Revolutionising 3D Dose Rate Visualisation

Radiation Safety and Efficient Delivery

The nuclear industry is faced with the challenge of ensuring radiation safety and efficient delivery while dealing with the complexities of designing and operating nuclear facilities. In this context, dose rate visualisation plays a vital role in evaluating and visualising radiation sources and their impact on the surrounding environment. This information is crucial in making informed decisions to maintain a safe working environment for the workforce and the general public.

However, traditional methods for dose rate visualisation often result in bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the workflow. To address these issues, Cerberus Nuclear is committed to revolutionising the field by developing cutting-edge tools that simplify the production of 3D dose rate contour visualisation. This approach will allow our radiation shielding assessors to perform accurate assessments quickly and effectively, leading to better outcomes for our clients.

At Cerberus Nuclear, we understand the importance of dose rate visualisation and are dedicated to providing innovative solutions that address the challenges faced by our clients. Our goal is to streamline the process and make it easier to visualise dose rates in real-world applications, thereby improving the overall safety and efficiency of delivery.

Cyclone: Streamline your Radiation and Criticality Workflows

Orthrus Software, a subsidiary of Cerberus Nuclear, introduces Cyclone ^TM, a modern and intuitive web-based software suite aimed at simplifying Monte Carlo workflows. This powerful tool is specifically designed for radiation and criticality problems and offers a range of features to help you visualise and analyse your data with ease.

Interactive 3D Renders of MCNP Geometry: Cyclone allows you to visualise your model geometries in 3D, giving you a clear understanding of your data.
In-built Text Editor with Syntax Highlighting: The text editor in Cyclone includes syntax highlighting to make it easier to read and write your code.
Customisable Visualisation of Cell and Material Assignments: Visualise cell and material assignments in Cyclone with customisable colours, making it easy to differentiate between different elements of your model.
Custom Geometry Slicing and Cell Toggling: Cyclone allows you to slice your geometry and toggle cells, giving you the flexibility to focus on specific parts of your model.
Powerful Dose Visualisation Capabilities: In addition to its advanced geometry visualisation features, Cyclone also offers powerful integrated dose visualisation capabilities from FMESH tally results files, including 2D slice contour visualisation, 3D iso-surface visualisation, and 3D contour extrapolation to surfaces.

Cyclone has already been deployed across a wide range of dose-uptake assessments and has revolutionised the workflows of our in-house radiation assessors. With Cyclone, you can combine 3D MCNP geometry and dose rate contours with ease, enhancing your capabilities and improving your outcomes. For more information and instant sign up check out orthrussoftware.com.

Dynamic Radiation Assessments using Dose Time

Dose Time ^TM focuses on revolutionising dose visualisation in the nuclear industry. It uses novel interpolation methods for the calculation and visualisation of dynamic 2D and 3D dose rate contour maps, providing an effective tool for visualising and calculating dose uptake in a variety of radiation scenarios.

Tackle Moving Source Challenges: The need to tackle the significant challenge of assessing moving sources, where the computational demands of modelling such scenarios can be extremely high. With efficient mesh tally interpolation methods, Dose Time enables the rapid calculation of 3D dose fields, eliminating the need for additional simulations.
Efficient Survey of Design Spaces: With its rapid approximation of dose rate contours, Dose Time allows shielding assessors to efficiently survey entire design spaces and identify regions of interest without the need for numerous Monte-Carlo calculations.
Live Dose Target Tracking: Dose Time is looking to enhance its capabilities via the integration of live dose target tracking, enabling the calculation of cumulative dose uptake in dynamic radiation environments.
VR Technology for Live Dose Rate Visualisation: In the future, Dose Time plans to leverage virtual reality (VR) technology for live dose rate contour visualisation. This will provide a more interactive experience, allowing for the simulation of real-world scenarios and providing valuable insights to assessors, operators and other key stakeholders.

Let us transform how radiation assessments are performed with Dose Time and experience the benefits of efficient and effective dose rate visualisation.

