC rate-equation code omitting radial transport [2], which successfully accounted for experimental results in TMX. The SYMTRAN code differs from the earlier tandem mirror radial transport code TMT in that our code is focused on axisymmetric tandem mirrorsmore » and classical diffusion, whereas TMT emphasized non-ambipolar transport in TMX and MFTF-B due to yin-yang plugs and non-symmetric transitions between the plugs and axisymmetric center cell. Both codes exhibit interesting but different non-linear behavior.« less

Influence of natural organic matter in porous media on fine particle transport.

PubMed

Zhou, Yuhong; Cheng, Tao

2018-06-15

Although extensive research has been conducted to understand the effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on fine particle transport, less attention has been paid to natural organic matter (NOM) in the transport medium (i.e., immobile rock and sediment grains). The objective of this study is to elucidate the roles of NOM in the transport medium in mediating particle transport. We conducted experimental and modelling study on the transport of nanoscale titanium dioxide (nTiO 2 ) and illite colloid in columns packed with quartz sand under water-saturated conditions. Peat moss was used as an example NOM and packed in some of the columns to investigate its influence on particle transport. Experimental results showed that NOM may either increase or decrease particle transport depending on the specific conditions. NOM in the transport medium was found to attract particles and reduce particle mobility when the energy barrier between particle and NOM is low or non-existent. NOM also adsorb to Fe and Al oxyhydroxides and promote the transport of negatively-charged particles at low pH. Partial dissolution of NOM releases DOM, and the DOM adsorbs to and increases the transport of positively-charged particles. Additionally, NOM changes pore water pH, which influences particle mobility by affecting the interaction energy between the particle and transport medium. Modelling results showed that the deposition sites provided by peat moss are very heterogeneous, and the NOM from peat moss may reduce particle deposition rate by adsorbing to the particle and/or transport medium. Findings from this study demonstrate that NOM in the transport medium not only changes property of the medium, but also may alter water chemistry. Therefore, the role of NOM in mediating particle transport is complicated and dependent on the property of the particle, NOM, and mineralogical composition of the medium. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A novel neutron energy spectrum unfolding code using particle swarm optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahabinejad, H.; Sohrabpour, M.

2017-07-01

A novel neutron Spectrum Deconvolution using Particle Swarm Optimization (SDPSO) code has been developed to unfold the neutron spectrum from a pulse height distribution and a response matrix. The Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) imitates the bird flocks social behavior to solve complex optimization problems. The results of the SDPSO code have been compared with those of the standard spectra and recently published Two-steps Genetic Algorithm Spectrum Unfolding (TGASU) code. The TGASU code have been previously compared with the other codes such as MAXED, GRAVEL, FERDOR and GAMCD and shown to be more accurate than the previous codes. The results of the SDPSO code have been demonstrated to match well with those of the TGASU code for both under determined and over-determined problems. In addition the SDPSO has been shown to be nearly two times faster than the TGASU code.

WE-H-BRA-08: A Monte Carlo Cell Nucleus Model for Assessing Cell Survival Probability Based On Particle Track Structure Analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, B; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA; Wang, C

Purpose: To correlate the damage produced by particles of different types and qualities to cell survival on the basis of nanodosimetric analysis and advanced DNA structures in the cell nucleus. Methods: A Monte Carlo code was developed to simulate subnuclear DNA chromatin fibers (CFs) of 30nm utilizing a mean-free-path approach common to radiation transport. The cell nucleus was modeled as a spherical region containing 6000 chromatin-dense domains (CDs) of 400nm diameter, with additional CFs modeled in a sparser interchromatin region. The Geant4-DNA code was utilized to produce a particle track database representing various particles at different energies and dose quantities.more » These tracks were used to stochastically position the DNA structures based on their mean free path to interaction with CFs. Excitation and ionization events intersecting CFs were analyzed using the DBSCAN clustering algorithm for assessment of the likelihood of producing DSBs. Simulated DSBs were then assessed based on their proximity to one another for a probability of inducing cell death. Results: Variations in energy deposition to chromatin fibers match expectations based on differences in particle track structure. The quality of damage to CFs based on different particle types indicate more severe damage by high-LET radiation than low-LET radiation of identical particles. In addition, the model indicates more severe damage by protons than of alpha particles of same LET, which is consistent with differences in their track structure. Cell survival curves have been produced showing the L-Q behavior of sparsely ionizing radiation. Conclusion: Initial results indicate the feasibility of producing cell survival curves based on the Monte Carlo cell nucleus method. Accurate correlation between simulated DNA damage to cell survival on the basis of nanodosimetric analysis can provide insight into the biological responses to various radiation types. Current efforts are directed at producing cell survival curves for high-LET radiation.« less

Autonomic regulation of mucociliary transport rate in the oesophagus of the frog, Rana temporaria.

PubMed Central

Morley, J; Sanjar, S

1984-01-01

Transport of lead particles along the mucosal surface of the frog oesophagus has been measured by direct observation with the aid of video recording. Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve increased the rate of particle transport. This acceleration was suppressed by atropine or by hexamethonium. Acetylcholine and other parasympathomimetic agents accelerated particle transport rate. Such acceleration was abolished by atropine. Nicotine increased the rate of particle transport and this effect was suppressed by hexamethonium or by atropine. Atropine did not significantly alter basal particle transport rate. Neither basal particle transport rate nor the response to vagal nerve stimulation were affected by eserine. Adrenaline, noradrenaline or isoprenaline did not affect basal particle transport rate. Adrenaline or noradrenaline were without effect on the increased particle transport rate due to electrical stimulation of the vagus. PMID:6332901

Issues and opportunities: beam simulations for heavy ion fusion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Friedman, A

1999-07-15

UCRL- JC- 134975 PREPRINT code offering 3- D, axisymmetric, and ''transverse slice'' (steady flow) geometries, with a hierarchy of models for the ''lattice'' of focusing, bending, and accelerating elements. Interactive and script- driven code steering is afforded through an interpreter interface. The code runs with good parallel scaling on the T3E. Detailed simulations of machine segments and of complete small experiments, as well as simplified full- system runs, have been carried out, partially benchmarking the code. A magnetoinductive model, with module impedance and multi- beam effects, is under study. experiments, including an injector scalable to multi- beam arrays, a high-more » current beam transport and acceleration experiment, and a scaled final- focusing experiment. These ''phase I'' projects are laying the groundwork for the next major step in HIF development, the Integrated Research Experiment (IRE). Simulations aimed directly at the IRE must enable us to: design a facility with maximum power on target at minimal cost; set requirements for hardware tolerances, beam steering, etc.; and evaluate proposed chamber propagation modes. Finally, simulations must enable us to study all issues which arise in the context of a fusion driver, and must facilitate the assessment of driver options. In all of this, maximum advantage must be taken of emerging terascale computer architectures, requiring an aggressive code development effort. An organizing principle should be pursuit of the goal of integrated and detailed source- to- target simulation. methods for analysis of the beam dynamics in the various machine concepts, using moment- based methods for purposes of design, waveform synthesis, steering algorithm synthesis, etc. Three classes of discrete- particle models should be coupled: (1) electrostatic/ magnetoinductive PIC simulations should track the beams from the source through the final- focusing optics, passing details of the time- dependent distribution function to (2) electromagnetic or magnetoinductive PIC or hybrid PIG/ fluid simulations in the fusion chamber (which would finally pass their particle trajectory information to the radiation- hydrodynamics codes used for target design); in parallel, (3) detailed PIC, delta- f, core/ test- particle, and perhaps continuum Vlasov codes should be used to study individual sections of the driver and chamber very carefully; consistency may be assured by linking data from the PIC sequence, and knowledge gained may feed back into that sequence.« less

Mars surface radiation exposure for solar maximum conditions and 1989 solar proton events

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simonsen, Lisa C.; Nealy, John E.

1992-01-01

The Langley heavy-ion/nucleon transport code, HZETRN, and the high-energy nucleon transport code, BRYNTRN, are used to predict the propagation of galactic cosmic rays (GCR's) and solar flare protons through the carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars. Particle fluences and the resulting doses are estimated on the surface of Mars for GCR's during solar maximum conditions and the Aug., Sep., and Oct. 1989 solar proton events. These results extend previously calculated surface estimates for GCR's at solar minimum conditions and the Feb. 1956, Nov. 1960, and Aug. 1972 solar proton events. Surface doses are estimated with both a low-density and a high-density carbon dioxide model of the atmosphere for altitudes of 0, 4, 8, and 12 km above the surface. A solar modulation function is incorporated to estimate the GCR dose variation between solar minimum and maximum conditions over the 11-year solar cycle. By using current Mars mission scenarios, doses to the skin, eye, and blood-forming organs are predicted for short- and long-duration stay times on the Martian surface throughout the solar cycle.

The fusion code XGC: Enabling kinetic study of multi-scale edge turbulent transport in ITER [Book Chapter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

D'Azevedo, Eduardo; Abbott, Stephen; Koskela, Tuomas

The XGC fusion gyrokinetic code combines state-of-the-art, portable computational and algorithmic technologies to enable complicated multiscale simulations of turbulence and transport dynamics in ITER edge plasma on the largest US open-science computer, the CRAY XK7 Titan, at its maximal heterogeneous capability, which have not been possible before due to a factor of over 10 shortage in the time-to-solution for less than 5 days of wall-clock time for one physics case. Frontier techniques such as nested OpenMP parallelism, adaptive parallel I/O, staging I/O and data reduction using dynamic and asynchronous applications interactions, dynamic repartitioning for balancing computational work in pushing particlesmore » and in grid related work, scalable and accurate discretization algorithms for non-linear Coulomb collisions, and communication-avoiding subcycling technology for pushing particles on both CPUs and GPUs are also utilized to dramatically improve the scalability and time-to-solution, hence enabling the difficult kinetic ITER edge simulation on a present-day leadership class computer.« less

Physical Processes and Applications of the Monte Carlo Radiative Energy Deposition (MRED) Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, Robert A.; Weller, Robert A.; Mendenhall, Marcus H.; Fleetwood, Daniel M.; Warren, Kevin M.; Sierawski, Brian D.; King, Michael P.; Schrimpf, Ronald D.; Auden, Elizabeth C.

2015-08-01

MRED is a Python-language scriptable computer application that simulates radiation transport. It is the computational engine for the on-line tool CRÈME-MC. MRED is based on c++ code from Geant4 with additional Fortran components to simulate electron transport and nuclear reactions with high precision. We provide a detailed description of the structure of MRED and the implementation of the simulation of physical processes used to simulate radiation effects in electronic devices and circuits. Extensive discussion and references are provided that illustrate the validation of models used to implement specific simulations of relevant physical processes. Several applications of MRED are summarized that demonstrate its ability to predict and describe basic physical phenomena associated with irradiation of electronic circuits and devices. These include effects from single particle radiation (including both direct ionization and indirect ionization effects), dose enhancement effects, and displacement damage effects. MRED simulations have also helped to identify new single event upset mechanisms not previously observed by experiment, but since confirmed, including upsets due to muons and energetic electrons.

Methodology comparison for gamma-heating calculations in material-testing reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lemaire, M.; Vaglio-Gaudard, C.; Lyoussi, A.

