Monte Carlo calculations of calibrations of calibration coefficients of ATL monitors installed at NPP Temelin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solc, J.; Suran, J.; Novotna, M.; Pavlis, J.

2008-01-01

The contribution describes a technique of determination of calibration coefficients of a radioactivity monitor using Monte Carlo calculations. The monitor is installed at the NPP Temelin adjacent to lines with a radioactive medium. The output quantity is the activity concentration (in Bq/m3) that is converted from the number of counts per minute measured by the monitor. The value of this conversion constant, i.e. calibration coefficient, was calculated for gamma photons emitted by Co-60 and compared to the data stated by the manufacturer and supplier of these monitors, General Atomic Electronic Systems, Inc., USA. Results of the comparison show very good agreement between calculations and manufacturer data; the differences are lower than the quadratic sum of uncertainties. (authors)

Bayesian calibration of terrestrial ecosystem models: a study of advanced Markov chain Monte Carlo methods

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Dan; Ricciuto, Daniel; Walker, Anthony; Safta, Cosmin; Munger, William

2017-09-01

Calibration of terrestrial ecosystem models is important but challenging. Bayesian inference implemented by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling provides a comprehensive framework to estimate model parameters and associated uncertainties using their posterior distributions. The effectiveness and efficiency of the method strongly depend on the MCMC algorithm used. In this work, a differential evolution adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) algorithm is used to estimate posterior distributions of 21 parameters for the data assimilation linked ecosystem carbon (DALEC) model using 14 years of daily net ecosystem exchange data collected at the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site eddy-flux tower. The calibration of DREAM results in a better model fit and predictive performance compared to the popular adaptive Metropolis (AM) scheme. Moreover, DREAM indicates that two parameters controlling autumn phenology have multiple modes in their posterior distributions while AM only identifies one mode. The application suggests that DREAM is very suitable to calibrate complex terrestrial ecosystem models, where the uncertain parameter size is usually large and existence of local optima is always a concern. In addition, this effort justifies the assumptions of the error model used in Bayesian calibration according to the residual analysis. The result indicates that a heteroscedastic, correlated, Gaussian error model is appropriate for the problem, and the consequent constructed likelihood function can alleviate the underestimation of parameter uncertainty that is usually caused by using uncorrelated error models.

Efficiency Calibration of Phantom Family for Use in Direct Bioassay of Radionuclide in the Body

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ji Seok; Ha, Wi Ho; Kim, Hyun Ki; Park, Gyung Deok; Lee, Jai Ki

2008-01-01

A major source of uncertainties of in vivo bioassay using a whole body counter calibrated against a body phantom containing known radioactivities is variation of counting geometry caused by the differences in body size of the subject from that of the phantom. Phantoms such as the BOMAB phantom are based on the body size of the reference man and usually single phantom is used in usual calibration of the counter. This is because it is difficult to apply a set of phantoms having different sizes. In order to reduce the potential errors due to variation of counting geometry, use of a set of phantoms having different body-shapes have been attempted. The efficiency files are stored in the computer analyzing the measurement data and a suitable one is retrieved for the specific subject. Experimental or computational approach can be employed in generation of the efficiency files. Carlan et al. demonstrated that Monte Carlo simulations can provide acceptable efficiencies by use of the IGOR phantom family. The body size of the individual subject undergoing in vivo bioassay should be determined by an appropriate method

Time step length versus efficiency of Monte Carlo burnup calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dufek, Jan; Valtavirta, Ville

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Time step length largely affects efficiency of MC burnup calculations. • Efficiency of MC burnup calculations improves with decreasing time step length. • Results were obtained from SIE-based Monte Carlo burnup calculations. - Abstract: We demonstrate that efficiency of Monte Carlo burnup calculations can be largely affected by the selected time step length. This study employs the stochastic implicit Euler based coupling scheme for Monte Carlo burnup calculations that performs a number of inner iteration steps within each time step. In a series of calculations, we vary the time step length and the number of inner iteration steps; the results suggest that Monte Carlo burnup calculations get more efficient as the time step length is reduced. More time steps must be simulated as they get shorter; however, this is more than compensated by the decrease in computing cost per time step needed for achieving a certain accuracy

Calibration of lung counter using a CT model of Torso phantom and Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Binquan; Ma Jizeng; Yang Duanjie; Liu Liye; Cheng Jianping

2006-01-01

Tomography image of a Torso phantom was obtained from CT-Scan. The Torso phantom represents the trunk of an adult man that is 170 cm high and weight of 65 kg. After these images were segmented, cropped, and resized, a 3-dimension voxel phantom was created. The voxel phantom includes more than 2 million voxels, which size was 2.73 mm x 2.73 mm x 3 mm. This model could be used for the calibration of lung counter with Monte Carlo method. On the assumption that radioactive material was homogeneously distributed throughout the lung, counting efficiencies of a HPGe detector in different positions were calculated as Adipose Mass fraction (AMF) was different in the soft tissue in chest. The results showed that counting efficiencies of the lung counter changed up to 67% for 17.5 keV γ ray and 20% for 25 keV γ ray when AMF changed from 0 to 40%. (authors)

Calibration method for a radwaste assay system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dulama, C.; Dobrin, R.; Toma, Al.; Paunoiu, C.

2004-01-01

A waste assay system entirely designed and manufactured in the Institute for Nuclear Research is used in radwaste treatment and conditioning stream to ensure compliance with national repository radiological requirements. Usually, waste assay systems are calibrated by using various experimental arrangements including calibration phantoms. The paper presents a comparative study concerning the efficiency calibration performed by shell source method and a semiempirical, computational method based on a Monte Carlo algorithm. (authors)

Whole body counter calibration using Monte Carlo modeling with an array of phantom sizes based on national anthropometric reference data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shypailo, R J; Ellis, K J

2011-01-01

During construction of the whole body counter (WBC) at the Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC), efficiency calibration was needed to translate acquired counts of 40 K to actual grams of potassium for measurement of total body potassium (TBK) in a diverse subject population. The MCNP Monte Carlo n-particle simulation program was used to describe the WBC (54 detectors plus shielding), test individual detector counting response, and create a series of virtual anthropomorphic phantoms based on national reference anthropometric data. Each phantom included an outer layer of adipose tissue and an inner core of lean tissue. Phantoms were designed for both genders representing ages 3.5 to 18.5 years with body sizes from the 5th to the 95th percentile based on body weight. In addition, a spherical surface source surrounding the WBC was modeled in order to measure the effects of subject mass on room background interference. Individual detector measurements showed good agreement with the MCNP model. The background source model came close to agreement with empirical measurements, but showed a trend deviating from unity with increasing subject size. Results from the MCNP simulation of the CNRC WBC agreed well with empirical measurements using BOMAB phantoms. Individual detector efficiency corrections were used to improve the accuracy of the model. Nonlinear multiple regression efficiency calibration equations were derived for each gender. Room background correction is critical in improving the accuracy of the WBC calibration.

Monte Carlo method to characterize radioactive waste drums

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, Josenilson B.; Dellamano, Jose C.; Potiens Junior, Ademar J.

2013-01-01

Non-destructive methods for radioactive waste drums characterization have being developed in the Waste Management Department (GRR) at Nuclear and Energy Research Institute IPEN. This study was conducted as part of the radioactive wastes characterization program in order to meet specifications and acceptance criteria for final disposal imposed by regulatory control by gamma spectrometry. One of the main difficulties in the detectors calibration process is to obtain the counting efficiencies that can be solved by the use of mathematical techniques. The aim of this work was to develop a methodology to characterize drums using gamma spectrometry and Monte Carlo method. Monte Carlo is a widely used mathematical technique, which simulates the radiation transport in the medium, thus obtaining the efficiencies calibration of the detector. The equipment used in this work is a heavily shielded Hyperpure Germanium (HPGe) detector coupled with an electronic setup composed of high voltage source, amplifier and multiport multichannel analyzer and MCNP software for Monte Carlo simulation. The developing of this methodology will allow the characterization of solid radioactive wastes packed in drums and stored at GRR. (author)

Study on efficiency calibration of tritium in liquid scintillation spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai Xiufang; Wang Yaoqin; Li Weiping; Liang Wei; Xu Hui; Zhang Ruirong

2014-01-01

The method for efficiency calibration of tritium sample in liquid scintillation spectrometry was presented. The quenching effects from different chemical quenchers (Acidbase, CH_3NO_2, CCl_4, CH_3COCH_3) and color quencher (Na_2CrO_4) were studied. For each quencher, the methods of sample channel ratio (SCR), spectrum index of the sample (SIS) and spectral quenching parameter of the external standard (SQP (E)) were used for efficiency calibration respectively, and three methods were compared. The results show that the quenching from the various chemical quencher can be unified for one chemical quenching for efficiency calibration. There is great difference in the correction curves of chemical quenching and color quenching, and the fact is independent of the used efficiency calibration method. The SCR method is not advantageous for the tritium sample with low radioactivity or strong quenching. The SQP (E) method is independent of the sample count rate, and it is especially suitable for the efficiency calibration of low radioactivity tritium. The SIS method can be used for samples with high radioactivity. The accurate efficiency calibration for various quenching can be carried out by combining the SIS method and the SQP (E) method. (authors)

Monte Carlo studies and optimization for the calibration system of the GERDA experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Baudis, L.; Ferella, A. D.; Froborg, F.; Tarka, M.

2013-11-01

The GERmanium Detector Array, GERDA, searches for neutrinoless double β decay in 76Ge using bare high-purity germanium detectors submerged in liquid argon. For the calibration of these detectors γ emitting sources have to be lowered from their parking position on the top of the cryostat over more than 5 m down to the germanium crystals. With the help of Monte Carlo simulations, the relevant parameters of the calibration system were determined. It was found that three 228Th sources with an activity of 20 kBq each at two different vertical positions will be necessary to reach sufficient statistics in all detectors in less than 4 h of calibration time. These sources will contribute to the background of the experiment with a total of (1.07±0.04(stat)-0.19+0.13(sys))×10-4 cts/(keV kg yr)) when shielded from below with 6 cm of tantalum in the parking position.

Monte Carlo studies and optimization for the calibration system of the GERDA experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baudis, L. [Physics Institute, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich (Switzerland); Ferella, A.D. [Physics Institute, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich (Switzerland); INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, 67010 Assergi (Italy); Froborg, F., E-mail: francis@froborg.de [Physics Institute, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich (Switzerland); Tarka, M. [Physics Institute, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich (Switzerland); Physics Department, University of Illinois, 1110 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

2013-11-21

The GERmanium Detector Array, GERDA, searches for neutrinoless double β decay in {sup 76}Ge using bare high-purity germanium detectors submerged in liquid argon. For the calibration of these detectors γ emitting sources have to be lowered from their parking position on the top of the cryostat over more than 5 m down to the germanium crystals. With the help of Monte Carlo simulations, the relevant parameters of the calibration system were determined. It was found that three {sup 228}Th sources with an activity of 20 kBq each at two different vertical positions will be necessary to reach sufficient statistics in all detectors in less than 4 h of calibration time. These sources will contribute to the background of the experiment with a total of (1.07±0.04(stat){sub −0.19}{sup +0.13}(sys))×10{sup −4}cts/(keVkgyr)) when shielded from below with 6 cm of tantalum in the parking position.

Calibration of Ge gamma-ray spectrometers for complex sample geometries and matrices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Semkow, T.M., E-mail: thomas.semkow@health.ny.gov [Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12201 (United States); Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY 12144 (United States); Bradt, C.J.; Beach, S.E.; Haines, D.K.; Khan, A.J.; Bari, A.; Torres, M.A.; Marrantino, J.C.; Syed, U.-F. [Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12201 (United States); Kitto, M.E. [Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12201 (United States); Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, Rensselaer, NY 12144 (United States); Hoffman, T.J. [Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12201 (United States); Curtis, P. [Kiltel Systems, Inc., Clyde Hill, WA 98004 (United States)

2015-11-01

A comprehensive study of the efficiency calibration and calibration verification of Ge gamma-ray spectrometers was performed using semi-empirical, computational Monte-Carlo (MC), and transfer methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the quantification of gamma-emitting radionuclides in complex matrices normally encountered in environmental and food samples. A wide range of gamma energies from 59.5 to 1836.0 keV and geometries from a 10-mL jar to 1.4-L Marinelli beaker were studied on four Ge spectrometers with the relative efficiencies between 102% and 140%. Density and coincidence summing corrections were applied. Innovative techniques were developed for the preparation of artificial complex matrices from materials such as acidified water, polystyrene, ethanol, sugar, and sand, resulting in the densities ranging from 0.3655 to 2.164 g cm{sup −3}. They were spiked with gamma activity traceable to international standards and used for calibration verifications. A quantitative method of tuning MC calculations to experiment was developed based on a multidimensional chi-square paraboloid. - Highlights: • Preparation and spiking of traceable complex matrices in extended geometries. • Calibration of Ge gamma spectrometers for complex matrices. • Verification of gamma calibrations. • Comparison of semi-empirical, computational Monte Carlo, and transfer methods of Ge calibration. • Tuning of Monte Carlo calculations using a multidimensional paraboloid.

Calibration of Ge gamma-ray spectrometers for complex sample geometries and matrices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semkow, T.M.; Bradt, C.J.; Beach, S.E.; Haines, D.K.; Khan, A.J.; Bari, A.; Torres, M.A.; Marrantino, J.C.; Syed, U.-F.; Kitto, M.E.; Hoffman, T.J.; Curtis, P.

2015-01-01

A comprehensive study of the efficiency calibration and calibration verification of Ge gamma-ray spectrometers was performed using semi-empirical, computational Monte-Carlo (MC), and transfer methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the quantification of gamma-emitting radionuclides in complex matrices normally encountered in environmental and food samples. A wide range of gamma energies from 59.5 to 1836.0 keV and geometries from a 10-mL jar to 1.4-L Marinelli beaker were studied on four Ge spectrometers with the relative efficiencies between 102% and 140%. Density and coincidence summing corrections were applied. Innovative techniques were developed for the preparation of artificial complex matrices from materials such as acidified water, polystyrene, ethanol, sugar, and sand, resulting in the densities ranging from 0.3655 to 2.164 g cm −3 . They were spiked with gamma activity traceable to international standards and used for calibration verifications. A quantitative method of tuning MC calculations to experiment was developed based on a multidimensional chi-square paraboloid. - Highlights: • Preparation and spiking of traceable complex matrices in extended geometries. • Calibration of Ge gamma spectrometers for complex matrices. • Verification of gamma calibrations. • Comparison of semi-empirical, computational Monte Carlo, and transfer methods of Ge calibration. • Tuning of Monte Carlo calculations using a multidimensional paraboloid

A Monte Carlo modeling alternative for the API Gamma Ray Calibration Facility.

Science.gov (United States)

Galford, J E

2017-04-01

The gamma ray pit at the API Calibration Facility, located on the University of Houston campus, defines the API unit for natural gamma ray logs used throughout the petroleum logging industry. Future use of the facility is uncertain. An alternative method is proposed to preserve the gamma ray API unit definition as an industry standard by using Monte Carlo modeling to obtain accurate counting rate-to-API unit conversion factors for gross-counting and spectral gamma ray tool designs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-efficiency wavefunction updates for large scale Quantum Monte Carlo

Science.gov (United States)

Kent, Paul; McDaniel, Tyler; Li, Ying Wai; D'Azevedo, Ed

Within ab intio Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations, the leading numerical cost for large systems is the computation of the values of the Slater determinants in the trial wavefunctions. The evaluation of each Monte Carlo move requires finding the determinant of a dense matrix, which is traditionally iteratively evaluated using a rank-1 Sherman-Morrison updating scheme to avoid repeated explicit calculation of the inverse. For calculations with thousands of electrons, this operation dominates the execution profile. We propose a novel rank- k delayed update scheme. This strategy enables probability evaluation for multiple successive Monte Carlo moves, with application of accepted moves to the matrices delayed until after a predetermined number of moves, k. Accepted events grouped in this manner are then applied to the matrices en bloc with enhanced arithmetic intensity and computational efficiency. This procedure does not change the underlying Monte Carlo sampling or the sampling efficiency. For large systems and algorithms such as diffusion Monte Carlo where the acceptance ratio is high, order of magnitude speedups can be obtained on both multi-core CPU and on GPUs, making this algorithm highly advantageous for current petascale and future exascale computations.

New approach for calibration the efficiency of HPGe detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alnour, I.A.; Wagiran, H.; Suhaimi Hamzah; Siong, W.B.; Mohd Suhaimi Elias

2013-01-01

Full-text: This work evaluates the efficiency calibrating of HPGe detector coupled with Canberra GC3018 with Genie 2000 software and Ortec GEM25-76-XLB-C with Gamma Vision software; available at Neutron activation analysis laboratory in Malaysian Nuclear Agency (NM). The efficiency calibration curve was constructed from measurement of an IAEA, standard gamma point sources set composed by 214 Am, 57 Co, 133 Ba, 152 Eu, 137 Cs and 60 Co. The efficiency calibrations were performed for three different geometries: 5, 10 and 15 cm distances from the end cap detector. The polynomial parameters functions were simulated through a computer program, MATLAB in order to find an accurate fit to the experimental data points. The efficiency equation was established from the known fitted parameters which allow for the efficiency evaluation at particular energy of interest. The study shows that significant deviations in the efficiency, depending on the source-detector distance and photon energy. (author)

Monte Carlo simulation of lung counting efficiency using a whole-body counter at a nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dongming, L.; Shuhai, J.; Houwen, L.

2016-01-01

In order to routinely evaluate workers' internal exposure due to intake of radionuclides, a whole-body counter (WBC) at the Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. (TQNPC) is used. Counting would typically occur immediately after a confirmed or suspected inhalation exposure. The counting geometry would differ as a result of the height of the individual being counted, which would result in over- or underestimated intake(s). In this study, Monte Carlo simulation was applied to evaluate the counting efficiency when performing a lung count using the WBC at the TQNPC. In order to validate the simulated efficiencies for lung counting, the WBC was benchmarked for various lung positions using a 137 Cs source. The results show that the simulated efficiencies are fairly consistent with the measured ones for 137 Cs, with a relative error of 0.289%. For a lung organ simulation, the discrepancy between the calibration phantom and the Chinese reference adult person (170 cm) was within 6% for peak energies ranging from 59.5 keV to 2000 keV. The relative errors vary from 4.63% to 8.41% depending on the person's height and photon energy. Therefore, the simulation technique is effective and practical for lung counting, which is difficult to calibrate using a physical phantom. (authors)

An intercomparison of Monte Carlo codes used for in-situ gamma-ray spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hurtado, S.; Villa, M.

2010-01-01

In-situ gamma-ray spectrometry is widely used for monitoring of natural as well as man-made radionuclides and corresponding gamma fields in the environment or working places. It finds effective application in the operational and accidental monitoring of nuclear facilities and their vicinity, waste depositories, radioactive contamination measurements and environmental mapping or geological prospecting. In order to determine accurate radionuclide concentrations in these research fields, Monte Carlo codes have recently been used to obtain the efficiency calibration of in-situ gamma-ray detectors. This work presents an inter-comparison between two Monte Carlo codes applied to in-situ gamma-ray spectrometry. On the commercial market, Canberra has its LABSOCS/ISOCS software which is relatively inexpensive. The ISOCS mathematical efficiency calibration software uses a combination of Monte Carlo calculations and discrete ordinate attenuation computations. Efficiencies can be generated in a few minutes in the field and can be modified easily if needed. However, it has been reported in the literature that ISOCS computation method is accurate on average only within 5%, and additionally in order to use LABSOCS/ISOCS it is necessary a previous characterization of the detector by Canberra, which is an expensive process. On the other hand, the multipurpose and open source GEANT4 takes significant computer time and presents a non-friendly but powerful toolkit, independent of the manufacturer of the detector. Different experimental measurements of calibrated sources were performed with a Canberra portable HPGe detector and compared to the results obtained using both Monte Carlo codes. Furthermore, a variety of efficiency calibrations for different radioactive source distributions were calculated and tested, like plane shapes or containers filled with different materials such as soil, water, etc. LabSOCS simulated efficiencies for medium and high energies were given within an

Absolute calibration of in vivo measurement systems using magnetic resonance imaging and Monte Carlo computations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mallett, M.W.

1991-01-01

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is currently investigating a new method for obtaining absolute calibration factors for radiation measurement systems used to measure internally deposited radionuclides in vivo. This method uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the anatomical makeup of an individual. A new MRI technique is also employed that is capable of resolving the fat and water content of the human tissue. This anatomical and biochemical information is used to model a mathematical phantom. Monte Carlo methods are then used to simulate the transport of radiation throughout the phantom. By modeling the detection equipment of the in vivo measurement system into the code, calibration factors are generated that are specific to the individual. Furthermore, this method eliminates the need for surrogate human structures in the calibration process. A demonstration of the proposed method is being performed using a fat/water matrix

Delayed Slater determinant update algorithms for high efficiency quantum Monte Carlo

Science.gov (United States)

McDaniel, T.; D'Azevedo, E. F.; Li, Y. W.; Wong, K.; Kent, P. R. C.

2017-11-01

Within ab initio Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, the leading numerical cost for large systems is the computation of the values of the Slater determinants in the trial wavefunction. Each Monte Carlo step requires finding the determinant of a dense matrix. This is most commonly iteratively evaluated using a rank-1 Sherman-Morrison updating scheme to avoid repeated explicit calculation of the inverse. The overall computational cost is, therefore, formally cubic in the number of electrons or matrix size. To improve the numerical efficiency of this procedure, we propose a novel multiple rank delayed update scheme. This strategy enables probability evaluation with an application of accepted moves to the matrices delayed until after a predetermined number of moves, K. The accepted events are then applied to the matrices en bloc with enhanced arithmetic intensity and computational efficiency via matrix-matrix operations instead of matrix-vector operations. This procedure does not change the underlying Monte Carlo sampling or its statistical efficiency. For calculations on large systems and algorithms such as diffusion Monte Carlo, where the acceptance ratio is high, order of magnitude improvements in the update time can be obtained on both multi-core central processing units and graphical processing units.

Monte carlo efficiency calibration of a neutron generator-based total-body irradiator

Science.gov (United States)

The increasing prevalence of obesity world-wide has focused attention on the need for accurate body composition assessments, especially of large subjects. However, many body composition measurement systems are calibrated against a single-sized phantom, often based on the standard Reference Man mode...

Coincidence corrected efficiency calibration of Compton-suppressed HPGe detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aucott, Timothy [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Brand, Alexander [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); DiPrete, David [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2015-04-20

The authors present a reliable method to calibrate the full-energy efficiency and the coincidence correction factors using a commonly-available mixed source gamma standard. This is accomplished by measuring the peak areas from both summing and non-summing decay schemes and simultaneously fitting both the full-energy efficiency, as well as the total efficiency, as functions of energy. By using known decay schemes, these functions can then be used to provide correction factors for other nuclides not included in the calibration standard.

O5S, Calibration of Organic Scintillation Detector by Monte-Carlo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

1 - Nature of physical problem solved: O5S is designed to directly simulate the experimental techniques used to obtain the pulse height distribution for a parallel beam of mono-energetic neutrons incident on organic scintillator systems. Developed to accurately calibrate the nominally 2 in. by 2 in. liquid organic scintillator NE-213 (composition CH-1.2), the programme should be readily adaptable to many similar problems. 2 - Method of solution: O5S is a Monte Carlo programme patterned after the general-purpose Monte Carlo neutron transport programme system, O5R. The O5S Monte Carlo experiment follows the course of each neutron through the scintillator and obtains the energy-deposits of the ions produced by elastic scatterings and reactions. The light pulse produced by the neutron is obtained by summing up the contributions of the various ions with the use of appropriate light vs. ion-energy tables. Because of the specialized geometry and simpler cross section needs O5S is able to by-pass many features included in O5R. For instance, neutrons may be followed individually, their histories analyzed as they occur, and upon completion of the experiment, the results analyzed to obtain the pulse-height distribution during one pass on the computer. O5S does allow the absorption of neutrons, but does not allow splitting or Russian roulette (biased weighting schemes). SMOOTHIE is designed to smooth O5S histogram data using Gaussian functions with parameters specified by the user

Efficiencies of dynamic Monte Carlo algorithms for off-lattice particle systems with a single impurity

KAUST Repository

Novotny, M.A.; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Ito, Nobuyasu

2010-01-01

The efficiency of dynamic Monte Carlo algorithms for off-lattice systems composed of particles is studied for the case of a single impurity particle. The theoretical efficiencies of the rejection-free method and of the Monte Carlo with Absorbing

Efficiencies of dynamic Monte Carlo algorithms for off-lattice particle systems with a single impurity

KAUST Repository

Novotny, M.A.

2010-02-01

The efficiency of dynamic Monte Carlo algorithms for off-lattice systems composed of particles is studied for the case of a single impurity particle. The theoretical efficiencies of the rejection-free method and of the Monte Carlo with Absorbing Markov Chains method are given. Simulation results are presented to confirm the theoretical efficiencies. © 2010.

Efficiency calibration of solid track spark auto counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Mei; Wen Zhongwei; Lin Jufang; Liu Rong; Jiang Li; Lu Xinxin; Zhu Tonghua

2008-01-01

The factors influencing detection efficiency of solid track spark auto counter were analyzed, and the best etch condition and parameters of charge were also reconfirmed. With small plate fission ionization chamber, the efficiency of solid track spark auto counter at various experiment assemblies was re-calibrated. The efficiency of solid track spark auto counter at various experimental conditions was obtained. (authors)

Monte Carlo based geometrical model for efficiency calculation of an n-type HPGe detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Padilla Cabal, Fatima, E-mail: fpadilla@instec.c [Instituto Superior de Tecnologias y Ciencias Aplicadas, ' Quinta de los Molinos' Ave. Salvador Allende, esq. Luaces, Plaza de la Revolucion, Ciudad de la Habana, CP 10400 (Cuba); Lopez-Pino, Neivy; Luis Bernal-Castillo, Jose; Martinez-Palenzuela, Yisel; Aguilar-Mena, Jimmy; D' Alessandro, Katia; Arbelo, Yuniesky; Corrales, Yasser; Diaz, Oscar [Instituto Superior de Tecnologias y Ciencias Aplicadas, ' Quinta de los Molinos' Ave. Salvador Allende, esq. Luaces, Plaza de la Revolucion, Ciudad de la Habana, CP 10400 (Cuba)

2010-12-15

A procedure to optimize the geometrical model of an n-type detector is described. Sixteen lines from seven point sources ({sup 241}Am, {sup 133}Ba, {sup 22}Na, {sup 60}Co, {sup 57}Co, {sup 137}Cs and {sup 152}Eu) placed at three different source-to-detector distances (10, 20 and 30 cm) were used to calibrate a low-background gamma spectrometer between 26 and 1408 keV. Direct Monte Carlo techniques using the MCNPX 2.6 and GEANT 4 9.2 codes, and a semi-empirical procedure were performed to obtain theoretical efficiency curves. Since discrepancies were found between experimental and calculated data using the manufacturer parameters of the detector, a detail study of the crystal dimensions and the geometrical configuration is carried out. The relative deviation with experimental data decreases from a mean value of 18-4%, after the parameters were optimized.

A Monte Carlo error simulation applied to calibration-free X-ray diffraction phase analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, G.E.

1986-01-01

Quantitative phase analysis of a system of n phases can be effected without the need for calibration standards provided at least n different mixtures of these phases are available. A series of linear equations relating diffracted X-ray intensities, weight fractions and quantitation factors coupled with mass balance relationships can be solved for the unknown weight fractions and factors. Uncertainties associated with the measured X-ray intensities, owing to counting of random X-ray quanta, are used to estimate the errors in the calculated parameters utilizing a Monte Carlo simulation. The Monte Carlo approach can be generalized and applied to any quantitative X-ray diffraction phase analysis method. Two examples utilizing mixtures of CaCO 3 , Fe 2 O 3 and CaF 2 with an α-SiO 2 (quartz) internal standard illustrate the quantitative method and corresponding error analysis. One example is well conditioned; the other is poorly conditioned and, therefore, very sensitive to errors in the measured intensities. (orig.)

Improving the Ar I and II branching ratio calibration method: Monte Carlo simulations of effects from photon scattering/reflecting in hollow cathodes

Science.gov (United States)

Lawler, J. E.; Den Hartog, E. A.

2018-03-01

The Ar I and II branching ratio calibration method is discussed with the goal of improving the technique. This method of establishing a relative radiometric calibration is important in ongoing research to improve atomic transition probabilities for quantitative spectroscopy in astrophysics and other fields. Specific suggestions are presented along with Monte Carlo simulations of wavelength dependent effects from scattering/reflecting of photons in a hollow cathode.

Calibration of detector efficiency of neutron detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Hongsheng; He Xijun; Xu Rongkun; Peng Taiping

2001-01-01

BF 3 neutron detector has been set up. Detector efficiency is calibrated by associated particle technique. It is about 3.17 x 10 -4 (1 +- 18%). Neutron yield of neutron generator per pulse (10 7 /pulse) is measured by using the detector

Monte-Carlo calculation of the calibration factors for the interfacial area concentration and the velocity of the bubbles for double sensor conductivity probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz-Cobo, J.L.; Pena, J.; Chiva, S.; Mendez, S.

2007-01-01

This paper presents a study of the estimation of the correction factors for the interfacial area concentration and the bubble velocity in two phase flow measurements using the double sensor conductivity probe. Monte-Carlo calculations of these correction factors have been performed for different values of the relative distance (ΔS/D) between the tips of the conductivity probe and different values of the relative bubble velocity fluctuation parameter. Also this paper presents the Monte-Carlo calculation of the expected value of the calibration factors for bubbly flow assuming a log-normal distribution of the bubble sizes. We have computed the variation of the expected values of the calibration factors with the relative distance (ΔS/D) between the tips and the velocity fluctuation parameter. Finally, we have performed a sensitivity study of the variation of the average values of the calibration factors for bubbly flow with the geometrical standard deviation of the log-normal distribution of bubble sizes. The results of these calculations show that the total interfacial area correction factor is very close to 2, and depends very weakly on the velocity fluctuation, and the relative distance between tips. For the velocity calibration factor, the Monte-Carlo results show that for moderate values of the relative bubble velocity fluctuation parameter (H max ≤ 0.3) and values of the relative distance between tips not too small (ΔS/D ≥ 0.2), the correction velocity factor for the bubble sensor conductivity probe is close to unity, ranging from 0.96 to 1

Reconstruction, Energy Calibration, and Identification of Hadronically Decaying Tau Leptons in the ATLAS Experiment for Run-2 of the LHC

CERN Document Server

The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

The reconstruction algorithm, energy calibration, and identification methods for hadronically decaying tau leptons in ATLAS used at the start of Run-2 of the Large Hadron Collider are described in this note. All algorithms have been optimised for Run-2 conditions. The energy calibration relies on Monte Carlo samples with hadronic tau lepton decays, and applies multiplicative factors based on the pT of the reconstructed tau lepton to the energy measurements in the calorimeters. The identification employs boosted decision trees. Systematic uncertainties on the energy scale, reconstruction efficiency and identification efficiency of hadronically decaying tau leptons are determined using Monte Carlo samples that simulate varying conditions.

The EURADOS-KIT training course on Monte Carlo methods for the calibration of body counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breustedt, B.; Broggio, D.; Gomez-Ros, J.M.; Lopez, M.A.; Leone, D.; Poelz, S.; Marzocchi, O.; Shutt, A.

2016-01-01

Monte Carlo (MC) methods are numerical simulation techniques that can be used to extend the scope of calibrations performed in in vivo monitoring laboratories. These methods allow calibrations to be carried out for a much wider range of body shapes and sizes than would be feasible using physical phantoms. Unfortunately, nowadays, this powerful technique is still used mainly in research institutions only. In 2013, EURADOS and the in vivo monitoring laboratory of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) organized a 3-d training course to disseminate knowledge on the application of MC methods for in vivo monitoring. It was intended as a hands-on course centered around an exercise which guided the participants step by step through the calibration process using a simplified version of KIT's equipment. Only introductory lectures on in vivo monitoring and voxel models were given. The course was based on MC codes of the MCNP family, widespread in the community. The strong involvement of the participants and the working atmosphere in the classroom as well as the formal evaluation of the course showed that the approach chosen was appropriate. Participants liked the hands-on approach and the extensive course materials on the exercise. (authors)

A fitting algorithm based on simulated annealing techniques for efficiency calibration of HPGe detectors using different mathematical functions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hurtado, S. [Servicio de Radioisotopos, Centro de Investigacion, Tecnologia e Innovacion (CITIUS), Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012 Sevilla (Spain)], E-mail: shurtado@us.es; Garcia-Leon, M. [Departamento de Fisica Atomica, Molecular y Nuclear, Facultad de Fisica, Universidad de Sevilla, Aptd. 1065, 41080 Sevilla (Spain); Garcia-Tenorio, R. [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada II, E.T.S.A. Universidad de Sevilla, Avda, Reina Mercedes 2, 41012 Sevilla (Spain)

2008-09-11

In this work several mathematical functions are compared in order to perform the full-energy peak efficiency calibration of HPGe detectors using a 126cm{sup 3} HPGe coaxial detector and gamma-ray energies ranging from 36 to 1460 keV. Statistical tests and Monte Carlo simulations were used to study the performance of the fitting curve equations. Furthermore the fitting procedure of these complex functional forms to experimental data is a non-linear multi-parameter minimization problem. In gamma-ray spectrometry usually non-linear least-squares fitting algorithms (Levenberg-Marquardt method) provide a fast convergence while minimizing {chi}{sub R}{sup 2}, however, sometimes reaching only local minima. In order to overcome that shortcoming a hybrid algorithm based on simulated annealing (HSA) techniques is proposed. Additionally a new function is suggested that models the efficiency curve of germanium detectors in gamma-ray spectrometry.

Calibration of a compact magnetic proton recoil neutron spectrometer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Jianfu, E-mail: zhang_jianfu@163.com [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi' an 710024 (China); Ouyang, Xiaoping; Zhang, Xianpeng [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi' an 710024 (China); Ruan, Jinlu [Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi' an 710024 (China); Zhang, Guoguang [Applied Institute of Nuclear Technology, China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing 102413 (China); Zhang, Xiaodong [Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi' an 710024 (China); Qiu, Suizheng, E-mail: szqiu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Chen, Liang; Liu, Jinliang; Song, Jiwen; Liu, Linyue; Yang, Shaohua [Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi' an 710024 (China)

2016-04-21

Magnetic proton recoil (MPR) neutron spectrometer is considered as a powerful instrument to measure deuterium–tritium (DT) neutron spectrum, as it is currently used in inertial confinement fusion facilities and large Tokamak devices. The energy resolution (ER) and neutron detection efficiency (NDE) are the two most important parameters to characterize a neutron spectrometer. In this work, the ER calibration for the MPR spectrometer was performed by using the HI-13 tandem accelerator at China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), and the NDE calibration was performed by using the neutron generator at CIAE. The specific calibration techniques used in this work and the associated accuracies were discussed in details in this paper. The calibration results were presented along with Monte Carlo simulation results.

Monte Carlo simulation of gamma-ray interactions in an over-square high-purity germanium detector for in-vivo measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Saizu, Mirela Angela

2016-09-01

The developments of high-purity germanium detectors match very well the requirements of the in-vivo human body measurements regarding the gamma energy ranges of the radionuclides intended to be measured, the shape of the extended radioactive sources, and the measurement geometries. The Whole Body Counter (WBC) from IFIN-HH is based on an “over-square” high-purity germanium detector (HPGe) to perform accurate measurements of the incorporated radionuclides emitting X and gamma rays in the energy range of 10 keV-1500 keV, under conditions of good shielding, suitable collimation, and calibration. As an alternative to the experimental efficiency calibration method consisting of using reference calibration sources with gamma energy lines that cover all the considered energy range, it is proposed to use the Monte Carlo method for the efficiency calibration of the WBC using the radiation transport code MCNP5. The HPGe detector was modelled and the gamma energy lines of 241Am, 57Co, 133Ba, 137Cs, 60Co, and 152Eu were simulated in order to obtain the virtual efficiency calibration curve of the WBC. The Monte Carlo method was validated by comparing the simulated results with the experimental measurements using point-like sources. For their optimum matching, the impact of the variation of the front dead layer thickness and of the detector photon absorbing layers materials on the HPGe detector efficiency was studied, and the detector’s model was refined. In order to perform the WBC efficiency calibration for realistic people monitoring, more numerical calculations were generated simulating extended sources of specific shape according to the standard man characteristics.

On the efficiency calibration of a drum waste assay system

CERN Document Server

Dinescu, L; Cazan, I L; Macrin, R; Caragheorgheopol, G; Rotarescu, G

2002-01-01

The efficiency calibration of a gamma spectroscopy waste assay system, constructed by IFIN-HH, was performed. The calibration technique was based on the assumption of a uniform distribution of the source activity in the drum and also a uniform sample matrix. A collimated detector (HPGe--20% relative efficiency) placed at 30 cm from the drum was used. The detection limit for sup 1 sup 3 sup 7 Cs and sup 6 sup 0 Co is approximately 45 Bq/kg for a sample of about 400 kg and a counting time of 10 min. A total measurement uncertainty of -70% to +40% was estimated.

Assessment of calibration parameters for an aerial gamma spectrometry system using Monte-Carlo technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan, P.; Raman, Anand; Sharma, D.N.

2009-01-01

Aerial gamma spectrometry is a very effective method for quickly surveying a large area, which might get contaminated following a nuclear accident, or due to nuclear weapon fallout. The technique not only helps in identifying the contaminating radionuclide but also in assessing the magnitude and the extent of contamination. These two factors are of importance for the authorities to quickly plan and execute effective counter measures and controls if required. The development of Airborne gamma ray spectrometry systems have been reported by different institutions. The application of these systems have been reported by different authors. Radiation Safety Systems Division of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has developed an Aerial Gamma Spectrometry System (AGSS) and the surveying methodology. For an online assessment of the contamination levels, it is essential to calibrate the system (AGSS) either flying it over a known contaminated area or over a simulated contaminated surface by deploying sealed sources on the ground. AGSS has been calibrated for different detectors in aerial exercises using such simulated contamination on the ground. The calibration methodology essentially needs net photo-peak counts in selected energy windows to finally arrive at the Air to Ground Correlation Factors at selected flight parameters such as altitude, speed of flight and the time interval at which each spectrum is acquired. This paper describes the methodology to predict all the necessary parameters like photon fluence at various altitudes, the photo-peak counts in different energy windows, Air to Ground Correlation Factors(AGCF), the dose rate at any height due to air scattered gamma ray photons etc. These parameters are predicted for a given source deployment matrix, detector and altitude of flying using the Monte-Carlo code MCNP (Monte Carlo Neutron and Photon Transport Code.CCC-200, RSIC, ORNL, Tennessee, USA). A methodology to generate the completely folded gamma ray count

Estimating statistical uncertainty of Monte Carlo efficiency-gain in the context of a correlated sampling Monte Carlo code for brachytherapy treatment planning with non-normal dose distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhopadhyay, Nitai D; Sampson, Andrew J; Deniz, Daniel; Alm Carlsson, Gudrun; Williamson, Jeffrey; Malusek, Alexandr

2012-01-01

Correlated sampling Monte Carlo methods can shorten computing times in brachytherapy treatment planning. Monte Carlo efficiency is typically estimated via efficiency gain, defined as the reduction in computing time by correlated sampling relative to conventional Monte Carlo methods when equal statistical uncertainties have been achieved. The determination of the efficiency gain uncertainty arising from random effects, however, is not a straightforward task specially when the error distribution is non-normal. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the applicability of the F distribution and standardized uncertainty propagation methods (widely used in metrology to estimate uncertainty of physical measurements) for predicting confidence intervals about efficiency gain estimates derived from single Monte Carlo runs using fixed-collision correlated sampling in a simplified brachytherapy geometry. A bootstrap based algorithm was used to simulate the probability distribution of the efficiency gain estimates and the shortest 95% confidence interval was estimated from this distribution. It was found that the corresponding relative uncertainty was as large as 37% for this particular problem. The uncertainty propagation framework predicted confidence intervals reasonably well; however its main disadvantage was that uncertainties of input quantities had to be calculated in a separate run via a Monte Carlo method. The F distribution noticeably underestimated the confidence interval. These discrepancies were influenced by several photons with large statistical weights which made extremely large contributions to the scored absorbed dose difference. The mechanism of acquiring high statistical weights in the fixed-collision correlated sampling method was explained and a mitigation strategy was proposed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficiency of a bismuth-germanate scintillator: comparison of Monte Carlo calculations with measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, H.H.; Dowdy, E.J.; Estes, G.P.; Lucas, M.C.; Mack, J.M.; Moss, C.E.; Hamm, M.E.

1983-01-01

Monte Carlo calculations of a bismuth-germanate scintillator's efficiency agree closely with experimental measurements. For this comparison, we studied the absolute gamma-ray photopeak efficiency of a scintillator (7.62 cm long by 7.62 cm in diameter) at several gamma-ray energies from 166 to 2615 keV at distances from 0.5 to 152.4 cm. Computer calculations were done in a two-dimensional cylindrical geometry with the Monte Carlo coupled photon-electron code CYLTRAN. For the experiment we measured 11 sources with simple spectra and precisely known strengths. The average deviation between the calculations and the measurements is 3%. Our calculated results also closely agree with recently published calculated results

DETEF a Monte Carlo system for the calculation of gamma spectrometers efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornejo, N.; Mann, G.

1996-01-01

The Monte Carlo method program DETEF calculates the efficiency of cylindrical NaI, Csi, Ge or Si, detectors for photons energy until 2 MeV and several sample geometric. These sources could be punctual, plane cylindrical or rectangular. The energy spectrum appears on the screen simultaneously with the statistical simulation. The calculated and experimental estimated efficiencies coincidence well in the standards deviations intervals

Monte Carlo calculation of efficiencies of whole-body counter, by microcomputer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandes Neto, J.M.

1987-01-01

A computer programming using the Monte Carlo method for calculation of efficiencies of whole-body counting of body radiation distribution is presented. An analytical simulator (for man e for child) incorporated with 99m Tc, 131 I and 42 K is used. (M.A.C.) [pt

Ground calibration of the spatial response and quantum efficiency of the CdZnTe hard x-ray detectors for NuSTAR

Science.gov (United States)

Grefenstette, Brian W.; Bhalerao, Varun; Cook, W. Rick; Harrison, Fiona A.; Kitaguchi, Takao; Madsen, Kristin K.; Mao, Peter H.; Miyasaka, Hiromasa; Rana, Vikram

2017-08-01

Pixelated Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CdZnTe) detectors are currently flying on the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR) NASA Astrophysics Small Explorer. While the pixel pitch of the detectors is ≍ 605 μm, we can leverage the detector readout architecture to determine the interaction location of an individual photon to much higher spatial accuracy. The sub-pixel spatial location allows us to finely oversample the point spread function of the optics and reduces imaging artifacts due to pixelation. In this paper we demonstrate how the sub-pixel information is obtained, how the detectors were calibrated, and provide ground verification of the quantum efficiency of our Monte Carlo model of the detector response.

Efficient Calibration of Distributed Catchment Models Using Perceptual Understanding and Hydrologic Signatures

Science.gov (United States)

Hutton, C.; Wagener, T.; Freer, J. E.; Duffy, C.; Han, D.

2015-12-01

Distributed models offer the potential to resolve catchment systems in more detail, and therefore simulate the hydrological impacts of spatial changes in catchment forcing (e.g. landscape change). Such models may contain a large number of model parameters which are computationally expensive to calibrate. Even when calibration is possible, insufficient data can result in model parameter and structural equifinality. In order to help reduce the space of feasible models and supplement traditional outlet discharge calibration data, semi-quantitative information (e.g. knowledge of relative groundwater levels), may also be used to identify behavioural models when applied to constrain spatially distributed predictions of states and fluxes. The challenge is to combine these different sources of information together to identify a behavioural region of state-space, and efficiently search a large, complex parameter space to identify behavioural parameter sets that produce predictions that fall within this behavioural region. Here we present a methodology to incorporate different sources of data to efficiently calibrate distributed catchment models. Metrics of model performance may be derived from multiple sources of data (e.g. perceptual understanding and measured or regionalised hydrologic signatures). For each metric, an interval or inequality is used to define the behaviour of the catchment system, accounting for data uncertainties. These intervals are then combined to produce a hyper-volume in state space. The state space is then recast as a multi-objective optimisation problem, and the Borg MOEA is applied to first find, and then populate the hyper-volume, thereby identifying acceptable model parameter sets. We apply the methodology to calibrate the PIHM model at Plynlimon, UK by incorporating perceptual and hydrologic data into the calibration problem. Furthermore, we explore how to improve calibration efficiency through search initialisation from shorter model runs.

Efficiency of rejection-free methods for dynamic Monte Carlo studies of off-lattice interacting particles

KAUST Repository

Guerra, Marta L.; Novotny, M. A.; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Ito, Nobuyasu

2009-01-01

We calculate the efficiency of a rejection-free dynamic Monte Carlo method for d -dimensional off-lattice homogeneous particles interacting through a repulsive power-law potential r-p. Theoretically we find the algorithmic efficiency in the limit of low temperatures and/or high densities is asymptotically proportional to ρ (p+2) /2 T-d/2 with the particle density ρ and the temperature T. Dynamic Monte Carlo simulations are performed in one-, two-, and three-dimensional systems with different powers p, and the results agree with the theoretical predictions. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

Efficiency of rejection-free methods for dynamic Monte Carlo studies of off-lattice interacting particles

KAUST Repository

Guerra, Marta L.

2009-02-23

We calculate the efficiency of a rejection-free dynamic Monte Carlo method for d -dimensional off-lattice homogeneous particles interacting through a repulsive power-law potential r-p. Theoretically we find the algorithmic efficiency in the limit of low temperatures and/or high densities is asymptotically proportional to ρ (p+2) /2 T-d/2 with the particle density ρ and the temperature T. Dynamic Monte Carlo simulations are performed in one-, two-, and three-dimensional systems with different powers p, and the results agree with the theoretical predictions. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

WE-DE-201-05: Evaluation of a Windowless Extrapolation Chamber Design and Monte Carlo Based Corrections for the Calibration of Ophthalmic Applicators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hansen, J; Culberson, W; DeWerd, L [University of Wisconsin Medical Radiation Research Center, Madison, WI (United States); Soares, C [NIST (retired), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To test the validity of a windowless extrapolation chamber used to measure surface dose rate from planar ophthalmic applicators and to compare different Monte Carlo based codes for deriving correction factors. Methods: Dose rate measurements were performed using a windowless, planar extrapolation chamber with a {sup 90}Sr/{sup 90}Y Tracerlab RA-1 ophthalmic applicator previously calibrated at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Capacitance measurements were performed to estimate the initial air gap width between the source face and collecting electrode. Current was measured as a function of air gap, and Bragg-Gray cavity theory was used to calculate the absorbed dose rate to water. To determine correction factors for backscatter, divergence, and attenuation from the Mylar entrance window found in the NIST extrapolation chamber, both EGSnrc Monte Carlo user code and Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) were utilized. Simulation results were compared with experimental current readings from the windowless extrapolation chamber as a function of air gap. Additionally, measured dose rate values were compared with the expected result from the NIST source calibration to test the validity of the windowless chamber design. Results: Better agreement was seen between EGSnrc simulated dose results and experimental current readings at very small air gaps (<100 µm) for the windowless extrapolation chamber, while MCNP results demonstrated divergence at these small gap widths. Three separate dose rate measurements were performed with the RA-1 applicator. The average observed difference from the expected result based on the NIST calibration was −1.88% with a statistical standard deviation of 0.39% (k=1). Conclusion: EGSnrc user code will be used during future work to derive correction factors for extrapolation chamber measurements. Additionally, experiment results suggest that an entrance window is not needed in order for an extrapolation

Theoretical and practical study of the variance and efficiency of a Monte Carlo calculation due to Russian roulette

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoogenboom, J. E.

2004-01-01

Although Russian roulette is applied very often in Monte Carlo calculations, not much literature exists on its quantitative influence on the variance and efficiency of a Monte Carlo calculation. Elaborating on the work of Lux and Koblinger using moment equations, new relevant equations are derived to calculate the variance of a Monte Carlo simulation using Russian roulette. To demonstrate its practical application the theory is applied to a simplified transport model resulting in explicit analytical expressions for the variance of a Monte Carlo calculation and for the expected number of collisions per history. From these expressions numerical results are shown and compared with actual Monte Carlo calculations, showing an excellent agreement. By considering the number of collisions in a Monte Carlo calculation as a measure of the CPU time, also the efficiency of the Russian roulette can be studied. It opens the way for further investigations, including optimization of Russian roulette parameters. (authors)

Absolute calibration in vivo measurement systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruchten, D.A.; Hickman, D.P.

1991-02-01

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is currently investigating a new method for obtaining absolute calibration factors for radiation measurement systems used to measure internally deposited radionuclides in vivo. Absolute calibration of in vivo measurement systems will eliminate the need to generate a series of human surrogate structures (i.e., phantoms) for calibrating in vivo measurement systems. The absolute calibration of in vivo measurement systems utilizes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to define physiological structure, size, and composition. The MRI image provides a digitized representation of the physiological structure, which allows for any mathematical distribution of radionuclides within the body. Using Monte Carlo transport codes, the emission spectrum from the body is predicted. The in vivo measurement equipment is calibrated using the Monte Carlo code and adjusting for the intrinsic properties of the detection system. The calibration factors are verified using measurements of existing phantoms and previously obtained measurements of human volunteers. 8 refs

Enhancement of precision and accuracy by Monte-Carlo simulation of a well-type pressurized ionization chamber used in radionuclide metrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kryeziu, D.

2006-09-01

The aim of this work was to test and validate the Monte-Carlo (MC) ionization chamber simulation method in calculating the activity of radioactive solutions. This is required when no or not sufficient experimental calibration figures are available as well as to improve the accuracy of activity measurements for other radionuclides. Well-type or 4π γ ISOCAL IV ionization chambers (IC) are widely used in many national standard laboratories around the world. As secondary standard measuring systems these radionuclide calibrators serve to maintain measurement consistency checks and to ensure the quality of standards disseminated to users for a wide range of radionuclide where many of them are with special interest in nuclear medicine as well as in different applications on radionuclide metrology. For the studied radionuclides the calibration figures (efficiencies) and their respective volume correction factors are determined by using the PENELOPE MC computer code system. The ISOCAL IV IC filled with nitrogen gas at approximately 1 MPa is simulated. The simulated models of the chamber are designed by means of reduced quadric equation and applying the appropriate mathematical transformations. The simulations are done for various container geometries of the standard solution which take forms of: i) sealed Jena glass 5 ml PTB standard ampoule, ii) 10 ml (P6) vial and iii) 10 R Schott Type 1+ vial. Simulation of the ISOCAL IV IC is explained. The effect of density variation of the nitrogen filling gas on the sensitivity of the chamber is investigated. The code is also used to examine the effects of using lead and copper shields as well as to evaluate the sensitivity of the chamber to electrons and positrons. Validation of the Monte-Carlo simulation method has been proved by comparing the Monte-Carlo simulation calculated and experimental calibration figures available from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) England which are deduced from the absolute activity

Efficiency calibration of a HPGe detector for [18F] FDG activity measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fragoso, Maria da Conceicao de Farias; Lacerda, Isabelle Viviane Batista de; Albuquerque, Antonio Morais de Sa

2013-01-01

The radionuclide 18 F, in the form of flurodeoxyglucose (FDG), is the most used radiopharmaceutical for Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Due to [ 18 F]FDG increasing demand, it is important to ensure high quality activity measurements in the nuclear medicine practice. Therefore, standardized reference sources are necessary to calibrate of 18 F measuring systems. Usually, the activity measurements are performed in re-entrant ionization chambers, also known as radionuclide calibrators. Among the existing alternatives for the standardization of radioactive sources, the method known as gamma spectrometry is widely used for short-lived radionuclides, since it is essential to minimize source preparation time. The purpose of this work was to perform the standardization of the [ 18 F]FDG solution by gamma spectrometry. In addition, the reference sources calibrated by this method can be used to calibrate and test the radionuclide calibrators from the Divisao de Producao de Radiofarmacos (DIPRA) of the Centro Regional de Ciencias Nucleares do Nordeste (CRCN-NE). Standard sources of 152 Eu, 137 Cs and 68 Ge were used for the efficiency calibration of the spectrometer system. As a result, the efficiency curve as a function of energy was determined in wide energy range from 122 to 1408 keV. Reference sources obtained by this method can be used in [ 18 F]FDG activity measurements comparison programs for PET services localized in the Brazilian Northeast region. (author)

Amorphous silicon EPID calibration for dosimetric applications: comparison of a method based on Monte Carlo prediction of response with existing techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parent, L; Fielding, A L; Dance, D R; Seco, J; Evans, P M

2007-01-01

For EPID dosimetry, the calibration should ensure that all pixels have a similar response to a given irradiation. A calibration method (MC), using an analytical fit of a Monte Carlo simulated flood field EPID image to correct for the flood field image pixel intensity shape, was proposed. It was compared with the standard flood field calibration (FF), with the use of a water slab placed in the beam to flatten the flood field (WS) and with a multiple field calibration where the EPID was irradiated with a fixed 10 x 10 field for 16 different positions (MF). The EPID was used in its normal configuration (clinical setup) and with an additional 3 mm copper slab (modified setup). Beam asymmetry measured with a diode array was taken into account in MC and WS methods. For both setups, the MC method provided pixel sensitivity values within 3% of those obtained with the MF and WS methods (mean difference 2 ) and IMRT fields to within 3% of that obtained with WS and MF calibrations while differences with images calibrated with the FF method for fields larger than 10 x 10 cm 2 were up to 8%. MC, WS and MF methods all provided a major improvement on the FF method. Advantages and drawbacks of each method were reviewed

Crop physiology calibration in the CLM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Bilionis

2015-04-01

scalable and adaptive scheme based on sequential Monte Carlo (SMC. The model showed significant improvement of crop productivity with the new calibrated parameters. We demonstrate that the calibrated parameters are applicable across alternative years and different sites.

Tau reconstruction, energy calibration and identification at ATLAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trottier-Mcdonald, Michel

2012-01-01

Tau leptons play a central role in the LHC physics programme, in particular as an important signature in many Higgs boson and supersymmetry searches. They are further used in Standard Model electroweak measurements, as well as detector-related studies like the determination of the missing transverse energy scale. Copious backgrounds from QCD processes call for both efficient identification of hadronically decaying tau leptons, as well as large suppression of fake candidates. A solid understanding of the combined performance of the calorimeter and tracking detectors is also required. We present the current status of the tau reconstruction, energy calibration and identification with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Identification efficiencies are measured in W →τν events in data and compared with predictions from Monte Carlo simulations, whereas the misidentification probabilities of QCD jets and electrons are determined from various jet-enriched data samples and from Z → ee events, respectively. The tau energy scale calibration is described and systematic uncertainties on both energy scale and identification efficiencies discussed. (author)

Time-resolved diode dosimetry calibration through Monte Carlo modeling for in vivo passive scattered proton therapy range verification.

Science.gov (United States)

Toltz, Allison; Hoesl, Michaela; Schuemann, Jan; Seuntjens, Jan; Lu, Hsiao-Ming; Paganetti, Harald

2017-11-01

Our group previously introduced an in vivo proton range verification methodology in which a silicon diode array system is used to correlate the dose rate profile per range modulation wheel cycle of the detector signal to the water-equivalent path length (WEPL) for passively scattered proton beam delivery. The implementation of this system requires a set of calibration data to establish a beam-specific response to WEPL fit for the selected 'scout' beam (a 1 cm overshoot of the predicted detector depth with a dose of 4 cGy) in water-equivalent plastic. This necessitates a separate set of measurements for every 'scout' beam that may be appropriate to the clinical case. The current study demonstrates the use of Monte Carlo simulations for calibration of the time-resolved diode dosimetry technique. Measurements for three 'scout' beams were compared against simulated detector response with Monte Carlo methods using the Tool for Particle Simulation (TOPAS). The 'scout' beams were then applied in the simulation environment to simulated water-equivalent plastic, a CT of water-equivalent plastic, and a patient CT data set to assess uncertainty. Simulated detector response in water-equivalent plastic was validated against measurements for 'scout' spread out Bragg peaks of range 10 cm, 15 cm, and 21 cm (168 MeV, 177 MeV, and 210 MeV) to within 3.4 mm for all beams, and to within 1 mm in the region where the detector is expected to lie. Feasibility has been shown for performing the calibration of the detector response for three 'scout' beams through simulation for the time-resolved diode dosimetry technique in passive scattered proton delivery. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Calibration with MCNP of NaI detector for the determination of natural radioactivity levels in the field.

