MLZ is a cooperation between:

Technische Universität München> Technische Universität MünchenHelmholtz-Zentrum Hereon> Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon
Forschungszentrum Jülich> Forschungszentrum Jülich

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LENS> LENSERF-AISBL> ERF-AISBL

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Lichtenbergstr.1
85748 Garching

MEDAPP & NECTAR

Fission neutron facility for scientific, medical, and industrial applications

Insrumentscheme MEDAPP & NECTAR Insrumentscheme MEDAPP & NECTAR

Both the instruments MEDAPP (medical applications) and NECTAR (neutron computed tomography and radiography) are located at the world-wide unique fast neutron beam tube SR10 to which a uranium converter is attached. Both instruments are operated with fission neutrons and can be used for a broad variety of different applications. For selected tasks, an alternative use with thermal neutrons is under implementation.

MEDAPP
MEDAPP is an instrument primarily built for the medical treatment of malignant tumours; but the irradiation room (see fig. 1 and 2 in the gallery) can also be used for general purposes, e.g. for biological research and technical irradiations. Due to their energy spectrum, fast reactor neutrons have the highest biological effectiveness of clinical neutron beams used in cancer treatment, comparable only to the effectiveness of heavy ions. This advantage comes at the expense of penetration depth in tissue, which – due to the relatively low energy of 2 MeV – limits the application of fast reactor neutrons to near-surface tumours, typically recurrent breast tumours and melanomas. The particularly large beam cross-section of SR10 also allows the irradiation of rather large objects, such as groups of cell culture flasks or complete electronic devices.

NECTAR
NECTAR is a versatile facility for the non-destructive inspection of various objects by means of fission neutron radiography and tomography, respectively. The images (radiographs, 2- and 3-D-tomographs etc.) obtained from probing objects by means of fission neutrons often show complementary or additional information compared to the investigation with X-rays, gamma radiation, or even cold or thermal neutrons. Especially for large objects consisting of dense materials, the deep penetration of fission neutrons is well suited for their non-destructive investigation, still being sensitive for the detection of hydrogen containing materials.

The instrument NECTAR is controlled using the Networked Integrated Control System (see also NICOS). It is a python based control environment, allowing a simple use for non-experienced users and the development of individual scripts for more advanced users.

The acquired radiographs are available in different image formats (e.g. fits and tif) and can be processed by most common image processing tools. On demand, reconstruction and visualisation software is available on-site for data analysis.

Technical Data & Typical Applications

Neutron source
  • Converter facility, consisting of 2 plates of uranium-silicide

MEDAPP

Neutron spectrum
  • Fission spectrum
    • Mean energy: 1.9 MeV
    • Flux: up to 7 · 108 n cm-2 s-1 (depends on filter used)
  • Thermal spectrum of the D2O moderator (without converter)
    • Mean energy: 28 meV
    • Flux: ca. 2 · 109 n cm-2 s-1
Collimation
  • Multi-leaf collimator, individually adjustable up to 27 cm x 19 cm
Sample space
  • Max. 40 cm x 30 cm
Detection systems
  • Ionisation chambers for dosimetry
  • Custom systems can temporarily be installed by users
Typical applications
  • Neutron medical treatment of malign tumours in the MEDAPP-room
  • Biological dosimetry, e.g., irradiations of cell cultures
  • Irradiations of electronic components (also on-line tests)
  • Fundamental physics

NECTAR

Neutron spectrum
  • Fission spectrum
    • Mean energy: 1.8 MeV
    • Flux: 8.7 · 105 n cm-2 s-1 –4.7 · 107 n cm-2 s-1 (depending on filter used)
  • Thermal spectrum of the D2O moderator (without converter)
    • Mean energy: 28 meV
    • Flux: up to 1 · 107 n cm-2 s-1
Collimation
  • L/D: ≤ 233 +/- 16 (depending on collimator)
Sample space
  • Max. 80 cm x 80 cm x 80 cm (W x H x T), maximum thickness also depends on material
  • Max. 500 kg
  • Any standard sample environment available MLZ and custom environments required for specific user experiments can be easily attached (e.g. hydrogen supply)
Detection systems
  • CCD-based (ANDOR DV434-BV, Andor iKon-M-BV, pco. 1600) detection systems with different converters, e.g. PP-converter with 30 % ZnS and 30 cm x 30 cm x 0.24 cm (W x H x T) available
Typical applications
  • Cultural Heritage
    • Restauration and conservation of objects
    • Inner structure of large archaeological objects
  • Technology
    • Hydrogen storage
    • Degradation of glue in timber
    • Water or oil in large metallic objects (e.g. gearboxes)
  • Biology
    • Water uptake in large wooden samples
 

Instrument Scientist

Dr. Tobias Chemnitz (MEDAPP)
Phone: +49 (0)89 289-54717
E-Mail: tobias.chemnitz@frm2.tum.de

Dr. Adrian Losko (NECTAR)
Phone: +49 (0)89 289-14756
E-Mail: adrian.losko@frm2.tum.de

Dr. Thomas Bücherl (NECTAR)
Phone: +49 (0)89 289-14328
E-Mail: thomas.buecherl@tum.de

MEDAPP
Telefon: +49 (0)89 289-14831

NECTAR
Telefon: +49 (0)89 289-11777

Operated by

TUM

Publications

Find the latest publications regarding MEDAPP in our publication database iMPULSE:

impulse.mlz-garching.de

Find the latest publications regarding NECTAR in our publication database iMPULSE:

impulse.mlz-garching.de

Citation of the instrument

MEDAPP: Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum. (2015). MEDAPP: Fission neutron beam for science, medicine, and industry. Journal of large-scale research facilities, 1, A18. http://dx.doi.org/10.17815/jlsrf-1-43

NECTAR: Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum. (2015). NECTAR: Radiography and tomography station using fission neutrons. Journal of large-scale research facilities, 1, A19. http://dx.doi.org/10.17815/jlsrf-1-45

For citation please always include the DOI.

Instrument control

Gallery

MEDAPP
MEDAPP

The irradiation room of MEDAPP.

© W. Schürmann, TUM
NECTAR
NECTAR

The fission neutrons are coming from the right, penetrating the sample fixed on the manipulator, and are detected by a CCD-based system (center). A beamstop (left) minimizes scattered radiation.

© W. Schürmann, TUM
NECTAR examples
NECTAR examples

Figure 1: Selected examples of studies performed at NECTAR

MLZ is a cooperation between:

Technische Universität München> Technische Universität MünchenHelmholtz-Zentrum Hereon> Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon
Forschungszentrum Jülich> Forschungszentrum Jülich

MLZ is a member of:

LENS> LENSERF-AISBL> ERF-AISBL

MLZ on social media: