As a non-destructive testing technology,neutron imaging plays an important role in various fields,including material science,nuclear engineering,and fundamental science.An imaging detector with a neutron-sensitive ima...As a non-destructive testing technology,neutron imaging plays an important role in various fields,including material science,nuclear engineering,and fundamental science.An imaging detector with a neutron-sensitive image intensifier has been developed and demonstrated to achieve good spatial resolution and timing resolution.However,the influence of the working voltage on the performance of the neutron-sensitive imaging intensifier has not been studied.To optimize the performance of the neutron-sensitive image intensifier at different voltages,experiments have been performed at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)neutron beamline.The change in the light yield and imaging quality with different voltages has been acquired.It is shown that the image quality benefits from the high gain of the microchannel plate(MCP)and the high accelerating electric field between the MCP and the screen.Increasing the accelerating electric field is more effective than increasing the gain of MCPs for the improvement of the imaging quality.Increasing the total gain of the MCP stack can be realized more effectively by improving the gain of the standard MCP than that of the n MCP.These results offer a development direction for image intensifiers in the future.展开更多
An innovative monochromator shielding is designed and implemented for the cold neutron spectrometers XINGZHI and BOYA operated by Renmin University of China at China Advanced Research Reactor.Via Monte Carlo simulatio...An innovative monochromator shielding is designed and implemented for the cold neutron spectrometers XINGZHI and BOYA operated by Renmin University of China at China Advanced Research Reactor.Via Monte Carlo simulations and careful mechanical designs,a shielding configuration has been successfully developed to satisfy safety requirements of below 3μSv/h dose rate at its exterior,meanwhile fulfilling space,floor load and nonmagnetic requirements.Composite materials are utilized to form the sandwich-type shielding walls:the inner layer of boron carbide rubber,the middle layer of steel-encased lead and the outer layer of borated polyethylene.Special-shaped liftable shielding blocks are incorporated to facilitate a continuous adjustment of the neutron energy while preventing radiation leakage.Our work has demonstrated that by utilizing composite shielding materials,along with the sandwich structure and liftable shielding blocks,a compact and lightweight shielding solution can be achieved.This enables the realization of advanced neutron scattering instruments that provide expanded space of measurement,larger energy and momentum coverage,and higher flux on the sample.This shielding represents the first of its kind in neutron scattering instruments in China.Following its successful operation,it has been subsequently employed by other neutron instruments across the country.展开更多
A benchmark experiment on^(238)U slab samples was conducted using a deuterium-tritium neutron source at the China Institute of Atomic Energy.The leakage neutron spectra within energy levels of 0.8-16 MeV at 60°an...A benchmark experiment on^(238)U slab samples was conducted using a deuterium-tritium neutron source at the China Institute of Atomic Energy.The leakage neutron spectra within energy levels of 0.8-16 MeV at 60°and 120°were measured using the time-of-flight method.The samples were prepared as rectangular slabs with a 30 cm square base and thicknesses of 3,6,and 9 cm.The leakage neutron spectra were also calculated using the MCNP-4C program based on the latest evaluated files of^(238)U evaluated neutron data from CENDL-3.2,ENDF/B-Ⅷ.0,JENDL-5.0,and JEFF-3.3.Based on the comparison,the deficiencies and improvements in^(238)U evaluated nuclear data were analyzed.The results showed the following.(1)The calculated results for CENDL-3.2 significantly overestimated the measurements in the energy interval of elastic scattering at 60°and 120°.(2)The calculated results of CENDL-3.2 overestimated the measurements in the energy interval of inelastic scattering at 120°.(3)The calculated results for CENDL-3.2 significantly overestimated the measurements in the 3-8.5 MeV energy interval at 60°and 120°.(4)The calculated results with JENDL-5.0 were generally consistent with the measurement results.展开更多
Because of their economy and applicability,high-power thyristor devices are widely used in the power supply systems for large fusion devices.When high-dose neutrons produced by deuterium–tritium(D–T)fusion reactions...Because of their economy and applicability,high-power thyristor devices are widely used in the power supply systems for large fusion devices.When high-dose neutrons produced by deuterium–tritium(D–T)fusion reactions are irradiated on a thyristor device for a long time,the electrical characteristics of the device change,which may eventually cause irreversible damage.In this study,with the thyristor switch of the commutation circuit in the quench protection system(QPS)of a fusion device as the study object,the relationship between the internal physical structure and external electrical parameters of the irradiated thyristor is established.Subsequently,a series of targeted thyristor physical simulations and neutron irradiation experiments are conducted to verify the accuracy of the theoretical analysis.In addition,the effect of irradiated thyristor electrical characteristic changes on the entire QPS is studied by accurate simulation,providing valuable guidelines for the maintenance and renovation of the QPS.展开更多
The heterogeneous variational nodal method(HVNM)has emerged as a potential approach for solving high-fidelity neutron transport problems.However,achieving accurate results with HVNM in large-scale problems using high-...The heterogeneous variational nodal method(HVNM)has emerged as a potential approach for solving high-fidelity neutron transport problems.However,achieving accurate results with HVNM in large-scale problems using high-fidelity models has been challenging due to the prohibitive computational costs.This paper presents an efficient parallel algorithm tailored for HVNM based on the Message Passing Interface standard.The algorithm evenly distributes the response matrix sets among processors during the matrix formation process,thus enabling independent construction without communication.Once the formation tasks are completed,a collective operation merges and shares the matrix sets among the processors.For the solution process,the problem domain is decomposed into subdomains assigned to specific processors,and the red-black Gauss-Seidel iteration is employed within each subdomain to solve the response matrix equation.Point-to-point communication is conducted between adjacent subdomains to exchange data along the boundaries.The accuracy and efficiency of the parallel algorithm are verified using the KAIST and JRR-3 test cases.Numerical results obtained with multiple processors agree well with those obtained from Monte Carlo calculations.The parallelization of HVNM results in eigenvalue errors of 31 pcm/-90 pcm and fission rate RMS errors of 1.22%/0.66%,respectively,for the 3D KAIST problem and the 3D JRR-3 problem.In addition,the parallel algorithm significantly reduces computation time,with an efficiency of 68.51% using 36 processors in the KAIST problem and 77.14% using 144 processors in the JRR-3 problem.展开更多