Science.gov (United States)

Cinelli, Giorgia; Tositti, Laura; Mostacci, Domiziano; Baré, Jonathan

2016-05-01

In view of assessing natural radioactivity with on-site quantitative gamma spectrometry, efficiency calibration of NaI(Tl) detectors is investigated. A calibration based on Monte Carlo simulation of detector response is proposed, to render reliable quantitative analysis practicable in field campaigns. The method is developed with reference to contact geometry, in which measurements are taken placing the NaI(Tl) probe directly against the solid source to be analyzed. The Monte Carlo code used for the simulations was MCNP. Experimental verification of the calibration goodness is obtained by comparison with appropriate standards, as reported. On-site measurements yield a quick quantitative assessment of natural radioactivity levels present ((40)K, (238)U and (232)Th). On-site gamma spectrometry can prove particularly useful insofar as it provides information on materials from which samples cannot be taken. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Validation of the ATLAS hadronic calibration with the LAr End-Cap beam tests data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barillari, Teresa

2009-01-01

The high granularity of the ATLAS calorimeter and the large number of expected particles per event require a clustering algorithm that is able to suppress noise and pile-up efficiently. Therefore the cluster reconstruction is the essential first step in the hadronic calibration. The identification of electromagnetic components within a hadronic cluster using cluster shape variables is the next step in the hadronic calibration procedure. Finally the energy density of individual cells is used to assign the proper weight to correct for the invisible energy deposits of hadrons due to the non-compensating nature of the ATLAS calorimeter and to correct for energy losses in material non instrumented with read-out. The weighting scheme employs the energy density in individual cells. Therefore the validation of the Monte Carlo simulation, which is used to define the weighting parameters and energy correction algorithms, is an essential step in the hadronic calibration procedure. Pion data, obtained in a beam test corresponding to the pseudorapidity region 2.5 < |η| < 4.0 in ATLAS and in the energy range 40 GeV ≤ E ≤ 200 GeV, have been compared with Monte Carlo simulations, using the full ATLAS hadronic calibration procedure.

Calibration method for a in vivo measurement system using mathematical simulation of the radiation source and the detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, John

1998-01-01

A Monte Carlo program which uses a voxel phantom has been developed to simulate in vivo measurement systems for calibration purposes. The calibration method presented here employs a mathematical phantom, produced in the form of volume elements (voxels), obtained through Magnetic Resonance Images of the human body. The calibration method uses the Monte Carlo technique to simulate the tissue contamination, the transport of the photons through the tissues and the detection of the radiation. The program simulates the transport and detection of photons between 0.035 and 2 MeV and uses, for the body representation, a voxel phantom with a format of 871 slices each of 277 x 148 picture elements. The Monte Carlo code was applied to the calibration of in vivo systems and to estimate differences in counting efficiencies between homogeneous and non-homogeneous radionuclide distributions in the lung. Calculations show a factor of 20 between deposition of 241 Am at the back compared with the front of the lung. The program was also used to estimate the 137 Cs body burden of an internally contaminated individual, counted with an 8 x 4 Nal (TI) detector and an 241 Am body burden of an internally contaminated individual, who was counted using a planar germanium detector. (author)

Energy deposition evaluation for ultra-low energy electron beam irradiation systems using calibrated thin radiochromic film and Monte Carlo simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsui, S., E-mail: smatsui@gpi.ac.jp; Mori, Y. [The Graduate School for the Creation of New Photonics Industries, 1955-1 Kurematsucho, Nishiku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 431-1202 (Japan); Nonaka, T.; Hattori, T.; Kasamatsu, Y.; Haraguchi, D.; Watanabe, Y.; Uchiyama, K.; Ishikawa, M. [Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. Electron Tube Division, 314-5 Shimokanzo, Iwata, Shizuoka 438-0193 (Japan)

2016-05-15

For evaluation of on-site dosimetry and process design in industrial use of ultra-low energy electron beam (ULEB) processes, we evaluate the energy deposition using a thin radiochromic film and a Monte Carlo simulation. The response of film dosimeter was calibrated using a high energy electron beam with an acceleration voltage of 2 MV and alanine dosimeters with uncertainty of 11% at coverage factor 2. Using this response function, the results of absorbed dose measurements for ULEB were evaluated from 10 kGy to 100 kGy as a relative dose. The deviation between the responses of deposit energy on the films and Monte Carlo simulations was within 15%. As far as this limitation, relative dose estimation using thin film dosimeters with response function obtained by high energy electron irradiation and simulation results is effective for ULEB irradiation processes management.

Using lattice tools and unfolding methods for hpge detector efficiency simulation with the Monte Carlo code MCNP5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Querol, A.; Gallardo, S.; Ródenas, J.; Verdú, G.

2015-01-01

In environmental radioactivity measurements, High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors are commonly used due to their excellent resolution. Efficiency calibration of detectors is essential to determine activity of radionuclides. The Monte Carlo method has been proved to be a powerful tool to complement efficiency calculations. In aged detectors, efficiency is partially deteriorated due to the dead layer increasing and consequently, the active volume decreasing. The characterization of the radiation transport in the dead layer is essential for a realistic HPGe simulation. In this work, the MCNP5 code is used to calculate the detector efficiency. The F4MESH tally is used to determine the photon and electron fluence in the dead layer and the active volume. The energy deposited in the Ge has been analyzed using the ⁎F8 tally. The F8 tally is used to obtain spectra and to calculate the detector efficiency. When the photon fluence and the energy deposition in the crystal are known, some unfolding methods can be used to estimate the activity of a given source. In this way, the efficiency is obtained and serves to verify the value obtained by other methods. - Highlights: • The MCNP5 code is used to estimate the dead layer thickness of an HPGe detector. • The F4MESH tally is applied to verify where interactions occur into the Ge crystal. • PHD and the energy deposited are obtained with F8 and ⁎F8 tallies, respectively. • An average dead layer between 70 and 80 µm is obtained for the HPGe studied. • The efficiency is calculated applying the TSVD method to the response matrix.

Calibration and Monte Carlo modelling of neutron long counters

CERN Document Server

Tagziria, H

2000-01-01

The Monte Carlo technique has become a very powerful tool in radiation transport as full advantage is taken of enhanced cross-section data, more powerful computers and statistical techniques, together with better characterisation of neutron and photon source spectra. At the National Physical Laboratory, calculations using the Monte Carlo radiation transport code MCNP-4B have been combined with accurate measurements to characterise two long counters routinely used to standardise monoenergetic neutron fields. New and more accurate response function curves have been produced for both long counters. A novel approach using Monte Carlo methods has been developed, validated and used to model the response function of the counters and determine more accurately their effective centres, which have always been difficult to establish experimentally. Calculations and measurements agree well, especially for the De Pangher long counter for which details of the design and constructional material are well known. The sensitivit...

Simple formalism for efficient derivatives and multi-determinant expansions in quantum Monte Carlo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Filippi, Claudia; Assaraf, R.; Moroni, S.

2016-01-01

We present a simple and general formalism to compute efficiently the derivatives of a multi-determinant Jastrow-Slater wave function, the local energy, the interatomic forces, and similar quantities needed in quantum Monte Carlo. Through a straightforward manipulation of matrices evaluated on the

Application of PHOTON simulation software on calibration of HPGe detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nikolic, J., E-mail: jnikolic@vinca.rs [University of Belgrade Institute for Nuclear Sciences Vinča, Mike Petrovica Alasa 12-16, 11001 Belgrade (Serbia); Puzovic, J. [University of Belgrade Faculty of Physics, Studentski trg 6, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Todorovic, D.; Rajacic, M. [University of Belgrade Institute for Nuclear Sciences Vinča, Mike Petrovica Alasa 12-16, 11001 Belgrade (Serbia)

2015-11-01

One of the major difficulties in gamma spectrometry of voluminous environmental samples is the efficiency calibration of the detectors used for the measurement. The direct measurement of different calibration sources, containing isolated γ-ray emitters within the energy range of interest, and subsequent fitting to a parametric function, is the most accurate and at the same time most complicated and time consuming method of efficiency calibration. Many other methods are developed in time, some of them using Monte Carlo simulation. One of such methods is a dedicated and user-friendly program PHOTON, developed to simulate the passage of photons through different media with different geometries. This program was used for efficiency calibration of three HPGe detectors, readily used in Laboratory for Environment and Radiation Protection of the Institute for Nuclear Sciences Vinca, Belgrade, Serbia. The simulation produced the spectral response of the detectors for fixed energy and for different sample geometries and matrices. Thus obtained efficiencies were compared to the values obtained by the measurement of the secondary reference materials and to the results obtained by GEANT4 simulation, in order to establish whether the simulated values agree with the experimental ones. To further analyze the results, a realistic measurement of the materials provided by the IAEA within different interlaboratory proficiency tests, was performed. The activities obtained using simulated efficiencies were compared to the reference values provided by the organizer. A good agreement in the mid energy section of the spectrum was obtained, while for low energies the lack of some parameters in the simulation libraries proved to produce unacceptable discrepancies.

Hydrogen analysis depth calibration by CORTEO Monte-Carlo simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moser, M., E-mail: marcus.moser@unibw.de [Universität der Bundeswehr München, Institut für Angewandte Physik und Messtechnik LRT2, Fakultät für Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik, 85577 Neubiberg (Germany); Reichart, P.; Bergmaier, A.; Greubel, C. [Universität der Bundeswehr München, Institut für Angewandte Physik und Messtechnik LRT2, Fakultät für Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik, 85577 Neubiberg (Germany); Schiettekatte, F. [Université de Montréal, Département de Physique, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7 (Canada); Dollinger, G., E-mail: guenther.dollinger@unibw.de [Universität der Bundeswehr München, Institut für Angewandte Physik und Messtechnik LRT2, Fakultät für Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik, 85577 Neubiberg (Germany)

2016-03-15

Hydrogen imaging with sub-μm lateral resolution and sub-ppm sensitivity has become possible with coincident proton–proton (pp) scattering analysis (Reichart et al., 2004). Depth information is evaluated from the energy sum signal with respect to energy loss of both protons on their path through the sample. In first order, there is no angular dependence due to elastic scattering. In second order, a path length effect due to different energy loss on the paths of the protons causes an angular dependence of the energy sum. Therefore, the energy sum signal has to be de-convoluted depending on the matrix composition, i.e. mainly the atomic number Z, in order to get a depth calibrated hydrogen profile. Although the path effect can be calculated analytically in first order, multiple scattering effects lead to significant deviations in the depth profile. Hence, in our new approach, we use the CORTEO Monte-Carlo code (Schiettekatte, 2008) in order to calculate the depth of a coincidence event depending on the scattering angle. The code takes individual detector geometry into account. In this paper we show, that the code correctly reproduces measured pp-scattering energy spectra with roughness effects considered. With more than 100 μm thick Mylar-sandwich targets (Si, Fe, Ge) we demonstrate the deconvolution of the energy spectra on our current multistrip detector at the microprobe SNAKE at the Munich tandem accelerator lab. As a result, hydrogen profiles can be evaluated with an accuracy in depth of about 1% of the sample thickness.

Offline Calibration of b-Jet Identification Efficiencies

CERN Document Server

Lowette, Steven; Heyninck, Jan; Vanlaer, Pascal

2006-01-01

A new method to calibrate b-tagging algorithms can be exploited at the LHC, due to the high energy and luminosity of the accelerator. The abundantly produced ttbar pairs can be used to isolate jet samples with a highly enriched b-jet content, on which the b-jet identification algorithms can be calibrated. Two methods are described to extract a b-enriched jet sample in ttbar events, using the semileptonic and the fully leptonic decay modes. The selection of jets is based on a likelihood ratio method. On the selected b-jet enriched jet samples the b-tagging performance is measured, taking into account the impurities of the samples. The most important contributions to the systematic uncertainties are evaluated, resulting in an estimate of the expected precision on the measurement of the b-jet identification performance. For 1 fb-1 (10 fb-1) of integrated luminosity the relative accuracy on the b-jet identification efficiency is expected to be about 6% (4%) in the barrel region and about 10% (5%) in the endcaps.

Least square methods and covariance matrix applied to the relative efficiency calibration of a Ge(Li) detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geraldo, L.P.; Smith, D.L.

1989-01-01

The methodology of covariance matrix and square methods have been applied in the relative efficiency calibration for a Ge(Li) detector apllied in the relative efficiency calibration for a Ge(Li) detector. Procedures employed to generate, manipulate and test covariance matrices which serve to properly represent uncertainties of experimental data are discussed. Calibration data fitting using least square methods has been performed for a particular experimental data set. (author) [pt

Comparison between two calibration models of a measurement system for thyroid monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venturini, Luzia

2005-01-01

This paper shows a comparison between two theoretical calibration that use two mathematical models to represent the neck region. In the first model thyroid is considered to be just a region limited by two concentric cylinders whose dimensions are those of trachea and neck. The second model uses functional functions to get a better representation of the thyroid geometry. Efficiency values are obtained using Monte Carlo simulation. (author)

Monte Carlo simulation of neutron counters for safeguards applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Looman, Marc; Peerani, Paolo; Tagziria, Hamid

2009-01-01

MCNP-PTA is a new Monte Carlo code for the simulation of neutron counters for nuclear safeguards applications developed at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra (Italy). After some preliminary considerations outlining the general aspects involved in the computational modelling of neutron counters, this paper describes the specific details and approximations which make up the basis of the model implemented in the code. One of the major improvements allowed by the use of Monte Carlo simulation is a considerable reduction in both the experimental work and in the reference materials required for the calibration of the instruments. This new approach to the calibration of counters using Monte Carlo simulation techniques is also discussed.

A computationally efficient moment-preserving Monte Carlo electron transport method with implementation in Geant4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dixon, D.A., E-mail: ddixon@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, MS P365, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Prinja, A.K., E-mail: prinja@unm.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, MSC01 1120, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 (United States); Franke, B.C., E-mail: bcfrank@sandia.gov [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123 (United States)

2015-09-15

This paper presents the theoretical development and numerical demonstration of a moment-preserving Monte Carlo electron transport method. Foremost, a full implementation of the moment-preserving (MP) method within the Geant4 particle simulation toolkit is demonstrated. Beyond implementation details, it is shown that the MP method is a viable alternative to the condensed history (CH) method for inclusion in current and future generation transport codes through demonstration of the key features of the method including: systematically controllable accuracy, computational efficiency, mathematical robustness, and versatility. A wide variety of results common to electron transport are presented illustrating the key features of the MP method. In particular, it is possible to achieve accuracy that is statistically indistinguishable from analog Monte Carlo, while remaining up to three orders of magnitude more efficient than analog Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, it is shown that the MP method can be generalized to any applicable analog scattering DCS model by extending previous work on the MP method beyond analytical DCSs to the partial-wave (PW) elastic tabulated DCS data.

Krypton calibration of time projection chambers of the NA61/SHINE experiment

CERN Document Server

Naskret, Michal

The NA61/SHINE experiment at CERN is searching for the critical point in phase transition between quark-gluon plasma and hadronic matter. To do so we use the most precise apparatus - Time Projection Chamber. Its main task is to find trajectories of particles created in a relativistic collision. In order to improve efficiency of TPCs, we introduce calibration using radioactive krypton gas. Simulation of events in a TPC cham- ber through a decay of excited krypton atoms gives us a spectrum, which is later fitted to the model spectrum of krypton from a Monte-Carlo simulation. The data obtained in such a way serves us to determine malfunctioning electronics in TPCs. Thanks to the krypton calibration we can create a map of pad by pad gains. In this thesis I will de- scribe in detail the NA61 experimental setup, krypton calibration procedure, calibration algorithm and results for recent calibration runs

Monte Carlo evaluation of the neutron detection efficiency of a superheated drop detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gualdrini, G F [ENEA, Centro Ricerche ` Ezio Clementel` , Bologna (Italy). Dipt. Ambiente; D` Errico, F; Noccioni, P [Pisa, Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Costruzioni Meccaniche e Nucleari

1997-03-01

Neuron dosimetry has recently gained renewed attention, following concerns on the exposure of crew members on board aircraft, and of workers around the increasing number of high energy accelerators for medical and research purpose. At the same time the new operational qualities for radiation dosimetry introduced by ICRU and the ICRP, aiming at a unified metrological system applicable to all types of radiation exposure, involved the need to update current devices in order to meet new requirements. Superheated Drop (Bubble) Detectors (SDD) offer an alternative approach to neutron radiation protection dosimetry. The SDDs are currently studied within a large collaborative effort involving Yale University. New Haven CT, Pisa (IT) University, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig D, and ENEA (Italian National Agency for new Technologies Energy and the Environment) Centre of Bologna. The detectors were characterised through calibrations with monoenergetic neutron beams and where experimental investigations were inadequate or impossible, such as in the intermediate energy range , parametric Monte Carlo calculations of the response were carried out. This report describes the general characteristic of the SDDs along with the Monte Carlo computations of the energy response and a comparison with the experimental results.

Amorphous silicon EPID calibration for dosimetric applications: comparison of a method based on Monte Carlo prediction of response with existing techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parent, L [Joint Department of Physics, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton (United Kingdom); Fielding, A L [School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane (Australia); Dance, D R [Joint Department of Physics, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London (United Kingdom); Seco, J [Department of Radiation Oncology, Francis Burr Proton Therapy Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston (United States); Evans, P M [Joint Department of Physics, Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton (United Kingdom)

2007-07-21

For EPID dosimetry, the calibration should ensure that all pixels have a similar response to a given irradiation. A calibration method (MC), using an analytical fit of a Monte Carlo simulated flood field EPID image to correct for the flood field image pixel intensity shape, was proposed. It was compared with the standard flood field calibration (FF), with the use of a water slab placed in the beam to flatten the flood field (WS) and with a multiple field calibration where the EPID was irradiated with a fixed 10 x 10 field for 16 different positions (MF). The EPID was used in its normal configuration (clinical setup) and with an additional 3 mm copper slab (modified setup). Beam asymmetry measured with a diode array was taken into account in MC and WS methods. For both setups, the MC method provided pixel sensitivity values within 3% of those obtained with the MF and WS methods (mean difference <1%, standard deviation <2%). The difference of pixel sensitivity between MC and FF methods was up to 12.2% (clinical setup) and 11.8% (modified setup). MC calibration provided images of open fields (5 x 5 to 20 x 20 cm{sup 2}) and IMRT fields to within 3% of that obtained with WS and MF calibrations while differences with images calibrated with the FF method for fields larger than 10 x 10 cm{sup 2} were up to 8%. MC, WS and MF methods all provided a major improvement on the FF method. Advantages and drawbacks of each method were reviewed.

Improvement of personalized Monte Carlo-aided direct internal contamination monitoring: optimization of calculation times and measurement methodology for the establishment of activity distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farah, Jad

2011-01-01

To optimize the monitoring of female workers using in vivo spectrometry measurements, it is necessary to correct the typical calibration coefficients obtained with the Livermore male physical phantom. To do so, numerical calibrations based on the use of Monte Carlo simulations combined with anthropomorphic 3D phantoms were used. Such computational calibrations require on the one hand the development of representative female phantoms of different size and morphologies and on the other hand rapid and reliable Monte Carlo calculations. A library of female torso models was hence developed by fitting the weight of internal organs and breasts according to the body height and to relevant plastic surgery recommendations. This library was next used to realize a numerical calibration of the AREVA NC La Hague in vivo counting installation. Moreover, the morphology-induced counting efficiency variations with energy were put into equation and recommendations were given to correct the typical calibration coefficients for any monitored female worker as a function of body height and breast size. Meanwhile, variance reduction techniques and geometry simplification operations were considered to accelerate simulations. Furthermore, to determine the activity mapping in the case of complex contaminations, a method that combines Monte Carlo simulations with in vivo measurements was developed. This method consists of realizing several spectrometry measurements with different detector positioning. Next, the contribution of each contaminated organ to the count is assessed from Monte Carlo calculations. The in vivo measurements realized at LEDI, CIEMAT and KIT have demonstrated the effectiveness of the method and highlighted the valuable contribution of Monte Carlo simulations for a more detailed analysis of spectrometry measurements. Thus, a more precise estimate of the activity distribution is given in the case of an internal contamination. (author)

Efficient sampling algorithms for Monte Carlo based treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeMarco, J.J.; Solberg, T.D.; Chetty, I.; Smathers, J.B.

1998-01-01

Efficient sampling algorithms are necessary for producing a fast Monte Carlo based treatment planning code. This study evaluates several aspects of a photon-based tracking scheme and the effect of optimal sampling algorithms on the efficiency of the code. Four areas were tested: pseudo-random number generation, generalized sampling of a discrete distribution, sampling from the exponential distribution, and delta scattering as applied to photon transport through a heterogeneous simulation geometry. Generalized sampling of a discrete distribution using the cutpoint method can produce speedup gains of one order of magnitude versus conventional sequential sampling. Photon transport modifications based upon the delta scattering method were implemented and compared with a conventional boundary and collision checking algorithm. The delta scattering algorithm is faster by a factor of six versus the conventional algorithm for a boundary size of 5 mm within a heterogeneous geometry. A comparison of portable pseudo-random number algorithms and exponential sampling techniques is also discussed

Evaluating the Efficiency of a Multi-core Aware Multi-objective Optimization Tool for Calibrating the SWAT Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, X. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Izaurralde, R. C. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zong, Z. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhao, K. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Thomson, A. M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2012-08-20

The efficiency of calibrating physically-based complex hydrologic models is a major concern in the application of those models to understand and manage natural and human activities that affect watershed systems. In this study, we developed a multi-core aware multi-objective evolutionary optimization algorithm (MAMEOA) to improve the efficiency of calibrating a worldwide used watershed model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT)). The test results show that MAMEOA can save about 1-9%, 26-51%, and 39-56% time consumed by calibrating SWAT as compared with sequential method by using dual-core, quad-core, and eight-core machines, respectively. Potential and limitations of MAMEOA for calibrating SWAT are discussed. MAMEOA is open source software.

Implementation of Fast Emulator-based Code Calibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowman, Nathaniel [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Risk & Reliability Analysis; Denman, Matthew R [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Risk & Reliability Analysis

2016-08-01

Calibration is the process of using experimental data to gain more precise knowledge of simulator inputs. This process commonly involves the use of Markov-chain Monte Carlo, which requires running a simulator thousands of times. If we can create a faster program, called an emulator, that mimics the outputs of the simulator for an input range of interest, then we can speed up the process enough to make it feasible for expensive simulators. To this end, we implement a Gaussian-process emulator capable of reproducing the behavior of various long-running simulators to within acceptable tolerance. This fast emulator can be used in place of a simulator to run Markov-chain Monte Carlo in order to calibrate simulation parameters to experimental data. As a demonstration, this emulator is used to calibrate the inputs of an actual simulator against two sodium-fire experiments.

A Proposal on the Geometry Splitting Strategy to Enhance the Calculation Efficiency in Monte Carlo Simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Gi Yeong; Kim, Song Hyun; Kim, Do Hyun; Shin, Chang Ho; Kim, Jong Kyung [Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

In this study, how the geometry splitting strategy affects the calculation efficiency was analyzed. In this study, a geometry splitting method was proposed to increase the calculation efficiency in Monte Carlo simulation. First, the analysis of the neutron distribution characteristics in a deep penetration problem was performed. Then, considering the neutron population distribution, a geometry splitting method was devised. Using the proposed method, the FOMs with benchmark problems were estimated and compared with the conventional geometry splitting strategy. The results show that the proposed method can considerably increase the calculation efficiency in using geometry splitting method. It is expected that the proposed method will contribute to optimizing the computational cost as well as reducing the human errors in Monte Carlo simulation. Geometry splitting in Monte Carlo (MC) calculation is one of the most popular variance reduction techniques due to its simplicity, reliability and efficiency. For the use of the geometry splitting, the user should determine locations of geometry splitting and assign the relative importance of each region. Generally, the splitting parameters are decided by the user's experience. However, in this process, the splitting parameters can ineffectively or erroneously be selected. In order to prevent it, there is a recommendation to help the user eliminate guesswork, which is to split the geometry evenly. And then, the importance is estimated by a few iterations for preserving population of particle penetrating each region. However, evenly geometry splitting method can make the calculation inefficient due to the change in mean free path (MFP) of particles.

A Proposal on the Geometry Splitting Strategy to Enhance the Calculation Efficiency in Monte Carlo Simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Gi Yeong; Kim, Song Hyun; Kim, Do Hyun; Shin, Chang Ho; Kim, Jong Kyung

2014-01-01

In this study, how the geometry splitting strategy affects the calculation efficiency was analyzed. In this study, a geometry splitting method was proposed to increase the calculation efficiency in Monte Carlo simulation. First, the analysis of the neutron distribution characteristics in a deep penetration problem was performed. Then, considering the neutron population distribution, a geometry splitting method was devised. Using the proposed method, the FOMs with benchmark problems were estimated and compared with the conventional geometry splitting strategy. The results show that the proposed method can considerably increase the calculation efficiency in using geometry splitting method. It is expected that the proposed method will contribute to optimizing the computational cost as well as reducing the human errors in Monte Carlo simulation. Geometry splitting in Monte Carlo (MC) calculation is one of the most popular variance reduction techniques due to its simplicity, reliability and efficiency. For the use of the geometry splitting, the user should determine locations of geometry splitting and assign the relative importance of each region. Generally, the splitting parameters are decided by the user's experience. However, in this process, the splitting parameters can ineffectively or erroneously be selected. In order to prevent it, there is a recommendation to help the user eliminate guesswork, which is to split the geometry evenly. And then, the importance is estimated by a few iterations for preserving population of particle penetrating each region. However, evenly geometry splitting method can make the calculation inefficient due to the change in mean free path (MFP) of particles

On the efficiency calibration of Si(Li) detector in the low-energy region using thick-target bremsstrahlung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An, Z. E-mail: anzhu@scu.edu.cn; Liu, M.T

2002-10-01

In this paper, the efficiency calibration of a Si(Li) detector in the low-energy region down to 0.58 keV has been performed using thick-carbon-target bremsstrahlung by 19 keV electron impact. The shape of the efficiency calibration curve was determined from the thick-carbon-target bremsstrahlung spectrum, and the absolute value for the efficiency calibration was obtained from the use of {sup 241}Am radioactive standard source. The modified Wentzel's formula for thick-target bremsstrahlung was employed and it was also compared with the most recently developed theoretical model based upon the doubly differential cross-sections for bremsstrahlung of Kissel, Quarles and Pratt. In the present calculation of theoretical bremsstrahlung, the self-absorption correction and the convolution of detector's response function with the bremsstrahlung spectrum have simultaneously been taken into account. The accuracy for the efficiency calibration in the low-energy region with the method described here was estimated to be about 6%. Moreover, the self-absorption correction calculation based upon the prescription of Wolters et al. has also been presented as an analytical factor with the accuracy of {approx}1%.

Calibration of a gamma spectrometer for natural radioactivity measurement. Experimental measurements and Monte Carlo modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courtine, Fabien

2007-03-01

The thesis proceeded in the context of dating by thermoluminescence. This method requires laboratory measurements of the natural radioactivity. For that purpose, we have been using a germanium spectrometer. To refine the calibration of this one, we modelled it by using a Monte-Carlo computer code: Geant4. We developed a geometrical model which takes into account the presence of inactive zones and zones of poor charge-collection within the germanium crystal. The parameters of the model were adjusted by comparison with experimental results obtained with a source of 137 Cs. It appeared that the form of the inactive zones is less simple than is presented in the specialized literature. This model was widened to the case of a more complex source, with cascade effect and angular correlations between photons: the 60 Co. Lastly, applied to extended sources, it gave correct results and allowed us to validate the simulation of matrix effect. (author)

Calculation of neutron detection efficiency for the thick lithium glass using Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Guoyou; Bao Shanglian; Li Yulin; Zhong Wenguan

1989-08-01

The neutron detector efficiencies of a NE912 (45mm in diameter, 9.55 mm in thickness) and 2 pieces of ST601 (40mm in diameter, 3 and 10 mm in thickness respectively) lithium glasses have been calculated with a Monte Carlo computer code. The energy range in the calculation is 10 keV to 2.0 MeV. The effect of time delayed caused by neutron multiple scattering in the detectors (prompt neutron detection efficiency) has been considered

CERN radiation protection (RP) calibration facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pozzi, Fabio

2016-04-14

Radiation protection calibration facilities are essential to ensure the correct operation of radiation protection instrumentation. Calibrations are performed in specific radiation fields according to the type of instrument to be calibrated: neutrons, photons, X-rays, beta and alpha particles. Some of the instruments are also tested in mixed radiation fields as often encountered close to high-energy particle accelerators. Moreover, calibration facilities are of great importance to evaluate the performance of prototype detectors; testing and measuring the response of a prototype detector to well-known and -characterized radiation fields contributes to improving and optimizing its design and capabilities. The CERN Radiation Protection group is in charge of performing the regular calibrations of all CERN radiation protection devices; these include operational and passive dosimeters, neutron and photon survey-meters, and fixed radiation detectors to monitor the ambient dose equivalent, H*(10), inside CERN accelerators and at the CERN borders. A new state-of-the-art radiation protection calibration facility was designed, constructed and commissioned following the related ISO recommendations to replace the previous ageing (more than 30 years old) laboratory. In fact, the new laboratory aims also at the official accreditation according to the ISO standards in order to be able to release certified calibrations. Four radiation fields are provided: neutrons, photons and beta sources and an X-ray generator. Its construction did not only involve a pure civil engineering work; many radiation protection studies were performed to provide a facility that could answer the CERN calibration needs and fulfill all related safety requirements. Monte Carlo simulations have been confirmed to be a valuable tool for the optimization of the building design, the radiation protection aspects, e.g. shielding, and, as consequence, the overall cost. After the source and irradiator installation

AREVA Developments for an Efficient and Reliable use of Monte Carlo codes for Radiation Transport Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Chapoutier, Nicolas; Mollier, François; Nolin, Guillaume; Culioli, Matthieu; Mace, Jean-Reynald

2017-09-01

In the context of the rising of Monte Carlo transport calculations for any kind of application, AREVA recently improved its suite of engineering tools in order to produce efficient Monte Carlo workflow. Monte Carlo codes, such as MCNP or TRIPOLI, are recognized as reference codes to deal with a large range of radiation transport problems. However the inherent drawbacks of theses codes - laboring input file creation and long computation time - contrast with the maturity of the treatment of the physical phenomena. The goals of the recent AREVA developments were to reach similar efficiency as other mature engineering sciences such as finite elements analyses (e.g. structural or fluid dynamics). Among the main objectives, the creation of a graphical user interface offering CAD tools for geometry creation and other graphical features dedicated to the radiation field (source definition, tally definition) has been reached. The computations times are drastically reduced compared to few years ago thanks to the use of massive parallel runs, and above all, the implementation of hybrid variance reduction technics. From now engineering teams are capable to deliver much more prompt support to any nuclear projects dealing with reactors or fuel cycle facilities from conceptual phase to decommissioning.

An efficient interpolation technique for jump proposals in reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Farr, W. M.; Mandel, I.; Stevens, D.

2015-01-01

Selection among alternative theoretical models given an observed dataset is an important challenge in many areas of physics and astronomy. Reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (RJMCMC) is an extremely powerful technique for performing Bayesian model selection, but it suffers from a fundamental difficulty and it requires jumps between model parameter spaces, but cannot efficiently explore both parameter spaces at once. Thus, a naive jump between parameter spaces is unlikely to be accepted in the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm and convergence is correspondingly slow. Here, we demonstrate an interpolation technique that uses samples from single-model MCMCs to propose intermodel jumps from an approximation to the single-model posterior of the target parameter space. The interpolation technique, based on a kD-tree data structure, is adaptive and efficient in modest dimensionality. We show that our technique leads to improved convergence over naive jumps in an RJMCMC, and compare it to other proposals in the literature to improve the convergence of RJMCMCs. We also demonstrate the use of the same interpolation technique as a way to construct efficient ‘global’ proposal distributions for single-model MCMCs without prior knowledge of the structure of the posterior distribution, and discuss improvements that permit the method to be used in higher dimensional spaces efficiently. PMID:26543580

The GERDA calibration system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baudis, Laura; Froborg, Francis; Tarka, Michael; Bruch, Tobias; Ferella, Alfredo [Physik-Institut, Universitaet Zuerich (Switzerland); Collaboration: GERDA-Collaboration

2012-07-01

A system with three identical custom made units is used for the energy calibration of the GERDA Ge diodes. To perform a calibration the {sup 228}Th sources are lowered from the parking positions at the top of the cryostat. Their positions are measured by two independent modules. One, the incremental encoder, counts the holes in the perforated steel band holding the sources, the other measures the drive shaft's angular position even if not powered. The system can be controlled remotely by a Labview program. The calibration data is analyzed by an iterative calibration algorithm determining the calibration functions for different energy reconstruction algorithms and the resolution of several peaks in the {sup 228}Th spectrum is determined. A Monte Carlo simulation using the GERDA simulation software MAGE has been performed to determine the background induced by the sources in the parking positions.

Calibration of a large multi-element neutron counter in the energy range 85-430 MeV

CERN Document Server

Strong, J A; Esterling, R J; Garvey, J; Green, M G; Harnew, N; Jane, M R; Jobes, M; Mawson, J; McMahon, T; Robertson, A W; Thomas, D H

1978-01-01

Describes the calibration of a large 60 element neutron counter with a threshold of 2.7 MeV equivalent electron energy. The performance of the counter has been measured in the neutron kinetic energy range 8.5-430 MeV using a neutron beam at the CERN Synchrocyclotron. The results obtained for the efficiency as a function of energy are in reasonable agreement with a Monte Carlo calculation. (7 refs).

Study on calibration of neutron efficiency and relative photo-yield of plastic scintillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Taiping; Zhang Chuanfei; Li Rurong; Zhang Jianhua; Luo Xiaobing; Xia Yijun; Yang Zhihua

2002-01-01

A method used for the calibration of neutron efficiency and the relative photo yield of plastic scintillator is studied. T(p, n) and D(d, n) reactions are used as neutron resources. The neutron efficiencies and the relative photo yields of plastic scintillators 1421 (40 mm in diameter and 5 mm in thickness) and determined in the neutron energy range of 0.655-5 MeV

Efficiency determination of whole-body counters by Monte Carlo method, using a microcomputer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandes Neto, J.M.

1987-01-01

A computing program using Monte Carlo method for calculate the whole efficiency of distributed radiation counters in human body is developed. A simulater of human proportions was used, of which was filled with a known and uniform solution containing a quantity of radioisopes. The 99m Tc, 131 I and 42 K were used in this experience, and theirs activities compared by a liquid scintillator. (C.G.C.) [pt

AREVA Developments for an Efficient and Reliable use of Monte Carlo codes for Radiation Transport Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chapoutier Nicolas

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the context of the rising of Monte Carlo transport calculations for any kind of application, AREVA recently improved its suite of engineering tools in order to produce efficient Monte Carlo workflow. Monte Carlo codes, such as MCNP or TRIPOLI, are recognized as reference codes to deal with a large range of radiation transport problems. However the inherent drawbacks of theses codes - laboring input file creation and long computation time - contrast with the maturity of the treatment of the physical phenomena. The goals of the recent AREVA developments were to reach similar efficiency as other mature engineering sciences such as finite elements analyses (e.g. structural or fluid dynamics. Among the main objectives, the creation of a graphical user interface offering CAD tools for geometry creation and other graphical features dedicated to the radiation field (source definition, tally definition has been reached. The computations times are drastically reduced compared to few years ago thanks to the use of massive parallel runs, and above all, the implementation of hybrid variance reduction technics. From now engineering teams are capable to deliver much more prompt support to any nuclear projects dealing with reactors or fuel cycle facilities from conceptual phase to decommissioning.

Experimental and simulated efficiency of a HPGe detector in the energy range of 0.06∼11 MeV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Chang Su; Choi, H. D.; Sun, Gwang Min

2003-01-01

The full energy peak efficiency of a Hyper Pure Germanium (HPGe) detector was calibrated in a wide energy range from 0.06 to 11 MeV. Both the experimental technique and the Monte Carlo method were used for the efficiency calibration. The measurement was performed using the standard radioisotopes in the low energy region of 60∼1408 keV, which was further extended up to 11 MeV by using the 14 N(n,γ) and 35 Cl(n,γ) reactions. The GEANT Monte Carlo code was used for efficiency calculation. The calculated efficiency had the same dependency on the γ-ray energy with the measurement, and the discrepancy between the calculation and the measurement was minimized by fine-tuning of the detector geometry. From the calculated result, the efficiency curve of the HPGe detector was reliably determined particularly in the high energy region above several MeV, where the number of measured efficiency points is relatively small despite the wide energy region. The calculated efficiency agreed with the measurement within about 7%. In addition to the efficiency calculation, the origin of the local minimum near 600 keV on the efficiency curve was analyzed as a general characteristics of a HPGe detector

Simple formalism for efficient derivatives and multi-determinant expansions in quantum Monte Carlo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Filippi, Claudia, E-mail: c.filippi@utwente.nl [MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede (Netherlands); Assaraf, Roland, E-mail: assaraf@lct.jussieu.fr [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie Théorique CC 137-4, place Jussieu F-75252 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Moroni, Saverio, E-mail: moroni@democritos.it [CNR-IOM DEMOCRITOS, Istituto Officina dei Materiali, and SISSA Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Via Bonomea 265, I-34136 Trieste (Italy)

2016-05-21

We present a simple and general formalism to compute efficiently the derivatives of a multi-determinant Jastrow-Slater wave function, the local energy, the interatomic forces, and similar quantities needed in quantum Monte Carlo. Through a straightforward manipulation of matrices evaluated on the occupied and virtual orbitals, we obtain an efficiency equivalent to algorithmic differentiation in the computation of the interatomic forces and the optimization of the orbital parameters. Furthermore, for a large multi-determinant expansion, the significant computational gain afforded by a recently introduced table method is here extended to the local value of any one-body operator and to its derivatives, in both all-electron and pseudopotential calculations.

Monte Carlo simulation of gamma-ray total counting efficiency for a Phoswich detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yalcin, S. [Education Faculty, Kastamonu University, 37200 Kastamonu (Turkey)], E-mail: syalcin@kastamonu.edu.tr; Gurler, O. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Uludag University, Gorukle Campus, 16059 Bursa (Turkey); Gundogdu, O. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); NCCPM, Medical Physics, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, GU2 7XX (United Kingdom); Kaynak, G. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Uludag University, Gorukle Campus, 16059 Bursa (Turkey)

2009-01-15

The LB 1000-PW detector is mainly used for determining total alpha, beta and gamma activity of low activity natural sources such as water, soil, air filters and any other environmental sources. Detector efficiency needs to be known in order to measure the absolute activity of such samples. This paper presents results on the total gamma counting efficiency of a Phoswich detector from point and disk sources. The directions of photons emitted from the source were determined by Monte Carlo techniques and the true path lengths in the detector were determined by analytical equations depending on photon directions. Results are tabulated for various gamma energies.

Monte Carlo simulation of gamma-ray total counting efficiency for a Phoswich detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yalcin, S.; Gurler, O.; Gundogdu, O.; Kaynak, G.

2009-01-01

The LB 1000-PW detector is mainly used for determining total alpha, beta and gamma activity of low activity natural sources such as water, soil, air filters and any other environmental sources. Detector efficiency needs to be known in order to measure the absolute activity of such samples. This paper presents results on the total gamma counting efficiency of a Phoswich detector from point and disk sources. The directions of photons emitted from the source were determined by Monte Carlo techniques and the true path lengths in the detector were determined by analytical equations depending on photon directions. Results are tabulated for various gamma energies

Efficient kinetic Monte Carlo method for reaction-diffusion problems with spatially varying annihilation rates

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, Karsten; Rieger, Heiko

2013-03-01

We present an efficient Monte Carlo method to simulate reaction-diffusion processes with spatially varying particle annihilation or transformation rates as it occurs for instance in the context of motor-driven intracellular transport. Like Green's function reaction dynamics and first-passage time methods, our algorithm avoids small diffusive hops by propagating sufficiently distant particles in large hops to the boundaries of protective domains. Since for spatially varying annihilation or transformation rates the single particle diffusion propagator is not known analytically, we present an algorithm that generates efficiently either particle displacements or annihilations with the correct statistics, as we prove rigorously. The numerical efficiency of the algorithm is demonstrated with an illustrative example.

Efficiency of the delta-tracking technique for Monte Carlo calculations applied to neutron-transport simulations of the advanced Candu reactor design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arsenault, Benoit; Le Tellier, Romain; Hebert, Alain

2008-01-01

The paper presents the results of a first implementation of a Monte Carlo module in DRAGON Version 4 based on the delta-tracking technique. The Monte Carlo module uses the geometry and the self-shielded multigroup cross-sections calculated with a deterministic model. The module has been tested with three different configurations of an ACR TM -type lattice. The paper also discusses the impact of this approach on the efficiency of the Monte Carlo module. (authors)

A new NaI(Tl) four-detector layout for field contamination assessment using artificial neural networks and the Monte Carlo method for system calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreira, M.C.F.; Conti, C.C.; Schirru, R.

2010-01-01

An NaI(Tl) multidetector layout combined with the use of Monte Carlo (MC) calculations and artificial neural networks(ANN) is proposed to assess the radioactive contamination of urban and semi-urban environment surfaces. A very simple urban environment like a model street composed of a wall on either side and the ground surface was the study case. A layout of four NaI(Tl) detectors was used, and the data corresponding to the response of the detectors were obtained by the Monte Carlo method. Two additional data sets with random values for the contamination and for detectors' response were also produced to test the ANNs. For this work, 18 feedforward topologies with backpropagation learning algorithm ANNs were chosen and trained. The results showed that some trained ANNs were able to accurately predict the contamination on the three urban surfaces when submitted to values within the training range. Other results showed that generalization outside the training range of values could not be achieved. The use of Monte Carlo calculations in combination with ANNs has been proven to be a powerful tool to perform detection calibration for highly complicated detection geometries.

A new NaI(Tl) four-detector layout for field contamination assessment using artificial neural networks and the Monte Carlo method for system calibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreira, M.C.F., E-mail: marcos@ird.gov.b [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Programa de Engenharia Nuclear, Laboratorio de Monitoracao de Processos (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Nuclear Engineering Program, Process Monitoring Laboratory), P.O. Box 68509, 21941-972 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria, CNEN/IRD (Radiation Protection and Dosimetry Institute, CNEN/IRD), Av. Salvador Allende s/no, P.O. Box 37750, 22780-160 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Conti, C.C. [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria, CNEN/IRD (Radiation Protection and Dosimetry Institute, CNEN/IRD), Av. Salvador Allende s/no, P.O. Box 37750, 22780-160 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Schirru, R. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Programa de Engenharia Nuclear, Laboratorio de Monitoracao de Processos (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, COPPE, Nuclear Engineering Program, Process Monitoring Laboratory), P.O. Box 68509, 21941-972 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2010-09-21

An NaI(Tl) multidetector layout combined with the use of Monte Carlo (MC) calculations and artificial neural networks(ANN) is proposed to assess the radioactive contamination of urban and semi-urban environment surfaces. A very simple urban environment like a model street composed of a wall on either side and the ground surface was the study case. A layout of four NaI(Tl) detectors was used, and the data corresponding to the response of the detectors were obtained by the Monte Carlo method. Two additional data sets with random values for the contamination and for detectors' response were also produced to test the ANNs. For this work, 18 feedforward topologies with backpropagation learning algorithm ANNs were chosen and trained. The results showed that some trained ANNs were able to accurately predict the contamination on the three urban surfaces when submitted to values within the training range. Other results showed that generalization outside the training range of values could not be achieved. The use of Monte Carlo calculations in combination with ANNs has been proven to be a powerful tool to perform detection calibration for highly complicated detection geometries.

Energy calibration for the INDRA multidetector using recoil protons from {sup 12}C+{sup 1}H scattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trzcinski, A.; Lukasik, J.; Mueller, W.F.J.; Trautmann, W.; Zwieglinski, B. E-mail: bzw@fuw.edu.pl; Auger, G.; Bacri, Ch.O.; Begemann-Blaich, M.L.; Bellaize, N.; Bittiger, R.; Bocage, F.; Borderie, B.; Bougault, R.; Bouriquet, B.; Buchet, Ph.; Charvet, J.L.; Chbihi, A.; Dayras, R.; Dore, D.; Durand, D.; Frankland, J.D.; Galichet, E.; Gourio, D.; Guinet, D.; Hudan, S.; Hurst, B.; Lautesse, P.; Lavaud, F.; Laville, J.L.; Leduc, C.; Le Fevre, A.; Legrain, R.; Lopez, O.; Lynen, U.; Nalpas, L.; Orth, H.; Plagnol, E.; Rosato, E.; Saija, A.; Schwarz, C.; Sfienti, C.; Steckmeyer, J.C.; Tabacaru, G.; Tamain, B.; Turzo, K.; Vient, E.; Vigilante, M.; Volant, C

2003-04-01

An efficient method of energy scale calibration for the CsI(Tl) modules of the INDRA multidetector (rings 6-12) using elastic and inelastic {sup 12}C+{sup 1}H scattering at E({sup 12}C)=30 MeV per nucleon is presented. Background-free spectra for the binary channels are generated by requiring the coincident detection of the light and heavy ejectiles. The gain parameter of the calibration curve is obtained by fitting the proton total charge spectra to the spectra predicted with Monte-Carlo simulations using tabulated cross section data. The method has been applied in multifragmentation experiments with INDRA at GSI.

The quantile regression approach to efficiency measurement: insights from Monte Carlo simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chunping; Laporte, Audrey; Ferguson, Brian S

2008-09-01

In the health economics literature there is an ongoing debate over approaches used to estimate the efficiency of health systems at various levels, from the level of the individual hospital - or nursing home - up to that of the health system as a whole. The two most widely used approaches to evaluating the efficiency with which various units deliver care are non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) and parametric stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Productivity researchers tend to have very strong preferences over which methodology to use for efficiency estimation. In this paper, we use Monte Carlo simulation to compare the performance of DEA and SFA in terms of their ability to accurately estimate efficiency. We also evaluate quantile regression as a potential alternative approach. A Cobb-Douglas production function, random error terms and a technical inefficiency term with different distributions are used to calculate the observed output. The results, based on these experiments, suggest that neither DEA nor SFA can be regarded as clearly dominant, and that, depending on the quantile estimated, the quantile regression approach may be a useful addition to the armamentarium of methods for estimating technical efficiency.

Monte Carlo principles and applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raeside, D E [Oklahoma Univ., Oklahoma City (USA). Health Sciences Center

1976-03-01

The principles underlying the use of Monte Carlo methods are explained, for readers who may not be familiar with the approach. The generation of random numbers is discussed, and the connection between Monte Carlo methods and random numbers is indicated. Outlines of two well established Monte Carlo sampling techniques are given, together with examples illustrating their use. The general techniques for improving the efficiency of Monte Carlo calculations are considered. The literature relevant to the applications of Monte Carlo calculations in medical physics is reviewed.

Ninth degree polynomial fit function for calculation of efficiency calibrations for Ge(Li) and HPGe detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uosif, M.A.M.

2006-01-01

A new 9 th degree polynomial fit function has been constructed to calculate the absolute γ-ray detection efficiencies (ηth) of Ge(Li) and HPGe Detectors, for calculating the absolute efficiency at any interesting γ-energy in the energy range between 25 and 2000 keV and distance between 6 and 148 cm. The total absolute γ -ray detection efficiencies have been calculated for six detectors, three of them are Ge(Li) and three HPGe at different distances. The absolute efficiency of the different detectors was calculated at the specific energy of the standard sources for each measuring distances. In this calculation, experimental (η e xp) and fitting (η f it) efficiency have been calculated. Seven calibrated point sources Am-241, Ba-133, Co-57, Co-60, Cs-137, Eu-152 and Ra-226 were used. The uncertainties of efficiency calibration have been calculated also for quality control. The measured (η e xp) and (η f it) calculated efficiency values were compared with efficiency, which calculated, by Gray fit function (time)- The results obtained on the basis of (η e xp)and (η f it) seem to be in very good agreement

Monte Carlo simulation of a stand-up type whole body counter using different sized BOMAB phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Minjung; Yoo, Jaeryong; Park, Seyoung; Ha, Wiho; Lee, Seungsook; Park, Minjung; Yoo, Jaeryong; Kim, Kwangpyo

2013-01-01

It is necessary to assess internal contamination level to determine the need for medical intervention. Whole Body Counter (WBC) is used to measure incorporated radioactive materials inside the human body. Also, WBC is standard in vivo method and used for preparedness of response to radiological emergencies. To operate this equipment correctly, proper energy and efficiency calibrations must be performed. WBC is usually calibrated using a Bottle Manikin ABsorber (BOMAB) Phantom, which is the industrial standard. The problem occurs when the subjects to be measured have different physical characteristics (height or weight) from a phantom used in calibration. In radiation emergency situations, this problem is expected to worsen because there are special populations whose physical characteristics are different from reference male, for example children and women. The aim of this study is to resolve this problem by simulating counting efficiency of different sized BOMAB phantoms using Monte Carlo techniques. The counting efficiency response of the WBC has been modeled for different sized four BOMAB phantoms using MCNPX. The stand-up type WBC has different efficiency response on phantom size since this WBC has different geometry from other scanning-type or non-linear geometry WBC. In emergency monitoring situations, it is important to estimate activity of various sized persons. Therefore, it is necessary to apply appropriate counting efficiency according to person size. Further investigations are needed to optimize methodology for measuring small object in the stand-up type WBC

Absolute efficiency calibration of 6LiF-based solid state thermal neutron detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Finocchiaro, Paolo; Cosentino, Luigi; Lo Meo, Sergio; Nolte, Ralf; Radeck, Desiree

2018-03-01

The demand for new thermal neutron detectors as an alternative to 3He tubes in research, industrial, safety and homeland security applications, is growing. These needs have triggered research and development activities about new generations of thermal neutron detectors, characterized by reasonable efficiency and gamma rejection comparable to 3He tubes. In this paper we show the state of the art of a promising low-cost technique, based on commercial solid state silicon detectors coupled with thin neutron converter layers of 6LiF deposited onto carbon fiber substrates. A few configurations were studied with the GEANT4 simulation code, and the intrinsic efficiency of the corresponding detectors was calibrated at the PTB Thermal Neutron Calibration Facility. The results show that the measured intrinsic detection efficiency is well reproduced by the simulations, therefore validating the simulation tool in view of new designs. These neutron detectors have also been tested at neutron beam facilities like ISIS (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK) and n_TOF (CERN) where a few samples are already in operation for beam flux and 2D profile measurements. Forthcoming applications are foreseen for the online monitoring of spent nuclear fuel casks in interim storage sites.

Determination of relative efficiency of a detector using Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medeiros, M.P.C.; Rebello, W.F.; Lopes, J.M.; Silva, A.X.

2015-01-01

High-purity germanium detectors (HPGe) are mandatory tools for spectrometry because of their excellent energy resolution. The efficiency of such detectors, quoted in the list of specifications by the manufacturer, frequently refers to the relative full-energy peak efficiency, related to the absolute full-energy peak efficiency of a 7.6 cm x 7.6 cm (diameter x height) NaI(Tl) crystal, based on the 1.33 MeV peak of a 60 Co source positioned 25 cm from the detector. In this study, we used MCNPX code to simulate an HPGe detector (Canberra GC3020), from Real-Time Neutrongraphy Laboratory of UFRJ, to survey the spectrum of a 60 Co source located 25 cm from the detector in order to calculate and confirm the efficiency declared by the manufacturer. Agreement between experimental and simulated data was achieved. The model under development will be used for calculating and comparison purposes with the detector calibration curve from software Genie2000™, also serving as a reference for future studies. (author)

Methods for fitting of efficiency curves obtained by means of HPGe gamma rays spectrometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardoso, Vanderlei

2002-01-01

The present work describes a few methodologies developed for fitting efficiency curves obtained by means of a HPGe gamma-ray spectrometer. The interpolated values were determined by simple polynomial fitting and polynomial fitting between the ratio of experimental peak efficiency and total efficiency, calculated by Monte Carlo technique, as a function of gamma-ray energy. Moreover, non-linear fitting has been performed using a segmented polynomial function and applying the Gauss-Marquardt method. For the peak area obtainment different methodologies were developed in order to estimate the background area under the peak. This information was obtained by numerical integration or by using analytical functions associated to the background. One non-calibrated radioactive source has been included in the curve efficiency in order to provide additional calibration points. As a by-product, it was possible to determine the activity of this non-calibrated source. For all fittings developed in the present work the covariance matrix methodology was used, which is an essential procedure in order to give a complete description of the partial uncertainties involved. (author)

Calibration of a gamma spectrometer for measuring natural radioactivity. Experimental measurements and modeling by Monte-Carlo methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courtine, Fabien

2007-01-01

The thesis proceeded in the context of dating by thermoluminescence. This method requires laboratory measurements of the natural radioactivity. For that purpose, we have been using a germanium spectrometer. To refine the calibration of this one, we modelled it by using a Monte-Carlo computer code: Geant4. We developed a geometrical model which takes into account the presence of inactive zones and zones of poor charge-collection within the germanium crystal. The parameters of the model were adjusted by comparison with experimental results obtained with a source of 137 Cs. It appeared that the form of the inactive zones is less simple than is presented in the specialized literature. This model was widened to the case of a more complex source, with cascade effect and angular correlations between photons: the 60 Co. Lastly, applied to extended sources, it gave correct results and allowed us to validate the simulation of matrix effect. (author)

Calculation Analysis of Calibration Factors of Airborne Gamma-ray Spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Jun; Zhu Jinhui; Xie Honggang; He Qinglin

2009-01-01

To determine the calibration factors of an airborne gamma-ray spectrometer measuring large area gamma-ray emitting source at deferent flying height, a series of Monte Carlo simulations were drawn. Response energy spectrums of NaI crystals in airplane caused by nature-decay-series calibration-pads, and calibration factors on different heights above Cs-137 plane source, were obtained. The calculated results agreed with the experimental data well. (authors)

Energy calibration for the INDRA multidetector using recoil protons from sup 1 sup 2 C+ sup 1 H scattering

CERN Document Server

Trzcinski, A; Müller, W F J; Trautmann, W; Zwieglinski, B; Auger, G; Bacri, C O; Begemann-Blaich, M L; Bellaize, N; Bittiger, R; Bocage, F; Borderie, B; Bougault, R; Bouriquet, B; Buchet, P; Charvet, J L; Chbihi, A; Dayras, R; Doré, D; Durand, D; Frankland, J D; Galíchet, E; Gourio, D; Guinet, D; Hudan, S; Hurst, B; Lautesse, P; Lavaud, F; Laville, J L; Leduc, C; Lefèvre, A; Legrain, R; López, O; Lynen, U; Nalpas, L; Orth, H; Plagnol, E; Rosato, E; Saija, A; Schwarz, C; Sfienti, C; Steckmeyer, J C; Tabacaru, G; Tamain, B; Turzó, K; Vient, E; Vigilante, M; Volant, C

2003-01-01

An efficient method of energy scale calibration for the CsI(Tl) modules of the INDRA multidetector (rings 6-12) using elastic and inelastic sup 1 sup 2 C+ sup 1 H scattering at E( sup 1 sup 2 C)=30 MeV per nucleon is presented. Background-free spectra for the binary channels are generated by requiring the coincident detection of the light and heavy ejectiles. The gain parameter of the calibration curve is obtained by fitting the proton total charge spectra to the spectra predicted with Monte-Carlo simulations using tabulated cross section data. The method has been applied in multifragmentation experiments with INDRA at GSI.

Calibration of the whole body counter at PSI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayer, Sabine; Boschung, Markus; Fiechtner, Annette; Habegger, Ruedi; Meier, Kilian; Wernli, Christian

2008-01-01

At the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), measurements with the whole body counter are routinely carried out for occupationally exposed persons and occasionally for individuals of the population suspected of radioactive intake. In total about 400 measurements are performed per year. The whole body counter is based on a p-type high purity germanium (HPGe) coaxial detector mounted above a canvas chair in a shielded small room. The detector is used to detect the presence of radionuclides that emit photons with energies between 50 keV and 2 MeV. The room itself is made of iron from old railway rails to reduce the natural background radiation to 24 n Sv/h. The present paper describes the calibration of the system with the IGOR phantom. Different body sizes are realized by different standardized configurations of polyethylene bricks, in which small tubes of calibration sources can be introduced. The efficiency of the detector was determined for four phantom geometries (P1, P2, P4 and P6 simulating human bodies in sitting position of 12 kg, 24 kg, 70 kg and 110 kg, respectively. The measurements were performed serially using five different radionuclide sources ( 40 K, 60 Co, 133 Ba, 137 Cs, 152 Eu) within the phantom bricks. Based on results of the experiment, an efficiency curve for each configuration and the detection limits for relevant radionuclides were determined. For routine measurements, the efficiency curve obtained with the phantom geometry P4 was chosen. The detection limits range from 40 Bq to 1000 Bq for selected radionuclides applying a measurement time of 7 min. The proper calibration of the system, on one hand, is essential for the routine measurements at PSI. On the other hand, it serves as a benchmark for the already initiated characterisation of the system with Monte Carlo simulations. (author)

Monte-Carlo-based uncertainty propagation with hierarchical models—a case study in dynamic torque

Science.gov (United States)

Klaus, Leonard; Eichstädt, Sascha

2018-04-01

For a dynamic calibration, a torque transducer is described by a mechanical model, and the corresponding model parameters are to be identified from measurement data. A measuring device for the primary calibration of dynamic torque, and a corresponding model-based calibration approach, have recently been developed at PTB. The complete mechanical model of the calibration set-up is very complex, and involves several calibration steps—making a straightforward implementation of a Monte Carlo uncertainty evaluation tedious. With this in mind, we here propose to separate the complete model into sub-models, with each sub-model being treated with individual experiments and analysis. The uncertainty evaluation for the overall model then has to combine the information from the sub-models in line with Supplement 2 of the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement. In this contribution, we demonstrate how to carry this out using the Monte Carlo method. The uncertainty evaluation involves various input quantities of different origin and the solution of a numerical optimisation problem.

