• Title/Summary/Keyword: neutrons

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Benchmarks of subcriticality in accelerator-driven system at Kyoto University Critical Assembly

  • Pyeon, Cheol Ho;Yamanaka, Masao;Kim, Song-Hyun;Vu, Thanh-Mai;Endo, Tomohiro;Van Rooijen, Willem Fredrik G.;Chiba, Go
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.49 no.6
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    • pp.1234-1239
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    • 2017
  • Basic research on the accelerator-driven system is conducted by combining $^{235}U$-fueled and $^{232}Th$-loaded cores in the Kyoto University Critical Assembly with the pulsed neutron generator (14 MeV neutrons) and the proton beam accelerator (100 MeV protons with a heavy metal target). The results of experimental subcriticality are presented with a wide range of subcriticality level between near critical and 10,000 pcm, as obtained by the pulsed neutron source method, the Feynman-${\alpha}$ method, and the neutron source multiplication method.

Prompt Fission Neutron Spectra in Supercritical Accidents (Influence on the Fission Spectrum-averaged cross-sections of Some Threshold Activation Reactions)

  • Ro, Seung-Gy;Jun, Jae-Shik
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.119-126
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    • 1975
  • On the assumption that the spectral distribution of prompt fission neutrons released from supercritical accidents can be expressed by the generalized Cranberg form with two spectral parameters, which is then transformed into the single parameter form, a variation of the fission spectrum-averaged cross-sections for some threshold reactions with varying the spectral parameter has teen calculated using an electronic computer. It appears that the average cross-sections are very sensitive to the spectral deformation, especially those for the detectors having the threshold at high neutron energy are high compared to those for the detectors of which the threshold energies are comparatively low.

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Delayed fast neutron as an indicator of burn-up for nuclear fuel elements

  • Akyurek, T.;Shoaib, S.B.;Usman, S.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.53 no.10
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    • pp.3127-3132
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    • 2021
  • Feasibility study of burn-up analysis and monitoring using delayed fast neutrons was investigated at Missouri University of Science and Technology Reactor (MSTR). Burnt and fresh fuel elements were used to collect delayed fast neutron data for different power levels. Total reactivity varied depending on the burn-up rate of fuel elements for each core configuration. The regulating rod worth was 2.07E-04 𝚫k/k/in and 1.95E-04 𝚫k/k/in for T121 and T122 core configurations at 11 inch, respectively. Delayed fast neutron spectrum of F1 (burnt) and F16 (fresh) fuel elements were analyzed further, and a strong correlation was observed between delayed fast neutron emission and burn-up. According to the analyzed peaks in burnt and fresh fuels, reactor power dependency was observed and it was determined that delayed neutron provided more reliable results at reactor powers of 50 kW and above.

State-of-the-art progress of gaseous radiochemical method for detecting of ionizing radiation

  • Lebedev, S.G.;Yants, V.E.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.53 no.7
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    • pp.2075-2083
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    • 2021
  • The article provides a review of the research results obtained during of more than 20 years concerning using the gaseous radiochemical method (GRCM) for detecting of ionizing radiation. This method based on threshold nuclear reactions with production of radioactive noble gas which does not interact with the materials of gaseous tract. The applications of GRCM in the diagnostics of neutrinos, neutrons, charged particles, thermonuclear plasma thermometry, and the study of the structure and dynamics of astrophysical objects, position-sensitive dosimetry of neutron targets with accelerator driving, spatial distribution of the fast neutron flux density in a nuclear reactor allowing the transformation of longitudinal coordinate of neutron flux distribution into a temporal distribution of the radiochemical gas decay counting rate ("barcode" semblance) and measurement of bombarding particles spectra are described. Experimental testing of the described technologies was made on the neutron target driven with the linear proton accelerator of Institute for Nuclear Research of Russian Academy of Sciences (INR RAS).

