Computer Programs
PSR-0330 STARCODES.
last modified: 16-FEB-2000 | catalog | categories | new | search |

PSR-0330 STARCODES.

STARCODES, Stopping Power and Ranges for Electrons, Protons, He

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1. NAME OR DESIGNATION OF PROGRAM:  STAR CODES.
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2. COMPUTERS

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Program name Package id Status Status date
STARCODES PSR-0330/02 Tested 16-FEB-2000

Machines used:

Package ID Orig. computer Test computer
PSR-0330/02 IBM PC PC Pentium III 500
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3. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM OR FUNCTION

The "STAR CODES", ESTAR, PSTAR, and ASTAR, calculate stopping-power and range tables for electrons,  protons, and helium ions (alphas), according to methods described in ICRU Reports 37 and 39.
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4. METHOD OF SOLUTION

Collision stopping powers are calculated from the theory of Bethe (1930, 1932), with a density-effect correction evaluated according to Sternheimer (1952, 1982). The stopping-power  formula contains an important parameter, the mean excitation energy  (I-value), which characterizes the stopping properties of a material. The codes provide output for electrons in any stopping material (279 provided) and for protons and helium ions in 74 materials. The calculations include the 1) Collision stopping power, 2) Radiative stopping power (electrons only), 3) Nuclear stopping power (protons and helium ions), 4) Total stopping power, 5) CSDA range, 6) Projected range (protons and helium ions), 7) Density effect parameter (electrons), 8) Radiation yield (electrons), and 9) Detour factor (protons and helium ions). Standard energy grids and files of elements w/ionization-excitation information are included with lookup table capabilities.
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5. RESTRICTIONS ON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROBLEM

The minimum energies used in the calculations are at 1 KeV (protons and helium ions) and  10 KeV (electrons), and the maximum are 1 GeV. The standard energy grids are set at 81 for electrons, equally spaced (logrithmically),  133 for protons, and 122 for helium ions. The lower energy electron  calculations (< 10 KeV) have up to 5-10% errors and are considered too fallable.
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6. TYPICAL RUNNING TIME

The running time is dependent on the type of  hardware (PC XT vs. PC 486) used, but generally a calculation takes  a few seconds.
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7. UNUSUAL FEATURES OF THE PROGRAM:
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8. RELATED AND AUXILIARY PROGRAMS:
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9. STATUS
Package ID Status date Status
PSR-0330/02 16-FEB-2000 Tested at NEADB
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10. REFERENCES

- Stopping Powers for Electrons and Positrons
  ICRU Report 37 (1984).
- Stopping Powers for Electrons and Protons and Alpha Particles
  ICRU Report 49 (1993).
- R.M. Sternheimer:
  The Density Effect for the Ionization Loss in Various Materials
  Phys. Rev. 88, 851 (1952).
PSR-0330/02, included references:
- M.J. Berger:
ESTAR, PSTAR, and ASTAR - Computer Programs for Calculating Stopping-Power and
Range Tables for Electrons, Protons, and Helium Ions, NISTIR 4999 (Dec 1992).
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11. MACHINE REQUIREMENTS

Any IBM PC or compatible using a parallel printer (Epson, IBM, or HP laserjet) would be adequate. A math co-processor is necessary. The entire software package with examples will require 2.7 Mbytes of space on the harddrive.
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12. PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE(S) USED
Package ID Computer language
PSR-0330/02 FORTRAN-77
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13. OPERATING SYSTEM UNDER WHICH PROGRAM IS EXECUTED

DOS 2.0 or higher, with 640 KB RAM are requirements. The Lahey Fortran compiler was used to create the executables included in the package.
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14. OTHER PROGRAMMING OR OPERATING INFORMATION OR RESTRICTIONS:
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15. NAME AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORS

Contributed by: Radiation Safety Information Computational Center
                Oak Ridge National Laboratory
                Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U. S. A.

Developed by:   National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
                Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA
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16. MATERIAL AVAILABLE
PSR-0330/02
ESTAR.f Fortran Source
COMPOS.f Fortran Source
EDCONV.f Fortran Source for Setup program
CONVERT.f Fortran Source for Setup program
FEDAT Atomic data
FCOMP Material composition data
ENG.ELE Default energies list
MATS Set of materials in the database
material.txt List of materials for which there is compositional data
ESTAR.exe Stopping power & range table program (PC only)
COMPOS.exe Material composition viewing program (PC only)
EDCONV.exe Creates UEDAT data file
CONVERT.exe Creates UCOMP data file
PSTAR.f Fortran source
COMPOS.f Fortran source
PCONV.f Fortran source for setup program
CONVERT.f Fortran source for setup program
FPROT Atomic data
FCOMP Material composition data
ENG.PRO Default energies list
MATS Set of materials in the database
material.txt List of materials for which there is compositional data
PSTAR.exe Stopping power & range table program (PC only)
COMPOS.exe Material composition viewing program (PC only)
PCONV.exe Creates UPROT data file
CONVERT.exe Creates UCOMP data file
ASTAR.f Fortran source
COMPOS.f Fortran source
ACONV.f Fortran source for Setup program
CONVERT.f Fortran source for Setup program
FALPH Atomic data
FCOMP Material composition data
ENG.ALF Default energies list
MATS Set of materials in the database
Material.txt List of materials for which there is compositional data
ASTAR.exe Stopping power & range table program (PC only)
COMPOS.exe Material composition viewing program (PC only)
ACONV.exe Creates UALPH data file
CONVERT.exe Creates UCOMP data file
NISTIR4999.pdf Documentation in PDF
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17. CATEGORIES
  • J. Gamma Heating and Shield Design

Keywords: alpha particles, collisions, electrons, protons, shielding.