The Systematics Study of (n, p) Reaction Cross-Sections at 14.7 MeV Neutron Energy

Based on the statistical model and taking into account the Q-value dependence and odd-even effects, we proposed a new empirical formula to reproduce the cross sections of the (n, p) reactions at 14.7 MeV neutron energy and at the target mass number 14 ≤ A ≤ 198 for even A and 29 ≤ A ≤ 205 for odd A. All calculated results from the proposed empirical formula were compared to the experimental data as well as the available semi-empirical formula obtained by other authors. A high level of agreement has been found between the collected experimental data and the most of semiempirical formulae obtained by others.

Comparison and research on the GRAVEL and PRIP algorithms of neutron energy spectrum unfolding

Objective Neutron energy spectrum unfolding is a key technique for neutron detection.It is essentially an inversion problem.The GRAVEL algorithm has been widely used in this field,and the PRIP algorithm transforms neutron energy spectrum unfolding into a typical nonnegative linear complementarity problem and solves it by interior point algorithm for potential reduction.Methods These two algorithms are applied to unfold several different neutron energy test spectra and actual D-T fusion neutron energy spectrum.Results and Conclusion By comparison,it can be concluded that the PRIP algorithm is highly computationally efficient and fast converging,and the GRAVEL algorithm solution results match up more with the expected results.

Measurements of neutron energy spectra of 9Be(d,n)10B reaction with a thick beryllium target

Novel measurements of the neutron energy spectra of the 9Be(d,n)10B reaction with a thick beryllium target are performed using a fast neutron time-of-flight(TOF)spectrometer for the neutron emission angles θ=0°and 45°,and the incident deuteron energies are 250 and 300 keV,respectively.The neutron contributions from the 9Be(d,n)10B reaction are distributed relatively independently for the ground state and the first,second,and third excited states of 10B.The branching ratios of the 9Be(d,n)10B reaction for the different excited states of 10B are obtained for the neutron emission angles θ=0°and 45°,and the incident deuteron energies are 250 and 300 keV,respectively.The branching ratio of the 9Be(d,n)10B reaction for the third excited state decreases with increase in the incident deuteron energy,and the branching ratios for the ground state and the second excited state increase with increase in the neutron emission angle.

Study of an unfolding algorithm for D-T neutron energy spectra measurement using a recoil proton method

A proton recoil method for measuring D-T neutron energy spectra using polyethylene film and a Si（Au）surface barrier detector is presented. An iteration algorithm for unfolding the recoil proton energy spectrum to the neutron energy spectrum is investigated. The response matrices R of the polyethylene film at angles of 0o and45o were obtained by simulating the recoil proton energy spectra from mono-energetic neutrons using the MCNPX code. With an assumed D-T neutron spectrum, the recoil proton spectra from the polyethylene film at angles of 0oand 45owere also simulated using the MCNPX code. Based on the response matrices R and the simulated recoil proton spectra at 0oand 45o, the respective unfolded neutron spectra were obtained using the iteration algorithm,and compared with the assumed neutron spectrum. The results show that the iteration algorithm method can be applied to unfold the recoil proton energy spectrum to the neutron energy spectrum for D-T neutron energy spectra measurement using the recoil proton method.

A Fusion Neutron Source Driven Sub-Critical Nuclear Energy System: A Way for Early Application of Fusion Technology

This paper proposes a sub-critical nuclear energy system driven by fusion neutron source, FDS, which can be used to transmute long-lived radioactive wastes and to produce fissile nuclear fuel as a way for early application of fusion technology. The necessity and feasibility to develop that system in China are illustrated on the basis of prediction of the demand of energy source in the first half of the 21th century, the status of current fission energy supply and the progress in fusion technology in the world. The characteristics of fusion neutron driver and the potential for transmutation of long-lived nuclear wastes and breeding of fissile nuclear fuel in a blanket are analyzed. A scenario of development steps is proposed.

