CERN, Geneva
Modern particle interaction and transport codes such as FLUKA allow one to predict radioactivity and associated residual dose rates caused by high energy beam losses in accelerator components in great detail. Phaenomenological models of high energy hadronic interactions linked to sophisticated generalized cascade, pre-equilibrium and fragmentation models are able to describe the production of individual radioactive nuclides with good accuracy (often within less than 20%), as comprehensive benchmark studies have demonstrated. The calculation of induced radioactivity has thus become an integral part of design studies for high energy beam absorbers. Results provide valuable information on material choices, handling constraints and waste disposal and allow an early optimization of components in order to increase the efficiency of the later operation of the facility while keeping doses to personnel as low as reasonably achievable. The present paper gives examples of both generic studies with FLUKA for different absorber materials as well as studies for collimators and absorbers of the Large Hadron Collider.