Demonstration of pumping efficiency for rotating disks by Monte Carlo simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogiwara, Norio

2010-01-01

We investigated the concept of creating a gas radial flow by employing the molecular drag effect upon gas molecules on rotating disks. All the gas molecules have a circumferential velocity rω (r: distance from the rotating axis, and ω: angular velocity) each time they leave a surface of the rotating disks. As a result, the gas molecules between the rotating disks tend on average to move outward from the center. That is, a radial flow appears. This idea was demonstrated by Monte Carlo simulation of 2 types of rotating disks (flat and corrugated ones). Pumping efficiency was clearly demonstrated for both types of disks when the velocity ratio rω/ ( : mean velocity) became larger than 1. (author)

Kinetic Monte Carlo modeling of the efficiency roll-off in a multilayer white organic light-emitting device

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mesta, M.; van Eersel, H.; Coehoorn, R.; Bobbert, P.A.

2016-01-01

Triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) and triplet-polaron quenching (TPQ) in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) lead to a roll-off of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) with increasing current density J. We employ a kinetic Monte Carlo modeling study to analyze the measured IQE and color balance

Monte Carlo analysis of a control technique for a tunable white lighting system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chakrabarti, Maumita; Thorseth, Anders; Jepsen, Jørgen

2017-01-01

A simulated colour control mechanism for a multi-coloured LED lighting system is presented. The system achieves adjustable and stable white light output and allows for system-to-system reproducibility after application of the control mechanism. The control unit works using a pre-calibrated lookup...... table for an experimentally realized system, with a calibrated tristimulus colour sensor. A Monte Carlo simulation is used to examine the system performance concerning the variation of luminous flux and chromaticity of the light output. The inputs to the Monte Carlo simulation, are variations of the LED...... peak wavelength, the LED rated luminous flux bin, the influence of the operating conditions, ambient temperature, driving current, and the spectral response of the colour sensor. The system performance is investigated by evaluating the outputs from the Monte Carlo simulation. The outputs show...

Estimating statistical uncertainty of Monte Carlo efficiency-gain in the context of a correlated sampling Monte Carlo code for brachytherapy treatment planning with non-normal dose distribution

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mukhopadhyay, N. D.; Sampson, A. J.; Deniz, D.; Carlsson, G. A.; Williamson, J.; Malušek, Alexandr

2012-01-01

Roč. 70, č. 1 (2012), s. 315-323 ISSN 0969-8043 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10480505 Keywords : Monte Carlo * correlated sampling * efficiency * uncertainty * bootstrap Subject RIV: BG - Nuclear, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Colliders Impact factor: 1.179, year: 2012 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969804311004775

The determination of beam quality correction factors: Monte Carlo simulations and measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Castaño, D M; Hartmann, G H; Sánchez-Doblado, F; Gómez, F; Kapsch, R-P; Pena, J; Capote, R

2009-08-07

Modern dosimetry protocols are based on the use of ionization chambers provided with a calibration factor in terms of absorbed dose to water. The basic formula to determine the absorbed dose at a user's beam contains the well-known beam quality correction factor that is required whenever the quality of radiation used at calibration differs from that of the user's radiation. The dosimetry protocols describe the whole ionization chamber calibration procedure and include tabulated beam quality correction factors which refer to 60Co gamma radiation used as calibration quality. They have been calculated for a series of ionization chambers and radiation qualities based on formulae, which are also described in the protocols. In the case of high-energy photon beams, the relative standard uncertainty of the beam quality correction factor is estimated to amount to 1%. In the present work, two alternative methods to determine beam quality correction factors are prescribed-Monte Carlo simulation using the EGSnrc system and an experimental method based on a comparison with a reference chamber. Both Monte Carlo calculations and ratio measurements were carried out for nine chambers at several radiation beams. Four chamber types are not included in the current dosimetry protocols. Beam quality corrections for the reference chamber at two beam qualities were also measured using a calorimeter at a PTB Primary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory. Good agreement between the Monte Carlo calculated (1% uncertainty) and measured (0.5% uncertainty) beam quality correction factors was obtained. Based on these results we propose that beam quality correction factors can be generated both by measurements and by the Monte Carlo simulations with an uncertainty at least comparable to that given in current dosimetry protocols.

Efficiency calibration of x-ray HPGe detectors for photons with energies above the Ge K binding energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maidana, Nora L., E-mail: nmaidana@if.usp.br [Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Travessa R 187, Cidade Universitária, CEP:05508-900 São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Vanin, Vito R.; Jahnke, Viktor [Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Travessa R 187, Cidade Universitária, CEP:05508-900 São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Fernández-Varea, José M. [Facultat de Física (ECM and ICC), Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Martins, Marcos N. [Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, Travessa R 187, Cidade Universitária, CEP:05508-900 São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Brualla, Lorenzo [NCTeam, Strahlenklinik, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Hufelandstraße 55, D-45122 Essen (Germany)

2013-11-21

We report on the efficiency calibration of a HPGe x-ray detector using radioactive sources and an analytical expression taken from the literature, in two different arrangements, with and without a broad-angle collimator. The frontal surface of the Ge crystal was scanned with pencil beams of photons. The Ge dead layer was found to be nonuniform, with central and intermediate regions that have thin (μm range) and thick (mm range) dead layers, respectively, surrounded by an insensitive ring. We discuss how this fact explains the observed efficiency curves and generalize the adopted model. We show that changes in the thickness of the Ge-crystal dead layer affect the efficiency of x-ray detectors, but the use of an appropriate broad-beam external collimator limiting the photon flux to the thin dead layer in the central region leads to the expected efficiency dependence with energy and renders the calibration simpler.

The ATLAS Electromagnetic Calorimeter Calibration Workshop

CERN Multimedia

Hong Ma; Isabelle Wingerter

The ATLAS Electromagnetic Calorimeter Calibration Workshop took place at LAPP-Annecy from the 1st to the 3rd of October; 45 people attended the workshop. A detailed program was setup before the workshop. The agenda was organised around very focused presentations where questions were raised to allow arguments to be exchanged and answers to be proposed. The main topics were: Electronics calibration Handling of problematic channels Cluster level corrections for electrons and photons Absolute energy scale Streams for calibration samples Calibration constants processing Learning from commissioning Forty-five people attended the workshop. The workshop was on the whole lively and fruitful. Based on years of experience with test beam analysis and Monte Carlo simulation, and the recent operation of the detector in the commissioning, the methods to calibrate the electromagnetic calorimeter are well known. Some of the procedures are being exercised in the commisssioning, which have demonstrated the c...

Efficient mass calibration of magnetic sector mass spectrometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roddick, J.C.

1996-01-01

Magnetic sector mass spectrometers used for automatic acquisition of precise isotopic data are usually controlled with Hall probes and software that uses polynomial equations to define and calibrate the mass-field relations required for mass focusing. This procedure requires a number of reference masses and careful tuning to define and maintain an accurate mass calibration. A simplified equation is presented and applied to several different magnetically controlled mass spectrometers. The equation accounts for nonlinearity in typical Hall probe controlled mass-field relations, reduces calibration to a linear fitting procedure, and is sufficiently accurate to permit calibration over a mass range of 2 to 200 amu with only two defining masses. Procedures developed can quickly correct for normal drift in calibrations and compensate for drift during isotopic analysis over a limited mass range such as a single element. The equation is: Field A·Mass 1/2 + B·(Mass) p where A, B, and p are constants. The power value p has a characteristic value for a Hall probe/controller and is insensitive to changing conditions, thus reducing calibration to a linear regression to determine optimum A and B. (author). 1 ref., 1 tab., 6 figs

Calculation of total counting efficiency of a NaI(Tl) detector by hybrid Monte-Carlo method for point and disk sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yalcin, S. [Education Faculty, Kastamonu University, 37200 Kastamonu (Turkey)], E-mail: yalcin@gazi.edu.tr; Gurler, O.; Kaynak, G. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Uludag University, Gorukle Campus, 16059 Bursa (Turkey); Gundogdu, O. [Department of Physics, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)

2007-10-15

This paper presents results on the total gamma counting efficiency of a NaI(Tl) detector from point and disk sources. The directions of photons emitted from the source were determined by Monte-Carlo techniques and the photon path lengths in the detector were determined by analytic equations depending on photon directions. This is called the hybrid Monte-Carlo method where analytical expressions are incorporated into the Monte-Carlo simulations. A major advantage of this technique is the short computation time compared to other techniques on similar computational platforms. Another advantage is the flexibility for inputting detector-related parameters (such as source-detector distance, detector radius, source radius, detector linear attenuation coefficient) into the algorithm developed, thus making it an easy and flexible method to apply to other detector systems and configurations. The results of the total counting efficiency model put forward for point and disc sources were compared with the previous work reported in the literature.

Calculation of total counting efficiency of a NaI(Tl) detector by hybrid Monte-Carlo method for point and disk sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yalcin, S.; Gurler, O.; Kaynak, G.; Gundogdu, O.

2007-01-01

This paper presents results on the total gamma counting efficiency of a NaI(Tl) detector from point and disk sources. The directions of photons emitted from the source were determined by Monte-Carlo techniques and the photon path lengths in the detector were determined by analytic equations depending on photon directions. This is called the hybrid Monte-Carlo method where analytical expressions are incorporated into the Monte-Carlo simulations. A major advantage of this technique is the short computation time compared to other techniques on similar computational platforms. Another advantage is the flexibility for inputting detector-related parameters (such as source-detector distance, detector radius, source radius, detector linear attenuation coefficient) into the algorithm developed, thus making it an easy and flexible method to apply to other detector systems and configurations. The results of the total counting efficiency model put forward for point and disc sources were compared with the previous work reported in the literature

A simple methodology for characterization of germanium coaxial detectors by using Monte Carlo simulation and evolutionary algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerra, J.G.; Rubiano, J.G.; Winter, G.; Guerra, A.G.; Alonso, H.; Arnedo, M.A.; Tejera, A.; Gil, J.M.; Rodríguez, R.; Martel, P.; Bolivar, J.P.

2015-01-01

The determination in a sample of the activity concentration of a specific radionuclide by gamma spectrometry needs to know the full energy peak efficiency (FEPE) for the energy of interest. The difficulties related to the experimental calibration make it advisable to have alternative methods for FEPE determination, such as the simulation of the transport of photons in the crystal by the Monte Carlo method, which requires an accurate knowledge of the characteristics and geometry of the detector. The characterization process is mainly carried out by Canberra Industries Inc. using proprietary techniques and methodologies developed by that company. It is a costly procedure (due to shipping and to the cost of the process itself) and for some research laboratories an alternative in situ procedure can be very useful. The main goal of this paper is to find an alternative to this costly characterization process, by establishing a method for optimizing the parameters of characterizing the detector, through a computational procedure which could be reproduced at a standard research lab. This method consists in the determination of the detector geometric parameters by using Monte Carlo simulation in parallel with an optimization process, based on evolutionary algorithms, starting from a set of reference FEPEs determined experimentally or computationally. The proposed method has proven to be effective and simple to implement. It provides a set of characterization parameters which it has been successfully validated for different source-detector geometries, and also for a wide range of environmental samples and certified materials. - Highlights: • A computational method for characterizing an HPGe spectrometer has been developed. • Detector characterized using as reference photopeak efficiencies obtained experimentally or by Monte Carlo calibration. • The characterization obtained has been validated for samples with different geometries and composition. • Good agreement

CREPT-MCNP code for efficiency calibration of HPGe detectors with the representative point method.

Science.gov (United States)

Saegusa, Jun

2008-01-01

The representative point method for the efficiency calibration of volume samples has been previously proposed. For smoothly implementing the method, a calculation code named CREPT-MCNP has been developed. The code estimates the position of a representative point which is intrinsic to each shape of volume sample. The self-absorption correction factors are also given to make correction on the efficiencies measured at the representative point with a standard point source. Features of the CREPT-MCNP code are presented.

Study of Efficiency Calibrations of HPGe Detectors for Radioactivity Measurements of Environmental Samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harb, S.; Salahel Din, K.; Abbady, A.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we describe a method of calibrating of efficiency of a HPGe gamma-ray spectrometry of bulk environmental samples (Tea, crops, water, and soil) is a significant part of the environmental radioactivity measurements. Here we will discuss the full energy peak efficiency (FEPE) of three HPGe detectors it as a consequence, it is essential that the efficiency is determined for each set-up employed. Besides to take full advantage at gamma-ray spectrometry, a set of efficiency at several energies which covers the wide the range in energy, the large the number of radionuclides whose concentration can be determined to measure the main natural gamma-ray emitters, the efficiency should be known at least from 46.54 keV ( 210 Pb) to 1836 keV ( 88 Y). Radioactive sources were prepared from two different standards, a first mixed standard QC Y 40 containing 210 Pb, 241 Am, 109 Cd, and Co 57 , and the second QC Y 48 containing 241 Am, 109 Cd, 57 Co, 139 Ce, 113 Sn, 85 Sr, 137 Cs, 88 Y, and 60 Co is necessary in order to calculate the activity of the different radionuclides contained in a sample. In this work, we will study the efficiency calibration as a function of different parameters as:- Energy of gamma ray from 46.54 keV ( 210 Pb) to 1836 keV ( 88 Y), three different detectors A, B, and C, geometry of containers (point source, marinelli beaker, and cylindrical bottle 1 L), height of standard soil samples in bottle 250 ml, and density of standard environmental samples. These standard environmental sample must be measured before added standard solution because we will use the same environmental samples in order to consider the self absorption especially and composition in the case of volume samples.

Efficient mass calibration of magnetic sector mass spectrometers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roddick, J C

1997-12-31

Magnetic sector mass spectrometers used for automatic acquisition of precise isotopic data are usually controlled with Hall probes and software that uses polynomial equations to define and calibrate the mass-field relations required for mass focusing. This procedure requires a number of reference masses and careful tuning to define and maintain an accurate mass calibration. A simplified equation is presented and applied to several different magnetically controlled mass spectrometers. The equation accounts for nonlinearity in typical Hall probe controlled mass-field relations, reduces calibration to a linear fitting procedure, and is sufficiently accurate to permit calibration over a mass range of 2 to 200 amu with only two defining masses. Procedures developed can quickly correct for normal drift in calibrations and compensate for drift during isotopic analysis over a limited mass range such as a single element. The equation is: Field A{center_dot}Mass{sup 1/2} + B{center_dot}(Mass){sup p} where A, B, and p are constants. The power value p has a characteristic value for a Hall probe/controller and is insensitive to changing conditions, thus reducing calibration to a linear regression to determine optimum A and B. (author). 1 ref., 1 tab., 6 figs.

Construction of Chinese adult male phantom library and its application in the virtual calibration of in vivo measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Yizheng; Qiu, Rui; Li, Chunyan; Wu, Zhen; Li, Junli

2016-01-01

In vivo measurement is a main method of internal contamination evaluation, particularly for large numbers of people after a nuclear accident. Before the practical application, it is necessary to obtain the counting efficiency of the detector by calibration. The virtual calibration based on Monte Carlo simulation usually uses the reference human computational phantom, and the morphological difference between the monitored personnel with the calibrated phantom may lead to the deviation of the counting efficiency. Therefore, a phantom library containing a wide range of heights and total body masses is needed. In this study, a Chinese reference adult male polygon surface (CRAM-S) phantom was constructed based on the CRAM voxel phantom, with the organ models adjusted to match the Chinese reference data. CRAM-S phantom was then transformed to sitting posture for convenience in practical monitoring. Referring to the mass and height distribution of the Chinese adult male, a phantom library containing 84 phantoms was constructed by deforming the reference surface phantom. Phantoms in the library have 7 different heights ranging from 155 cm to 185 cm, and there are 12 phantoms with different total body masses in each height. As an example of application, organ specific and total counting efficiencies of Ba-133 were calculated using the MCNPX code, with two series of phantoms selected from the library. The influence of morphological variation on the counting efficiency was analyzed. The results show only using the reference phantom in virtual calibration may lead to an error of 68.9% for total counting efficiency. Thus the influence of morphological difference on virtual calibration can be greatly reduced using the phantom library with a wide range of masses and heights instead of a single reference phantom. (paper)

Construction of Chinese adult male phantom library and its application in the virtual calibration of in vivo measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yizheng; Qiu, Rui; Li, Chunyan; Wu, Zhen; Li, Junli

2016-03-01

In vivo measurement is a main method of internal contamination evaluation, particularly for large numbers of people after a nuclear accident. Before the practical application, it is necessary to obtain the counting efficiency of the detector by calibration. The virtual calibration based on Monte Carlo simulation usually uses the reference human computational phantom, and the morphological difference between the monitored personnel with the calibrated phantom may lead to the deviation of the counting efficiency. Therefore, a phantom library containing a wide range of heights and total body masses is needed. In this study, a Chinese reference adult male polygon surface (CRAM_S) phantom was constructed based on the CRAM voxel phantom, with the organ models adjusted to match the Chinese reference data. CRAMS phantom was then transformed to sitting posture for convenience in practical monitoring. Referring to the mass and height distribution of the Chinese adult male, a phantom library containing 84 phantoms was constructed by deforming the reference surface phantom. Phantoms in the library have 7 different heights ranging from 155 cm to 185 cm, and there are 12 phantoms with different total body masses in each height. As an example of application, organ specific and total counting efficiencies of Ba-133 were calculated using the MCNPX code, with two series of phantoms selected from the library. The influence of morphological variation on the counting efficiency was analyzed. The results show only using the reference phantom in virtual calibration may lead to an error of 68.9% for total counting efficiency. Thus the influence of morphological difference on virtual calibration can be greatly reduced using the phantom library with a wide range of masses and heights instead of a single reference phantom.

Characterization of a CLYC detector and validation of the Monte Carlo Simulation by measurement experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyun Suk; Ye, Sung Joon [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Smith, Martin B.; Koslowsky, Martin R. [Bubble Technology Industries Inc., Chalk River (Canada); Kwak, Sung Woo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation And Control (KINAC), Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim Gee Hyun [Sejong University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-15

Simultaneous detection of neutrons and gamma rays have become much more practicable, by taking advantage of good gamma-ray discrimination properties using pulse shape discrimination (PSD) technique. Recently, we introduced a commercial CLYC system in Korea, and performed an initial characterization and simulation studies for the CLYC detector system to provide references for the future implementation of the dual-mode scintillator system in various studies and applications. We evaluated a CLYC detector with 95% 6Li enrichment using various gamma-ray sources and a 252Cf neutron source, with validation of our Monte Carlo simulation results via measurement experiments. Absolute full-energy peak efficiency values were calculated for gamma-ray sources and neutron source using MCNP6 and compared with measurement experiments of the calibration sources. In addition, behavioral characteristics of neutrons were validated by comparing simulations and experiments on neutron moderation with various polyethylene (PE) moderator thicknesses. Both results showed good agreements in overall characteristics of the gamma and neutron detection efficiencies, with consistent ⁓20% discrepancy. Furthermore, moderation of neutrons emitted from {sup 252}Cf showed similarities between the simulation and the experiment, in terms of their relative ratios depending on the thickness of the PE moderator. A CLYC detector system was characterized for its energy resolution and detection efficiency, and Monte Carlo simulations on the detector system was validated experimentally. Validation of the simulation results in overall trend of the CLYC detector behavior will provide the fundamental basis and validity of follow-up Monte Carlo simulation studies for the development of our dual-particle imager using a rotational modulation collimator.

Assessment of the suitability of different random number generators for Monte Carlo simulations in gamma-ray spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornejo Diaz, N.; Vergara Gil, A.; Jurado Vargas, M.

2010-01-01

The Monte Carlo method has become a valuable numerical laboratory framework in which to simulate complex physical systems. It is based on the generation of pseudo-random number sequences by numerical algorithms called random generators. In this work we assessed the suitability of different well-known random number generators for the simulation of gamma-ray spectrometry systems during efficiency calibrations. The assessment was carried out in two stages. The generators considered (Delphi's linear congruential, mersenne twister, XorShift, multiplier with carry, universal virtual array, and non-periodic logistic map based generator) were first evaluated with different statistical empirical tests, including moments, correlations, uniformity, independence of terms and the DIEHARD battery of tests. In a second step, an application-specific test was conducted by implementing the generators in our Monte Carlo program DETEFF and comparing the results obtained with them. The calculations were performed with two different CPUs, for a typical HpGe detector and a water sample in Marinelli geometry, with gamma-rays between 59 and 1800 keV. For the Non-periodic Logistic Map based generator, dependence of the most significant bits was evident. This explains the bias, in excess of 5%, of the efficiency values obtained with this generator. The results of the application-specific assessment and the statistical performance of the other algorithms studied indicate their suitability for the Monte Carlo simulation of gamma-ray spectrometry systems for efficiency calculations.

Assessment of the suitability of different random number generators for Monte Carlo simulations in gamma-ray spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, N Cornejo; Gil, A Vergara; Vargas, M Jurado

2010-03-01

The Monte Carlo method has become a valuable numerical laboratory framework in which to simulate complex physical systems. It is based on the generation of pseudo-random number sequences by numerical algorithms called random generators. In this work we assessed the suitability of different well-known random number generators for the simulation of gamma-ray spectrometry systems during efficiency calibrations. The assessment was carried out in two stages. The generators considered (Delphi's linear congruential, mersenne twister, XorShift, multiplier with carry, universal virtual array, and non-periodic logistic map based generator) were first evaluated with different statistical empirical tests, including moments, correlations, uniformity, independence of terms and the DIEHARD battery of tests. In a second step, an application-specific test was conducted by implementing the generators in our Monte Carlo program DETEFF and comparing the results obtained with them. The calculations were performed with two different CPUs, for a typical HpGe detector and a water sample in Marinelli geometry, with gamma-rays between 59 and 1800 keV. For the Non-periodic Logistic Map based generator, dependence of the most significant bits was evident. This explains the bias, in excess of 5%, of the efficiency values obtained with this generator. The results of the application-specific assessment and the statistical performance of the other algorithms studied indicate their suitability for the Monte Carlo simulation of gamma-ray spectrometry systems for efficiency calculations. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Joint Data Assimilation and Parameter Calibration in on-line groundwater modelling using Sequential Monte Carlo techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Ramgraber, M.; Schirmer, M.

2017-12-01

As computational power grows and wireless sensor networks find their way into common practice, it becomes increasingly feasible to pursue on-line numerical groundwater modelling. The reconciliation of model predictions with sensor measurements often necessitates the application of Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) techniques, most prominently represented by the Ensemble Kalman Filter. In the pursuit of on-line predictions it seems advantageous to transcend the scope of pure data assimilation and incorporate on-line parameter calibration as well. Unfortunately, the interplay between shifting model parameters and transient states is non-trivial. Several recent publications (e.g. Chopin et al., 2013, Kantas et al., 2015) in the field of statistics discuss potential algorithms addressing this issue. However, most of these are computationally intractable for on-line application. In this study, we investigate to what extent compromises between mathematical rigour and computational restrictions can be made within the framework of on-line numerical modelling of groundwater. Preliminary studies are conducted in a synthetic setting, with the goal of transferring the conclusions drawn into application in a real-world setting. To this end, a wireless sensor network has been established in the valley aquifer around Fehraltorf, characterized by a highly dynamic groundwater system and located about 20 km to the East of Zürich, Switzerland. By providing continuous probabilistic estimates of the state and parameter distribution, a steady base for branched-off predictive scenario modelling could be established, providing water authorities with advanced tools for assessing the impact of groundwater management practices. Chopin, N., Jacob, P.E. and Papaspiliopoulos, O. (2013): SMC2: an efficient algorithm for sequential analysis of state space models. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series B (Statistical Methodology), 75 (3), p. 397-426. Kantas, N., Doucet, A., Singh, S

Modeling of detection efficiency of HPGe semiconductor detector by Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rapant, T.

2003-01-01

Over the past ten years following the gradual adoption of new legislative standards for protection against ionizing radiation was significant penetration of gamma-spectrometry between standard radioanalytical methods. In terms of nuclear power plant gamma-spectrometry has shown as the most effective method of determining of the activity of individual radionuclides. Spectrometric laboratories were gradually equipped with the most modern technical equipment. Nevertheless, due to the use of costly and time intensive experimental calibration methods, the possibilities of gamma-spectrometry were partially limited. Mainly in late 90-ies during substantial renovation and modernization works. For this reason, in spectrometric laboratory in Nuclear Power Plants Bohunice in cooperation with the Department of Nuclear Physics FMPI in Bratislava were developed and tested several calibration procedures based on computer simulations using GEANT program. In presented thesis the calibration method for measuring of bulk samples based on auto-absorption factors is described. The accuracy of the proposed method is at least comparable with other used methods, but it surpasses them significantly in terms of efficiency and financial time and simplicity. The described method has been used successfully almost for two years in laboratory spectrometric Radiation Protection Division in Bohunice nuclear power. It is shown by the results of international comparison measurements and repeated validation measurements performed by Slovak Institute of Metrology in Bratislava.

Measurement and simulation of the neutron detection efficiency with a Pb-scintillating fiber calorimeter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anelli, M; Bertolucci, S; Curceanu, C; Giovannella, S; Happacher, F; Iliescu, M; Martini, M; Miscetti, S [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy); Battistoni, G [Sezione INFN di Milano (Italy); Bini, C; Zorzi, G De; Domenico, Adi; Gauzzi, P [Ubiversita degli Studi ' La Sapienza' e Sezine INFN di Roma (Italy); Branchini, P; Micco, B Di; Ngugen, F; Paseri, A [Universita degli di Studi ' Roma Tre' e Sezione INFN di Roma Tre (Italy); Ferrari, A [Fondazione CNAO, Milano (Italy); Prokfiev, A [Svedberg Laboratory, Uppsala University (Sweden); Fiore, S, E-mail: matteo.martino@inf.infn.i

2009-04-01

We have measured the overall detection efficiency of a small prototype of the KLOE PB-scintillation fiber calorimeter to neutrons with kinetic energy range [5,175] MeV. The measurement has been done in a dedicated test beam in the neutron beam facility of the Svedberg Laboratory, TSL Uppsala. The measurements of the neutron detection efficiency of a NE110 scintillator provided a reference calibration. At the lowest trigger threshold, the overall calorimeter efficiency ranges from 28% to 33%. This value largely exceeds the estimated {approx}8% expected if the response were proportional only to the scintillator equivalent thickness. A detailed simulation of the calorimeter and of the TSL beam line has been performed with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. The simulated response of the detector to neutrons is presented together with the first data to Monte Carlo comparison. The results show an overall neutron efficiency of about 35%. The reasons for such an efficiency enhancement, in comparison with the typical scintillator-based neutron counters, are explained, opening the road to a novel neutron detector.

Alternative implementations of the Monte Carlo power method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomquist, R.N.; Gelbard, E.M.

2002-01-01

We compare nominal efficiencies, i.e. variances in power shapes for equal running time, of different versions of the Monte Carlo eigenvalue computation, as applied to criticality safety analysis calculations. The two main methods considered here are ''conventional'' Monte Carlo and the superhistory method, and both are used in criticality safety codes. Within each of these major methods, different variants are available for the main steps of the basic Monte Carlo algorithm. Thus, for example, different treatments of the fission process may vary in the extent to which they follow, in analog fashion, the details of real-world fission, or may vary in details of the methods by which they choose next-generation source sites. In general the same options are available in both the superhistory method and conventional Monte Carlo, but there seems not to have been much examination of the special properties of the two major methods and their minor variants. We find, first, that the superhistory method is just as efficient as conventional Monte Carlo and, secondly, that use of different variants of the basic algorithms may, in special cases, have a surprisingly large effect on Monte Carlo computational efficiency

The calculation of the detection efficiency in the calibration of gross alpha-beta systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marian Romeo Calin; Ileana Radulescu; Alexandru Erminiu Druker

2013-01-01

This paper presents a method for efficiency calibration of a measuring alpha-beta system PROTEAN ORTEC, MPC-2000-DP, using standard radioactive sources. The system is used to measure gross alpha-beta activity concentrations in environmental samples. The calculated efficiencies of detection were subsequently introduced in the system for two working geometries: measuring geometry-gross alpha-beta ε α g = 31,37 ± 0.25 (%)-the alpha efficiency and ε β g 44.94 ± 0.69 (%)-the beta efficiency, where the spillover factor is X talk g = 25.59 ± 0.50 (%) and measuring geometry up alpha-beta ε α u 36.23 ± 0.29 (%)-the alpha efficiency and ε β u = 48.53 ± 0.74 (%)-the beta efficiency, where the spillover factor is X talk u 31.08 ± 0.60 (%). (author)

More efficient evolutionary strategies for model calibration with watershed model for demonstration

Science.gov (United States)

Baggett, J. S.; Skahill, B. E.

2008-12-01

Evolutionary strategies allow automatic calibration of more complex models than traditional gradient based approaches, but they are more computationally intensive. We present several efficiency enhancements for evolution strategies, many of which are not new, but when combined have been shown to dramatically decrease the number of model runs required for calibration of synthetic problems. To reduce the number of expensive model runs we employ a surrogate objective function for an adaptively determined fraction of the population at each generation (Kern et al., 2006). We demonstrate improvements to the adaptive ranking strategy that increase its efficiency while sacrificing little reliability and further reduce the number of model runs required in densely sampled parts of parameter space. Furthermore, we include a gradient individual in each generation that is usually not selected when the search is in a global phase or when the derivatives are poorly approximated, but when selected near a smooth local minimum can dramatically increase convergence speed (Tahk et al., 2007). Finally, the selection of the gradient individual is used to adapt the size of the population near local minima. We show, by incorporating these enhancements into the Covariance Matrix Adaption Evolution Strategy (CMAES; Hansen, 2006), that their synergetic effect is greater than their individual parts. This hybrid evolutionary strategy exploits smooth structure when it is present but degrades to an ordinary evolutionary strategy, at worst, if smoothness is not present. Calibration of 2D-3D synthetic models with the modified CMAES requires approximately 10%-25% of the model runs of ordinary CMAES. Preliminary demonstration of this hybrid strategy will be shown for watershed model calibration problems. Hansen, N. (2006). The CMA Evolution Strategy: A Comparing Review. In J.A. Lozano, P. Larrañga, I. Inza and E. Bengoetxea (Eds.). Towards a new evolutionary computation. Advances in estimation of

Calibration of the top-quark Monte-Carlo mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kieseler, Jan; Lipka, Katerina; Moch, Sven-Olaf

2015-11-01

We present a method to establish experimentally the relation between the top-quark mass m MC t as implemented in Monte-Carlo generators and the Lagrangian mass parameter m t in a theoretically well-defined renormalization scheme. We propose a simultaneous fit of m MC t and an observable sensitive to m t , which does not rely on any prior assumptions about the relation between m t and m MC t . The measured observable is independent of m MC t and can be used subsequently for a determination of m t . The analysis strategy is illustrated with examples for the extraction of m t from inclusive and differential cross sections for hadro-production of top-quarks.

Determination of detection efficiency for radon and radon daughters with CR 39 track detector - a Monte Carlo study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikezic, D.

1994-01-01

The detection effciency, ρ, (or a calibration coefficient k) for radon measurements with a solid state nuclear track detector CR 39 was determined by many authors. There is a considerable discrepancy among reported values for ρ. This situation was a challenge to develop a software program to calculation ρ. This software is based on Bethe-Bloch's expression for the stopping power for heavy charged particles in a medium, as wll as on the Monte Carlo Method. Track parameters were calculated by using an iterative procedure as given in G. Somogyi et al., Nucl. Instr. and Meth. 109 (1973) 211. Results for an open detector and for the detector in a diffusion chamber were presented in this article. (orig.)

An overview of the dynamic calibration of piezoelectric pressure transducers

Science.gov (United States)

Theodoro, F. R. F.; Reis, M. L. C. C.; d’ Souto, C.

2018-03-01

Dynamic calibration is a research area that is still under development and is of great interest to aerospace and automotive industries. This study discusses some concepts regarding dynamic measurements of pressure quantities and presents an overview of dynamic calibration of pressure transducers. Studies conducted by the Institute of Aeronautics and Space focusing on research regarding piezoelectric pressure transducer calibration in shock tube are presented. We employed the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty and a Monte Carlo Method in the methodology. The results show that both device and methodology employed are adequate to calibrate the piezoelectric sensor.

Extrapolated HPGe efficiency estimates based on a single calibration measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winn, W.G.

1994-01-01

Gamma spectroscopists often must analyze samples with geometries for which their detectors are not calibrated. The effort to experimentally recalibrate a detector for a new geometry can be quite time consuming, causing delay in reporting useful results. Such concerns have motivated development of a method for extrapolating HPGe efficiency estimates from an existing single measured efficiency. Overall, the method provides useful preliminary results for analyses that do not require exceptional accuracy, while reliably bracketing the credible range. The estimated efficiency element-of for a uniform sample in a geometry with volume V is extrapolated from the measured element-of 0 of the base sample of volume V 0 . Assuming all samples are centered atop the detector for maximum efficiency, element-of decreases monotonically as V increases about V 0 , and vice versa. Extrapolation of high and low efficiency estimates element-of h and element-of L provides an average estimate of element-of = 1/2 [element-of h + element-of L ] ± 1/2 [element-of h - element-of L ] (general) where an uncertainty D element-of = 1/2 (element-of h - element-of L ] brackets limits for a maximum possible error. The element-of h and element-of L both diverge from element-of 0 as V deviates from V 0 , causing D element-of to increase accordingly. The above concepts guided development of both conservative and refined estimates for element-of

Monte Carlo alpha calculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brockway, D.; Soran, P.; Whalen, P.

1985-01-01

A Monte Carlo algorithm to efficiently calculate static alpha eigenvalues, N = ne/sup ..cap alpha..t/, for supercritical systems has been developed and tested. A direct Monte Carlo approach to calculating a static alpha is to simply follow the buildup in time of neutrons in a supercritical system and evaluate the logarithmic derivative of the neutron population with respect to time. This procedure is expensive, and the solution is very noisy and almost useless for a system near critical. The modified approach is to convert the time-dependent problem to a static ..cap alpha../sup -/eigenvalue problem and regress ..cap alpha.. on solutions of a/sup -/ k/sup -/eigenvalue problem. In practice, this procedure is much more efficient than the direct calculation, and produces much more accurate results. Because the Monte Carlo codes are intrinsically three-dimensional and use elaborate continuous-energy cross sections, this technique is now used as a standard for evaluating other calculational techniques in odd geometries or with group cross sections.

Improving computational efficiency of Monte Carlo simulations with variance reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, A.; Davis, A.

2013-01-01

CCFE perform Monte-Carlo transport simulations on large and complex tokamak models such as ITER. Such simulations are challenging since streaming and deep penetration effects are equally important. In order to make such simulations tractable, both variance reduction (VR) techniques and parallel computing are used. It has been found that the application of VR techniques in such models significantly reduces the efficiency of parallel computation due to 'long histories'. VR in MCNP can be accomplished using energy-dependent weight windows. The weight window represents an 'average behaviour' of particles, and large deviations in the arriving weight of a particle give rise to extreme amounts of splitting being performed and a long history. When running on parallel clusters, a long history can have a detrimental effect on the parallel efficiency - if one process is computing the long history, the other CPUs complete their batch of histories and wait idle. Furthermore some long histories have been found to be effectively intractable. To combat this effect, CCFE has developed an adaptation of MCNP which dynamically adjusts the WW where a large weight deviation is encountered. The method effectively 'de-optimises' the WW, reducing the VR performance but this is offset by a significant increase in parallel efficiency. Testing with a simple geometry has shown the method does not bias the result. This 'long history method' has enabled CCFE to significantly improve the performance of MCNP calculations for ITER on parallel clusters, and will be beneficial for any geometry combining streaming and deep penetration effects. (authors)

Efficiencies of joint non-local update moves in Monte Carlo simulations of coarse-grained polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Kieran S.; Marenz, Martin; Janke, Wolfhard

2018-03-01

In this study four update methods are compared in their performance in a Monte Carlo simulation of polymers in continuum space. The efficiencies of the update methods and combinations thereof are compared with the aid of the autocorrelation time with a fixed (optimal) acceptance ratio. Results are obtained for polymer lengths N = 14, 28 and 42 and temperatures below, at and above the collapse transition. In terms of autocorrelation, the optimal acceptance ratio is approximately 0.4. Furthermore, an overview of the step sizes of the update methods that correspond to this optimal acceptance ratio is given. This shall serve as a guide for future studies that rely on efficient computer simulations.

Toward high-efficiency and detailed Monte Carlo simulation study of the granular flow spallation target

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Han-Jie; Zhang, Zhi-Lei; Fu, Fen; Li, Jian-Yang; Zhang, Xun-Chao; Zhang, Ya-Ling; Yan, Xue-Song; Lin, Ping; Xv, Jian-Ya; Yang, Lei

2018-02-01

The dense granular flow spallation target is a new target concept chosen for the Accelerator-Driven Subcritical (ADS) project in China. For the R&D of this kind of target concept, a dedicated Monte Carlo (MC) program named GMT was developed to perform the simulation study of the beam-target interaction. Owing to the complexities of the target geometry, the computational cost of the MC simulation of particle tracks is highly expensive. Thus, improvement of computational efficiency will be essential for the detailed MC simulation studies of the dense granular target. Here we present the special design of the GMT program and its high efficiency performance. In addition, the speedup potential of the GPU-accelerated spallation models is discussed.

Monte Carlo simulation of Markov unreliability models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, E.E.; Boehm, F.

1984-01-01

A Monte Carlo method is formulated for the evaluation of the unrealibility of complex systems with known component failure and repair rates. The formulation is in terms of a Markov process allowing dependences between components to be modeled and computational efficiencies to be achieved in the Monte Carlo simulation. Two variance reduction techniques, forced transition and failure biasing, are employed to increase computational efficiency of the random walk procedure. For an example problem these result in improved computational efficiency by more than three orders of magnitudes over analog Monte Carlo. The method is generalized to treat problems with distributed failure and repair rate data, and a batching technique is introduced and shown to result in substantial increases in computational efficiency for an example problem. A method for separating the variance due to the data uncertainty from that due to the finite number of random walks is presented. (orig.)

Development of methodology for characterization of cartridge filters from the IEA-R1 using the Monte Carlo method; Desenvolvimento de uma metodologia para caracterizacao do filtro cuno do reator IEA-R1 utilizando o Metodo Monte Carlo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Priscila

2014-07-01

The Cuno filter is part of the water processing circuit of the IEA-R1 reactor and, when saturated, it is replaced and becomes a radioactive waste, which must be managed. In this work, the primary characterization of the Cuno filter of the IEA-R1 nuclear reactor at IPEN was carried out using gamma spectrometry associated with the Monte Carlo method. The gamma spectrometry was performed using a hyperpure germanium detector (HPGe). The germanium crystal represents the detection active volume of the HPGe detector, which has a region called dead layer or inactive layer. It has been reported in the literature a difference between the theoretical and experimental values when obtaining the efficiency curve of these detectors. In this study we used the MCNP-4C code to obtain the detector calibration efficiency for the geometry of the Cuno filter, and the influence of the dead layer and the effect of sum in cascade at the HPGe detector were studied. The correction of the dead layer values were made by varying the thickness and the radius of the germanium crystal. The detector has 75.83 cm{sup 3} of active volume of detection, according to information provided by the manufacturer. Nevertheless, the results showed that the actual value of active volume is less than the one specified, where the dead layer represents 16% of the total volume of the crystal. A Cuno filter analysis by gamma spectrometry has enabled identifying energy peaks. Using these peaks, three radionuclides were identified in the filter: {sup 108m}Ag, {sup 110m}Ag and {sup 60}Co. From the calibration efficiency obtained by the Monte Carlo method, the value of activity estimated for these radionuclides is in the order of MBq. (author)

Monte-Carlo Simulation for PDC-Based Optical CDMA System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FAHIM AZIZ UMRANI

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the Monte-Carlo simulation of Optical CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access systems, and analyse its performance in terms of the BER (Bit Error Rate. The spreading sequence chosen for CDMA is Perfect Difference Codes. Furthermore, this paper derives the expressions of noise variances from first principles to calibrate the noise for both bipolar (electrical domain and unipolar (optical domain signalling required for Monte-Carlo simulation. The simulated results conform to the theory and show that the receiver gain mismatch and splitter loss at the transceiver degrades the system performance.

Low-cost programmable pulse generator for particle telescope calibration

CERN Document Server

Sanchez, S; Seisdedos, M; Meziat, D; Carbajo, M; Medina, J; Bronchalo, E; Peral, L D; Rodríguez-Pacheco, J

1999-01-01

In this paper we present a new calibration system for particle telescopes including multipulse generator and digital controller. The calibration system generates synchronized pulses of variable height for every detector channel on the telescope. The control system is based on a commercial microcontroller linked to a personal computer through an RS-232 bidirectional line. The aim of the device is to perform laboratory calibration of multi-detector telescopes prior to calibration at accelerator. This task includes evaluation of linearity and resolution of each detector channel, as well as coincidence logic. The heights of the pulses sent to the detectors are obtained by Monte Carlo simulation of telescope response to a particle flux of any desired geometry and composition.

Discrete diffusion Monte Carlo for frequency-dependent radiative transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Densmore, Jeffery D.; Thompson, Kelly G.; Urbatsch, Todd J.

2011-01-01

Discrete Diffusion Monte Carlo (DDMC) is a technique for increasing the efficiency of Implicit Monte Carlo radiative-transfer simulations. In this paper, we develop an extension of DDMC for frequency-dependent radiative transfer. We base our new DDMC method on a frequency integrated diffusion equation for frequencies below a specified threshold. Above this threshold we employ standard Monte Carlo. With a frequency-dependent test problem, we confirm the increased efficiency of our new DDMC technique. (author)

Monte Carlo simulation for IRRMA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gardner, R.P.; Liu Lianyan

2000-01-01

Monte Carlo simulation is fast becoming a standard approach for many radiation applications that were previously treated almost entirely by experimental techniques. This is certainly true for Industrial Radiation and Radioisotope Measurement Applications - IRRMA. The reasons for this include: (1) the increased cost and inadequacy of experimentation for design and interpretation purposes; (2) the availability of low cost, large memory, and fast personal computers; and (3) the general availability of general purpose Monte Carlo codes that are increasingly user-friendly, efficient, and accurate. This paper discusses the history and present status of Monte Carlo simulation for IRRMA including the general purpose (GP) and specific purpose (SP) Monte Carlo codes and future needs - primarily from the experience of the authors

Efficiency calibration of electron spectrometers by the help of standard spectrum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toth, J.; Cserny, I.; Varga, D.; Koever, I.; Toekesi, K.

2004-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. For studying thin films and surface nanostructures quantitative analytical applications of electron spectroscopic techniques have a great importance. The most frequently used techniques are XPS, XAES and AES in quantitative surface electron spectroscopy. Applying these techniques changes in the detection efficiency vs. electron kinetic energy change the measured electron peak intensity ratios and in this way the neglect of the energy dependence of the spectrometer efficiency can influence surface atomic concentrations derived. The importance of the precise determination of the atomic concentrations is very crucial, especially in the determination of non-destructive depth profiles by the help of AR-XPS in which small changes in the relative concentrations can change dramatically the concentration depth profiles of a few nanometer depth ranges. In the present study the REELS technique was used to determine the relative detection efficiency by the help of a standard spectrum measured on the surface of fine microcrystalline Cu specimen. The experimental relative efficiency curves vs. electron kinetic energy were compared to the calculated efficiency curve. The efficiency calibration is discussed from the point of view of quantitative XPS, AR- XPS, AES and from the point of view of IMFP determination by XPS. The work was supported by the Hungarian National Science Foundation, OTKAT038016. For the Cu specimen and the standard spectrum the authors are indebted to the Sur- face Analysis Society of Japan, to Dr. Shigeo Tanuma and Professor Keisuke Goto (NIT). (author)

Calibration of the Super-Kamiokande detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abe, K. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Hayato, Y. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Iida, T.; Iyogi, K.; Kameda, J. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Kishimoto, Y. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Koshio, Y., E-mail: koshio@fphy.hep.okayama-u.ac.jp [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Marti, Ll.; Miura, M. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Moriyama, S.; Nakahata, M. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Nakano, Y.; Nakayama, S.; Obayashi, Y.; Sekiya, H. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Shiozawa, M.; Suzuki, Y. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Takeda, A.; Takenaga, Y.; Tanaka, H. [Kamioka Observatory, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo, Kamioka, Gifu 506-1205 (Japan); and others

2014-02-11

Procedures and results on hardware-level detector calibration in Super-Kamiokande (SK) are presented in this paper. In particular, we report improvements made in our calibration methods for the experimental phase IV in which new readout electronics have been operating since 2008. The topics are separated into two parts. The first part describes the determination of constants needed to interpret the digitized output of our electronics so that we can obtain physical numbers such as photon counts and their arrival times for each photomultiplier tube (PMT). In this context, we developed an in situ procedure to determine high-voltage settings for PMTs in large detectors like SK, as well as a new method for measuring PMT quantum efficiency and gain in such a detector. The second part describes modeling of the detector in Monte Carlo simulations, including, in particular, the optical properties of the water target and their variability over time. Detailed studies on water quality are also presented. As a result of this work, we have achieved a precision sufficient for physics analyses over a wide energy range (from a few MeV to above 1 TeV). For example, charge determination was at the level of 1%, and the timing resolution was 2.1 ns at the one-photoelectron charge level and 0.5 ns at the 100-photoelectron charge level.

SU-E-J-60: Efficient Monte Carlo Dose Calculation On CPU-GPU Heterogeneous Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, K; Chen, D. Z; Hu, X. S [University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN (United States); Zhou, B [Altera Corp., San Jose, CA (United States)

2014-06-01

Purpose: It is well-known that the performance of GPU-based Monte Carlo dose calculation implementations is bounded by memory bandwidth. One major cause of this bottleneck is the random memory writing patterns in dose deposition, which leads to several memory efficiency issues on GPU such as un-coalesced writing and atomic operations. We propose a new method to alleviate such issues on CPU-GPU heterogeneous systems, which achieves overall performance improvement for Monte Carlo dose calculation. Methods: Dose deposition is to accumulate dose into the voxels of a dose volume along the trajectories of radiation rays. Our idea is to partition this procedure into the following three steps, which are fine-tuned for CPU or GPU: (1) each GPU thread writes dose results with location information to a buffer on GPU memory, which achieves fully-coalesced and atomic-free memory transactions; (2) the dose results in the buffer are transferred to CPU memory; (3) the dose volume is constructed from the dose buffer on CPU. We organize the processing of all radiation rays into streams. Since the steps within a stream use different hardware resources (i.e., GPU, DMA, CPU), we can overlap the execution of these steps for different streams by pipelining. Results: We evaluated our method using a Monte Carlo Convolution Superposition (MCCS) program and tested our implementation for various clinical cases on a heterogeneous system containing an Intel i7 quad-core CPU and an NVIDIA TITAN GPU. Comparing with a straightforward MCCS implementation on the same system (using both CPU and GPU for radiation ray tracing), our method gained 2-5X speedup without losing dose calculation accuracy. Conclusion: The results show that our new method improves the effective memory bandwidth and overall performance for MCCS on the CPU-GPU systems. Our proposed method can also be applied to accelerate other Monte Carlo dose calculation approaches. This research was supported in part by NSF under Grants CCF

Fast sequential Monte Carlo methods for counting and optimization

CERN Document Server

Rubinstein, Reuven Y; Vaisman, Radislav

2013-01-01

A comprehensive account of the theory and application of Monte Carlo methods Based on years of research in efficient Monte Carlo methods for estimation of rare-event probabilities, counting problems, and combinatorial optimization, Fast Sequential Monte Carlo Methods for Counting and Optimization is a complete illustration of fast sequential Monte Carlo techniques. The book provides an accessible overview of current work in the field of Monte Carlo methods, specifically sequential Monte Carlo techniques, for solving abstract counting and optimization problems. Written by authorities in the

Development of source-less efficiency calibration procedure for CeBr3 based gamma spectrometry system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verma, Amit K.; Narayani, K.; Pant, Amar D.; Bhosale, Nitin; Anilkumar, S.; Palani Selvam, T.

2018-01-01

Scintillation spectrometers are widely used in detection and spectrometry of gamma photons. Sodium Iodide (NaI(Tl)) is the most commonly used scintillation detector for gamma ray spectrometry. However for portable application that require higher efficiency and better resolution Cerium Bromide (CeBr 3 ) crystals are more suitable than NaI(Tl) crystals. CeBr 3 detectors have high light output (∼ 68,000 photons/MeV), good proportionality, fast response and better energy resolution (<4% for 662 keV of 137 Cs), which makes it very promising detector for gamma ray spectrometry. In the present work, experimental and Monte Carlo based efficiencies for CeBr 3 detector for 137 Cs and 60 Co were evaluated

Efficiency determination of whole-body counter by Monte Carlo method, using a microcomputer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandes Neto, Jose Maria

1986-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was the development of an analytical microcomputer model to evaluate a whole body counter efficiency. The model is based on a modified Sryder's model. A stretcher type geometry along with the Monte Carlo method and a Synclair type microcomputer were used. Experimental measurements were performed using two phantoms, one as an adult and the other as a 5 year old child. The phantoms were made in acrylic and and 99m Tc, 131 I and 42 K were the radioisotopes utilized. Results showed a close relationship between experimental and predicted data for energies ranging from 250 keV to 2 MeV, but some discrepancies were found for lower energies. (author)

Calibration of the CREAM calorimeter with beam test data

CERN Document Server

Han, J H; Amare, Y

The Cosmic Ray Energetics An d Mass (CREAM) calorimeter (CAL) is designed to measure cosmic-ray elemental energy spectra from 10 12 eV to 10 15 eV. It is comprised of 20 layers of tungsten interleaved with 20 layers of scintillating fiber ribbons. Before each flight, the CAL is exposed to an electron beam. For CREAM-IV through CREAM-VI, beams of 150 GeV electrons were used for the calibration, and 100 GeV was used for CREAM-VII. For calibration purpose, we compare electron beam data with simulation results to find calibration constants with the unit of MeV/ADC. In this paper, we present calibration results, including energy resolutions for electrons and uniformity of response. We also discuss CAL calibration using various beam test data compared with Monte Carlo (MC) simulation data.

Efficient heterogeneous execution of Monte Carlo shielding calculations on a Beowulf cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dewar, D.; Hulse, P.; Cooper, A.; Smith, N.

2005-01-01

Recent work has been done in using a high-performance 'Beowulf' cluster computer system for the efficient distribution of Monte Carlo shielding calculations. This has enabled the rapid solution of complex shielding problems at low cost and with greater modularity and scalability than traditional platforms. The work has shown that a simple approach to distributing the workload is as efficient as using more traditional techniques such as PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine). In addition, when used in an operational setting this technique is fairer with the use of resources than traditional methods, in that it does not tie up a single computing resource but instead shares the capacity with other tasks. These developments in computing technology have enabled shielding problems to be solved that would have taken an unacceptably long time to run on traditional platforms. This paper discusses the BNFL Beowulf cluster and a number of tests that have recently been run to demonstrate the efficiency of the asynchronous technique in running the MCBEND program. The BNFL Beowulf currently consists of 84 standard PCs running RedHat Linux. Current performance of the machine has been estimated to be between 40 and 100 Gflop s -1 . When the whole system is employed on one problem up to four million particles can be tracked per second. There are plans to review its size in line with future business needs. (authors)

Development of methodology for characterization of cartridge filters from the IEA-R1 using the Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Priscila

2014-01-01

The Cuno filter is part of the water processing circuit of the IEA-R1 reactor and, when saturated, it is replaced and becomes a radioactive waste, which must be managed. In this work, the primary characterization of the Cuno filter of the IEA-R1 nuclear reactor at IPEN was carried out using gamma spectrometry associated with the Monte Carlo method. The gamma spectrometry was performed using a hyperpure germanium detector (HPGe). The germanium crystal represents the detection active volume of the HPGe detector, which has a region called dead layer or inactive layer. It has been reported in the literature a difference between the theoretical and experimental values when obtaining the efficiency curve of these detectors. In this study we used the MCNP-4C code to obtain the detector calibration efficiency for the geometry of the Cuno filter, and the influence of the dead layer and the effect of sum in cascade at the HPGe detector were studied. The correction of the dead layer values were made by varying the thickness and the radius of the germanium crystal. The detector has 75.83 cm 3 of active volume of detection, according to information provided by the manufacturer. Nevertheless, the results showed that the actual value of active volume is less than the one specified, where the dead layer represents 16% of the total volume of the crystal. A Cuno filter analysis by gamma spectrometry has enabled identifying energy peaks. Using these peaks, three radionuclides were identified in the filter: 108m Ag, 110m Ag and 60 Co. From the calibration efficiency obtained by the Monte Carlo method, the value of activity estimated for these radionuclides is in the order of MBq. (author)

Model calibration for building energy efficiency simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mustafaraj, Giorgio; Marini, Dashamir; Costa, Andrea; Keane, Marcus

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Developing a 3D model relating to building architecture, occupancy and HVAC operation. • Two calibration stages developed, final model providing accurate results. • Using an onsite weather station for generating the weather data file in EnergyPlus. • Predicting thermal behaviour of underfloor heating, heat pump and natural ventilation. • Monthly energy saving opportunities related to heat pump of 20–27% was identified. - Abstract: This research work deals with an Environmental Research Institute (ERI) building where an underfloor heating system and natural ventilation are the main systems used to maintain comfort condition throughout 80% of the building areas. Firstly, this work involved developing a 3D model relating to building architecture, occupancy and HVAC operation. Secondly, the calibration methodology, which consists of two levels, was then applied in order to insure accuracy and reduce the likelihood of errors. To further improve the accuracy of calibration a historical weather data file related to year 2011, was created from the on-site local weather station of ERI building. After applying the second level of calibration process, the values of Mean bias Error (MBE) and Cumulative Variation of Root Mean Squared Error (CV(RMSE)) on hourly based analysis for heat pump electricity consumption varied within the following ranges: (MBE) hourly from −5.6% to 7.5% and CV(RMSE) hourly from 7.3% to 25.1%. Finally, the building was simulated with EnergyPlus to identify further possibilities of energy savings supplied by a water to water heat pump to underfloor heating system. It found that electricity consumption savings from the heat pump can vary between 20% and 27% on monthly bases

Adjoint electron Monte Carlo calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jordan, T.M.

1986-01-01

Adjoint Monte Carlo is the most efficient method for accurate analysis of space systems exposed to natural and artificially enhanced electron environments. Recent adjoint calculations for isotropic electron environments include: comparative data for experimental measurements on electronics boxes; benchmark problem solutions for comparing total dose prediction methodologies; preliminary assessment of sectoring methods used during space system design; and total dose predictions on an electronics package. Adjoint Monte Carlo, forward Monte Carlo, and experiment are in excellent agreement for electron sources that simulate space environments. For electron space environments, adjoint Monte Carlo is clearly superior to forward Monte Carlo, requiring one to two orders of magnitude less computer time for relatively simple geometries. The solid-angle sectoring approximations used for routine design calculations can err by more than a factor of 2 on dose in simple shield geometries. For critical space systems exposed to severe electron environments, these potential sectoring errors demand the establishment of large design margins and/or verification of shield design by adjoint Monte Carlo/experiment

Calibration method for a in vivo measurement system using mathematical simulation of the radiation source and the detector; Metodo de calibracao de um sistema de medida in vivo atraves da simulacao matematica da fonte de radiacao e do detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hunt, John

1998-12-31

A Monte Carlo program which uses a voxel phantom has been developed to simulate in vivo measurement systems for calibration purposes. The calibration method presented here employs a mathematical phantom, produced in the form of volume elements (voxels), obtained through Magnetic Resonance Images of the human body. The calibration method uses the Monte Carlo technique to simulate the tissue contamination, the transport of the photons through the tissues and the detection of the radiation. The program simulates the transport and detection of photons between 0.035 and 2 MeV and uses, for the body representation, a voxel phantom with a format of 871 slices each of 277 x 148 picture elements. The Monte Carlo code was applied to the calibration of in vivo systems and to estimate differences in counting efficiencies between homogeneous and non-homogeneous radionuclide distributions in the lung. Calculations show a factor of 20 between deposition of {sup 241} Am at the back compared with the front of the lung. The program was also used to estimate the {sup 137} Cs body burden of an internally contaminated individual, counted with an 8 x 4 Nal (TI) detector and an {sup 241} Am body burden of an internally contaminated individual, who was counted using a planar germanium detector. (author) 24 refs., 38 figs., 23 tabs.

Neutron calibration field of bare {sup 252}Cf source in Vietnam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Le, Ngoc Thiem; Tran, Hoai Nam; Nguyen, Khai Tuan [Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Hanoi (Viet Nam); Trinh, Glap Van [Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang (Viet Nam)

2017-02-15

This paper presents the establishment and characterization of a neutron calibration field using a bare {sup 252}Cf source of low neutron source strength in Vietnam. The characterization of the field in terms of neutron flux spectra and neutron ambient dose equivalent rates were performed by Monte Carlo simulations using the MCNP5 code. The anisotropy effect of the source was also investigated. The neutron ambient dose equivalent rates at three reference distances of 75, 125, and 150 cm from the source were calculated and compared with the measurements using the Aloka TPS-451C neutron survey meters. The discrepancy between the calculated and measured values is found to be about 10%. To separate the scattered and the direct components from the total neutron flux spectra, an in-house shadow cone of 10% borated polyethylene was used. The shielding efficiency of the shadow cone was estimated using the MCNP5 code. The results confirmed that the shielding efficiency of the shadow cone is acceptable.

Visual Monte Carlo and its application to internal and external dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, J.G.; Silva, F.C. da; Souza-Santos, D. de; Dantas, B.M.; Azeredo, A.; Malatova, I.; Foltanova, S.; Isakson, M.

