Objectives:
- Under this subject, three major subjects are treated: biological effects of radiation, radiation shielding and radiation detection and measurement (also called "nuclear metrology"). (Fundamental physical aspects, like the nature of the radioactive decay modes are treated in the prerequisite course "introduction to nuclear physics")
- In the part on nuclear metrology: to provide general review of radiation measurement techniques relevant to nuclear engineering
List of topics:
- radiation sources (origin, energetic spectra, directional characteristics)
- interaction of radiation with matter
- computational methods for transport calculations and energy deposition
- dosimetry
- biological effects of radiation
- engineering aspects of radiation shielding
- regulations and legislation
- detectors (principles, types, spectroscopy, efficiency, resolution,...)
- gas detectors (ionisation chambers, proportional counters, Geiger-Muller counters)
- scintillation detectors (organic, inorganic, photomultiplyers, resolution, gamma-ray spectroscopy)
- solid-state detectors (silicon diode detectors, Germanium detectors)
- nuclear electronics (counting chain components; types of measurements: amplitudes, times, coincidences; noise: origin, characteristics, filtering)
Reference:
G.F. Knoll "Radiation detection and measurement", J. Wiley, 1989.
N.M. Schaeffer, "Reactor Shielding for Nuclear Engineering", Atomic Energy Commission, USA, 1973
A.E. Profio, "Radiation Shielding and Dosimetry", Wiley, NY, 1979.
J. Wood, "Computational Methods in Reactor Shielding", Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1982
Amplitude and teaching methods:
- 2 t.m.
- laboratory work (SCK•CEN)