Monte Carlo N-Particle Simulations for Nuclear Detection and Safeguards: An Examples-Based Guide for Students and Practitioners

This  open access book is a pedagogical, examples-based guide to using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP®) code for nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation applications. The MCNP code, general-purpose software for particle transport simulations, is widely used in the field of nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation for numerous applications including detector design and calibration, and the study of scenarios such as measurement of fresh and spent fuel. This book fills a gap in the existing MCNP software literature by teaching MCNP software usage through detailed examples that were selected based on both student feedback and the real-world experience of the nuclear safeguards group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. MCNP input and output files are explained, and the technical details used in MCNP input file preparation are linked to the MCNP code manual. Benefiting from the authors’ decades of experience in MCNP simulation, this book is essential reading for students, academic researchers, and practitioners whose work in nuclear physics or nuclear engineering is related to non-proliferation or nuclear safeguards. 

Each chapter comes with downloadable input files for the user to easily reproduce the examples in the text.

Dr. John S. Hendricks has been one of the principal developers/leader of MCNP® software for more than 30 years. In addition, he has taught more than 100 MCNP classes and consulted internationally on the effective use of MCNP software. In 2007, he was elected fellow to the American Nuclear Society for his contributions to Monte Carlo development.

Dr. Martyn T. Swinhoe was awarded the Vincent J. DeVito Distinguished Service Award in 2017 from the Institute for Nuclear Materials Management for―among many other achievements―pioneering the use of MCNP software for instrument design and enhancing the analysis of existing data sets to draw additional conclusions for nuclear materials management.

Dr. Andrea Favalli was elected fellow to the American Physical Society in 2020 for his outstanding application of the methods and underlying science of nuclear physics to the crucial issues of nuclear safeguards and security. His work has focused on nondestructive assay of nuclear materials, ranging from new analytical approaches to experimental measurements.