Improved formation density measurement using controllable D-D neutron source and its lithological correction for porosity prediction

Controllable D-D neutron sources have a long service life,low cost,and non-radioactivity.There are favorable prospects for its application in geophysical well logging,since traditional chemical radioactive sources used for well logging pose potential threats to the safety of the human body and environment.This paper presents an improved method to measure formation density that employs a D-D neutron source.In addition,the lithological effect on the measured density was removed to better estimate the formation porosity.First,we investigated the spatial distribution of capture gamma rays through Monte Carlo simulations as well as the relationship between the ratio of capture gamma ray counts and formation density to establish theoretical support for the design of density logging tools and their corresponding data processing methods.Second,we obtained the far to near detector counts of captured gamma rays for an optimized tool structure and then established its correlation with the density and porosity of three typical formations with pure quartz,calcite,and dolomite minerals.Third,we determined the values for correcting the densities of sandstone and dolomite with the same porosity using limestone data as the reference and established the equations for calculating the correction values,which lays a solid foundation for accurately calculating formation porosity.We observed that the capture gamma ray counts first increased then decreased and varied in different formations;this was especially observed in high-porosity formations.Under the same lithologic conditions(rock matrix),as the porosity increases,the peak value of gamma ray counts moves toward the neutron source.At different detector-source distances,the ratio of the capture gamma ray counts was well correlated with the formation density.An equation of the formation density conversion was established based on the ratio of capture gamma ray counts at the detector-source distances of 30 cm and 65 cm,and the calculated values were consistent with the true values.After correction,the formation density was highly consistent with the true value of the limestone density,and the mean absolute error was 0.013 g/cm3.The calculated porosity values were very close to the true values,and the mean relative error was 2.33%,highlighting the accuracy of the proposed method.These findings provide a new method for developing D-D neutron source logging tools and their well-log data processing methods.

Design of weak current measurement system and research on temperature impact

A dedicated weak current measurement system was designed to measure the weak currents generated by the neutron ionization chamber.This system incorporates a second-order low-pass filter circuit and the Kalman filtering algorithm to effectively filter out noise and minimize interference in the measurement results.Testing conducted under normal temperature conditions has demonstrated the system's high precision performance.However,it was observed that temperature variations can affect the measurement performance.Data were collected across temperatures ranging from -20 to 70℃,and a temperature correction model was established through linear regression fitting to address this issue.The feasibility of the temperature correction model was confirmed at temperatures of -5 and 40℃,where relative errors remained below 0.1% after applying the temperature correction.The research indicates that the designed measurement system exhibits excellent temperature adaptability and high precision,making it particularly suitable for measuring weak currents.

Simultaneous Measurements of Rainfall Intensity, Low Energy Neutrons and Gamma Radiation in Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP, Brazil

The article aims to study the possible correlation between the presence and intensity of rainfall X- and T-radiation and low energy neutrons at one specific location in S[io Jos6 dos Campos, SP, Brazil. Monitoring of these parameters was carried out from end February to half of June 2013 just in Physics Department of ITA （Technological Institute of Aeronautics）. By correlating the data of measurements of intensity of X and ）,-radiations with the rainfall it has been found that this meteorological parameter had a significant influence on the background of these radiation profile. A possible reason for this fact is associated with the presence of radon gas in the environment that is dragged to the surface during the occurrences of local rainfall. In relation neutrons, it was possible to note that the rainfall has small influence on this parameter measures.

A Newly Developed Non-Destructive Tritium Measurement Technique and Its Application to V-4Cr-4Ti Alloy

A non-destructive and in-situ technique for the measurement of tritium in materials, namely β-ray-induced X-ray spectrometry （BIXS）, has been developed recently. In the present study a V-4Cr-4Ti alloy was pre-heated at 1000℃ for 2 h to form a recrystallization structure before the tritium absorption experiments were conducted. Firstly the hydrogen isotope gas was charazterized by means of a quadrupole mass spectrometer （QMS） and a small-sized ionization chamber. Then hydrogen isotope absorption tests of V-4Cr-4Ti alloy were performed at 400 ℃ and the atomic concentration of hydrogen isotope in V-4Cr-4Ti alloy was estimated as 0.17% with a tritium content of approximately 2.5 ppm. Experimental results indicate that BIXS is a quite useful tool for quantitatively measuring the tritium content and tritium distribution in the surface layers of vanadium alloys and no strong trapping effects of tritium exist in the pre-heated V-4Cr-4Ti alloy.