2015-07-01

The Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR) is a Material-Testing Reactor (MTR) under construction in the south of France at CEA Cadarache (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission). It will typically host about 20 simultaneous irradiation experiments in the core and in the beryllium reflector. These experiments will help us better understand the complex phenomena occurring during the accelerated ageing of materials and the irradiation of nuclear fuels. Gamma heating, i.e. photon energy deposition, is mainly responsible for temperature rise in non-fuelled zones of nuclear reactors, including JHR internal structures and irradiation devices. As temperature is a key parameter for physicalmore » models describing the behavior of material, accurate control of temperature, and hence gamma heating, is required in irradiation devices and samples in order to perform an advanced suitable analysis of future experimental results. From a broader point of view, JHR global attractiveness as a MTR depends on its ability to monitor experimental parameters with high accuracy, including gamma heating. Strict control of temperature levels is also necessary in terms of safety. As JHR structures are warmed up by gamma heating, they must be appropriately cooled down to prevent creep deformation or melting. Cooling-power sizing is based on calculated levels of gamma heating in the JHR. Due to these safety concerns, accurate calculation of gamma heating with well-controlled bias and associated uncertainty as low as possible is all the more important. There are two main kinds of calculation bias: bias coming from nuclear data on the one hand and bias coming from physical approximations assumed by computer codes and by general calculation route on the other hand. The former must be determined by comparison between calculation and experimental data; the latter by calculation comparisons between codes and between methodologies. In this presentation, we focus on this latter kind of bias. Nuclear heating is represented by the physical quantity called absorbed dose (energy deposition induced by particle-matter interactions, divided by mass). Its calculation with Monte Carlo codes is possible but computationally expensive as it requires transport simulation of charged particles, along with neutrons and photons. For that reason, the calculation of another physical quantity, called KERMA, is often preferred, as KERMA calculation with Monte Carlo codes only requires transport of neutral particles. However, KERMA is only an estimator of the absorbed dose and many conditions must be fulfilled for KERMA to be equal to absorbed dose, including so-called condition of electronic equilibrium. Also, Monte Carlo computations of absorbed dose still present some physical approximations, even though there is only a limited number of them. Some of these approximations are linked to the way how Monte Carlo codes apprehend the transport simulation of charged particles and the productive and destructive interactions between photons, electrons and positrons. There exists a huge variety of electromagnetic shower models which tackle this topic. Differences in the implementation of these models can lead to discrepancies in calculated values of absorbed dose between different Monte Carlo codes. The magnitude of order of such potential discrepancies should be quantified for JHR gamma-heating calculations. We consequently present a two-pronged plan. In a first phase, we intend to perform compared absorbed dose / KERMA Monte Carlo calculations in the JHR. This way, we will study the presence or absence of electronic equilibrium in the different JHR structures and experimental devices and we will give recommendations for the choice of KERMA or absorbed dose when calculating gamma heating in the JHR. In a second phase, we intend to perform compared TRIPOLI4 / MCNP absorbed dose calculations in a simplified JHR-representative geometry. For this comparison, we will use the same nuclear data library for both codes (the European library JEFF3.1.1 and photon library EPDL97) so as to isolate the effects from electromagnetic shower models on absorbed dose calculation. This way, we hope to get insightful feedback on these models and their implementation in Monte Carlo codes. (authors)« less

Microfluidic CODES: a scalable multiplexed electronic sensor for orthogonal detection of particles in microfluidic channels.

PubMed

Liu, Ruxiu; Wang, Ningquan; Kamili, Farhan; Sarioglu, A Fatih

2016-04-21

Numerous biophysical and biochemical assays rely on spatial manipulation of particles/cells as they are processed on lab-on-a-chip devices. Analysis of spatially distributed particles on these devices typically requires microscopy negating the cost and size advantages of microfluidic assays. In this paper, we introduce a scalable electronic sensor technology, called microfluidic CODES, that utilizes resistive pulse sensing to orthogonally detect particles in multiple microfluidic channels from a single electrical output. Combining the techniques from telecommunications and microfluidics, we route three coplanar electrodes on a glass substrate to create multiple Coulter counters producing distinct orthogonal digital codes when they detect particles. We specifically design a digital code set using the mathematical principles of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) telecommunication networks and can decode signals from different microfluidic channels with >90% accuracy through computation even if these signals overlap. As a proof of principle, we use this technology to detect human ovarian cancer cells in four different microfluidic channels fabricated using soft lithography. Microfluidic CODES offers a simple, all-electronic interface that is well suited to create integrated, low-cost lab-on-a-chip devices for cell- or particle-based assays in resource-limited settings.

Migration of tungsten dust in tokamaks: role of dust-wall collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ratynskaia, S.; Vignitchouk, L.; Tolias, P.; Bykov, I.; Bergsåker, H.; Litnovsky, A.; den Harder, N.; Lazzaro, E.

2013-12-01

The modelling of a controlled tungsten dust injection experiment in TEXTOR by the dust dynamics code MIGRAINe is reported. The code, in addition to the standard dust-plasma interaction processes, also encompasses major mechanical aspects of dust-surface collisions. The use of analytical expressions for the restitution coefficients as functions of the dust radius and impact velocity allows us to account for the sticking and rebound phenomena that define which parts of the dust size distribution can migrate efficiently. The experiment provided unambiguous evidence of long-distance dust migration; artificially introduced tungsten dust particles were collected 120° toroidally away from the injection point, but also a selectivity in the permissible size of transported grains was observed. The main experimental results are reproduced by modelling.

New estimation method of neutron skyshine for a high-energy particle accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Joo-Hee; Jung, Nam-Suk; Lee, Hee-Seock; Ko, Seung-Kook

2016-09-01

A skyshine is the dominant component of the prompt radiation at off-site. Several experimental studies have been done to estimate the neutron skyshine at a few accelerator facilities. In this work, the neutron transports from a source place to off-site location were simulated using the Monte Carlo codes, FLUKA and PHITS. The transport paths were classified as skyshine, direct (transport), groundshine and multiple-shine to understand the contribution of each path and to develop a general evaluation method. The effect of each path was estimated in the view of the dose at far locations. The neutron dose was calculated using the neutron energy spectra obtained from each detector placed up to a maximum of 1 km from the accelerator. The highest altitude of the sky region in this simulation was set as 2 km from the floor of the accelerator facility. The initial model of this study was the 10 GeV electron accelerator, PAL-XFEL. Different compositions and densities of air, soil and ordinary concrete were applied in this calculation, and their dependences were reviewed. The estimation method used in this study was compared with the well-known methods suggested by Rindi, Stevenson and Stepleton, and also with the simple code, SHINE3. The results obtained using this method agreed well with those using Rindi's formula.

Radiation analysis for manned missions to the Jupiter system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De Angelis, G.; Clowdsley, M. S.; Nealy, J. E.; Tripathi, R. K.; Wilson, J. W.

2004-01-01

An analysis for manned missions targeted to the Jovian system has been performed in the framework of the NASA RASC (Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts) program on Human Exploration beyond Mars. The missions were targeted to the Jupiter satellite Callisto. The mission analysis has been divided into three main phases, namely the interplanetary cruise, the Jupiter orbital insertion, and the surface landing and exploration phases. The interplanetary phase is based on departure from the Earth-Moon L1 point. Interplanetary trajectories based on the use of different propulsion systems have been considered, with resulting overall cruise phase duration varying between two and five years. The Jupiter-approach and the orbital insertion trajectories are considered in detail, with the spacecraft crossing the Jupiter radiation belts and staying around the landing target. In the surface exploration phase the stay on the Callisto surface is considered. The satellite surface composition has been modeled based on the most recent results from the GALILEO spacecraft. In the transport computations the surface backscattering has been duly taken into account. Particle transport has been performed with the HZETRN heavy ion code for hadrons and with an in-house developed transport code for electrons and bremsstrahlung photons. The obtained doses have been compared to dose exposure limits. c2004 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radiation analysis for manned missions to the Jupiter system.

PubMed

De Angelis, G; Clowdsley, M S; Nealy, J E; Tripathi, R K; Wilson, J W

2004-01-01

An analysis for manned missions targeted to the Jovian system has been performed in the framework of the NASA RASC (Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts) program on Human Exploration beyond Mars. The missions were targeted to the Jupiter satellite Callisto. The mission analysis has been divided into three main phases, namely the interplanetary cruise, the Jupiter orbital insertion, and the surface landing and exploration phases. The interplanetary phase is based on departure from the Earth-Moon L1 point. Interplanetary trajectories based on the use of different propulsion systems have been considered, with resulting overall cruise phase duration varying between two and five years. The Jupiter-approach and the orbital insertion trajectories are considered in detail, with the spacecraft crossing the Jupiter radiation belts and staying around the landing target. In the surface exploration phase the stay on the Callisto surface is considered. The satellite surface composition has been modeled based on the most recent results from the GALILEO spacecraft. In the transport computations the surface backscattering has been duly taken into account. Particle transport has been performed with the HZETRN heavy ion code for hadrons and with an in-house developed transport code for electrons and bremsstrahlung photons. The obtained doses have been compared to dose exposure limits. c2004 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electron Temperature Fluctuation Measurements and Transport Model Validation at Alcator C-Mod

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, Anne

The tokamak is a type of toroidal device used to confine a fusion plasma using large magnetic fields. Tokamaks and stellarators the leading devices for confining plasmas for fusion, and the capability to predict performance in these magnetically confined plasmas is essential for developing a sustainable fusion energy source. The magnetic configuration of tokamaks and stellarators does not exist in Nature, yet, the fundamental processes governing transport in fusion plasmas are universal – turbulence and instabilities, driven by inhomogeneity and asymmetry in the plasma, conspire to transport heat and particles across magnetic field lines and can play critical roles inmore » impurity confinement and generation of intrinsic rotation. Turbulence exists in all plasmas, and in neutral fluids as well. The study of turbulence is essential to developing a fundamental understanding of the nature of the fourth state of matter, plasmas. Experimental studies of turbulence in tokamaks date back to early scattering observations from the late 1970s. Since that time, great advances in turbulence diagnostics have been made, all of which have significantly enhanced our knowledge and understanding of turbulence in tokamaks. Through comparisons with advanced gyrokinetic theory and turbulent-transport models a great deal of evidence exists to implicate turbulent-driven transport as an important mechanism determining transport in all channels: heat, particle and momentum However, prediction and control of turbulent-driven transport remains elusive. Key to development of predictive transport models for magnetically confined fusion plasmas is validation of the nonlinear gyrokinetic transport model, which describes transport due to turbulence. Validation of gyrokinetic codes must include detailed and quantitative comparisons with measured turbulence characteristics, in addition to comparisons with inferred transport levels and equilibrium profiles. For this reason, advanced plasma diagnostics for studying core turbulence are needed in order to assess the accuracy of gyrokinetic models for turbulent-driven particle, heat and momentum transport. New core turbulence diagnostics at the world-class tokamaks Alcator C-Mod at MIT and ASDEX Upgrade at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics have been designed, developed, and operated over the course of this project. These new instruments are capable of measuring electron temperature fluctuations and the phase angle between density and temperature fluctuations locally and quantitatively. These new data sets from Alcator C-Mod and ASDEX Upgrade are being used to fill key gaps in our understanding of turbulent transport in tokamaks. In particular, this project has results in new results on the topics of the Transport Shortfall, the role of ETG turbulence in tokamak plasmas, profile stiffness, the LOC/SOC transition, and intrinsic rotation reversals. These data are used in a rigorous process of “Transport model validation”, and this group is a world-leader on using turbulence models to design new hardware and new experiments at tokamaks. A correlation electron cyclotron emission (CECE) diagnostic is an instrument used to measure micro-scale fluctuations (mm-scale, compared to the machine size of meters) of electron temperature in magnetically confined fusion plasmas, such as those in tokamaks and stellarators. These micro-scale fluctuations are associated with drift-wave type turbulence, which leads to enhanced cooling and mixing of particles in fusion plasmas and limits achieving the required temperatures and densities for self-sustained fusion reactions. A CECE system can also be coupled with a reflectometer system that measured micro-scale density fluctuations, and from these simultaneous measurements, one can extract the phase between the density (n) and temperature (T) fluctuations, creating an nT phase diagnostic. Measurements of the fluctuations and the phase angle between them are extremely useful for testing and validating predictive models for the transport of heat and particles in fusion plasmas due to turbulence. Once validated, the models are used to predict performance in ITER and other burning plasmas, such as the MIT ARC design. Most recently, data from the newly developed, so-called “CECE diagnostic” [Cima 1995, White 2008] and “nT phase angle measurements” [Haese 1999, White 2010] ]will be combined with data from density fluctuation diagnostics at ASDEX Upgrade to support a long-term program of physics research in turbulence and transport that will allow for more stringent testing and validation of gyrokinetic turbulent-transport codes. This work directly impacts the development of predictive transport models in the U.S. FES program, such as TGLF, developed by General Atomics, which are used to predict performance in ITER and other burning plasma devices as part of advancing the development of fusion energy sciences.« less

Design Analysis of SNS Target StationBiological Shielding Monoligh with Proton Power Uprate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bekar, Kursat B.; Ibrahim, Ahmad M.

