Thermal Behavior Of High Power Targets For Neutron And Photon Production

With the aim to generate safer and better photon and neutron sources for various applications in medical, industrial, and material science, a series of studies are being carried out at the Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC) using a high power electron linac. To design various converter targets for use with high beam power, MCNPX and ANSYS simulation codes were adopted to optimize the target geometry and the cooling system behavior. MCNPX simulations of the electron, photon and neutron flux generated from the radiator were performed. Examination of three different converters was undertaken: a converter optimized for photon production, one for both photon and neutron production and a converter for neutron production. A secondary motivation of the work was to perform bench marking experiments on some of the simulation results. The simulation results seem reasonable and in accord with theoretical expectations with the literature and past work at the IAC.