Experimental Measurements of Neutron Yields and Neutron Emission Rates in Intermediate Energy Heavy， Ion Reactions

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Back-n white neutron source at CSNS and its applications

Back-streaming neutrons from the spallation target of the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)that emit through the incoming proton channel were exploited to build a white neutron beam facility(the so-called Back-n white neutron source),which was completed in March 2018.The Back-n neutron beam is very intense,at approximately 29107 n/cm2/s at 55 m from the target,and has a nominal proton beam with a power of 100 kW in the CSNS-I phase and a kinetic energy of 1.6 GeV and a thick tungsten target in multiple slices with modest moderation from the cooling water through the slices.In addition,the excellent energy spectrum spanning from 0.5 eV to 200 MeV,and a good time resolution related tothe time-of-flight measurements make it a typical white neutron source for nuclear data measurements;its overall performance is among that of the best white neutron sources in the world.Equipped with advanced spectrometers,detectors,and application utilities,the Back-n facility can serve wide applications,with a focus on neutron-induced cross-sectional measurements.This article presents an overview of the neutron beam characteristics,the experimental setups,and the ongoing applications at Backn.

Tracing Method of Natural Sediments by Neutron Activation and Its Application

A new method of Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) for sediment movement study is presented in this paper. Through analyzing the natural sediment, the information about natural tracing agents has been obtained, which can show the direction of sediment movement and relative discharge of sediment transportation. Test results in some areas, such as Shanton Harbour and Hangzhou Bay, are in good agreement with those from normal hydrologic measurements and some results are not obtainable with the latter. The NAA is economical, practical and reliable, and should be widely used in engineering practice.

Time Dependent DD Neutrons Measurement Using a Single Crystal Chemical Vapor Deposition Diamond Detector on EAST

a single crystal chemical vapor deposition （scCVD） diamond detector has been successfully employed for neutron measurements in the EAST （Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak） plasmas. The seCVD diamond detector coated with a 5 μm 6LiF （95% 6Li enriched） layer was placed inside a polyethylene moderator to enhance the detection efficiency. The time-dependent neutron emission from deuteron plasmas during neutral beam injection （NBI） heating was obtained. The measured results are compared with that of fission chamber detectors, which always act as standard neutron flux monitors. The scCVD diamond detector exhibits good reliability, stability and the capability to withstand harsh radiation environments despite its low detection efficiency due to the small active volume.

Impact of photoneutrons on reactivity measurements for TMSR-SF1

The solid-fueled thorium molten salt reactor(TMSR-SF1) is a 10 MW_(th) test reactor design to be deployed in 5-10 years by the TMSR group.Its design combines coated particle fuel and molten FLiBe coolant for great intrinsic safety features and economic advantages.Due to a large amount of beryllium in the coolant salt,photoneutrons are produced by(y,n) reaction,hence the increasing fraction of effective delayed neutrons in the core by the photoneutrons originating from the long-lived fission products.Some of the delayed photoneutron groups are of long lifetime,so a direct effect is resulted in the transient process and reactivity measurement.To study the impact of photoneutrons for TMSR-SF1,the effective photoneutron fraction is estimated using k-ratio method and performed by the Monte Carlo code(MCNP5) with ENDF/B-Ⅶ cross sections.Based on the coupled neutronphoton point kinetics equations,influence of the photoneutrons is analyzed.The results show that the impact of photoneutrons is not negligible in reactivity measurement.Without considering photoneutrons in on-line reactivity measurement based on inverse point kinetics can result in overestimation of the positive reactivity and underestimation of the negative reactivity.The photoneutrons also lead to more waiting time for the doubling time measurement.Since the photoneutron precursors take extremely long time to achieve equilibrium,a "steady" power operation may not directly imply a "real" criticality.

Flux measurements for a DD neutron generator using neutron activation analysis

The fast and maximum thermal neutron fluxes from the DD-109 neutron generator at the University of Sharjah were experimentally measured by the activation technique using different neutron reactions. The thermal and fast neutron fluxes were found to be 2.960 × 10~6 and6.186 × 10~7 n/cm^2 s, respectively. This was done to verify the modeling results for the optimum moderator thickness needed to maximize the thermal neutron flux. The optimum moderator thickness was found to be between 3.5 and4 cm. The present data were compared with the detailed MCNP model-based calculation performed in earlier work to simulate the generator.

