R. Bedogni, L. Russo, A. I. Castro Campoy, M. A. Caballero-Pacheco, D. Dashdondog, T. Napolitano, M. Del Franco, A. Calamida, S. Loreti, F. Moro, Antonino Pietropaolo
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
241Americium-boron (α,n) neutron sources have been produced for various application from nuclear industry to well logging or radiation protection. Compared to 241Americium–beryllium sources their specific emission rate is lower, but their spectrum is narrower, and their production cycle uses boron, which is less toxic than beryllium. Very few data are available in literature about the energy distribution of this neutron source: the 2001 version of Standard ISO 8529-1 reported a reference spectrum derived from 1970s data, exhibiting a single peak from about 1 to 6 MeV. Other spectra are available in recent works from PTB and NPL, based on high-resolution spectrometers and Bonner spheres. ENEA Frascati owns a 241Am-B neutron source with nominal emission rate 3.5 × 106 s−1. Knowing its spectrum is important, as this source is used to feed the HOTNES (Homogeneous Thermal Neutron Source) facility. A spectrometry experiment was organized relying on the recently developed NCT-WES neutron spectrometer. Belonging to the family of the Single Moderator Neutron Spectrometers, NCT-WES is a convenient alternative to Bonner spheres as it derives the whole spectrum from a single exposure. The experimental data were elaborated in comparison with the existing literature spectra. As a main results of the study, the spectrum of the ENEA 241Am-B neutron source nearly perfectly agrees with that derived at NPL.
期刊介绍:
The aims of this peer-reviewed online journal are to distribute and archive all relevant material required to document, assess, validate and reconstruct in detail the body of knowledge in the physical and related sciences.
The scope of EPJ Plus encompasses a broad landscape of fields and disciplines in the physical and related sciences - such as covered by the topical EPJ journals and with the explicit addition of geophysics, astrophysics, general relativity and cosmology, mathematical and quantum physics, classical and fluid mechanics, accelerator and medical physics, as well as physics techniques applied to any other topics, including energy, environment and cultural heritage.