Nondestructive and noninvasive neutron assays are essential applications of neutron techniques.Neutron resonance transmission analysis(NRTA)is a powerful nondestructive method for investigating the elemental compositi...Nondestructive and noninvasive neutron assays are essential applications of neutron techniques.Neutron resonance transmission analysis(NRTA)is a powerful nondestructive method for investigating the elemental composition of an object.The back-streaming neutron line(Back-n)is a newly built time-of-flight facility at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)that provides neutrons in the eV to 300 MeV range.A feasibility study of the NRTA method for nuclide identification was conducted at the CSNS Back-n via two test experiments.The results demonstrate that it is feasible to identify different elements and isotopes in samples using the NRTA method at Back-n.This study reveals its potential future applications.展开更多
The yield ratios of neutron-proton(R(n/p))and^(3)H-^(3)He(R(^(3)H∕^(3)He))with reduced rapidity from 0 to 0.5 were simulated at 50 MeV/u even-even ^(36−56)Ca+^(40)Ca,even-even ^(48−78)Ni+^(58)Ni,and ^(100−139)Sn(ever...The yield ratios of neutron-proton(R(n/p))and^(3)H-^(3)He(R(^(3)H∕^(3)He))with reduced rapidity from 0 to 0.5 were simulated at 50 MeV/u even-even ^(36−56)Ca+^(40)Ca,even-even ^(48−78)Ni+^(58)Ni,and ^(100−139)Sn(every third isotopes)+112 Sn for full reduced impact parameters using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics(IQMD)model.The neutron and proton density distributions and root-mean-square radii of the reaction systems were obtained using the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock model,which was used for the phase space initialization of the projectile and target in IQMD.We defined the unified neutron skin thickness asΔRnp=<r^(2)>^(1∕2) n−<r^(2)>^(1∕2)p,which was negative for neutron-deficient nuclei.The unifiedΔRnp values for nuclei with the same relative neutron excess from different isotopic chains were nearly equal,except for extreme neutron-rich isotopes,which is a type of scaling behavior.The yield ratios of the three isotopic chain-induced reactions,which depended on the reduced impact parameter and unified neutron skin thickness,were studied.The results showed that both R(n/p)and R(^(3)H∕^(3)He)decreased with a reduced impact parameter for extreme neutron-deficient isotopes;however,they increased with reduced impact parameters for extreme neutron-rich isotopes,and increased with theΔRnp of the projectiles for all reduced impact parameters.In addition,a scaling phenomenon was observed betweenΔR np and the yield ratios in peripheral colli-sions from different isotopic chain projectiles(except for extreme neutron-rich isotopes).Thus,R(n/p)and R(^(3)H∕^(3)He)from peripheral collisions were suggested as experimental probes for extracting the neutron or proton skin thicknesses of non-extreme neutron-rich nuclei from different isotopic chains.展开更多
A new measurement method for the spatial distribution of neutron beam flux in boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)is being developed based on the two-dimensional Micromegas detector.To address the issue of long process...A new measurement method for the spatial distribution of neutron beam flux in boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)is being developed based on the two-dimensional Micromegas detector.To address the issue of long processing times in traditional offline position reconstruction methods,this paper proposes a field programmable gate array based online position reconstruction method utilizing the micro-time projection chamber principle.This method encapsulates key technical aspects:a self-adaptive serial link technique built upon the dynamical adjustment of the delay chain length,fast sorting,a coordinate-matching technique based on the mapping between signal timestamps and random access memory(RAM)addresses,and a precise start point-merging technique utilizing a circular combined RAM.The performance test of the selfadaptive serial link shows that the bit error rate of the link is better than 10-12 at a confidence level of 99%,ensuring reliable data transmission.The experiment utilizing the readout electronics and Micromegas detector shows a spatial resolution of approximately 1.4 mm,surpassing the current method’s resolution level of 5 mm.The beam experiment confirms that the readout electronics system can obtain the flux spatial distribution of neutron beams online,thus validating the feasibility of the position reconstruction method.The online position reconstruction method avoids traditional methods,such as bubble sorting and traversal searching,simplifies the design of the logic firmware,and reduces the time complexity from O(n2)to O(n).This study contributes to the advancement in measuring neutron beam flux for BNCT.展开更多
High-entropy alloys(HEAs)possess outstanding features such as corrosion resistance,irradiation resistance,and good mechan-ical properties.A few HEAs have found applications in the fields of aerospace and defense.Exten...High-entropy alloys(HEAs)possess outstanding features such as corrosion resistance,irradiation resistance,and good mechan-ical properties.A few HEAs have found applications in the fields of aerospace and defense.Extensive studies on the deformation mech-anisms of HEAs can guide microstructure control and toughness design,which is vital for understanding and studying state-of-the-art structural materials.Synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction are necessary techniques for materials science research,especially for in situ coupling of physical/chemical fields and for resolving macro/microcrystallographic information on materials.Recently,several re-searchers have applied synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction methods to study the deformation mechanisms,phase transformations,stress behaviors,and in situ processes of HEAs,such as variable-temperature,high-pressure,and hydrogenation processes.In this review,the principles and development of synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction are presented,and their applications in the deformation mechanisms of HEAs are discussed.The factors that influence the deformation mechanisms of HEAs are also outlined.This review fo-cuses on the microstructures and micromechanical behaviors during tension/compression or creep/fatigue deformation and the application of synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction methods to the characterization of dislocations,stacking faults,twins,phases,and intergrain/interphase stress changes.Perspectives on future developments of synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction and on research directions on the deformation mechanisms of novel metals are discussed.展开更多
Boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)is recognized as a precise binary targeted radiotherapy technique that effectively eliminates tumors through the^(10)B(n,α)^(7)Li nuclear reaction.Among various neutron sources,acce...Boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)is recognized as a precise binary targeted radiotherapy technique that effectively eliminates tumors through the^(10)B(n,α)^(7)Li nuclear reaction.Among various neutron sources,accelerator-based sources have emerged as particularly promising for BNCT applications.The^(7)Li(p,n)^(7)Be reaction is highly regarded as a potential neutron source for BNCT,owing to its low threshold energy for the reaction,significant neutron yield,appropriate average neutron energy,and additional benefits.This study utilized Monte Carlo simulations to model the physical interactions within a lithium target subjected to proton bombardment,including neutron moderation by an MgF_(2)moderator and subsequent BNCT dose analysis using a Snyder head phantom.The study focused on calculating the yields of epithermal neutrons for various incident proton energies,finding an optimal energy at 2.7 MeV.Furthermore,the Snyder head phantom was employed in dose simulations to validate the effectiveness of this specific incident energy when utilizing a^(7)Li(p,n)^(7)Be neutron source for BNCT purposes.展开更多