2017-05-01

This report documents the analysis of the dose rate in the experiment area outside the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) target station shielding monolith with proton beam energy of 1.3 GeV. The analysis implemented a coupled three dimensional (3D)/two dimensional (2D) approach that used both the Monte Carlo N-Particle Extended (MCNPX) 3D Monte Carlo code and the Discrete Ordinates Transport (DORT) two dimensional deterministic code. The analysis with proton beam energy of 1.3 GeV showed that the dose rate in continuously occupied areas on the lateral surface outside the SNS target station shielding monolith is less than 0.25 mrem/h, which compliesmore » with the SNS facility design objective. However, the methods and codes used in this analysis are out of date and unsupported, and the 2D approximation of the target shielding monolith does not accurately represent the geometry. We recommend that this analysis is updated with modern codes and libraries such as ADVANTG or SHIFT. These codes have demonstrated very high efficiency in performing full 3D radiation shielding analyses of similar and even more difficult problems.« less

Benchmarking kinetic calculations of resistive wall mode stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berkery, J. W.; Liu, Y. Q.; Wang, Z. R.; Sabbagh, S. A.; Logan, N. C.; Park, J.-K.; Manickam, J.; Betti, R.

2014-05-01

Validating the calculations of kinetic resistive wall mode (RWM) stability is important for confidently predicting RWM stable operating regions in ITER and other high performance tokamaks for disruption avoidance. Benchmarking the calculations of the Magnetohydrodynamic Resistive Spectrum—Kinetic (MARS-K) [Y. Liu et al., Phys. Plasmas 15, 112503 (2008)], Modification to Ideal Stability by Kinetic effects (MISK) [B. Hu et al., Phys. Plasmas 12, 057301 (2005)], and Perturbed Equilibrium Nonambipolar Transport PENT) [N. Logan et al., Phys. Plasmas 20, 122507 (2013)] codes for two Solov'ev analytical equilibria and a projected ITER equilibrium has demonstrated good agreement between the codes. The important particle frequencies, the frequency resonance energy integral in which they are used, the marginally stable eigenfunctions, perturbed Lagrangians, and fluid growth rates are all generally consistent between the codes. The most important kinetic effect at low rotation is the resonance between the mode rotation and the trapped thermal particle's precession drift, and MARS-K, MISK, and PENT show good agreement in this term. The different ways the rational surface contribution was treated historically in the codes is identified as a source of disagreement in the bounce and transit resonance terms at higher plasma rotation. Calculations from all of the codes support the present understanding that RWM stability can be increased by kinetic effects at low rotation through precession drift resonance and at high rotation by bounce and transit resonances, while intermediate rotation can remain susceptible to instability. The applicability of benchmarked kinetic stability calculations to experimental results is demonstrated by the prediction of MISK calculations of near marginal growth rates for experimental marginal stability points from the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) [M. Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion 40, 557 (2000)].

Development and Demonstration of a Computational Tool for the Analysis of Particle Vitiation Effects in Hypersonic Propulsion Test Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, Hugh Douglas

2010-01-01

In order to improve the understanding of particle vitiation effects in hypersonic propulsion test facilities, a quasi-one dimensional numerical tool was developed to efficiently model reacting particle-gas flows over a wide range of conditions. Features of this code include gas-phase finite-rate kinetics, a global porous-particle combustion model, mass, momentum and energy interactions between phases, and subsonic and supersonic particle drag and heat transfer models. The basic capabilities of this tool were validated against available data or other validated codes. To demonstrate the capabilities of the code a series of computations were performed for a model hypersonic propulsion test facility and scramjet. Parameters studied were simulated flight Mach number, particle size, particle mass fraction and particle material.

Development of RWHet to Simulate Contaminant Transport in Fractured Porous Media

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Yong; LaBolle, Eric; Reeves, Donald M

2012-07-01

Accurate simulation of matrix diffusion in regional-scale dual-porosity and dual-permeability media is a critical issue for the DOE Underground Test Area (UGTA) program, given the prevalence of fractured geologic media on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Contaminant transport through regional-scale fractured media is typically quantified by particle-tracking based Lagrangian solvers through the inclusion of dual-domain mass transfer algorithms that probabilistically determine particle transfer between fractures and unfractured matrix blocks. UGTA applications include a wide variety of fracture aperture and spacing, effective diffusion coefficients ranging four orders of magnitude, and extreme end member retardation values. This report incorporates the currentmore » dual-domain mass transfer algorithms into the well-known particle tracking code RWHet [LaBolle, 2006], and then tests and evaluates the updated code. We also develop and test a direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach to replace the classical transfer probability method in characterizing particle dynamics across the fracture/matrix interface. The final goal of this work is to implement the algorithm identified as most efficient and effective into RWHet, so that an accurate and computationally efficient software suite can be built for dual-porosity/dual-permeability applications. RWHet is a mature Lagrangian transport simulator with a substantial user-base that has undergone significant development and model validation. In this report, we also substantially tested the capability of RWHet in simulating passive and reactive tracer transport through regional-scale, heterogeneous media. Four dual-domain mass transfer methodologies were considered in this work. We first developed the empirical transfer probability approach proposed by Liu et al. [2000], and coded it into RWHet. The particle transfer probability from one continuum to the other is proportional to the ratio of the mass entering the other continuum to the mass in the current continuum. Numerical examples show that this method is limited to certain ranges of parameters, due to an intrinsic assumption of an equilibrium concentration profile in the matrix blocks in building the transfer probability. Subsequently, this method fails in describing mass transfer for parameter combinations that violate this assumption, including small diffusion coefficients (i.e., the free-water molecular diffusion coefficient 1×10-11 meter2/second), relatively large fracture spacings (such as meter), and/or relatively large matrix retardation coefficients (i.e., ). These “outliers” in parameter range are common in UGTA applications. To address the above limitations, we then developed a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS)-Reflective method. The novel DNS-Reflective method can directly track the particle dynamics across the fracture/matrix interface using a random walk, without any empirical assumptions. This advantage should make the DNS-Reflective method feasible for a wide range of parameters. Numerical tests of the DNS-Reflective, however, show that the method is computationally very demanding, since the time step must be very small to resolve particle transfer between fractures and matrix blocks. To improve the computational efficiency of the DNS approach, we then adopted Roubinet et al.’s method [2009], which uses first passage time distributions to simulate dual-domain mass transfer. The DNS-Roubinet method was found to be computationally more efficient than the DNS-Reflective method. It matches the analytical solution for the whole range of major parameters (including diffusion coefficient and fracture aperture values that are considered “outliers” for Liu et al.’s transfer probability method [2000]) for a single fracture system. The DNS-Roubinet method, however, has its own disadvantage: for a parallel fracture system, the truncation of the first passage time distribution creates apparent errors when the fracture spacing is small, and thus it tends to erroneously predict breakthrough curves (BTCs) for the parallel fracture system. Finally, we adopted the transient range approach proposed by Pan and Bodvarsson [2002] in RWHet. In this method, particle transfer between fractures and matrix blocks can be resolved without using very small time steps. It does not use any truncation of the first passage time distribution for particles. Hence it does not have the limitation identified above for the DNS-Reflective method and the DNS-Roubinet method. Numerical results were checked against analytical solutions, and also compared to DCPTV2.0 [Pan, 2002]. This version of RWHet (called RWHet-Pan&Bodvarsson in this report) can accurately capture contaminant transport in fractured porous media for a full range of parameters without any practical or theoretical limitations.« less

A Modified Monte Carlo Method for Carrier Transport in Germanium, Free of Isotropic Rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sundqvist, Kyle

2010-03-01

We present a new method for carrier transport simulation, relevant for high-purity germanium < 100 > at a temperature of 40 mK. In this system, the scattering of electrons and holes is dominated by spontaneous phonon emission. Free carriers are always out of equilibrium with the lattice. We must also properly account for directional effects due to band structure, but there are many cautions in the literature about treating germanium in particular. These objections arise because the germanium electron system is anisotropic to an extreme degree, while standard Monte Carlo algorithms maintain a reliance on isotropic, integrated rates. We re-examine Fermi's Golden Rule to produce a Monte Carlo method free of isotropic rates. Traditional Monte Carlo codes implement particle scattering based on an isotropically averaged rate, followed by a separate selection of the particle's final state via a momentum-dependent probability. In our method, the kernel of Fermi's Golden Rule produces analytical, bivariate rates which allow for the simultaneous choice of scatter and final state selection. Energy and momentum are automatically conserved. We compare our results to experimental data.

An Improved Elastic and Nonelastic Neutron Transport Algorithm for Space Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clowdsley, Martha S.; Wilson, John W.; Heinbockel, John H.; Tripathi, R. K.; Singleterry, Robert C., Jr.; Shinn, Judy L.

2000-01-01

A neutron transport algorithm including both elastic and nonelastic particle interaction processes for use in space radiation protection for arbitrary shield material is developed. The algorithm is based upon a multiple energy grouping and analysis of the straight-ahead Boltzmann equation by using a mean value theorem for integrals. The algorithm is then coupled to the Langley HZETRN code through a bidirectional neutron evaporation source term. Evaluation of the neutron fluence generated by the solar particle event of February 23, 1956, for an aluminum water shield-target configuration is then compared with MCNPX and LAHET Monte Carlo calculations for the same shield-target configuration. With the Monte Carlo calculation as a benchmark, the algorithm developed in this paper showed a great improvement in results over the unmodified HZETRN solution. In addition, a high-energy bidirectional neutron source based on a formula by Ranft showed even further improvement of the fluence results over previous results near the front of the water target where diffusion out the front surface is important. Effects of improved interaction cross sections are modest compared with the addition of the high-energy bidirectional source terms.

Taking Lessons Learned from a Proxy Application to a Full Application for SNAP and PARTISN

DOE PAGES

Womeldorff, Geoffrey Alan; Payne, Joshua Estes; Bergen, Benjamin Karl

2017-06-09

SNAP is a proxy application which simulates the computational motion of a neutral particle transport code, PARTISN. Here in this work, we have adapted parts of SNAP separately; we have re-implemented the iterative shell of SNAP in the task-model runtime Legion, showing an improvement to the original schedule, and we have created multiple Kokkos implementations of the computational kernel of SNAP, displaying similar performance to the native Fortran. We then translate our Kokkos experiments in SNAP to PARTISN, necessitating engineering development, regression testing, and further thought.

Effects of bulk composition on production rates of cosmogenic nuclides in meteorites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Masarik, Jozef; Reedy, Robert C.

1993-01-01

The bulk chemical composition of meteorites has been suggested as a main factor influencing the production of cosmogenic nuclides. Numerical simulations with Los Alamos Monte Carlo production and transport codes were done for Ne-21/Ne-22 ratios and Ar-38 production rates in meteorites with a wide range of compositions. The calculations show that an enhanced flux of low-energy secondary particles in metal-rich phases is the essential key for the explanation of experimentally observed differences in nuclide production processes in various meteorite classes.

Taking Lessons Learned from a Proxy Application to a Full Application for SNAP and PARTISN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Womeldorff, Geoffrey Alan; Payne, Joshua Estes; Bergen, Benjamin Karl

SNAP is a proxy application which simulates the computational motion of a neutral particle transport code, PARTISN. Here in this work, we have adapted parts of SNAP separately; we have re-implemented the iterative shell of SNAP in the task-model runtime Legion, showing an improvement to the original schedule, and we have created multiple Kokkos implementations of the computational kernel of SNAP, displaying similar performance to the native Fortran. We then translate our Kokkos experiments in SNAP to PARTISN, necessitating engineering development, regression testing, and further thought.

LARC-1: a Los Alamos release calculation program for fission product transport in HTGRs during the LOFC accident

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carruthers, L.M.; Lee, C.E.

1976-10-01

The theoretical and numerical data base development of the LARC-1 code is described. Four analytical models of fission product release from an HTGR core during the loss of forced circulation accident are developed. Effects of diffusion, adsorption and evaporation of the metallics and precursors are neglected in this first LARC model. Comparison of the analytic models indicates that the constant release-renormalized model is adequate to describe the processes involved. The numerical data base for release constants, temperature modeling, fission product release rates, coated fuel particle failure fraction and aged coated fuel particle failure fractions is discussed. Analytic fits and graphicmore » displays for these data are given for the Ft. St. Vrain and GASSAR models.« less

Measurement of track structure parameters of low and medium energy helium and carbon ions in nanometric volumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilgers, G.; Bug, M. U.; Rabus, H.

