Virtual radiation fields for ALARA determination

As computing power has increased, so too has the ability to model and simulate complex systems and processes. In addition, virtual reality technology has made it possible to visualize and understand many complex scientific and engineering problems. For this reason, a virtual dosimetry program called Virtual Radiation Fields (VRF) is developed to model radiation dose rate and cumulative dose to a receptor operating in a virtual radiation environment. With the design and testing of many facilities and products taking place in the virtual world, this program facilitates the concurrent consideration of radiological concerns during the design process. Three-dimensional (3D) graphical presentation of the radiation environment is made possible through the use of IGRIP, a graphical modeling program developed by Deneb Robotics, Inc. The VRF simulation program was designed to model and display a virtual dosimeter. As a demonstration of the program`s capability, the Hanford tank, C-106, was modeled to predict radiation doses to robotic equipment used to remove radioactive waste from the tank. To validate VRF dose predictions, comparison was made with reported values for tank C-106, which showed agreement to within 0.5%. Graphical information is presented regarding the 3D dose rate variation inside the tank. Cumulative dose predictions were made for the cleanup operations of tank C-106. A four-dimensional dose rate map generated by VRF was used to model the dose rate not only in 3D space but also as a function of the amount of waste remaining in the tank. This allowed VRF to predict dose rate at any stage in the waste removal process for an accurate simulation of the radiological conditions throughout the tank cleanup procedure.