Neutron radiography is a crucial nondestructive testing technology widely used in the aerospace,military,and nuclear industries.However,because of the physical limitations of neutron sources and collimators,the result...Neutron radiography is a crucial nondestructive testing technology widely used in the aerospace,military,and nuclear industries.However,because of the physical limitations of neutron sources and collimators,the resulting neutron radiographic images inevitably exhibit multiple distortions,including noise,geometric unsharpness,and white spots.Furthermore,these distortions are particularly significant in compact neutron radiography systems with low neutron fluxes.Therefore,in this study,we devised a multi-distortion suppression network that employs a modified generative adversarial network to improve the quality of degraded neutron radiographic images.Real neutron radiographic image datasets with various types and levels of distortion were built for the first time as multi-distortion suppression datasets.Thereafter,the coordinate attention mechanism was incorporated into the backbone network to augment the capability of the proposed network to learn the abstract relationship between ideally clear and degraded images.Extensive experiments were performed;the results show that the proposed method can effectively suppress multiple distortions in real neutron radiographic images and achieve state-of-theart perceptual visual quality,thus demonstrating its application potential in neutron radiography.展开更多
We proposed and compared three methods(filter burnup,single energy burnup,and burnup extremum analysis)to build a high-resolution neutronics model for 238Pu production in high-flux reactors.The filter burnup and singl...We proposed and compared three methods(filter burnup,single energy burnup,and burnup extremum analysis)to build a high-resolution neutronics model for 238Pu production in high-flux reactors.The filter burnup and single energy burnup methods have no theoretical approximation and can achieve a spectrum resolution of up to~1 eV,thereby constructing the importance curve and yield curve of the full energy range.The burnup extreme analysis method combines the importance and yield curves to consider the influence of irradiation time on production efficiency,thereby constructing extreme curves.The three curves,which quantify the transmutation rate of the nuclei in each energy region,are of physical significance because they have similar distributions.A high-resolution neutronics model for ^(238)Pu production was established based on these three curves,and its universality and feasibility were proven.The neutronics model can guide the neutron spectrum optimization and improve the yield of ^(238)Pu by up to 18.81%.The neutronics model revealed the law of nuclei transmutation in all energy regions with high spectrum resolution,thus providing theoretical support for high-flux reactor design and irradiation production of ^(238)Pu.展开更多
The neutron-induced total cross sections of natural lead have been measured in a wide energy range(0.3 eV-20 MeV)on the back-streaming white neutron beamline(Back-n)at the China Spallation Neutron Source.Neutron energ...The neutron-induced total cross sections of natural lead have been measured in a wide energy range(0.3 eV-20 MeV)on the back-streaming white neutron beamline(Back-n)at the China Spallation Neutron Source.Neutron energy was determined by the neutron total cross-section spectrometer using the time-of-flight technique.A fast multi-cell fission chamber was used as the neutron detector,and a 10-mm-thick high-purity natural lead sample was employed for the neutron transmission measurements.The on-beam background was determined using Co,In,Ag,and Cd filters.The excitation function of ^(nat)Pb(n,tot)reaction below 20 MeV was calculated using the TALYS-1.96 nuclear-reaction modeling program.The present results were compared with previous results,the evaluated data available in the five major evaluated nuclear data libraries(i.e.,ENDF/B-VIII.0,JEFF-3.3,JENDL-5,CENDL-3.2,and BROND-3.1),and the theoretical calculation curve.Good agreement was found between the new results and those of previous experiments and with the theoretical curves in the corresponding region.This measurement obtained the neutron total cross section of natural lead with good accuracy over a wide energy range and added experimental data in the resonance energy range.This provides more reliable experimental data for nuclear engineering design and nuclear data evaluation of lead.展开更多
It has recently been shown that incident particles, neutrons, can initiate the freezing in a supercooled water volume. This new finding may have ramifications for the interpretation of both experimental data on the nu...It has recently been shown that incident particles, neutrons, can initiate the freezing in a supercooled water volume. This new finding may have ramifications for the interpretation of both experimental data on the nucleation of laboratory samples of supercooled water and perhaps more importantly on the interpretation of ice nucleation involved in cloud physics. For example, if some fraction of the cloud nucleation previously attributed to dust, soot, or aerosols has been caused by cosmogenic neutrons, fresh consideration is required in the context of climate models. Moreover, as cosmogenic neutrons, most being muon-induced, have much greater flux at high latitudes, estimates of ice nucleates in these regions may be larger than required to accurately model cloud and condensation properties. This discrepancy has been pointed out in IPCC reports. Our paper discusses the connection between the new concept of neutrons nucleating supercooled water and the need for a new source of nucleation in high latitude clouds, ideally causing others to review current data, or to analyse future data with this idea in mind. .展开更多
The crystal structure of CaSrFe<sub>0.75</sub>Co<sub>0.75</sub>Mn<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6−δ</sub> is investigated through neutron diffraction techniques in this study. The...The crystal structure of CaSrFe<sub>0.75</sub>Co<sub>0.75</sub>Mn<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6−δ</sub> is investigated through neutron diffraction techniques in this study. The material is synthesized using a solid-state synthesis method at a temperature of 1200˚C. Neutron diffraction data is subjected to Rietveld refinement, and a comparative analysis with X-ray diffraction (XRD) data is performed to unravel the structural details of the material. The findings reveal that the synthesized material exhibits a cubic crystal structure with a Pm-3m phase. The neutron diffraction results offer valuable insights into the arrangement of atoms within the lattice, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the material’s structural properties. This research enhances our knowledge of CaSrFe0.75</sub>Co0.75</sub>Mn0.5</sub>O6−δ</sub>, with potential implications for its applications in various technological and scientific domains.展开更多