2017-10-01

Ionization cluster size distributions produced in the sensitive volume of an ion-counting wall-less nanodosimeter by monoenergetic carbon ions with energies between 45 MeV and 150 MeV were measured at the TANDEM-ALPI ion accelerator facility complex of the LNL-INFN in Legnaro. Those produced by monoenergetic helium ions with energies between 2 MeV and 20 MeV were measured at the accelerator facilities of PTB and with a 241Am alpha particle source. C3H8 was used as the target gas. The ionization cluster size distributions were measured in narrow beam geometry with the primary beam passing the target volume at specified distances from its centre, and in broad beam geometry with a fan-like primary beam. By applying a suitable drift time window, the effective size of the target volume was adjusted to match the size of a DNA segment. The measured data were compared with the results of simulations obtained with the PTB Monte Carlo code PTra. Before the comparison, the simulated cluster size distributions were corrected with respect to the background of additional ionizations produced in the transport system of the ionized target gas molecules. Measured and simulated characteristics of the particle track structure are in good agreement for both types of primary particles and for both types of the irradiation geometry. As the range in tissue of the ions investigated is within the typical extension of a spread-out Bragg peak, these data are useful for benchmarking not only ‘general purpose’ track structure simulation codes, but also treatment planning codes used in hadron therapy. Additionally, these data sets may serve as a data base for codes modelling the induction of radiation damages at the DNA-level as they almost completely characterize the ionization component of the nanometric track structure.

Status report on the 'Merging' of the Electron-Cloud Code POSINST with the 3-D Accelerator PIC CODE WARP

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vay, J.-L.; Furman, M.A.; Azevedo, A.W.

2004-04-19

We have integrated the electron-cloud code POSINST [1] with WARP [2]--a 3-D parallel Particle-In-Cell accelerator code developed for Heavy Ion Inertial Fusion--so that the two can interoperate. Both codes are run in the same process, communicate through a Python interpreter (already used in WARP), and share certain key arrays (so far, particle positions and velocities). Currently, POSINST provides primary and secondary sources of electrons, beam bunch kicks, a particle mover, and diagnostics. WARP provides the field solvers and diagnostics. Secondary emission routines are provided by the Tech-X package CMEE.

Solid phase evolution in the Biosphere 2 hillslope experiment as predicted by modeling of hydrologic and geochemical fluxes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dontsova, K.; Steefel, C.I.; Desilets, S.

2009-07-15

A reactive transport geochemical modeling study was conducted to help predict the mineral transformations occurring over a ten year time-scale that are expected to impact soil hydraulic properties in the Biosphere 2 (B2) synthetic hillslope experiment. The modeling sought to predict the rate and extent of weathering of a granular basalt (selected for hillslope construction) as a function of climatic drivers, and to assess the feedback effects of such weathering processes on the hydraulic properties of the hillslope. Flow vectors were imported from HYDRUS into a reactive transport code, CrunchFlow2007, which was then used to model mineral weathering coupled tomore » reactive solute transport. Associated particle size evolution was translated into changes in saturated hydraulic conductivity using Rosetta software. We found that flow characteristics, including velocity and saturation, strongly influenced the predicted extent of incongruent mineral weathering and neo-phase precipitation on the hillslope. Results were also highly sensitive to specific surface areas of the soil media, consistent with surface reaction controls on dissolution. Effects of fluid flow on weathering resulted in significant differences in the prediction of soil particle size distributions, which should feedback to alter hillslope hydraulic conductivities.« less

Nonlinear verification of a linear critical gradient model for energetic particle transport by Alfven eigenmodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bass, Eric M.; Waltz, R. E.

Here, a “stiff transport” critical gradient model of energetic particle (EP) transport by EPdriven Alfven eigenmodes (AEs) is verified against local nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of a well-studied beam-heated DIII-D discharge 146102. A greatly simplifying linear “recipe” for the limiting EP-density gradient (critical gradient) is considered here. In this recipe, the critical gradient occurs when the AE linear growth rate, driven mainly by the EP gradient, exceeds the ion temperature gradient (ITG) or trapped electron mode (TEM) growth rate, driven by the thermal plasma gradient, at the same toroidal mode number (n) as the AE peak growth, well below the ITG/TEMmore » peak n. This linear recipe for the critical gradient is validated against the critical gradient determined from far more expensive local nonlinear simulations in the gyrokinetic code GYRO, as identified by the point of transport runaway when all driving gradients are held fixed. The reduced linear model is extended to include the stabilization from equilibrium E×B velocity shear. The nonlinear verification unambiguously endorses one of two alternative recipes proposed in Ref. 1: the EP-driven AE growth rate should be determined with rather than without added thermal plasma drive.« less

Nonlinear verification of a linear critical gradient model for energetic particle transport by Alfven eigenmodes

DOE PAGES

Bass, Eric M.; Waltz, R. E.

2017-12-08

Here, a “stiff transport” critical gradient model of energetic particle (EP) transport by EPdriven Alfven eigenmodes (AEs) is verified against local nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of a well-studied beam-heated DIII-D discharge 146102. A greatly simplifying linear “recipe” for the limiting EP-density gradient (critical gradient) is considered here. In this recipe, the critical gradient occurs when the AE linear growth rate, driven mainly by the EP gradient, exceeds the ion temperature gradient (ITG) or trapped electron mode (TEM) growth rate, driven by the thermal plasma gradient, at the same toroidal mode number (n) as the AE peak growth, well below the ITG/TEMmore » peak n. This linear recipe for the critical gradient is validated against the critical gradient determined from far more expensive local nonlinear simulations in the gyrokinetic code GYRO, as identified by the point of transport runaway when all driving gradients are held fixed. The reduced linear model is extended to include the stabilization from equilibrium E×B velocity shear. The nonlinear verification unambiguously endorses one of two alternative recipes proposed in Ref. 1: the EP-driven AE growth rate should be determined with rather than without added thermal plasma drive.« less

Numerical Simulation of Plume Transport in Channel Bend with Different Sediment Diameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, H. S.; Chen, H. C.

2017-12-01

The flow and transport of suspended sediment particles, in the form of plume, were simulated using an in-house Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver FANS3D (Finite Analytic Navier-Stokes code for 3D flow). The motivation for this investigation is to provide a means to simulate and visualize dispersal systems in a complex flow environment. The physical domain considered is a 90-degrees channel bend with wingwall abutments, which induces complex, three-dimensional flow characteristics. At the inlet of the channel, a sediment plume with the volumetric concentration of 1,000 parts per million (ppm) was constantly supplied. For simplicity, it was assumed that neither deposition nor erosion takes place inside the channel and settling sediment was made to pass through the bed surface. The effect of the sediment particle size was also analyzed using two different median diameters: 0.10 mm and 0.20 mm. It was shown that flow acceleration and vortices cause strong mixing inside the channel. The three-dimensional time series from the simulation captured increasing suspended sediment concentration downstream of the abutments, along the outer bank. When the median diameter was varied, the sediment concentration at certain locations differed by orders of magnitude, indicating that the settling velocity dominates the transport process for larger diameters.

Continuous energy adjoint transport for photons in PHITS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malins, Alex; Machida, Masahiko; Niita, Koji

2017-09-01

Adjoint Monte Carlo can be an effcient algorithm for solving photon transport problems where the size of the tally is relatively small compared to the source. Such problems are typical in environmental radioactivity calculations, where natural or fallout radionuclides spread over a large area contribute to the air dose rate at a particular location. Moreover photon transport with continuous energy representation is vital for accurately calculating radiation protection quantities. Here we describe the incorporation of an adjoint Monte Carlo capability for continuous energy photon transport into the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS). An adjoint cross section library for photon interactions was developed based on the JENDL- 4.0 library, by adding cross sections for adjoint incoherent scattering and pair production. PHITS reads in the library and implements the adjoint transport algorithm by Hoogenboom. Adjoint pseudo-photons are spawned within the forward tally volume and transported through space. Currently pseudo-photons can undergo coherent and incoherent scattering within the PHITS adjoint function. Photoelectric absorption is treated implicitly. The calculation result is recovered from the pseudo-photon flux calculated over the true source volume. A new adjoint tally function facilitates this conversion. This paper gives an overview of the new function and discusses potential future developments.

Development code for sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of input on the MCNPX for neutronic calculation in PWR core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartini, Entin; Andiwijayakusuma, Dinan

2014-09-01

This research was carried out on the development of code for uncertainty analysis is based on a statistical approach for assessing the uncertainty input parameters. In the butn-up calculation of fuel, uncertainty analysis performed for input parameters fuel density, coolant density and fuel temperature. This calculation is performed during irradiation using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport. The Uncertainty method based on the probabilities density function. Development code is made in python script to do coupling with MCNPX for criticality and burn-up calculations. Simulation is done by modeling the geometry of PWR terrace, with MCNPX on the power 54 MW with fuel type UO2 pellets. The calculation is done by using the data library continuous energy cross-sections ENDF / B-VI. MCNPX requires nuclear data in ACE format. Development of interfaces for obtaining nuclear data in the form of ACE format of ENDF through special process NJOY calculation to temperature changes in a certain range.

Development code for sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of input on the MCNPX for neutronic calculation in PWR core

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hartini, Entin, E-mail: entin@batan.go.id; Andiwijayakusuma, Dinan, E-mail: entin@batan.go.id

2014-09-30

This research was carried out on the development of code for uncertainty analysis is based on a statistical approach for assessing the uncertainty input parameters. In the butn-up calculation of fuel, uncertainty analysis performed for input parameters fuel density, coolant density and fuel temperature. This calculation is performed during irradiation using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport. The Uncertainty method based on the probabilities density function. Development code is made in python script to do coupling with MCNPX for criticality and burn-up calculations. Simulation is done by modeling the geometry of PWR terrace, with MCNPX on the power 54 MW with fuelmore » type UO2 pellets. The calculation is done by using the data library continuous energy cross-sections ENDF / B-VI. MCNPX requires nuclear data in ACE format. Development of interfaces for obtaining nuclear data in the form of ACE format of ENDF through special process NJOY calculation to temperature changes in a certain range.« less

Neoclassical simulation of tokamak plasmas using the continuum gyrokinetic code TEMPEST.

PubMed

Xu, X Q

2008-07-01

We present gyrokinetic neoclassical simulations of tokamak plasmas with a self-consistent electric field using a fully nonlinear (full- f ) continuum code TEMPEST in a circular geometry. A set of gyrokinetic equations are discretized on a five-dimensional computational grid in phase space. The present implementation is a method of lines approach where the phase-space derivatives are discretized with finite differences, and implicit backward differencing formulas are used to advance the system in time. The fully nonlinear Boltzmann model is used for electrons. The neoclassical electric field is obtained by solving the gyrokinetic Poisson equation with self-consistent poloidal variation. With a four-dimensional (psi,theta,micro) version of the TEMPEST code, we compute the radial particle and heat fluxes, the geodesic-acoustic mode, and the development of the neoclassical electric field, which we compare with neoclassical theory using a Lorentz collision model. The present work provides a numerical scheme for self-consistently studying important dynamical aspects of neoclassical transport and electric field in toroidal magnetic fusion devices.

Collisional tests and an extension of the TEMPEST continuum gyrokinetic code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, R. H.; Dorr, M.; Hittinger, J.; Kerbel, G.; Nevins, W. M.; Rognlien, T.; Xiong, Z.; Xu, X. Q.

2006-04-01

An important requirement of a kinetic code for edge plasmas is the ability to accurately treat the effect of colllisions over a broad range of collisionalities. To test the interaction of collisions and parallel streaming, TEMPEST has been compared with published analytic and numerical (Monte Carlo, bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck) results for endloss of particles confined by combined electrostatic and magnetic wells. Good agreement is found over a wide range of collisionality, confining potential and mirror ratio, and the required velocity space resolution is modest. We also describe progress toward extension of (4-dimensional) TEMPEST into a ``kinetic edge transport code'' (a kinetic counterpart of UEDGE). The extension includes averaging of the gyrokinetic equations over fast timescales and approximating the averaged quadratic terms by diffusion terms which respect the boundaries of inaccessable regions in phase space. F. Najmabadi, R.W. Conn and R.H. Cohen, Nucl. Fusion 24, 75 (1984); T.D. Rognlien and T.A. Cutler, Nucl. Fusion 20, 1003 (1980).