If you're interested in learning more about 3D dose rate visualisation, or if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch at nuclear@cerberusnuclear.com. Our team is always ready to assist and provide the right solution for your needs.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from everyone at Cerberus Nuclear!

As well as the start of the new year, we are celebrating 6 years as a company. We would like to thank everyone who has supported us over the years, from our dedicated team to our valued clients and collaborators. We look forward to what 2023 will bring!

New Starter - Haleema H

We are delighted to welcome Haleema to the team full time following her summer project with the company for her Nuclear Decommissioning MSc. Haleema will be supporting both the Radiation Shielding and Criticality Safety teams, and is looking forward to applying her radioactive waste management training in the Nuclear Characterisation team. It's great to have you with us Haleema!

During her project, Haleema built a MCNP model of a reactor with multiple parameter variations. The criticality for each variation of parameterisation was collected and used for analysis and subsequent training of a machine learning algorithm to create a criticality training tool. She has since been awarded the Fremlin Award by Birmingham University for her dissertation. Congratulations Haleema!!

New Starter - Nathan Chambers

We are happy to announce that Nathan Chambers has joined Cerberus Nuclear following a successful summer placement with the company. During his MSc Placement, Nathan performed an investigation into the effect of localised radiation shield weaknesses on the dose uptake of a self-designed phantom model.

Nathan has been involved in the latest phase of the Bright 3Ts Hospital shielding verification work since starting with the company. He is also supporting a Nuclear Characterisation project, and will be developing his Radiation Shielding skills in the coming weeks alongside continuing his MSc research by producing a guidance note on his findings. Welcome to the team Nathan!

New Starter – Zachary Strangwood

We are pleased to announce that the first new starter of this year’s graduate intake has started with the company. Zachary Strangwood completed his MSc placement with the company this summer. His project consisted of modelling various radiation shielding scenarios with moving sources in MCNP and creating an interpolation engine using Python to calculate mesh tally data for different source positions in these scenarios. We are delighted that Zachary decided to stay on with the company following his Masters project!

Zachary is starting work supporting the Radiation Shielding team, but is looking forward to also supporting Criticality Safety as he progresses along the graduate scheme.

New Starter – Barrie Greenhalgh

We are delighted to welcome Dr Barrie Greenhalgh to Cerberus Nuclear! Barrie is a Radiometric and Nuclear Physicist joining us with 18 years experience in the nuclear industry. He is a MCNP radiation transport specialist, with experience in support of radiometric characterisation, calibration, feasibility and design studies. Until recently, Barrie delivered technical characterisation tasks for a range of Sellafield Ltd customers, including POCO, remediation and plant support operations.

Barrie will be key to the development of our growing Nuclear Characterisation capability, and he will also be building on his expertise by supporting Criticality Safety.

Welcome to the team Barrie!

Cerberus Present at the American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting

We recently presented two papers at the American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California. The papers were presented within the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division (NCSD) Topical Meeting and were titled:

CARTA – Criticality Safety Virtual Reality Training Aid, Recent Developments.
Cyclone – Monte Carlo Data Processing and Visualization.

Katrina presented the CARTA paper and won the best paper award within the ‘Knowledge Transfer – Education, Professional Development, and Training’ track. The trophy (a prestigious NCSD thermos mug!) was presented at the NCSD awards dinner. The UK was well represented at the conference, with Katrina picking up her award alongside Amy van der Vyver from Sellafield Limited who presented a paper on the ‘UK Working Party on Criticality Webinar Series to Support Continuing Professional Development’. Liam Payne of Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) presented a UK perspective on Post-Closure Criticality Safety, and Alfie O’Neil from NNL presented a paper on Benchmark Experiments.

Cyclone and CARTA were really well received. Cyclone visualisation of MCNP models featured in a presentation by colleagues at the University of New Mexico. Stewart and Katrina were on hand with VR headsets to demonstrate CARTA, giving attendees the chance to (safely) cause a criticality in a glovebox.

Thanks to the ANS and, in particular, our colleagues within the NCSD who made us feel very welcome at the conference.