Aluminum is the primary structural material in nuclear engineering,and its cross section induced by 14-MeV neutrons is of great significance.To address the issue of insufficient accuracy for the^(27)Al(n,2n)^(26)Al re...Aluminum is the primary structural material in nuclear engineering,and its cross section induced by 14-MeV neutrons is of great significance.To address the issue of insufficient accuracy for the^(27)Al(n,2n)^(26)Al reaction cross section,the activation method and accelerator mass spectrometry(AMS)technique were used to determine the^(27)Al(n,2n)^(26)Al cross section,which could be used as a D-T plasma ion temperature monitor in fusion reactors.At the China Academy of Engineering Physics,neutron activation was performed using a K-400 neutron generator produced by the T(d,n)4He reaction.The^(26)Al∕^(27)Al isotope ratios were measured using the newly installed GYIG 1 MV AMS at the Institute of Geochemistry,Chinese Academy of Sciences.The neutron flux was monitored by measuring the activity of 92mNb produced by the 93Nb(n,2n)92mNb reaction.The measured results were compared with available data in the experimental nuclear reaction database,and the measured values showed a reasonable degree of consistency with partially available literature data.The newly acquired cross-sectional data at 12 neutron energy points through systematic measurements clarified the divergence,which has two different growth trends from the existing experimental values.The obtained results are also compared with the corresponding evaluated database,and the newly calculated excitation functions with TALYS−1.95 and EMPIRE−3.2 codes,the agreement with CENDL−3.2,TENDL-2021 and EMPIRE−3.2 results are generally acceptable.A substantial improvement in the knowledge of the^(27)Al(n,2n)^(26)Al reaction excitation function was obtained in the present work,which will lay the foundation for the diagnosis of the fusion ion temperature,testing of the nuclear physics model,evaluation of nuclear data,etc.展开更多
Owing to the immobility of traditional reactors and spallation neutron sources,the demand for compact thermal neutron radiography(CTNR)based on accelerator neutron sources has rapidly increased in industrial applicati...Owing to the immobility of traditional reactors and spallation neutron sources,the demand for compact thermal neutron radiography(CTNR)based on accelerator neutron sources has rapidly increased in industrial applications.Recently,thermal neutron radiography experiments based on a D-T neutron generator performed by Hefei Institutes of Physical Science indicated a significant resolution deviation between the experimental results and the values calculated using the traditional resolution model.The experimental result was up to 23%lower than the calculated result,which hinders the achievement of the design goal of a compact neutron radiography system.A GEANT4 Monte Carlo code was developed to simulate the CTNR process,aiming to identify the key factors leading to resolution deviation.The effects of a low collimation ratio and high-energy neutrons were analyzed based on the neutron beam environment of the CTNR system.The results showed that the deviation was primarily caused by geometric distortion at low collimation ratios and radiation noise induced by highenergy neutrons.Additionally,the theoretical model was modified by considering the imaging position and radiation noise factors.The modified theoretical model was in good agreement with the experimental results,and the maximum deviation was reduced to 4.22%.This can be useful for the high-precision design of CTNR systems.展开更多
A new scintillating fiber detector inside magnetic shielding tube was designed and assembled for use in the next round of fusion experiments in the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak to provide D–T neutron...A new scintillating fiber detector inside magnetic shielding tube was designed and assembled for use in the next round of fusion experiments in the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak to provide D–T neutron yield with time resolution.In this study,Geant4 simulations were used to obtain the pulse height spectra for ideal signals produced when detecting neutrons and gamma rays of multiple energies.One of the main sources of interference was found to be low-energy neutrons below 10–5 MeV,which can generate numerous secondary particles in the detector components,such as the magnetic shielding tube,leading to high-amplitude output signals.To address this issue,a compact thermal neutron shield containing a 1-mm Cd layer outside the magnetic shielding tube and a 5-mm inner Pb layer was specifically designed.Adverse effects on the measurement of fast neutrons and the shielding effect on gamma rays were considered.This can suppress the height of the signals caused by thermal neutrons to a level below the height corresponding to neutrons above 4 MeV because the yield of the latter is used for detector calibration.In addition,the detector has relatively flat sensitivity curves in the fast neutron region,with the intrinsic detection efficiencies(IDEs)of approximately 40%.For gamma rays with energies that are not too high(<8 MeV),the IDEs of the detector are only approximately 20%,whereas for gamma rays below 1 MeV,the response curve cuts off earlier in the low-energy region,which is beneficial for avoiding counting saturation and signal accumulation.展开更多
β-decay half-life and β-delayed neutron emission(βn) are of great importance in the development of basic science and industrial applications, such as nuclear physics and nuclear energy, where β--decay plays an imp...β-decay half-life and β-delayed neutron emission(βn) are of great importance in the development of basic science and industrial applications, such as nuclear physics and nuclear energy, where β--decay plays an important role. Many theoretical models have been proposed to describe β-decay half-lives, whereas the systematic study of βn is still rare. This study aimed to investigate β--decay half-lives and βn probabilities through analytical formulas and by comparing them with experimental data. Analytical formulas for β--decay properties have been proposed by considering prominent factors, that is, decay energy,odevity, and the shell effect. The bootstrap method was used to simultaneously evaluate the total uncertainty on calculations,which was composed of statistic and systematic uncertainties. β--decay half-lives, βn probabilities, and the corresponding uncertainties were evaluated for the neutron-rich region. The experimental half-lives were well reproduced. Additional predictions are also presented with theoretical uncertainties, which helps to better understand the disparity between the experimental and theoretical results.展开更多
A Zr-Gd alloy with neutron poisoning properties and resistance to boiling concentrated HNO3 corrosion was developed based on a corrosion-resistant Zr-702 alloy to meet the demand for neutron shielding in the closed-lo...A Zr-Gd alloy with neutron poisoning properties and resistance to boiling concentrated HNO3 corrosion was developed based on a corrosion-resistant Zr-702 alloy to meet the demand for neutron shielding in the closed-loop treatment of spent fuel and the nuclear chemical industry.In this study,1 wt.%,3 wt.%,5 wt.%,7 wt.%,and 9 wt.%Zr-Gd alloys were designed and fabricated with Zr-702 as the control element.The electrochemical behavior of the Zr-Gd alloys in boiling concentrated HNO3 was investigated,and the neutron shielding effect on plate thickness and Gd content was simulated.The experimental results demonstrate that the corrosion resistance of the alloy decreased slightly before~7-9 wt.%with increasing Gd content;this is the inflection point of its corrosion resistance.The alloy uniformly dissolved the Gd content that could not be dissolved in the Zr lattice,resulting in numerous micropores on the passivation coating,which deteriorated and accelerated the corrosion rate.The MCNP simulation demonstrated that when the Gd content was increased to 5 wt.%,a 2-mm-thick plate can shield 99.9%neutrons;an alloy with a Gd content≥7 wt.%required only a 1-mm-thick plate,thereby showing that the addition of Gd provides an excellent neutron poisoning effect.Thus,the corrosion resistance and neutron shielding performance of the Zr-Gd alloy can meet the harsh service requirements of the nuclear industry.展开更多
