The New Modular High-Energy X-ray Source Facility Shielding Design

Several new research facilities will soon be constructed as part of the creation of a new engineering complex on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). As part of this renovation, a state of the art nuclear engineering building will be constructed. This building will include a critical experiment facility, a graphite pile, and a modular high-energy X-ray source (or accelerator facility). The proximity of these new facilities to UTK's football stadium brings heightened attention to their design and safety. An important aspect of this specific design is that shielding is required to contain the new radiation sources. The work completed will reflect the specific project planning and novel two-story facility design of the modular high-energy X-ray source. It will also provide a detailed shielding and dose analysis of the facility as a whole. The end design places an accelerator into a well-shielded room; it will then direct the x-ray beam through a collimating hole in the shielding wall into the next room. The x-ray beam is to be used as a part of a materials irradiation and imaging laboratory in the adjoining room. The design satisfies all regulatory requirements, and it will serve as the preliminary facility layout design and shielding analysis for a novel two-story modular high energy X-ray source facility. The dose rates calculated by the Monte Carlo models using the NCRP shielding thickness values are well below the dose limitations set by the State of Tennessee, which leaves room for optimization. Further work could be done to complete the optimization by reducing the shielding thickness while maintaining a dose below dose regulations by using a less conservative method for calculating the initial thicknesses. (authors)