Preliminary Design of Neutron Flux and Spectrum Diagnostics in NT-TBM

A special neutron diagnostic system is proposed that facilitates the measurement of neutron fluxes and spectra in the neutronics and tritium production-test blanket module （NTTBM） without interrupting the operation of the International Thermal-nuclear Experimental Reactor （ITER）, for studying the multiplication rate in the neutron multiplier and breeding ratio of tritium in the breeder. This system includes an encapsulated foil activation system, micro-fission chamber detectors （MFC）, and a compact neutron spectrometer using a natural diamond detector （NDD）. A helium coolant loop with a reasonable diameter is designed carefully for every measurement channel that ensures that the neutron detectors and preamplifiers would work well under a high temperature scenario and that the filling rates of the neutron multiplier （beryllium pebble） and tritium breeder material （Li4SiO4） would not decrease excessively （the expected value〉80%） due to the dimensions of the helium coolant loop.

Preliminary performance analysis and optimization based on 1D neutronics model for Indian DEMO HCCB blanket

India,under its breeding blanket R&D program for DEMO,is focusing on the development of two tritium breeding blanket concepts;namely the lead-lithium-cooled ceramic breeder and the helium-cooled ceramic breeder(HCCB).The study presented in this paper focuses on the neutronic design analysis and optimization from the tritium breeding perspective of the HCCB blanket.The Indian concept has an edge-on configuration and is one of the variants of the helium-cooled solid breeder blanket concepts proposed by several partner countries in ITER.The Indian HCCB blanket having lithium titanate(Li2TiO3)as the tritium breeder and beryllium(Be)as the neutron multiplier with reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic steel structure aims at utilizing the low-energy neutrons at the rear part of the blanket.The aim of the optimization study is to minimize the radial blanket thickness while ensuring tritium self-sufficiency and provide data for further neutronic design and thermal-hydraulic layout of the HCCB blanket.It is found that inboard and outboard blanket thicknesses of 40 cm and 60 cm,respectively,can give a tritium breeding ratio(TBR)>1.3,with 60%6Li enrichment,which is assumed to be sufficient to cover potential tritium losses and associated uncertainties.The results also demonstrated that the Be packing fraction(PF)has a more profound impact on the TBR as compared to 6Li enrichment and the PF of Li2TiO3.

Neutronics Optimization of Tritium Breeding Blan-ket for the FDS

Neutronics optimization calculations have been performed for the tritium breed-ing blankets with solid ceramic breeder Li2O and 1iquid eutectic breeder Lil7Pb83, respectively,based on a 2-D geometrical configuration using the Monte Carlo neutron-photon transport codeMCNP/4B. The effects of beryllium, 6Li enrichment and various structural materials on TritiumBreeding Ratio have been systematically analyzed.

Neutronic investigation and activation calculation for CFETR HCCB blankets

The neutronic calculations and activation behavior of the proposed helium cooled ceramic breeder（HCCB） blanket were predicted for the Chinese Fusion Engineering Testing Reactor（CFETR） design model using the MCNP multi-particle transport code and its associated data library. The tritium self-sufficiency behavior of the HCCB blanket was assessed, addressing several important breeding-related arrangements inside the blankets. Two candidate first wall armor materials were considered to obtain a proper tritium breeding ratio（TBR）. Presentations of other neutronic characteristics, including neutron flux, neutron-induced damages in terms of the accumulated dpa and helium production were also conducted. Activation, decay heat levels and contact dose rates of the components were calculated to estimate the neutron-induced radioactivity and personnel safety. The results indicate that neutron radiation is efficiently attenuated and slowed down by components placed between the plasma and toroidal field coil.The dominant nuclides and corresponding isotopes in the structural steel were discussed. A radioactivity comparison between pure beryllium and beryllium with specific impurities was also performed. After a millennium cooling time, the decay heat of all the concerned components and materials is less than 1？×？10-4 k W, and most associated in-vessel components qualify for recycling by remote handling. The results demonstrate that acceptable hands-on recycling and operation still require a further long waiting period to allow the activated products to decay.