基金Project supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant Nos.2023YFC2206502 and 2021YFA1600703)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.12175254 and 12227810)the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Joint Laboratory for Neutron Scattering Science and Technology。
文摘As a non-destructive testing technology,neutron imaging plays an important role in various fields,including material science,nuclear engineering,and fundamental science.An imaging detector with a neutron-sensitive image intensifier has been developed and demonstrated to achieve good spatial resolution and timing resolution.However,the influence of the working voltage on the performance of the neutron-sensitive imaging intensifier has not been studied.To optimize the performance of the neutron-sensitive image intensifier at different voltages,experiments have been performed at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)neutron beamline.The change in the light yield and imaging quality with different voltages has been acquired.It is shown that the image quality benefits from the high gain of the microchannel plate(MCP)and the high accelerating electric field between the MCP and the screen.Increasing the accelerating electric field is more effective than increasing the gain of MCPs for the improvement of the imaging quality.Increasing the total gain of the MCP stack can be realized more effectively by improving the gain of the standard MCP than that of the n MCP.These results offer a development direction for image intensifiers in the future.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.12004426,U2030106,and 12304185)the National Key Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project of NSFC(Grant No.11227906)the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2023YFA1406500)。
文摘An innovative monochromator shielding is designed and implemented for the cold neutron spectrometers XINGZHI and BOYA operated by Renmin University of China at China Advanced Research Reactor.Via Monte Carlo simulations and careful mechanical designs,a shielding configuration has been successfully developed to satisfy safety requirements of below 3μSv/h dose rate at its exterior,meanwhile fulfilling space,floor load and nonmagnetic requirements.Composite materials are utilized to form the sandwich-type shielding walls:the inner layer of boron carbide rubber,the middle layer of steel-encased lead and the outer layer of borated polyethylene.Special-shaped liftable shielding blocks are incorporated to facilitate a continuous adjustment of the neutron energy while preventing radiation leakage.Our work has demonstrated that by utilizing composite shielding materials,along with the sandwich structure and liftable shielding blocks,a compact and lightweight shielding solution can be achieved.This enables the realization of advanced neutron scattering instruments that provide expanded space of measurement,larger energy and momentum coverage,and higher flux on the sample.This shielding represents the first of its kind in neutron scattering instruments in China.Following its successful operation,it has been subsequently employed by other neutron instruments across the country.
基金This work was supported by the general program(No.1177531)joint funding(No.U2067205)from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
文摘A benchmark experiment on^(238)U slab samples was conducted using a deuterium-tritium neutron source at the China Institute of Atomic Energy.The leakage neutron spectra within energy levels of 0.8-16 MeV at 60°and 120°were measured using the time-of-flight method.The samples were prepared as rectangular slabs with a 30 cm square base and thicknesses of 3,6,and 9 cm.The leakage neutron spectra were also calculated using the MCNP-4C program based on the latest evaluated files of^(238)U evaluated neutron data from CENDL-3.2,ENDF/B-Ⅷ.0,JENDL-5.0,and JEFF-3.3.Based on the comparison,the deficiencies and improvements in^(238)U evaluated nuclear data were analyzed.The results showed the following.(1)The calculated results for CENDL-3.2 significantly overestimated the measurements in the energy interval of elastic scattering at 60°and 120°.(2)The calculated results of CENDL-3.2 overestimated the measurements in the energy interval of inelastic scattering at 120°.(3)The calculated results for CENDL-3.2 significantly overestimated the measurements in the 3-8.5 MeV energy interval at 60°and 120°.(4)The calculated results with JENDL-5.0 were generally consistent with the measurement results.
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University(No.JZ2023HGTA0182)Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology Program of China(No.2018-000052-73-01-001228)。
文摘Because of their economy and applicability,high-power thyristor devices are widely used in the power supply systems for large fusion devices.When high-dose neutrons produced by deuterium–tritium(D–T)fusion reactions are irradiated on a thyristor device for a long time,the electrical characteristics of the device change,which may eventually cause irreversible damage.In this study,with the thyristor switch of the commutation circuit in the quench protection system(QPS)of a fusion device as the study object,the relationship between the internal physical structure and external electrical parameters of the irradiated thyristor is established.Subsequently,a series of targeted thyristor physical simulations and neutron irradiation experiments are conducted to verify the accuracy of the theoretical analysis.In addition,the effect of irradiated thyristor electrical characteristic changes on the entire QPS is studied by accurate simulation,providing valuable guidelines for the maintenance and renovation of the QPS.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2020YFB1901900)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.U20B2011,12175138)the Shanghai Rising-Star Program。
文摘The heterogeneous variational nodal method(HVNM)has emerged as a potential approach for solving high-fidelity neutron transport problems.However,achieving accurate results with HVNM in large-scale problems using high-fidelity models has been challenging due to the prohibitive computational costs.This paper presents an efficient parallel algorithm tailored for HVNM based on the Message Passing Interface standard.The algorithm evenly distributes the response matrix sets among processors during the matrix formation process,thus enabling independent construction without communication.Once the formation tasks are completed,a collective operation merges and shares the matrix sets among the processors.For the solution process,the problem domain is decomposed into subdomains assigned to specific processors,and the red-black Gauss-Seidel iteration is employed within each subdomain to solve the response matrix equation.Point-to-point communication is conducted between adjacent subdomains to exchange data along the boundaries.The accuracy and efficiency of the parallel algorithm are verified using the KAIST and JRR-3 test cases.Numerical results obtained with multiple processors agree well with those obtained from Monte Carlo calculations.The parallelization of HVNM results in eigenvalue errors of 31 pcm/-90 pcm and fission rate RMS errors of 1.22%/0.66%,respectively,for the 3D KAIST problem and the 3D JRR-3 problem.In addition,the parallel algorithm significantly reduces computation time,with an efficiency of 68.51% using 36 processors in the KAIST problem and 77.14% using 144 processors in the JRR-3 problem.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.12035017)Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS(No.2023014)Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(Nos.2020A1515010360 and 2022B1515120032).
