Development of an Integrated Point Kernel Shielding Calculation Code for Fast Three-Dimensional Radiation Field Characterization

Abstract Accurate and efficient shielding calculation code is crucial for radiation protection and safety of nuclear facility. Poker, a new integrated point kernel shielding code, has been developed for fast three-dimensional radiation field characterization. Point kernel method, Construct Solid Geometry (CSG) representation method, and various appropriate multi-layer buildup factors (BUFs) formulas are integrated into the code. Verification and validation of the code have been carried out by benchmark problems available in the literatures. The code is validated by estimating BUFs, MLBUFs, and gamma dose rates at the exit of the shield with standard database and experiments. Further investigation of the code’s extensivity in handling deep shielding geometries arrangements of up to 100 mean free paths (MFPs) is also verified by comparing it with the results of previous work. The results demonstrate the accuracy of the code in deep penetration scenarios. Moreover, analysis is carried out to identify characteristics of the radiation dose rate in the typical simple volumetric source term scenarios, and comparison of this code with existing point kernel code is carried out. This code is written in C++ language and is compatible with MacOS, Windows, and Linux operating systems.