2001-01-01

The program visual Monte Carlo (VMC), combined with voxel phantoms, and its application to three areas of radiation protection: calibration of in vivo measurement systems, dose calculations due to external sources of radiation, and the calculation of Specific Effective Energies is described in this paper. The simulation of photon transport through a voxel phantom requires a Monte Carlo program adapted to voxel geometries. VMC is written in Visual Basic trademark, a Microsoft Windows based program, which is easy to use and has an extensive graphic output. (orig.)

Is Monte Carlo embarrassingly parallel?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoogenboom, J. E. [Delft Univ. of Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft (Netherlands); Delft Nuclear Consultancy, IJsselzoom 2, 2902 LB Capelle aan den IJssel (Netherlands)

2012-07-01

Monte Carlo is often stated as being embarrassingly parallel. However, running a Monte Carlo calculation, especially a reactor criticality calculation, in parallel using tens of processors shows a serious limitation in speedup and the execution time may even increase beyond a certain number of processors. In this paper the main causes of the loss of efficiency when using many processors are analyzed using a simple Monte Carlo program for criticality. The basic mechanism for parallel execution is MPI. One of the bottlenecks turn out to be the rendez-vous points in the parallel calculation used for synchronization and exchange of data between processors. This happens at least at the end of each cycle for fission source generation in order to collect the full fission source distribution for the next cycle and to estimate the effective multiplication factor, which is not only part of the requested results, but also input to the next cycle for population control. Basic improvements to overcome this limitation are suggested and tested. Also other time losses in the parallel calculation are identified. Moreover, the threading mechanism, which allows the parallel execution of tasks based on shared memory using OpenMP, is analyzed in detail. Recommendations are given to get the maximum efficiency out of a parallel Monte Carlo calculation. (authors)

Is Monte Carlo embarrassingly parallel?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoogenboom, J. E.

2012-01-01

Monte Carlo is often stated as being embarrassingly parallel. However, running a Monte Carlo calculation, especially a reactor criticality calculation, in parallel using tens of processors shows a serious limitation in speedup and the execution time may even increase beyond a certain number of processors. In this paper the main causes of the loss of efficiency when using many processors are analyzed using a simple Monte Carlo program for criticality. The basic mechanism for parallel execution is MPI. One of the bottlenecks turn out to be the rendez-vous points in the parallel calculation used for synchronization and exchange of data between processors. This happens at least at the end of each cycle for fission source generation in order to collect the full fission source distribution for the next cycle and to estimate the effective multiplication factor, which is not only part of the requested results, but also input to the next cycle for population control. Basic improvements to overcome this limitation are suggested and tested. Also other time losses in the parallel calculation are identified. Moreover, the threading mechanism, which allows the parallel execution of tasks based on shared memory using OpenMP, is analyzed in detail. Recommendations are given to get the maximum efficiency out of a parallel Monte Carlo calculation. (authors)

Efficiency calibration and coincidence summing correction for large arrays of NaI(Tl) detectors in soccer-ball and castle geometries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anil Kumar, G.; Mazumdar, I.; Gothe, D.A.

2009-01-01

Efficiency calibration and coincidence summing correction have been performed for two large arrays of NaI(Tl) detectors in two different configurations. They are, a compact array of 32 conical detectors of pentagonal and hexagonal shapes in soccer-ball geometry and an array of 14 straight hexagonal NaI(Tl) detectors in castle geometry. Both of these arrays provide a large solid angle of detection, leading to considerable coincidence summing of gamma rays. The present work aims to understand the effect of coincidence summing of gamma rays while determining the energy dependence of efficiencies of these two arrays. We have carried out extensive GEANT4 simulations with radio-nuclides that decay with a two-step cascade, considering both arrays in their realistic geometries. The absolute efficiencies have been simulated for gamma energies from 700 to 2800 keV using four different double-photon emitters, namely, 60 Co, 46 Sc, 94 Nb and 24 Na. The efficiencies so obtained have been corrected for coincidence summing using the method proposed by Vidmar et al. . The simulations have also been carried out for the same energies assuming mono-energetic point sources, for comparison. Experimental measurements have also been carried out using calibrated point sources of 137 Cs and 60 Co. The simulated and the experimental results are found to be in good agreement. This demonstrates the reliability of the correction method for efficiency calibration of two large arrays in very different configurations.

Efficiency calibration and coincidence summing correction for large arrays of NaI(Tl) detectors in soccer-ball and castle geometries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anil Kumar, G., E-mail: anilg@tifr.res.i [Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400005 (India); Mazumdar, I.; Gothe, D.A. [Department of Nuclear and Atomic Physics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400005 (India)

2009-11-21

Efficiency calibration and coincidence summing correction have been performed for two large arrays of NaI(Tl) detectors in two different configurations. They are, a compact array of 32 conical detectors of pentagonal and hexagonal shapes in soccer-ball geometry and an array of 14 straight hexagonal NaI(Tl) detectors in castle geometry. Both of these arrays provide a large solid angle of detection, leading to considerable coincidence summing of gamma rays. The present work aims to understand the effect of coincidence summing of gamma rays while determining the energy dependence of efficiencies of these two arrays. We have carried out extensive GEANT4 simulations with radio-nuclides that decay with a two-step cascade, considering both arrays in their realistic geometries. The absolute efficiencies have been simulated for gamma energies from 700 to 2800 keV using four different double-photon emitters, namely, {sup 60}Co, {sup 46}Sc, {sup 94}Nb and {sup 24}Na. The efficiencies so obtained have been corrected for coincidence summing using the method proposed by Vidmar et al. . The simulations have also been carried out for the same energies assuming mono-energetic point sources, for comparison. Experimental measurements have also been carried out using calibrated point sources of {sup 137}Cs and {sup 60}Co. The simulated and the experimental results are found to be in good agreement. This demonstrates the reliability of the correction method for efficiency calibration of two large arrays in very different configurations.

Multi-level Monte Carlo Methods for Efficient Simulation of Coulomb Collisions

Science.gov (United States)

Ricketson, Lee

2013-10-01

We discuss the use of multi-level Monte Carlo (MLMC) schemes--originally introduced by Giles for financial applications--for the efficient simulation of Coulomb collisions in the Fokker-Planck limit. The scheme is based on a Langevin treatment of collisions, and reduces the computational cost of achieving a RMS error scaling as ɛ from O (ɛ-3) --for standard Langevin methods and binary collision algorithms--to the theoretically optimal scaling O (ɛ-2) for the Milstein discretization, and to O (ɛ-2 (logɛ)2) with the simpler Euler-Maruyama discretization. In practice, this speeds up simulation by factors up to 100. We summarize standard MLMC schemes, describe some tricks for achieving the optimal scaling, present results from a test problem, and discuss the method's range of applicability. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by the University of California, Los Angeles, under grant DE-FG02-05ER25710, and by LLNL under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Calibrations of a tritium extraction facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bretscher, M.M.; Oliver, B.M.; Farrar, H. IV.

1983-01-01

A tritium extraction facility has been built for the purpose of measuring the absolute tritium concentration in neutron-irradiated lithium metal samples. Two independent calibration procedures have been used to determine what fraction, if any, of tritium is lost during the extraction process. The first procedure compares independently measured 4 He and 3 H concentrations from the 6 Li(n,α)T reaction. The second procedure compared measured 6 Li(n,α)T/ 197 Au (n,γ) 198 Au thermal neutron reaction rate ratios with those obtained from Monte Carlo calculations using well-known cross sections. Both calibration methods show that within experimental errors (approx. 1.5%) no tritium is lost during the extraction process

Comparison between two calibration models of a measurement system for thyroid monitoring; Comparacao entre dois modelos para calibracao de um sistema de medidas dedicado ao monitoramento de tireoide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Venturini, Luzia [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeicas e Nucleares (IPEN), Sao Paulo, Sp (Brazil). Dept. de Metrologia das Radiacoes]. E-mail: lventur@net.ipen.br

2005-07-01

This paper shows a comparison between two theoretical calibration that use two mathematical models to represent the neck region. In the first model thyroid is considered to be just a region limited by two concentric cylinders whose dimensions are those of trachea and neck. The second model uses functional functions to get a better representation of the thyroid geometry. Efficiency values are obtained using Monte Carlo simulation. (author)

Modeling the Efficiency of a Germanium Detector

Science.gov (United States)

Hayton, Keith; Prewitt, Michelle; Quarles, C. A.

2006-10-01

We are using the Monte Carlo Program PENELOPE and the cylindrical geometry program PENCYL to develop a model of the detector efficiency of a planar Ge detector. The detector is used for x-ray measurements in an ongoing experiment to measure electron bremsstrahlung. While we are mainly interested in the efficiency up to 60 keV, the model ranges from 10.1 keV (below the Ge absorption edge at 11.1 keV) to 800 keV. Measurements of the detector efficiency have been made in a well-defined geometry with calibrated radioactive sources: Co-57, Se-75, Ba-133, Am-241 and Bi-207. The model is compared with the experimental measurements and is expected to provide a better interpolation formula for the detector efficiency than simply using x-ray absorption coefficients for the major constituents of the detector. Using PENELOPE, we will discuss several factors, such as Ge dead layer, surface ice layer and angular divergence of the source, that influence the efficiency of the detector.

Statistical estimation Monte Carlo for unreliability evaluation of highly reliable system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Gang; Su Guanghui; Jia Dounan; Li Tianduo

2000-01-01

Based on analog Monte Carlo simulation, statistical Monte Carlo methods for unreliable evaluation of highly reliable system are constructed, including direct statistical estimation Monte Carlo method and weighted statistical estimation Monte Carlo method. The basal element is given, and the statistical estimation Monte Carlo estimators are derived. Direct Monte Carlo simulation method, bounding-sampling method, forced transitions Monte Carlo method, direct statistical estimation Monte Carlo and weighted statistical estimation Monte Carlo are used to evaluate unreliability of a same system. By comparing, weighted statistical estimation Monte Carlo estimator has smallest variance, and has highest calculating efficiency

Recommender engine for continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo methods

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Li; Yang, Yi-feng; Wang, Lei

2017-03-01

Recommender systems play an essential role in the modern business world. They recommend favorable items such as books, movies, and search queries to users based on their past preferences. Applying similar ideas and techniques to Monte Carlo simulations of physical systems boosts their efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. Exploiting the quantum to classical mapping inherent in the continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo methods, we construct a classical molecular gas model to reproduce the quantum distributions. We then utilize powerful molecular simulation techniques to propose efficient quantum Monte Carlo updates. The recommender engine approach provides a general way to speed up the quantum impurity solvers.

Monte Carlo molecular simulations: improving the statistical efficiency of samples with the help of artificial evolution algorithms; Simulations moleculaires de Monte Carlo: amelioration de l'efficacite statistique de l'echantillonnage grace aux algorithmes d'evolution artificielle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leblanc, B.

2002-03-01

Molecular simulation aims at simulating particles in interaction, describing a physico-chemical system. When considering Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling in this context, we often meet the same problem of statistical efficiency as with Molecular Dynamics for the simulation of complex molecules (polymers for example). The search for a correct sampling of the space of possible configurations with respect to the Boltzmann-Gibbs distribution is directly related to the statistical efficiency of such algorithms (i.e. the ability of rapidly providing uncorrelated states covering all the configuration space). We investigated how to improve this efficiency with the help of Artificial Evolution (AE). AE algorithms form a class of stochastic optimization algorithms inspired by Darwinian evolution. Efficiency measures that can be turned into efficiency criteria have been first searched before identifying parameters that could be optimized. Relative frequencies for each type of Monte Carlo moves, usually empirically chosen in reasonable ranges, were first considered. We combined parallel simulations with a 'genetic server' in order to dynamically improve the quality of the sampling during the simulations progress. Our results shows that in comparison with some reference settings, it is possible to improve the quality of samples with respect to the chosen criterion. The same algorithm has been applied to improve the Parallel Tempering technique, in order to optimize in the same time the relative frequencies of Monte Carlo moves and the relative frequencies of swapping between sub-systems simulated at different temperatures. Finally, hints for further research in order to optimize the choice of additional temperatures are given. (author)

Efficient Bayesian inference of subsurface flow models using nested sampling and sparse polynomial chaos surrogates

KAUST Repository

Elsheikh, Ahmed H.

2014-02-01

An efficient Bayesian calibration method based on the nested sampling (NS) algorithm and non-intrusive polynomial chaos method is presented. Nested sampling is a Bayesian sampling algorithm that builds a discrete representation of the posterior distributions by iteratively re-focusing a set of samples to high likelihood regions. NS allows representing the posterior probability density function (PDF) with a smaller number of samples and reduces the curse of dimensionality effects. The main difficulty of the NS algorithm is in the constrained sampling step which is commonly performed using a random walk Markov Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. In this work, we perform a two-stage sampling using a polynomial chaos response surface to filter out rejected samples in the Markov Chain Monte-Carlo method. The combined use of nested sampling and the two-stage MCMC based on approximate response surfaces provides significant computational gains in terms of the number of simulation runs. The proposed algorithm is applied for calibration and model selection of subsurface flow models. © 2013.

Monte Carlo simulations and measurements for efficiency determination of lead shielded plastic scintillator detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Yasin, Zafar; Negoita, Florin; Tabbassum, Sana; Borcea, Ruxandra; Kisyov, Stanimir

2017-12-01

The plastic scintillators are used in different areas of science and technology. One of the use of these scintillator detectors is as beam loss monitors (BLM) for new generation of high intensity heavy ion in superconducting linear accelerators. Operated in pulse counting mode with rather high thresholds and shielded by few centimeters of lead in order to cope with radiofrequency noise and X-ray background emitted by accelerator cavities, they preserve high efficiency for high energy gamma ray and neutrons produced in the nuclear reactions of lost beam particles with accelerator components. Efficiency calculation and calibration of detectors is very important before their practical usage. In the present work, the efficiency of plastic scintillator detectors is simulated using FLUKA for different gamma and neutron sources like, 60Co, 137Cs and 238Pu-Be. The sources are placed at different positions around the detector. Calculated values are compared with the measured values and a reasonable agreement is observed.

TARC: Carlo Rubbia's Energy Amplifier

CERN Multimedia

Laurent Guiraud

1997-01-01

Transmutation by Adiabatic Resonance Crossing (TARC) is Carlo Rubbia's energy amplifier. This CERN experiment demonstrated that long-lived fission fragments, such as 99-TC, can be efficiently destroyed.

New Hybrid Monte Carlo methods for efficient sampling. From physics to biology and statistics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhmatskaya, Elena; Reich, Sebastian

2011-01-01

We introduce a class of novel hybrid methods for detailed simulations of large complex systems in physics, biology, materials science and statistics. These generalized shadow Hybrid Monte Carlo (GSHMC) methods combine the advantages of stochastic and deterministic simulation techniques. They utilize a partial momentum update to retain some of the dynamical information, employ modified Hamiltonians to overcome exponential performance degradation with the system’s size and make use of multi-scale nature of complex systems. Variants of GSHMCs were developed for atomistic simulation, particle simulation and statistics: GSHMC (thermodynamically consistent implementation of constant-temperature molecular dynamics), MTS-GSHMC (multiple-time-stepping GSHMC), meso-GSHMC (Metropolis corrected dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) method), and a generalized shadow Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, GSHmMC (a GSHMC for statistical simulations). All of these are compatible with other enhanced sampling techniques and suitable for massively parallel computing allowing for a range of multi-level parallel strategies. A brief description of the GSHMC approach, examples of its application on high performance computers and comparison with other existing techniques are given. Our approach is shown to resolve such problems as resonance instabilities of the MTS methods and non-preservation of thermodynamic equilibrium properties in DPD, and to outperform known methods in sampling efficiency by an order of magnitude. (author)

Diffusion Monte Carlo approach versus adiabatic computation for local Hamiltonians

Science.gov (United States)

Bringewatt, Jacob; Dorland, William; Jordan, Stephen P.; Mink, Alan

2018-02-01

Most research regarding quantum adiabatic optimization has focused on stoquastic Hamiltonians, whose ground states can be expressed with only real non-negative amplitudes and thus for whom destructive interference is not manifest. This raises the question of whether classical Monte Carlo algorithms can efficiently simulate quantum adiabatic optimization with stoquastic Hamiltonians. Recent results have given counterexamples in which path-integral and diffusion Monte Carlo fail to do so. However, most adiabatic optimization algorithms, such as for solving MAX-k -SAT problems, use k -local Hamiltonians, whereas our previous counterexample for diffusion Monte Carlo involved n -body interactions. Here we present a 6-local counterexample which demonstrates that even for these local Hamiltonians there are cases where diffusion Monte Carlo cannot efficiently simulate quantum adiabatic optimization. Furthermore, we perform empirical testing of diffusion Monte Carlo on a standard well-studied class of permutation-symmetric tunneling problems and similarly find large advantages for quantum optimization over diffusion Monte Carlo.

Bayesian inversion of seismic and electromagnetic data for marine gas reservoir characterization using multi-chain Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren, Huiying; Ray, Jaideep; Hou, Zhangshuan; Huang, Maoyi; Bao, Jie; Swiler, Laura

2017-01-01

In this paper we developed an efficient Bayesian inversion framework for interpreting marine seismic Amplitude Versus Angle and Controlled-Source Electromagnetic data for marine reservoir characterization. The framework uses a multi-chain Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampler, which is a hybrid of DiffeRential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis and Adaptive Metropolis samplers. The inversion framework is tested by estimating reservoir-fluid saturations and porosity based on marine seismic and Controlled-Source Electromagnetic data. The multi-chain Markov-chain Monte Carlo is scalable in terms of the number of chains, and is useful for computationally demanding Bayesian model calibration in scientific and engineering problems. As a demonstration, the approach is used to efficiently and accurately estimate the porosity and saturations in a representative layered synthetic reservoir. The results indicate that the seismic Amplitude Versus Angle and Controlled-Source Electromagnetic joint inversion provides better estimation of reservoir saturations than the seismic Amplitude Versus Angle only inversion, especially for the parameters in deep layers. The performance of the inversion approach for various levels of noise in observational data was evaluated — reasonable estimates can be obtained with noise levels up to 25%. Sampling efficiency due to the use of multiple chains was also checked and was found to have almost linear scalability.

Bayesian inversion of seismic and electromagnetic data for marine gas reservoir characterization using multi-chain Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Huiying; Ray, Jaideep; Hou, Zhangshuan; Huang, Maoyi; Bao, Jie; Swiler, Laura

2017-12-01

In this study we developed an efficient Bayesian inversion framework for interpreting marine seismic Amplitude Versus Angle and Controlled-Source Electromagnetic data for marine reservoir characterization. The framework uses a multi-chain Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampler, which is a hybrid of DiffeRential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis and Adaptive Metropolis samplers. The inversion framework is tested by estimating reservoir-fluid saturations and porosity based on marine seismic and Controlled-Source Electromagnetic data. The multi-chain Markov-chain Monte Carlo is scalable in terms of the number of chains, and is useful for computationally demanding Bayesian model calibration in scientific and engineering problems. As a demonstration, the approach is used to efficiently and accurately estimate the porosity and saturations in a representative layered synthetic reservoir. The results indicate that the seismic Amplitude Versus Angle and Controlled-Source Electromagnetic joint inversion provides better estimation of reservoir saturations than the seismic Amplitude Versus Angle only inversion, especially for the parameters in deep layers. The performance of the inversion approach for various levels of noise in observational data was evaluated - reasonable estimates can be obtained with noise levels up to 25%. Sampling efficiency due to the use of multiple chains was also checked and was found to have almost linear scalability.

Efficient Photometry In-Frame Calibration (EPIC) Gaussian Corrections for Automated Background Normalization of Rate-Tracked Satellite Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Griesbach, J.; Wetterer, C.; Sydney, P.; Gerber, J.

Photometric processing of non-resolved Electro-Optical (EO) images has commonly required the use of dark and flat calibration frames that are obtained to correct for charge coupled device (CCD) dark (thermal) noise and CCD quantum efficiency/optical path vignetting effects respectively. It is necessary to account/calibrate for these effects so that the brightness of objects of interest (e.g. stars or resident space objects (RSOs)) may be measured in a consistent manner across the CCD field of view. Detected objects typically require further calibration using aperture photometry to compensate for sky background (shot noise). For this, annuluses are measured around each detected object whose contained pixels are used to estimate an average background level that is subtracted from the detected pixel measurements. In a new photometric calibration software tool developed for AFRL/RD, called Efficient Photometry In-Frame Calibration (EPIC), an automated background normalization technique is proposed that eliminates the requirement to capture dark and flat calibration images. The proposed technique simultaneously corrects for dark noise, shot noise, and CCD quantum efficiency/optical path vignetting effects. With this, a constant detection threshold may be applied for constant false alarm rate (CFAR) object detection without the need for aperture photometry corrections. The detected pixels may be simply summed (without further correction) for an accurate instrumental magnitude estimate. The noise distribution associated with each pixel is assumed to be sampled from a Poisson distribution. Since Poisson distributed data closely resembles Gaussian data for parameterized means greater than 10, the data may be corrected by applying bias subtraction and standard-deviation division. EPIC performs automated background normalization on rate-tracked satellite images using the following technique. A deck of approximately 50-100 images is combined by performing an independent median

Monte Carlo simulation applied to alpha spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baccouche, S.; Gharbi, F.; Trabelsi, A.

2007-01-01

Alpha particle spectrometry is a widely-used analytical method, in particular when we deal with pure alpha emitting radionuclides. Monte Carlo simulation is an adequate tool to investigate the influence of various phenomena on this analytical method. We performed an investigation of those phenomena using the simulation code GEANT of CERN. The results concerning the geometrical detection efficiency in different measurement geometries agree with analytical calculations. This work confirms that Monte Carlo simulation of solid angle of detection is a very useful tool to determine with very good accuracy the detection efficiency.

Experimental characterization and Monte Carlo simulation of Si(Li) detector efficiency by radioactive sources and PIXE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mesradi, M. [Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert-Curien, UMR 7178 CNRS/IN2P3 et Universite Louis Pasteur, 23 rue du Loess, BP 28, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France); Elanique, A. [Departement de Physique, FS/BP 8106, Universite Ibn Zohr, Agadir, Maroc (Morocco); Nourreddine, A. [Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert-Curien, UMR 7178 CNRS/IN2P3 et Universite Louis Pasteur, 23 rue du Loess, BP 28, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France)], E-mail: abdelmjid.nourreddine@ires.in2p3.fr; Pape, A.; Raiser, D.; Sellam, A. [Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert-Curien, UMR 7178 CNRS/IN2P3 et Universite Louis Pasteur, 23 rue du Loess, BP 28, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France)

2008-06-15

This work relates to the study and characterization of the response function of an X-ray spectrometry system. The intrinsic efficiency of a Si(Li) detector has been simulated with the Monte Carlo codes MCNP and GEANT4 in the photon energy range of 2.6-59.5 keV. After finding it necessary to take a radiograph of the detector inside its cryostat to learn the correct dimensions, agreement within 10% between the simulations and experimental measurements with several point-like sources and PIXE results was obtained.

An efficient search method for finding the critical slip surface using the compositional Monte Carlo technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goshtasbi, K.; Ahmadi, M; Naeimi, Y.

2008-01-01

Locating the critical slip surface and the associated minimum factor of safety are two complementary parts in a slope stability analysis. A large number of computer programs exist to solve slope stability problems. Most of these programs, however, have used inefficient and unreliable search procedures to locate the global minimum factor of safety. This paper presents an efficient and reliable method to determine the global minimum factor of safety coupled with a modified version of the Monte Carlo technique. Examples arc presented to illustrate the reliability of the proposed method

Standardization of calibration method of whole-body counter. 1. Calibration by using anthropometric phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishikawa, Tetsuo; Matsumoto, Masaki; Uchiyama, Masafumi; Kobayashi, Sadayoshi; Mizushita, Seiichi.

1995-01-01

To standardize the calibration methods of whole-body counters, three anthropometric phantoms were manufactured based on dozens of Japanese average value of body size data. Using these phantoms, the calibrations of some whole-body counters were carried out and the comparison of counting efficiency between anthropometric phantoms and block phantoms, which used to be used for the calibration of whole-body counters generally, was implemented. Five whole-body counters, one scanning system, two stationary systems and two chair systems, were used for this study. The following results were derived: As an example, in NIRS scanning system, the counting efficiency of anthropometric phantom of 162cm height was 12.7% greater than that of block phantom of the same height. This means 137 Cs body burdens in adult men used to be estimated with the excess of about 10%. Body burdens tended to be estimated excessively in adult because the difference of counting efficiency between anthropometric phantom and block phantom increases with increase of height. To standardize body burden data measured with various whole-body counters, the calibration of each whole-body counter should be conducted using anthropometric phantoms and phantoms which used to be used for the calibration of that whole-body counter. (author)

Efficient photon treatment planning by the use of Swiss Monte Carlo Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fix, M K; Manser, P; Frei, D; Volken, W; Mini, R; Born, E J

2007-01-01

Currently photon Monte Carlo treatment planning (MCTP) for a patient stored in the patient database of a treatment planning system (TPS) usually can only be performed using a cumbersome multi-step procedure where many user interactions are needed. Automation is needed for usage in clinical routine. In addition, because of the long computing time in MCTP, optimization of the MC calculations is essential. For these purposes a new GUI-based photon MC environment has been developed resulting in a very flexible framework, namely the Swiss Monte Carlo Plan (SMCP). Appropriate MC transport methods are assigned to different geometric regions by still benefiting from the features included in the TPS. In order to provide a flexible MC environment the MC particle transport has been divided into different parts: source, beam modifiers, and patient. The source part includes: Phase space-source, source models, and full MC transport through the treatment head. The beam modifier part consists of one module for each beam modifier. To simulate the radiation transport through each individual beam modifier, one out of three full MC transport codes can be selected independently. Additionally, for each beam modifier a simple or an exact geometry can be chosen. Thereby, different complexity levels of radiation transport are applied during the simulation. For the patient dose calculation two different MC codes are available. A special plug-in in Eclipse providing all necessary information by means of Dicom streams was used to start the developed MC GUI. The implementation of this framework separates the MC transport from the geometry and the modules pass the particles in memory, hence no files are used as interface. The implementation is realized for 6 and 15 MV beams of a Varian Clinac 2300 C/D. Several applications demonstrate the usefulness of the framework. Apart from applications dealing with the beam modifiers, three patient cases are shown. Thereby, comparisons between MC

Calibration of thin-film dosimeters irradiated with 80-120 kev electrons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helt-Hansen, J.; Miller, A.; McEwen, M.

2004-01-01

A method for calibration of thin-film dosimeters irradiated with 80-120keV electrons has been developed. The method is based on measurement of dose with a totally absorbing graphite calorimeter, and conversion of dose in the graphite calorimeter to dose in the film dosimeter by Monte Carlo calcul......V electron irradiation. The two calibrations were found to be equal within the estimated uncertainties of +/-10% at 1 s.d. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

Large R jet reconstruction and calibration at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

Taenzer, Joe; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

Large-R jets are used by many ATLAS analyses working in boosted regimes. ATLAS Large-R jets are reconstructed from locally callibrated calorimeter topoclusters with the Anti-k_{t} algorithm with radius parameter R=1.0, and then groomed to remove pile-up with the trimming algorithm with f_{cut} 0.05 and subjet radius R=0.2. Monte Carlo based energy and mass calibrations correct the reconstructed jet energy and mass to truth, followed by in-situ calibrations using a number of different techniques. Large-R jets can also be reconstructed using small-R jets as constituents, instead of topoclusters, a technique called jet reclustering, or from track calo clusters (TCCs), which are constituents constructed using both tracking and calorimeter information. An overview of large-R jet reconstruction will be presented here, along with selected results from the jet mass calibrations, both Monte Carlo based an insitu, from jet reclustering, and from track calo clusters.

Vectorized Monte Carlo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, F.B.

1981-01-01

Examination of the global algorithms and local kernels of conventional general-purpose Monte Carlo codes shows that multigroup Monte Carlo methods have sufficient structure to permit efficient vectorization. A structured multigroup Monte Carlo algorithm for vector computers is developed in which many particle events are treated at once on a cell-by-cell basis. Vectorization of kernels for tracking and variance reduction is described, and a new method for discrete sampling is developed to facilitate the vectorization of collision analysis. To demonstrate the potential of the new method, a vectorized Monte Carlo code for multigroup radiation transport analysis was developed. This code incorporates many features of conventional general-purpose production codes, including general geometry, splitting and Russian roulette, survival biasing, variance estimation via batching, a number of cutoffs, and generalized tallies of collision, tracklength, and surface crossing estimators with response functions. Predictions of vectorized performance characteristics for the CYBER-205 were made using emulated coding and a dynamic model of vector instruction timing. Computation rates were examined for a variety of test problems to determine sensitivities to batch size and vector lengths. Significant speedups are predicted for even a few hundred particles per batch, and asymptotic speedups by about 40 over equivalent Amdahl 470V/8 scalar codes arepredicted for a few thousand particles per batch. The principal conclusion is that vectorization of a general-purpose multigroup Monte Carlo code is well worth the significant effort required for stylized coding and major algorithmic changes

The Efficiency of OLS Estimators of Structural Parameters in a Simple Linear Regression Model in the Calibration of the Averages Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kowal Robert

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A simple linear regression model is one of the pillars of classic econometrics. Multiple areas of research function within its scope. One of the many fundamental questions in the model concerns proving the efficiency of the most commonly used OLS estimators and examining their properties. In the literature of the subject one can find taking back to this scope and certain solutions in that regard. Methodically, they are borrowed from the multiple regression model or also from a boundary partial model. Not everything, however, is here complete and consistent. In the paper a completely new scheme is proposed, based on the implementation of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality in the arrangement of the constraint aggregated from calibrated appropriately secondary constraints of unbiasedness which in a result of choice the appropriate calibrator for each variable directly leads to showing this property. A separate range-is a matter of choice of such a calibrator. These deliberations, on account of the volume and kinds of the calibration, were divided into a few parts. In the one the efficiency of OLS estimators is proven in a mixed scheme of the calibration by averages, that is preliminary, and in the most basic frames of the proposed methodology. In these frames the future outlines and general premises constituting the base of more distant generalizations are being created.

Clinical dosimetry in photon radiotherapy. A Monte Carlo based investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wulff, Joerg

2010-01-01

Practical clinical dosimetry is a fundamental step within the radiation therapy process and aims at quantifying the absorbed radiation dose within a 1-2% uncertainty. To achieve this level of accuracy, corrections are needed for calibrated and air-filled ionization chambers, which are used for dose measurement. The procedures of correction are based on cavity theory of Spencer-Attix and are defined in current dosimetry protocols. Energy dependent corrections for deviations from calibration beams account for changed ionization chamber response in the treatment beam. The corrections applied are usually based on semi-analytical models or measurements and are generally hard to determine due to their magnitude of only a few percents or even less. Furthermore the corrections are defined for fixed geometrical reference-conditions and do not apply to non-reference conditions in modern radiotherapy applications. The stochastic Monte Carlo method for the simulation of radiation transport is becoming a valuable tool in the field of Medical Physics. As a suitable tool for calculation of these corrections with high accuracy the simulations enable the investigation of ionization chambers under various conditions. The aim of this work is the consistent investigation of ionization chamber dosimetry in photon radiation therapy with the use of Monte Carlo methods. Nowadays Monte Carlo systems exist, which enable the accurate calculation of ionization chamber response in principle. Still, their bare use for studies of this type is limited due to the long calculation times needed for a meaningful result with a small statistical uncertainty, inherent to every result of a Monte Carlo simulation. Besides heavy use of computer hardware, techniques methods of variance reduction to reduce the needed calculation time can be applied. Methods for increasing the efficiency in the results of simulation were developed and incorporated in a modern and established Monte Carlo simulation environment

Measurement and simulation of neutron detection efficiency in lead-scintillating fiber calorimeters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anelli, M.; Bertolucci, S. [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy); Bini, C. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' La Sapienza' , Roma (Italy); INFN Sezione di Roma, Roma (Italy); Branchini, P. [INFN Sezione di Roma Tre, Roma (Italy); Curceanu, C. [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy); De Zorzi, G.; Di Domenico, A. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' La Sapienza' , Roma (Italy); INFN Sezione di Roma, Roma (Italy); Di Micco, B. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' Roma Tre' , Roma (Italy); INFN Sezione di Roma Tre, Roma (Italy); Ferrari, A. [Fondazione CNAO, Milano (Italy); Fiore, S.; Gauzzi, P. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' La Sapienza' , Roma (Italy); INFN Sezione di Roma, Roma (Italy); Giovannella, S., E-mail: simona.giovannella@lnf.infn.i [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy); Happacher, F. [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy); Iliescu, M. [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy); IFIN-HH, Bucharest (Romania); Martini, M. [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy); Dipartimento di Energetica dell' Universita ' La Sapienza' , Roma (Italy); Miscetti, S. [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy); Nguyen, F. [Dipartimento di Fisica dell' Universita ' Roma Tre' , Roma (Italy); INFN Sezione di Roma Tre, Roma (Italy); Passeri, A. [INFN Sezione di Roma Tre, Roma (Italy); Prokofiev, A. [Svedberg Laboratory, Uppsala University (Sweden); Sciascia, B. [Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN (Italy)

2009-12-15

The overall detection efficiency to neutrons of a small prototype of the KLOE lead-scintillating fiber calorimeter has been measured at the neutron beam facility of The Svedberg Laboratory, TSL, Uppsala, in the kinetic energy range [5-175] MeV. The measurement of the neutron detection efficiency of a NE110 scintillator provided a reference calibration. At the lowest trigger threshold, the overall calorimeter efficiency ranges from 30% to 50%. This value largely exceeds the estimated 8-15% expected if the response were proportional only to the scintillator equivalent thickness. A detailed simulation of the calorimeter and of the TSL beam line has been performed with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. First data-MC comparisons are encouraging and allow to disentangle a neutron halo component in the beam.

Measurement and simulation of neutron detection efficiency in lead-scintillating fiber calorimeters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anelli, M.; Bertolucci, S.; Bini, C.; Branchini, P.; Curceanu, C.; De Zorzi, G.; Di Domenico, A.; Di Micco, B.; Ferrari, A.; Fiore, S.; Gauzzi, P.; Giovannella, S.; Happacher, F.; Iliescu, M.; Martini, M.; Miscetti, S.; Nguyen, F.; Passeri, A.; Prokofiev, A.; Sciascia, B.

2009-01-01

The overall detection efficiency to neutrons of a small prototype of the KLOE lead-scintillating fiber calorimeter has been measured at the neutron beam facility of The Svedberg Laboratory, TSL, Uppsala, in the kinetic energy range [5-175] MeV. The measurement of the neutron detection efficiency of a NE110 scintillator provided a reference calibration. At the lowest trigger threshold, the overall calorimeter efficiency ranges from 30% to 50%. This value largely exceeds the estimated 8-15% expected if the response were proportional only to the scintillator equivalent thickness. A detailed simulation of the calorimeter and of the TSL beam line has been performed with the FLUKA Monte Carlo code. First data-MC comparisons are encouraging and allow to disentangle a neutron halo component in the beam.

Spectrometric methods used in the calibration of radiodiagnostic measuring instruments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Vries, W [Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht (Netherlands)

1995-12-01

Recently a set of parameters for checking the quality of radiation for use in diagnostic radiology was established at the calibration facility of Nederlands Meetinstituut (NMI). The establishment of the radiation quality required re-evaluation of the correction factors for the primary air-kerma standards. Free-air ionisation chambers require several correction factors to measure air-kerma according to its definition. These correction factors were calculated for the NMi free-air chamber by Monte Carlo simulations for monoenergetic photons in the energy range from 10 keV to 320 keV. The actual correction factors follow from weighting these mono-energetic correction factors with the air-kerma spectrum of the photon beam. This paper describes the determination of the photon spectra of the X-ray qualities used for the calibration of dosimetric instruments used in radiodiagnostics. The detector used for these measurements is a planar HPGe-detector, placed in the direct beam of the X-ray machine. To convert the measured pulse height spectrum to the actual photon spectrum corrections must be made for fluorescent photon escape, single and multiple compton scattering inside the detector, and detector efficiency. From the calculated photon spectra a number of parameters of the X-ray beam can be calculated. The calculated first and second half value layer in aluminum and copper are compared with the measured values of these parameters to validate the method of spectrum reconstruction. Moreover the spectrum measurements offer the possibility to calibrate the X-ray generator in terms of maximum high voltage. The maximum photon energy in the spectrum is used as a standard for calibration of kVp-meters.

Efficient Monte Carlo sampling of inverse problems using a neural network-based forward—applied to GPR crosshole traveltime inversion

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, T. M.; Cordua, K. S.

2017-12-01

Probabilistically formulated inverse problems can be solved using Monte Carlo-based sampling methods. In principle, both advanced prior information, based on for example, complex geostatistical models and non-linear forward models can be considered using such methods. However, Monte Carlo methods may be associated with huge computational costs that, in practice, limit their application. This is not least due to the computational requirements related to solving the forward problem, where the physical forward response of some earth model has to be evaluated. Here, it is suggested to replace a numerical complex evaluation of the forward problem, with a trained neural network that can be evaluated very fast. This will introduce a modeling error that is quantified probabilistically such that it can be accounted for during inversion. This allows a very fast and efficient Monte Carlo sampling of the solution to an inverse problem. We demonstrate the methodology for first arrival traveltime inversion of crosshole ground penetrating radar data. An accurate forward model, based on 2-D full-waveform modeling followed by automatic traveltime picking, is replaced by a fast neural network. This provides a sampling algorithm three orders of magnitude faster than using the accurate and computationally expensive forward model, and also considerably faster and more accurate (i.e. with better resolution), than commonly used approximate forward models. The methodology has the potential to dramatically change the complexity of non-linear and non-Gaussian inverse problems that have to be solved using Monte Carlo sampling techniques.

Nested Sampling with Constrained Hamiltonian Monte Carlo

OpenAIRE

Betancourt, M. J.

2010-01-01

Nested sampling is a powerful approach to Bayesian inference ultimately limited by the computationally demanding task of sampling from a heavily constrained probability distribution. An effective algorithm in its own right, Hamiltonian Monte Carlo is readily adapted to efficiently sample from any smooth, constrained distribution. Utilizing this constrained Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, I introduce a general implementation of the nested sampling algorithm.

Bayesian calibration of coarse-grained forces: Efficiently addressing transferability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patrone, Paul N.; Rosch, Thomas W.; Phelan, Frederick R.

2016-01-01

Generating and calibrating forces that are transferable across a range of state-points remains a challenging task in coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics. In this work, we present a coarse-graining workflow, inspired by ideas from uncertainty quantification and numerical analysis, to address this problem. The key idea behind our approach is to introduce a Bayesian correction algorithm that uses functional derivatives of CG simulations to rapidly and inexpensively recalibrate initial estimates f 0 of forces anchored by standard methods such as force-matching. Taking density-temperature relationships as a running example, we demonstrate that this algorithm, in concert with various interpolation schemes, can be used to efficiently compute physically reasonable force curves on a fine grid of state-points. Importantly, we show that our workflow is robust to several choices available to the modeler, including the interpolation schemes and tools used to construct f 0 . In a related vein, we also demonstrate that our approach can speed up coarse-graining by reducing the number of atomistic simulations needed as inputs to standard methods for generating CG forces.

Bayesian calibration of coarse-grained forces: Efficiently addressing transferability

Science.gov (United States)

Patrone, Paul N.; Rosch, Thomas W.; Phelan, Frederick R.

2016-04-01

Generating and calibrating forces that are transferable across a range of state-points remains a challenging task in coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics. In this work, we present a coarse-graining workflow, inspired by ideas from uncertainty quantification and numerical analysis, to address this problem. The key idea behind our approach is to introduce a Bayesian correction algorithm that uses functional derivatives of CG simulations to rapidly and inexpensively recalibrate initial estimates f0 of forces anchored by standard methods such as force-matching. Taking density-temperature relationships as a running example, we demonstrate that this algorithm, in concert with various interpolation schemes, can be used to efficiently compute physically reasonable force curves on a fine grid of state-points. Importantly, we show that our workflow is robust to several choices available to the modeler, including the interpolation schemes and tools used to construct f0. In a related vein, we also demonstrate that our approach can speed up coarse-graining by reducing the number of atomistic simulations needed as inputs to standard methods for generating CG forces.

Monte Carlo simulation of the standardization of {sup 22}Na using scintillation detector arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sato, Y., E-mail: yss.sato@aist.go.j [National Metrology Institute of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Quantum Radiation Division, Radioactivity and Neutron Section, Tsukuba Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568 (Japan); Murayama, H. [National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1, Anagawa, Inage, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Yamada, T. [Japan Radioisotope Association, 2-28-45, Hon-komagome, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8941 (Japan); National Metrology Institute of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Quantum Radiation Division, Radioactivity and Neutron Section, Tsukuba Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568 (Japan); Tohoku University, 6-6, Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan); Hasegawa, T. [Kitasato University, 1-15-1, Kitasato, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 228-8555 (Japan); Oda, K. [Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 1-1 Nakacho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-0022 (Japan); Unno, Y.; Yunoki, A. [National Metrology Institute of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Quantum Radiation Division, Radioactivity and Neutron Section, Tsukuba Central 2, 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8568 (Japan)

2010-07-15

In order to calibrate PET devices by a sealed point source, we contrived an absolute activity measurement method for the sealed point source using scintillation detector arrays. This new method was verified by EGS5 Monte Carlo simulation.

Methods for fitting of efficiency curves obtained by means of HPGe gamma rays spectrometers; Metodos de ajuste de curvas de eficiencia obtidas por meio de espectrometros de HPGe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cardoso, Vanderlei

2002-07-01

The present work describes a few methodologies developed for fitting efficiency curves obtained by means of a HPGe gamma-ray spectrometer. The interpolated values were determined by simple polynomial fitting and polynomial fitting between the ratio of experimental peak efficiency and total efficiency, calculated by Monte Carlo technique, as a function of gamma-ray energy. Moreover, non-linear fitting has been performed using a segmented polynomial function and applying the Gauss-Marquardt method. For the peak area obtainment different methodologies were developed in order to estimate the background area under the peak. This information was obtained by numerical integration or by using analytical functions associated to the background. One non-calibrated radioactive source has been included in the curve efficiency in order to provide additional calibration points. As a by-product, it was possible to determine the activity of this non-calibrated source. For all fittings developed in the present work the covariance matrix methodology was used, which is an essential procedure in order to give a complete description of the partial uncertainties involved. (author)

Quasi Monte Carlo methods for optimization models of the energy industry with pricing and load processes; Quasi-Monte Carlo Methoden fuer Optimierungsmodelle der Energiewirtschaft mit Preis- und Last-Prozessen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leoevey, H.; Roemisch, W. [Humboldt-Univ., Berlin (Germany)

2015-07-01

We discuss progress in quasi Monte Carlo methods for numerical calculation integrals or expected values and justify why these methods are more efficient than the classic Monte Carlo methods. Quasi Monte Carlo methods are found to be particularly efficient if the integrands have a low effective dimension. That's why We also discuss the concept of effective dimension and prove on the example of a stochastic Optimization model of the energy industry that such models can posses a low effective dimension. Modern quasi Monte Carlo methods are therefore for such models very promising. [German] Wir diskutieren Fortschritte bei Quasi-Monte Carlo Methoden zur numerischen Berechnung von Integralen bzw. Erwartungswerten und begruenden warum diese Methoden effizienter sind als die klassischen Monte Carlo Methoden. Quasi-Monte Carlo Methoden erweisen sich als besonders effizient, falls die Integranden eine geringe effektive Dimension besitzen. Deshalb diskutieren wir auch den Begriff effektive Dimension und weisen am Beispiel eines stochastischen Optimierungsmodell aus der Energiewirtschaft nach, dass solche Modelle eine niedrige effektive Dimension besitzen koennen. Moderne Quasi-Monte Carlo Methoden sind deshalb fuer solche Modelle sehr erfolgversprechend.

Multiple-time-stepping generalized hybrid Monte Carlo methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Escribano, Bruno, E-mail: bescribano@bcamath.org [BCAM—Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, E-48009 Bilbao (Spain); Akhmatskaya, Elena [BCAM—Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, E-48009 Bilbao (Spain); IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, E-48013 Bilbao (Spain); Reich, Sebastian [Universität Potsdam, Institut für Mathematik, D-14469 Potsdam (Germany); Azpiroz, Jon M. [Kimika Fakultatea, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) and Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), P.K. 1072, Donostia (Spain)

2015-01-01

Performance of the generalized shadow hybrid Monte Carlo (GSHMC) method [1], which proved to be superior in sampling efficiency over its predecessors [2–4], molecular dynamics and hybrid Monte Carlo, can be further improved by combining it with multi-time-stepping (MTS) and mollification of slow forces. We demonstrate that the comparatively simple modifications of the method not only lead to better performance of GSHMC itself but also allow for beating the best performed methods, which use the similar force splitting schemes. In addition we show that the same ideas can be successfully applied to the conventional generalized hybrid Monte Carlo method (GHMC). The resulting methods, MTS-GHMC and MTS-GSHMC, provide accurate reproduction of thermodynamic and dynamical properties, exact temperature control during simulation and computational robustness and efficiency. MTS-GHMC uses a generalized momentum update to achieve weak stochastic stabilization to the molecular dynamics (MD) integrator. MTS-GSHMC adds the use of a shadow (modified) Hamiltonian to filter the MD trajectories in the HMC scheme. We introduce a new shadow Hamiltonian formulation adapted to force-splitting methods. The use of such Hamiltonians improves the acceptance rate of trajectories and has a strong impact on the sampling efficiency of the method. Both methods were implemented in the open-source MD package ProtoMol and were tested on a water and a protein systems. Results were compared to those obtained using a Langevin Molly (LM) method [5] on the same systems. The test results demonstrate the superiority of the new methods over LM in terms of stability, accuracy and sampling efficiency. This suggests that putting the MTS approach in the framework of hybrid Monte Carlo and using the natural stochasticity offered by the generalized hybrid Monte Carlo lead to improving stability of MTS and allow for achieving larger step sizes in the simulation of complex systems.

Effect of phantom dimension variation on Monte Carlo simulation speed and precision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Hui; Xu Yuanying; Xu Liangfeng; Li Guoli; Jiang Jia

2007-01-01

There is a correlation between Monte Carlo simulation speed and the phantom dimension. The effect of the phantom dimension on the Monte Carlo simulation speed and precision was studied based on a fast Monte Carlo code DPM. The results showed that when the thickness of the phantom was reduced, the efficiency would increase exponentially without compromise of its precision except for the position at the tailor. When the width of the phantom was reduced to outside the penumbra, the effect on the efficiency would be neglectable. However when it was reduced to within the penumbra, the efficiency would be increased at some extent without precision loss. This result was applied to a clinic head case, and the remarkable increased efficiency was acquired. (authors)

Monte Carlo Transport for Electron Thermal Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Chenhall, Jeffrey; Cao, Duc; Moses, Gregory

2015-11-01

The iSNB (implicit Schurtz Nicolai Busquet multigroup electron thermal transport method of Cao et al. is adapted into a Monte Carlo transport method in order to better model the effects of non-local behavior. The end goal is a hybrid transport-diffusion method that combines Monte Carlo Transport with a discrete diffusion Monte Carlo (DDMC). The hybrid method will combine the efficiency of a diffusion method in short mean free path regions with the accuracy of a transport method in long mean free path regions. The Monte Carlo nature of the approach allows the algorithm to be massively parallelized. Work to date on the method will be presented. This work was supported by Sandia National Laboratory - Albuquerque and the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

On an efficient multiple time step Monte Carlo simulation of the SABR model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leitao Rodriguez, A.; Grzelak, L.A.; Oosterlee, C.W.

2017-01-01

In this paper, we will present a multiple time step Monte Carlo simulation technique for pricing options under the Stochastic Alpha Beta Rho model. The proposed method is an extension of the one time step Monte Carlo method that we proposed in an accompanying paper Leitao et al. [Appl. Math.

Semi-quantitative and simulation analyses of effects of {gamma} rays on determination of calibration factors of PET scanners with point-like {sup 22}Na sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasegawa, Tomoyuki [School of Allied Health Sciences, Kitasato University, 1-15-1, Kitasato, Minamiku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0373 (Japan); Sato, Yasushi [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1, Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8568 (Japan); Oda, Keiichi [Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 1-1, Nakamachi, Itabashi, Tokyo, 173-0022 (Japan); Wada, Yasuhiro [RIKEN Center for Molecular Imaging Science, 6-7-3, Minamimachi, Minatoshima, Chuo, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0047 (Japan); Murayama, Hideo [National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1, Anagawa, Inage, Chiba, 263-8555 (Japan); Yamada, Takahiro, E-mail: hasegawa@kitasato-u.ac.jp [Japan Radioisotope Association, 2-28-45, Komagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8941 (Japan)

2011-09-21

The uncertainty of radioactivity concentrations measured with positron emission tomography (PET) scanners ultimately depends on the uncertainty of the calibration factors. A new practical calibration scheme using point-like {sup 22}Na radioactive sources has been developed. The purpose of this study is to theoretically investigate the effects of the associated 1.275 MeV {gamma} rays on the calibration factors. The physical processes affecting the coincidence data were categorized in order to derive approximate semi-quantitative formulae. Assuming the design parameters of some typical commercial PET scanners, the effects of the {gamma} rays as relative deviations in the calibration factors were evaluated by semi-quantitative formulae and a Monte Carlo simulation. The relative deviations in the calibration factors were less than 4%, depending on the details of the PET scanners. The event losses due to rejecting multiple coincidence events of scattered {gamma} rays had the strongest effect. The results from the semi-quantitative formulae and the Monte Carlo simulation were consistent and were useful in understanding the underlying mechanisms. The deviations are considered small enough to correct on the basis of precise Monte Carlo simulation. This study thus offers an important theoretical basis for the validity of the calibration method using point-like {sup 22}Na radioactive sources.

Importance iteration in MORSE Monte Carlo calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kloosterman, J.L.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

1994-01-01

An expression to calculate point values (the expected detector response of a particle emerging from a collision or the source) is derived and implemented in the MORSE-SGC/S Monte Carlo code. It is outlined how these point values can be smoothed as a function of energy and as a function of the optical thickness between the detector and the source. The smoothed point values are subsequently used to calculate the biasing parameters of the Monte Carlo runs to follow. The method is illustrated by an example that shows that the obtained biasing parameters lead to a more efficient Monte Carlo calculation

Importance iteration in MORSE Monte Carlo calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kloosterman, J.L.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

1994-02-01

An expression to calculate point values (the expected detector response of a particle emerging from a collision or the source) is derived and implemented in the MORSE-SGC/S Monte Carlo code. It is outlined how these point values can be smoothed as a function of energy and as a function of the optical thickness between the detector and the source. The smoothed point values are subsequently used to calculate the biasing parameters of the Monte Carlo runs to follow. The method is illustrated by an example, which shows that the obtained biasing parameters lead to a more efficient Monte Carlo calculation. (orig.)

Random Numbers and Monte Carlo Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Scherer, Philipp O. J.

Many-body problems often involve the calculation of integrals of very high dimension which cannot be treated by standard methods. For the calculation of thermodynamic averages Monte Carlo methods are very useful which sample the integration volume at randomly chosen points. After summarizing some basic statistics, we discuss algorithms for the generation of pseudo-random numbers with given probability distribution which are essential for all Monte Carlo methods. We show how the efficiency of Monte Carlo integration can be improved by sampling preferentially the important configurations. Finally the famous Metropolis algorithm is applied to classical many-particle systems. Computer experiments visualize the central limit theorem and apply the Metropolis method to the traveling salesman problem.

Multivariate calibration applied to the quantitative analysis of infrared spectra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haaland, D.M.

1991-01-01

Multivariate calibration methods are very useful for improving the precision, accuracy, and reliability of quantitative spectral analyses. Spectroscopists can more effectively use these sophisticated statistical tools if they have a qualitative understanding of the techniques involved. A qualitative picture of the factor analysis multivariate calibration methods of partial least squares (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR) is presented using infrared calibrations based upon spectra of phosphosilicate glass thin films on silicon wafers. Comparisons of the relative prediction abilities of four different multivariate calibration methods are given based on Monte Carlo simulations of spectral calibration and prediction data. The success of multivariate spectral calibrations is demonstrated for several quantitative infrared studies. The infrared absorption and emission spectra of thin-film dielectrics used in the manufacture of microelectronic devices demonstrate rapid, nondestructive at-line and in-situ analyses using PLS calibrations. Finally, the application of multivariate spectral calibrations to reagentless analysis of blood is presented. We have found that the determination of glucose in whole blood taken from diabetics can be precisely monitored from the PLS calibration of either mind- or near-infrared spectra of the blood. Progress toward the non-invasive determination of glucose levels in diabetics is an ultimate goal of this research. 13 refs., 4 figs.

Monte Carlo simulation experiments on box-type radon dosimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamil, Khalid; Kamran, Muhammad; Illahi, Ahsan; Manzoor, Shahid

2014-01-01

Epidemiological studies show that inhalation of radon gas ( 222 Rn) may be carcinogenic especially to mine workers, people living in closed indoor energy conserved environments and underground dwellers. It is, therefore, of paramount importance to measure the 222 Rn concentrations (Bq/m 3 ) in indoors environments. For this purpose, box-type passive radon dosimeters employing ion track detector like CR-39 are widely used. Fraction of the number of radon alphas emitted in the volume of the box type dosimeter resulting in latent track formation on CR-39 is the latent track registration efficiency. Latent track registration efficiency is ultimately required to evaluate the radon concentration which consequently determines the effective dose and the radiological hazards. In this research, Monte Carlo simulation experiments were carried out to study the alpha latent track registration efficiency for box type radon dosimeter as a function of dosimeter’s dimensions and range of alpha particles in air. Two different self developed Monte Carlo simulation techniques were employed namely: (a) Surface ratio (SURA) method and (b) Ray hitting (RAHI) method. Monte Carlo simulation experiments revealed that there are two types of efficiencies i.e. intrinsic efficiency (η int ) and alpha hit efficiency (η hit ). The η int depends upon only on the dimensions of the dosimeter and η hit depends both upon dimensions of the dosimeter and range of the alpha particles. The total latent track registration efficiency is the product of both intrinsic and hit efficiencies. It has been concluded that if diagonal length of box type dosimeter is kept smaller than the range of alpha particle then hit efficiency is achieved as 100%. Nevertheless the intrinsic efficiency keeps playing its role. The Monte Carlo simulation experimental results have been found helpful to understand the intricate track registration mechanisms in the box type dosimeter. This paper explains that how radon

Monte Carlo simulation experiments on box-type radon dosimeter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamil, Khalid, E-mail: kjamil@comsats.edu.pk; Kamran, Muhammad; Illahi, Ahsan; Manzoor, Shahid

2014-11-11

Epidemiological studies show that inhalation of radon gas ({sup 222}Rn) may be carcinogenic especially to mine workers, people living in closed indoor energy conserved environments and underground dwellers. It is, therefore, of paramount importance to measure the {sup 222}Rn concentrations (Bq/m{sup 3}) in indoors environments. For this purpose, box-type passive radon dosimeters employing ion track detector like CR-39 are widely used. Fraction of the number of radon alphas emitted in the volume of the box type dosimeter resulting in latent track formation on CR-39 is the latent track registration efficiency. Latent track registration efficiency is ultimately required to evaluate the radon concentration which consequently determines the effective dose and the radiological hazards. In this research, Monte Carlo simulation experiments were carried out to study the alpha latent track registration efficiency for box type radon dosimeter as a function of dosimeter’s dimensions and range of alpha particles in air. Two different self developed Monte Carlo simulation techniques were employed namely: (a) Surface ratio (SURA) method and (b) Ray hitting (RAHI) method. Monte Carlo simulation experiments revealed that there are two types of efficiencies i.e. intrinsic efficiency (η{sub int}) and alpha hit efficiency (η{sub hit}). The η{sub int} depends upon only on the dimensions of the dosimeter and η{sub hit} depends both upon dimensions of the dosimeter and range of the alpha particles. The total latent track registration efficiency is the product of both intrinsic and hit efficiencies. It has been concluded that if diagonal length of box type dosimeter is kept smaller than the range of alpha particle then hit efficiency is achieved as 100%. Nevertheless the intrinsic efficiency keeps playing its role. The Monte Carlo simulation experimental results have been found helpful to understand the intricate track registration mechanisms in the box type dosimeter. This paper

Calibration curve for germanium spectrometers from solutions calibrated by liquid scintillation counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grau, A.; Navarro, N.; Rodriguez, L.; Alvarez, A.; Salvador, S.; Diaz, C.

1996-01-01

The beta-gamma emitters ''60Co, ''137 Cs, ''131 I, ''210 Pb y ''129 Iare radionuclides for which the calibration by the CIEMAT/NIST method ispossible with uncertainties less than 1%. We prepared, from standardized solutions of these radionuclides, samples in vials of 20 ml. We obtained the calibration curves, efficiency as a function of energy, for two germanium detectors. (Author) 5 refs

Nonequilibrium candidate Monte Carlo is an efficient tool for equilibrium simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilmeier, J. P.; Crooks, G. E.; Minh, D. D. L.; Chodera, J. D.

