Analysis of displacement damage effects on the charge-coupled device induced by neutrons at Back-n in the China Spallation Neutron Source

Displacement damage effects on the charge-coupled device(CCD)induced by neutrons at the back-streaming white neutron source(Back-n)in the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)are analyzed according to an online irradiation experiment.The hot pixels,random telegraph signal(RTS),mean dark signal,dark current and dark signal non-uniformity(DSNU)induced by Back-n are presented.The dark current is calculated according to the mean dark signal at various integration times.The single-particle displacement damage and transient response are also observed based on the online measurement data.The trends of hot pixels,mean dark signal,DSNU and RTS degradation are related to the integration time and irradiation fluence.The mean dark signal,dark current and DSNU2 are nearly linear with neutron irradiation fluence when nearly all the pixels do not reach saturation.In addition,the mechanisms of the displacement damage effects on the CCD are demonstrated by combining the experimental results and technology computer-aided design(TCAD)simulation.Radiation-induced traps in the space charge region of the CCD will act as generation/recombination centers of electron-hole pairs,leading to an increase in the dark signal.

Silicon photomultiplier based scintillator thermal neutron detector for China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)

The energy-resolved neutron imaging spectrometer(ERNI)will be installed in 2022 according to the spectrometer construction plan of the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS).The instrument requires neutron detectors with the coverage area of approximately 4 m^(2)in 5°-170°neutron diffraction angle.The neutron detection efficiency needs to be better than 40%at 1 A neutron wavelength.The spatial resolution should be better than 3 mm×50 mm in the horizontal and vertical directions respectively.We develop a one-dimensional scintillator neutron detector which is composed of the^(6)Li F/Zn S(Ag)scintillation screens,the wavelength-shifting fiber(WLSF)array,the silicon photomultipliers(Si PMs),and the self-designed application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC)readout electronics.The pixel size of the detector is designed as 3 mm×50 mm,and the neutron-sensitive area is 50 mm×200 mm.The performance of the detector prototype is measured using neutron beam 20#of the CSNS.The maximum counting rate of 247 k Hz,and the detection efficiency of63%at 1.59 A are obtained.The test results show that the performance of the detector fulfills the physical requirements of the ERNI under construction at the CSNS.

SPAGINS:semiempirical parameterization for fragments in gamma-induced nuclear spallation

From the empirical phenomena of fragment distributions in nuclear spallation reactions,semiempirical formulas named SPAGINS were constructed to predict fragment cross-sections in high-energyγ-induced nuclear spallation reactions(PNSR).In constructing the SPAGINS formulas,theoretical models,including the TALYS toolkit,SPACS,and Rudstam formulas,were employed to study the general phenomenon of fragment distributions in PNSR with incident energies ranging from 100 to 1000 MeV.Considering the primary characteristics of PNSR,the SPAGINS formulas modify the EPAX and SPACS formulas and efficiently reproduce the measured data.The SPAGINS formulas provide a new and effective tool for predicting fragment production in PNSR.

SPALLATION ANALYSIS WITH A CLOSED TRANS-SCALE FORMULATION OF DAMAGE EVOLUTION

A closed,trans-scale formulation of damage evolution based on the statistical mi- crodamage mechanics is summarized in this paper.The dynamic function of damage bridges the mesoscopic and macroscopic evolution of damage.The spallation in an aluminium plate is studied with this formulation.It is found that the damage evolution is governed by several dimensionless parameters, i.e.,imposed Deborah numbers De~* and De,Mach number M and damage number S.In particular, the most critical mode of the macroscopic damage evolution,i.e.,the damage localization,is deter- mined by Deborah number De~*.Deborah number De~* reflects the coupling and competition between the macroscopic loading and the microdamage growth.Therefore,our results reveal the multi-scale nature of spallation.In fact,the damage localization results from the nonlinearity of the microdamage growth.In addition,the dependence of the damage rate on imposed Deborah numbers De~* and De, Mach number M and damage number S is discussed.

