Measurement of Average Cross Section for 238U(n, 2n)237U Reaction

Accurate solution of the group diffusion equations for PWR cores requires explicit treatment of the non-homogeneous macroscopic parameters within each fuel assembly. It is argued that the response matrix approach is a convenient method to handle this problem provided all matrix elements for the non-homogeneous assemblies can be computed. This so called local problem is solved in this paper by a perturbation algorithm which leads to sensitivity coefficients for the power series expansions of the response matrix elements. A numerical study for 2 representative assemblies of the Indian Point Unit No. 2 (IP2) reactor is carried out and response matrices obtained by the perturbative method are compared with values computed by a finite difference program.     

Isomeric ratio and cross section of the237Np(n, 2n) reaction

Conclusion It has thus been shown that on the basis of the Hauser-Feshbach theory, and taking into account the law of the conservation of moment, the isomer ratio for the reaction²³⁷Np (n, 2n) can be calculated. The indeterminateness of the modeling of the²³⁶Np level scheme, to all appearances, has little effect on the energy dependence of the isomeric ratio.The error in the calculated cross section for the (n, 2n) reaction is determined chiefly by the error in the experimental data on the isomeric ratio and on the cross section for the formation of the short-lived state. Obtaining a correct estimate of the error is made difficult by the scarcity of experimental data on the isomeric ratio.The results of this work can be useful in practical activity when combined with an estimate of the cross sections and the creation of a complete system of neutron cross sections for²³⁷Np. Theoretical estimates of the cross sections can to a significant extent compensate for the scarcity and indeterminateness of the experimental data.Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 63, No. 2, pp. 110–113, August, 1987.     

Measurement of thermal neutron cross section and resonance integral for (n,γ) reaction in Sm

This study implies that ⁵⁵Mn(n,γ)⁵⁵Mn monitor reaction may be a convenient alternative comparator for the activation method and thus, it was used for the determination of thermal neutron cross section (TNX) and the resonance integral (RI) of the reaction ¹⁵²Sm(n,γ)¹⁵³Sm. The samples of MnO₂ and Sm₂O₃ diluted with Al₂O₃ powder were irradiated within and without a cylindrical 1 mm-Cd shield case in an isotropic neutron field obtained from the ²⁴¹Am–Be neutron sources. The γ-ray spectra from the irradiated samples were measured by high resolution γ-ray spectrometry with a calibrated n-type Ge detector. The correction factors for γ-ray attenuation, thermal neutron and resonance neutron self-shielding effects and epithermal neutron spectrum shape factor (α) were taken into account in the determinations. The thermal neutron cross section for ¹⁵²Sm(n,γ)¹⁵³Sm reaction has been determined to be 204.8 ± 7.9 b at 0.025 eV. This result has been obtained relative to the reference thermal neutron cross section value of 13.3 ± 0.1 b for the ⁵⁵Mn(n,γ)⁵⁶Mn reaction. For the TNX, most of the experimental data and evaluated one in JEFF-3.1, ENDF/B-VI, JENDL 3.3 and BROND 2.0, in general, agree well with the present result. The RI value for ¹⁵²Sm(n,γ)¹⁵³Sm reaction has also been determined to be 3038 ± 214 b, relative to the reference value of 14.0 ± 0.3 b for the ⁵⁵Mn(n,γ)⁵⁶Mn monitor reaction, using a 1/E^1+α epithermal neutron spectrum and assuming Cd cut-off energy of 0.55 eV. In surveying literature, the existing experimental and evaluated data for the RI values are distributed from 1715 to 3462 b. However, when the Cd cut-off energy is defined as 0.55 eV, the present RI value agrees with some previously reported RI values, 3020 ± 163 b by Simonits et al., 3141 ± 157 by Van Der Linden et al., and 2962 ± 54 b by Kafala et al., within the limits of error.     

Neutron yield in inelastic collisions of 14-Mev neutrons with nuclei and cross section for the (n, 2n) reaction

A measurement has been made of , the number of neutrons produced in one inelastic scattering event between a neutron and a number of elements of natural isotopic composition: Fe, Cu, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hg, Pb, Bi and U. The measurements were performed by determining the relative change in the total neutron flux and the attenuation of the primary neutrons after passage through samples of the materials being investigated. It was also possible to obtain data on the cross section _in for inelastic collisions of neutrons with the above-mentioned nuclei. The values of and _in, in conjunction with the known cross sections for neutron capture, were then used to compute the cross section for the (n, 2n) reaction (averaged over the isotopic composition) in nonfissile nuclei.This work was completed in 1952.The authors wish to thank A.A. Malinkin for comparing the neutron yields from sources used to measure the dependence of counter sensitivity on neutron energy.     

Measurement of Average Cross Section for 233U(n, 2n)232U Reaction

Isotopically pure ²³³U samples, with only 3 × l0^?3 ppm²³²U content, were prepared by thermal neutron irradiation of thoria and subsequent chemical processing. The ²³³U sample thus obtained was reirradiated with a fission neutron spectrum in the core of the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR), and measurements were made of the fission spectrum average cross section for the ²³³U(n, 2n) ²³²U reaction. A value of 4.08±0.30 mb was obtained for this cross section, in agreement with the renormalized value of Halperin et al. within the limits of experimental error.

In order to assess the energy dependent cross section from the value of this integral measurement, the ²³³U (n, 2n) cross section was calculated assuming a Maxwellian-type fission spectrum and adopting the energy dependent evaluated cross sections of ENDF/B-III and other authors. The values of the cross section thus determined were found to be about 32 to 91% larger than the measured cross section given above. The result of Pearlstein's calculation of the ²³³U(n, 2n) cross section by the statistical model, again assuming the Maxwellian distribution, is smaller than the measured cross section by about 19%.