2011-10-24

Metropolis Monte Carlo simulation is a powerful tool for studying the equilibrium properties of matter. In complex condensed-phase systems, however, it is difficult to design Monte Carlo moves with high acceptance probabilities that also rapidly sample uncorrelated configurations. Here, we introduce a new class of moves based on nonequilibrium dynamics: candidate configurations are generated through a finite-time process in which a system is actively driven out of equilibrium, and accepted with criteria that preserve the equilibrium distribution. The acceptance rule is similar to the Metropolis acceptance probability, but related to the nonequilibrium work rather than the instantaneous energy difference. Our method is applicable to sampling from both a single thermodynamic state or a mixture of thermodynamic states, and allows both coordinates and thermodynamic parameters to be driven in nonequilibrium proposals. While generating finite-time switching trajectories incurs an additional cost, driving some degrees of freedom while allowing others to evolve naturally can lead to large enhancements in acceptance probabilities, greatly reducing structural correlation times. Using nonequilibrium driven processes vastly expands the repertoire of useful Monte Carlo proposals in simulations of dense solvated systems.

Comparison of scattering experiments using synchrotron radiation with Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerlach, M.; Krumrey, M.; Cibik, L.; Mueller, P.; Ulm, G.

2009-01-01

Monte Carlo techniques are powerful tools to simulate the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter. One of the most widespread simulation program packages is Geant4. Almost all physical interaction processes can be included. However, it is not evident what accuracy can be obtained by a simulation. In this work, results of scattering experiments using monochromatized synchrotron radiation in the X-ray regime are quantitatively compared to the results of simulations using Geant4. Experiments were performed for various scattering foils made of different materials such as copper and gold. For energy-dispersive measurements of the scattered radiation, a cadmium telluride detector was used. The detector was fully characterized and calibrated with calculable undispersed as well as monochromatized synchrotron radiation. The obtained quantum efficiency and the response functions are in very good agreement with the corresponding Geant4 simulations. At the electron storage ring BESSY II the number of incident photons in the scattering experiments was measured with a photodiode that had been calibrated against a cryogenic radiometer, so that a direct comparison of scattering experiments with Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4 was possible. It was shown that Geant4 describes the photoeffect, including fluorescence as well as the Compton and Rayleigh scattering, with high accuracy, resulting in a deviation of typically less than 20%. Even polarization effects are widely covered by Geant4, and for Doppler broadening of Compton-scattered radiation the extension G4LECS can be included, but the fact that both features cannot be combined is a limitation. For most polarization-dependent simulations, good agreement with the experimental results was found, except for some orientations where Rayleigh scattering was overestimated in the simulation.

Comparison of scattering experiments using synchrotron radiation with Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlach, M.; Krumrey, M.; Cibik, L.; Müller, P.; Ulm, G.

2009-09-01

Monte Carlo techniques are powerful tools to simulate the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter. One of the most widespread simulation program packages is Geant4. Almost all physical interaction processes can be included. However, it is not evident what accuracy can be obtained by a simulation. In this work, results of scattering experiments using monochromatized synchrotron radiation in the X-ray regime are quantitatively compared to the results of simulations using Geant4. Experiments were performed for various scattering foils made of different materials such as copper and gold. For energy-dispersive measurements of the scattered radiation, a cadmium telluride detector was used. The detector was fully characterized and calibrated with calculable undispersed as well as monochromatized synchrotron radiation. The obtained quantum efficiency and the response functions are in very good agreement with the corresponding Geant4 simulations. At the electron storage ring BESSY II the number of incident photons in the scattering experiments was measured with a photodiode that had been calibrated against a cryogenic radiometer, so that a direct comparison of scattering experiments with Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4 was possible. It was shown that Geant4 describes the photoeffect, including fluorescence as well as the Compton and Rayleigh scattering, with high accuracy, resulting in a deviation of typically less than 20%. Even polarization effects are widely covered by Geant4, and for Doppler broadening of Compton-scattered radiation the extension G4LECS can be included, but the fact that both features cannot be combined is a limitation. For most polarization-dependent simulations, good agreement with the experimental results was found, except for some orientations where Rayleigh scattering was overestimated in the simulation.

Comparison of scattering experiments using synchrotron radiation with Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerlach, M. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Abbestr. 2-12, 10587 Berlin (Germany); Krumrey, M. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Abbestr. 2-12, 10587 Berlin (Germany)], E-mail: Michael.Krumrey@ptb.de; Cibik, L.; Mueller, P.; Ulm, G. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Abbestr. 2-12, 10587 Berlin (Germany)

2009-09-11

Monte Carlo techniques are powerful tools to simulate the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter. One of the most widespread simulation program packages is Geant4. Almost all physical interaction processes can be included. However, it is not evident what accuracy can be obtained by a simulation. In this work, results of scattering experiments using monochromatized synchrotron radiation in the X-ray regime are quantitatively compared to the results of simulations using Geant4. Experiments were performed for various scattering foils made of different materials such as copper and gold. For energy-dispersive measurements of the scattered radiation, a cadmium telluride detector was used. The detector was fully characterized and calibrated with calculable undispersed as well as monochromatized synchrotron radiation. The obtained quantum efficiency and the response functions are in very good agreement with the corresponding Geant4 simulations. At the electron storage ring BESSY II the number of incident photons in the scattering experiments was measured with a photodiode that had been calibrated against a cryogenic radiometer, so that a direct comparison of scattering experiments with Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4 was possible. It was shown that Geant4 describes the photoeffect, including fluorescence as well as the Compton and Rayleigh scattering, with high accuracy, resulting in a deviation of typically less than 20%. Even polarization effects are widely covered by Geant4, and for Doppler broadening of Compton-scattered radiation the extension G4LECS can be included, but the fact that both features cannot be combined is a limitation. For most polarization-dependent simulations, good agreement with the experimental results was found, except for some orientations where Rayleigh scattering was overestimated in the simulation.

A hybrid transport-diffusion Monte Carlo method for frequency-dependent radiative-transfer simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Densmore, Jeffery D.; Thompson, Kelly G.; Urbatsch, Todd J.

2012-01-01

Discrete Diffusion Monte Carlo (DDMC) is a technique for increasing the efficiency of Implicit Monte Carlo radiative-transfer simulations in optically thick media. In DDMC, particles take discrete steps between spatial cells according to a discretized diffusion equation. Each discrete step replaces many smaller Monte Carlo steps, thus improving the efficiency of the simulation. In this paper, we present an extension of DDMC for frequency-dependent radiative transfer. We base our new DDMC method on a frequency-integrated diffusion equation for frequencies below a specified threshold, as optical thickness is typically a decreasing function of frequency. Above this threshold we employ standard Monte Carlo, which results in a hybrid transport-diffusion scheme. With a set of frequency-dependent test problems, we confirm the accuracy and increased efficiency of our new DDMC method.

Limits on the efficiency of event-based algorithms for Monte Carlo neutron transport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul K. Romano

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The traditional form of parallelism in Monte Carlo particle transport simulations, wherein each individual particle history is considered a unit of work, does not lend itself well to data-level parallelism. Event-based algorithms, which were originally used for simulations on vector processors, may offer a path toward better utilizing data-level parallelism in modern computer architectures. In this study, a simple model is developed for estimating the efficiency of the event-based particle transport algorithm under two sets of assumptions. Data collected from simulations of four reactor problems using OpenMC was then used in conjunction with the models to calculate the speedup due to vectorization as a function of the size of the particle bank and the vector width. When each event type is assumed to have constant execution time, the achievable speedup is directly related to the particle bank size. We observed that the bank size generally needs to be at least 20 times greater than vector size to achieve vector efficiency greater than 90%. When the execution times for events are allowed to vary, the vector speedup is also limited by differences in the execution time for events being carried out in a single event-iteration.

SU-F-BRA-09: New Efficient Method for Xoft Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy Source Calibration by Pre-Characterizing Surface Applicators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pai, S [iCAD Inc., Los Gatos, CA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: The objective is to improve the efficiency and efficacy of Xoft™ Axxent™ electronic brachytherapy (EBT) calibration of the source & surface applicator using AAPM TG-61 formalism. Methods: Current method of Xoft EBT source calibration involves determination of absolute dose rate of the source in each of the four conical surface applicators using in-air chamber measurements & TG61 formalism. We propose a simplified TG-61 calibration methodology involving initial characterization of surface cone applicators. This is accomplished by calibrating dose rates for all 4 surface applicator sets (for 10 sources) which establishes the “applicator output ratios” with respect to the selected reference applicator (20 mm applicator). After the initial time, Xoft™ Axxent™ source TG61 Calibration is carried out only in the reference applicator. Using the established applicator output ratios, dose rates for other applicators will be calculated. Results: 200 sources & 8 surface applicator sets were calibrated cumulatively using a Standard Imaging A20 ion-chamber in accordance with manufacturer-recommended protocols. Dose rates of 10, 20, 35 & 50mm applicators were normalized to the reference (20mm) applicator. The data in Figure 1 indicates that the normalized dose rate variation for each applicator for all 200 sources is better than ±3%. The average output ratios are 1.11, 1.02 and 0.49 for the 10 mm,35 mm and 50 mm applicators, respectively, which are in good agreement with the manufacturer’s published output ratios of 1.13, 1.02 and 0.49. Conclusion: Our measurements successfully demonstrate the accuracy of a new calibration method using a single surface applicator for Xoft EBT sources and deriving the dose rates of other applicators. The accuracy of the calibration is improved as this method minimizes the source position variation inside the applicator during individual source calibrations. The new method significantly reduces the calibration time to less

Neutron dosemeter responses in workplace fields and the implications of using realistic neutron calibration fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, D.J.; Horwood, N.; Taylor, G.C.

1999-01-01

The use of realistic neutron calibration fields to overcome some of the problems associated with the response functions of presently available dosemeters, both area survey instruments and personal dosemeters, has been investigated. Realistic calibration fields have spectra which, compared to conventional radionuclide source based calibration fields, more closely match those of the workplace fields in which dosemeters are used. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to identify laboratory systems which would produce appropriate workplace-like calibration fields. A detailed analysis was then undertaken of the predicted under- and over-responses of dosemeters in a wide selection of measured workplace field spectra assuming calibration in a selection of calibration fields. These included both conventional radionuclide source calibration fields, and also several proposed realistic calibration fields. The present state of the art for dosemeter performance, and the possibilities of improving accuracy by using realistic calibration fields are both presented. (author)

A hydrological prediction system based on the SVS land-surface scheme: efficient calibration of GEM-Hydro for streamflow simulation over the Lake Ontario basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

É. Gaborit

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This work explores the potential of the distributed GEM-Hydro runoff modeling platform, developed at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC over the last decade. More precisely, the aim is to develop a robust implementation methodology to perform reliable streamflow simulations with a distributed model over large and partly ungauged basins, in an efficient manner. The latest version of GEM-Hydro combines the SVS (Soil, Vegetation and Snow land-surface scheme and the WATROUTE routing scheme. SVS has never been evaluated from a hydrological point of view, which is done here for all major rivers flowing into Lake Ontario. Two established hydrological models are confronted to GEM-Hydro, namely MESH and WATFLOOD, which share the same routing scheme (WATROUTE but rely on different land-surface schemes. All models are calibrated using the same meteorological forcings, objective function, calibration algorithm, and basin delineation. GEM-Hydro is shown to be competitive with MESH and WATFLOOD: the NSE  √  (Nash–Sutcliffe criterion computed on the square root of the flows is for example equal to 0.83 for MESH and GEM-Hydro in validation on the Moira River basin, and to 0.68 for WATFLOOD. A computationally efficient strategy is proposed to calibrate SVS: a simple unit hydrograph is used for routing instead of WATROUTE. Global and local calibration strategies are compared in order to estimate runoff for ungauged portions of the Lake Ontario basin. Overall, streamflow predictions obtained using a global calibration strategy, in which a single parameter set is identified for the whole basin of Lake Ontario, show accuracy comparable to the predictions based on local calibration: the average NSE  √  in validation and over seven subbasins is 0.73 and 0.61, respectively for local and global calibrations. Hence, global calibration provides spatially consistent parameter values, robust performance at gauged locations, and reduces the

A hydrological prediction system based on the SVS land-surface scheme: efficient calibration of GEM-Hydro for streamflow simulation over the Lake Ontario basin

Science.gov (United States)

Gaborit, Étienne; Fortin, Vincent; Xu, Xiaoyong; Seglenieks, Frank; Tolson, Bryan; Fry, Lauren M.; Hunter, Tim; Anctil, François; Gronewold, Andrew D.

2017-09-01

This work explores the potential of the distributed GEM-Hydro runoff modeling platform, developed at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) over the last decade. More precisely, the aim is to develop a robust implementation methodology to perform reliable streamflow simulations with a distributed model over large and partly ungauged basins, in an efficient manner. The latest version of GEM-Hydro combines the SVS (Soil, Vegetation and Snow) land-surface scheme and the WATROUTE routing scheme. SVS has never been evaluated from a hydrological point of view, which is done here for all major rivers flowing into Lake Ontario. Two established hydrological models are confronted to GEM-Hydro, namely MESH and WATFLOOD, which share the same routing scheme (WATROUTE) but rely on different land-surface schemes. All models are calibrated using the same meteorological forcings, objective function, calibration algorithm, and basin delineation. GEM-Hydro is shown to be competitive with MESH and WATFLOOD: the NSE √ (Nash-Sutcliffe criterion computed on the square root of the flows) is for example equal to 0.83 for MESH and GEM-Hydro in validation on the Moira River basin, and to 0.68 for WATFLOOD. A computationally efficient strategy is proposed to calibrate SVS: a simple unit hydrograph is used for routing instead of WATROUTE. Global and local calibration strategies are compared in order to estimate runoff for ungauged portions of the Lake Ontario basin. Overall, streamflow predictions obtained using a global calibration strategy, in which a single parameter set is identified for the whole basin of Lake Ontario, show accuracy comparable to the predictions based on local calibration: the average NSE √ in validation and over seven subbasins is 0.73 and 0.61, respectively for local and global calibrations. Hence, global calibration provides spatially consistent parameter values, robust performance at gauged locations, and reduces the complexity and computation burden of the

Quantum Monte Carlo for large chemical systems: implementing efficient strategies for peta scale platforms and beyond

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scemama, Anthony; Caffarel, Michel; Oseret, Emmanuel; Jalby, William

2013-01-01

Various strategies to implement efficiently quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations for large chemical systems are presented. These include: (i) the introduction of an efficient algorithm to calculate the computationally expensive Slater matrices. This novel scheme is based on the use of the highly localized character of atomic Gaussian basis functions (not the molecular orbitals as usually done), (ii) the possibility of keeping the memory footprint minimal, (iii) the important enhancement of single-core performance when efficient optimization tools are used, and (iv) the definition of a universal, dynamic, fault-tolerant, and load-balanced framework adapted to all kinds of computational platforms (massively parallel machines, clusters, or distributed grids). These strategies have been implemented in the QMC-Chem code developed at Toulouse and illustrated with numerical applications on small peptides of increasing sizes (158, 434, 1056, and 1731 electrons). Using 10-80 k computing cores of the Curie machine (GENCI-TGCC-CEA, France), QMC-Chem has been shown to be capable of running at the peta scale level, thus demonstrating that for this machine a large part of the peak performance can be achieved. Implementation of large-scale QMC simulations for future exa scale platforms with a comparable level of efficiency is expected to be feasible. (authors)

The efficiency calibration and development of environmental correction factors for an in situ high-resolution gamma spectroscopy well logging system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giles, J.R.

1996-05-01

A Gamma Spectroscopy Logging System (GSLS) has been developed to study sub-surface radionuclide contamination. Absolute efficiency calibration of the GSLS was performed using simple cylindrical borehole geometry. The calibration source incorporated naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) that emitted photons ranging from 186-keV to 2,614-keV. More complex borehole geometries were modeled using commercially available shielding software. A linear relationship was found between increasing source thickness and relative photon fluence rates at the detector. Examination of varying porosity and moisture content showed that as porosity increases, relative photon fluence rates increase linearly for all energies. Attenuation effects due to iron, water, PVC, and concrete cylindrical shields were found to agree with previous studies. Regression analyses produced energy-dependent equations for efficiency corrections applicable to spectral gamma-ray well logs collected under non-standard borehole conditions

The role of research efficiency in the evolution of scientific productivity and impact: An agent-based model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

You, Zhi-Qiang; Han, Xiao-Pu; Hadzibeganovic, Tarik

2016-01-01

We introduce an agent-based model to investigate the effects of production efficiency (PE) and hot field tracing capability (HFTC) on productivity and impact of scientists embedded in a competitive research environment. Agents compete to publish and become cited by occupying the nodes of a citation network calibrated by real-world citation datasets. Our Monte-Carlo simulations reveal that differences in individual performance are strongly related to PE, whereas HFTC alone cannot provide sustainable academic careers under intensely competitive conditions. Remarkably, the negative effect of high competition levels on productivity can be buffered by elevated research efficiency if simultaneously HFTC is sufficiently low. - Highlights: • We study the role of production efficiency (PE) and research topic selectivity in the evolution of performance in academia. • In our model, agents compete to publish and become cited by occupying the nodes of an artificial citation network. • Our agent-based model is calibrated by using datasets from the APS journals and the arxiv.org online preprint repository. • Individual performance is strongly affected by PE, whereas topic selectivity cannot significantly enhance academic success. • With even minimal reductions of research efficiency gaps, fairly profound boosts of scientific careers can be achieved.

The role of research efficiency in the evolution of scientific productivity and impact: An agent-based model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

You, Zhi-Qiang [Alibaba Research Center for Complexity Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121 (China); Institute of Information Economy and Alibaba Business College, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121 (China); Han, Xiao-Pu, E-mail: xp@hznu.edu.cn [Alibaba Research Center for Complexity Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121 (China); Institute of Information Economy and Alibaba Business College, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121 (China); Hadzibeganovic, Tarik, E-mail: tarik.hadzibeganovic@gmail.com [Department of Psychology, University of Graz, 8010 Graz (Austria)

2016-02-22

We introduce an agent-based model to investigate the effects of production efficiency (PE) and hot field tracing capability (HFTC) on productivity and impact of scientists embedded in a competitive research environment. Agents compete to publish and become cited by occupying the nodes of a citation network calibrated by real-world citation datasets. Our Monte-Carlo simulations reveal that differences in individual performance are strongly related to PE, whereas HFTC alone cannot provide sustainable academic careers under intensely competitive conditions. Remarkably, the negative effect of high competition levels on productivity can be buffered by elevated research efficiency if simultaneously HFTC is sufficiently low. - Highlights: • We study the role of production efficiency (PE) and research topic selectivity in the evolution of performance in academia. • In our model, agents compete to publish and become cited by occupying the nodes of an artificial citation network. • Our agent-based model is calibrated by using datasets from the APS journals and the arxiv.org online preprint repository. • Individual performance is strongly affected by PE, whereas topic selectivity cannot significantly enhance academic success. • With even minimal reductions of research efficiency gaps, fairly profound boosts of scientific careers can be achieved.

Theoretical calibration of a NaI(Tl) detector for the measurement of 131I in a thyroid phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venturini, Luzia

2002-01-01

This paper describes the theoretical calibration of a NaI(Tl) detector using Monte Carlo Method, for the measurement of 131 I in a thyroid phantom. The thyroid is represented by the region between two concentric cylinders, where the inner one represents the trachea and the outer one represents the neck. 133 Ba was used for experimental calibration. The results shows that the calibration procedure is suitable for 131 I measurements. (author)

Application of voxel phantoms and Monte Carlo methods to internal and external dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, J.G.; Santos, D. de S.; Silva, F.C. da; Dantas, B.M.; Azeredo, A.; Malatova, I.; Foltanova, S.

2000-01-01

Voxel phantoms and the Monte Carlo technique are applied to the areas of calibration of in vivo measurement systems, Specific Effective Energy calculations, and dose calculations due to external sources of radiation. The main advantages of the use of voxel phantoms is their high level of detail of body structures, and the ease with which their physical dimensions can be changed. For the simulation of in vivo measurement systems for calibration purposes, a voxel phantom with a format of 871 'slices' each of 277 x 148 picture elements was used. The Monte Carlo technique is used to simulate the tissue contamination, to transport the photons through the tissues and to simulate the detection of the radiation. For benchmarking, the program was applied to obtain calibration factors for the in vivo measurement of 241 Am, U nat and 137 Cs deposited in various tissues or in the whole body, as measured with a NaI or Gernlanium detector. The calculated and real activities in all cases were found to be in good agreement. For the calculation of Specific Effective Energies (SEEs) and the calculation of dose received from external sources, the Yale voxel phantom with a format of 493 slices' each of 87 x 147 picture elements was used. The Monte Carlo program was developed to calculate external doses due to environmental, occupational or accidental exposures. The program calculates tissue and effective dose for the following geometries: cloud immersion, ground contamination, X-ray irradiation, point source irradiation or others. The benchmarking results for the external source are in good agreement with the measured values. The results obtained for the SEEs are compatible with the ICRP values. (author)

An efficient iterative grand canonical Monte Carlo algorithm to determine individual ionic chemical potentials in electrolytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Malasics, Attila; Boda, Dezso

2010-06-28

Two iterative procedures have been proposed recently to calculate the chemical potentials corresponding to prescribed concentrations from grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations. Both are based on repeated GCMC simulations with updated excess chemical potentials until the desired concentrations are established. In this paper, we propose combining our robust and fast converging iteration algorithm [Malasics, Gillespie, and Boda, J. Chem. Phys. 128, 124102 (2008)] with the suggestion of Lamperski [Mol. Simul. 33, 1193 (2007)] to average the chemical potentials in the iterations (instead of just using the chemical potentials obtained in the last iteration). We apply the unified method for various electrolyte solutions and show that our algorithm is more efficient if we use the averaging procedure. We discuss the convergence problems arising from violation of charge neutrality when inserting/deleting individual ions instead of neutral groups of ions (salts). We suggest a correction term to the iteration procedure that makes the algorithm efficient to determine the chemical potentials of individual ions too.

Wielandt acceleration for MCNP5 Monte Carlo eigenvalue calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, F.

2007-01-01

Monte Carlo criticality calculations use the power iteration method to determine the eigenvalue (k eff ) and eigenfunction (fission source distribution) of the fundamental mode. A recently proposed method for accelerating convergence of the Monte Carlo power iteration using Wielandt's method has been implemented in a test version of MCNP5. The method is shown to provide dramatic improvements in convergence rates and to greatly reduce the possibility of false convergence assessment. The method is effective and efficient, improving the Monte Carlo figure-of-merit for many problems. In addition, the method should eliminate most of the underprediction bias in confidence intervals for Monte Carlo criticality calculations. (authors)

Direct megavoltage photon calibration service in Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, D.J.; Ramanthan, G.; Oliver, C.; Cole, A.; Harty, P.D.; Wright, T.; Webb, D.V.; Lye, J.; Followill, D.S.

2014-01-01

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) maintains the Australian primary standard of absorbed dose. Until recently, the standard was used to calibrate ionisation chambers only in 60 Co gamma rays. These chambers are then used by radiotherapy clinics to determine linac output, using a correction factor (k Q ) to take into account the different spectra of 60 Co and the linac. Over the period 2010–2013, ARPANSA adapted the primary standard to work in megavoltage linac beams, and has developed a calibration service at three photon beams (6, 10 and 18 MV) from an Elekta Synergy linac. We describe the details of the new calibration service, the method validation and the use of the new calibration factors with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s TRS-398 dosimetry Code of Practice. The expected changes in absorbed dose measurements in the clinic when shifting from 60 Co to the direct calibration are determined. For a Farmer chamber (model 2571), the measured chamber calibration coefficient is expected to be reduced by 0.4, 1.0 and 1.1 % respectively for these three beams when compared to the factor derived from 60 Co. These results are in overall agreement with international absorbed dose standards and calculations by Muir and Rogers in 2010 of k Q factors using Monte Carlo techniques. The reasons for and against moving to the new service are discussed in the light of the requirements of clinical dosimetry.

Quantum Monte Carlo approaches for correlated systems

CERN Document Server

Becca, Federico

2017-01-01

Over the past several decades, computational approaches to studying strongly-interacting systems have become increasingly varied and sophisticated. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to state-of-the-art quantum Monte Carlo techniques relevant for applications in correlated systems. Providing a clear overview of variational wave functions, and featuring a detailed presentation of stochastic samplings including Markov chains and Langevin dynamics, which are developed into a discussion of Monte Carlo methods. The variational technique is described, from foundations to a detailed description of its algorithms. Further topics discussed include optimisation techniques, real-time dynamics and projection methods, including Green's function, reptation and auxiliary-field Monte Carlo, from basic definitions to advanced algorithms for efficient codes, and the book concludes with recent developments on the continuum space. Quantum Monte Carlo Approaches for Correlated Systems provides an extensive reference ...

Calibration of the ORNL two-dimensional Thomson scattering system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, C.E. Jr.; Lazarus, E.A.; Kindsfather, R.R.; Murakami, M.; Stewart, K.A.

1985-10-01

A unified presentation of the calibrations needed for accurate calculation of electron temperature and density from Thomson scattering data for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory two-dimensional Thomson scattering system (SCATPAK II) is made. Techniques are described for measuring the range of wavelengths to which each channel is responsive. A statistical method for calibrating the gain of each channel in the system is given, and methods of checking for internal consistency and accuracy are presented. The relationship between the constants describing the relative light collection efficiency of each channel and plasma light-scattering theory is developed, methods for measuring the channel efficiencies and evaluating their accuracy are described, and the effect on these constants of bending fiber optics is discussed. The use of Rayleigh or Raman scattering for absolute efficiency (density) calibration, stray light measurement, and system efficiency evaluation is discussed; the relative merits of Rayleigh vs Raman scattering are presented; and the relationship among the Rayleigh/Raman calibrations, relative channel efficiency constants, and absolute efficiencies is developed

Calibration of Flick standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thalmann, Ruedi; Spiller, Jürg; Küng, Alain; Jusko, Otto

2012-01-01

Flick standards or magnification standards are widely used for an efficient and functional calibration of the sensitivity of form measuring instruments. The results of a recent measurement comparison have shown to be partially unsatisfactory and revealed problems related to the calibration of these standards. In this paper the influence factors for the calibration of Flick standards using roundness measurement instruments are discussed in detail, in particular the bandwidth of the measurement chain, residual form errors of the device under test, profile distortions due to the diameter of the probing element and questions related to the definition of the measurand. The different contributions are estimated using simulations and are experimentally verified. Also alternative methods to calibrate Flick standards are investigated. Finally the practical limitations of Flick standard calibration are shown and the usability of Flick standards both to calibrate the sensitivity of roundness instruments and to check the filter function of such instruments is analysed. (paper)

Weighted-delta-tracking for Monte Carlo particle transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgan, L.W.G.; Kotlyar, D.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • This paper presents an alteration to the Monte Carlo Woodcock tracking technique. • The alteration improves computational efficiency within regions of high absorbers. • The rejection technique is replaced by a statistical weighting mechanism. • The modified Woodcock method is shown to be faster than standard Woodcock tracking. • The modified Woodcock method achieves a lower variance, given a specified accuracy. - Abstract: Monte Carlo particle transport (MCPT) codes are incredibly powerful and versatile tools to simulate particle behavior in a multitude of scenarios, such as core/criticality studies, radiation protection, shielding, medicine and fusion research to name just a small subset applications. However, MCPT codes can be very computationally expensive to run when the model geometry contains large attenuation depths and/or contains many components. This paper proposes a simple modification to the Woodcock tracking method used by some Monte Carlo particle transport codes. The Woodcock method utilizes the rejection method for sampling virtual collisions as a method to remove collision distance sampling at material boundaries. However, it suffers from poor computational efficiency when the sample acceptance rate is low. The proposed method removes rejection sampling from the Woodcock method in favor of a statistical weighting scheme, which improves the computational efficiency of a Monte Carlo particle tracking code. It is shown that the modified Woodcock method is less computationally expensive than standard ray-tracing and rejection-based Woodcock tracking methods and achieves a lower variance, given a specified accuracy

Monte Carlo codes and Monte Carlo simulator program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higuchi, Kenji; Asai, Kiyoshi; Suganuma, Masayuki.

1990-03-01

Four typical Monte Carlo codes KENO-IV, MORSE, MCNP and VIM have been vectorized on VP-100 at Computing Center, JAERI. The problems in vector processing of Monte Carlo codes on vector processors have become clear through the work. As the result, it is recognized that these are difficulties to obtain good performance in vector processing of Monte Carlo codes. A Monte Carlo computing machine, which processes the Monte Carlo codes with high performances is being developed at our Computing Center since 1987. The concept of Monte Carlo computing machine and its performance have been investigated and estimated by using a software simulator. In this report the problems in vectorization of Monte Carlo codes, Monte Carlo pipelines proposed to mitigate these difficulties and the results of the performance estimation of the Monte Carlo computing machine by the simulator are described. (author)

Discrete Diffusion Monte Carlo for Electron Thermal Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Chenhall, Jeffrey; Cao, Duc; Wollaeger, Ryan; Moses, Gregory

2014-10-01

The iSNB (implicit Schurtz Nicolai Busquet electron thermal transport method of Cao et al. is adapted to a Discrete Diffusion Monte Carlo (DDMC) solution method for eventual inclusion in a hybrid IMC-DDMC (Implicit Monte Carlo) method. The hybrid method will combine the efficiency of a diffusion method in short mean free path regions with the accuracy of a transport method in long mean free path regions. The Monte Carlo nature of the approach allows the algorithm to be massively parallelized. Work to date on the iSNB-DDMC method will be presented. This work was supported by Sandia National Laboratory - Albuquerque.

Acceleration of monte Carlo solution by conjugate gradient method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toshihisa, Yamamoto

2005-01-01

The conjugate gradient method (CG) was applied to accelerate Monte Carlo solutions in fixed source problems. The equilibrium model based formulation enables to use CG scheme as well as initial guess to maximize computational performance. This method is available to arbitrary geometry provided that the neutron source distribution in each subregion can be regarded as flat. Even if it is not the case, the method can still be used as a powerful tool to provide an initial guess very close to the converged solution. The major difference of Monte Carlo CG to deterministic CG is that residual error is estimated using Monte Carlo sampling, thus statistical error exists in the residual. This leads to a flow diagram specific to Monte Carlo-CG. Three pre-conditioners were proposed for CG scheme and the performance was compared with a simple 1-D slab heterogeneous test problem. One of them, Sparse-M option, showed an excellent performance in convergence. The performance per unit cost was improved by four times in the test problem. Although direct estimation of efficiency of the method is impossible mainly because of the strong problem-dependence of the optimized pre-conditioner in CG, the method seems to have efficient potential as a fast solution algorithm for Monte Carlo calculations. (author)

Monte Carlo analysis of the Neutron Standards Laboratory of the CIEMAT; Analisis Monte Carlo del Laboratorio de Patrones Neutronicos del CIEMAT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vega C, H. R. [Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Unidad Academica de Estudios Nucleares, Cipres No. 10, Fracc. La Penuela, 98068 Zacatecas (Mexico); Mendez V, R. [Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas, Av. Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Guzman G, K. A., E-mail: fermineutron@yahoo.com [Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Departamento de Ingenieria Nuclear, C. Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid (Spain)

2014-10-15

By means of Monte Carlo methods was characterized the neutrons field produced by calibration sources in the Neutron Standards Laboratory of the Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT). The laboratory has two neutron calibration sources: {sup 241}AmBe and {sup 252}Cf which are stored in a water pool and are placed on the calibration bench using controlled systems at distance. To characterize the neutrons field was built a three-dimensional model of the room where it was included the stainless steel bench, the irradiation table and the storage pool. The sources model included double encapsulated of steel, as cladding. With the purpose of determining the effect that produces the presence of the different components of the room, during the characterization the neutrons spectra, the total flow and the rapidity of environmental equivalent dose to 100 cm of the source were considered. The presence of the walls, floor and ceiling of the room is causing the most modification in the spectra and the integral values of the flow and the rapidity of environmental equivalent dose. (Author)

An efficient framework for photon Monte Carlo treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fix, Michael K; Manser, Peter; Frei, Daniel; Volken, Werner; Mini, Roberto; Born, Ernst J

2007-01-01

Currently photon Monte Carlo treatment planning (MCTP) for a patient stored in the patient database of a treatment planning system (TPS) can usually only be performed using a cumbersome multi-step procedure where many user interactions are needed. This means automation is needed for usage in clinical routine. In addition, because of the long computing time in MCTP, optimization of the MC calculations is essential. For these purposes a new graphical user interface (GUI)-based photon MC environment has been developed resulting in a very flexible framework. By this means appropriate MC transport methods are assigned to different geometric regions by still benefiting from the features included in the TPS. In order to provide a flexible MC environment, the MC particle transport has been divided into different parts: the source, beam modifiers and the patient. The source part includes the phase-space source, source models and full MC transport through the treatment head. The beam modifier part consists of one module for each beam modifier. To simulate the radiation transport through each individual beam modifier, one out of three full MC transport codes can be selected independently. Additionally, for each beam modifier a simple or an exact geometry can be chosen. Thereby, different complexity levels of radiation transport are applied during the simulation. For the patient dose calculation, two different MC codes are available. A special plug-in in Eclipse providing all necessary information by means of Dicom streams was used to start the developed MC GUI. The implementation of this framework separates the MC transport from the geometry and the modules pass the particles in memory; hence, no files are used as the interface. The implementation is realized for 6 and 15 MV beams of a Varian Clinac 2300 C/D. Several applications demonstrate the usefulness of the framework. Apart from applications dealing with the beam modifiers, two patient cases are shown. Thereby

Improvements for Monte Carlo burnup calculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shenglong, Q.; Dong, Y.; Danrong, S.; Wei, L., E-mail: qiangshenglong@tsinghua.org.cn, E-mail: d.yao@npic.ac.cn, E-mail: songdr@npic.ac.cn, E-mail: luwei@npic.ac.cn [Nuclear Power Inst. of China, Cheng Du, Si Chuan (China)

2015-07-01

Monte Carlo burnup calculation is development trend of reactor physics, there would be a lot of work to be done for engineering applications. Based on Monte Carlo burnup code MOI, non-fuel burnup calculation methods and critical search suggestions will be mentioned in this paper. For non-fuel burnup, mixed burnup mode will improve the accuracy of burnup calculation and efficiency. For critical search of control rod position, a new method called ABN based on ABA which used by MC21 will be proposed for the first time in this paper. (author)

PRELIMINARY COUPLING OF THE MONTE CARLO CODE OPENMC AND THE MULTIPHYSICS OBJECT-ORIENTED SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT (MOOSE) FOR ANALYZING DOPPLER FEEDBACK IN MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matthew Ellis; Derek Gaston; Benoit Forget; Kord Smith

2011-07-01

In recent years the use of Monte Carlo methods for modeling reactors has become feasible due to the increasing availability of massively parallel computer systems. One of the primary challenges yet to be fully resolved, however, is the efficient and accurate inclusion of multiphysics feedback in Monte Carlo simulations. The research in this paper presents a preliminary coupling of the open source Monte Carlo code OpenMC with the open source Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE). The coupling of OpenMC and MOOSE will be used to investigate efficient and accurate numerical methods needed to include multiphysics feedback in Monte Carlo codes. An investigation into the sensitivity of Doppler feedback to fuel temperature approximations using a two dimensional 17x17 PWR fuel assembly is presented in this paper. The results show a functioning multiphysics coupling between OpenMC and MOOSE. The coupling utilizes Functional Expansion Tallies to accurately and efficiently transfer pin power distributions tallied in OpenMC to unstructured finite element meshes used in MOOSE. The two dimensional PWR fuel assembly case also demonstrates that for a simplified model the pin-by-pin doppler feedback can be adequately replicated by scaling a representative pin based on pin relative powers.

Technical preparations for the in-vessel 14 MeV neutron calibration at JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batistoni, P.; Popovichev, S.; Crowe, R.; Cufar, A.; Ghani, Z.; Keogh, K.; Peacock, A.; Price, R.; Baranov, A.; Korotkov, S.; Lykin, P.; Samoshin, A.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The JET 14 MeV neutron calibration requires a neutron generator to be deployed inside the vacuum vessel by means of the remote handling system. • A neutron generator of suitable intensity and compliant with physics, remote handling and safety requirements has been identified and procured.The scientific programme of the preparatory phase devoted to fully characterizing the selected 14 MeV neutron generator is discussed. • The aim is to measure the absolute neutron emission rate within (± 5%) and the energy spectrum of emitted neutron as a function of angles. • The physics preparations, source issues, safety and engineering aspects required to calibrate directly the JET neutron detectors are discussed. - Abstract: The power output of fusion devices is measured from their neutron yields which relate directly to the fusion yield. In this paper we describe the devices and methods that have been prepared to perform a new in situ 14 MeV neutron calibration at JET in view of the new DT campaign planned at JET in the next years. The target accuracy of this calibration is ±10% as required for ITER, where a precise neutron yield measurement is important, e.g., for tritium accountancy. In this paper, the constraints and early decisions which defined the main calibration approach are discussed, e.g., the choice of 14 MeV neutron source and the deployment method. The physics preparations, source issues, safety and engineering aspects required to calibrate directly the JET neutron detectors are also discussed. The existing JET remote-handling system will be used to deploy the neutron source inside the JET vessel. For this purpose, compatible tooling and systems necessary to ensure safe and efficient deployment have been developed. The scientific programme of the preparatory phase is devoted to fully characterizing the selected 14 MeV neutron generator to be used as the calibrating source, obtain a better understanding of the limitations of the

Technical preparations for the in-vessel 14 MeV neutron calibration at JET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batistoni, P., E-mail: paola.batistoni@enea.it [ENEA, Department of Fusion and Nuclear Safety Technology, I-00044, Frascati, Rome (Italy); EUROfusion Consortium, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Popovichev, S. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); EUROfusion Consortium, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Crowe, R. [Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE), Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); EUROfusion Consortium, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Cufar, A. [Reactor Physics Division, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000, Ljubljana (Slovenia); EUROfusion Consortium, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Ghani, Z. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); EUROfusion Consortium, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Keogh, K. [Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE), Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); EUROfusion Consortium, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Peacock, A. [JET Exploitation Unit, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Price, R. [Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE), Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); EUROfusion Consortium, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Baranov, A.; Korotkov, S.; Lykin, P.; Samoshin, A. [All-Russia Research Institute of Automatics (VNIIA), 22, Sushchevskaya str., 127055, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2017-04-15

Highlights: • The JET 14 MeV neutron calibration requires a neutron generator to be deployed inside the vacuum vessel by means of the remote handling system. • A neutron generator of suitable intensity and compliant with physics, remote handling and safety requirements has been identified and procured.The scientific programme of the preparatory phase devoted to fully characterizing the selected 14 MeV neutron generator is discussed. • The aim is to measure the absolute neutron emission rate within (± 5%) and the energy spectrum of emitted neutron as a function of angles. • The physics preparations, source issues, safety and engineering aspects required to calibrate directly the JET neutron detectors are discussed. - Abstract: The power output of fusion devices is measured from their neutron yields which relate directly to the fusion yield. In this paper we describe the devices and methods that have been prepared to perform a new in situ 14 MeV neutron calibration at JET in view of the new DT campaign planned at JET in the next years. The target accuracy of this calibration is ±10% as required for ITER, where a precise neutron yield measurement is important, e.g., for tritium accountancy. In this paper, the constraints and early decisions which defined the main calibration approach are discussed, e.g., the choice of 14 MeV neutron source and the deployment method. The physics preparations, source issues, safety and engineering aspects required to calibrate directly the JET neutron detectors are also discussed. The existing JET remote-handling system will be used to deploy the neutron source inside the JET vessel. For this purpose, compatible tooling and systems necessary to ensure safe and efficient deployment have been developed. The scientific programme of the preparatory phase is devoted to fully characterizing the selected 14 MeV neutron generator to be used as the calibrating source, obtain a better understanding of the limitations of the

Geometry and Dynamics for Markov Chain Monte Carlo

Science.gov (United States)

Barp, Alessandro; Briol, François-Xavier; Kennedy, Anthony D.; Girolami, Mark

2018-03-01

Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods have revolutionised mathematical computation and enabled statistical inference within many previously intractable models. In this context, Hamiltonian dynamics have been proposed as an efficient way of building chains which can explore probability densities efficiently. The method emerges from physics and geometry and these links have been extensively studied by a series of authors through the last thirty years. However, there is currently a gap between the intuitions and knowledge of users of the methodology and our deep understanding of these theoretical foundations. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the geometric tools used in Hamiltonian Monte Carlo at a level accessible to statisticians, machine learners and other users of the methodology with only a basic understanding of Monte Carlo methods. This will be complemented with some discussion of the most recent advances in the field which we believe will become increasingly relevant to applied scientists.

Multigroup and coupled forward-adjoint Monte Carlo calculation efficiencies for secondary neutron doses from proton beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelsey IV, Charles T.; Prinja, Anil K.

2011-01-01

We evaluate the Monte Carlo calculation efficiency for multigroup transport relative to continuous energy transport using the MCNPX code system to evaluate secondary neutron doses from a proton beam. We consider both fully forward simulation and application of a midway forward adjoint coupling method to the problem. Previously we developed tools for building coupled multigroup proton/neutron cross section libraries and showed consistent results for continuous energy and multigroup proton/neutron transport calculations. We observed that forward multigroup transport could be more efficient than continuous energy. Here we quantify solution efficiency differences for a secondary radiation dose problem characteristic of proton beam therapy problems. We begin by comparing figures of merit for forward multigroup and continuous energy MCNPX transport and find that multigroup is 30 times more efficient. Next we evaluate efficiency gains for coupling out-of-beam adjoint solutions with forward in-beam solutions. We use a variation of a midway forward-adjoint coupling method developed by others for neutral particle transport. Our implementation makes use of the surface source feature in MCNPX and we use spherical harmonic expansions for coupling in angle rather than solid angle binning. The adjoint out-of-beam transport for organs of concern in a phantom or patient can be coupled with numerous forward, continuous energy or multigroup, in-beam perturbations of a therapy beam line configuration. Out-of-beam dose solutions are provided without repeating out-of-beam transport. (author)

Estimation of photon energy distribution in gamma calibration field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Fumiaki; Shimizu, Shigeru; Yamaguchi, Yasuhiro

1997-03-01

Photon survey instruments used for radiation protection are usually calibrated at gamma radiation fields, which are traceable to the national standard with regard to exposure. Whereas scattered radiations as well as primary gamma-rays exit in the calibration field, no consideration for the effect of the scattered radiations on energy distribution is given in routine calibration works. The scattered radiations can change photon energy spectra in the field, and this can result in misinterpretations of energy-dependent instrument responses. Construction materials in the field affect the energy distribution and magnitude of the scattered radiations. The geometric relationship between a gamma source and an instrument can determine the energy distribution at the calibration point. Therefore, it is essential for the assurance of quality calibration to estimate the energy spectra at the gamma calibration fields. Then, photon energy distributions at some fields in the Facility of Radiation Standard of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) were estimated by measurements using a NaI(Tl) detector and Monte Carlo calculations. It was found that the use of collimator gives a different feature in photon energy distribution. The origin of scattered radiations and the ratio of the scattered radiations to the primary gamma-rays were obtained. The results can help to improve the calibration of photon survey instruments in the JAERI. (author)

A methodology to develop computational phantoms with adjustable posture for WBC calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonseca, T C Ferreira; Vanhavere, F; Bogaerts, R; Hunt, John

2014-01-01

A Whole Body Counter (WBC) is a facility to routinely assess the internal contamination of exposed workers, especially in the case of radiation release accidents. The calibration of the counting device is usually done by using anthropomorphic physical phantoms representing the human body. Due to such a challenge of constructing representative physical phantoms a virtual calibration has been introduced. The use of computational phantoms and the Monte Carlo method to simulate radiation transport have been demonstrated to be a worthy alternative. In this study we introduce a methodology developed for the creation of realistic computational voxel phantoms with adjustable posture for WBC calibration. The methodology makes use of different software packages to enable the creation and modification of computational voxel phantoms. This allows voxel phantoms to be developed on demand for the calibration of different WBC configurations. This in turn helps to study the major source of uncertainty associated with the in vivo measurement routine which is the difference between the calibration phantoms and the real persons being counted. The use of realistic computational phantoms also helps the optimization of the counting measurement. Open source codes such as MakeHuman and Blender software packages have been used for the creation and modelling of 3D humanoid characters based on polygonal mesh surfaces. Also, a home-made software was developed whose goal is to convert the binary 3D voxel grid into a MCNPX input file. This paper summarizes the development of a library of phantoms of the human body that uses two basic phantoms called MaMP and FeMP (Male and Female Mesh Phantoms) to create a set of male and female phantoms that vary both in height and in weight. Two sets of MaMP and FeMP phantoms were developed and used for efficiency calibration of two different WBC set-ups: the Doel NPP WBC laboratory and AGM laboratory of SCK-CEN in Mol, Belgium. (paper)

A methodology to develop computational phantoms with adjustable posture for WBC calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira Fonseca, T. C.; Bogaerts, R.; Hunt, John; Vanhavere, F.

2014-11-01

A Whole Body Counter (WBC) is a facility to routinely assess the internal contamination of exposed workers, especially in the case of radiation release accidents. The calibration of the counting device is usually done by using anthropomorphic physical phantoms representing the human body. Due to such a challenge of constructing representative physical phantoms a virtual calibration has been introduced. The use of computational phantoms and the Monte Carlo method to simulate radiation transport have been demonstrated to be a worthy alternative. In this study we introduce a methodology developed for the creation of realistic computational voxel phantoms with adjustable posture for WBC calibration. The methodology makes use of different software packages to enable the creation and modification of computational voxel phantoms. This allows voxel phantoms to be developed on demand for the calibration of different WBC configurations. This in turn helps to study the major source of uncertainty associated with the in vivo measurement routine which is the difference between the calibration phantoms and the real persons being counted. The use of realistic computational phantoms also helps the optimization of the counting measurement. Open source codes such as MakeHuman and Blender software packages have been used for the creation and modelling of 3D humanoid characters based on polygonal mesh surfaces. Also, a home-made software was developed whose goal is to convert the binary 3D voxel grid into a MCNPX input file. This paper summarizes the development of a library of phantoms of the human body that uses two basic phantoms called MaMP and FeMP (Male and Female Mesh Phantoms) to create a set of male and female phantoms that vary both in height and in weight. Two sets of MaMP and FeMP phantoms were developed and used for efficiency calibration of two different WBC set-ups: the Doel NPP WBC laboratory and AGM laboratory of SCK-CEN in Mol, Belgium.

The development of an efficient mass balance approach for the purity assignment of organic calibration standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Stephen R; Alamgir, Mahiuddin; Chan, Benjamin K H; Dang, Thao; Jones, Kai; Krishnaswami, Maya; Luo, Yawen; Mitchell, Peter S R; Moawad, Michael; Swan, Hilton; Tarrant, Greg J

2015-10-01

The purity determination of organic calibration standards using the traditional mass balance approach is described. Demonstrated examples highlight the potential for bias in each measurement and the need to implement an approach that provides a cross-check for each result, affording fit for purpose purity values in a timely and cost-effective manner. Chromatographic techniques such as gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) and high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (HPLC-UV), combined with mass and NMR spectroscopy, provide a detailed impurity profile allowing an efficient conversion of chromatographic peak areas into relative mass fractions, generally avoiding the need to calibrate each impurity present. For samples analysed by GC-FID, a conservative measurement uncertainty budget is described, including a component to cover potential variations in the response of each unidentified impurity. An alternative approach is also detailed in which extensive purification eliminates the detector response factor issue, facilitating the certification of a super-pure calibration standard which can be used to quantify the main component in less-pure candidate materials. This latter approach is particularly useful when applying HPLC analysis with UV detection. Key to the success of this approach is the application of both qualitative and quantitative (1)H NMR spectroscopy.

SEE cross section calibration and application to quasi-monoenergetic and spallation facilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alía Rubén García

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We describe an approach to calibrate SEE-based detectors in monoenergetic fields and apply the resulting semi-empiric responses to more general mixed-field cases in which a broad variety of particle species and energy spectra are involved. The calibration of the response functions is based both on experimental proton and neutron data and considerations derived from Monte Carlo simulations using the FLUKA code. The application environments include the quasi-monoenergetic neutrons at RCNP, the atmospheric-like VESUVIO spallation spectrum and the CHARM high-energy accelerator test facility.

On the long-term stability of calibration standards in different matrices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandić, A.; Vukanac, I.; Djurašević, M.; Novković, D.; Šešlak, B.; Milošević, Z.

2012-01-01

In order to assure Quality Control in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025, it was important, from metrological point of view, to examine the long-term stability of calibration standards previously prepared. Comprehensive reconsideration on efficiency curves with respect to the ageing of calibration standards is presented in this paper. The calibration standards were re-used after a period of 5 years and analysis of the results showed discrepancies in efficiency values. - Highlights: ► Long-term stability of calibration standards (ISO 17025 Quality Control) was analyzed. ► Calibration standards covered the wide range of densities and chemical composition. ► Mineralized grass, powdered milk, surface soil and sand were used as standard matrices. ► Calibration standards were re-evaluated after 5 years. ► Results showed discrepancies of efficiency values.

Bayesian calibration of the Community Land Model using surrogates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ray, Jaideep; Hou, Zhangshuan; Huang, Maoyi; Swiler, Laura Painton

2014-02-01

We present results from the Bayesian calibration of hydrological parameters of the Community Land Model (CLM), which is often used in climate simulations and Earth system models. A statistical inverse problem is formulated for three hydrological parameters, conditional on observations of latent heat surface fluxes over 48 months. Our calibration method uses polynomial and Gaussian process surrogates of the CLM, and solves the parameter estimation problem using a Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler. Posterior probability densities for the parameters are developed for two sites with different soil and vegetation covers. Our method also allows us to examine the structural error in CLM under two error models. We find that surrogate models can be created for CLM in most cases. The posterior distributions are more predictive than the default parameter values in CLM. Climatologically averaging the observations does not modify the parameters' distributions significantly. The structural error model reveals a correlation time-scale which can be used to identify the physical process that could be contributing to it. While the calibrated CLM has a higher predictive skill, the calibration is under-dispersive.

Multidetector calibration for mass spectrometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayne, C.K.; Donohue, D.L.; Fiedler, R.

1994-06-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency's Safeguards Analytical Laboratory has performed calibration experiments to measure the different efficiencies among multi-Faraday detectors for a Finnigan-MAT 261 mass spectrometer. Two types of calibration experiments were performed: (1) peak-shift experiments and (2) peak-jump experiments. For peak-shift experiments, the ion intensities were measured for all isotopes of an element in different Faraday detectors. Repeated measurements were made by shifting the isotopes to various Faraday detectors. Two different peak-shifting schemes were used to measure plutonium (UK Pu5/92138) samples. For peak-jump experiments, ion intensities were measured in a reference Faraday detector for a single isotope and compared with those measured in the other Faraday detectors. Repeated measurements were made by switching back-and-forth between the reference Faraday detector and a selected Faraday detector. This switching procedure is repeated for all Faraday detectors. Peak-jump experiments were performed with replicate measurements of 239 Pu, 187 Re, and 238 U. Detector efficiency factors were estimated for both peak-jump and peak-shift experiments using a flexible calibration model to statistically analyze both types of multidetector calibration experiments. Calculated detector efficiency factors were shown to depend on both the material analyzed and the experimental conditions. A single detector efficiency factor is not recommended for each detector that would be used to correct routine sample analyses. An alternative three-run peak-shift sample analysis should be considered. A statistical analysis of the data from this peak-shift experiment can adjust the isotopic ratio estimates for detector differences due to each sample analysis

Euromet action 428: transfer of ge detectors efficiency calibration from point source geometry to other geometries; Action euromet 428: transfert de l'etalonnage en rendement de detecteurs au germanium pour une source ponctuelle vers d'autres geometries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lepy, M.Ch

2000-07-01

The EUROMET project 428 examines efficiency transfer computation for Ge gamma-ray spectrometers when the efficiency is known for a reference point source geometry in the 60 keV to 2 MeV energy range. For this, different methods are used, such as Monte Carlo simulation or semi-empirical computation. The exercise compares the application of these methods to the same selected experimental cases to determine the usage limitations versus the requested accuracy. For carefully examining these results and trying to derive information for improving the computation codes, this study was limited to a few simple cases, from an experimental efficiency calibration for point source at 10-cm source-to-detector distance. The first part concerns the simplest case of geometry transfer, i.e., using point sources for 3 source-to-detector distances: 2,5 and 20 cm; the second part deals with transfer from point source geometry to cylindrical geometry with three different matrices. The general results show that the deviations between the computed results and the measured efficiencies are for the most part within 10%. The quality of the results is rather inhomogeneous and shows that these codes cannot be used directly for metrological purposes. However, most of them are operational for routine measurements when efficiency uncertainties of 5-10% can be sufficient. (author)

Improvement of the WBC calibration of the Internal Dosimetry Laboratory of the CDTN/CNEN using MCNPX code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guerra P, F.; Heeren de O, A. [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear, Programa de Pos Graduacao em Ciencias e Tecnicas Nucleares, Av. Pte. Antonio Carlos 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (Brazil); Melo, B. M.; Lacerda, M. A. S.; Da Silva, T. A.; Ferreira F, T. C., E-mail: tcff01@gmail.com [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear, Programa de Pos Graduacao / CNEN, Av. Pte. Antonio Carlos 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (Brazil)

2015-10-15

The Plan of Radiological Protection licensed by the National Nuclear Energy Commission - CNEN in Brazil includes the risks of assessment of internal and external exposure by implementing a program of individual monitoring which is responsible of controlling exposures and ensuring the maintenance of radiation safety. The Laboratory of Internal Dosimetry of the Center for Development of Nuclear Technology - LID/CDTN is responsible for routine monitoring of internal contamination of the Individuals Occupationally Exposed (IOEs). These are, the IOEs involved in handling {sup 18}F produced by the Unit for Research and Production of Radiopharmaceuticals sources; as well a monitoring of the entire body of workers from the Research Reactor TRIGA IPR-R1/CDTN or whenever there is any risk of accidental incorporation. The determination of photon emitting radionuclides from the human body requires calibration techniques of the counting geometries, in order to obtain a curve of efficiency. The calibration process normally makes use of physical phantoms containing certified activities of the radionuclides of interest. The objective of this project is the calibration of the WBC facility of the LID/CDTN using the BOMAB physical phantom and Monte Carlo simulations. Three steps were needed to complete the calibration process. First, the BOMAB was filled with a KCl solution and several measurements of the gamma ray energy (1.46 MeV) emitted by {sup 40}K were done. Second, simulations using MCNPX code were performed to calculate the counting efficiency (Ce) for the BOMAB model phantom and compared with the measurements Ce results. Third and last step, the modeled BOMAB phantom was used to calculate the Ce covering the energy range of interest. The results showed a good agreement and are within the expected ratio between the measured and simulated results. (Author)

Improvement of the WBC calibration of the Internal Dosimetry Laboratory of the CDTN/CNEN using MCNPX code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guerra P, F.; Heeren de O, A.; Melo, B. M.; Lacerda, M. A. S.; Da Silva, T. A.; Ferreira F, T. C.

2015-10-01

The Plan of Radiological Protection licensed by the National Nuclear Energy Commission - CNEN in Brazil includes the risks of assessment of internal and external exposure by implementing a program of individual monitoring which is responsible of controlling exposures and ensuring the maintenance of radiation safety. The Laboratory of Internal Dosimetry of the Center for Development of Nuclear Technology - LID/CDTN is responsible for routine monitoring of internal contamination of the Individuals Occupationally Exposed (IOEs). These are, the IOEs involved in handling 18 F produced by the Unit for Research and Production of Radiopharmaceuticals sources; as well a monitoring of the entire body of workers from the Research Reactor TRIGA IPR-R1/CDTN or whenever there is any risk of accidental incorporation. The determination of photon emitting radionuclides from the human body requires calibration techniques of the counting geometries, in order to obtain a curve of efficiency. The calibration process normally makes use of physical phantoms containing certified activities of the radionuclides of interest. The objective of this project is the calibration of the WBC facility of the LID/CDTN using the BOMAB physical phantom and Monte Carlo simulations. Three steps were needed to complete the calibration process. First, the BOMAB was filled with a KCl solution and several measurements of the gamma ray energy (1.46 MeV) emitted by 40 K were done. Second, simulations using MCNPX code were performed to calculate the counting efficiency (Ce) for the BOMAB model phantom and compared with the measurements Ce results. Third and last step, the modeled BOMAB phantom was used to calculate the Ce covering the energy range of interest. The results showed a good agreement and are within the expected ratio between the measured and simulated results. (Author)

Ibis ground calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bird, A.J.; Barlow, E.J.; Tikkanen, T.; Bazzano, A.; Del Santo, M.; Ubertini, P.; Blondel, C.; Laurent, P.; Lebrun, F.; Di Cocco, G.; Malaguti, E.; Gabriele, M.; La Rosa, G.; Segreto, A.; Quadrini, E.; Volkmer, R.