Pre-neutron fragment mass yields for^(235)U(n,f)and^(239)Pu(n,f)reactions at incident energies from thermal up to 20 MeV

Pre-neutron fragment mass yields in the vicinity of the thermal neutron energy are highly important for applications because of the larger fission cross sections of the^(235)U(n,f)and^(239)Pu(n,f)reactions.In this paper,preneutron fragment mass yields at incident energies from thermal up to 20 MeV are systematically studied using an empirical fission potential(EFP)model,the potential parameters of which are obtained from the measured data.The energy dependences of the peaks and valleys of the pre-neutron fragment mass yields are described by exponential and linear functions for the^(235)U(n,f)and^(239)Pu(n,f)reactions,respectively.The energy dependences of the evaporation neutrons,which play a crucial role in the reasonable description of pre-neutron fragment mass yields,are also obtained from the fission cross sections.The pre-neutron fragment mass yields in this study are not only consistent with the results of previous studies in regions of several Me Vs but also agree well with existing measured data at incident energies from thermal up to 20 MeV.The results show that the feasibility of this EFP model is verified in this extended energy region.

Study of n-γ discrimination for 0.4-1 MeV neutrons using the zero-crossing method with a BC501A liquid scintillation detector

An experimental system aimed at n-γ discrimination using the zero-crossing method with a φ3’’×2’’ BC501A liquid scintillation detector was established and tested with an Am-Be neutron source. Two-dimensional plots of energy versus zero-crossing time were obtained. The quality of n-γ discrimination was checked by the figure-of-merit （FOM）, the neutron peak-to-valley ratio, and the proportion of leaked neutrons over all neutron events. The performance of n-γ discrimination in terms of FOM was compared with previous work done by other groups. The n-γ discrimination in four different energy regions with an interval of 0.1 MeV between 0.3 MeV and 0.7 MeV was studied, and the results indicate that the n-γ discrimination threshold can go down to 0.4 MeV.

Design of a neutron-TPC prototype and its performance evaluation based on an alpha-particle test

A neutron-TPC （nTPC） is being developed for use as a fast neutron spectrometer in the fields of nuclear physics, nuclear reactor operation monitoring, and thermo-nuclear fusion plasma diagnostics. An nTPC prototype based on a GEM-TPC （Time Projection Chamber with Gas Electron Multiplier amplification） has been assembled and tested using argon-hydrocarbon mixture as the working gas. By measuring the energy deposition of the recoil proton in the sensitive volume and the angle of the proton track, the incident neutron energy can be deduced. A Monte Carlo simulation was carried out to analyze the parameters affecting the energy resolution of the nTPC, and gave an optimized resolution under ideal conditions. An alpha particle experiment was performed to verify its feasibility, and to characterize its performance, including energy resolution and spatial resolution. Based on the experimental measurement and analysis, the energy resolution （FW-HM） of the nTPC prototype is predicted to be better than 3.2% for 5 MeV incident neutrons, meeting the performance requirement （FWHM〈5%） for the nTPC prototype.

Measurement of ^(59)Co(ai,x)reaction cross sections with the fast neutrons based on the ^(9)Be(p,n)reaction

The cross sections of the ^(59)Co(n,x)reaction in the average energy range of 15.2-37.2 MeV were meas-ured using activation and an off-line γ-ray spectrometric technique.The neutrons were generated from the ^(9)Be(p,n)reaction with proton beam energies of 25-45 MeV at the MC-50 Cyclotron facility of the Korean Institute of Radi-ological and Medical Sciences(KIRAMS).Theoretical cal lculations of neutron-induced reactions on ^(59)Co were per-formed using the nuclear model code TALYS-1.9.The results for the ^(59)Co(n,x)reactions were compared with the theoretical values obtained using TALYS-1.9 and the literature data provided in EXFOR and the TENDL 2019 nuc-lear data library.The theoretical values obtained using TALYS-1.9 with adjusted parameters are comparable to the experimental data.The measured reaction cross sections of a few radionuclides are new,and the others are compar-able to the literature data,and thus,they can strengthen the database.The present study on cross sections leads to useful insight into the mechanisms of ^(59)Co(n,x)reactions.