Spallation Mechanism of RC Slabs Under Contact Detonation

The spallation of the concrete slabs or walls resulting from contact detonation constitutes risk to the personnel and equipment inside the structures because of the high speed concrete fragments even though the overall structures or structural members are not destroyed completely. Correctly predicting the damage caused by any potential contact detonation can lead to better fortification design to withstand the blast Ioadings. It is therefore of great significance to study the mechanism involved in the spallation of concrete slabs and walls. Existing studies on this topic often employ simplified material models and 1D wave analysis, which cannot reproduce the realistic response in the spallation process. Numerical simulations are therefore carried out under different contact blast Ioadings in the free air using LS-DYNA. Sophisticated concrete and reinforcing bar material models are adopted, taking into account the strain rate effect on both tension and compression. The erosion technique is used to model the fracture and failure of materials under tensile stress. Full processes of the deformation and dynamic damage of reinforced concrete （RC） slabs and plain concrete slabs are thus observed realistically. It is noted that with the increase of quantity of explosive, the dimensions of damage crater increase and the slabs experience four different damage patterns, namely explosive crater, spalling, perforation, and punching. Comparison between the simulation results of plain concrete slabs and those of RC slabs show that reinforcing bars can enhance the integrity and shearing resistance of the slabs to a certain extent, and meanwhile attenuate the ejection velocity and decrease the size of the concrete fragments. Therefore, optimizing reinforcement arrangement can improve the anti-spallation capability of the slabs and walls to a certain extent.

Analysis of displacement damage effects on bipolar transistors irradiated by spallation neutrons

Displacement damage induced by neutron irradiation in China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS) is studied on bipolar transistors with lateral PNP, substrate PNP, and vertical NPN configurations, respectively. Comparison of the effects on different type transistors is conducted based on displacement damage factor, and the differences are analyzed through minority carrier lifetime calculation and structure analysis. The influence of CSNS neutrons irradiation on the lateral PNP transistors is analyzed by the gate-controlled method, including the oxide charge accumulation, surface recombine velocity,and minority carrier lifetime. The results indicate that the total ionizing dose in CSNS neutron radiation environment is negligible in this study. The displacement damage factors based on 1-MeV equivalent neutron flux of different transistors are consistent between Xi’an pulse reactor(XAPR) and CSNS.

Yield of long-lived fission product transmutation using proton-, deuteron-, and alpha particle-induced spallation

The transmutation of long-lived fission products through spallation induced by light nuclides was investi-gated for the purpose of determining the feasibility of this approach for long-lived fission products,in both economic and environmental terms.The cross-section data were obtained from the TALYS Evaluated Nuclear Data Library(TENDL).A thick target model was used to study the consumption of the target isotopes in the transmutation process.The transmutation yield was calculated using the highest beam intensity available with the China initiative accelerator-driven system.It was found that the light nuclide-induced spallation reaction can significantly reduce the radio toxicity of the investigated long-lived fission products.Using the transmutation target made of elemental LLFP and the proton beam with an intensity of 5 mA,the consumption of 90 Sr,93 Zr,107 Pd,or 137 Cs can reach approximately 500 g per year.

Assessment of the power deposition on the MEGAPIE spallation target using the GEANT4 toolkit

This work aims at evaluating the reliability of the GEANT4(GEometry ANd Tracking 4) Monte Carlo(MC) toolkit in calculating the power deposition on the Megawatt Pilot Experiment(MEGAPIE), the first liquid–metal spallation target worldwide. A new choice of codes to study and optimize this target is provided. The evaluation of the GEANT4 toolkit is carried out in comparison with the MCNPX and FLUKA MC codes. The MEGAPIE is an international project led by the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. It aims to demonstrate the safe operation of an intense neutron source to power the next generation of nuclear reactors, accelerator-driven systems(ADSs). In this study, we used the GEANT4 MC toolkit to calculate the power deposited by fast protons on the MEGAPIE target.The calculation focuses on several structures and regions.The predictions of our calculations were compared and discussed with that of the MCNPX and FLUKA codes,adopted by the MEGAPIE project. The comparison shows that there is a very good agreement between our results and those of the reference codes.

A new spallation mechanism of thermal barrier coatings on aero-engine turbine blades

Laboratory experiments were conducted to study the spallation behaviour of thermal barrier coatings(TBCs) on aero-engine turbine blades manufactured by the electron-beam physical vapour deposition technique(EB-PVD). Intact blades were heated at temperature 1135℃ in a furnace for certain time and then cooled to the room temperature in the laboratory condition. It was found that no spallation occurred during cooling, but spallation happened at constant room temperature after cooling. The spallation mechanism is studied by using the mechanical model developed(Harvey 2017 and Wang 2017), which are based on the hypothesis of pockets of energy concentration(PECs). Some observations of the spallation behaviour are well predicted by the model.

