• 제목/요약/키워드: Neutron physics

검색결과 328건 처리시간 0.026초

Experimental setup for elemental analysis using prompt gamma rays at research reactor IBR-2

  • Hramco, C.;Turlybekuly, K.;Borzakov, S.B.;Gundorin, N.A.;Lychagin, E.V.;Nehaev, G.V.;Muzychka, A. Yu;Strelkov, A.V.;Teymurov, E.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제54권8호
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    • pp.2999-3005
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    • 2022
  • The new experimental setup has been built at the 11b channel of the IBR-2 research reactor at FLNP, JINR, to study the elemental composition of samples by registration of prompt gamma emission during thermal neutron capture. The setup consists of a curved mirror neutron guide and a radiation-resistant HPGe high-purity germanium detector. The detector is surrounded by lead shielding to suppress the natural background gamma level. The sample is placed in a vacuum channel and surrounded by a LiF shield to suppress the gamma background generated by scattered neutrons. This work presents characteristics of the experimental setup. An example of hydrogen concentration determining in a diamond powder made by detonation synthesis is given and on its basis, the sensitivity of the setup is calculated being ~4 ㎍.

A high-stability neutron generator for industrial online elemental analysis

  • Xiang-quan Chen;Lei Xiong;Hui Xie;Jing-fu Guo;Xue-ming Zhang;Yong-jun Dong
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제56권4호
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    • pp.1441-1453
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    • 2024
  • The yield stability of the neutron generator directly affects the accuracy of elemental analysis. This paper presents an industrial fully automatic neutron generator with a 48 mm neutron tube based on PLC to improve the stability and reliability of the neutron generator in industrial applications. By integrating a Kalman Filter with the PID algorithm in a PLC, the neutron yield of the generator is remarkably stabilized, achieving 1 × 108n/s. The neutron generator has been employed for industrial online elemental analysis. The results demonstrate that only a slight fluctuation of ±0.82 % exists in the neutron yield, and the reproducibility of the generator holds at a significant level of 0.05. This improved neutron generator can be applied to the online bulk analysis of carbon in coal-fired power stations and absolute measurement of neutron source emission rate.

Neutron activation analysis: Modelling studies to improve the neutron flux of Americium-Beryllium source

  • Didi, Abdessamad;Dadouch, Ahmed;Jai, Otman;Tajmouati, Jaouad;Bekkouri, Hassane El
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제49권4호
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    • pp.787-791
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    • 2017
  • Americium-beryllium (Am-Be; n, ${\gamma}$) is a neutron emitting source used in various research fields such as chemistry, physics, geology, archaeology, medicine, and environmental monitoring, as well as in the forensic sciences. It is a mobile source of neutron activity (20 Ci), yielding a small thermal neutron flux that is water moderated. The aim of this study is to develop a model to increase the neutron thermal flux of a source such as Am-Be. This study achieved multiple advantageous results: primarily, it will help us perform neutron activation analysis. Next, it will give us the opportunity to produce radio-elements with short half-lives. Am-Be single and multisource (5 sources) experiments were performed within an irradiation facility with a paraffin moderator. The resulting models mainly increase the thermal neutron flux compared to the traditional method with water moderator.

Time-frequency analysis of reactor neutron noise under bubble disturbance and control rod vibration

  • Yuan, Baoxin;Guo, Simao;Yang, Wankui;Zhang, Songbao;Zhong, Bin;Wei, Junxia;Ying, Yangjun
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제53권4호
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    • pp.1088-1099
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    • 2021
  • Time-frequency analysis technique is an effective analysis tool for non-stationary processes. In the field of reactor neutron noise, the time-frequency analysis method has not been thoroughly researched and widely used. This work has studied the time-frequency analysis of the reactor neutron noise experimental signals under bubble disturbance and control rod vibration. First, an experimental platform was established, and it could be employed to reactor neutron noise experiment and data acquisition. Secondly, two types of reactor neutron noise experiments were performed, and valid experimental data was obtained. Finally, time-frequency analysis was conducted on the experimental data, and effective analysis results were obtained in the low-frequency part. Through this work, it can be concluded that the time-frequency analysis technique can effectively investigate the core dynamics behavior and deepen the identification of the unstable core process.

SPECTRUM WEIGHTED RESPONSES OF SEVERAL DETECTORS IN MIXED FIELDS OF FAST AND THERMAL NEUTRONS

  • Kim, Sang In;Chang, Insu;Kim, Bong Hwan;Kim, Jang Lyul;Lee, Jung Il
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제46권2호
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    • pp.273-280
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    • 2014
  • The spectrum weighted responses of various detectors were calculated to provide guidance on the proper selection and use of survey instruments on the basis of their energy response characteristics on the neutron fields. To yield the spectrum weighted response, the detector response functions of 17 neutron-measuring devices were numerically folded with each of the produced calibration neutron spectra through the in-house developed software 'K-SWR'. The detectors' response functions were taken from the IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 403 (TRS-403). The reference neutron fields of 21 kinds with 2 spectra groups with different proportions of thermal and fast neutrons have been produced using neutrons from the $^{241}Am$-Be sources held in a graphite pile, a bare $^{241}Am$-Be source, and a DT neutron generator. Fluence-average energy ($E_{ave}$) varied from 3.8 MeV to 16.9 MeV, and the ambient-dose-equivalent rate [$H^*(10)/h$] varied from 0.99 to 16.5 mSv/h.

A prototype of the SiPM readout scintillator neutron detector for the engineering material diffractometer of CSNS

  • Yu, Qian;Tang, Bin;Huang, Chang;Wei, Yadong;Chen, Shaojia;Qiu, Lin;Wang, Xiuku;Xu, Hong;Sun, Zhijia;Wei, Guangyou;Tang, Mengjiao
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제54권3호
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    • pp.1030-1036
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    • 2022
  • A high detection efficiency thermal neutron detector based on the 6LiF/ZnS(Ag) scintillation screens, wavelength-shifting fibers (WLSF) and Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) readout is under development at China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) for the Engineering Material Diffractometer (EMD).A prototype with a sensitive volume of 180mm×192mm has been built. Signals from SiPMs are processed by the self-design Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The performances of this detector prototype are as follows: neutron detection efficiency could reach 50.5% at 1 Å, position resolution of 3, the dark count rate <0.1Hz, the maximum count rate >200KHz. Such detector prototype could be an elementary unit for applications in the EMD detector arrays.

Thermal neutron albedo and flux for different geometries neutron guide

  • Azimkhani, S.;Rezaei Ochbelagh, D.;Zolfagharpour, F.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • 제51권4호
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    • pp.1075-1080
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    • 2019
  • This paper presents a study on thermal neutron reflection properties of neutron guide for cylinder, spindle, elliptic and parabolic geometries using $^{241}Am-Be$ neutron source (5.2 Ci) and $BF_3$ detector, whereas neutron guide is important instrument for transportation of neutrons. To this goal, the required inner and outer radii of neutron guide have been calculated to achieve the highest guided thermal neutron flux based on MCNPX Monte Carlo code. The maximum flux of cylinder geometry with a length 50 cm has been obtained at an inner radius 9 cm and an outer radius 21 cm. Also, the maximum value of thermal neutron albedo is $0.46{\pm}0.001$ at 12 cm thickness of parabolic guide.