Tempest Neoclassical Simulation of Fusion Edge Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X. Q.; Xiong, Z.; Cohen, B. I.; Cohen, R. H.; Dorr, M.; Hittinger, J.; Kerbel, G. D.; Nevins, W. M.; Rognlien, T. D.

2006-04-01

We are developing a continuum gyrokinetic full-F code, TEMPEST, to simulate edge plasmas. The geometry is that of a fully diverted tokamak and so includes boundary conditions for both closed magnetic flux surfaces and open field lines. The code, presently 4-dimensional (2D2V), includes kinetic ions and electrons, a gyrokinetic Poisson solver for electric field, and the nonlinear Fokker-Planck collision operator. Here we present the simulation results of neoclassical transport with Boltzmann electrons. In a large aspect ratio circular geometry, excellent agreement is found for neoclassical equilibrium with parallel flows in the banana regime without a temperature gradient. In divertor geometry, it is found that the endloss of particles and energy induces pedestal-like density and temperature profiles inside the magnetic separatrix and parallel flow stronger than the neoclassical predictions in the SOL. The impact of the X-point divertor geometry on the self-consistent electric field and geo-acoustic oscillations will be reported. We will also discuss the status of extending TEMPEST into a 5-D code.

Neoclassical simulation of tokamak plasmas using the continuum gyrokinetic code TEMPEST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, X. Q.

2008-07-01

We present gyrokinetic neoclassical simulations of tokamak plasmas with a self-consistent electric field using a fully nonlinear (full- f ) continuum code TEMPEST in a circular geometry. A set of gyrokinetic equations are discretized on a five-dimensional computational grid in phase space. The present implementation is a method of lines approach where the phase-space derivatives are discretized with finite differences, and implicit backward differencing formulas are used to advance the system in time. The fully nonlinear Boltzmann model is used for electrons. The neoclassical electric field is obtained by solving the gyrokinetic Poisson equation with self-consistent poloidal variation. With a four-dimensional (ψ,θ,γ,μ) version of the TEMPEST code, we compute the radial particle and heat fluxes, the geodesic-acoustic mode, and the development of the neoclassical electric field, which we compare with neoclassical theory using a Lorentz collision model. The present work provides a numerical scheme for self-consistently studying important dynamical aspects of neoclassical transport and electric field in toroidal magnetic fusion devices.

Visualization of particle flux in the human body on the surface of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saganti, Premkumar B.; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Wilson, John W.; Schimmerling, Walter

2002-01-01

For a given galactic cosmic ray (GCR) environment, information on the particle flux of protons, alpha particles, and heavy ions, that varies with respect to the topographical altitude on the Martian surface, are needed for planning exploration missions to Mars. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission with its Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument has been providing precise topographical surface map of the Mars. With this topographical data, the particle flux at the Martian surface level through the CO2 atmospheric shielding for solar minimum and solar maximum conditions are calculated. These particle flux calculations are then transported first through an anticipated shielding of a conceptual shelter with several water equivalent shield values (up to 50 g/cm2 of water in steps of 5 g/cm2) considered to represent a surface habitat, and then into the human body. Model calculations are accomplished utilizing the HZETRN, QMSFRG, and SUM-MARS codes. Particle flux calculations for 12 different locations in the human body were considered from skin depth to the internal organs including the blood-forming organs (BFO). Visualization of particle flux in the human body at different altitudes on the Martian surface behind a known shielding is anticipated to provide guidance for assessing radiation environment risk on the Martian surface for future human missions.

3D Numerical Prediction of Gas-Solid Flow Behavior in CFB Risers for Geldart A and B Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özel, A.; Fede, P.; Simonin, O.

In this study, mono-disperse flows in squared risers conducted with A and B-type particles were simulated by Eulerian n-fluid 3D unsteady code. Two transport equations developed in the frame of kinetic theory of granular media supplemented by the interstitial fluid effect and the interaction with the turbulence (Balzer et al., 1996) are resolved to model the effect of velocity fluctuations and inter-particle collisions on the dispersed phase hydrodynamic. The studied flow geometries are three-dimensional vertical cold channels excluding cyclone, tampon and returning pipe of a typical circulating fluidized bed. For both type of particles, parametric studies were carried out to determine influences of boundary conditions, physical parameters and turbulence modeling. The grid dependency was analyzed with mesh refinement in horizontal and axial directions. For B-type particles, the results are in good qualitative agreement with the experiments and numerical predictions are slightly improved by the mesh refinement. On the contrary, the simulations with A-type particles show a less satisfactory agreement with available measurements and are highly sensitive to mesh refinement. Further studies are carried out to improve the A-type particles by modeling subgrid-scale effects in the frame of large-eddy simulation approach.

Visualization of particle flux in the human body on the surface of Mars.

PubMed

Saganti, Premkumar B; Cucinotta, Francis A; Wilson, John W; Schimmerling, Walter

2002-12-01

For a given galactic cosmic ray (GCR) environment, information on the particle flux of protons, alpha particles, and heavy ions, that varies with respect to the topographical altitude on the Martian surface, are needed for planning exploration missions to Mars. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission with its Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument has been providing precise topographical surface map of the Mars. With this topographical data, the particle flux at the Martian surface level through the CO2 atmospheric shielding for solar minimum and solar maximum conditions are calculated. These particle flux calculations are then transported first through an anticipated shielding of a conceptual shelter with several water equivalent shield values (up to 50 g/cm2 of water in steps of 5 g/cm2) considered to represent a surface habitat, and then into the human body. Model calculations are accomplished utilizing the HZETRN, QMSFRG, and SUM-MARS codes. Particle flux calculations for 12 different locations in the human body were considered from skin depth to the internal organs including the blood-forming organs (BFO). Visualization of particle flux in the human body at different altitudes on the Martian surface behind a known shielding is anticipated to provide guidance for assessing radiation environment risk on the Martian surface for future human missions.

A new hybrid particle/fluid model for cometary dust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shou, Y.; Combi, M. R.; Tenishev, V.; Toth, G.; Hansen, K. C.; Huang, Z.; Gombosi, T. I.; Fougere, N.; Rubin, M.

2017-12-01

Cometary dust grains, which originate from comets, are believed to contain clues to the formation and the evolution of comets. They also play an important role in shaping the cometary environment, as they are able to decelerate and heat the gas through collisions, carry charges and interact with the plasma environment, and possibly sublimate gases. Therefore, the loss rate and behavior of dust grains are of interest to scientists. Currently, mainly two types of numerical dust models exist: particle models and fluid models have been developed. Particle models, which keep track of the positions and velocities of all gas and dust particles, allow crossing dust trajectories and a more accurate description of returning dust grains than the fluid model. However, in order to compute the gas drag force, the particle model needs to follow more gas particles than dust particles. A fluid model is usually more computationally efficient and is often used to provide simulations on larger spatial and temporal scales. In this work, a new hybrid model is developed to combine the advantages of both particle and fluid models. In the new approach a fluid model based on the University of Michigan BATSRUS code computes the gas properties, and feeds the gas drag force to the particle model, which is based on the Adaptive Mesh Particle Simulator (AMPS) code, to calculate the motion of dust grains. The coupling is done via the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF). In addition to the capability of simulating the long-term dust phenomena, the model can also designate small active regions on the nucleus for comparison with the temporary fine dust features in observations. With the assistance of the newly developed model, the effect of viewing angles on observed dust jet shapes and the transportation of heavy dust grains from the southern to the northern hemisphere of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko will be studied and compared with Rosetta mission images. Preliminary results will be presented. Support from contracts JPL #1266314 and #1266313 from the US Rosetta Project and grant NNX14AG84G from the NASA Planetary Atmospheres Program are gratefully acknowledged.

Ordered transport and identification of particles

DOEpatents

Shera, E.B.

1993-05-11

A method and apparatus are provided for application of electrical field gradients to induce particle velocities to enable particle sequence and identification information to be obtained. Particle sequence is maintained by providing electroosmotic flow for an electrolytic solution in a particle transport tube. The transport tube and electrolytic solution are selected to provide an electroosmotic radius of >100 so that a plug flow profile is obtained for the electrolytic solution in the transport tube. Thus, particles are maintained in the same order in which they are introduced in the transport tube. When the particles also have known electrophoretic velocities, the field gradients introduce an electrophoretic velocity component onto the electroosmotic velocity. The time that the particles pass selected locations along the transport tube may then be detected and the electrophoretic velocity component calculated for particle identification. One particular application is the ordered transport and identification of labeled nucleotides sequentially cleaved from a strand of DNA.

Ordered transport and identification of particles

DOEpatents

Shera, E. Brooks

1993-01-01

A method and apparatus are provided for application of electrical field gradients to induce particle velocities to enable particle sequence and identification information to be obtained. Particle sequence is maintained by providing electroosmotic flow for an electrolytic solution in a particle transport tube. The transport tube and electrolytic solution are selected to provide an electroosmotic radius of >100 so that a plug flow profile is obtained for the electrolytic solution in the transport tube. Thus, particles are maintained in the same order in which they are introduced in the transport tube. When the particles also have known electrophoretic velocities, the field gradients introduce an electrophoretic velocity component onto the electroosmotic velocity. The time that the particles pass selected locations along the transport tube may then be detected and the electrophoretic velocity component calculated for particle identification. One particular application is the ordered transport and identification of labeled nucleotides sequentially cleaved from a strand of DNA.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Strauss, H.R.

This paper describes the code FEMHD, an adaptive finite element MHD code, which is applied in a number of different manners to model MHD behavior and edge plasma phenomena on a diverted tokamak. The code uses an unstructured triangular mesh in 2D and wedge shaped mesh elements in 3D. The code has been adapted to look at neutral and charged particle dynamics in the plasma scrape off region, and into a full MHD-particle code.

Calculations of neoclassical impurity transport in stellarators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mollén, Albert; Smith, Håkan M.; Langenberg, Andreas; Turkin, Yuriy; Beidler, Craig D.; Helander, Per; Landreman, Matt; Newton, Sarah L.; García-Regaña, José M.; Nunami, Masanori

2017-10-01

The new stellarator Wendelstein 7-X has finished the first operational campaign and is restarting operation in the summer 2017. To demonstrate that the stellarator concept is a viable candidate for a fusion reactor and to allow for long pulse lengths of 30 min, i.e. ``quasi-stationary'' operation, it will be important to avoid central impurity accumulation typically governed by the radial neoclassical transport. The SFINCS code has been developed to calculate neoclassical quantities such as the radial collisional transport and the ambipolar radial electric field in 3D magnetic configurations. SFINCS is a cutting-edge numerical tool which combines several important features: the ability to model an arbitrary number of kinetic plasma species, the full linearized Fokker-Planck collision operator for all species, and the ability to calculate and account for the variation of the electrostatic potential on flux surfaces. In the present work we use SFINCS to study neoclassical impurity transport in stellarators. We explore how flux-surface potential variations affect the radial particle transport, and how the radial electric field is modified by non-trace impurities and flux-surface potential variations.

Experimental benchmark of kinetic simulations of capacitively coupled plasmas in molecular gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donkó, Z.; Derzsi, A.; Korolov, I.; Hartmann, P.; Brandt, S.; Schulze, J.; Berger, B.; Koepke, M.; Bruneau, B.; Johnson, E.; Lafleur, T.; Booth, J.-P.; Gibson, A. R.; O'Connell, D.; Gans, T.

2018-01-01

We discuss the origin of uncertainties in the results of numerical simulations of low-temperature plasma sources, focusing on capacitively coupled plasmas. These sources can be operated in various gases/gas mixtures, over a wide domain of excitation frequency, voltage, and gas pressure. At low pressures, the non-equilibrium character of the charged particle transport prevails and particle-based simulations become the primary tools for their numerical description. The particle-in-cell method, complemented with Monte Carlo type description of collision processes, is a well-established approach for this purpose. Codes based on this technique have been developed by several authors/groups, and have been benchmarked with each other in some cases. Such benchmarking demonstrates the correctness of the codes, but the underlying physical model remains unvalidated. This is a key point, as this model should ideally account for all important plasma chemical reactions as well as for the plasma-surface interaction via including specific surface reaction coefficients (electron yields, sticking coefficients, etc). In order to test the models rigorously, comparison with experimental ‘benchmark data’ is necessary. Examples will be given regarding the studies of electron power absorption modes in O2, and CF4-Ar discharges, as well as on the effect of modifications of the parameters of certain elementary processes on the computed discharge characteristics in O2 capacitively coupled plasmas.