Simulation of a modified neutron detector applied in CSNS

We simulate the response of a modified Anderson-Braun rem counter in the energy range from thermal energy to about 10 GeV using the FLUKA code. Also, we simulate the lethargy spectrum of CSNS outside the beam dump. Traditional BF3 tube is replaced by the 3He tube, a layer of 0.6 cm lead is added outside the boron doped plastic attenuator and a sphere configuration is adopted. The simulation result shows that its response is exactly fit to H＊（10） in the neutron energies between 10 keV and approximately 1 GeV, although the monitor slightly underestimates H＊（10） in the energy range from thermal energy to about 10 keV. According to the characteristics of the CSNS, this modified counter increases the neutron energy response by 30% compared with the traditional monitors, and it can be applied in other kinds of stray field rich of high eeergy neutrons.

Experimental determination of one-and two-neutron separation energies for neutron-rich copper isotopes

A method is proposed to determine the one-neutron Sn or two-neutron S2n separation energy of neutron- rich isotopes. Relationships between Sn （S2n） and isotopic cross sections have been deduced from an empirical formula, i.e., the cross section of an isotope exponentially depends on the average binding energy per nucleon B/A. The proposed relationships have been verified using the neutron-rich copper isotopes measured in the 64A MeV S6Kr 9Be reaction. Sn, S2n, and B/A for the very neutron-rich 77,78,79Cu isotopes are determined from the proposed correlations. It is also proposed that the correlations between Sn, S2n and isotopic cross sections can be used to find the location of neutron drip line isotopes.

Simulation of the response functions of an extended range neutron multisphere spectrometer using FLUKA

In this paper, the distribution of radiation field in the CSNS spectrometer hall at Dongguan, China, was simulated by the FLUKA program. The results show that the radiation field of the high energy proton accelerator is dominated by neutron radiation, with a broad range of neutron energies, spanning about eleven orders of magnitude.Simulation and calculation of the response functions of four Bonner spheres with a simplified model is done with FLUKA and MCNPX codes respectively, proving the feasibility of the FLUKA program for this application and the correctness of the calculation method. Using the actual model, we simulate and calculate the energy response functions of Bonner sphere detectors with polyethylene layers of different diameters, including detectors with lead layers, using the FLUKA code. Based on the simulation results, we select eleven detectors as the basic structure for an Extended Range Neutron Multisphere Spectrometer（ERNMS）.

Measurement of^(169)Tm(n,2n)^(168)Tm reaction cross sections from 12 to 19.8 MeV

The cross sections of the^(169)Tm(n,2n)^(168)Tm reaction have been measured at incident energies of 12 to 19.8 MeV using the activation technique,relative to the^(93)Nb(n,2n)^(92)mNb reaction.Thulium(Tm)samples were irradiated on the surface of a two-ring orientation assembly with neutrons produced from the^(3)H(d,n)^(4)He reaction at the 5SDH-21.7-MV Tandem accelerator in China.Theoretical model calculations were performed.The present data were then compared with previous experimental data and available evaluated data.This study provides more precise nuclear data for improvement of future evaluations.

Measurement of 85Rb（n, 2n） 84Rb reaction cross-section from 12 MeV up to 19.8 MeV

The cross-section data of the 85Rb(n,2 n)84Rb reaction have been measured with the neutron energies of 12 MeV to 19.8 MeV using the activation technique and the relative method.The 85Rb samples were irradiated on the surface of a two-ring orientation assembly with neutrons produced from the 3H(d,n)4He reaction at the 5SDH-21.7-MV Tandem accelerator in China.Theoretical model calculations were performed with the TALYS-1.9 code.The present data were compared with previously obtained experimental data and the available evaluated data.