Neutronic analysis of deuteron-driven spallation target

Deuteron-driven spallation targets have garnered attention recently because they can provide high-energy neutrons to transmute long-lifetime fission products.In this study,the Geant4 toolkit was used to simulate the inter-action between a deuteron beam at 500 MeV and a com-posite target composed of alternating lead-bismuth eutectic(LBE)and water.The water was used because it may be employed as a target coolant.The energy spectrum,neu-tron yield,average energy,and total energy of the emitted neutrons were calculated for different thicknesses and thickness ratios between the LBE and water.For a constant target thickness,the neutron yield increases with an increasing thickness ratio of LBE to H 2 O,while the aver-age energy of the emitted neutrons decreases with an increasing in the aforementioned thickness ratio.These two aspects support the use of a pure target,either LBE or water.However,with an increasing LBE-to-H 2 O thickness ratio,the total energy of the emitted neutrons increases and then decreases.This result supports the addition of water into the LBE target.The angular distributions of the emitted neutrons show that the rear of the target is suit-able for loading nuclear waste containing minor actinides and long-lifetime fission products.

Production threshold impact on a GEANT4 calculation of the power deposition in a fast domain: MEGAPIE spallation target

The calculation time in the Monte Carlo simulations consistently represents an essential issue. It is often very long, and its decrease constitutes a challenge for the simulator. Generally, an MC simulation is qualified as quality or not according to two main criteria: the calculation time and the accuracy of the results. However, in most cases, the optimization of one criterion affects negatively the other. Therefore, a compromise between both of them is always required in this kind of simulation. The present work aims at studying the impact of the production threshold(or cut) of the GEANT4 toolkit on the calculation of the power deposition in the MEGAPIE spallation target.The production threshold of secondaries is a GEANT4 intrinsic parameter. It indicates the limit of energy we can reach in the production of secondary particles. This study has allowed us to make the following conclusions. First,the influence of the cut on the calculation of the deposited power depends on the volume size, its arrangement and the importance of the electromagnetic processes occurring within. Second, the accuracy of the calculations can be acceptable only below a given value of the cut energy.Third, this accuracy remains almost unchangeable from a certain value of the cut. The study has also made it possible to explore the prevalence of certain interactions in the zone of spallation in the MEGAPIE target.

Dynamic Spallation in Uranium under Laser Shock Loading

The spall behavior of uranium is investigated using direct laser ablation loading experiments. The uranium targets are cut and ground to 0.05 mm, 0.1 mm, and 0.15 mm in thickness. Laser energies are varied to yield a constant peak pressure. This results in different strain rates and varying degrees of damage to the uranium targets. The spall strength is calculated and analyzed from the free surface velocity histories recorded using a line velocity interferometer for any reflections system. The spall strength increases from 4.3 GPa to 9.4 GPa with strain rates ranging from 4.0 × 10~6 s^(-1) to 1.7 × 10~7 s^(-1). Post-mortem analysis is performed on the recovered samples, revealing the twin-matrix interfaces together with the inclusions to be the primary factor governing the spall fracture of uranium.

Displacement damage in optocouplers induced by high energy neutrons at back-n in China Spallation Neutron Source

Neutron radiation experiments of optocouplers at back-streaming white neutrons(back-n)in China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)are presented.The displacement damages induced by neutron radiation are analyzed.The performance degradations of two types of optocouplers are compared.The degradations of current transfer ratio(CTR)are analyzed,and the mechanisms induced by radiation are also demonstrated.With the increase of the accumulated fluence,the CTR is degrading linearly with neutron fluence.The radiation hardening of optocouplers can be improved when the forward current is increased.Other parameters related to CTR degradation of optocouplers are also analyzed.

Development of a ~3He Gas Filling Station at the China Spallation Neutron Source

At the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS), we have developed a custom gas-filling station, a glassblowing workshop, and a spin-exchange optical pumping(SEOP) system for producing high-quality ^(3)He-based neutron spin filter(NSF) cells. The gas-filling station is capable of routinely filling ^(3)He cells made from GE180 glass of various dimensions, to be used as neutron polarizers and analyzers on beamlines at the CSNS. Performance tests on cells fabricated at our gas-filling station are conducted via neutron transmission and nuclear-magneticresonance measurements, revealing nominal filling pressures, and a saturated ~3He polarization in the region of 80%, with a lifetime of approximately 240 hours. These results demonstrate our ability to produce competitive NSF cells to meet the ever-increasing research needs of the polarized neutron research community.