Particle Hydrodynamics with Material Strength for Multi-Layer Orbital Debris Shield Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fahrenthold, Eric P.

1999-01-01

Three dimensional simulation of oblique hypervelocity impact on orbital debris shielding places extreme demands on computer resources. Research to date has shown that particle models provide the most accurate and efficient means for computer simulation of shield design problems. In order to employ a particle based modeling approach to the wall plate impact portion of the shield design problem, it is essential that particle codes be augmented to represent strength effects. This report describes augmentation of a Lagrangian particle hydrodynamics code developed by the principal investigator, to include strength effects, allowing for the entire shield impact problem to be represented using a single computer code.

Optimization of Particle-in-Cell Codes on RISC Processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decyk, Viktor K.; Karmesin, Steve Roy; Boer, Aeint de; Liewer, Paulette C.

1996-01-01

General strategies are developed to optimize particle-cell-codes written in Fortran for RISC processors which are commonly used on massively parallel computers. These strategies include data reorganization to improve cache utilization and code reorganization to improve efficiency of arithmetic pipelines.

Chemically Reacting One-Dimensional Gas-Particle Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tevepaugh, J. A.; Penny, M. M.

1975-01-01

The governing equations for the one-dimensional flow of a gas-particle system are discussed. Gas-particle effects are coupled via the system momentum and energy equations with the gas assumed to be chemically frozen or in chemical equilibrium. A computer code for calculating the one-dimensional flow of a gas-particle system is discussed and a user's input guide presented. The computer code provides for the expansion of the gas-particle system from a specified starting velocity and nozzle inlet geometry. Though general in nature, the final output of the code is a startline for initiating the solution of a supersonic gas-particle system in rocket nozzles. The startline includes gasdynamic data defining gaseous startline points from the nozzle centerline to the nozzle wall and particle properties at points along the gaseous startline.

Multidimensional Multiphysics Simulation of TRISO Particle Fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J. D. Hales; R. L. Williamson; S. R. Novascone

2013-11-01

Multidimensional multiphysics analysis of TRISO-coated particle fuel using the BISON finite-element based nuclear fuels code is described. The governing equations and material models applicable to particle fuel and implemented in BISON are outlined. Code verification based on a recent IAEA benchmarking exercise is described, and excellant comparisons are reported. Multiple TRISO-coated particles of increasing geometric complexity are considered. It is shown that the code's ability to perform large-scale parallel computations permits application to complex 3D phenomena while very efficient solutions for either 1D spherically symmetric or 2D axisymmetric geometries are straightforward. Additionally, the flexibility to easily include new physical andmore » material models and uncomplicated ability to couple to lower length scale simulations makes BISON a powerful tool for simulation of coated-particle fuel. Future code development activities and potential applications are identified.« less

CRUNCH_PARALLEL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shumaker, Dana E.; Steefel, Carl I.

The code CRUNCH_PARALLEL is a parallel version of the CRUNCH code. CRUNCH code version 2.0 was previously released by LLNL, (UCRL-CODE-200063). Crunch is a general purpose reactive transport code developed by Carl Steefel and Yabusake (Steefel Yabsaki 1996). The code handles non-isothermal transport and reaction in one, two, and three dimensions. The reaction algorithm is generic in form, handling an arbitrary number of aqueous and surface complexation as well as mineral dissolution/precipitation. A standardized database is used containing thermodynamic and kinetic data. The code includes advective, dispersive, and diffusive transport.

Design of the Experimental Exposure Conditions to Simulate Ionizing Radiation Effects on Candidate Replacement Materials for the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, L. Montgomery

1998-01-01

In this effort, experimental exposure times for monoenergetic electrons and protons were determined to simulate the space radiation environment effects on Teflon components of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although the energy range of the available laboratory particle accelerators was limited, optimal exposure times for 50 keV, 220 keV, 350 keV, and 500 KeV electrons were calculated that produced a dose-versus-depth profile that approximated the full spectrum profile, and were realizable with existing equipment. For the case of proton exposure, the limited energy range of the laboratory accelerator restricted simulation of the dose to a depth of .5 mil. Also, while optimal exposure times were found for 200 keV, 500 keV and 700 keV protons that simulated the full spectrum dose-versus-depth profile to this depth, they were of such short duration that the existing laboratory could not be controlled to within the required accuracy. In addition to the obvious experimental issues, other areas exist in which the analytical work could be advanced. Improved computer codes for the dose prediction- along with improved methodology for data input and output- would accelerate and make more accurate the calculational aspects. This is particularly true in the case of proton fluxes where a paucity of available predictive software appears to exist. The dated nature of many of the existing Monte Carlo particle/radiation transport codes raises the issue as to whether existing codes are sufficient for this type of analysis. Other areas that would result in greater fidelity of laboratory exposure effects to the space environment is the use of a larger number of monoenergetic particle fluxes and improved optimization algorithms to determine the weighting values.

Three-dimensional particle simulation of heavy-ion fusion beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Friedman, A.; Grote, D.P.; Haber, I.

1992-07-01

The beams in a heavy-ion-beam-driven inertial fusion (HIF) accelerator are collisionless, nonneutral plasmas, confined by applied magnetic and electric fields. These space-charge-dominated beams must be focused onto small (few mm) spots at the fusion target, and so preservation of a small emittance is crucial. The nonlinear beam self-fields can lead to emittance growth, and so a self-consistent field description is needed. To this end, a multidimensional particle simulation code, WARP (Friedman {ital et} {ital al}., Part. Accel. {bold 37}-{bold 38}, 131 (1992)), has been developed and is being used to study the transport of HIF beams. The code's three-dimensional (3-D)more » package combines features of an accelerator code and a particle-in-cell plasma simulation. Novel techniques allow it to follow beams through many accelerator elements over long distances and around bends. This paper first outlines the algorithms employed in WARP. A number of applications and corresponding results are then presented. These applications include studies of: beam drift-compression in a misaligned lattice of quadrupole focusing magnets; beam equilibria, and the approach to equilibrium; and the MBE-4 experiment ({ital AIP} {ital Conference} {ital Proceedings} 152 (AIP, New York, 1986), p. 145) recently concluded at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL). Finally, 3-D simulations of bent-beam dynamics relevant to the planned Induction Linac Systems Experiments (ILSE) (Fessenden, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Plasma Res. A {bold 278}, 13 (1989)) at LBL are described. Axially cold beams are observed to exhibit little or no root-mean-square emittance growth at midpulse in transiting a (sharp) bend. Axially hot beams, in contrast, do exhibit some emittance growth.« less

Physics of the Isotopic Dependence of Galactic Cosmic Ray Fluence Behind Shielding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cucinotta, Francis A.; Saganti, Premkumar B.; Hu, Xiao-Dong; Kim, Myung-Hee Y.; Cleghorn, Timothy F.; Wilson, John W.; Tripathi, Ram K.; Zeitlin, Cary J.

2003-01-01

For over 25 years, NASA has supported the development of space radiation transport models for shielding applications. The NASA space radiation transport model now predicts dose and dose equivalent in Earth and Mars orbit to an accuracy of plus or minus 20%. However, because larger errors may occur in particle fluence predictions, there is interest in further assessments and improvements in NASA's space radiation transport model. In this paper, we consider the effects of the isotopic composition of the primary galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and the isotopic dependence of nuclear fragmentation cross-sections on the solution to transport models used for shielding studies. Satellite measurements are used to describe the isotopic composition of the GCR. Using NASA's quantum multiple-scattering theory of nuclear fragmentation (QMSFRG) and high-charge and energy (HZETRN) transport code, we study the effect of the isotopic dependence of the primary GCR composition and secondary nuclei on shielding calculations. The QMSFRG is shown to accurately describe the iso-spin dependence of nuclear fragmentation. The principal finding of this study is that large errors (plus or minus 100%) will occur in the mass-fluence spectra when comparing transport models that use a complete isotope grid (approximately 170 ions) to ones that use a reduced isotope grid, for example the 59 ion-grid used in the HZETRN code in the past, however less significant errors (less than 20%) occur in the elemental-fluence spectra. Because a complete isotope grid is readily handled on small computer workstations and is needed for several applications studying GCR propagation and scattering, it is recommended that they be used for future GCR studies.

Comparing Models and Methods for the Delineation of Stream Baseflow Contribution Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chow, R.; Frind, M.; Frind, E. O.; Jones, J. P.; Sousa, M.; Rudolph, D. L.; Nowak, W.

2016-12-01

This study addresses the delineation of areas that contribute baseflow to a stream reach, also known as stream capture zones. Such areas can be delineated using standard well capture zone delineation methods, with three important differences: (1) natural gradients are smaller compared to those produced by supply wells and are therefore subject to greater numerical errors, (2) stream discharge varies seasonally, and (3) stream discharge varies spatially. This study focuses on model-related uncertainties due to parameter non-uniqueness, discretization schemes, and particle tracking algorithms. The methodology is applied to the Alder Creek watershed in southwestern Ontario. Four different model codes are compared: HydroGeoSphere, WATFLOW, MODFLOW, and FEFLOW. In addition, two delineation methods are compared: reverse particle tracking and reverse transport, where the latter considers local-scale parameter uncertainty by using a macrodispersion term to produce a capture probability plume. The results from this study indicate that different models can calibrate acceptably well to the same data and produce very similar distributions of hydraulic head, but can produce different capture zones. The stream capture zone is found to be highly sensitive to the particle tracking algorithm. It was also found that particle tracking by itself, if applied to complex systems such as the Alder Creek watershed, would require considerable subjective judgement in the delineation of stream capture zones. Reverse transport is an alternate approach that provides probability intervals for the baseflow contribution areas. In situations where the two approaches agree, the confidence in the delineation is reinforced.

CUBE: Information-optimized parallel cosmological N-body simulation code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hao-Ran; Pen, Ue-Li; Wang, Xin

2018-05-01

CUBE, written in Coarray Fortran, is a particle-mesh based parallel cosmological N-body simulation code. The memory usage of CUBE can approach as low as 6 bytes per particle. Particle pairwise (PP) force, cosmological neutrinos, spherical overdensity (SO) halofinder are included.

VINE-A NUMERICAL CODE FOR SIMULATING ASTROPHYSICAL SYSTEMS USING PARTICLES. I. DESCRIPTION OF THE PHYSICS AND THE NUMERICAL METHODS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wetzstein, M.; Nelson, Andrew F.; Naab, T.

2009-10-01

We present a numerical code for simulating the evolution of astrophysical systems using particles to represent the underlying fluid flow. The code is written in Fortran 95 and is designed to be versatile, flexible, and extensible, with modular options that can be selected either at the time the code is compiled or at run time through a text input file. We include a number of general purpose modules describing a variety of physical processes commonly required in the astrophysical community and we expect that the effort required to integrate additional or alternate modules into the code will be small. Inmore » its simplest form the code can evolve the dynamical trajectories of a set of particles in two or three dimensions using a module which implements either a Leapfrog or Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg integrator, selected by the user at compile time. The user may choose to allow the integrator to evolve the system using individual time steps for each particle or with a single, global time step for all. Particles may interact gravitationally as N-body particles, and all or any subset may also interact hydrodynamically, using the smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) method by selecting the SPH module. A third particle species can be included with a module to model massive point particles which may accrete nearby SPH or N-body particles. Such particles may be used to model, e.g., stars in a molecular cloud. Free boundary conditions are implemented by default, and a module may be selected to include periodic boundary conditions. We use a binary 'Press' tree to organize particles for rapid access in gravity and SPH calculations. Modules implementing an interface with special purpose 'GRAPE' hardware may also be selected to accelerate the gravity calculations. If available, forces obtained from the GRAPE coprocessors may be transparently substituted for those obtained from the tree, or both tree and GRAPE may be used as a combination GRAPE/tree code. The code may be run without modification on single processors or in parallel using OpenMP compiler directives on large-scale, shared memory parallel machines. We present simulations of several test problems, including a merger simulation of two elliptical galaxies with 800,000 particles. In comparison to the Gadget-2 code of Springel, the gravitational force calculation, which is the most costly part of any simulation including self-gravity, is {approx}4.6-4.9 times faster with VINE when tested on different snapshots of the elliptical galaxy merger simulation when run on an Itanium 2 processor in an SGI Altix. A full simulation of the same setup with eight processors is a factor of 2.91 faster with VINE. The code is available to the public under the terms of the Gnu General Public License.« less

Vine—A Numerical Code for Simulating Astrophysical Systems Using Particles. I. Description of the Physics and the Numerical Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wetzstein, M.; Nelson, Andrew F.; Naab, T.; Burkert, A.