2003-01-01

We present an overview of results obtained from IBIS ground calibrations. The spectral and spatial characteristics of the detector planes and surrounding passive materials have been determined through a series of calibration campaigns. Measurements of pixel gain, energy resolution, detection uniformity, efficiency and imaging capability are presented. The key results obtained from the ground calibration have been: - optimization of the instrument tunable parameters, - determination of energy linearity for all detection modes, - determination of energy resolution as a function of energy through the range 20 keV - 3 MeV, - demonstration of imaging capability in each mode, - measurement of intrinsic detector non-uniformity and understanding of the effects of passive materials surrounding the detector plane, and - discovery (and closure) of various leakage paths through the passive shielding system

Improving the Optical Trapping Efficiency in the 225Ra Electric Dipole Moment Experiment via Monte Carlo Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Fromm, Steven

2017-09-01

In an effort to study and improve the optical trapping efficiency of the 225Ra Electric Dipole Moment experiment, a fully parallelized Monte Carlo simulation of the laser cooling and trapping apparatus was created at Argonne National Laboratory and now maintained and upgraded at Michigan State University. The simulation allows us to study optimizations and upgrades without having to use limited quantities of 225Ra (15 day half-life) in experiment's apparatus. It predicts a trapping efficiency that differs from the observed value in the experiment by approximately a factor of thirty. The effects of varying oven geometry, background gas interactions, laboratory magnetic fields, MOT laser beam configurations and laser frequency noise were studied and ruled out as causes of the discrepancy between measured and predicted values of the overall trapping efficiency. Presently, the simulation is being used to help optimize a planned blue slower laser upgrade in the experiment's apparatus, which will increase the overall trapping efficiency by up to two orders of magnitude. This work is supported by Michigan State University, the Director's Research Scholars Program at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, and the U.S. DOE, Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Ensemble bayesian model averaging using markov chain Monte Carlo sampling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vrugt, Jasper A [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Diks, Cees G H [NON LANL; Clark, Martyn P [NON LANL

2008-01-01

Bayesian model averaging (BMA) has recently been proposed as a statistical method to calibrate forecast ensembles from numerical weather models. Successful implementation of BMA however, requires accurate estimates of the weights and variances of the individual competing models in the ensemble. In their seminal paper (Raftery etal. Mon Weather Rev 133: 1155-1174, 2(05)) has recommended the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm for BMA model training, even though global convergence of this algorithm cannot be guaranteed. In this paper, we compare the performance of the EM algorithm and the recently developed Differential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm for estimating the BMA weights and variances. Simulation experiments using 48-hour ensemble data of surface temperature and multi-model stream-flow forecasts show that both methods produce similar results, and that their performance is unaffected by the length of the training data set. However, MCMC simulation with DREAM is capable of efficiently handling a wide variety of BMA predictive distributions, and provides useful information about the uncertainty associated with the estimated BMA weights and variances.

An Analysis on the Calculation Efficiency of the Responses Caused by the Biased Adjoint Fluxes in Hybrid Monte Carlo Simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khuat, Quang Huy; Kim, Song Hyun; Kim, Do Hyun; Shin, Chang Ho

2015-01-01

This technique is known as Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (CADIS) method and it is implemented in SCALE code system. In the CADIS method, adjoint transport equation has to be solved to determine deterministic importance functions. Using the CADIS method, a problem was noted that the biased adjoint flux estimated by deterministic methods can affect the calculation efficiency and error. The biases of adjoint function are caused by the methodology, calculation strategy, tolerance of result calculated by the deterministic method and inaccurate multi-group cross section libraries. In this paper, a study to analyze the influence of the biased adjoint functions into Monte Carlo computational efficiency is pursued. In this study, a method to estimate the calculation efficiency was proposed for applying the biased adjoint fluxes in the CADIS approach. For a benchmark problem, the responses and FOMs using SCALE code system were evaluated as applying the adjoint fluxes. The results show that the biased adjoint fluxes significantly affects the calculation efficiencies

Photometric Calibration of the Barium Cloud Image in a Space Active Experiment: Determining the Release Efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Liang-Hai; Li Lei; Wang Jing-Dong; Tao Ran; Cheng Bing-Jun; Zhang Yi-Teng

2014-01-01

The barium release experiment is an effective method to explore the near-earth environment and to study all kinds of space physics processes. The first space barium release experiment in China was successfully carried out by a sounding rocket on April 5, 2013. This work is devoted to calculating the release efficiency of the barium release by analyzing the optical image observed during the experiment. First, we present a method to calibrate the images grey value of barium cloud with the reference stars to obtain the radiant fluxes at different moments. Then the release efficiency is obtained by a curve fitting with the theoretical evolution model of barium cloud. The calculated result is basically consistent with the test value on ground

Correction of CT artifacts and its influence on Monte Carlo dose calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazalova, Magdalena; Beaulieu, Luc; Palefsky, Steven; Verhaegen, Frank

2007-01-01

Computed tomography (CT) images of patients having metallic implants or dental fillings exhibit severe streaking artifacts. These artifacts may disallow tumor and organ delineation and compromise dose calculation outcomes in radiotherapy. We used a sinogram interpolation metal streaking artifact correction algorithm on several phantoms of exact-known compositions and on a prostate patient with two hip prostheses. We compared original CT images and artifact-corrected images of both. To evaluate the effect of the artifact correction on dose calculations, we performed Monte Carlo dose calculation in the EGSnrc/DOSXYZnrc code. For the phantoms, we performed calculations in the exact geometry, in the original CT geometry and in the artifact-corrected geometry for photon and electron beams. The maximum errors in 6 MV photon beam dose calculation were found to exceed 25% in original CT images when the standard DOSXYZnrc/CTCREATE calibration is used but less than 2% in artifact-corrected images when an extended calibration is used. The extended calibration includes an extra calibration point for a metal. The patient dose volume histograms of a hypothetical target irradiated by five 18 MV photon beams in a hypothetical treatment differ significantly in the original CT geometry and in the artifact-corrected geometry. This was found to be mostly due to miss-assignment of tissue voxels to air due to metal artifacts. We also developed a simple Monte Carlo model for a CT scanner and we simulated the contribution of scatter and beam hardening to metal streaking artifacts. We found that whereas beam hardening has a minor effect on metal artifacts, scatter is an important cause of these artifacts

Shielding calculations for neutron calibration bunker using Monte Carlo code MCNP-4C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suman, H.; Kharita, M. H.; Yousef, S.

2008-02-01

In this work, the dose arising from an Am-Be source of 10 8 neutron/sec strength located inside the newly constructed neutron calibration bunker in the National Radiation Metrology Laboratories, was calculated using MCNP-4C code. It was found that the shielding of the neutron calibration bunker is sufficient. As the calculated dose is not expected to exceed in inhabited areas 0.183 μSv/hr, which is 10 times smaller than the regulatory dose constraints. Hence, it can be concluded that the calibration bunker can house - from the external exposure point of view - an Am-Be neutron source of 10 9 neutron/sec strength. It turned out that the neutron dose from the source is few times greater than the photon dose. The sky shine was found to contribute significantly to the total dose. This contribution was estimated to be 60% of the neutron dose and 10% of the photon dose. The systematic uncertainties due to various factors have been assessed and was found to be between 4 and 10% due to concrete density variations; 15% due to the dose estimation method; 4 -10% due to weather variations (temperature and moisture). The calculated dose was highly sensitive to the changes in source spectra. The uncertainty due to the use of two different neutron spectra is about 70%.(author)

The contribution to the calibration of LAr calorimeters at the ATLAS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pecsy, M.

2011-01-01

The presented thesis brings various contributions to the testing and validation of the ATLAS detector calorimeter calibration. Since the ATLAS calorimeter is non-compensating, the sophisticated software calibration of the calorimeter response is needed. One of the ATLAS official calibration methods is the local hadron calibration. This method is based on detailed simulations providing information about the true deposited energy in calorimeter. Such calibration consists of several independent steps, starting with the basic electromagnetic scale signal calibration and proceeding to the particle energy calibration. Calibration starts from the topological clusters reconstruction and calibration at EM scale. These clusters are classified as EM or hadronic and the hadronic ones receive weights to correct for the invisible energy deposits of hadrons. To get the nal reconstructed energy the out-of-cluster and dead material corrections are applied in next steps. The tests of calorimeter response with the rst real data from cosmic-ray muons and the LHC collisions data are presented in the thesis. The detailed studies of the full hadronic calibration performance in the special combined end-cap calorimeter beam test 2004 are presented as well. To optimise the performance of the calibration, the Monte-Carlo based studies are necessary. Two alternative methods of cluster classification are discussed, and the software tool of particle track extrapolation has been developed. (author)

Model independent approach to the single photoelectron calibration of photomultiplier tubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saldanha, R.; Grandi, L.; Guardincerri, Y.; Wester, T.

2017-08-01

The accurate calibration of photomultiplier tubes is critical in a wide variety of applications in which it is necessary to know the absolute number of detected photons or precisely determine the resolution of the signal. Conventional calibration methods rely on fitting the photomultiplier response to a low intensity light source with analytical approximations to the single photoelectron distribution, often leading to biased estimates due to the inability to accurately model the full distribution, especially at low charge values. In this paper we present a simple statistical method to extract the relevant single photoelectron calibration parameters without making any assumptions about the underlying single photoelectron distribution. We illustrate the use of this method through the calibration of a Hamamatsu R11410 photomultiplier tube and study the accuracy and precision of the method using Monte Carlo simulations. The method is found to have significantly reduced bias compared to conventional methods and works under a wide range of light intensities, making it suitable for simultaneously calibrating large arrays of photomultiplier tubes.

Binocular optical axis parallelism detection precision analysis based on Monte Carlo method

Science.gov (United States)

Ying, Jiaju; Liu, Bingqi

2018-02-01

According to the working principle of the binocular photoelectric instrument optical axis parallelism digital calibration instrument, and in view of all components of the instrument, the various factors affect the system precision is analyzed, and then precision analysis model is established. Based on the error distribution, Monte Carlo method is used to analyze the relationship between the comprehensive error and the change of the center coordinate of the circle target image. The method can further guide the error distribution, optimize control the factors which have greater influence on the comprehensive error, and improve the measurement accuracy of the optical axis parallelism digital calibration instrument.

Computational efficiency using the CYBER-205 computer for the PACER Monte Carlo Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Candelore, N.R.; Maher, C.M.; Gast, R.C.

1985-09-01

The use of the large memory of the CYBER-205 and its vector data handling logic produced speedups over scalar code ranging from a factor of 7 for unit cell calculations with relatively few compositions to a factor of 5 for problems having more detailed geometry and materials. By vectorizing the neutron tracking in PACER (the collision analysis remained in scalar code), an asymptotic value of 200 neutrons/cpu-second was achieved for a batch size of 10,000 neutrons. The complete vectorization of the Monte Carlo method as performed by Brown resulted in even higher speedups in neutron processing rates over the use of scalar code. Large speedups in neutron processing rates are beneficial not only to achieve more accurate results for the neutronics calculations which are routinely done using Monte Carlo, but also to extend the use of the Monte Carlo method to applications that were previously considered impractical because of large running times

A residual Monte Carlo method for discrete thermal radiative diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, T.M.; Urbatsch, T.J.; Lichtenstein, H.; Morel, J.E.

2003-01-01

Residual Monte Carlo methods reduce statistical error at a rate of exp(-bN), where b is a positive constant and N is the number of particle histories. Contrast this convergence rate with 1/√N, which is the rate of statistical error reduction for conventional Monte Carlo methods. Thus, residual Monte Carlo methods hold great promise for increased efficiency relative to conventional Monte Carlo methods. Previous research has shown that the application of residual Monte Carlo methods to the solution of continuum equations, such as the radiation transport equation, is problematic for all but the simplest of cases. However, the residual method readily applies to discrete systems as long as those systems are monotone, i.e., they produce positive solutions given positive sources. We develop a residual Monte Carlo method for solving a discrete 1D non-linear thermal radiative equilibrium diffusion equation, and we compare its performance with that of the discrete conventional Monte Carlo method upon which it is based. We find that the residual method provides efficiency gains of many orders of magnitude. Part of the residual gain is due to the fact that we begin each timestep with an initial guess equal to the solution from the previous timestep. Moreover, fully consistent non-linear solutions can be obtained in a reasonable amount of time because of the effective lack of statistical noise. We conclude that the residual approach has great potential and that further research into such methods should be pursued for more general discrete and continuum systems

A New Automated Instrument Calibration Facility at the Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polz, E.; Rushton, R.O.; Wilkie, W.H.; Hancock, R.C.

1998-01-01

The Health Physics Instrument Calibration Facility at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC was expressly designed and built to calibrate portable radiation survey instruments. The facility incorporates recent advances in automation technology, building layout and construction, and computer software to improve the calibration process. Nine new calibration systems automate instrument calibration and data collection. The building is laid out so that instruments are moved from one area to another in a logical, efficient manner. New software and hardware integrate all functions such as shipping/receiving, work flow, calibration, testing, and report generation. Benefits include a streamlined and integrated program, improved efficiency, reduced errors, and better accuracy

Monte Carlo and Quasi-Monte Carlo Sampling

CERN Document Server

Lemieux, Christiane

2009-01-01

Presents essential tools for using quasi-Monte Carlo sampling in practice. This book focuses on issues related to Monte Carlo methods - uniform and non-uniform random number generation, variance reduction techniques. It covers several aspects of quasi-Monte Carlo methods.

Investigating the impossible: Monte Carlo simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, Gary H.; Crowley, Paul; Burns, Linda C.

2000-01-01

Designing and testing new equipment can be an expensive and time consuming process or the desired performance characteristics may preclude its construction due to technological shortcomings. Cost may also prevent equipment being purchased for other scenarios to be tested. An alternative is to use Monte Carlo simulations to make the investigations. This presentation exemplifies how Monte Carlo code calculations can be used to fill the gap. An example is given for the investigation of two sizes of germanium detector (70 mm and 80 mm diameter) at four different crystal thicknesses (15, 20, 25, and 30 mm) and makes predictions on how the size affects the counting efficiency and the Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA). The Monte Carlo simulations have shown that detector efficiencies can be adequately modelled using photon transport if the data is used to investigate trends. The investigation of the effect of detector thickness on the counting efficiency has shown that thickness for a fixed diameter detector of either 70 mm or 80 mm is unimportant up to 60 keV. At higher photon energies, the counting efficiency begins to decrease as the thickness decreases as expected. The simulations predict that the MDA of either the 70 mm or 80 mm diameter detectors does not differ by more than a factor of 1.15 at 17 keV or 1.2 at 60 keV when comparing detectors of equivalent thicknesses. The MDA is slightly increased at 17 keV, and rises by about 52% at 660 keV, when the thickness is decreased from 30 mm to 15 mm. One could conclude from this information that the extra cost associated with the larger area Ge detectors may not be justified for the slight improvement predicted in the MDA. (author)

Monte Carlo Methods in ICF

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, George B.

Monte Carlo methods appropriate to simulate the transport of x-rays, neutrons, ions and electrons in Inertial Confinement Fusion targets are described and analyzed. The Implicit Monte Carlo method of x-ray transport handles symmetry within indirect drive ICF hohlraums well, but can be improved 50X in efficiency by angular biasing the x-rays towards the fuel capsule. Accurate simulation of thermonuclear burn and burn diagnostics involves detailed particle source spectra, charged particle ranges, inflight reaction kinematics, corrections for bulk and thermal Doppler effects and variance reduction to obtain adequate statistics for rare events. It is found that the effects of angular Coulomb scattering must be included in models of charged particle transport through heterogeneous materials.

Monte Carlo methods in ICF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerman, George B.

1997-01-01

Monte Carlo methods appropriate to simulate the transport of x-rays, neutrons, ions and electrons in Inertial Confinement Fusion targets are described and analyzed. The Implicit Monte Carlo method of x-ray transport handles symmetry within indirect drive ICF hohlraums well, but can be improved 50X in efficiency by angular biasing the x-rays towards the fuel capsule. Accurate simulation of thermonuclear burn and burn diagnostics involves detailed particle source spectra, charged particle ranges, inflight reaction kinematics, corrections for bulk and thermal Doppler effects and variance reduction to obtain adequate statistics for rare events. It is found that the effects of angular Coulomb scattering must be included in models of charged particle transport through heterogeneous materials

Efficient implementation of the Monte Carlo method for lattice gauge theory calculations on the floating point systems FPS-164

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moriarty, K.J.M.; Blackshaw, J.E.

1983-01-01

The computer program calculates the average action per plaquette for SU(6)/Z 6 lattice gauge theory. By considering quantum field theory on a space-time lattice, the ultraviolet divergences of the theory are regulated through the finite lattice spacing. The continuum theory results can be obtained by a renormalization group procedure. Making use of the FPS Mathematics Library (MATHLIB), we are able to generate an efficient code for the Monte Carlo algorithm for lattice gauge theory calculations which compares favourably with the performance of the CDC 7600. (orig.)

A new sewage exfiltration model--parameters and calibration.

Science.gov (United States)

Karpf, Christian; Krebs, Peter

2011-01-01

Exfiltration of waste water from sewer systems represents a potential danger for the soil and the aquifer. Common models, which are used to describe the exfiltration process, are based on the law of Darcy, extended by a more or less detailed consideration of the expansion of leaks, the characteristics of the soil and the colmation layer. But, due to the complexity of the exfiltration process, the calibration of these models includes a significant uncertainty. In this paper, a new exfiltration approach is introduced, which implements the dynamics of the clogging process and the structural conditions near sewer leaks. The calibration is realised according to experimental studies and analysis of groundwater infiltration to sewers. Furthermore, exfiltration rates and the sensitivity of the approach are estimated and evaluated, respectively, by Monte-Carlo simulations.

Improvement and comparison of likelihood functions for model calibration and parameter uncertainty analysis within a Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Qin-Bo; Chen, Xi; Xu, Chong-Yu; Reinhardt-Imjela, Christian; Schulte, Achim

2014-11-01

In this study, the likelihood functions for uncertainty analysis of hydrological models are compared and improved through the following steps: (1) the equivalent relationship between the Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency coefficient (NSE) and the likelihood function with Gaussian independent and identically distributed residuals is proved; (2) a new estimation method of the Box-Cox transformation (BC) parameter is developed to improve the effective elimination of the heteroscedasticity of model residuals; and (3) three likelihood functions-NSE, Generalized Error Distribution with BC (BC-GED) and Skew Generalized Error Distribution with BC (BC-SGED)-are applied for SWAT-WB-VSA (Soil and Water Assessment Tool - Water Balance - Variable Source Area) model calibration in the Baocun watershed, Eastern China. Performances of calibrated models are compared using the observed river discharges and groundwater levels. The result shows that the minimum variance constraint can effectively estimate the BC parameter. The form of the likelihood function significantly impacts on the calibrated parameters and the simulated results of high and low flow components. SWAT-WB-VSA with the NSE approach simulates flood well, but baseflow badly owing to the assumption of Gaussian error distribution, where the probability of the large error is low, but the small error around zero approximates equiprobability. By contrast, SWAT-WB-VSA with the BC-GED or BC-SGED approach mimics baseflow well, which is proved in the groundwater level simulation. The assumption of skewness of the error distribution may be unnecessary, because all the results of the BC-SGED approach are nearly the same as those of the BC-GED approach.

Mathematical modeling of a survey-meter used to measure radioactivity in human thyroids: Monte Carlo calculations of the device response and uncertainties

Science.gov (United States)

Khrutchinsky, Arkady; Drozdovitch, Vladimir; Kutsen, Semion; Minenko, Victor; Khrouch, Valeri; Luckyanov, Nickolas; Voillequé, Paul; Bouville, André

2012-01-01

This paper presents results of Monte Carlo modeling of the SRP-68-01 survey meter used to measure exposure rates near the thyroid glands of persons exposed to radioactivity following the Chernobyl accident. This device was not designed to measure radioactivity in humans. To estimate the uncertainty associated with the measurement results, a mathematical model of the SRP-68-01 survey meter was developed and verified. A Monte Carlo method of numerical simulation of radiation transport has been used to calculate the calibration factor for the device and evaluate its uncertainty. The SRP-68-01 survey meter scale coefficient, an important characteristic of the device, was also estimated in this study. The calibration factors of the survey meter were calculated for 131I, 132I, 133I, and 135I content in the thyroid gland for six age groups of population: newborns; children aged 1 yr, 5 yr, 10 yr, 15 yr; and adults. A realistic scenario of direct thyroid measurements with an “extended” neck was used to calculate the calibration factors for newborns and one-year-olds. Uncertainties in the device calibration factors due to variability of the device scale coefficient, variability in thyroid mass and statistical uncertainty of Monte Carlo method were evaluated. Relative uncertainties in the calibration factor estimates were found to be from 0.06 for children aged 1 yr to 0.1 for 10-yr and 15-yr children. The positioning errors of the detector during measurements deviate mainly in one direction from the estimated calibration factors. Deviations of the device position from the proper geometry of measurements were found to lead to overestimation of the calibration factor by up to 24 percent for adults and up to 60 percent for 1-yr children. The results of this study improve the estimates of 131I thyroidal content and, consequently, thyroid dose estimates that are derived from direct thyroid measurements performed in Belarus shortly after the Chernobyl accident. PMID:22245289

Near surface illumination method to detect particle size information by optical calibration free remission measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Stocker, Sabrina; Foschum, Florian; Kienle, Alwin

2017-07-01

A calibration free method to detect particle size information is presented. A possible application for such measurements is the investigation of raw milk since there not only the fat and protein content varies but also the fat droplet size. The newly developed method is sensitive to the scattering phase function, which makes it applicable to many other applications, too. By simulating the light propagation by use of Monte Carlo simulations, a calibration free device can be developed from this principle.

Generalized hybrid Monte Carlo - CMFD methods for fission source convergence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolters, Emily R.; Larsen, Edward W.; Martin, William R.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we generalize the recently published 'CMFD-Accelerated Monte Carlo' method and present two new methods that reduce the statistical error in CMFD-Accelerated Monte Carlo. The CMFD-Accelerated Monte Carlo method uses Monte Carlo to estimate nonlinear functionals used in low-order CMFD equations for the eigenfunction and eigenvalue. The Monte Carlo fission source is then modified to match the resulting CMFD fission source in a 'feedback' procedure. The two proposed methods differ from CMFD-Accelerated Monte Carlo in the definition of the required nonlinear functionals, but they have identical CMFD equations. The proposed methods are compared with CMFD-Accelerated Monte Carlo on a high dominance ratio test problem. All hybrid methods converge the Monte Carlo fission source almost immediately, leading to a large reduction in the number of inactive cycles required. The proposed methods stabilize the fission source more efficiently than CMFD-Accelerated Monte Carlo, leading to a reduction in the number of active cycles required. Finally, as in CMFD-Accelerated Monte Carlo, the apparent variance of the eigenfunction is approximately equal to the real variance, so the real error is well-estimated from a single calculation. This is an advantage over standard Monte Carlo, in which the real error can be underestimated due to inter-cycle correlation. (author)

Research on perturbation based Monte Carlo reactor criticality search

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zeguang; Wang Kan; Li Yangliu; Deng Jingkang

2013-01-01

Criticality search is a very important aspect in reactor physics analysis. Due to the advantages of Monte Carlo method and the development of computer technologies, Monte Carlo criticality search is becoming more and more necessary and feasible. Traditional Monte Carlo criticality search method is suffered from large amount of individual criticality runs and uncertainty and fluctuation of Monte Carlo results. A new Monte Carlo criticality search method based on perturbation calculation is put forward in this paper to overcome the disadvantages of traditional method. By using only one criticality run to get initial k_e_f_f and differential coefficients of concerned parameter, the polynomial estimator of k_e_f_f changing function is solved to get the critical value of concerned parameter. The feasibility of this method was tested. The results show that the accuracy and efficiency of perturbation based criticality search method are quite inspiring and the method overcomes the disadvantages of traditional one. (authors)

Calibration of a gamma spectrometer for natural radioactivity measurement. Experimental measurements and Monte Carlo modelling; Etalonnage d'un spectrometre gamma en vue de la mesure de la radioactivite naturelle. Mesures experimentales et modelisation par techniques de Monte-Carlo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Courtine, Fabien [Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire, Universite Blaise Pascal - CNRS/IN2P3, 63000 Aubiere Cedex (France)

2007-03-15

The thesis proceeded in the context of dating by thermoluminescence. This method requires laboratory measurements of the natural radioactivity. For that purpose, we have been using a germanium spectrometer. To refine the calibration of this one, we modelled it by using a Monte-Carlo computer code: Geant4. We developed a geometrical model which takes into account the presence of inactive zones and zones of poor charge-collection within the germanium crystal. The parameters of the model were adjusted by comparison with experimental results obtained with a source of {sup 137}Cs. It appeared that the form of the inactive zones is less simple than is presented in the specialized literature. This model was widened to the case of a more complex source, with cascade effect and angular correlations between photons: the {sup 60}Co. Lastly, applied to extended sources, it gave correct results and allowed us to validate the simulation of matrix effect. (author)

Speed-up of ab initio hybrid Monte Carlo and ab initio path integral hybrid Monte Carlo simulations by using an auxiliary potential energy surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakayama, Akira; Taketsugu, Tetsuya; Shiga, Motoyuki

2009-01-01

Efficiency of the ab initio hybrid Monte Carlo and ab initio path integral hybrid Monte Carlo methods is enhanced by employing an auxiliary potential energy surface that is used to update the system configuration via molecular dynamics scheme. As a simple illustration of this method, a dual-level approach is introduced where potential energy gradients are evaluated by computationally less expensive ab initio electronic structure methods. (author)

The use of cosmic-ray muons in the energy calibration of the Beta-decay Paul Trap silicon-detector array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirsh, T. Y.; Perez Galvan, A.; Burkey, M.; Aprahamian, A.; Buchinger, F.; Caldwell, S.; Clark, J. A.; Gallant, A.; Heckmaier, E.; Levand, A. F.; Savard, G.

2018-04-01

This article presents an approach to calibrate the energy response of double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSDs) for low-energy nuclear-science experiments by utilizing cosmic-ray muons. For the 1-mm-thick detectors used with the Beta-decay Paul Trap, the minimum-ionizing peak from these muons provides a stable and time-independent in situ calibration point at around 300 keV, which supplements the calibration data obtained above 3 MeV from sources. The muon-data calibration is achieved by comparing experimental spectra with detailed Monte Carlo simulations performed using GEANT4 and CRY codes. This additional information constrains the calibration at lower energies, resulting in improvements in quality and accuracy.

Calibration of apparatus for short living radon daughters monitoring in air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chalupnik, S.; Lebecka, J.; Skubacz, K.

1988-01-01

A liquid scintillation method was developed for absolute measurement of radon daughters concentration in air. Calibration of site IRDM equipment appears as a significant problem. Usually it employs simultaneous measurements with the calibrated device and the reference one, of known detection efficiency. This yields systematic errors resulting from errors in evaluation of the detection efficiency. The presenting method is an absolute one. The efficiency for α and β particles is of about 100%. Thanks to this the developed method is excellent as a comparative one for calibration purposes. (author)

Simulation of the energy response of the I.S.O.C.A.L. IV pressurised re-entrant well type ionization chamber using the Penelope Monte-Carlo code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kryeziu, D.; Tschurlovits, M.; Kreuziger, M.; Maringer, F.J.

2006-01-01

In radiation metrology, pressurized ionization chambers are essential tools in secondary standard laboratories as relative calibration instruments.Calculations of the calibration figures for different radionuclides are very important parameters for radioactivity measurements. The calibration figures for the I.S.O.C.A.L. IV pressurized re-entrant ionization chamber (also called well-type ionisation chamber) are calculated here using the P.E.N.E.L.O.P.E.-2003 Monte-Carlo Code. In order to test and validate the Monte Carlo simulation, calculated and experimental calibration figures are compared. The task of this work was to calculate the activity of a radioactive solution when no experimental calibration figures are available as well as to improve the accuracy of activity measurements. The chamber is filled with nitrogen gas at 1 MPa pressure. The simulated models of the chamber are designed by means of reduced quadric equation applying the appropriate transformations including: a rotation defined through the Euler angles, an expansion along the directions of the axes and a translation defined by the components of the displacement vector t. The simulated geometries are defined for the cases:without shielding; lead shielding and lead and copper shielding. The effect of density variations of the nitrogen gas on the sensitivity of such ionization chambers has been investigated. The Penelope Monte-Carlo code is also used to examine the effects of using lead and copper shields. The sensitivity to electrons is evaluated as well. (authors)

Monte Carlo methods in ICF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerman, G.B.

1997-01-01

Monte Carlo methods appropriate to simulate the transport of x-rays, neutrons, ions and electrons in Inertial Confinement Fusion targets are described and analyzed. The Implicit Monte Carlo method of x-ray transport handles symmetry within indirect drive ICF hohlraums well, but can be improved 50X in efficiency by angular biasing the x-rays towards the fuel capsule. Accurate simulation of thermonuclear burn and burn diagnostics involves detailed particle source spectra, charged particle ranges, inflight reaction kinematics, corrections for bulk and thermal Doppler effects and variance reduction to obtain adequate statistics for rare events. It is found that the effects of angular Coulomb scattering must be included in models of charged particle transport through heterogeneous materials. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Efficient quantification of water content in edible oils by headspace gas chromatography with vapour phase calibration.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Wei-Qi; Gong, Yi-Xian; Yu, Kong-Xian

2018-06-01

An automated and accurate headspace gas chromatographic (HS-GC) technique was investigated for rapidly quantifying water content in edible oils. In this method, multiple headspace extraction (MHE) procedures were used to analyse the integrated water content from the edible oil sample. A simple vapour phase calibration technique with an external vapour standard was used to calibrate both the water content in the gas phase and the total weight of water in edible oil sample. After that the water in edible oils can be quantified. The data showed that the relative standard deviation of the present HS-GC method in the precision test was less than 1.13%, the relative differences between the new method and a reference method (i.e. the oven-drying method) were no more than 1.62%. The present HS-GC method is automated, accurate, efficient, and can be a reliable tool for quantifying water content in edible oil related products and research. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Bayesian calibration of thermodynamic parameters for geochemical speciation modeling of cementitious materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkar, S.; Kosson, D.S.; Mahadevan, S.; Meeussen, J.C.L.; Sloot, H. van der; Arnold, J.R.; Brown, K.G.

2012-01-01

Chemical equilibrium modeling of cementitious materials requires aqueous–solid equilibrium constants of the controlling mineral phases (K sp ) and the available concentrations of primary components. Inherent randomness of the input and model parameters, experimental measurement error, the assumptions and approximations required for numerical simulation, and inadequate knowledge of the chemical process contribute to uncertainty in model prediction. A numerical simulation framework is developed in this paper to assess uncertainty in K sp values used in geochemical speciation models. A Bayesian statistical method is used in combination with an efficient, adaptive Metropolis sampling technique to develop probability density functions for K sp values. One set of leaching experimental observations is used for calibration and another set is used for comparison to evaluate the applicability of the approach. The estimated probability distributions of K sp values can be used in Monte Carlo simulation to assess uncertainty in the behavior of aqueous–solid partitioning of constituents in cement-based materials.

The LOFAR long baseline snapshot calibrator survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moldón, J.; et al., [Unknown; Carbone, D.; Markoff, S.; Wise, M.W.

2015-01-01

Aims. An efficient means of locating calibrator sources for international LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is developed and used to determine the average density of usable calibrator sources on the sky for subarcsecond observations at 140 MHz. Methods. We used the multi-beaming capability of LOFAR to

The LOFAR ling baseline snapshot calibrator survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moldon, J.; Deller, A.T.; Wucknitz, O.; Jackson, N.; Drabent, A.; Carozzi, T.; Conway, J.; Bentum, Marinus Jan; Bernardi, G.; Best, P.; Gunst, A.W.

Aims: An efficient means of locating calibrator sources for international LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is developed and used to determine the average density of usable calibrator sources on the sky for subarcsecond observations at 140 MHz. Methods We used the multi-beaming capability of LOFAR to

The LOFAR long baseline snapshot calibrator survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moldón, J.; Deller, A. T.; Wucknitz, O.; Jackson, N.; Drabent, A.; Carozzi, T.; Conway, J.; Kapińska, A. D.; McKean, J. P.; Morabito, L.; Varenius, E.; Zarka, P.; Anderson, J.; Asgekar, A.; Avruch, I. M.; Bell, M. E.; Bentum, M. J.; Bernardi, G.; Best, P.; Bîrzan, L.; Bregman, J.; Breitling, F.; Broderick, J. W.; Brüggen, M.; Butcher, H. R.; Carbone, D.; Ciardi, B.; de Gasperin, F.; de Geus, E.; Duscha, S.; Eislöffel, J.; Engels, D.; Falcke, H.; Fallows, R. A.; Fender, R.; Ferrari, C.; Frieswijk, W.; Garrett, M. A.; Grießmeier, J.; Gunst, A. W.; Hamaker, J. P.; Hassall, T. E.; Heald, G.; Hoeft, M.; Juette, E.; Karastergiou, A.; Kondratiev, V. I.; Kramer, M.; Kuniyoshi, M.; Kuper, G.; Maat, P.; Mann, G.; Markoff, S.; McFadden, R.; McKay-Bukowski, D.; Morganti, R.; Munk, H.; Norden, M. J.; Offringa, A. R.; Orru, E.; Paas, H.; Pandey-Pommier, M.; Pizzo, R.; Polatidis, A. G.; Reich, W.; Röttgering, H.; Rowlinson, A.; Scaife, A. M. M.; Schwarz, D.; Sluman, J.; Smirnov, O.; Stappers, B. W.; Steinmetz, M.; Tagger, M.; Tang, Y.; Tasse, C.; Thoudam, S.; Toribio, M. C.; Vermeulen, R.; Vocks, C.; van Weeren, R. J.; White, S.; Wise, M. W.; Yatawatta, S.; Zensus, A.

Aims: An efficient means of locating calibrator sources for international LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) is developed and used to determine the average density of usable calibrator sources on the sky for subarcsecond observations at 140 MHz. Methods: We used the multi-beaming capability of LOFAR to

A hybrid transport-diffusion method for Monte Carlo radiative-transfer simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Densmore, Jeffery D.; Urbatsch, Todd J.; Evans, Thomas M.; Buksas, Michael W.

2007-01-01

Discrete Diffusion Monte Carlo (DDMC) is a technique for increasing the efficiency of Monte Carlo particle-transport simulations in diffusive media. If standard Monte Carlo is used in such media, particle histories will consist of many small steps, resulting in a computationally expensive calculation. In DDMC, particles take discrete steps between spatial cells according to a discretized diffusion equation. Each discrete step replaces many small Monte Carlo steps, thus increasing the efficiency of the simulation. In addition, given that DDMC is based on a diffusion equation, it should produce accurate solutions if used judiciously. In practice, DDMC is combined with standard Monte Carlo to form a hybrid transport-diffusion method that can accurately simulate problems with both diffusive and non-diffusive regions. In this paper, we extend previously developed DDMC techniques in several ways that improve the accuracy and utility of DDMC for nonlinear, time-dependent, radiative-transfer calculations. The use of DDMC in these types of problems is advantageous since, due to the underlying linearizations, optically thick regions appear to be diffusive. First, we employ a diffusion equation that is discretized in space but is continuous in time. Not only is this methodology theoretically more accurate than temporally discretized DDMC techniques, but it also has the benefit that a particle's time is always known. Thus, there is no ambiguity regarding what time to assign a particle that leaves an optically thick region (where DDMC is used) and begins transporting by standard Monte Carlo in an optically thin region. Also, we treat the interface between optically thick and optically thin regions with an improved method, based on the asymptotic diffusion-limit boundary condition, that can produce accurate results regardless of the angular distribution of the incident Monte Carlo particles. Finally, we develop a technique for estimating radiation momentum deposition during the

Calibration and measurement of 210Pb using two independent techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villa, M.; Hurtado, S.; Manjon, G.; Garcia-Tenorio, R.

2007-01-01

An experimental procedure has been developed for a rapid and accurate determination of the activity concentration of 210 Pb in sediments by liquid scintillation counting (LSC). Additionally, an alternative technique using γ-spectrometry and Monte Carlo simulation has been developed. A radiochemical procedure, based on radium and barium sulphates co-precipitation have been applied to isolate the Pb-isotopes. 210 Pb activity measurements were done in a low background scintillation spectrometer Quantulus 1220. A calibration of the liquid scintillation spectrometer, including its α/β discrimination system, has been made, in order to minimize background and, additionally, some improvements are suggested for the calculation of the 210 Pb activity concentration, taking into account that 210 Pb counting efficiency cannot be accurately determined. Therefore, the use of an effective radiochemical yield, which can be empirically evaluated, is proposed. 210 Pb activity concentration in riverbed sediments from an area affected by NORM wastes has been determined using both the proposed method. Results using γ-spectrometry and LSC are compared to the results obtained following indirect α-spectrometry ( 210 Po) method

Limits on the Efficiency of Event-Based Algorithms for Monte Carlo Neutron Transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Romano, Paul K.; Siegel, Andrew R.

2017-04-16

The traditional form of parallelism in Monte Carlo particle transport simulations, wherein each individual particle history is considered a unit of work, does not lend itself well to data-level parallelism. Event-based algorithms, which were originally used for simulations on vector processors, may offer a path toward better utilizing data-level parallelism in modern computer architectures. In this study, a simple model is developed for estimating the efficiency of the event-based particle transport algorithm under two sets of assumptions. Data collected from simulations of four reactor problems using OpenMC was then used in conjunction with the models to calculate the speedup due to vectorization as a function of two parameters: the size of the particle bank and the vector width. When each event type is assumed to have constant execution time, the achievable speedup is directly related to the particle bank size. We observed that the bank size generally needs to be at least 20 times greater than vector size in order to achieve vector efficiency greater than 90%. When the execution times for events are allowed to vary, however, the vector speedup is also limited by differences in execution time for events being carried out in a single event-iteration. For some problems, this implies that vector effciencies over 50% may not be attainable. While there are many factors impacting performance of an event-based algorithm that are not captured by our model, it nevertheless provides insights into factors that may be limiting in a real implementation.

Efficient Monte Carlo Simulations of Gas Molecules Inside Porous Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jihan; Smit, Berend

2012-07-10

Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are commonly used to obtain adsorption properties of gas molecules inside porous materials. In this work, we discuss various optimization strategies that lead to faster MC simulations with CO2 gas molecules inside host zeolite structures used as a test system. The reciprocal space contribution of the gas-gas Ewald summation and both the direct and the reciprocal gas-host potential energy interactions are stored inside energy grids to reduce the wall time in the MC simulations. Additional speedup can be obtained by selectively calling the routine that computes the gas-gas Ewald summation, which does not impact the accuracy of the zeolite's adsorption characteristics. We utilize two-level density-biased sampling technique in the grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) algorithm to restrict CO2 insertion moves into low-energy regions within the zeolite materials to accelerate convergence. Finally, we make use of the graphics processing units (GPUs) hardware to conduct multiple MC simulations in parallel via judiciously mapping the GPU threads to available workload. As a result, we can obtain a CO2 adsorption isotherm curve with 14 pressure values (up to 10 atm) for a zeolite structure within a minute of total compute wall time.

Redundant interferometric calibration as a complex optimization problem

Science.gov (United States)

Grobler, T. L.; Bernardi, G.; Kenyon, J. S.; Parsons, A. R.; Smirnov, O. M.

2018-05-01

Observations of the redshifted 21 cm line from the epoch of reionization have recently motivated the construction of low-frequency radio arrays with highly redundant configurations. These configurations provide an alternative calibration strategy - `redundant calibration' - and boost sensitivity on specific spatial scales. In this paper, we formulate calibration of redundant interferometric arrays as a complex optimization problem. We solve this optimization problem via the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. This calibration approach is more robust to initial conditions than current algorithms and, by leveraging an approximate matrix inversion, allows for further optimization and an efficient implementation (`redundant STEFCAL'). We also investigated using the preconditioned conjugate gradient method as an alternative to the approximate matrix inverse, but found that its computational performance is not competitive with respect to `redundant STEFCAL'. The efficient implementation of this new algorithm is made publicly available.

Monte Carlo verification of polymer gel dosimetry applied to radionuclide therapy: a phantom study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gear, J I; Partridge, M; Flux, G D; Charles-Edwards, E

2011-01-01

This study evaluates the dosimetric performance of the polymer gel dosimeter 'Methacrylic and Ascorbic acid in Gelatin, initiated by Copper' and its suitability for quality assurance and analysis of I-131-targeted radionuclide therapy dosimetry. Four batches of gel were manufactured in-house and sets of calibration vials and phantoms were created containing different concentrations of I-131-doped gel. Multiple dose measurements were made up to 700 h post preparation and compared to equivalent Monte Carlo simulations. In addition to uniformly filled phantoms the cross-dose distribution from a hot insert to a surrounding phantom was measured. In this example comparisons were made with both Monte Carlo and a clinical scintigraphic dosimetry method. Dose-response curves generated from the calibration data followed a sigmoid function. The gels appeared to be stable over many weeks of internal irradiation with a delay in gel response observed at 29 h post preparation. This was attributed to chemical inhibitors and slow reaction rates of long-chain radical species. For this reason, phantom measurements were only made after 190 h of irradiation. For uniformly filled phantoms of I-131 the accuracy of dose measurements agreed to within 10% when compared to Monte Carlo simulations. A radial cross-dose distribution measured using the gel dosimeter compared well to that calculated with Monte Carlo. Small inhomogeneities were observed in the dosimeter attributed to non-uniform mixing of monomer during preparation. However, they were not detrimental to this study where the quantitative accuracy and spatial resolution of polymer gel dosimetry were far superior to that calculated using scintigraphy. The difference between Monte Carlo and gel measurements was of the order of a few cGy, whilst with the scintigraphic method differences of up to 8 Gy were observed. A manipulation technique is also presented which allows 3D scintigraphic dosimetry measurements to be compared to polymer

Characterization of the water filters cartridges from the iea-r1 reactor using the Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Priscila; Potiens Junior, Ademar J.

2015-01-01

Filter cartridges are part of the primary water treatment system of the IEA-R1 Research Reactor and, when saturated, they are replaced and become radioactive waste. The IEA-R1 is located at the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN), in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The primary characterization is the main step of the radioactive waste management in which the physical, chemical and radiological properties are determined. It is a very important step because the information obtained in this moment enables the choice of the appropriate management process and the definition of final disposal options. In this paper, it is presented a non-destructive method for primary characterization, using the Monte Carlo method associated with the gamma spectrometry. Gamma spectrometry allows the identification of radionuclides and their activity values. The detection efficiency is an important parameter, which is related to the photon energy, detector geometry and the matrix of the sample to be analyzed. Due to the difficult to obtain a standard source with the same geometry of the filter cartridge, another technique is necessary to calibrate the detector. The technique described in this paper uses the Monte Carlo method for primary characterization of the IEA-R1 filter cartridges. (author)

An assessment of the efficiency of methods for measurement of the computed tomography dose index (CTDI) for cone beam (CBCT) dosimetry by Monte Carlo simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Abuhaimed, Abdullah; J Martin, Colin; Sankaralingam, Marimuthu; J Gentle, David; McJury, Mark

2014-11-07

The IEC has introduced a practical approach to overcome shortcomings of the CTDI100 for measurements on wide beams employed for cone beam (CBCT) scans. This study evaluated the efficiency of this approach (CTDIIEC) for different arrangements using Monte Carlo simulation techniques, and compared CTDIIEC to the efficiency of CTDI100 for CBCT. Monte Carlo EGSnrc/BEAMnrc and EGSnrc/DOSXYZnrc codes were used to simulate the kV imaging system mounted on a Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator. The Monte Carlo model was benchmarked against experimental measurements and good agreement shown. Standard PMMA head and body phantoms with lengths 150, 600, and 900 mm were simulated. Beam widths studied ranged from 20-300 mm, and four scanning protocols using two acquisition modes were utilized. The efficiency values were calculated at the centre (εc) and periphery (εp) of the phantoms and for the weighted CTDI (εw). The efficiency values for CTDI100 were approximately constant for beam widths 20-40 mm, where εc(CTDI100), εp(CTDI100), and εw(CTDI100) were 74.7  ±  0.6%, 84.6  ±  0.3%, and 80.9  ±  0.4%, for the head phantom and 59.7  ±  0.3%, 82.1  ±  0.3%, and 74.9  ±  0.3%, for the body phantom, respectively. When beam width increased beyond 40 mm, ε(CTDI100) values fell steadily reaching ~30% at a beam width of 300 mm. In contrast, the efficiency of the CTDIIEC was approximately constant over all beam widths, demonstrating its suitability for assessment of CBCT. εc(CTDIIEC), εp(CTDIIEC), and εw(CTDIIEC) were 76.1  ±  0.9%, 85.9  ±  1.0%, and 82.2  ±  0.9% for the head phantom and 60.6  ±  0.7%, 82.8  ±  0.8%, and 75.8  ±  0.7%, for the body phantom, respectively, within 2% of ε(CTDI100) values for narrower beam widths. CTDI100,w and CTDIIEC,w underestimate CTDI∞,w by ~55% and ~18% for the head phantom and by ~56% and ~24% for the body phantom, respectively, using a clinical beam width 198 mm. The

Relative efficiency calibration between two silicon drift detectors performed with a monochromatized X-ray generator over the 0.1-1.5 keV range

Science.gov (United States)

Hubert, S.; Boubault, F.

2018-03-01

In this article, we present the first X-ray calibration performed over the 0.1-1.5 keV spectral range by means of a soft X-ray Manson source and the monochromator SYMPAX. This monochromator, based on a classical Rowland geometry, presents the novelty to be able to board simultaneously two detectors and move them under vacuum in front of the exit slit of the monochromatizing stage. This provides the great advantage to perform radiometric measurements of the monochromatic X-ray photon flux with one reference detector while calibrating another X-ray detector. To achieve this, at least one secondary standard must be operated with SYMPAX. This paper presents thereby an efficiency transfer experiment between a secondary standard silicon drift detector (SDD), previously calibrated on BESSY II synchrotron Facility, and another one ("unknown" SDD), devoted to be used permanently with SYMPAX. The associated calibration process is described as well as corresponding results. Comparison with calibrated measurements performed at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) Radiometric Laboratory shows a very good agreement between the secondary standard and the unknown SDD.

Parallel processing Monte Carlo radiation transport codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKinney, G.W.

1994-01-01

Issues related to distributed-memory multiprocessing as applied to Monte Carlo radiation transport are discussed. Measurements of communication overhead are presented for the radiation transport code MCNP which employs the communication software package PVM, and average efficiency curves are provided for a homogeneous virtual machine

A Study on Relative Radiometric Calibration without Calibration Field for YG-25

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Guo

2017-08-01

Full Text Available YG-25 is the first agility optical remote sensing satellite of China to acquire the sub-meter imagery of the earth. The side slither calibration technique is an on-orbit maneuver that has been used to flat-field image data acquired over the uniform calibration field. However, imaging to the single uniform calibration field cannot afford to calibrate the full dynamic response range of the sensor and reduces the efficiency. The paper proposes a new relative radiometric calibration method that a 90-degree yaw maneuver is performed over any non-uniform features of the Earth for YG-25. Meanwhile, we use an enhanced side slither image horizontal correction method based on line segment detector(LSDalgorithm to solve the side slither image over-shifted problem.The shifted results are compared with other horizontal correction method. The histogram match algorithm is used to calculate the relative gains of all detectors. The correctness and validity of the proposed method are validated by using the YG-25 on-board side slither data. The results prove that the mean streaking metrics of relative correction images of YG-25 is better 0.07%, the noticeable striping artifact and residual noise are removed, the calibration accuracy of side slither technique based on non-uniform features is superior to life image statistics of sensor's life span.

Calibration of environmental radionuclide transfer models using a Bayesian approach with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations and model comparisons - Calibration of radionuclides transfer models in the environment using a Bayesian approach with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation and comparison of models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nicoulaud-Gouin, V.; Giacalone, M.; Gonze, M.A. [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire-PRP-ENV/SERIS/LM2E (France); Martin-Garin, A.; Garcia-Sanchez, L. [IRSN-PRP-ENV/SERIS/L2BT (France)

2014-07-01

Calibration of transfer models according to observation data is a challenge, especially if parameters uncertainty is required, and if competing models should be decided between them. Generally two main calibration methods are used: The frequentist approach in which the unknown parameter of interest is supposed fixed and its estimation is based on the data only. In this category, least squared method has many restrictions in nonlinear models and competing models need to be nested in order to be compared. The bayesian inference in which the unknown parameter of interest is supposed random and its estimation is based on the data and on prior information. Compared to frequentist method, it provides probability density functions and therefore pointwise estimation with credible intervals. However, in practical cases, Bayesian inference is a complex problem of numerical integration, which explains its low use in operational modeling including radioecology. This study aims to illustrate the interest and feasibility of Bayesian approach in radioecology particularly in the case of ordinary differential equations with non-constant coefficients models, which cover most radiological risk assessment models, notably those implemented in the Symbiose platform (Gonze et al, 2010). Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method (Metropolis et al., 1953) was used because the posterior expectations are intractable integrals. The invariant distribution of the parameters was performed by the metropolis-Hasting algorithm (Hastings, 1970). GNU-MCSim software (Bois and Maszle, 2011) a bayesian hierarchical framework, was used to deal with nonlinear differential models. Two case studies including this type of model were investigated: An Equilibrium Kinetic sorption model (EK) (e.g. van Genuchten et al, 1974), with experimental data concerning {sup 137}Cs and {sup 85}Sr sorption and desorption in different soils studied in stirred flow-through reactors. This model, generalizing the K{sub d} approach

Optimization of the n-type HPGe detector parameters to theoretical determination of efficiency curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez-Rodriguez, A.; Correa-Alfonso, C.M.; Lopez-Pino, N.; Padilla-Cabal, F.; D'Alessandro, K.; Corrales, Y.; Garcia-Alvarez, J. A.; Perez-Mellor, A.; Baly-Gil, L.; Machado, A.

2011-01-01

A highly detailed characterization of a 130 cm 3 n-type HPGe detector, employed in low - background gamma spectrometry measurements, was done. Precise measured data and several Monte Carlo (MC) calculations have been combined to optimize the detector parameters. HPGe crystal location inside the Aluminum end-cap as well as its dimensions, including the borehole radius and height, were determined from frontal and lateral scans. Additionally, X-ray radiography and Computed Axial Tomography (CT) studies were carried out to complement the information about detector features. Using seven calibrated point sources ( 241 Am, 133 Ba, 57,60 Co, 137 Cs, 22 Na and 152 Eu), photo-peak efficiency curves at three different source - detector distances (SDD) were obtained. Taking into account the experimental values, an optimization procedure by means of MC simulations (MCNPX 2.6 code) were performed. MC efficiency curves were calculated specifying the optimized detector parameters in the MCNPX input files. Efficiency calculation results agree with empirical data, showing relative deviations lesser 10%. (Author)

Importance estimation in Monte Carlo modelling of neutron and photon transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mickael, M.W.

1992-01-01

The estimation of neutron and photon importance in a three-dimensional geometry is achieved using a coupled Monte Carlo and diffusion theory calculation. The parameters required for the solution of the multigroup adjoint diffusion equation are estimated from an analog Monte Carlo simulation of the system under investigation. The solution of the adjoint diffusion equation is then used as an estimate of the particle importance in the actual simulation. This approach provides an automated and efficient variance reduction method for Monte Carlo simulations. The technique has been successfully applied to Monte Carlo simulation of neutron and coupled neutron-photon transport in the nuclear well-logging field. The results show that the importance maps obtained in a few minutes of computer time using this technique are in good agreement with Monte Carlo generated importance maps that require prohibitive computing times. The application of this method to Monte Carlo modelling of the response of neutron porosity and pulsed neutron instruments has resulted in major reductions in computation time. (Author)

Monte Carlo simulation of mixed neutron-gamma radiation fields and dosimetry devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Guoqing

2011-01-01

Monte Carlo methods based on random sampling are widely used in different fields for the capability of solving problems with a large number of coupled degrees of freedom. In this work, Monte Carlos methods are successfully applied for the simulation of the mixed neutron-gamma field in an interim storage facility and neutron dosimeters of different types. Details are discussed in two parts: In the first part, the method of simulating an interim storage facility loaded with CASTORs is presented. The size of a CASTOR is rather large (several meters) and the CASTOR wall is very thick (tens of centimeters). Obtaining the results of dose rates outside a CASTOR with reasonable errors costs usually hours or even days. For the simulation of a large amount of CASTORs in an interim storage facility, it needs weeks or even months to finish a calculation. Variance reduction techniques were used to reduce the calculation time and to achieve reasonable relative errors. Source clones were applied to avoid unnecessary repeated calculations. In addition, the simulations were performed on a cluster system. With the calculation techniques discussed above, the efficiencies of calculations can be improved evidently. In the second part, the methods of simulating the response of neutron dosimeters are presented. An Alnor albedo dosimeter was modelled in MCNP, and it has been simulated in the facility to calculate the calibration factor to get the evaluated response to a Cf-252 source. The angular response of Makrofol detectors to fast neutrons has also been investigated. As a kind of SSNTD, Makrofol can detect fast neutrons by recording the neutron induced heavy charged recoils. To obtain the information of charged recoils, general-purpose Monte Carlo codes were used for transporting incident neutrons. The response of Makrofol to fast neutrons is dependent on several factors. Based on the parameters which affect the track revealing, the formation of visible tracks was determined. For

Monte Carlo simulation of mixed neutron-gamma radiation fields and dosimetry devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Guoqing

2011-12-22

Monte Carlo methods based on random sampling are widely used in different fields for the capability of solving problems with a large number of coupled degrees of freedom. In this work, Monte Carlos methods are successfully applied for the simulation of the mixed neutron-gamma field in an interim storage facility and neutron dosimeters of different types. Details are discussed in two parts: In the first part, the method of simulating an interim storage facility loaded with CASTORs is presented. The size of a CASTOR is rather large (several meters) and the CASTOR wall is very thick (tens of centimeters). Obtaining the results of dose rates outside a CASTOR with reasonable errors costs usually hours or even days. For the simulation of a large amount of CASTORs in an interim storage facility, it needs weeks or even months to finish a calculation. Variance reduction techniques were used to reduce the calculation time and to achieve reasonable relative errors. Source clones were applied to avoid unnecessary repeated calculations. In addition, the simulations were performed on a cluster system. With the calculation techniques discussed above, the efficiencies of calculations can be improved evidently. In the second part, the methods of simulating the response of neutron dosimeters are presented. An Alnor albedo dosimeter was modelled in MCNP, and it has been simulated in the facility to calculate the calibration factor to get the evaluated response to a Cf-252 source. The angular response of Makrofol detectors to fast neutrons has also been investigated. As a kind of SSNTD, Makrofol can detect fast neutrons by recording the neutron induced heavy charged recoils. To obtain the information of charged recoils, general-purpose Monte Carlo codes were used for transporting incident neutrons. The response of Makrofol to fast neutrons is dependent on several factors. Based on the parameters which affect the track revealing, the formation of visible tracks was determined. For

Calibration methodology for energy management system of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan, Benming; Wang, Qingnian; Zeng, Xiaohua; Gong, Yinsheng; Song, Dafeng; Wang, Junnian

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Calibration theory of EMS is proposed. • A comprehensive evaluating indicator is constructed by radar chart method. • Optimal Latin hypercube design algorithm is introduced to obtain training data. • An approximation model is established by using a RBF neural network. • Offline calibration methodology improves the actual calibration efficiency. - Abstract: This paper presents a new analytical calibration method for energy management strategy designed for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. This method improves the actual calibration efficiency to reach a compromise among the conflicting calibration requirements (e.g. emissions and economy). A comprehensive evaluating indicator covering emissions and economic performance is constructed by using a radar chart method. A radial basis functions (RBFs) neural network model is proposed to establish a precise model among control parameters and the comprehensive evaluation indicator. The optimal Latin hypercube design is introduced to obtain the experimental data to train the RBFs neural network model. And multi-island genetic algorithm is used to solve the optimization model. Finally, an offline calibration example is conducted. Results validate the effectiveness of the proposed calibration approach in improving vehicle performance and calibration efficiency.

New radiation protection calibration facility at CERN.

Science.gov (United States)

Brugger, Markus; Carbonez, Pierre; Pozzi, Fabio; Silari, Marco; Vincke, Helmut

2014-10-01

The CERN radiation protection group has designed a new state-of-the-art calibration laboratory to replace the present facility, which is >20 y old. The new laboratory, presently under construction, will be equipped with neutron and gamma sources, as well as an X-ray generator and a beta irradiator. The present work describes the project to design the facility, including the facility placement criteria, the 'point-zero' measurements and the shielding study performed via FLUKA Monte Carlo simulations. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

On the long-term stability of calibration standards in different matrices.

Science.gov (United States)

Kandić, A; Vukanac, I; Djurašević, M; Novković, D; Šešlak, B; Milošević, Z

2012-09-01

In order to assure Quality Control in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025, it was important, from metrological point of view, to examine the long-term stability of calibration standards previously prepared. Comprehensive reconsideration on efficiency curves with respect to the ageing of calibration standards is presented in this paper. The calibration standards were re-used after a period of 5 years and analysis of the results showed discrepancies in efficiency values. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bayesian Modelling, Monte Carlo Sampling and Capital Allocation of Insurance Risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gareth W. Peters

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this work is to develop a detailed step-by-step guide to the development and application of a new class of efficient Monte Carlo methods to solve practically important problems faced by insurers under the new solvency regulations. In particular, a novel Monte Carlo method to calculate capital allocations for a general insurance company is developed, with a focus on coherent capital allocation that is compliant with the Swiss Solvency Test. The data used is based on the balance sheet of a representative stylized company. For each line of business in that company, allocations are calculated for the one-year risk with dependencies based on correlations given by the Swiss Solvency Test. Two different approaches for dealing with parameter uncertainty are discussed and simulation algorithms based on (pseudo-marginal Sequential Monte Carlo algorithms are described and their efficiency is analysed.

A recursive Monte Carlo method for estimating importance functions in deep penetration problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldstein, M.

