Investigation on the reflector/moderator geometry and its effect on the neutron beam design in BNCT

Authors:   Y. Kasesaz,F. Rahmani,H. Khalafi,
Journal: Applied Radiation and Isotopes
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2015.08.012
Abstract: In order to provide an appropriate neutron beam for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), a special Beam Shaping Assembly (BSA) must be designed based on the neutron source specifications. A typical BSA includes moderator, reflector, collimator, thermal neutron filter, and gamma filter. In common BSA, the reflector is considered as a layer which covers the sides of the moderator materials. In this paper, new reflector/moderator geometries including multi-layer and hexagonal lattice have been suggested and the effect of them has been investigated by MCNP4C Monte Carlo code. It was found that the proposed configurations have a significant effect to improve the thermal to epithermal neutron flux ratio which is an important neutron beam parameter.