2009-10-01

We present a numerical code for simulating the evolution of astrophysical systems using particles to represent the underlying fluid flow. The code is written in Fortran 95 and is designed to be versatile, flexible, and extensible, with modular options that can be selected either at the time the code is compiled or at run time through a text input file. We include a number of general purpose modules describing a variety of physical processes commonly required in the astrophysical community and we expect that the effort required to integrate additional or alternate modules into the code will be small. In its simplest form the code can evolve the dynamical trajectories of a set of particles in two or three dimensions using a module which implements either a Leapfrog or Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg integrator, selected by the user at compile time. The user may choose to allow the integrator to evolve the system using individual time steps for each particle or with a single, global time step for all. Particles may interact gravitationally as N-body particles, and all or any subset may also interact hydrodynamically, using the smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) method by selecting the SPH module. A third particle species can be included with a module to model massive point particles which may accrete nearby SPH or N-body particles. Such particles may be used to model, e.g., stars in a molecular cloud. Free boundary conditions are implemented by default, and a module may be selected to include periodic boundary conditions. We use a binary "Press" tree to organize particles for rapid access in gravity and SPH calculations. Modules implementing an interface with special purpose "GRAPE" hardware may also be selected to accelerate the gravity calculations. If available, forces obtained from the GRAPE coprocessors may be transparently substituted for those obtained from the tree, or both tree and GRAPE may be used as a combination GRAPE/tree code. The code may be run without modification on single processors or in parallel using OpenMP compiler directives on large-scale, shared memory parallel machines. We present simulations of several test problems, including a merger simulation of two elliptical galaxies with 800,000 particles. In comparison to the Gadget-2 code of Springel, the gravitational force calculation, which is the most costly part of any simulation including self-gravity, is ~4.6-4.9 times faster with VINE when tested on different snapshots of the elliptical galaxy merger simulation when run on an Itanium 2 processor in an SGI Altix. A full simulation of the same setup with eight processors is a factor of 2.91 faster with VINE. The code is available to the public under the terms of the Gnu General Public License.

Phase-space finite elements in a least-squares solution of the transport equation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Drumm, C.; Fan, W.; Pautz, S.

2013-07-01

The linear Boltzmann transport equation is solved using a least-squares finite element approximation in the space, angular and energy phase-space variables. The method is applied to both neutral particle transport and also to charged particle transport in the presence of an electric field, where the angular and energy derivative terms are handled with the energy/angular finite elements approximation, in a manner analogous to the way the spatial streaming term is handled. For multi-dimensional problems, a novel approach is used for the angular finite elements: mapping the surface of a unit sphere to a two-dimensional planar region and using a meshingmore » tool to generate a mesh. In this manner, much of the spatial finite-elements machinery can be easily adapted to handle the angular variable. The energy variable and the angular variable for one-dimensional problems make use of edge/beam elements, also building upon the spatial finite elements capabilities. The methods described here can make use of either continuous or discontinuous finite elements in space, angle and/or energy, with the use of continuous finite elements resulting in a smaller problem size and the use of discontinuous finite elements resulting in more accurate solutions for certain types of problems. The work described in this paper makes use of continuous finite elements, so that the resulting linear system is symmetric positive definite and can be solved with a highly efficient parallel preconditioned conjugate gradients algorithm. The phase-space finite elements capability has been built into the Sceptre code and applied to several test problems, including a simple one-dimensional problem with an analytic solution available, a two-dimensional problem with an isolated source term, showing how the method essentially eliminates ray effects encountered with discrete ordinates, and a simple one-dimensional charged-particle transport problem in the presence of an electric field. (authors)« less

Charged particle spectra measured during the transit to Mars with the Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment Detector (MSL/RAD).

PubMed

Ehresmann, Bent; Hassler, Donald M; Zeitlin, Cary; Guo, Jingnan; Köhler, Jan; Wimmer-Schweingruber, Robert F; Appel, Jan K; Brinza, David E; Rafkin, Scot C R; Böttcher, Stephan I; Burmeister, Sönke; Lohf, Henning; Martin, Cesar; Böhm, Eckart; Matthiä, Daniel; Reitz, Günther

2016-08-01

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) started its 253-day cruise to Mars on November 26, 2011. During cruise the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD), situated on board the Curiosity rover, conducted measurements of the energetic-particle radiation environment inside the spacecraft. This environment consists mainly of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), as well as secondary particles created by interactions of these GCRs with the spacecraft. The RAD measurements can serve as a proxy for the radiation environment a human crew would encounter during a transit to Mars, for a given part of the solar cycle, assuming that a crewed vehicle would have comparable shielding. The measurements of radiological quantities made by RAD are important in themselves, and, the same data set allow for detailed analysis of GCR-induced particle spectra inside the spacecraft. This provides important inputs for the evaluation of current transport models used to model the free-space (and spacecraft) radiation environment for different spacecraft shielding and different times in the solar cycle. Changes in these conditions can lead to significantly different radiation fields and, thus, potential health risks, emphasizing the need for validated transport codes. Here, we present the first measurements of charged particle fluxes inside a spacecraft during the transit from Earth to Mars. Using data obtained during the last two month of the cruise to Mars (June 11-July 14, 2012), we have derived detailed energy spectra for low-Z particles stopping in the instrument's detectors, as well as integral fluxes for penetrating particles with higher energies. Furthermore, we analyze the temporal changes in measured proton fluxes during quiet solar periods (i.e., when no solar energetic particle events occurred) over the duration of the transit (December 9, 2011-July 14, 2012) and correlate them with changing heliospheric conditions. Copyright © 2016 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). All rights reserved.

Radiation Protection Studies for Medical Particle Accelerators using Fluka Monte Carlo Code.

PubMed

Infantino, Angelo; Cicoria, Gianfranco; Lucconi, Giulia; Pancaldi, Davide; Vichi, Sara; Zagni, Federico; Mostacci, Domiziano; Marengo, Mario

2017-04-01

Radiation protection (RP) in the use of medical cyclotrons involves many aspects both in the routine use and for the decommissioning of a site. Guidelines for site planning and installation, as well as for RP assessment, are given in international documents; however, the latter typically offer analytic methods of calculation of shielding and materials activation, in approximate or idealised geometry set-ups. The availability of Monte Carlo (MC) codes with accurate up-to-date libraries for transport and interaction of neutrons and charged particles at energies below 250 MeV, together with the continuously increasing power of modern computers, makes the systematic use of simulations with realistic geometries possible, yielding equipment and site-specific evaluation of the source terms, shielding requirements and all quantities relevant to RP at the same time. In this work, the well-known FLUKA MC code was used to simulate different aspects of RP in the use of biomedical accelerators, particularly for the production of medical radioisotopes. In the context of the Young Professionals Award, held at the IRPA 14 conference, only a part of the complete work is presented. In particular, the simulation of the GE PETtrace cyclotron (16.5 MeV) installed at S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital evaluated the effective dose distribution around the equipment; the effective number of neutrons produced per incident proton and their spectral distribution; the activation of the structure of the cyclotron and the vault walls; the activation of the ambient air, in particular the production of 41Ar. The simulations were validated, in terms of physical and transport parameters to be used at the energy range of interest, through an extensive measurement campaign of the neutron environmental dose equivalent using a rem-counter and TLD dosemeters. The validated model was then used in the design and the licensing request of a new Positron Emission Tomography facility. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Kinetic Effects in Inertial Confinement Fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kagan, Grigory

2014-10-01

Sharp background gradients, inevitably introduced during ICF implosion, are likely responsible for the discrepancy between the predictions of the standard single-fluid rad-hydro codes and the experimental observations. On the one hand, these gradients drive the inter-ion-species transport, so the fuel composition no longer remains constant, unlike what the single-fluid codes assume. On the other hand, once the background scale is comparable to the mean free path, a fluid description becomes invalid. This point takes on special significance in plasmas, where the particle's mean free path scales with the square of this particle's energy. The distribution function of energetic ions may therefore be far from Maxwellian, even if thermal ions are nearly equilibrated. Ironically, it is these energetic, or tail, ions that are supposed to fuse at the onset of ignition. A combination of studies has been conducted to clarify the role of such kinetic effects on ICF performance. First, transport formalism applicable to multi-component plasmas has been developed. In particular, a novel ``electro-diffusion'' mechanism of the ion species separation has been shown to exist. Equally important, in drastic contrast to the classical case of the neutral gas mixture, thermo-diffusion is predicted to be comparable to, or even much larger than, baro-diffusion. By employing the effective potential theory this formalism has then been generalized to the case of a moderately coupled plasma with multiple ion species, making it applicable to the problem of mix at the shell/fuel interface in ICF implosion. Second, distribution function for the energetic ions has been found from first principles and the fusion reactivity reduction has been calculated for hot-spot relevant conditions. A technique for approximate evaluation of the distribution function has been identified. This finding suggests a path to effectively introducing the tail modification effects into mainline rad-hydro codes, while being in good agreement with the first principle based solution. This work was partially supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program of LANL.

Practical Applications of Cosmic Ray Science: Spacecraft, Aircraft, Ground-Based Computation and Control Systems, and Human Health and Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atwell, William; Koontz, Steve; Normand, Eugene

2012-01-01

Three twentieth century technological developments, 1) high altitude commercial and military aircraft; 2) manned and unmanned spacecraft; and 3) increasingly complex and sensitive solid state micro-electronics systems, have driven an ongoing evolution of basic cosmic ray science into a set of practical engineering tools needed to design, test, and verify the safety and reliability of modern complex technological systems. The effects of primary cosmic ray particles and secondary particle showers produced by nuclear reactions with the atmosphere, can determine the design and verification processes (as well as the total dollar cost) for manned and unmanned spacecraft avionics systems. Similar considerations apply to commercial and military aircraft operating at high latitudes and altitudes near the atmospheric Pfotzer maximum. Even ground based computational and controls systems can be negatively affected by secondary particle showers at the Earth s surface, especially if the net target area of the sensitive electronic system components is large. Finally, accumulation of both primary cosmic ray and secondary cosmic ray induced particle shower radiation dose is an important health and safety consideration for commercial or military air crews operating at high altitude/latitude and is also one of the most important factors presently limiting manned space flight operations beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). In this paper we review the discovery of cosmic ray effects on the performance and reliability of microelectronic systems as well as human health and the development of the engineering and health science tools used to evaluate and mitigate cosmic ray effects in ground-based atmospheric flight, and space flight environments. Ground test methods applied to microelectronic components and systems are used in combinations with radiation transport and reaction codes to predict the performance of microelectronic systems in their operating environments. Similar radiation transport codes are used to evaluate possible human health effects of cosmic ray exposure, however, the health effects are based on worst-case analysis and extrapolation of a very limited human exposure data base combined with some limited experimental animal data. Finally, the limitations on human space operations beyond low-Earth orbit imposed by long term exposure to galactic cosmic rays are discussed.

PARMELA_B: a new version of PARMELA with coherent synchrotron radiation effects and a finite difference space charge routine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koltenbah, Benjamin E. C.; Parazzoli, Claudio G.; Greegor, Robert B.; Dowell, David H.

