New concept of the buildup factor in bent ducts

A major problem confronting the radiation shielding designer is the accurate determination of neutron streaming through various penetrations in walls, ducts and mazes. The previous studies on neutron transmission were performed through empty ducts. The aim of this work is to evaluate the neutron transmission probability through a filled bent duct and the proposition of a new concept of the buildup factor for neutrons in multilegged ducts. An angular biaising technique is used in the Monte Carlo simulations to accelerate the calculation convergence. Results are first compared with those obtained by the MCNPX code. For an empty bent duct, the neutron transmission is only due to the neutron reflection on the duct wall. For a filled duct, the major contribution is due to the scattering on the atoms filling the duct.