1980-04-01

A pratical recursive Monte Carlo method for estimating the importance function distribution, aimed at importance sampling for the solution of deep penetration problems in three-dimensional systems, was developed. The efficiency of the recursive method was investigated for sample problems including one- and two-dimensional, monoenergetic and and multigroup problems, as well as for a practical deep-penetration problem with streaming. The results of the recursive Monte Carlo calculations agree fairly well with Ssub(n) results. It is concluded that the recursive Monte Carlo method promises to become a universal method for estimating the importance function distribution for the solution of deep-penetration problems, in all kinds of systems: for many systems the recursive method is likely to be more efficient than previously existing methods; for three-dimensional systems it is the first method that can estimate the importance function with the accuracy required for an efficient solution based on importance sampling of neutron deep-penetration problems in those systems

The Chandra Source Catalog 2.0: Calibrations

Science.gov (United States)

Graessle, Dale E.; Evans, Ian N.; Rots, Arnold H.; Allen, Christopher E.; Anderson, Craig S.; Budynkiewicz, Jamie A.; Burke, Douglas; Chen, Judy C.; Civano, Francesca Maria; D'Abrusco, Raffaele; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Gibbs, Danny G., II; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Grier, John D.; Hain, Roger; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; Houck, John C.; Lauer, Jennifer L.; Laurino, Omar; Lee, Nicholas P.; Martínez-Galarza, Juan Rafael; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph; McLaughlin, Warren; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nguyen, Dan T.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Paxson, Charles; Plummer, David A.; Primini, Francis Anthony; Siemiginowska, Aneta; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael; Van Stone, David W.; Zografou, Panagoula

2018-01-01

Among the many enhancements implemented for the release of Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) 2.0 are improvements in the processing calibration database (CalDB). We have included a thorough overhaul of the CalDB software used in the processing. The software system upgrade, called "CalDB version 4," allows for a more rational and consistent specification of flight configurations and calibration boundary conditions. Numerous improvements in the specific calibrations applied have also been added. Chandra's radiometric and detector response calibrations vary considerably with time, detector operating temperature, and position on the detector. The CalDB has been enhanced to provide the best calibrations possible to each observation over the fifteen-year period included in CSC 2.0. Calibration updates include an improved ACIS contamination model, as well as updated time-varying gain (i.e., photon energy) and quantum efficiency maps for ACIS and HRC-I. Additionally, improved corrections for the ACIS quantum efficiency losses due to CCD charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) have been added for each of the ten ACIS detectors. These CTI corrections are now time and temperature-dependent, allowing ACIS to maintain a 0.3% energy calibration accuracy over the 0.5-7.0 keV range for any ACIS source in the catalog. Radiometric calibration (effective area) accuracy is estimated at ~4% over that range. We include a few examples where improvements in the Chandra CalDB allow for improved data reduction and modeling for the new CSC.This work has been supported by NASA under contract NAS 8-03060 to the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for operation of the Chandra X-ray Center.

Benefits of on-wafer calibration standards fabricated in membrane technology

Science.gov (United States)

Rohland, M.; Arz, U.; Büttgenbach, S.

2011-07-01

In this work we compare on-wafer calibration standards fabricated in membrane technology with standards built in conventional thin-film technology. We perform this comparison by investigating the propagation of uncertainties in the geometry and material properties to the broadband electrical properties of the standards. For coplanar waveguides used as line standards the analysis based on Monte Carlo simulations demonstrates an up to tenfold reduction in uncertainty depending on the electromagnetic waveguide property we look at.

Calibration and measurement of {sup 210}Pb using two independent techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villa, M. [Centro de Investigacion, Tecnologia e Innovacion, CITIUS, Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes 4B, 41012 Sevilla (Spain)], E-mail: mvilla@us.es; Hurtado, S. [Centro de Investigacion, Tecnologia e Innovacion, CITIUS, Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes 4B, 41012 Sevilla (Spain); Manjon, G.; Garcia-Tenorio, R. [Departamento de Fisica Aplicada II, E.T.S. Arquitectura, Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes 2, 41012 Sevilla (Spain)

2007-10-15

An experimental procedure has been developed for a rapid and accurate determination of the activity concentration of {sup 210}Pb in sediments by liquid scintillation counting (LSC). Additionally, an alternative technique using {gamma}-spectrometry and Monte Carlo simulation has been developed. A radiochemical procedure, based on radium and barium sulphates co-precipitation have been applied to isolate the Pb-isotopes. {sup 210}Pb activity measurements were done in a low background scintillation spectrometer Quantulus 1220. A calibration of the liquid scintillation spectrometer, including its {alpha}/{beta} discrimination system, has been made, in order to minimize background and, additionally, some improvements are suggested for the calculation of the {sup 210}Pb activity concentration, taking into account that {sup 210}Pb counting efficiency cannot be accurately determined. Therefore, the use of an effective radiochemical yield, which can be empirically evaluated, is proposed. {sup 210}Pb activity concentration in riverbed sediments from an area affected by NORM wastes has been determined using both the proposed method. Results using {gamma}-spectrometry and LSC are compared to the results obtained following indirect {alpha}-spectrometry ({sup 210}Po) method.

Calibration of the calorimeter of the ATLAS muon cosmic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Federic, P.

2006-01-01

This summer is for the ATLAS experiment at CERN scheduled calibration with cosmic muons ECC. It is one of the standard methods of calibrating calorimeters. Before these measurements it is necessary to perform precise Monte Carlo simulation, which is essential to a detailed understanding of the physics of the processes. Based on the known data on the spectra of cosmic muons, such as the frequency (flux) or the energy spectrum can be achieved highly accurate results. So far were simulated 3 samples for max. muon angle of incidence 45, 60 and 75 degrees, each containing 1 M events. Based on this we found the first necessary data and in particular, they allow us to determine the best angle for the ratio of the number of muons generated a number of events in the calorimetric system. (author)

Monte Carlo analysis of the Neutron Standards Laboratory of the CIEMAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vega C, H. R.; Mendez V, R.; Guzman G, K. A.

2014-10-01

By means of Monte Carlo methods was characterized the neutrons field produced by calibration sources in the Neutron Standards Laboratory of the Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT). The laboratory has two neutron calibration sources: 241 AmBe and 252 Cf which are stored in a water pool and are placed on the calibration bench using controlled systems at distance. To characterize the neutrons field was built a three-dimensional model of the room where it was included the stainless steel bench, the irradiation table and the storage pool. The sources model included double encapsulated of steel, as cladding. With the purpose of determining the effect that produces the presence of the different components of the room, during the characterization the neutrons spectra, the total flow and the rapidity of environmental equivalent dose to 100 cm of the source were considered. The presence of the walls, floor and ceiling of the room is causing the most modification in the spectra and the integral values of the flow and the rapidity of environmental equivalent dose. (Author)

Novel hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic technique for shutdown dose rate analyses of fusion energy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibrahim, Ahmad M.; Peplow, Douglas E.; Peterson, Joshua L.; Grove, Robert E.

2014-01-01

Highlights: •Develop the novel Multi-Step CADIS (MS-CADIS) hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic method for multi-step shielding analyses. •Accurately calculate shutdown dose rates using full-scale Monte Carlo models of fusion energy systems. •Demonstrate the dramatic efficiency improvement of the MS-CADIS method for the rigorous two step calculations of the shutdown dose rate in fusion reactors. -- Abstract: The rigorous 2-step (R2S) computational system uses three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport simulations to calculate the shutdown dose rate (SDDR) in fusion reactors. Accurate full-scale R2S calculations are impractical in fusion reactors because they require calculating space- and energy-dependent neutron fluxes everywhere inside the reactor. The use of global Monte Carlo variance reduction techniques was suggested for accelerating the R2S neutron transport calculation. However, the prohibitive computational costs of these approaches, which increase with the problem size and amount of shielding materials, inhibit their ability to accurately predict the SDDR in fusion energy systems using full-scale modeling of an entire fusion plant. This paper describes a novel hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic methodology that uses the Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (CADIS) method but focuses on multi-step shielding calculations. The Multi-Step CADIS (MS-CADIS) methodology speeds up the R2S neutron Monte Carlo calculation using an importance function that represents the neutron importance to the final SDDR. Using a simplified example, preliminary results showed that the use of MS-CADIS enhanced the efficiency of the neutron Monte Carlo simulation of an SDDR calculation by a factor of 550 compared to standard global variance reduction techniques, and that the efficiency enhancement compared to analog Monte Carlo is higher than a factor of 10,000

Damage flux analysis. Solid state detector and Monte-Carlo calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genthon, J.P.; Nimal, J.C.; Vergnaud, T.

1975-09-01

The change of resistivity induced by radiation in materials is particularly suitable for the measurement of equivalent damage fluxes, when it is used at low fluence for calibration of more classical activation reactions used at high fluences. A graphite and a tungsten detector are briefly described and results obtained in a good number of European reactors are given. The polykinetic three dimensional Monte-Carlo code Tripoli is used for calculation of damage fluxes. Comparison with above measurements shows a good agreement and confirms the use of the EURATOM damaging function for graphite [fr

Camera calibration method of binocular stereo vision based on OpenCV

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Wanzhen; Dong, Xiaona

2015-10-01

Camera calibration, an important part of the binocular stereo vision research, is the essential foundation of 3D reconstruction of the spatial object. In this paper, the camera calibration method based on OpenCV (open source computer vision library) is submitted to make the process better as a result of obtaining higher precision and efficiency. First, the camera model in OpenCV and an algorithm of camera calibration are presented, especially considering the influence of camera lens radial distortion and decentering distortion. Then, camera calibration procedure is designed to compute those parameters of camera and calculate calibration errors. High-accurate profile extraction algorithm and a checkboard with 48 corners have also been used in this part. Finally, results of calibration program are presented, demonstrating the high efficiency and accuracy of the proposed approach. The results can reach the requirement of robot binocular stereo vision.

Streamflow characteristics from modelled runoff time series: Importance of calibration criteria selection

Science.gov (United States)

Poole, Sandra; Vis, Marc; Knight, Rodney; Seibert, Jan

2017-01-01

Ecologically relevant streamflow characteristics (SFCs) of ungauged catchments are often estimated from simulated runoff of hydrologic models that were originally calibrated on gauged catchments. However, SFC estimates of the gauged donor catchments and subsequently the ungauged catchments can be substantially uncertain when models are calibrated using traditional approaches based on optimization of statistical performance metrics (e.g., Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency). An improved calibration strategy for gauged catchments is therefore crucial to help reduce the uncertainties of estimated SFCs for ungauged catchments. The aim of this study was to improve SFC estimates from modeled runoff time series in gauged catchments by explicitly including one or several SFCs in the calibration process. Different types of objective functions were defined consisting of the Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency, single SFCs, or combinations thereof. We calibrated a bucket-type runoff model (HBV – Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenavdelning – model) for 25 catchments in the Tennessee River basin and evaluated the proposed calibration approach on 13 ecologically relevant SFCs representing major flow regime components and different flow conditions. While the model generally tended to underestimate the tested SFCs related to mean and high-flow conditions, SFCs related to low flow were generally overestimated. The highest estimation accuracies were achieved by a SFC-specific model calibration. Estimates of SFCs not included in the calibration process were of similar quality when comparing a multi-SFC calibration approach to a traditional model efficiency calibration. For practical applications, this implies that SFCs should preferably be estimated from targeted runoff model calibration, and modeled estimates need to be carefully interpreted.

Biased Monte Carlo optimization: the basic approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campioni, Luca; Scardovelli, Ruben; Vestrucci, Paolo

2005-01-01

It is well-known that the Monte Carlo method is very successful in tackling several kinds of system simulations. It often happens that one has to deal with rare events, and the use of a variance reduction technique is almost mandatory, in order to have Monte Carlo efficient applications. The main issue associated with variance reduction techniques is related to the choice of the value of the biasing parameter. Actually, this task is typically left to the experience of the Monte Carlo user, who has to make many attempts before achieving an advantageous biasing. A valuable result is provided: a methodology and a practical rule addressed to establish an a priori guidance for the choice of the optimal value of the biasing parameter. This result, which has been obtained for a single component system, has the notable property of being valid for any multicomponent system. In particular, in this paper, the exponential and the uniform biases of exponentially distributed phenomena are investigated thoroughly

Calibration curves of a PGNAA system for cement raw material analysis using the MCNP code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Carlos; Salgado, Jose

1998-01-01

In large samples, the γ-ray count rate of a prompt gamma neutron activation analysis system is a multi-variable function of the elemental dry composition, density, water content and thickness of the material. The experimental calibration curves require tremendous laboratory work, using a great number of standards with well-known compositions. Although a Monte Carlo simulation study does not avoid the experimental calibration work, it reduces the number of experimental calibration standards. This paper is part of a feasibility study for a PGNAA system for on-line continuous characterisation of cement raw material conveyed on a belt (Oliveira, C., Salgado, J. and Carvalho, F. G. (1997) Optimisation of PGNAA instrument design for cement raw materials using the MCNP code. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 216(2), 191-198; Oliveira, C., Salgado, J., Goncalves, I. F., Carvalho, F. G. and Leitao, F. (1997a) A Monte Carlo study of the influence of geometry arrangements and structural materials on a PGNAA system performance for cement raw materials analysis. Appl. Radiat. Isot. (accepted); Oliveira, C., Salgado, J. and Leitao, F. (1997b) Density and water content corrections in the gamma count rate of a PGNAA system for cement raw material analysis using the MCNP code. Appl. Radiat. Isot. (accepted).]. It reports on the influence of the density, mass water content and thickness on the calibration curves of the PGNAA system. The MCNP-4A code, running in a Pentium-PC and in a DEC workstation, was used to simulate the PGNAA configuration system

Financial model calibration using consistency hints.

Science.gov (United States)

Abu-Mostafa, Y S

2001-01-01

We introduce a technique for forcing the calibration of a financial model to produce valid parameters. The technique is based on learning from hints. It converts simple curve fitting into genuine calibration, where broad conclusions can be inferred from parameter values. The technique augments the error function of curve fitting with consistency hint error functions based on the Kullback-Leibler distance. We introduce an efficient EM-type optimization algorithm tailored to this technique. We also introduce other consistency hints, and balance their weights using canonical errors. We calibrate the correlated multifactor Vasicek model of interest rates, and apply it successfully to Japanese Yen swaps market and US dollar yield market.

Calibration of piezoelectric RL shunts with explicit residual mode correction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høgsberg, Jan Becker; Krenk, Steen

2017-01-01

Piezoelectric RL (resistive-inductive) shunts are passive resonant devices used for damping of dominant vibration modes of a flexible structure and their efficiency relies on the precise calibration of the shunt components. In the present paper improved calibration accuracy is attained by an exte......Piezoelectric RL (resistive-inductive) shunts are passive resonant devices used for damping of dominant vibration modes of a flexible structure and their efficiency relies on the precise calibration of the shunt components. In the present paper improved calibration accuracy is attained...... by an extension of the local piezoelectric transducer displacement by two additional terms, representing the flexibility and inertia contributions from the residual vibration modes not directly addressed by the shunt damping. This results in an augmented dynamic model for the targeted resonant vibration mode...

Control Variates for Monte Carlo Valuation of American Options

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Nicki S.

2005-01-01

This paper considers two applications of control variates to the Monte Carlo valuation of American options. The main contribution of the paper lies in the particular choice of a control variate for American or Bermudan options. It is shown that for any martingale process used as a control variate...... technique is used for improving the least-squares Monte Carlo (LSM) approach for determining exercise strategies. The suggestions made allow for more efficient estimation of the continuation value, used in determining the strategy. An additional suggestion is made in order to improve the stability...

Estimation of ex-core detector responses by adjoint Monte Carlo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoogenboom, J. E. [Delft Univ. of Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft (Netherlands)

2006-07-01

Ex-core detector responses can be efficiently calculated by combining an adjoint Monte Carlo calculation with the converged source distribution of a forward Monte Carlo calculation. As the fission source distribution from a Monte Carlo calculation is given only as a collection of discrete space positions, the coupling requires a point flux estimator for each collision in the adjoint calculation. To avoid the infinite variance problems of the point flux estimator, a next-event finite-variance point flux estimator has been applied, witch is an energy dependent form for heterogeneous media of a finite-variance estimator known from the literature. To test the effects of this combined adjoint-forward calculation a simple geometry of a homogeneous core with a reflector was adopted with a small detector in the reflector. To demonstrate the potential of the method the continuous-energy adjoint Monte Carlo technique with anisotropic scattering was implemented with energy dependent absorption and fission cross sections and constant scattering cross section. A gain in efficiency over a completely forward calculation of the detector response was obtained, which is strongly dependent on the specific system and especially the size and position of the ex-core detector and the energy range considered. Further improvements are possible. The method works without problems for small detectors, even for a point detector and a small or even zero energy range. (authors)

Track 4: basic nuclear science variance reduction for Monte Carlo criticality simulations. 6. Variational Variance Reduction for Monte Carlo Criticality Calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Densmore, Jeffery D.; Larsen, Edward W.

2001-01-01

Recently, it has been shown that the figure of merit (FOM) of Monte Carlo source-detector problems can be enhanced by using a variational rather than a direct functional to estimate the detector response. The direct functional, which is traditionally employed in Monte Carlo simulations, requires an estimate of the solution of the forward problem within the detector region. The variational functional is theoretically more accurate than the direct functional, but it requires estimates of the solutions of the forward and adjoint source-detector problems over the entire phase-space of the problem. In recent work, we have performed Monte Carlo simulations using the variational functional by (a) approximating the adjoint solution deterministically and representing this solution as a function in phase-space and (b) estimating the forward solution using Monte Carlo. We have called this general procedure variational variance reduction (VVR). The VVR method is more computationally expensive per history than traditional Monte Carlo because extra information must be tallied and processed. However, the variational functional yields a more accurate estimate of the detector response. Our simulations have shown that the VVR reduction in variance usually outweighs the increase in cost, resulting in an increased FOM. In recent work on source-detector problems, we have calculated the adjoint solution deterministically and represented this solution as a linear-in-angle, histogram-in-space function. This procedure has several advantages over previous implementations: (a) it requires much less adjoint information to be stored and (b) it is highly efficient for diffusive problems, due to the accurate linear-in-angle representation of the adjoint solution. (Traditional variance-reduction methods perform poorly for diffusive problems.) Here, we extend this VVR method to Monte Carlo criticality calculations, which are often diffusive and difficult for traditional variance-reduction methods

Monte Carlo method for array criticality calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickinson, D.; Whitesides, G.E.

1976-01-01

The Monte Carlo method for solving neutron transport problems consists of mathematically tracing paths of individual neutrons collision by collision until they are lost by absorption or leakage. The fate of the neutron after each collision is determined by the probability distribution functions that are formed from the neutron cross-section data. These distributions are sampled statistically to establish the successive steps in the neutron's path. The resulting data, accumulated from following a large number of batches, are analyzed to give estimates of k/sub eff/ and other collision-related quantities. The use of electronic computers to produce the simulated neutron histories, initiated at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, made the use of the Monte Carlo method practical for many applications. In analog Monte Carlo simulation, the calculation follows the physical events of neutron scattering, absorption, and leakage. To increase calculational efficiency, modifications such as the use of statistical weights are introduced. The Monte Carlo method permits the use of a three-dimensional geometry description and a detailed cross-section representation. Some of the problems in using the method are the selection of the spatial distribution for the initial batch, the preparation of the geometry description for complex units, and the calculation of error estimates for region-dependent quantities such as fluxes. The Monte Carlo method is especially appropriate for criticality safety calculations since it permits an accurate representation of interacting units of fissile material. Dissimilar units, units of complex shape, moderators between units, and reflected arrays may be calculated. Monte Carlo results must be correlated with relevant experimental data, and caution must be used to ensure that a representative set of neutron histories is produced

Geometry and Dynamics for Markov Chain Monte Carlo

OpenAIRE

Barp, Alessandro; Briol, Francois-Xavier; Kennedy, Anthony D.; Girolami, Mark

2017-01-01

Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods have revolutionised mathematical computation and enabled statistical inference within many previously intractable models. In this context, Hamiltonian dynamics have been proposed as an efficient way of building chains which can explore probability densities efficiently. The method emerges from physics and geometry and these links have been extensively studied by a series of authors through the last thirty years. However, there is currently a gap between the in...

Calibration factor or calibration coefficient?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meghzifene, A.; Shortt, K.R.

2002-01-01

Full text: The IAEA/WHO network of SSDLs was set up in order to establish links between SSDL members and the international measurement system. At the end of 2001, there were 73 network members in 63 Member States. The SSDL network members provide calibration services to end-users at the national or regional level. The results of the calibrations are summarized in a document called calibration report or calibration certificate. The IAEA has been using the term calibration certificate and will continue using the same terminology. The most important information in a calibration certificate is a list of calibration factors and their related uncertainties that apply to the calibrated instrument for the well-defined irradiation and ambient conditions. The IAEA has recently decided to change the term calibration factor to calibration coefficient, to be fully in line with ISO [ISO 31-0], which recommends the use of the term coefficient when it links two quantities A and B (equation 1) that have different dimensions. The term factor should only be used for k when it is used to link the terms A and B that have the same dimensions A=k.B. However, in a typical calibration, an ion chamber is calibrated in terms of a physical quantity such as air kerma, dose to water, ambient dose equivalent, etc. If the chamber is calibrated together with its electrometer, then the calibration refers to the physical quantity to be measured per electrometer unit reading. In this case, the terms referred have different dimensions. The adoption by the Agency of the term coefficient to express the results of calibrations is consistent with the 'International vocabulary of basic and general terms in metrology' prepared jointly by the BIPM, IEC, ISO, OIML and other organizations. The BIPM has changed from factor to coefficient. The authors believe that this is more than just a matter of semantics and recommend that the SSDL network members adopt this change in terminology. (author)

HEXANN-EVALU - a Monte Carlo program system for pressure vessel neutron irradiation calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lux, Ivan

1983-08-01

The Monte Carlo program HEXANN and the evaluation program EVALU are intended to calculate Monte Carlo estimates of reaction rates and currents in segments of concentric angular regions around a hexagonal reactor-core region. The report describes the theoretical basis, structure and activity of the programs. Input data preparation guides and a sample problem are also included. Theoretical considerations as well as numerical experimental results suggest the user a nearly optimum way of making use of the Monte Carlo efficiency increasing options included in the program

Calibration of a portable HPGe detector using MCNP code for the determination of 137Cs in soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gutierrez-Villanueva, J.L.; Martin-Martin, A.; Pena, V.; Iniguez, M.P.; Celis, B. de

2008-01-01

In situ gamma spectrometry provides a fast method to determine 137 Cs inventories in soils. To improve the accuracy of the estimates, one can use not only the information on the photopeak count rates but also on the peak to forward-scatter ratios. Before applying this procedure to field measurements, a calibration including several experimental simulations must be carried out in the laboratory. In this paper it is shown that Monte Carlo methods are a valuable tool to minimize the number of experimental measurements needed for the calibration

Calibration of a portable HPGe detector using MCNP code for the determination of 137Cs in soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez-Villanueva, J L; Martín-Martín, A; Peña, V; Iniguez, M P; de Celis, B; de la Fuente, R

2008-10-01

In situ gamma spectrometry provides a fast method to determine (137)Cs inventories in soils. To improve the accuracy of the estimates, one can use not only the information on the photopeak count rates but also on the peak to forward-scatter ratios. Before applying this procedure to field measurements, a calibration including several experimental simulations must be carried out in the laboratory. In this paper it is shown that Monte Carlo methods are a valuable tool to minimize the number of experimental measurements needed for the calibration.

Improved Monte Carlo Method for PSA Uncertainty Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jongsoo

2016-01-01

The treatment of uncertainty is an important issue for regulatory decisions. Uncertainties exist from knowledge limitations. A probabilistic approach has exposed some of these limitations and provided a framework to assess their significance and assist in developing a strategy to accommodate them in the regulatory process. The uncertainty analysis (UA) is usually based on the Monte Carlo method. This paper proposes a Monte Carlo UA approach to calculate the mean risk metrics accounting for the SOKC between basic events (including CCFs) using efficient random number generators and to meet Capability Category III of the ASME/ANS PRA standard. Audit calculation is needed in PSA regulatory reviews of uncertainty analysis results submitted for licensing. The proposed Monte Carlo UA approach provides a high degree of confidence in PSA reviews. All PSA needs accounting for the SOKC between event probabilities to meet the ASME/ANS PRA standard

Improved Monte Carlo Method for PSA Uncertainty Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jongsoo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

The treatment of uncertainty is an important issue for regulatory decisions. Uncertainties exist from knowledge limitations. A probabilistic approach has exposed some of these limitations and provided a framework to assess their significance and assist in developing a strategy to accommodate them in the regulatory process. The uncertainty analysis (UA) is usually based on the Monte Carlo method. This paper proposes a Monte Carlo UA approach to calculate the mean risk metrics accounting for the SOKC between basic events (including CCFs) using efficient random number generators and to meet Capability Category III of the ASME/ANS PRA standard. Audit calculation is needed in PSA regulatory reviews of uncertainty analysis results submitted for licensing. The proposed Monte Carlo UA approach provides a high degree of confidence in PSA reviews. All PSA needs accounting for the SOKC between event probabilities to meet the ASME/ANS PRA standard.

Efficient Geometry and Data Handling for Large-Scale Monte Carlo - Thermal-Hydraulics Coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Hoogenboom, J. Eduard

2014-06-01

Detailed coupling of thermal-hydraulics calculations to Monte Carlo reactor criticality calculations requires each axial layer of each fuel pin to be defined separately in the input to the Monte Carlo code in order to assign to each volume the temperature according to the result of the TH calculation, and if the volume contains coolant, also the density of the coolant. This leads to huge input files for even small systems. In this paper a methodology for dynamical assignment of temperatures with respect to cross section data is demonstrated to overcome this problem. The method is implemented in MCNP5. The method is verified for an infinite lattice with 3x3 BWR-type fuel pins with fuel, cladding and moderator/coolant explicitly modeled. For each pin 60 axial zones are considered with different temperatures and coolant densities. The results of the axial power distribution per fuel pin are compared to a standard MCNP5 run in which all 9x60 cells for fuel, cladding and coolant are explicitly defined and their respective temperatures determined from the TH calculation. Full agreement is obtained. For large-scale application the method is demonstrated for an infinite lattice with 17x17 PWR-type fuel assemblies with 25 rods replaced by guide tubes. Again all geometrical detailed is retained. The method was used in a procedure for coupled Monte Carlo and thermal-hydraulics iterations. Using an optimised iteration technique, convergence was obtained in 11 iteration steps.

Using MCNP for in-core instrument calibration in CANDU

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, D.C. [Point Lepreau Generating Station, NB Power, Lepreau, New Brunswick (Canada); Anghel, V.N.P.; Sur, B. [Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River, Ontario (Canada)

2002-07-01

The calibration of in-core instruments is important for safe and economical CANDU operation. However, in-core detectors are not normally suited to bench calibration procedures. This paper describes the use and validation of detailed neutron transport calculations for the purpose of calibrating the response of in-core neutron flux detectors. The Monte-Carlo transport code, MCNP, was used to model the thermal neutron flux distribution in the region around self-powered in-core flux detectors (ICFDs), and in the vicinity of the calandria edge. The ICFD model was used to evaluate the reduction in signal of a given detector (the 'detector shading factor') due to neutron absorption in surrounding materials, detectors, and lead-cables. The calandria edge model was used to infer the accuracy of the calandria edge position from flux scans performed by AECL's traveling flux detector (TFD) system. The MCNP results were checked against experimental results on ICFDs, and also against shading factors computed by other means. The use of improved in-core detector calibration factors obtained by this new methodology will improve the accuracy of spatial flux control performance in CANDU-6 reactors. The accurate determination of TFD based calandria edge position is useful in the quantitative measurement of changes in in-core component dimensions and position due to aging, such as pressure tube sag. (author)

Clinical treatment planning for stereotactic radiotherapy, evaluation by Monte Carlo simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kairn, T.; Aland, T.; Kenny, J.; Knight, R.T.; Crowe, S.B.; Langton, C.M.; Franich, R.D.; Johnston, P.N.

2010-01-01

Full text: This study uses re-evaluates the doses delivered by a series of clinical stereotactic radiotherapy treatments, to test the accuracy of treatment planning predictions for very small radiation fields. Stereotactic radiotherapy treatment plans for meningiomas near the petrous temporal bone and the foramen magnum (incorp rating fields smaller than I c m2) were examined using Monte Carlo simulations. Important differences between treatment planning predictions and Monte Carlo calculations of doses delivered to stereotactic radiotherapy patients are apparent. For example, in one case the Monte Carlo calculation shows that the delivery a planned meningioma treatment would spare the patient's critical structures (eyes, brainstem) more effectively than the treatment plan predicted, and therefore suggests that this patient could safely receive an increased dose to their tumour. Monte Carlo simulations can be used to test the dose predictions made by a conventional treatment planning system, for dosimetrically challenging small fields, and can thereby suggest valuable modifications to clinical treatment plans. This research was funded by the Wesley Research Institute, Australia. The authors wish to thank Andrew Fielding and David Schlect for valuable discussions of aspects of this work. The authors are also grateful to Muhammad Kakakhel, for assisting with the design and calibration of our linear accelerator model, and to the stereotactic radiation therapy team at Premion, who designed the treatment plans. Computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the HPC and Research Support Unit, QUT, Brisbane, Australia. (author)

Estimating the Partition Function Zeros by Using the Wang-Landau Monte Carlo Algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Seung-Yeon [Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-15

The concept of the partition function zeros is one of the most efficient methods for investigating the phase transitions and the critical phenomena in various physical systems. Estimating the partition function zeros requires information on the density of states Ω(E) as a function of the energy E. Currently, the Wang-Landau Monte Carlo algorithm is one of the best methods for calculating Ω(E). The partition function zeros in the complex temperature plane of the Ising model on an L × L square lattice (L = 10 ∼ 80) with a periodic boundary condition have been estimated by using the Wang-Landau Monte Carlo algorithm. The efficiency of the Wang-Landau Monte Carlo algorithm and the accuracies of the partition function zeros have been evaluated for three different, 5%, 10%, and 20%, flatness criteria for the histogram H(E).

Monte Carlo criticality calculations accelerated by a growing neutron population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dufek, Jan; Tuttelberg, Kaur

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Efficiency is significantly improved when population size grows over cycles. • The bias in the fission source is balanced to other errors in the source. • The bias in the fission source decays over the cycle as the population grows. - Abstract: We propose a fission source convergence acceleration method for Monte Carlo criticality simulation. As the efficiency of Monte Carlo criticality simulations is sensitive to the selected neutron population size, the method attempts to achieve the acceleration via on-the-fly control of the neutron population size. The neutron population size is gradually increased over successive criticality cycles so that the fission source bias amounts to a specific fraction of the total error in the cumulative fission source. An optimal setting then gives a reasonably small neutron population size, allowing for an efficient source iteration; at the same time the neutron population size is chosen large enough to ensure a sufficiently small source bias, such that does not limit accuracy of the simulation.

TU-H-CAMPUS-IeP1-01: Bias and Computational Efficiency of Variance Reduction Methods for the Monte Carlo Simulation of Imaging Detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, D; Badano, A [Division of Imaging, Diagnostics and Software Reliability, OSEL/CDRH, Food & Drug Administration, MD (United States); Sempau, J [Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona (Spain)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Variance reduction techniques (VRTs) are employed in Monte Carlo simulations to obtain estimates with reduced statistical uncertainty for a given simulation time. In this work, we study the bias and efficiency of a VRT for estimating the response of imaging detectors. Methods: We implemented Directed Sampling (DS), preferentially directing a fraction of emitted optical photons directly towards the detector by altering the isotropic model. The weight of each optical photon is appropriately modified to maintain simulation estimates unbiased. We use a Monte Carlo tool called fastDETECT2 (part of the hybridMANTIS open-source package) for optical transport, modified for VRT. The weight of each photon is calculated as the ratio of original probability (no VRT) and the new probability for a particular direction. For our analysis of bias and efficiency, we use pulse height spectra, point response functions, and Swank factors. We obtain results for a variety of cases including analog (no VRT, isotropic distribution), and DS with 0.2 and 0.8 optical photons directed towards the sensor plane. We used 10,000, 25-keV primaries. Results: The Swank factor for all cases in our simplified model converged fast (within the first 100 primaries) to a stable value of 0.9. The root mean square error per pixel for DS VRT for the point response function between analog and VRT cases was approximately 5e-4. Conclusion: Our preliminary results suggest that DS VRT does not affect the estimate of the mean for the Swank factor. Our findings indicate that it may be possible to design VRTs for imaging detector simulations to increase computational efficiency without introducing bias.

A novel iterative energy calibration method for composite germanium detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pattabiraman, N.S.; Chintalapudi, S.N.; Ghugre, S.S.

2004-01-01

An automatic method for energy calibration of the observed experimental spectrum has been developed. The method presented is based on an iterative algorithm and presents an efficient way to perform energy calibrations after establishing the weights of the calibration data. An application of this novel technique for data acquired using composite detectors in an in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy experiment is presented

A novel iterative energy calibration method for composite germanium detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pattabiraman, N.S.; Chintalapudi, S.N.; Ghugre, S.S. E-mail: ssg@alpha.iuc.res.in

2004-07-01

An automatic method for energy calibration of the observed experimental spectrum has been developed. The method presented is based on an iterative algorithm and presents an efficient way to perform energy calibrations after establishing the weights of the calibration data. An application of this novel technique for data acquired using composite detectors in an in-beam {gamma}-ray spectroscopy experiment is presented.

A parameter for the selection of an optimum balance calibration model by Monte Carlo simulation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Bidgood, Peter M

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The current trend in balance calibration-matrix generation is to use non-linear regression and statistical methods. Methods typically include Modified-Design-of-Experiment (MDOE), Response-Surface-Models (RSMs) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA...

Device calibration impacts security of quantum key distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Nitin; Wittmann, Christoffer; Lydersen, Lars; Wiechers, Carlos; Elser, Dominique; Marquardt, Christoph; Makarov, Vadim; Leuchs, Gerd

2011-09-09

Characterizing the physical channel and calibrating the cryptosystem hardware are prerequisites for establishing a quantum channel for quantum key distribution (QKD). Moreover, an inappropriately implemented calibration routine can open a fatal security loophole. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method to induce a large temporal detector efficiency mismatch in a commercial QKD system by deceiving a channel length calibration routine. We then devise an optimal and realistic strategy using faked states to break the security of the cryptosystem. A fix for this loophole is also suggested.

Simultaneous Monte Carlo zero-variance estimates of several correlated means

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Booth, T.E.

1997-08-01

Zero variance procedures have been in existence since the dawn of Monte Carlo. Previous works all treat the problem of zero variance solutions for a single tally. One often wants to get low variance solutions to more than one tally. When the sets of random walks needed for two tallies are similar, it is more efficient to do zero variance biasing for both tallies in the same Monte Carlo run, instead of two separate runs. The theory presented here correlates the random walks of particles by the similarity of their tallies. Particles with dissimilar tallies rapidly become uncorrelated whereas particles with similar tallies will stay correlated through most of their random walk. The theory herein should allow practitioners to make efficient use of zero-variance biasing procedures in practical problems

Efficiency calibration of the first multilayer-coated holographic ion-etched flight grating for a sounding rocket high-resolution spectrometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Kowalski, M P; Barbee, T W; Heidemann, K F; Gursky, H; Rife, J C; Hunter, W R; Fritz, G G; Cruddace, R G

1999-11-01

We have fabricated the four flight gratings for a sounding rocket high-resolution spectrometer using a holographic ion-etching technique. The gratings are spherical (4000-mm radius of curvature), large (160 mm x 90 mm), and have a laminar groove profile of high density (3600 grooves/mm). They have been coated with a high-reflectance multilayer of Mo/Si. Using an atomic force microscope, we examined the surface characteristics of the first grating before and after multilayer coating. The average roughness is approximately 3 A rms after coating. Using synchrotron radiation, we completed an efficiency calibration map over the wavelength range 225-245 A. At an angle of incidence of 5 degrees and a wavelength of 234 A, the average efficiency in the first inside order is 10.4 +/- 0.5%, and the derived groove efficiency is 34.8 +/- 1.6%. These values exceed all previously published results for a high-density grating.

Direct illumination LED calibration for telescope photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrelet, E.; Juramy, C.

2008-01-01

A calibration method for telescope photometry, based on the direct illumination of a telescope with a calibrated light source regrouping multiple LEDs, is proposed. Its purpose is to calibrate the instrument response. The main emphasis of the proposed method is the traceability of the calibration process and a continuous monitoring of the instrument in order to maintain a 0.2% accuracy over a period of years. Its specificity is to map finely the response of the telescope and its camera as a function of all light ray parameters. This feature is essential to implement a computer model of the instrument representing the variation of the overall light collection efficiency of each pixel for various filter configurations. We report on hardware developments done for SNDICE, the first application of this direct illumination calibration system which will be installed in Canada France Hawaii telescope (CFHT) for its leading supernova experiment (SNLS)

Thermal inertia and energy efficiency – Parametric simulation assessment on a calibrated case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aste, Niccolò; Leonforte, Fabrizio; Manfren, Massimiliano; Mazzon, Manlio

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We perform a parametric simulation study on a calibrated building energy model. • We introduce adaptive shadings and night free cooling in simulations. • We analyze the effect of thermal capacity on the parametric simulations results. • We recognize that cooling demand and savings scales linearly with thermal capacity. • We assess the advantage of medium-heavy over medium and light configurations. - Abstract: The reduction of energy consumption for heating and cooling services in the existing building stock is a key challenge for global sustainability today and buildings’ envelopes retrofit is one the main issues. Most of the existing buildings’ envelopes have low levels of insulation, high thermal losses due to thermal bridges and cracks, absence of appropriate solar control, etc. Further, in building refurbishment, the importance of a system level approach is often undervalued in favour of simplistic “off the shelf” efficient solutions, focused on the reduction of thermal transmittance and on the enhancement of solar control capabilities. In many cases, the importance of the dynamic thermal properties is often neglected or underestimated and the effective thermal capacity is not properly considered as one of the design parameters. The research presented aims to critically assess the influence of the dynamic thermal properties of the building fabric (roof, walls and floors) on sensible heating and cooling energy demand for a case study. The case study chosen is an existing office building which has been retrofitted in recent years and whose energy model has been calibrated according to the data collected in the monitoring process. The research illustrates the variations of the sensible thermal energy demand of the building in different retrofit scenarios, and relates them to the variations of the dynamic thermal properties of the construction components. A parametric simulation study has been performed, encompassing the use of

Comparative and Predictive Multimedia Assessments Using Monte Carlo Uncertainty Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Whelan, G.

2002-05-01

Multiple-pathway frameworks (sometimes referred to as multimedia models) provide a platform for combining medium-specific environmental models and databases, such that they can be utilized in a more holistic assessment of contaminant fate and transport in the environment. These frameworks provide a relatively seamless transfer of information from one model to the next and from databases to models. Within these frameworks, multiple models are linked, resulting in models that consume information from upstream models and produce information to be consumed by downstream models. The Framework for Risk Analysis in Multimedia Environmental Systems (FRAMES) is an example, which allows users to link their models to other models and databases. FRAMES is an icon-driven, site-layout platform that is an open-architecture, object-oriented system that interacts with environmental databases; helps the user construct a Conceptual Site Model that is real-world based; allows the user to choose the most appropriate models to solve simulation requirements; solves the standard risk paradigm of release transport and fate; and exposure/risk assessments to people and ecology; and presents graphical packages for analyzing results. FRAMES is specifically designed allow users to link their own models into a system, which contains models developed by others. This paper will present the use of FRAMES to evaluate potential human health exposures using real site data and realistic assumptions from sources, through the vadose and saturated zones, to exposure and risk assessment at three real-world sites, using the Multimedia Environmental Pollutant Assessment System (MEPAS), which is a multimedia model contained within FRAMES. These real-world examples use predictive and comparative approaches coupled with a Monte Carlo analysis. A predictive analysis is where models are calibrated to monitored site data, prior to the assessment, and a comparative analysis is where models are not calibrated but

The Geostationary Lightning Mapper: Its Performance and Calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, H. J., Jr.

2015-12-01

The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) has been developed to be an operational instrument on the GOES-R series of spacecraft. The GLM is a unique instrument, unlike other meteorological instruments, both in how it operates and in the information content that it provides. Instrumentally, it is an event detector, rather than an imager. While processing almost a billion pixels per second with 14 bits of resolution, the event detection process reduces the required telemetry bandwidth by almost 105, thus keeping the telemetry requirements modest and enabling efficient ground processing that leads to rapid data distribution to operational users. The GLM was designed to detect about 90 percent of the total lightning flashes within its almost hemispherical field of view. Based on laboratory calibration, we expect the on-orbit detection efficiency to be closer to 85%, making it the highest performing, large area coverage total lightning detector. It has a number of unique design features that will enable it have near uniform special resolution over most of its field of view and to operate with minimal impact on performance during solar eclipses. The GLM has no dedicated on-orbit calibration system, thus the ground-based calibration provides the bases for the predicted radiometric performance. A number of problems were encountered during the calibration of Flight Model 1. The issues arouse from GLM design features including its wide field of view, fast lens, the narrow-band interference filters located in both object and collimated space and the fact that the GLM is inherently a event detector yet the calibration procedures required both calibration of images and events. The GLM calibration techniques were based on those developed for the Lightning Imaging Sensor calibration, but there are enough differences between the sensors that the initial GLM calibration suggested that it is significantly more sensitive than its design parameters. The calibration discrepancies have

Uncertainty analysis in Monte Carlo criticality computations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi Ao

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► Two types of uncertainty methods for k eff Monte Carlo computations are examined. ► Sampling method has the least restrictions on perturbation but computing resources. ► Analytical method is limited to small perturbation on material properties. ► Practicality relies on efficiency, multiparameter applicability and data availability. - Abstract: Uncertainty analysis is imperative for nuclear criticality risk assessments when using Monte Carlo neutron transport methods to predict the effective neutron multiplication factor (k eff ) for fissionable material systems. For the validation of Monte Carlo codes for criticality computations against benchmark experiments, code accuracy and precision are measured by both the computational bias and uncertainty in the bias. The uncertainty in the bias accounts for known or quantified experimental, computational and model uncertainties. For the application of Monte Carlo codes for criticality analysis of fissionable material systems, an administrative margin of subcriticality must be imposed to provide additional assurance of subcriticality for any unknown or unquantified uncertainties. Because of a substantial impact of the administrative margin of subcriticality on economics and safety of nuclear fuel cycle operations, recently increasing interests in reducing the administrative margin of subcriticality make the uncertainty analysis in criticality safety computations more risk-significant. This paper provides an overview of two most popular k eff uncertainty analysis methods for Monte Carlo criticality computations: (1) sampling-based methods, and (2) analytical methods. Examples are given to demonstrate their usage in the k eff uncertainty analysis due to uncertainties in both neutronic and non-neutronic parameters of fissionable material systems.

In situ calibration of TFTR neutron detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendel, H.W.; Palladino, R.W.; Barnes, C.W.; Diesso, M.; Felt, J.S.; Jassby, D.L.; Johnson, L.C.; Ku, L.; Liu, Q.P.; Motley, R.W.; Murphy, H.B.; Murphy, J.; Nieschmidt, E.B.; Roberts, J.A.; Saito, T.; Strachan, J.D.; Waszazak, R.J.; Young, K.M.

1990-01-01

We report results of the TFTR fission detector calibration performed in December 1988. A NBS-traceable, remotely controlled 252 Cf neutron source was moved toroidally through the TFTR vacuum vessel. Detection efficiencies for two 235 U detectors were measured for 930 locations of the neutron point source in toroidal scans at 16 different major radii and vertical heights. These scans effectively simulated the volume-distributed plasma neutron source and the volume-integrated detection efficiency was found to be insensitive to plasma position. The Campbell mode is useful due to its large overlap with the count rate mode and large dynamic range. The resulting absolute plasma neutron source calibration has an uncertainty of ±13%

Absolute calibration of the neutron yield measurement on JT-60 Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishitani, Takeo; Takeuchi, Hiroshi; Barnes, C.W.

1991-10-01

Absolutely calibrated measurements of the neutron yield are important for the evaluation of the plasma performance such as the fusion gain Q in DD operating tokamaks. Total neutron yield is measured with 235 U and 238 U fission chambers and 3 He proportional counters in JT-60 Upgrade. The in situ calibration was performed by moving the 252 Cf neutron source toroidally through the JT-60 vacuum vessel. Detection efficiencies of three 235 U and two 3 He detectors were measured for 92 locations of the neutron point source in toroidal scans at two different major radii. The total detection efficiency for the torus neutron source was obtained by averaging the point efficiencies over the whole toroidal angle. The uncertainty of the resulting absolute plasma neutron source calibration is estimated to be ± 10%. (author)

An improved energy-range relationship for high-energy electron beams based on multiple accurate experimental and Monte Carlo data sets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorcini, B.B.; Andreo, P.; Hyoedynmaa, S.; Brahme, A.; Bielajew, A.F.

1995-01-01

A theoretically based analytical energy-range relationship has been developed and calibrated against well established experimental and Monte Carlo calculated energy-range data. Only published experimental data with a clear statement of accuracy and method of evaluation have been used. Besides published experimental range data for different uniform media, new accurate experimental data on the practical range of high-energy electron beams in water for the energy range 10-50 MeV from accurately calibrated racetrack microtrons have been used. Largely due to the simultaneous pooling of accurate experimental and Monte Carlo data for different materials, the fit has resulted in an increased accuracy of the resultant energy-range relationship, particularly at high energies. Up to date Monte Carlo data from the latest versions of the codes ITS3 and EGS4 for absorbers of atomic numbers between four and 92 (Be, C, H 2 O, PMMA, Al, Cu, Ag, Pb and U) and incident electron energies between 1 and 100 MeV have been used as a complement where experimental data are sparse or missing. The standard deviation of the experimental data relative to the new relation is slightly larger than that of the Monte Carlo data. This is partly due to the fact that theoretically based stopping and scattering cross-sections are used both to account for the material dependence of the analytical energy-range formula and to calculate ranges with the Monte Carlo programs. For water the deviation from the traditional energy-range relation of ICRU Report 35 is only 0.5% at 20 MeV but as high as - 2.2% at 50 MeV. An improved method for divergence and ionization correction in high-energy electron beams has also been developed to enable use of a wider range of experimental results. (Author)

Toward a Monte Carlo program for simulating vapor-liquid phase equilibria from first principles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McGrath, M; Siepmann, J I; Kuo, I W; Mundy, C J; Vandevondele, J; Sprik, M; Hutter, J; Mohamed, F; Krack, M; Parrinello, M

2004-10-20

Efficient Monte Carlo algorithms are combined with the Quickstep energy routines of CP2K to develop a program that allows for Monte Carlo simulations in the canonical, isobaric-isothermal, and Gibbs ensembles using a first principles description of the physical system. Configurational-bias Monte Carlo techniques and pre-biasing using an inexpensive approximate potential are employed to increase the sampling efficiency and to reduce the frequency of expensive ab initio energy evaluations. The new Monte Carlo program has been validated through extensive comparison with molecular dynamics simulations using the programs CPMD and CP2K. Preliminary results for the vapor-liquid coexistence properties (T = 473 K) of water using the Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr exchange and correlation energy functionals, a triple-zeta valence basis set augmented with two sets of d-type or p-type polarization functions, and Goedecker-Teter-Hutter pseudopotentials are presented. The preliminary results indicate that this description of water leads to an underestimation of the saturated liquid density and heat of vaporization and, correspondingly, an overestimation of the saturated vapor pressure.

Monte-Carlo simulation for the showers in the DELPHI (LEP) hadron calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, G.D.; Tkachev, L.G.

1984-01-01

Monte-Carlo simulation for shower formation is performed for a hadron calorimeter consisting of iron layers with inserted plastic streamer tubes. It is shown that the dead zone effect localized on anode wires in the places of streamer formation changes essentially both the calorimeter response and the effective transversal size of the shower. The response variation with the value and direction of the magnetic field corresponding to DELPHI hadron calorimeter achieves 2O%, which causes the necessity of additional calorimeter calibration in the magnetic field

Simulation of ALTEA calibration data with PHITS, FLUKA and GEANT4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

La Tessa, C.; Di Fino, L.; Larosa, M.; Lee, K.; Mancusi, D.; Matthiae, D.; Narici, L.; Zaconte, V.

2009-01-01

The ALTEA-Space detector has been calibrated by testing its response to several monochromatic beams. These measurements provided energy-deposition spectra in silicon of 100, 600 and 1000 MeV/nucleon 12 C and 200 and 600 MeV/nucleon 48 Ti. The results have been compared to three Monte Carlo transport codes, namely PHITS, GEANT4 and FLUKA. Median, full width at half maximum (FWHM) and interquartile range (IQR) have been calculated for all datasets to characterize location, width and asymmetry of the energy-deposition spectra. Particular attention has been devoted to the influence of δ rays on the shape of the energy-deposition spectrum, both with the help of analytical calculations and Monte Carlo simulations. The two approaches proved that, in this range of projectile charge, projectile energy and detector size, the leakage of secondary electrons might introduce a difference between the energy-loss and energy-deposition spectrum, in particular by changing the location, width and symmetry of the distribution. The overall agreement between the Monte Carlo predictions and the measurements is fair and makes PHITS, FLUKA and GEANT4 all possible candidates for simulating ALTEA-Space experiment.

Self-calibration method for rotating laser positioning system using interscanning technology and ultrasonic ranging.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jun; Yu, Zhijing; Zhuge, Jingchang

2016-04-01

A rotating laser positioning system (RLPS) is an efficient measurement method for large-scale metrology. Due to multiple transmitter stations, which consist of a measurement network, the position relationship of these stations must be first calibrated. However, with such auxiliary devices such as a laser tracker, scale bar, and complex calibration process, the traditional calibration methods greatly reduce the measurement efficiency. This paper proposes a self-calibration method for RLPS, which can automatically obtain the position relationship. The method is implemented through interscanning technology by using a calibration bar mounted on the transmitter station. Each bar is composed of three RLPS receivers and one ultrasonic sensor whose coordinates are known in advance. The calibration algorithm is mainly based on multiplane and distance constraints and is introduced in detail through a two-station mathematical model. The repeated experiments demonstrate that the coordinate measurement uncertainty of spatial points by using this method is about 0.1 mm, and the accuracy experiments show that the average coordinate measurement deviation is about 0.3 mm compared with a laser tracker. The accuracy can meet the requirements of most applications, while the calibration efficiency is significantly improved.

A midway forward-adjoint coupling method for neutron and photon Monte Carlo transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serov, I.V.; John, T.M.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

1999-01-01

The midway Monte Carlo method for calculating detector responses combines a forward and an adjoint Monte Carlo calculation. In both calculations, particle scores are registered at a surface to be chosen by the user somewhere between the source and detector domains. The theory of the midway response determination is developed within the framework of transport theory for external sources and for criticality theory. The theory is also developed for photons, which are generated at inelastic scattering or capture of neutrons. In either the forward or the adjoint calculation a so-called black absorber technique can be applied; i.e., particles need not be followed after passing the midway surface. The midway Monte Carlo method is implemented in the general-purpose MCNP Monte Carlo code. The midway Monte Carlo method is demonstrated to be very efficient in problems with deep penetration, small source and detector domains, and complicated streaming paths. All the problems considered pose difficult variance reduction challenges. Calculations were performed using existing variance reduction methods of normal MCNP runs and using the midway method. The performed comparative analyses show that the midway method appears to be much more efficient than the standard techniques in an overwhelming majority of cases and can be recommended for use in many difficult variance reduction problems of neutral particle transport

Markov Chain Monte Carlo Methods for Bayesian Data Analysis in Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sanjib

2017-08-01

Markov Chain Monte Carlo based Bayesian data analysis has now become the method of choice for analyzing and interpreting data in almost all disciplines of science. In astronomy, over the last decade, we have also seen a steady increase in the number of papers that employ Monte Carlo based Bayesian analysis. New, efficient Monte Carlo based methods are continuously being developed and explored. In this review, we first explain the basics of Bayesian theory and discuss how to set up data analysis problems within this framework. Next, we provide an overview of various Monte Carlo based methods for performing Bayesian data analysis. Finally, we discuss advanced ideas that enable us to tackle complex problems and thus hold great promise for the future. We also distribute downloadable computer software (available at https://github.com/sanjibs/bmcmc/ ) that implements some of the algorithms and examples discussed here.

Microwave transport in EBT distribution manifolds using Monte Carlo ray-tracing techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lillie, R.A.; White, T.L.; Gabriel, T.A.; Alsmiller, R.G. Jr.

1983-01-01

Ray tracing Monte Carlo calculations have been carried out using an existing Monte Carlo radiation transport code to obtain estimates of the microsave power exiting the torus coupling links in EPT microwave manifolds. The microwave power loss and polarization at surface reflections were accounted for by treating the microwaves as plane waves reflecting off plane surfaces. Agreement on the order of 10% was obtained between the measured and calculated output power distribution for an existing EBT-S toroidal manifold. A cost effective iterative procedure utilizing the Monte Carlo history data was implemented to predict design changes which could produce increased manifold efficiency and improved output power uniformity

The effects of model complexity and calibration period on groundwater recharge simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Moeck, Christian; Van Freyberg, Jana; Schirmer, Mario

2017-04-01

A significant number of groundwater recharge models exist that vary in terms of complexity (i.e., structure and parametrization). Typically, model selection and conceptualization is very subjective and can be a key source of uncertainty in the recharge simulations. Another source of uncertainty is the implicit assumption that model parameters, calibrated over historical periods, are also valid for the simulation period. To the best of our knowledge there is no systematic evaluation of the effect of the model complexity and calibration strategy on the performance of recharge models. To address this gap, we utilized a long-term recharge data set (20 years) from a large weighting lysimeter. We performed a differential split sample test with four groundwater recharge models that vary in terms of complexity. They were calibrated using six calibration periods with climatically contrasting conditions in a constrained Monte Carlo approach. Despite the climatically contrasting conditions, all models performed similarly well during the calibration. However, during validation a clear effect of the model structure on model performance was evident. The more complex, physically-based models predicted recharge best, even when calibration and prediction periods had very different climatic conditions. In contrast, more simplistic soil-water balance and lumped model performed poorly under such conditions. For these models we found a strong dependency on the chosen calibration period. In particular, our analysis showed that this can have relevant implications when using recharge models as decision-making tools in a broad range of applications (e.g. water availability, climate change impact studies, water resource management, etc.).

Efficiency corrections in determining the (137)Cs inventory of environmental soil samples by using relative measurement method and GEANT4 simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Gang; Liang, Yongfei; Xu, Jiayun; Bai, Lixin

2015-08-01

The determination of (137)Cs inventory is widely used to estimate the soil erosion or deposition rate. The generally used method to determine the activity of volumetric samples is the relative measurement method, which employs a calibration standard sample with accurately known activity. This method has great advantages in accuracy and operation only when there is a small difference in elemental composition, sample density and geometry between measuring samples and the calibration standard. Otherwise it needs additional efficiency corrections in the calculating process. The Monte Carlo simulations can handle these correction problems easily with lower financial cost and higher accuracy. This work presents a detailed description to the simulation and calibration procedure for a conventionally used commercial P-type coaxial HPGe detector with cylindrical sample geometry. The effects of sample elemental composition, density and geometry were discussed in detail and calculated in terms of efficiency correction factors. The effect of sample placement was also analyzed, the results indicate that the radioactive nuclides and sample density are not absolutely uniform distributed along the axial direction. At last, a unified binary quadratic functional relationship of efficiency correction factors as a function of sample density and height was obtained by the least square fitting method. This function covers the sample density and height range of 0.8-1.8 g/cm(3) and 3.0-7.25 cm, respectively. The efficiency correction factors calculated by the fitted function are in good agreement with those obtained by the GEANT4 simulations with the determination coefficient value greater than 0.9999. The results obtained in this paper make the above-mentioned relative measurements more accurate and efficient in the routine radioactive analysis of environmental cylindrical soil samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

HENC performance evaluation and plutonium calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menlove, H.O.; Baca, J.; Pecos, J.M.; Davidson, D.R.; McElroy, R.D.; Brochu, D.B.

1997-10-01

The authors have designed a high-efficiency neutron counter (HENC) to increase the plutonium content in 200-L waste drums. The counter uses totals neutron counting, coincidence counting, and multiplicity counting to determine the plutonium mass. The HENC was developed as part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between the Department of Energy and Canberra Industries. This report presents the results of the detector modifications, the performance tests, the add-a-source calibration, and the plutonium calibration at Los Alamos National Laboratory (TA-35) in 1996

Demonstration of Emulator-Based Bayesian Calibration of Safety Analysis Codes: Theory and Formulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph P. Yurko

2015-01-01

Full Text Available System codes for simulation of safety performance of nuclear plants may contain parameters whose values are not known very accurately. New information from tests or operating experience is incorporated into safety codes by a process known as calibration, which reduces uncertainty in the output of the code and thereby improves its support for decision-making. The work reported here implements several improvements on classic calibration techniques afforded by modern analysis techniques. The key innovation has come from development of code surrogate model (or code emulator construction and prediction algorithms. Use of a fast emulator makes the calibration processes used here with Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC sampling feasible. This work uses Gaussian Process (GP based emulators, which have been used previously to emulate computer codes in the nuclear field. The present work describes the formulation of an emulator that incorporates GPs into a factor analysis-type or pattern recognition-type model. This “function factorization” Gaussian Process (FFGP model allows overcoming limitations present in standard GP emulators, thereby improving both accuracy and speed of the emulator-based calibration process. Calibration of a friction-factor example using a Method of Manufactured Solution is performed to illustrate key properties of the FFGP based process.

