Speaker
Description
STAR (Southern Europe Thomson Back-Scattering Source for Applied Research) is an “inverse-Thompson scattering” facility based in the Calabria’s University campus in Rende, Italy. It will be a facility for advanced scientific investigation on fundamental and applied materials research, with monochromatic X-rays production.
The facility upgrade consists in two electron beam lines: the first allows to accelerate electrons up to 150 MeV, while in the second one the beam is accelerated up to 85 MeV. The X-rays produced through electron beam-laser interaction will be used in two experimental areas to perform investigation on biological, polymeric and composite materials and in the cultural heritage field.
In order to obtain the radiation safety license for STAR, several radiation protection studies have been performed through the Monte Carlo code FLUKA. In particular, an in-depth study of the skyshine radiation related problem has been performed. The importance of this topic is mainly due to the presence of this machine inside the university campus, as well as the presence of offices and other occupied areas.
The skyshine radiation problem has been evaluated for:
• the prompt radiation related to the beam dumps designed for each beam line;
• the prompt radiation due to the dark current leakage;
• the local shielding proposed for this leakage.
The starting points for the skyshine evaluation have been the ambient dose equivalent determination in two areas situated on the roof, in the direction of the areas of interest.
The FLUKA simulations, performed with different conservative approaches, kept in evidence the non-radiological relevance of the skyshine radiation. Thanks to the proposed shielding assessment, negligible dose levels have been achieved in all areas of interest.