2002-07-01

Recent interest in advanced laser light sources has stimulated development of accelerator systems of intermediate beam energy, 100-200 MeV, and high charge, 1-10 nC, for high power FEL applications and high energy, 1-2 GeV, high charge, SASE-FEL applications. The current generation of beam transport codes which were developed for high-energy, low-charge beams with low self-fields are inadequate to address this energy and charge regime, and better computational tools are required to accurately calculate self-fields. To that end, we have developed a new version of PARMELA, named PARMELA_B and written in Fortran 95, which includes a coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) routine and an improved, generalized space charge (SC) routine. An electron bunch is simulated by a collection of macro-particles, which traverses a series of beam line elements. At each time step through the calculation, the momentum of each particle is updated due to the presence of external and self-fields. The self-fields are due to CSR and SC. For the CSR calculations, the macro-particles are further combined into macro-particle-bins that follow the central trajectory of the bend. The energy change through the time step is calculated from expressions derived from the Liénard-Wiechart formulae, and from this energy change the particle's momentum is updated. For the SC calculations, we maintain the same rest-frame-electrostatic approach of the original PARMELA; however, we employ a finite difference Poisson equation solver instead of the symmetrical ring algorithm of the original code. In this way, we relax the symmetry assumptions in the original code. This method is based upon standard numerical procedures and conserves momentum to first order. The SC computational grid is adaptive and conforms to the size of the pulse as it evolves through the calculation. We provide descriptions of these two algorithms, validation comparisons with other CSR and SC methods, and a limited comparison with experimental results.

Latent uncertainties of the precalculated track Monte Carlo method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Renaud, Marc-André; Seuntjens, Jan; Roberge, David

Purpose: While significant progress has been made in speeding up Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculation methods, they remain too time-consuming for the purpose of inverse planning. To achieve clinically usable calculation speeds, a precalculated Monte Carlo (PMC) algorithm for proton and electron transport was developed to run on graphics processing units (GPUs). The algorithm utilizes pregenerated particle track data from conventional MC codes for different materials such as water, bone, and lung to produce dose distributions in voxelized phantoms. While PMC methods have been described in the past, an explicit quantification of the latent uncertainty arising from the limited numbermore » of unique tracks in the pregenerated track bank is missing from the paper. With a proper uncertainty analysis, an optimal number of tracks in the pregenerated track bank can be selected for a desired dose calculation uncertainty. Methods: Particle tracks were pregenerated for electrons and protons using EGSnrc and GEANT4 and saved in a database. The PMC algorithm for track selection, rotation, and transport was implemented on the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) 4.0 programming framework. PMC dose distributions were calculated in a variety of media and compared to benchmark dose distributions simulated from the corresponding general-purpose MC codes in the same conditions. A latent uncertainty metric was defined and analysis was performed by varying the pregenerated track bank size and the number of simulated primary particle histories and comparing dose values to a “ground truth” benchmark dose distribution calculated to 0.04% average uncertainty in voxels with dose greater than 20% of D{sub max}. Efficiency metrics were calculated against benchmark MC codes on a single CPU core with no variance reduction. Results: Dose distributions generated using PMC and benchmark MC codes were compared and found to be within 2% of each other in voxels with dose values greater than 20% of the maximum dose. In proton calculations, a small (≤1 mm) distance-to-agreement error was observed at the Bragg peak. Latent uncertainty was characterized for electrons and found to follow a Poisson distribution with the number of unique tracks per energy. A track bank of 12 energies and 60000 unique tracks per pregenerated energy in water had a size of 2.4 GB and achieved a latent uncertainty of approximately 1% at an optimal efficiency gain over DOSXYZnrc. Larger track banks produced a lower latent uncertainty at the cost of increased memory consumption. Using an NVIDIA GTX 590, efficiency analysis showed a 807 × efficiency increase over DOSXYZnrc for 16 MeV electrons in water and 508 × for 16 MeV electrons in bone. Conclusions: The PMC method can calculate dose distributions for electrons and protons to a statistical uncertainty of 1% with a large efficiency gain over conventional MC codes. Before performing clinical dose calculations, models to calculate dose contributions from uncharged particles must be implemented. Following the successful implementation of these models, the PMC method will be evaluated as a candidate for inverse planning of modulated electron radiation therapy and scanned proton beams.« less

Latent uncertainties of the precalculated track Monte Carlo method.

PubMed

Renaud, Marc-André; Roberge, David; Seuntjens, Jan

2015-01-01

While significant progress has been made in speeding up Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculation methods, they remain too time-consuming for the purpose of inverse planning. To achieve clinically usable calculation speeds, a precalculated Monte Carlo (PMC) algorithm for proton and electron transport was developed to run on graphics processing units (GPUs). The algorithm utilizes pregenerated particle track data from conventional MC codes for different materials such as water, bone, and lung to produce dose distributions in voxelized phantoms. While PMC methods have been described in the past, an explicit quantification of the latent uncertainty arising from the limited number of unique tracks in the pregenerated track bank is missing from the paper. With a proper uncertainty analysis, an optimal number of tracks in the pregenerated track bank can be selected for a desired dose calculation uncertainty. Particle tracks were pregenerated for electrons and protons using EGSnrc and geant4 and saved in a database. The PMC algorithm for track selection, rotation, and transport was implemented on the Compute Unified Device Architecture (cuda) 4.0 programming framework. PMC dose distributions were calculated in a variety of media and compared to benchmark dose distributions simulated from the corresponding general-purpose MC codes in the same conditions. A latent uncertainty metric was defined and analysis was performed by varying the pregenerated track bank size and the number of simulated primary particle histories and comparing dose values to a "ground truth" benchmark dose distribution calculated to 0.04% average uncertainty in voxels with dose greater than 20% of Dmax. Efficiency metrics were calculated against benchmark MC codes on a single CPU core with no variance reduction. Dose distributions generated using PMC and benchmark MC codes were compared and found to be within 2% of each other in voxels with dose values greater than 20% of the maximum dose. In proton calculations, a small (≤ 1 mm) distance-to-agreement error was observed at the Bragg peak. Latent uncertainty was characterized for electrons and found to follow a Poisson distribution with the number of unique tracks per energy. A track bank of 12 energies and 60000 unique tracks per pregenerated energy in water had a size of 2.4 GB and achieved a latent uncertainty of approximately 1% at an optimal efficiency gain over DOSXYZnrc. Larger track banks produced a lower latent uncertainty at the cost of increased memory consumption. Using an NVIDIA GTX 590, efficiency analysis showed a 807 × efficiency increase over DOSXYZnrc for 16 MeV electrons in water and 508 × for 16 MeV electrons in bone. The PMC method can calculate dose distributions for electrons and protons to a statistical uncertainty of 1% with a large efficiency gain over conventional MC codes. Before performing clinical dose calculations, models to calculate dose contributions from uncharged particles must be implemented. Following the successful implementation of these models, the PMC method will be evaluated as a candidate for inverse planning of modulated electron radiation therapy and scanned proton beams.

The path toward HEP High Performance Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apostolakis, John; Brun, René; Carminati, Federico; Gheata, Andrei; Wenzel, Sandro

2014-06-01

High Energy Physics code has been known for making poor use of high performance computing architectures. Efforts in optimising HEP code on vector and RISC architectures have yield limited results and recent studies have shown that, on modern architectures, it achieves a performance between 10% and 50% of the peak one. Although several successful attempts have been made to port selected codes on GPUs, no major HEP code suite has a "High Performance" implementation. With LHC undergoing a major upgrade and a number of challenging experiments on the drawing board, HEP cannot any longer neglect the less-than-optimal performance of its code and it has to try making the best usage of the hardware. This activity is one of the foci of the SFT group at CERN, which hosts, among others, the Root and Geant4 project. The activity of the experiments is shared and coordinated via a Concurrency Forum, where the experience in optimising HEP code is presented and discussed. Another activity is the Geant-V project, centred on the development of a highperformance prototype for particle transport. Achieving a good concurrency level on the emerging parallel architectures without a complete redesign of the framework can only be done by parallelizing at event level, or with a much larger effort at track level. Apart the shareable data structures, this typically implies a multiplication factor in terms of memory consumption compared to the single threaded version, together with sub-optimal handling of event processing tails. Besides this, the low level instruction pipelining of modern processors cannot be used efficiently to speedup the program. We have implemented a framework that allows scheduling vectors of particles to an arbitrary number of computing resources in a fine grain parallel approach. The talk will review the current optimisation activities within the SFT group with a particular emphasis on the development perspectives towards a simulation framework able to profit best from the recent technology evolution in computing.

Exact simulation of polarized light reflectance by particle deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramezan Pour, B.; Mackowski, D. W.

2015-12-01

The use of polarimetric light reflection measurements as a means of identifying the physical and chemical characteristics of particulate materials obviously relies on an accurate model of predicting the effects of particle size, shape, concentration, and refractive index on polarized reflection. The research examines two methods for prediction of reflection from plane parallel layers of wavelength—sized particles. The first method is based on an exact superposition solution to Maxwell's time harmonic wave equations for a deposit of spherical particles that are exposed to a plane incident wave. We use a FORTRAN-90 implementation of this solution (the Multiple Sphere T Matrix (MSTM) code), coupled with parallel computational platforms, to directly simulate the reflection from particle layers. The second method examined is based upon the vector radiative transport equation (RTE). Mie theory is used in our RTE model to predict the extinction coefficient, albedo, and scattering phase function of the particles, and the solution of the RTE is obtained from adding—doubling method applied to a plane—parallel configuration. Our results show that the MSTM and RTE predictions of the Mueller matrix elements converge when particle volume fraction in the particle layer decreases below around five percent. At higher volume fractions the RTE can yield results that, depending on the particle size and refractive index, significantly depart from the exact predictions. The particle regimes which lead to dependent scattering effects, and the application of methods to correct the vector RTE for particle interaction, will be discussed.

Solar particle events observed at Mars: dosimetry measurements and model calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cleghorn, T.; Saganti, P.; Zeitlin, C.; Cucinotta, F.

The first solar particle events from a Martian orbit are observed with the MARIE (Martian Radiation Environment Experiment) on the 2001 Mars Odyssey space -craft that is currently in orbit and collecting the mapping data of the red planet. These solar particle events observed at Mars during March and April 2002, are correlated with the GOES-8 and ACE satellite data from the same time period at Earth orbits. Dosimetry measurements for the Mars orbit from the period of March 13t h through April 29t h . Particle count rate and the corresponding dose rate enhancements were observed on March 16t h through 20t h and on April 22n d corresponding to solar particle events that were observed at Earth orbit on March 16t h through 21s t and beginning on April 21s t respectively. The model calculations with the HZETRN (High Z=atomic number and high Energy Transport) code estimated the background GCR (Galactic Cosmic Rays) dose rates. The dose rates observed by the MARIE instrument are within 10% of the model calculations. Dosimetry measurements and model calculation will be presented.

Modeling emission lag after photoexcitation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jensen, Kevin L.; Petillo, John J.; Ovtchinnikov, Serguei

A theoretical model of delayed emission following photoexcitation from metals and semiconductors is given. Its numerical implementation is designed for beam optics codes used to model photocathodes in rf photoinjectors. The model extends the Moments approach for predicting photocurrent and mean transverse energy as moments of an emitted electron distribution by incorporating time of flight and scattering events that result in emission delay on a sub-picosecond level. The model accounts for a dynamic surface extraction field and changes in the energy distribution and time of emission as a consequence of the laser penetration depth and multiple scattering events during transport.more » Usage in the Particle-in-Cell code MICHELLE to predict the bunch shape and duration with or without laser jitter is given. The consequences of delayed emission effects for ultra-short pulses are discussed.« less

Comparison of calculated beta- and gamma-ray doses after the Fukushima accident with data from single-grain luminescence retrospective dosimetry of quartz inclusions in a brick sample

PubMed Central

Endo, Satoru; Fujii, Keisuke; Kajimoto, Tsuyoshi; Tanaka, Kenichi; Stepanenko, Valeriy; Kolyzhenkov, Timofey; Petukhov, Aleksey; Akhmedova, Umukusum; Bogacheva, Viktoriia

2018-01-01

Abstract To estimate the beta- and gamma-ray doses in a brick sample taken from Odaka, Minami-Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, a Monte Carlo calculation was performed with Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) code. The calculated results were compared with data obtained by single-grain retrospective luminescence dosimetry of quartz inclusions in the brick sample. The calculated result agreed well with the measured data. The dose increase measured at the brick surface was explained by the beta-ray contribution, and the slight slope in the dose profile deeper in the brick was due to the gamma-ray contribution. The skin dose was estimated from the calculated result as 164 mGy over 3 years at the sampling site. PMID:29385528