2-10 Direct Measurement of the Main s-process Neutron Source

The 13C(, n)16O reaction is the key neutron source reaction for the main s-process nucleosynthesis[1]. Theimportant energy range (Gamow window) for the 13C( , n)16O reaction during the s-process spans from 140 to230 keV in the center of mass frame. Because of the Coulomb barrier, the cross sections drop exponentially asmeasurement approaches the Gamow window energies. Limited by cosmic ray background and the available beamintensity, the ground-based measurements are limited to energies above 280 keV. Therefore, the extrapolationbased on R-matrix calculation and/or in-direct measurement is the current method to estimate the cross sectionsfor astrophysical interest with limited precision. Moreover, due to the existence of sub-threshold resonances, thereare rather large uncertainties associated with the extrapolated cross sections which limit the precision of the currentreaction rate and thus prevent us from a complete understanding of the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements.

The Method on Deducing Multiplicity Measurement Equations of Neutron/γ

Based on some important domestic and international references,the third γ multiplicity measurement equation is derived,but it is different from the results given in current researches.The neutron multiplicity equation is deduced in this paper,especially the fourth fast-neutron multiplicity equation based on the liquid scintillation detectors,which is more complex than the other multiplicity equations up to the fourth order.The equations given in this paper can be used to verify the validity and availability of principles for the multiplicity measurement up to the fourth order,and extend the application scopes of the neutron multiplicity measurement,such as correcting the additional measurement value to eliminate influences for dead times.It will be the foundation of nuclear researches,if the higher order multiplicity measurement is important for nuclear materials’control and accountability.

Activation measurement of neutron distribution in intermediate energy heavy ion target area

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CANDU 6核电站氚的控制和排放

说明了重水堆核电站氚生成的途径，核电站设计中控制氚向环境释放的措施以及排放到环境中的氚对居民所致的剂量等公众关注的问题。

Recent progress in nuclear data measurement for ADS at IMP

Recent progress in nuclear data measurement for ADS at Institute of Modern Physics is reviewed briefly.Based on the cooler storage ring of the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou, nuclear data terminal was established.The nuclear data measurement facility for the ADS spallation target has been constructed, which provides a very important platform for the experimental measurements of spallation reactions. A number of experiments have been conducted in the nuclear data terminal. A Neutron Time-of-Flight(NTOF)spectrometer was developed for the study of neutron production from spallation reactions related to the ADS project.The experiments of 400 MeV/u ^(16)O bombarded on a tungsten target were presented using a NTOF spectrometer.Neutron yields for 250 MeV protons incident on a thick grain-made tungsten target and a thick solid lead target have been measured using the water-bath neutron activation method. Spallation residual productions were studied by bombarding W and Pb targets with a 250 MeV proton beam using the neutron activation method. Benchmarking of evaluated nuclear data libraries was performed for D-T neutrons on ADS relevant materials by using the benchmark experimental facility at the China Institute of Atomic Energy.

Neutronic calculations of the China dual-functional lithium–lead test blanket module with the parallel discrete ordinates code Hydra

The China dual-functional lithium–lead test blanket module(DFLL-TBM) is a liquid Li Pb blanket concept developed by the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for testing in ITER to validate relevant tritium breeding and shielding technologies. In this study, neutronic calculations of DFLL-TBM were carried out using a massively parallel three-dimensional transport code, Hydra, with the Fusion Evaluated Nuclear Data Library/MG. Hydra was developed by the Nuclear Engineering Computational Physics Lab based on the discrete ordinates method and has been devoted to neutronic analysis and shielding evaluation for nuclear facilities. An in-house Monte Carlo code(MCX) was employed to verify the discretized calculation model used by Hydra for the DFLL-TBM calculations. The results showed two key aspects:(1) In most material zones,Hydra solutions are in good agreement with the reference MCX results within 1%, and the maximal relative difference of the neutron flux is merely 3%, demonstrating the correctness of the calculation model;(2) while the current DFLL-TBM design meets the operation shielding requirement of ITER for 4 years, it does not satisfy the tritium self-sufficiency requirement. Compared to the two-step approach, Hydra produces higher accuracies as it does not rely on the homogenization technique during the calculation process. The parallel efficiency tests of Hydra using the DFLL-TBM model also showed that this code maintains a high parallel efficiency on O(100) processors and, as a result, is able to significantly improve computing performance through parallelization. Parameter studies have been carried out by varying the thickness of the beryllium armor layer and the tritium breeding zone to understand the influence of the beryllium layer and breeding zone thickness on tritium breeding performance. This establishes a foundation for further improvement in the tritium production performance of DFLL-TBM.