Radiation damage to Ni-based alloys in Wolsong CANDU reactor environments

  • Kwon, Junhyun;Jin, Hyung-Ha;Lee, Gyeong-Geun;Park, Dong-Hwan
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.51 no.3
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    • pp.915-921
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    • 2019
  • Radiation damage due to neutrons has been calculated in Ni-based alloys in Wolsong CANDU reactor environments. Two damage parameters are considered: displacement damage, and transmutation gas production. We used the SPECTER and SRIM computer codes in quantifying radiation damage. In addition, damage caused by Ni two-step reactions was considered. Estimations were made for the annulus spacers in a CANDU reactor that are located axially along a fuel channel and made of Inconel X-750. The calculation results indicate that the transmutation gas production from the Ni two-step reactions is predominant as the effective full power year increases. The displacement damage due to recoil atoms produced from Ni two-step reactions accounts for over 30% out of the total displacement damage.

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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    • v.51 no.4
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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.

Distinct properties of tungsten austenitic stainless alloy as a potential nuclear engineering material

  • Salama, E.;Eissa, M.M.;Tageldin, A.S.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.51 no.3
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    • pp.784-791
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    • 2019
  • In the present study, a series of tungsten austenitic stainless steel alloys have been developed by interchanging the molybdenum in standard SS316 by tungsten. This was done to minimize the long-life residual activation occurred in molybdenum and nickel after decommissioning of the power plant. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the prepared alloys are determined. For the sake of increasing multifunction property of such series of tungsten-based austenitic stainless steel alloys, gamma shielding properties were studied experimentally by means of NaI(Tl) detector and theoretically calculated by using the XCOM program. Moreover, fast neutrons macroscopic removal cross-section been calculated. The obtained combined mechanical, structural and shielding properties indicated that the modified austenitic stainless steel sample containing 1.79% tungsten and 0.64% molybdenum has preferable properties among all other investigated samples in comparison with the standard SS316. These properties nominate this new composition in several nuclear application domains such as, nuclear shielding domain.

Chronic Effects of Hair, Blood And Testis In Black Mouse With Neutron Irradiation By Lying Flat Pose

  • Chun, Ki-Jung;Yoo, Bo-Kyung;Kim, Bong-Hee
    • Proceedings of the PSK Conference
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    • 2003.10b
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    • pp.105.1-105.1
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    • 2003
  • The purpose of this study is to investigate the biological effects in black mouse by neutron irradiation at HANARO reactor in KAERI. Neutrons readily penetrate the charged field of an atomic nucleus because they are electrically neural. And so it can fight cancer with the radiation released when an atom of the element boron absorbs a neutron. The main patient in BNCT facility is brain cancer and sometimes skin cancer in foreign countries until now. Therefore, mice were laid flat and so irradiated at the direction of the front. (omitted)

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Turn-off time improvement by fast neutron irradiation on pnp Si Bipolar Junction Transistor

  • Ahn, Sung Ho;Sun, Gwang Min;Baek, Hani
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.54 no.2
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    • pp.501-506
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    • 2022
  • Long turn-off time limits high frequency operation of Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs). Turn-off time decreases with increases in the recombination rate of minority carriers at switching transients. Fast neutron irradiation on a Si BJT incurs lattice damages owing to the displacement of silicon atoms. The lattice damages increase the recombination rate of injected holes with electrons, and decrease the hole lifetime in the base region of pnp Si BJT. Fast neutrons generated from a beryllium target with 30 MeV protons by an MC-50 cyclotron were irradiated onto pnp Si BJTs in experiment. The experimental results show that the turn-off time, including the storage time and fall time, decreases with increases in fast neutron fluence. Additionally, it is confirmed that the base current increases, and the collector current and base-to-collector current amplification ratio decrease due to fast neutron irradiation.

Potential of biochar reinforced concrete as neutron shielding material

  • Martellucci, Riccardo;Torsello, Daniele
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.54 no.9
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    • pp.3448-3451
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    • 2022
  • Biochar is a novel carbon based material derived from waste that shows promising properties for several applications. In this paper we investigate its potential use as a low cost, greener alternative to commonly used aggregates employed to enhance the neutron shielding performance of concrete. Monte Carlo simulations are performed with the PHITS code to estimate the neutron attenuation of blank and biochar-reinforced concrete exposed to high energy neutrons. We find that the shielding performance of concrete with 15% biochar is comparable with commonly used materials such as Boron Carbide at 20% and exceeds that of Basalt fibers with the same concentration, making these composites an interesting greener alternative to current solutions. A combination of biochar and heavier fillers also show extremely promising performance.