文摘Nondestructive and noninvasive neutron assays are essential applications of neutron techniques.Neutron resonance transmission analysis(NRTA)is a powerful nondestructive method for investigating the elemental composition of an object.The back-streaming neutron line(Back-n)is a newly built time-of-flight facility at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)that provides neutrons in the eV to 300 MeV range.A feasibility study of the NRTA method for nuclide identification was conducted at the CSNS Back-n via two test experiments.The results demonstrate that it is feasible to identify different elements and isotopes in samples using the NRTA method at Back-n.This study reveals its potential future applications.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.11405025).
文摘The yield ratios of neutron-proton(R(n/p))and^(3)H-^(3)He(R(^(3)H∕^(3)He))with reduced rapidity from 0 to 0.5 were simulated at 50 MeV/u even-even ^(36−56)Ca+^(40)Ca,even-even ^(48−78)Ni+^(58)Ni,and ^(100−139)Sn(every third isotopes)+112 Sn for full reduced impact parameters using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics(IQMD)model.The neutron and proton density distributions and root-mean-square radii of the reaction systems were obtained using the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock model,which was used for the phase space initialization of the projectile and target in IQMD.We defined the unified neutron skin thickness asΔRnp=<r^(2)>^(1∕2) n−<r^(2)>^(1∕2)p,which was negative for neutron-deficient nuclei.The unifiedΔRnp values for nuclei with the same relative neutron excess from different isotopic chains were nearly equal,except for extreme neutron-rich isotopes,which is a type of scaling behavior.The yield ratios of the three isotopic chain-induced reactions,which depended on the reduced impact parameter and unified neutron skin thickness,were studied.The results showed that both R(n/p)and R(^(3)H∕^(3)He)decreased with a reduced impact parameter for extreme neutron-deficient isotopes;however,they increased with reduced impact parameters for extreme neutron-rich isotopes,and increased with theΔRnp of the projectiles for all reduced impact parameters.In addition,a scaling phenomenon was observed betweenΔR np and the yield ratios in peripheral colli-sions from different isotopic chain projectiles(except for extreme neutron-rich isotopes).Thus,R(n/p)and R(^(3)H∕^(3)He)from peripheral collisions were suggested as experimental probes for extracting the neutron or proton skin thicknesses of non-extreme neutron-rich nuclei from different isotopic chains.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.12075237)。
文摘A new measurement method for the spatial distribution of neutron beam flux in boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)is being developed based on the two-dimensional Micromegas detector.To address the issue of long processing times in traditional offline position reconstruction methods,this paper proposes a field programmable gate array based online position reconstruction method utilizing the micro-time projection chamber principle.This method encapsulates key technical aspects:a self-adaptive serial link technique built upon the dynamical adjustment of the delay chain length,fast sorting,a coordinate-matching technique based on the mapping between signal timestamps and random access memory(RAM)addresses,and a precise start point-merging technique utilizing a circular combined RAM.The performance test of the selfadaptive serial link shows that the bit error rate of the link is better than 10-12 at a confidence level of 99%,ensuring reliable data transmission.The experiment utilizing the readout electronics and Micromegas detector shows a spatial resolution of approximately 1.4 mm,surpassing the current method’s resolution level of 5 mm.The beam experiment confirms that the readout electronics system can obtain the flux spatial distribution of neutron beams online,thus validating the feasibility of the position reconstruction method.The online position reconstruction method avoids traditional methods,such as bubble sorting and traversal searching,simplifies the design of the logic firmware,and reduces the time complexity from O(n2)to O(n).This study contributes to the advancement in measuring neutron beam flux for BNCT.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52171098 and 51921001)the State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials(No.2022Z-02)+1 种基金the National High-level Personnel of Special Support Program(No.ZYZZ2021001)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Nos.FRF-TP-20-03C2 and FRF-BD-20-02B).
文摘High-entropy alloys(HEAs)possess outstanding features such as corrosion resistance,irradiation resistance,and good mechan-ical properties.A few HEAs have found applications in the fields of aerospace and defense.Extensive studies on the deformation mech-anisms of HEAs can guide microstructure control and toughness design,which is vital for understanding and studying state-of-the-art structural materials.Synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction are necessary techniques for materials science research,especially for in situ coupling of physical/chemical fields and for resolving macro/microcrystallographic information on materials.Recently,several re-searchers have applied synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction methods to study the deformation mechanisms,phase transformations,stress behaviors,and in situ processes of HEAs,such as variable-temperature,high-pressure,and hydrogenation processes.In this review,the principles and development of synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction are presented,and their applications in the deformation mechanisms of HEAs are discussed.The factors that influence the deformation mechanisms of HEAs are also outlined.This review fo-cuses on the microstructures and micromechanical behaviors during tension/compression or creep/fatigue deformation and the application of synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction methods to the characterization of dislocations,stacking faults,twins,phases,and intergrain/interphase stress changes.Perspectives on future developments of synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction and on research directions on the deformation mechanisms of novel metals are discussed.
