Application of transport techniques to the analysis of NERVA shadow shields

A radiation shield internal to the NERVA nuclear rocket reactor required to limit the neutron and photon radiation levels at critical components located external to the reactor was evaluated. Two significantly different shield mockups were analyzed: BATH, a composite mixture of boron carbide, aluminum and titanium hydride, and a borated steel-liquid hydrogen system. Based on the comparisons between experimental and calculated neutron and photon radiation levels, the following conclusions were noted: (1) The ability of two-dimensional discrete ordinates code to predict the radiation levels internal to and at the surface of the shield mockups was clearly demonstrated. (2) Internal to the BATH shield mockups, the one-dimensional technique predicted the axial variation of neutron fluxes and photon dose rates; however, the magnitude of the neutron fluxes was about a factor of 1.8 lower than the two-dimensional analysis and the photon dose rate was a factor of 1.3 lower.