The Boron Neutron Capture Therapy Research Facility at the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR)

Abstract

In this paper, the procedure applied to produce a neutron beam suitable for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) research at the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) is discussed. In this project the reactor core of the Nuclear Research Center of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was used as the neutron source. The neutron energy spectrum in the reactor core and in the neutron beam tube was calculated using two-dimensional transport code DOT-3 and also measured by using the foil activation technique unfolded by the code SAND-II.

Our calculations showed that the neutron energy suitable for BNCT should be less than 10kev. In order to obtain neutrons in this energy range a neutron filter made of aluminium and iron in an aluminium casing was used which produces a neutron energy spectrum in the low key region. To eliminate the core gamma rays and induced capture gamma rays of the filter materials, a gamma shield made of bismuth block was used. Since the neutron beam emerging from the filter is rather scattered, to narrow it further a neutron collimator made of lead and concrete was designed, constructed and then inserted into the neutron beam tube.