文摘Boron neutron capture therapy(BNCT)is recognized as a precise binary targeted radiotherapy technique that effectively eliminates tumors through the^(10)B(n,α)^(7)Li nuclear reaction.Among various neutron sources,accelerator-based sources have emerged as particularly promising for BNCT applications.The^(7)Li(p,n)^(7)Be reaction is highly regarded as a potential neutron source for BNCT,owing to its low threshold energy for the reaction,significant neutron yield,appropriate average neutron energy,and additional benefits.This study utilized Monte Carlo simulations to model the physical interactions within a lithium target subjected to proton bombardment,including neutron moderation by an MgF_(2)moderator and subsequent BNCT dose analysis using a Snyder head phantom.The study focused on calculating the yields of epithermal neutrons for various incident proton energies,finding an optimal energy at 2.7 MeV.Furthermore,the Snyder head phantom was employed in dose simulations to validate the effectiveness of this specific incident energy when utilizing a^(7)Li(p,n)^(7)Be neutron source for BNCT purposes.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11905028,12105040)Scientific Research Project of Education Department of Jilin Province(No.JJKH20231294KJ)。
文摘Neutron radiography is a crucial nondestructive testing technology widely used in the aerospace,military,and nuclear industries.However,because of the physical limitations of neutron sources and collimators,the resulting neutron radiographic images inevitably exhibit multiple distortions,including noise,geometric unsharpness,and white spots.Furthermore,these distortions are particularly significant in compact neutron radiography systems with low neutron fluxes.Therefore,in this study,we devised a multi-distortion suppression network that employs a modified generative adversarial network to improve the quality of degraded neutron radiographic images.Real neutron radiographic image datasets with various types and levels of distortion were built for the first time as multi-distortion suppression datasets.Thereafter,the coordinate attention mechanism was incorporated into the backbone network to augment the capability of the proposed network to learn the abstract relationship between ideally clear and degraded images.Extensive experiments were performed;the results show that the proposed method can effectively suppress multiple distortions in real neutron radiographic images and achieve state-of-theart perceptual visual quality,thus demonstrating its application potential in neutron radiography.
基金supported by Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 12305190)Lingchuang Research Project of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)the Science and Technology on Reactor System Design Technology Laboratory
文摘We proposed and compared three methods(filter burnup,single energy burnup,and burnup extremum analysis)to build a high-resolution neutronics model for 238Pu production in high-flux reactors.The filter burnup and single energy burnup methods have no theoretical approximation and can achieve a spectrum resolution of up to~1 eV,thereby constructing the importance curve and yield curve of the full energy range.The burnup extreme analysis method combines the importance and yield curves to consider the influence of irradiation time on production efficiency,thereby constructing extreme curves.The three curves,which quantify the transmutation rate of the nuclei in each energy region,are of physical significance because they have similar distributions.A high-resolution neutronics model for ^(238)Pu production was established based on these three curves,and its universality and feasibility were proven.The neutronics model can guide the neutron spectrum optimization and improve the yield of ^(238)Pu by up to 18.81%.The neutronics model revealed the law of nuclei transmutation in all energy regions with high spectrum resolution,thus providing theoretical support for high-flux reactor design and irradiation production of ^(238)Pu.
基金This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.12375296)the Key Laboratory of Nuclear Data Foundation(No.JCKY2022201C153)+2 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province of China(Nos.2021JJ40444,2020RC3054)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS(No.2023014)the National Key Research and Development Plan(No.2022YFA1603303).
文摘The neutron-induced total cross sections of natural lead have been measured in a wide energy range(0.3 eV-20 MeV)on the back-streaming white neutron beamline(Back-n)at the China Spallation Neutron Source.Neutron energy was determined by the neutron total cross-section spectrometer using the time-of-flight technique.A fast multi-cell fission chamber was used as the neutron detector,and a 10-mm-thick high-purity natural lead sample was employed for the neutron transmission measurements.The on-beam background was determined using Co,In,Ag,and Cd filters.The excitation function of ^(nat)Pb(n,tot)reaction below 20 MeV was calculated using the TALYS-1.96 nuclear-reaction modeling program.The present results were compared with previous results,the evaluated data available in the five major evaluated nuclear data libraries(i.e.,ENDF/B-VIII.0,JEFF-3.3,JENDL-5,CENDL-3.2,and BROND-3.1),and the theoretical calculation curve.Good agreement was found between the new results and those of previous experiments and with the theoretical curves in the corresponding region.This measurement obtained the neutron total cross section of natural lead with good accuracy over a wide energy range and added experimental data in the resonance energy range.This provides more reliable experimental data for nuclear engineering design and nuclear data evaluation of lead.
文摘It has recently been shown that incident particles, neutrons, can initiate the freezing in a supercooled water volume. This new finding may have ramifications for the interpretation of both experimental data on the nucleation of laboratory samples of supercooled water and perhaps more importantly on the interpretation of ice nucleation involved in cloud physics. For example, if some fraction of the cloud nucleation previously attributed to dust, soot, or aerosols has been caused by cosmogenic neutrons, fresh consideration is required in the context of climate models. Moreover, as cosmogenic neutrons, most being muon-induced, have much greater flux at high latitudes, estimates of ice nucleates in these regions may be larger than required to accurately model cloud and condensation properties. This discrepancy has been pointed out in IPCC reports. Our paper discusses the connection between the new concept of neutrons nucleating supercooled water and the need for a new source of nucleation in high latitude clouds, ideally causing others to review current data, or to analyse future data with this idea in mind. .
文摘The crystal structure of CaSrFe<sub>0.75</sub>Co<sub>0.75</sub>Mn<sub>0.5</sub>O<sub>6−δ</sub> is investigated through neutron diffraction techniques in this study. The material is synthesized using a solid-state synthesis method at a temperature of 1200˚C. Neutron diffraction data is subjected to Rietveld refinement, and a comparative analysis with X-ray diffraction (XRD) data is performed to unravel the structural details of the material. The findings reveal that the synthesized material exhibits a cubic crystal structure with a Pm-3m phase. The neutron diffraction results offer valuable insights into the arrangement of atoms within the lattice, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the material’s structural properties. This research enhances our knowledge of CaSrFe0.75</sub>Co0.75</sub>Mn0.5</sub>O6−δ</sub>, with potential implications for its applications in various technological and scientific domains.
基金the Open Project of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Nuclear Technology(NLK 2022-04)the Central Government Guidance Funds for Local Scientific and Technological Development,China(No.Guike,ZY22096024)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(12065003)Guangxi Key R&D Project(2023AB07029).