Further Studies of BURSTS and Spallation in High-Energy Heavy Ion Reactions

Aspects of BURSTS and Spallation reactions induced by high-energy heavy ions in thick targets (>10 cm thick) will be investigated: BURSTS are reviewed from a historical and phenomenological point-of-view. Details of interactions in nuclear emulsions will be compared for irradiations of 72 GeV 22Ne-ions from Dubna with irradiations of 72 GeV 40Ar-ions from Berkeley. Measured correlations in individual interactions between multiplicities of “minimum ionizing particles”, ns, and “black prongs”, nb, will be shown as “ns-vs.-nb” per event for BURSTS and separately for Spallation in interactions of 72 GeV 22Ne-ions. Monte Carlo calculations, based on the MCNPX 2.7 code, have been carried out for 72 GeV 22Ne interacting in nuclear emulsions: The correlation between ns and nb in Spallation reactions could be understood. However, “ns-vs.-nb” correlations from BURST-interactions could not be reproduced with this model for events with small numbers of heavy prongs nh ≤ 10. For large numbers of heavy prongs with nh > 10 one could find some agreement between experiments and calculations, however, not in all details. Further experimental and theoretical studies are necessary before one has a complete understanding of BURST interactions in high-energy heavy ion reactions.

Spallation Yield of Neutrons Produced in Thick Lead Target by 400 MeV/u Carbon Ions

Measurement of the neutron yield is performed at a primary energy of 400 MeV/u carbons for the Pb target.Water-bath activation-foil method is used in a moderation measurement with Au foils to detect the moderated neutrons. The neutron yield is determined to be 18.4±2.1 per carbon by integrating the neutron flux over the entire water volume. The corresponding simulation values are performed by Geant4 code with three models to compare with the experimental results. The comparison shows that the calculated result with the INCL model is in good agreement with the experimental data.

2-29 Study of Spallation Reaction by High EnergyProtons and Carbons

The spallation reaction was studied with 250 MeV proton beam and 400 MeV/u carbon beam at the HIRFL-CSRin Lanzhou. The neutron and residual radionuclide production were measured by using the off-line -spectroscopymethod. The radiation dose induced in spallation reaction was studied by using the thermoluminescent detectors.Moreover, an on-line neutron measurement method was developed by using a digital pulse shape discriminationsystem. All of the experimental method will be used to study the neurotics of the ADS system.

1-21 Spallation Isotope Backgrounds at JUNO

The JUNO experiment[1] is the successor to Daya Bay. It envisages the construction of the world’s largest scintillator detector, which it will use primarily to detect reactor neutrinos, with the goal of determining the neutrino mass hierarchy.The cosmogenic muons, i.e. the muons created by the interaction of cosmic rays in the atmosphere, provide a potentially dangerous background. They can interact with the 12C inside the detector creating, among other things, the isotopes 9Li and 8He; some of their decays can emit a neutron, mimicking the double coincidence used to identify the IBD reactor neutrino signal.

5-13 Preliminary Neutronic Design for the Conceptual Fluid Granular Spallation Target

The accelerator-driven subcritical system(ADS) has promising future in transmutation of nuclear spent fuels[1].A new concept of spallation target design for ADS was performed. In order to withstand high proton energy deposition, a new conceptual design of fluid granular spallation target has been proposed.

2-34 Neutron Time-of-Flight Spectrometer Based on HIRFL for Studies of Spallation Reactions Related to ADS Project

The combination of nuclear models with a Monte Carlo transportation code like MCNP, GEANT4 and FLUKA,nucleon meson transport codes (NMTC) are widely utilized for designing of Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS).However, the nuclear models embedded into transportation codes need to be validated by experimental measure-ments. A Neutron Time-of-Flight (NTOF) spectrometer, which is based on Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou(HIRFL), is designed for further investigations of reaction mechanisms and neutron productions of proton inducedspallation reactions related to the ADS project. The NTOF spectrometer is capable of measuring neutrons in awide energy and angular ranges. It consists of a beam pick-up detector and 10 individual neutron detection modules.The schematic view of the NTOF spectrometer is shown in Fig. 1.