Automated variance reduction of Monte Carlo shielding calculations using the discrete ordinates adjoint function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, J.C.; Haghighat, A.

1998-01-01

Although the Monte Carlo method is considered to be the most accurate method available for solving radiation transport problems, its applicability is limited by its computational expense. Thus, biasing techniques, which require intuition, guesswork, and iterations involving manual adjustments, are employed to make reactor shielding calculations feasible. To overcome this difficulty, the authors have developed a method for using the S N adjoint function for automated variance reduction of Monte Carlo calculations through source biasing and consistent transport biasing with the weight window technique. They describe the implementation of this method into the standard production Monte Carlo code MCNP and its application to a realistic calculation, namely, the reactor cavity dosimetry calculation. The computational effectiveness of the method, as demonstrated through the increase in calculational efficiency, is demonstrated and quantified. Important issues associated with this method and its efficient use are addressed and analyzed. Additional benefits in terms of the reduction in time and effort required of the user are difficult to quantify but are possibly as important as the computational efficiency. In general, the automated variance reduction method presented is capable of increases in computational performance on the order of thousands, while at the same time significantly reducing the current requirements for user experience, time, and effort. Therefore, this method can substantially increase the applicability and reliability of Monte Carlo for large, real-world shielding applications

Ensemble preprocessing of near-infrared (NIR) spectra for multivariate calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Lu; Zhou Yanping; Tang Lijuan; Wu Hailong; Jiang Jianhui; Shen Guoli; Yu Ruqin

2008-01-01

Preprocessing of raw near-infrared (NIR) spectral data is indispensable in multivariate calibration when the measured spectra are subject to significant noises, baselines and other undesirable factors. However, due to the lack of sufficient prior information and an incomplete knowledge of the raw data, NIR spectra preprocessing in multivariate calibration is still trial and error. How to select a proper method depends largely on both the nature of the data and the expertise and experience of the practitioners. This might limit the applications of multivariate calibration in many fields, where researchers are not very familiar with the characteristics of many preprocessing methods unique in chemometrics and have difficulties to select the most suitable methods. Another problem is many preprocessing methods, when used alone, might degrade the data in certain aspects or lose some useful information while improving certain qualities of the data. In order to tackle these problems, this paper proposes a new concept of data preprocessing, ensemble preprocessing method, where partial least squares (PLSs) models built on differently preprocessed data are combined by Monte Carlo cross validation (MCCV) stacked regression. Little or no prior information of the data and expertise are required. Moreover, fusion of complementary information obtained by different preprocessing methods often leads to a more stable and accurate calibration model. The investigation of two real data sets has demonstrated the advantages of the proposed method

Direct aperture optimization for IMRT using Monte Carlo generated beamlets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergman, Alanah M.; Bush, Karl; Milette, Marie-Pierre; Popescu, I. Antoniu; Otto, Karl; Duzenli, Cheryl

2006-01-01

This work introduces an EGSnrc-based Monte Carlo (MC) beamlet does distribution matrix into a direct aperture optimization (DAO) algorithm for IMRT inverse planning. The technique is referred to as Monte Carlo-direct aperture optimization (MC-DAO). The goal is to assess if the combination of accurate Monte Carlo tissue inhomogeneity modeling and DAO inverse planning will improve the dose accuracy and treatment efficiency for treatment planning. Several authors have shown that the presence of small fields and/or inhomogeneous materials in IMRT treatment fields can cause dose calculation errors for algorithms that are unable to accurately model electronic disequilibrium. This issue may also affect the IMRT optimization process because the dose calculation algorithm may not properly model difficult geometries such as targets close to low-density regions (lung, air etc.). A clinical linear accelerator head is simulated using BEAMnrc (NRC, Canada). A novel in-house algorithm subdivides the resulting phase space into 2.5x5.0 mm 2 beamlets. Each beamlet is projected onto a patient-specific phantom. The beamlet dose contribution to each voxel in a structure-of-interest is calculated using DOSXYZnrc. The multileaf collimator (MLC) leaf positions are linked to the location of the beamlet does distributions. The MLC shapes are optimized using direct aperture optimization (DAO). A final Monte Carlo calculation with MLC modeling is used to compute the final dose distribution. Monte Carlo simulation can generate accurate beamlet dose distributions for traditionally difficult-to-calculate geometries, particularly for small fields crossing regions of tissue inhomogeneity. The introduction of DAO results in an additional improvement by increasing the treatment delivery efficiency. For the examples presented in this paper the reduction in the total number of monitor units to deliver is ∼33% compared to fluence-based optimization methods

Perturbation based Monte Carlo criticality search in density, enrichment and concentration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Zeguang; Wang, Kan; Deng, Jingkang

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A new perturbation based Monte Carlo criticality search method is proposed. • The method could get accurate results with only one individual criticality run. • The method is used to solve density, enrichment and concentration search problems. • Results show the feasibility and good performances of this method. • The relationship between results’ accuracy and perturbation order is discussed. - Abstract: Criticality search is a very important aspect in reactor physics analysis. Due to the advantages of Monte Carlo method and the development of computer technologies, Monte Carlo criticality search is becoming more and more necessary and feasible. Existing Monte Carlo criticality search methods need large amount of individual criticality runs and may have unstable results because of the uncertainties of criticality results. In this paper, a new perturbation based Monte Carlo criticality search method is proposed and discussed. This method only needs one individual criticality calculation with perturbation tallies to estimate k eff changing function using initial k eff and differential coefficients results, and solves polynomial equations to get the criticality search results. The new perturbation based Monte Carlo criticality search method is implemented in the Monte Carlo code RMC, and criticality search problems in density, enrichment and concentration are taken out. Results show that this method is quite inspiring in accuracy and efficiency, and has advantages compared with other criticality search methods

Development of a technique for the efficiency calibration of a HPGe detector for the off gas samples of a nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Sarbjit; Agarwal, Chhavi; Ramaswami, A.; Manchanda, V.K.

2007-01-01

Regular monitoring of off gases released to the environment from a nuclear reactor is mandatory. The gaseous fission products are estimated by gamma ray spectrometry using a HPGe detector coupled to a multichannel analyser. In view of the lack of availability of gaseous fission products standards, an indirect method based on the charcoal absorption technique was developed for the efficiency calibration of HPGe detector system using 133B a and 152E u standards. The known activities of 133B a and 152E u are uniformly distributed in a vial having activated charcoal and counted on the HPGe detector system at liquid nitrogen temperature to determine the gamma ray efficiency for the vial having activated charcoal. The ratio of the gamma ray efficiencies of off gas present in the normal vial and the vial having activated charcoal at liquid nitrogen temperature are used to determine the gamma ray efficiency of off gas present in the normal vial. (author)

Calibration of the delayed-gamma neutron activation facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, R.; Zhao, X.; Rarback, H.M.; Yasumura, S.; Dilmanian, F.A.; Moore, R.I.; Lo Monte, A.F.; Vodopia, K.A.; Liu, H.B.; Economos, C.D.; Nelson, M.E.; Aloia, J.F.; Vaswani, A.N.; Weber, D.A.; Pierson, R.N. Jr.; Joel, D.D.

1996-01-01

The delayed-gamma neutron activation facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory was originally calibrated using an anthropomorphic hollow phantom filled with solutions containing predetermined amounts of Ca. However, 99% of the total Ca in the human body is not homogeneously distributed but contained within the skeleton. Recently, an artificial skeleton was designed, constructed, and placed in a bottle phantom to better represent the Ca distribution in the human body. Neutron activation measurements of an anthropomorphic and a bottle (with no skeleton) phantom demonstrate that the difference in size and shape between the two phantoms changes the total body calcium results by less than 1%. To test the artificial skeleton, two small polyethylene jerry-can phantoms were made, one with a femur from a cadaver and one with an artificial bone in exactly the same geometry. The femur was ashed following the neutron activation measurements for chemical analysis of Ca. Results indicate that the artificial bone closely simulates the real bone in neutron activation analysis and provides accurate calibration for Ca measurements. Therefore, the calibration of the delayed-gamma neutron activation system is now based on the new bottle phantom containing an artificial skeleton. This change has improved the accuracy of measurement for total body calcium. Also, the simple geometry of this phantom and the artificial skeleton allows us to simulate the neutron activation process using a Monte Carlo code, which enables us to calibrate the system for human subjects larger and smaller than the phantoms used as standards. copyright 1996 American Association of Physicists in Medicine

Monte Carlo Methods in ICF (LIRPP Vol. 13)

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, George B.

2016-10-01

Monte Carlo methods appropriate to simulate the transport of x-rays, neutrons, ions and electrons in Inertial Confinement Fusion targets are described and analyzed. The Implicit Monte Carlo method of x-ray transport handles symmetry within indirect drive ICF hohlraums well, but can be improved SOX in efficiency by angular biasing the x-rays towards the fuel capsule. Accurate simulation of thermonuclear burn and burn diagnostics involves detailed particle source spectra, charged particle ranges, inflight reaction kinematics, corrections for bulk and thermal Doppler effects and variance reduction to obtain adequate statistics for rare events. It is found that the effects of angular Coulomb scattering must be included in models of charged particle transport through heterogeneous materials.

Subtle Monte Carlo Updates in Dense Molecular Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bottaro, Sandro; Boomsma, Wouter; Johansson, Kristoffer E.

2012-01-01

Although Markov chain Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is a potentially powerful approach for exploring conformational space, it has been unable to compete with molecular dynamics (MD) in the analysis of high density structural states, such as the native state of globular proteins. Here, we introduce...... as correlations in a multivariate Gaussian distribution. We demonstrate that our method reproduces structural variation in proteins with greater efficiency than current state-of-the-art Monte Carlo methods and has real-time simulation performance on par with molecular dynamics simulations. The presented results...... suggest our method as a valuable tool in the study of molecules in atomic detail, offering a potential alternative to molecular dynamics for probing long time-scale conformational transitions....

Methodology of Continuous-Energy Adjoint Monte Carlo for Neutron, Photon, and Coupled Neutron-Photon Transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoogenboom, J. Eduard

2003-01-01

Adjoint Monte Carlo may be a useful alternative to regular Monte Carlo calculations in cases where a small detector inhibits an efficient Monte Carlo calculation as only very few particle histories will cross the detector. However, in general purpose Monte Carlo codes, normally only the multigroup form of adjoint Monte Carlo is implemented. In this article the general methodology for continuous-energy adjoint Monte Carlo neutron transport is reviewed and extended for photon and coupled neutron-photon transport. In the latter cases the discrete photons generated by annihilation or by neutron capture or inelastic scattering prevent a direct application of the general methodology. Two successive reaction events must be combined in the selection process to accommodate the adjoint analog of a reaction resulting in a photon with a discrete energy. Numerical examples illustrate the application of the theory for some simplified problems

Syringe shape and positioning relative to efficiency volume inside dose calibrators and its role in nuclear medicine quality assurance programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, J.A.M.; Carrasco, M.F.; Lencart, J.; Bastos, A.L.

2009-01-01

A careful analysis of geometry and source positioning influence in the activity measurement outcome of a nuclear medicine dose calibrator is presented for 99m Tc. The implementation of a quasi-point source apparent activity curve measurement is proposed for an accurate correction of the activity inside several syringes, and compared with a theoretical geometric efficiency model. Additionally, new geometrical parameters are proposed to test and verify the correct positioning of the syringes as part of acceptance testing and quality control procedures.

Syringe shape and positioning relative to efficiency volume inside dose calibrators and its role in nuclear medicine quality assurance programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, J.A.M. [Servico de Fisica Medica, Instituto Portugues de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, E.P.E., Rua Dr. Antonio Bernardino de Almeida, 4200072 Porto (Portugal); Centro de Investigacao, Instituto Portugues de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, E.P.E., Rua Dr. Antonio Bernardino de Almeida, 4200072 Porto (Portugal)], E-mail: a.miranda@portugalmail.pt; Carrasco, M.F. [Servico de Fisica Medica, Instituto Portugues de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, E.P.E., Rua Dr. Antonio Bernardino de Almeida, 4200072 Porto (Portugal); Centro de Investigacao, Instituto Portugues de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, E.P.E., Rua Dr. Antonio Bernardino de Almeida, 4200072 Porto (Portugal); Lencart, J. [Servico de Fisica Medica, Instituto Portugues de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, E.P.E., Rua Dr. Antonio Bernardino de Almeida, 4200072 Porto (Portugal); Bastos, A.L. [Servico de Medicina Nuclear, Instituto Portugues de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, E.P.E., Rua Dr. Antonio Bernardino de Almeida, 4200072 Porto (Portugal)

2009-06-15

A careful analysis of geometry and source positioning influence in the activity measurement outcome of a nuclear medicine dose calibrator is presented for {sup 99m}Tc. The implementation of a quasi-point source apparent activity curve measurement is proposed for an accurate correction of the activity inside several syringes, and compared with a theoretical geometric efficiency model. Additionally, new geometrical parameters are proposed to test and verify the correct positioning of the syringes as part of acceptance testing and quality control procedures.

Monte Carlo calculations of kQ, the beam quality conversion factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muir, B. R.; Rogers, D. W. O.

2010-01-01

Purpose: To use EGSnrc Monte Carlo simulations to directly calculate beam quality conversion factors, k Q , for 32 cylindrical ionization chambers over a range of beam qualities and to quantify the effect of systematic uncertainties on Monte Carlo calculations of k Q . These factors are required to use the TG-51 or TRS-398 clinical dosimetry protocols for calibrating external radiotherapy beams. Methods: Ionization chambers are modeled either from blueprints or manufacturers' user's manuals. The dose-to-air in the chamber is calculated using the EGSnrc user-code egs c hamber using 11 different tabulated clinical photon spectra for the incident beams. The dose to a small volume of water is also calculated in the absence of the chamber at the midpoint of the chamber on its central axis. Using a simple equation, k Q is calculated from these quantities under the assumption that W/e is constant with energy and compared to TG-51 protocol and measured values. Results: Polynomial fits to the Monte Carlo calculated k Q factors as a function of beam quality expressed as %dd(10) x and TPR 10 20 are given for each ionization chamber. Differences are explained between Monte Carlo calculated values and values from the TG-51 protocol or calculated using the computer program used for TG-51 calculations. Systematic uncertainties in calculated k Q values are analyzed and amount to a maximum of one standard deviation uncertainty of 0.99% if one assumes that photon cross-section uncertainties are uncorrelated and 0.63% if they are assumed correlated. The largest components of the uncertainty are the constancy of W/e and the uncertainty in the cross-section for photons in water. Conclusions: It is now possible to calculate k Q directly using Monte Carlo simulations. Monte Carlo calculations for most ionization chambers give results which are comparable to TG-51 values. Discrepancies can be explained using individual Monte Carlo calculations of various correction factors which are more

Bayesian inversion of seismic and electromagnetic data for marine gas reservoir characterization using multi-chain Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Huiying; Ray, Jaideep; Hou, Zhangshuan; Huang, Maoyi; Bao, Jie; Swiler, Laura

2017-12-01

In this study we developed an efficient Bayesian inversion framework for interpreting marine seismic amplitude versus angle (AVA) and controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) data for marine reservoir characterization. The framework uses a multi-chain Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler, which is a hybrid of DiffeRential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) and Adaptive Metropolis (AM) samplers. The inversion framework is tested by estimating reservoir-fluid saturations and porosity based on marine seismic and CSEM data. The multi-chain MCMC is scalable in terms of the number of chains, and is useful for computationally demanding Bayesian model calibration in scientific and engineering problems. As a demonstration, the approach is used to efficiently and accurately estimate the porosity and saturations in a representative layered synthetic reservoir. The results indicate that the seismic AVA and CSEM joint inversion provides better estimation of reservoir saturations than the seismic AVA-only inversion, especially for the parameters in deep layers. The performance of the inversion approach for various levels of noise in observational data was evaluated – reasonable estimates can be obtained with noise levels up to 25%. Sampling efficiency due to the use of multiple chains was also checked and was found to have almost linear scalability.

Absolute calibration technique for spontaneous fission sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zucker, M.S.; Karpf, E.

1984-01-01

An absolute calibration technique for a spontaneously fissioning nuclide (which involves no arbitrary parameters) allows unique determination of the detector efficiency for that nuclide, hence of the fission source strength

Optimal Spatial Subdivision method for improving geometry navigation performance in Monte Carlo particle transport simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Zhenping; Song, Jing; Zheng, Huaqing; Wu, Bin; Hu, Liqin

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The subdivision combines both advantages of uniform and non-uniform schemes. • The grid models were proved to be more efficient than traditional CSG models. • Monte Carlo simulation performance was enhanced by Optimal Spatial Subdivision. • Efficiency gains were obtained for realistic whole reactor core models. - Abstract: Geometry navigation is one of the key aspects of dominating Monte Carlo particle transport simulation performance for large-scale whole reactor models. In such cases, spatial subdivision is an easily-established and high-potential method to improve the run-time performance. In this study, a dedicated method, named Optimal Spatial Subdivision, is proposed for generating numerically optimal spatial grid models, which are demonstrated to be more efficient for geometry navigation than traditional Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) models. The method uses a recursive subdivision algorithm to subdivide a CSG model into non-overlapping grids, which are labeled as totally or partially occupied, or not occupied at all, by CSG objects. The most important point is that, at each stage of subdivision, a conception of quality factor based on a cost estimation function is derived to evaluate the qualities of the subdivision schemes. Only the scheme with optimal quality factor will be chosen as the final subdivision strategy for generating the grid model. Eventually, the model built with the optimal quality factor will be efficient for Monte Carlo particle transport simulation. The method has been implemented and integrated into the Super Monte Carlo program SuperMC developed by FDS Team. Testing cases were used to highlight the performance gains that could be achieved. Results showed that Monte Carlo simulation runtime could be reduced significantly when using the new method, even as cases reached whole reactor core model sizes

Uncertainty assessment of integrated distributed hydrological models using GLUE with Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blasone, Roberta-Serena; Madsen, Henrik; Rosbjerg, Dan

2008-01-01

uncertainty estimation (GLUE) procedure based on Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling is applied in order to improve the performance of the methodology in estimating parameters and posterior output distributions. The description of the spatial variations of the hydrological processes is accounted for by defining......In recent years, there has been an increase in the application of distributed, physically-based and integrated hydrological models. Many questions regarding how to properly calibrate and validate distributed models and assess the uncertainty of the estimated parameters and the spatially......-site validation must complement the usual time validation. In this study, we develop, through an application, a comprehensive framework for multi-criteria calibration and uncertainty assessment of distributed physically-based, integrated hydrological models. A revised version of the generalized likelihood...

Monte Carlo simulations of quantum systems on massively parallel supercomputers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, H.Q.

1993-01-01

A large class of quantum physics applications uses operator representations that are discrete integers by nature. This class includes magnetic properties of solids, interacting bosons modeling superfluids and Cooper pairs in superconductors, and Hubbard models for strongly correlated electrons systems. This kind of application typically uses integer data representations and the resulting algorithms are dominated entirely by integer operations. The authors implemented an efficient algorithm for one such application on the Intel Touchstone Delta and iPSC/860. The algorithm uses a multispin coding technique which allows significant data compactification and efficient vectorization of Monte Carlo updates. The algorithm regularly switches between two data decompositions, corresponding naturally to different Monte Carlo updating processes and observable measurements such that only nearest-neighbor communications are needed within a given decomposition. On 128 nodes of Intel Delta, this algorithm updates 183 million spins per second (compared to 21 million on CM-2 and 6.2 million on a Cray Y-MP). A systematic performance analysis shows a better than 90% efficiency in the parallel implementation

Monte Carlo simulation of the scattered component of neutron capture prompt gamma-ray analyzer responses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Y.; Verghese, K.; Gardner, R.P.

1986-01-01

This paper describes a major part of our efforts to simulate the entire spectral response of the neutron capture prompt gamma-ray analyzer for bulk media (or conveyor belt) samples by the Monte Carlo method. This would allow one to use such a model to augment or, in most cases, essentially replace experiments in the calibration and optimum design of these analyzers. In previous work, we simulated the unscattered gamma-ray intensities, but would like to simulate the entire spectral response as we did with the energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence analyzers. To accomplish this, one must account for the scattered gamma rays as well as the unscattered and one must have available the detector response function to translate the incident gamma-ray spectrum calculated by the Monte Carlo simulation into the detected pulse-height spectrum. We recently completed our work on the germanium detector response function, and the present paper describes our efforts to simulate the entire spectral response by using it with Monte Carlo predicted unscattered and scattered gamma rays

Monte-Carlo simulation on the cold neutron guides at CARR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Liping; Wang Hongli; Yang Tonghua; Cheng Zhixu; Liu Yi

2003-01-01

The designs of the two cold neutron guides to be built at China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR) are simulated with Monte-Carlo simulation software VITESS. Various parameters of the guides, e.g. transmission efficiency, neutron flux, divergence, etc., are obtained. (author)

SOLFAST, a Ray-Tracing Monte-Carlo software for solar concentrating facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roccia, J P; Piaud, B; Coustet, C; Caliot, C; Guillot, E; Flamant, G; Delatorre, J

2012-01-01

In this communication, the software SOLFAST is presented. It is a simulation tool based on the Monte-Carlo method and accelerated Ray-Tracing techniques to evaluate efficiently the energy flux in concentrated solar installations.

Calibration and consistency of results of an ionization-chamber secondary standard measuring system for activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schrader, Heinrich

2000-01-01

Calibration in terms of activity of the ionization-chamber secondary standard measuring systems at the PTB is described. The measurement results of a Centronic IG12/A20, a Vinten ISOCAL IV and a radionuclide calibrator chamber for nuclear medicine applications are discussed, their energy-dependent efficiency curves established and the consistency checked using recently evaluated radionuclide decay data. Criteria for evaluating and transferring calibration factors (or efficiencies) are given

Software framework and jet energy scale calibration in the ATLAS experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binet, Sebastien

2006-01-01

This thesis presents the work achieved to instrument the ATLAS software framework, ATHENA, with a library of tools and utensils for the physics analysis as well as the extraction of the jet energy scale using physics events (in-situ calibration). The software part presents the various components of the ATHENA framework which handles the simulated and reconstructed data flow as well as the different stages of this process, before and during the data taking. The building of a library of tools easing the reconstruction of physics objects, their association with Monte-Carlo particles and their API is then explained. The need for common language and collaboration-wide utensils is emphasised as it allows to share the workload of validating these tools and to get reproducible physics results. The analysis part deals with the implementation of a light jet energy scale calibration algorithm within the C++ framework. This calibration algorithm makes use of W bosons decaying into light jets within semileptonic t t-bar events. From the processing of fast and full simulation data with this algorithm, it seems possible to reach a percent level knowledge of the light jet energy scale. Finally, the feasibility study of the b-jet energy scale calibration using γZ 0 → γb b-bar events is presented. It is shown that a purely sequential approach is not sufficient to extract the signal nor to collect a sufficient amount of Z 0 to calibrate the b-jet energy scale. (author)

Monte Carlo simulations in skin radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarvari, A.; Jeraj, R.; Kron, T.

2000-01-01

The primary goal of this work was to develop a procedure for calculation the appropriate filter shape for a brachytherapy applicator used for skin radiotherapy. In the applicator a radioactive source is positioned close to the skin. Without a filter, the resultant dose distribution would be highly nonuniform.High uniformity is usually required however. This can be achieved using an appropriately shaped filter, which flattens the dose profile. Because of the complexity of the transport and geometry, Monte Carlo simulations had to be used. An 192 Ir high dose rate photon source was used. All necessary transport parameters were simulated with the MCNP4B Monte Carlo code. A highly efficient iterative procedure was developed, which enabled calculation of the optimal filter shape in only few iterations. The initially non-uniform dose distributions became uniform within a percent when applying the filter calculated by this procedure. (author)

Considerations of MCNP Monte Carlo code to be used as a radiotherapy treatment planning tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Juste, B; Miro, R; Gallardo, S; Verdu, G; Santos, A

2005-01-01

The present work has simulated the photon and electron transport in a Theratron 780® (MDS Nordion)60Co radiotherapy unit, using the Monte Carlo transport code, MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle). This project explains mainly the different methodologies carried out to speedup calculations in order to apply this code efficiently in radiotherapy treatment planning.

Optimization of SPECT calibration for quantification of images applied to dosimetry with iodine-131

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carvalho, Samira Marques de

2018-01-01

SPECT systems calibration plays an essential role in the accuracy of the quantification of images. In this work, in its first stage, an optimized SPECT calibration method was proposed for 131 I studies, considering the partial volume effect (PVE) and the position of the calibration source. In the second stage, the study aimed to investigate the impact of count density and reconstruction parameters on the determination of the calibration factor and the quantification of the image in dosimetry studies, considering the reality of clinical practice in Brazil. In the final step, the study aimed evaluating the influence of several factors in the calibration for absorbed dose calculation using Monte Carlo simulations (MC) GATE code. Calibration was performed by determining a calibration curve (sensitivity versus volume) obtained by applying different thresholds. Then, the calibration factors were determined with an exponential function adjustment. Images were performed with high and low counts densities for several source positions within the simulator. To validate the calibration method, the calibration factors were used for absolute quantification of the total reference activities. The images were reconstructed adopting two approaches of different parameters, usually used in patient images. The methodology developed for the calibration of the tomographic system was easier and faster to implement than other procedures suggested to improve the accuracy of the results. The study also revealed the influence of the location of the calibration source, demonstrating better precision in the absolute quantification considering the location of the target region during the calibration of the system. The study applied in the Brazilian thyroid protocol suggests the revision of the calibration of the SPECT system, including different positions for the reference source, besides acquisitions considering the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of the images. Finally, the doses obtained with the

On calculation of detection efficiency of gamma spectrometers with germanium detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sima, O.

2001-01-01

High resolution gamma spectrometer represents a powerful analysis technique of use in various fields from basic research to the study of environmental radioactivity, from medical investigations to geological surveys. Direct experimental calibration cannot cover the large range of measurement configurations of interest. Actually, it can be appropriately applied in an only limited number of cases, as for instance, in case of point-like sources or liquid phase volume sources. To assist the treatment of experimental calibration of germanium detectors, in the frame of Atomic and Nuclear Physics Chair of Department of Physics, a number of calculation methods were developed. These methods are generally based on Monte Carlo simulation but simplified and fast analytical methods were also worked out. Initially, these studies were dedicated to application in the field of environmental activity and radiation protection, but later on these were extended also to other fields as, for instance, the neutron activation or radionuclide metrology. First, the effects of matrices were calculated for the case of volume sources. Applying the matrix corrections allows obtaining the source calibration curves on the basis of experimental calibration data obtained with liquid sources, in the same geometry. An algorithm based on Monte Carlo calculation and using techniques of correlated selection was obtained. This algorithm can be implemented in the gamma analysis programs giving for the first time the possibility of correct evaluation of matrix effects even during the analysis of gamma spectra. We used a set of additive relations applicable in case of volume sources with negligible self-absorption and obtained a number of linear relations useful in calibrating the large volume sources in presence of self-absorption, based on small volume standard sources. Also, we proposed analytical relations useful in the case of measurements of large volume samples, in case of Marinelli geometry. To

Efficient hybrid non-equilibrium molecular dynamics--Monte Carlo simulations with symmetric momentum reversal.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yunjie; Roux, Benoît

2014-09-21

Hybrid schemes combining the strength of molecular dynamics (MD) and Metropolis Monte Carlo (MC) offer a promising avenue to improve the sampling efficiency of computer simulations of complex systems. A number of recently proposed hybrid methods consider new configurations generated by driving the system via a non-equilibrium MD (neMD) trajectory, which are subsequently treated as putative candidates for Metropolis MC acceptance or rejection. To obey microscopic detailed balance, it is necessary to alter the momentum of the system at the beginning and/or the end of the neMD trajectory. This strict rule then guarantees that the random walk in configurational space generated by such hybrid neMD-MC algorithm will yield the proper equilibrium Boltzmann distribution. While a number of different constructs are possible, the most commonly used prescription has been to simply reverse the momenta of all the particles at the end of the neMD trajectory ("one-end momentum reversal"). Surprisingly, it is shown here that the choice of momentum reversal prescription can have a considerable effect on the rate of convergence of the hybrid neMD-MC algorithm, with the simple one-end momentum reversal encountering particularly acute problems. In these neMD-MC simulations, different regions of configurational space end up being essentially isolated from one another due to a very small transition rate between regions. In the worst-case scenario, it is almost as if the configurational space does not constitute a single communicating class that can be sampled efficiently by the algorithm, and extremely long neMD-MC simulations are needed to obtain proper equilibrium probability distributions. To address this issue, a novel momentum reversal prescription, symmetrized with respect to both the beginning and the end of the neMD trajectory ("symmetric two-ends momentum reversal"), is introduced. Illustrative simulations demonstrate that the hybrid neMD-MC algorithm robustly yields a correct

Efficient hybrid non-equilibrium molecular dynamics - Monte Carlo simulations with symmetric momentum reversal

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yunjie; Roux, Benoît

2014-09-01

Hybrid schemes combining the strength of molecular dynamics (MD) and Metropolis Monte Carlo (MC) offer a promising avenue to improve the sampling efficiency of computer simulations of complex systems. A number of recently proposed hybrid methods consider new configurations generated by driving the system via a non-equilibrium MD (neMD) trajectory, which are subsequently treated as putative candidates for Metropolis MC acceptance or rejection. To obey microscopic detailed balance, it is necessary to alter the momentum of the system at the beginning and/or the end of the neMD trajectory. This strict rule then guarantees that the random walk in configurational space generated by such hybrid neMD-MC algorithm will yield the proper equilibrium Boltzmann distribution. While a number of different constructs are possible, the most commonly used prescription has been to simply reverse the momenta of all the particles at the end of the neMD trajectory ("one-end momentum reversal"). Surprisingly, it is shown here that the choice of momentum reversal prescription can have a considerable effect on the rate of convergence of the hybrid neMD-MC algorithm, with the simple one-end momentum reversal encountering particularly acute problems. In these neMD-MC simulations, different regions of configurational space end up being essentially isolated from one another due to a very small transition rate between regions. In the worst-case scenario, it is almost as if the configurational space does not constitute a single communicating class that can be sampled efficiently by the algorithm, and extremely long neMD-MC simulations are needed to obtain proper equilibrium probability distributions. To address this issue, a novel momentum reversal prescription, symmetrized with respect to both the beginning and the end of the neMD trajectory ("symmetric two-ends momentum reversal"), is introduced. Illustrative simulations demonstrate that the hybrid neMD-MC algorithm robustly yields a correct

Toward metrological traceability for DNA fragment ratios in GM quantification. 3. Suitability of DNA calibrants studied with a MON 810 corn model.

Science.gov (United States)

Charels, Diana; Broeders, Sylvia; Corbisier, Philippe; Trapmann, Stefanie; Schimmel, Heinz; Emons, Hendrik

2007-05-02

The quantification of GMOs by real-time PCR relies on an external calibrant. In this paper the suitability of two DNA calibrants, genomic DNA from plant leaves and plasmidic DNA, was investigated. The PCR efficiencies, the correlation coefficients of the calibration curves, and the ratios between PCR efficiencies of transgenic and endogenous sequences were compared for both calibrants using 59 data sets produced by 43 laboratories. There were no significant differences between plasmidic and genomic DNA except for the PCR efficiencies of the calibration curves for the transgene of the construct-specific real-time PCR method. In the GM system investigated, PCR efficiencies of plasmidic calibrants were slightly closer to the PCR efficiencies observed for the unknowns than those of the genomic DNA calibrant. Therefore, plasmidic DNA was the more suitable calibrant for the PCR measurements on genomic DNA extracted from MON 810 seeds. It is shown that plasmidic DNA is an appropriate choice for the calibration of measurements of MON 810 corn with respect to the DNA copy number ratio.

Monte Carlo methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bardenet Rémi

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Bayesian inference often requires integrating some function with respect to a posterior distribution. Monte Carlo methods are sampling algorithms that allow to compute these integrals numerically when they are not analytically tractable. We review here the basic principles and the most common Monte Carlo algorithms, among which rejection sampling, importance sampling and Monte Carlo Markov chain (MCMC methods. We give intuition on the theoretical justification of the algorithms as well as practical advice, trying to relate both. We discuss the application of Monte Carlo in experimental physics, and point to landmarks in the literature for the curious reader.

Fast GPU-based Monte Carlo simulations for LDR prostate brachytherapy

Science.gov (United States)

Bonenfant, Éric; Magnoux, Vincent; Hissoiny, Sami; Ozell, Benoît; Beaulieu, Luc; Després, Philippe

2015-07-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of bGPUMCD, a Monte Carlo algorithm executed on Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), for fast dose calculations in permanent prostate implant dosimetry. It also aimed to validate a low dose rate brachytherapy source in terms of TG-43 metrics and to use this source to compute dose distributions for permanent prostate implant in very short times. The physics of bGPUMCD was reviewed and extended to include Rayleigh scattering and fluorescence from photoelectric interactions for all materials involved. The radial and anisotropy functions were obtained for the Nucletron SelectSeed in TG-43 conditions. These functions were compared to those found in the MD Anderson Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core brachytherapy source registry which are considered the TG-43 reference values. After appropriate calibration of the source, permanent prostate implant dose distributions were calculated for four patients and compared to an already validated Geant4 algorithm. The radial function calculated from bGPUMCD showed excellent agreement (differences within 1.3%) with TG-43 accepted values. The anisotropy functions at r = 1 cm and r = 4 cm were within 2% of TG-43 values for angles over 17.5°. For permanent prostate implants, Monte Carlo-based dose distributions with a statistical uncertainty of 1% or less for the target volume were obtained in 30 s or less for 1 × 1 × 1 mm3 calculation grids. Dosimetric indices were very similar (within 2.7%) to those obtained with a validated, independent Monte Carlo code (Geant4) performing the calculations for the same cases in a much longer time (tens of minutes to more than a hour). bGPUMCD is a promising code that lets envision the use of Monte Carlo techniques in a clinical environment, with sub-minute execution times on a standard workstation. Future work will explore the use of this code with an inverse planning method to provide a complete Monte Carlo-based planning solution.

Improvement of the Ca determination accuracy with k (0)-INAA using an HPGe coaxial detector with extended energy range efficiency calibration

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kučera, Jan; Kubešová, Marie; Lebeda, Ondřej

2018-01-01

Roč. 315, č. 3 (2018), s. 671-675 ISSN 0236-5731. [7th International K0-Users Workshop. Montreal, 03.09.2017-08.09.2017] R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP108/12/G108; GA MŠk LM2015056 Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : k(0)-INAA * Ca determination * HPGe detector * High-energy efficiency calibration * Co-56 activity standard Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation OBOR OECD: Analytical chemistry Impact factor: 1.282, year: 2016

Statistical design of mass spectrometry calibration procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayne, C.K.

1996-11-01

The main objective of this task was to agree on calibration procedures to estimate the system parameters (i.e., dead-time correction, ion-counting conversion efficiency, and detector efficiency factors) for SAL's new Finnigan MAT-262 mass spectrometer. SAL will use this mass spectrometer in a clean-laboratory which was opened in December 1995 to measure uranium and plutonium isotopes on environmental samples. The Finnigan MAT-262 mass spectrometer has a multi-detector system with seven Faraday cup detectors and one ion- counter for the measurement of very small signals (e.g. 10 -17 Ampere range). ORNL has made preliminary estimates of the system parameters based on SAL's experimental data measured in late 1994 when the Finnigan instrument was relatively new. SAL generated additional data in 1995 to verify the calibration procedures for estimating the dead-time correction factor, the ion-counting conversion factor and the Faraday cup detector efficiency factors. The system parameters estimated on the present data will have to be reestablished when the Finnigan MAT-262 is moved-to the new clean- laboratory. Different methods will be used to analyzed environmental samples than the current measurement methods being used. For example, the environmental samples will be electroplated on a single filament rather than using the current two filament system. An outline of the calibration standard operating procedure (SOP) is included

Investigation of Workplace-like Calibration Fields via a Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) Neutron Generator.

Science.gov (United States)

Mozhayev, Andrey V; Piper, Roman K; Rathbone, Bruce A; McDonald, Joseph C

2017-04-01

Radiation survey meters and personal dosimeters are typically calibrated in reference neutron fields based on conventional radionuclide sources, such as americium-beryllium (Am-Be) or californium-252 (Cf), either unmodified or heavy-water moderated. However, these calibration neutron fields differ significantly from the workplace fields in which most of these survey meters and dosimeters are being used. Although some detectors are designed to yield an approximately dose-equivalent response over a particular neutron energy range, the response of other detectors is highly dependent upon neutron energy. This, in turn, can result in significant over- or underestimation of the intensity of neutron radiation and/or personal dose equivalent determined in the work environment. The use of simulated workplace neutron calibration fields that more closely match those present at the workplace could improve the accuracy of worker, and workplace, neutron dose assessment. This work provides an overview of the neutron fields found around nuclear power reactors and interim spent fuel storage installations based on available data. The feasibility of producing workplace-like calibration fields in an existing calibration facility has been investigated via Monte Carlo simulations. Several moderating assembly configurations, paired with a neutron generator using the deuterium tritium (D-T) fusion reaction, were explored.

Multilevel markov chain monte carlo method for high-contrast single-phase flow problems

KAUST Repository

Efendiev, Yalchin R.

2014-12-19

In this paper we propose a general framework for the uncertainty quantification of quantities of interest for high-contrast single-phase flow problems. It is based on the generalized multiscale finite element method (GMsFEM) and multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) methods. The former provides a hierarchy of approximations of different resolution, whereas the latter gives an efficient way to estimate quantities of interest using samples on different levels. The number of basis functions in the online GMsFEM stage can be varied to determine the solution resolution and the computational cost, and to efficiently generate samples at different levels. In particular, it is cheap to generate samples on coarse grids but with low resolution, and it is expensive to generate samples on fine grids with high accuracy. By suitably choosing the number of samples at different levels, one can leverage the expensive computation in larger fine-grid spaces toward smaller coarse-grid spaces, while retaining the accuracy of the final Monte Carlo estimate. Further, we describe a multilevel Markov chain Monte Carlo method, which sequentially screens the proposal with different levels of approximations and reduces the number of evaluations required on fine grids, while combining the samples at different levels to arrive at an accurate estimate. The framework seamlessly integrates the multiscale features of the GMsFEM with the multilevel feature of the MLMC methods following the work in [26], and our numerical experiments illustrate its efficiency and accuracy in comparison with standard Monte Carlo estimates. © Global Science Press Limited 2015.

Proton beam monitor chamber calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomà, C; Meer, D; Safai, S; Lorentini, S

2014-01-01

The first goal of this paper is to clarify the reference conditions for the reference dosimetry of clinical proton beams. A clear distinction is made between proton beam delivery systems which should be calibrated with a spread-out Bragg peak field and those that should be calibrated with a (pseudo-)monoenergetic proton beam. For the latter, this paper also compares two independent dosimetry techniques to calibrate the beam monitor chambers: absolute dosimetry (of the number of protons exiting the nozzle) with a Faraday cup and reference dosimetry (i.e. determination of the absorbed dose to water under IAEA TRS-398 reference conditions) with an ionization chamber. To compare the two techniques, Monte Carlo simulations were performed to convert dose-to-water to proton fluence. A good agreement was found between the Faraday cup technique and the reference dosimetry with a plane-parallel ionization chamber. The differences—of the order of 3%—were found to be within the uncertainty of the comparison. For cylindrical ionization chambers, however, the agreement was only possible when positioning the effective point of measurement of the chamber at the reference measurement depth—i.e. not complying with IAEA TRS-398 recommendations. In conclusion, for cylindrical ionization chambers, IAEA TRS-398 reference conditions for monoenergetic proton beams led to a systematic error in the determination of the absorbed dose to water, especially relevant for low-energy proton beams. To overcome this problem, the effective point of measurement of cylindrical ionization chambers should be taken into account when positioning the reference point of the chamber. Within the current IAEA TRS-398 recommendations, it seems advisable to use plane-parallel ionization chambers—rather than cylindrical chambers—for the reference dosimetry of pseudo-monoenergetic proton beams. (paper)

PLEIADES ABSOLUTE CALIBRATION : INFLIGHT CALIBRATION SITES AND METHODOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Lachérade

2012-07-01

Full Text Available In-flight calibration of space sensors once in orbit is a decisive step to be able to fulfil the mission objectives. This article presents the methods of the in-flight absolute calibration processed during the commissioning phase. Four In-flight calibration methods are used: absolute calibration, cross-calibration with reference sensors such as PARASOL or MERIS, multi-temporal monitoring and inter-bands calibration. These algorithms are based on acquisitions over natural targets such as African deserts, Antarctic sites, La Crau (Automatic calibration station and Oceans (Calibration over molecular scattering or also new extra-terrestrial sites such as the Moon and selected stars. After an overview of the instrument and a description of the calibration sites, it is pointed out how each method is able to address one or several aspects of the calibration. We focus on how these methods complete each other in their operational use, and how they help building a coherent set of information that addresses all aspects of in-orbit calibration. Finally, we present the perspectives that the high level of agility of PLEIADES offers for the improvement of its calibration and a better characterization of the calibration sites.

Gamma ray energy loss spectra simulation in NaI detectors with the Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, W.J.

1982-01-01

With the aim of studying and applying the Monte Carlo method, a computer code was developed to calculate the pulse height spectra and detector efficiencies for gamma rays incident on NaI (Tl) crystals. The basic detector processes in NaI (Tl) detectors are given together with an outline of Monte Carlo methods and a general review of relevant published works. A detailed description of the application of Monte Carlo methods to ν-ray detection in NaI (Tl) detectors is given. Comparisons are made with published, calculated and experimental, data. (Author) [pt

Determination of the detection efficiency of a HPGe detector by means of the MCNP 4A simulation code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leal, B.

2004-01-01

In the majority of the laboratories, the calibration in efficiency of the detector is carried out by means of the standard sources measurement of gamma photons that have a determined activity, or for matrices that contain a variety of radionuclides that can embrace the energy range of interest. Given the experimental importance that has the determination from the curves of efficiency to the effects of establishing the quantitative results, is appealed to the simulation of the response function of the detector used in the Regional Center of Nuclear Studies inside the energy range of 80 keV to 1400 keV varying the density of the matrix, by means of the application of the Monte Carlo code MCNP-4A. The adjustment obtained shows an acceptance grade in the range of 100 to 600 keV, with a smaller percentage discrepancy to 5%. (Author)

Ge well detector calibration by means of a trial and error procedure using the dead layers as a unique parameter in a Monte Carlo simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courtine, Fabien; Pilleyre, Thierry; Sanzelle, Serge; Miallier, Didier

2008-01-01

The project aimed at modelling an HPGe well detector in view to predict its photon-counting efficiency by means of the Monte Carlo simulation code GEANT4. Although a qualitative and quantitative description of the crystal and housing was available, uncertainties were associated to parameters controlling the detector response. This induced poor agreement between the efficiency calculated on the basis of nominal data and the actual efficiency experimentally measured with a 137 Cs point source. It was then decided to improve the model, by parameterization of a trial and error method. The distribution of the dead layers was adopted as a unique parameter, in order to explore the possibilities and pertinence of this parameter. In the course of the work, it appeared necessary to introduce the possibility that the thickness of the dead layers was not uniform for a given surface. At the end of the process, the results allowed to conclude that the approach was able to give a model adapted to practical application with a satisfactory precision in the calculated efficiency. The pattern of the 'dead layers' that was obtained is characterized by a variable thickness which seems to be physically relevant. It implicitly and partly accounts for effects that are not originated from actual dead layers, such as incomplete charge collection. But, such effects, which are uneasily accounted for, can, in a first approximation, be represented by 'dead layers'; this is an advantage of the parameterization that was adopted.

Multilevel Monte Carlo Approaches for Numerical Homogenization

KAUST Repository

Efendiev, Yalchin R.

2015-10-01

In this article, we study the application of multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) approaches to numerical random homogenization. Our objective is to compute the expectation of some functionals of the homogenized coefficients, or of the homogenized solutions. This is accomplished within MLMC by considering different sizes of representative volumes (RVEs). Many inexpensive computations with the smallest RVE size are combined with fewer expensive computations performed on larger RVEs. Likewise, when it comes to homogenized solutions, different levels of coarse-grid meshes are used to solve the homogenized equation. We show that, by carefully selecting the number of realizations at each level, we can achieve a speed-up in the computations in comparison to a standard Monte Carlo method. Numerical results are presented for both one-dimensional and two-dimensional test-cases that illustrate the efficiency of the approach.

The Adjoint Monte Carlo - a viable option for efficient radiotherapy treatment planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldstein, M [Israel Atomic Energy Commission, Beersheba (Israel). Nuclear Research Center-Negev

1996-12-01

In cancer therapy using collimated beams of photons, the radiation oncologist must determine a set of beams that delivers the required dose to each point in the tumor and minimizes the risk of damage to the healthy tissue and vital organs. Currently, the oncologist determines these beams iteratively, by using a sequence of dose calculations using approximate numerical methods. In this paper, a more accurate and potentially faster approach, based on the Adjoint Monte Carlo method, is presented (authors).

Kinetic Monte Carlo study of sensitiviy of OLED efficiency and lifetime to materials parameters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coehoorn, R.; Eersel, van H.; Bobbert, P.A.; Janssen, R.A.J.

2015-01-01

The performance of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is determined by a complex interplay of the optoelectronic processes in the active layer stack. In order to enable simulation-assisted layer stack development, a three-dimensional kinetic Monte Carlo OLED simulation method which includes the

Biasing anisotropic scattering kernels for deep-penetration Monte Carlo calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, L.L.; Hendricks, J.S.

1983-01-01

The exponential transform is often used to improve the efficiency of deep-penetration Monte Carlo calculations. This technique is usually implemented by biasing the distance-to-collision kernel of the transport equation, but leaving the scattering kernel unchanged. Dwivedi obtained significant improvements in efficiency by biasing an isotropic scattering kernel as well as the distance-to-collision kernel. This idea is extended to anisotropic scattering, particularly the highly forward Klein-Nishina scattering of gamma rays

Study on MPI/OpenMP hybrid parallelism for Monte Carlo neutron transport code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang Jingang; Xu Qi; Wang Kan; Liu Shiwen

2013-01-01

Parallel programming with mixed mode of messages-passing and shared-memory has several advantages when used in Monte Carlo neutron transport code, such as fitting hardware of distributed-shared clusters, economizing memory demand of Monte Carlo transport, improving parallel performance, and so on. MPI/OpenMP hybrid parallelism was implemented based on a one dimension Monte Carlo neutron transport code. Some critical factors affecting the parallel performance were analyzed and solutions were proposed for several problems such as contention access, lock contention and false sharing. After optimization the code was tested finally. It is shown that the hybrid parallel code can reach good performance just as pure MPI parallel program, while it saves a lot of memory usage at the same time. Therefore hybrid parallel is efficient for achieving large-scale parallel of Monte Carlo neutron transport. (authors)

Monte Carlo molecular simulation of phase-coexistence for oil production and processing

KAUST Repository

Li, Jun

2011-01-01

The Gibbs-NVT ensemble Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the liquid-vapor coexistence diagram and the simulation results of methane agree well with the experimental data in a wide range of temperatures. For systems with two components, the Gibbs-NPT ensemble Monte Carlo method is employed in the simulation while the mole fraction of each component in each phase is modeled as a Leonard-Jones fluid. As the results of Monte Carlo simulations usually contain huge statistical error, the blocking method is used to estimate the variance of the simulation results. Additionally, in order to improve the simulation efficiency, the step sizes of different trial moves is adjusted automatically so that their acceptance probabilities can approach to the preset values.

Calibration of quantitative neutron radiography method for moisture measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemec, T.; Jeraj, R.

1999-01-01

Quantitative measurements of moisture and hydrogenous matter in building materials by neutron radiography (NR) are regularly performed at TRIGA Mark II research of 'Jozef Stefan' Institute in Ljubljana. Calibration of quantitative method is performed using standard brick samples with known moisture content and also with a secondary standard, plexiglas step wedge. In general, the contribution of scattered neutrons to the neutron image is not determined explicitly what introduces an error to the measured signal. Influence of scattered neutrons is significant in regions with high gradients of moisture concentrations, where the build up of scattered neutrons causes distortion of the moisture concentration profile. In this paper detailed analysis of validity of our calibration method for different geometrical parameters is presented. The error in the measured hydrogen concentration is evaluated by an experiment and compared with results obtained by Monte Carlo calculation with computer code MCNP 4B. Optimal conditions are determined for quantitative moisture measurements in order to minimize the error due to scattered neutrons. The method is tested on concrete samples with high moisture content.(author)

Assessment of annual pollutant loads in combined sewers from continuous turbidity measurements: sensitivity to calibration data.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacour, C; Joannis, C; Chebbo, G

2009-05-01

This article presents a methodology for assessing annual wet weather Suspended Solids (SS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) loads in combined sewers, along with the associated uncertainties from continuous turbidity measurements. The proposed method is applied to data from various urban catchments in the cities of Paris and Nantes. The focus here concerns the impact of the number of rain events sampled for calibration (i.e. through establishing linear SS/turbidity or COD/turbidity relationships) on the uncertainty of annual pollutant load assessments. Two calculation methods are investigated, both of which rely on Monte Carlo simulations: random assignment of event-specific calibration relationships to each individual rain event, and the use of an overall relationship built from the entire available data set. Since results indicate a fairly low inter-event variability for calibration relationship parameters, an accurate assessment of pollutant loads can be derived, even when fewer than 10 events are sampled for calibration purposes. For operational applications, these results suggest that turbidity could provide a more precise evaluation of pollutant loads at lower cost than typical sampling methods.

Accurate calibration of RL shunts for piezoelectric vibration damping of flexible structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høgsberg, Jan Becker; Krenk, Steen

2016-01-01

Piezoelectric RL (resistive-inductive) shunts are passive resonant devices used for damping of dominantvibration modes of a flexible structure and their efficiency relies on precise calibration of the shuntcomponents. In the present paper improved calibration accuracy is attained by an extension...

The Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method and dynamic fermions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amaral, Marcia G. do

1994-01-01

Nevertheless the Monte Carlo method has been extensively used in the simulation of many types of theories, the successful application has been established only for models containing boson fields. With the present computer generation, the development of faster and efficient algorithms became necessary and urgent. This paper studies the HMC and the dynamic fermions

Comparative evaluations of the Monte Carlo-based light propagation simulation packages for optical imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Wang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Monte Carlo simulation of light propagation in turbid medium has been studied for years. A number of software packages have been developed to handle with such issue. However, it is hard to compare these simulation packages, especially for tissues with complex heterogeneous structures. Here, we first designed a group of mesh datasets generated by Iso2Mesh software, and used them to cross-validate the accuracy and to evaluate the performance of four Monte Carlo-based simulation packages, including Monte Carlo model of steady-state light transport in multi-layered tissues (MCML, tetrahedron-based inhomogeneous Monte Carlo optical simulator (TIMOS, Molecular Optical Simulation Environment (MOSE, and Mesh-based Monte Carlo (MMC. The performance of each package was evaluated based on the designed mesh datasets. The merits and demerits of each package were also discussed. Comparative results showed that the TIMOS package provided the best performance, which proved to be a reliable, efficient, and stable MC simulation package for users.

TU-F-18A-03: Improving Tissue Segmentation for Monte Carlo Dose Calculation Using DECT Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di, Salvio A; Bedwani, S; Carrier, J

2014-01-01

Purpose: To develop a new segmentation technique using dual energy CT (DECT) to overcome limitations related to segmentation from a standard Hounsfield unit (HU) to electron density (ED) calibration curve. Both methods are compared with a Monte Carlo analysis of dose distribution. Methods: DECT allows a direct calculation of both ED and effective atomic number (EAN) within a given voxel. The EAN is here defined as a function of the total electron cross-section of a medium. These values can be effectively acquired using a calibrated method from scans at two different energies. A prior stoichiometric calibration on a Gammex RMI phantom allows us to find the parameters to calculate EAN and ED within a voxel. Scans from a Siemens SOMATOM Definition Flash dual source system provided the data for our study. A Monte Carlo analysis compares dose distribution simulated by dosxyz-nrc, considering a head phantom defined by both segmentation techniques. Results: Results from depth dose and dose profile calculations show that materials with different atomic compositions but similar EAN present differences of less than 1%. Therefore, it is possible to define a short list of basis materials from which density can be adapted to imitate interaction behavior of any tissue. Comparison of the dose distributions on both segmentations shows a difference of 50% in dose in areas surrounding bone at low energy. Conclusion: The presented segmentation technique allows a more accurate medium definition in each voxel, especially in areas of tissue transition. Since the behavior of human tissues is highly sensitive at low energies, this reduces the errors on calculated dose distribution. This method could be further developed to optimize the tissue characterization based on anatomic site

TU-F-18A-03: Improving Tissue Segmentation for Monte Carlo Dose Calculation Using DECT Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di, Salvio A; Bedwani, S; Carrier, J [CHUM - Notre-Dame, Montreal, QC (Canada)

2014-06-15

Purpose: To develop a new segmentation technique using dual energy CT (DECT) to overcome limitations related to segmentation from a standard Hounsfield unit (HU) to electron density (ED) calibration curve. Both methods are compared with a Monte Carlo analysis of dose distribution. Methods: DECT allows a direct calculation of both ED and effective atomic number (EAN) within a given voxel. The EAN is here defined as a function of the total electron cross-section of a medium. These values can be effectively acquired using a calibrated method from scans at two different energies. A prior stoichiometric calibration on a Gammex RMI phantom allows us to find the parameters to calculate EAN and ED within a voxel. Scans from a Siemens SOMATOM Definition Flash dual source system provided the data for our study. A Monte Carlo analysis compares dose distribution simulated by dosxyz-nrc, considering a head phantom defined by both segmentation techniques. Results: Results from depth dose and dose profile calculations show that materials with different atomic compositions but similar EAN present differences of less than 1%. Therefore, it is possible to define a short list of basis materials from which density can be adapted to imitate interaction behavior of any tissue. Comparison of the dose distributions on both segmentations shows a difference of 50% in dose in areas surrounding bone at low energy. Conclusion: The presented segmentation technique allows a more accurate medium definition in each voxel, especially in areas of tissue transition. Since the behavior of human tissues is highly sensitive at low energies, this reduces the errors on calculated dose distribution. This method could be further developed to optimize the tissue characterization based on anatomic site.

How Monte Carlo heuristics aid to identify the physical processes of drug release kinetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lecca, Paola

2018-01-01

We implement a Monte Carlo heuristic algorithm to model drug release from a solid dosage form. We show that with Monte Carlo simulations it is possible to identify and explain the causes of the unsatisfactory predictive power of current drug release models. It is well known that the power-law, the exponential models, as well as those derived from or inspired by them accurately reproduce only the first 60% of the release curve of a drug from a dosage form. In this study, by using Monte Carlo simulation approaches, we show that these models fit quite accurately almost the entire release profile when the release kinetics is not governed by the coexistence of different physico-chemical mechanisms. We show that the accuracy of the traditional models are comparable with those of Monte Carlo heuristics when these heuristics approximate and oversimply the phenomenology of drug release. This observation suggests to develop and use novel Monte Carlo simulation heuristics able to describe the complexity of the release kinetics, and consequently to generate data more similar to those observed in real experiments. Implementing Monte Carlo simulation heuristics of the drug release phenomenology may be much straightforward and efficient than hypothesizing and implementing from scratch complex mathematical models of the physical processes involved in drug release. Identifying and understanding through simulation heuristics what processes of this phenomenology reproduce the observed data and then formalize them in mathematics may allow avoiding time-consuming, trial-error based regression procedures. Three bullet points, highlighting the customization of the procedure. •An efficient heuristics based on Monte Carlo methods for simulating drug release from solid dosage form encodes is presented. It specifies the model of the physical process in a simple but accurate way in the formula of the Monte Carlo Micro Step (MCS) time interval.•Given the experimentally observed curve of

Interface methods for hybrid Monte Carlo-diffusion radiation-transport simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Densmore, Jeffery D.

2006-01-01

Discrete diffusion Monte Carlo (DDMC) is a technique for increasing the efficiency of Monte Carlo simulations in diffusive media. An important aspect of DDMC is the treatment of interfaces between diffusive regions, where DDMC is used, and transport regions, where standard Monte Carlo is employed. Three previously developed methods exist for treating transport-diffusion interfaces: the Marshak interface method, based on the Marshak boundary condition, the asymptotic interface method, based on the asymptotic diffusion-limit boundary condition, and the Nth-collided source technique, a scheme that allows Monte Carlo particles to undergo several collisions in a diffusive region before DDMC is used. Numerical calculations have shown that each of these interface methods gives reasonable results as part of larger radiation-transport simulations. In this paper, we use both analytic and numerical examples to compare the ability of these three interface techniques to treat simpler, transport-diffusion interface problems outside of a more complex radiation-transport calculation. We find that the asymptotic interface method is accurate regardless of the angular distribution of Monte Carlo particles incident on the interface surface. In contrast, the Marshak boundary condition only produces correct solutions if the incident particles are isotropic. We also show that the Nth-collided source technique has the capacity to yield accurate results if spatial cells are optically small and Monte Carlo particles are allowed to undergo many collisions within a diffusive region before DDMC is employed. These requirements make the Nth-collided source technique impractical for realistic radiation-transport calculations

Calibration of germanium detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjurman, B.; Erlandsson, B.