文摘Aluminum is the primary structural material in nuclear engineering,and its cross section induced by 14-MeV neutrons is of great significance.To address the issue of insufficient accuracy for the^(27)Al(n,2n)^(26)Al reaction cross section,the activation method and accelerator mass spectrometry(AMS)technique were used to determine the^(27)Al(n,2n)^(26)Al cross section,which could be used as a D-T plasma ion temperature monitor in fusion reactors.At the China Academy of Engineering Physics,neutron activation was performed using a K-400 neutron generator produced by the T(d,n)4He reaction.The^(26)Al∕^(27)Al isotope ratios were measured using the newly installed GYIG 1 MV AMS at the Institute of Geochemistry,Chinese Academy of Sciences.The neutron flux was monitored by measuring the activity of 92mNb produced by the 93Nb(n,2n)92mNb reaction.The measured results were compared with available data in the experimental nuclear reaction database,and the measured values showed a reasonable degree of consistency with partially available literature data.The newly acquired cross-sectional data at 12 neutron energy points through systematic measurements clarified the divergence,which has two different growth trends from the existing experimental values.The obtained results are also compared with the corresponding evaluated database,and the newly calculated excitation functions with TALYS−1.95 and EMPIRE−3.2 codes,the agreement with CENDL−3.2,TENDL-2021 and EMPIRE−3.2 results are generally acceptable.A substantial improvement in the knowledge of the^(27)Al(n,2n)^(26)Al reaction excitation function was obtained in the present work,which will lay the foundation for the diagnosis of the fusion ion temperature,testing of the nuclear physics model,evaluation of nuclear data,etc.
基金supported by the Nuclear Energy Development Project of China (No.[2019]1342)the Presidential Foundation of HFIPS (No.YZJJ2022QN40)。
文摘Owing to the immobility of traditional reactors and spallation neutron sources,the demand for compact thermal neutron radiography(CTNR)based on accelerator neutron sources has rapidly increased in industrial applications.Recently,thermal neutron radiography experiments based on a D-T neutron generator performed by Hefei Institutes of Physical Science indicated a significant resolution deviation between the experimental results and the values calculated using the traditional resolution model.The experimental result was up to 23%lower than the calculated result,which hinders the achievement of the design goal of a compact neutron radiography system.A GEANT4 Monte Carlo code was developed to simulate the CTNR process,aiming to identify the key factors leading to resolution deviation.The effects of a low collimation ratio and high-energy neutrons were analyzed based on the neutron beam environment of the CTNR system.The results showed that the deviation was primarily caused by geometric distortion at low collimation ratios and radiation noise induced by highenergy neutrons.Additionally,the theoretical model was modified by considering the imaging position and radiation noise factors.The modified theoretical model was in good agreement with the experimental results,and the maximum deviation was reduced to 4.22%.This can be useful for the high-precision design of CTNR systems.
基金supported by the University Synergy Innovation Program of Anhui Province(No.GXXT-2022-001)the Institute of Energy,Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center(Anhui Energy Laboratory)under Grant No.21KZS205 and 21KZL401the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology Program of China(No.2018-000052-73-01-001228).
文摘A new scintillating fiber detector inside magnetic shielding tube was designed and assembled for use in the next round of fusion experiments in the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak to provide D–T neutron yield with time resolution.In this study,Geant4 simulations were used to obtain the pulse height spectra for ideal signals produced when detecting neutrons and gamma rays of multiple energies.One of the main sources of interference was found to be low-energy neutrons below 10–5 MeV,which can generate numerous secondary particles in the detector components,such as the magnetic shielding tube,leading to high-amplitude output signals.To address this issue,a compact thermal neutron shield containing a 1-mm Cd layer outside the magnetic shielding tube and a 5-mm inner Pb layer was specifically designed.Adverse effects on the measurement of fast neutrons and the shielding effect on gamma rays were considered.This can suppress the height of the signals caused by thermal neutrons to a level below the height corresponding to neutrons above 4 MeV because the yield of the latter is used for detector calibration.In addition,the detector has relatively flat sensitivity curves in the fast neutron region,with the intrinsic detection efficiencies(IDEs)of approximately 40%.For gamma rays with energies that are not too high(<8 MeV),the IDEs of the detector are only approximately 20%,whereas for gamma rays below 1 MeV,the response curve cuts off earlier in the low-energy region,which is beneficial for avoiding counting saturation and signal accumulation.
基金supported by the Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research(No.2021B0301030006)computational resources from Sun Yat-Sen University and the National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou.
文摘β-decay half-life and β-delayed neutron emission(βn) are of great importance in the development of basic science and industrial applications, such as nuclear physics and nuclear energy, where β--decay plays an important role. Many theoretical models have been proposed to describe β-decay half-lives, whereas the systematic study of βn is still rare. This study aimed to investigate β--decay half-lives and βn probabilities through analytical formulas and by comparing them with experimental data. Analytical formulas for β--decay properties have been proposed by considering prominent factors, that is, decay energy,odevity, and the shell effect. The bootstrap method was used to simultaneously evaluate the total uncertainty on calculations,which was composed of statistic and systematic uncertainties. β--decay half-lives, βn probabilities, and the corresponding uncertainties were evaluated for the neutron-rich region. The experimental half-lives were well reproduced. Additional predictions are also presented with theoretical uncertainties, which helps to better understand the disparity between the experimental and theoretical results.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.52201021 and 52101099)Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi (2021GY-249,2021GY-233)+1 种基金Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (No.2020JC-50)Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Youth Foundation (2022JQ-410).
文摘A Zr-Gd alloy with neutron poisoning properties and resistance to boiling concentrated HNO3 corrosion was developed based on a corrosion-resistant Zr-702 alloy to meet the demand for neutron shielding in the closed-loop treatment of spent fuel and the nuclear chemical industry.In this study,1 wt.%,3 wt.%,5 wt.%,7 wt.%,and 9 wt.%Zr-Gd alloys were designed and fabricated with Zr-702 as the control element.The electrochemical behavior of the Zr-Gd alloys in boiling concentrated HNO3 was investigated,and the neutron shielding effect on plate thickness and Gd content was simulated.The experimental results demonstrate that the corrosion resistance of the alloy decreased slightly before~7-9 wt.%with increasing Gd content;this is the inflection point of its corrosion resistance.The alloy uniformly dissolved the Gd content that could not be dissolved in the Zr lattice,resulting in numerous micropores on the passivation coating,which deteriorated and accelerated the corrosion rate.The MCNP simulation demonstrated that when the Gd content was increased to 5 wt.%,a 2-mm-thick plate can shield 99.9%neutrons;an alloy with a Gd content≥7 wt.%required only a 1-mm-thick plate,thereby showing that the addition of Gd provides an excellent neutron poisoning effect.Thus,the corrosion resistance and neutron shielding performance of the Zr-Gd alloy can meet the harsh service requirements of the nuclear industry.