Swimming with the Big Fish

Cerberus Nuclear are pleased to announce we have been graded silver by the SME Matchmaker Service Swimming with the Big Fish (SWTBF), which is delivered by Solomons Europe.

The Swimming with the Big Fish SME Matchmaker Service helps to match high-performing SMEs with those bidding for the many Key Delivery Partner and Goods/Services Agreement packages being awarded by the Programme and Project Partners (PPP) at Sellafield.

It grades SMEs using criteria that reflects the expectations of SMEs when it comes to driving project delivery and efficiency while at the same time delivering meaningful social impact that changes the lives and career prospects of communities in West Cumbria and Cumbria.

Through the SWTBF SME Matchmaker service we have made a profile which includes our service offering, and social impact pledges. Our profile is available through the SWTBF service.

Cerberus Nuclear Support NNL Criticality Safety Training Course

We recently supported NNL with delivery of their UK Nuclear Criticality Safety Course. This is a long established training course in the UK and is supported by the University of New Mexico. Guest speakers from Sellafield Limited and ONR also contribute to the course.

Representatives from NNL have been key stakeholders in the development of CARTA, our criticality training application, via an Alpha Resilience and Capability (ARC) funded programme of work. Integration of CARTA into their criticality training course has been a key milestone for this programme of work and we were pleased to deliver this novel project on time.

At the criticality training course, we were delighted to see our ‘MAGIC MERV simulation’ being put into good effect in presentations regarding the factors that affect criticality. The ‘glovebox process simulation’ provided an interesting and lively group activity with the course instructors creating a series of challenging scenarios for the class to tackle. You can read more about the training simulations here.

In addition, Sam and Stewart were on hand to demonstrate the simulations in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment (both during the course and in the bar at the end of the day).

We would like to extend our thanks to NNL for their support in the development of this phase of the CARTA project and for hosting us on the course.

Completion of ARC funded CARTA Software

CARTA is criticality safety training software developed here at Cerberus Nuclear. Uniquely, CARTA displays a realistic value of k-effective as the user interacts with the simulation, either in a conventional first-person desktop format or Virtual Reality (VR) environment. The user can see, in real-time, the effect that their actions have on criticality safety. The CARTA methodology requires a multi-disciplinary approach, combining criticality safety calculations, machine learning and a gaming environment.

We have recently completed the software development for two training scenarios. This programme of work has been funded by the UK’s Alpha Resilience and Capability (ARC) programme.

The project has involved engagement with representatives from many of the ARC member organisations. This has given relevant stakeholders the opportunity to influence the functionality and appearance of CARTA as a training tool, prior to integration into training programmes within their own organisations. Two training simulations have been created:

The ‘MAGIC MERV’ simulation – Users can interact with two spheres of fissile material in a laboratory environment. The simulation is able to demonstrate the behaviour of all of the factors that affect criticality, i.e.
- Mass
- Absorption
- Geometry
- Interaction
- Concentration
- Moderation
- Enrichment
- Reflection
- Volume

This simulation is intended to be conceptual rather than realistic. It allows the maximum range of effects to be demonstrated, making it useful for training operators and assessors and also for wider stakeholder engagement.

The glove box process simulation – Users interact with a realistic glove box featuring a mass balance, assay chamber and array of stored cans containing fissile material. They are presented with an imported can and are able to weigh and assay the can in order to determine if it is ‘safe’ before storing it or rejecting it. The simulation allows trainees to be challenged with various configurations to enhance their understanding of criticality rules, potential fault scenarios and some of the challenges with fissile material assay.

Images of CARTA development. From concept through to the final product.

We are now looking at options for implementation at each of the various ARC member organisations including Sellafield Limited, AWE, NNL, Nuclear Waste Services, ONR and DSRL. If you work for any of these organisations and would like access to CARTA, then please get in touch (nuclear@cerberusnuclear.com).

We are now actively seeking organisations that would benefit from this particular software or bespoke criticality safety training scenarios using the CARTA methodology. If you would like to discuss your idea, please get in touch using nuclear@cerberusnuclear.com.