Nuclear Radiation Heating: Preliminary Design Considerations

Quick engineering estimates of nuclear radiation heating effects exterior to reactors are frequently desired in preliminary flight vehicle design. A technique that is useful for such evaluations is presented. Analogies are suggested among the capture, inelastic scattering and neutron-induced charged particle processes; a means is provided for treating neutron interactions giving rise to gamma rays of various discrete energies; and a cosine distribution of the core gamma radiation is discussed.