Performance characterisation and optimisation of the HIPOS positron generator setup

As part of an Exploratory Research Project at the Institute for Energy and Transport (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission), a feasibility assessment was performed for the construction and placement of a high-intensity positron facility (HIPOS) in a beam tube, HB9, at the High flux reactor (HFR) in Petten. This paper reports on the results of Monte Carlo simulations to optimise the concept of the HIPOS positron generator and to determine the performance characteristics of the chosen generator design. In the first step, a detailed model of the HFR reactor core, reflector, instrumentation and HB9 beam tube was prepared, and coupled neutron and photon transport calculations were carried out with the MCNP4C3 code to establish neutron and photon source terms on boundary surfaces of the HB9 beam tube. These sources were subsequently used with the MCNPX code to optimise the positron generator concept and geometry. The results showed that the positron beam can reach an integral intensity of 1013 e+/s before the moderation stage, easily meeting the specified target and confirming the hypothesis that very high positron yields can be obtained by using combined neutron and gamma radiation sources from a high flux reactor. Full details of the research work are reported in this study.