Search results for "Neutron flux"
showing 10 items of 42 documents
Maintenance Operation on AGN-201 “COSTANZA” Nuclear Research Reactor of Palermo University
2015
During operations with AGN-201 “COSTANZA” nuclear research reactor of Palermo University a failure of a compensated boron-lined ionization chamber provided with a measurement channel was highlighted. A maintenance program aimed to verify the operative conditions of all measurement systems was then started. It was easy to identify as cause of the malfunction a seepage of water inside the container of a Westinghouse WL 6377 ion chamber due to a lack of watertight closure. This can be attributed to corrosion of the container due to parasitic currents circulating between the container, the chamber and the reactor tank that acts as electrical ground of the system. In this work we refer over main…
A Targeted Search for Point Sources of EeV Neutrons
2014
A flux of neutrons from an astrophysical source in the Galaxy can be detected in the Pierre Auger Observatory as an excess of cosmic-ray air showers arriving from the direction of the source. To avoid the statistical penalty for making many trials, classes of objects are tested in combinations as nine “target sets”, in addition to the search for a neutron flux from the Galactic Center or from the Galactic Plane. Within a target set, each candidate source is weighted in proportion to its electromagnetic flux, its exposure to the Auger Observatory, and its flux attenuation factor due to neutron decay. These searches do not find evidence for a neutron flux from any class of candidate sources. …
The n_TOF facility: Neutron beams for challenging future measurements at CERN
2016
The CERN n TOF neutron beam facility is characterized by a very high instantaneous neutron flux, excellent TOF resolution at the 185 m long flight path (EAR-1), low intrinsic background and coverage of a wide range of neutron energies, from thermal to a few GeV. These characteristics provide a unique possibility to perform high-accuracy measurements of neutron-induced reaction cross-sections and angular distributions of interest for fundamental and applied Nuclear Physics. Since 2001, the n TOF Collaboration has collected a wealth of high quality nuclear data relevant for nuclear astrophysics, nuclear reactor technology, nuclear medicine, etc. The overall efficiency of the experimental prog…
A search for point sources of EeV neutrons
2012
A thorough search of the sky exposed at the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory reveals no statistically significant excess of events in any small solid angle that would be indicative of a flux of neutral particles from a discrete source. The search covers from −90◦ to +15◦ in declination using four different energy ranges above 1 EeV (1018 eV). The method used in this search is more sensitive to neutrons than to photons. The upper limit on a neutron flux is derived for a dense grid of directions for each of the four energy ranges. These results constrain scenarios for the production of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays in the Galaxy.
Neutron fluence spectrometry using disk activation
2009
Abstract A simple and robust detector for spectrometry of environmental neutrons has been developed. The technique is based on neutron activation of a series of different metal disks followed by low-level gamma-ray spectrometry of the activated disks and subsequent neutron spectrum unfolding. The technique is similar to foil activation but here the applied neutron fluence rates are much lower than usually in the case of foil activation. The detector has been tested in quasi mono-energetic neutron fields with fluence rates in the order of 1000–10000 cm −2 s −1 , where the obtained spectra showed good agreement with spectra measured using a Bonner sphere spectrometer. The detector has also b…
Design, manufacturing and testing of a fast disconnecting system for the European target assembly concept of IFMIF
2013
The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) will be equipped with a lithium target assembly to produce the required neutron flux for the irradiation of candidate fusion materials up to a damage rate of 100 dpa (cumulated damage in five years). The present European target assembly design is based on the so called replaceable backplate bayonet concept that was developed with the objective to simplify the maintenance operations for its refurbishment/replacement and to reduce the material for disposal as well. To this purpose it was also conceived to be attached to the lithium pipes and to the beam line by means of remotely operated connections based on clamped flanges with …
Dielectric properties of reactor irradiated ferroelectric thin films
2001
Abstract Radiation effects in highly oriented Pb1Zr0.53Ti0.47O3 (PZT), Pb0.94La0.06Zr0.65Ti0.35O3 (PLZT-6), and PbiZriO3 (PZ) ferroelectric (FE) and antiferroelectric (AF) thin films are investigated in view of their possible application as a temperature sensitive element in a new bolometer system for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). The dielectric properties (i.e. hysteresis loops, dielectric constants) of the films were investigated in a frequency range from 20 to 105 Hz and at temperatures up to 450 °C, before and after neutron irradiation to a neutron fluence of 5×1021 m−2 (E<0.1 MeV). The dielectric constant was measured during cooling with 1.7 °Cmin−1. The diel…
<title>Changes in the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant in irradiated antiferroelectric thin films</title>
2003
A model describing the changes of the Curie-Weiss temperature in lead-zirconate thin films under neutron irradiation is proposed. The Curie-Weiss temperature in the irradiated material decreases which is connected to charges caused by neutron irradiation. The charges located near the surfaces due to Schottky effect and in the bulk of the film results in different rates of the Curie-Weiss temperature decreases with neutron fluence. However the influence of the Schottky layers seems to be more pronounced. Satisfactory agreement between the theoretical results and the experimental data is obtained for different neutron fluences.© (2003) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Eng…
Behaviour of tritium in breeding materials
2005
Abstract The tritium release from ceramic materials of the HCPB under real DEMO operating conditions will depend not only on temperature and neutron flux but also on an intense magnetic field (MF) of 7–9 T. The delay in the tritium release induced by the MF is proportional to the grain size of the ceramics, the squared MF intensity and the abundance ratio of charged tritium forms (T + , T − ) in the grain volume of the ceramics. The effect of MFs of different intensity on the tritium release from the Li 4 SiO 4 pebbles irradiated in the EXOTIC-8 experiment (neutron fluence 2.4 × 10 25 n m −2 , irradiation temperature up to 700 K) was investigated in this study. As a result of the irradiati…
Safety analysis of the DONES primary heat removal system
2020
Abstract The development of a neutron source able to reproduce the irradiation conditions typical of a nuclear fusion reactor, in order to test candidate structural materials, is the main goal of the Work Package Early Neutron Source (WPENS) of the EUROfusion action. This source, named Demo Oriented NEutron Source (DONES), is a facility where neutrons are produced by means of D-Li interactions. More in detail, a beam of 125 mA deuterium ions at the energy of 40 MeV strikes a lithium jet flowing in a purposely shaped channel in order to obtain an intense and stable neutron flux for the irradiation of material samples. In the framework of these activities, safety analyses are a key aspect in …