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Radiation Protection & Shielding
The Radiation Protection and Shielding Division is developing and promoting radiation protection and shielding aspects of nuclear science and technology — including interaction of nuclear radiation with materials and biological systems, instruments and techniques for the measurement of nuclear radiation fields, and radiation shield design and evaluation.
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2024 ANS Winter Conference and Expo
November 17–21, 2024
Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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New laws offer nuclear industry incentives for existing power plant uprates
This year, the U.S. nuclear industry received a much-needed economic boost that could help preserve operating nuclear power plants and incentivize upgrades that extend their lifespan and power output.
Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act offers production tax credits (PTCs) for existing nuclear power plants and either PTCs or investment tax credits (ITCs) for new carbon-free generation. These credits could make power uprates—increasing the maximum power level at which a commercial plant may operate—a much more appealing option for utilities.
Tai T. Pham, Mohamed S. El-Genk
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 166 | Number 1 | September 2010 | Pages 58-72
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE09-29TN
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper investigates the interaction of monoenergetic, 100-MeV protons with aluminum, enriched B4C, and C29H28O8 polymer and their effectiveness for shielding silicon-based electronics. Although not representative of an actual space radiation energy spectrum, the 100-MeV protons are suitable to investigate important modes of interaction with potential shielding materials, including the production and attenuation of secondary particles. The calculated shielding effectiveness of these materials is compared with that of the lunar regolith. The components of the total energy deposition in a 1-cm-diam sphere of silicon, representing an electronic device, are calculated as functions of the type and thickness of the shield material. The major contributors to the displacement energy deposition in the silicon sphere are by far the incident protons and the secondary protons and neutrons generated in the spallation reactions of incident protons with the nuclei of the elements in the shield materials. The primary and secondary protons are also the major contributors to the ionizing energy deposition, which is several orders of magnitude higher than the displacement energy deposition; other secondary particles contribute minimally (<5%). While the regolith is an effective shielding material, the C29H28O8 polymer is best for protecting electronics from incident high-energy protons.