Measurements and model calculations of activation cross sections for 232Th(n,2n)231Th reaction between 13.57 and 14.83 MeV neutrons

In this study, activation cross sections were measured for the reaction of ²³²Th(n,2n)²³¹Th (T_1/2 = 25.5 h) by using neutron activation technique at six different neutron energies from 13.57 and 14.83 MeV. Neutrons were produced via the ³H(²H,n)⁴He reaction using SAMES T-400 neutron generator. Irradiated and activated high purity Thorium foils were measured by a high-resolution γ-ray spectrometer with a high-purity Germanium (HpGe) detector. In cross section measurements, the corrections were made for the effects of γ-ray self-absorption in the foils, dead-time, coincidence summing, fluctuation of neutron flux, low energy neutrons. For this reaction, statistical model calculation, which the pre-equilibrium emission effects were taken into consideration, were also performed between 13.57 and 14.83 MeV energy range. The cross sections were compared with previous works in literature, with model calculation results, and with evaluation data bases (ENDF/B-VII, ENDF/B-VI, JEFF-3.1, JENDL-4.0, JENDL-3.3, and ROSFOND-2010).     

Isomeric cross-sections of In and Rh at neutron energies of a few MeV

Neutron capture cross-sections are measured at five different neutron energies (1.07 ± 0.20, 1.48 ± 0.18, 1.89 ± 0.17, 2.30 ± 0.16 and 2.85 ± 0.15 MeV) for the isomeric states of In and Rh. The comparative γ-activation technique has been used. The present results are compared with previous data wherever available.     

Measurements of Average Cross Section for 232Th(n, 2n)231Th Reaction to Neutrons with Fission-Type Reactor Spectrum and of Gamma-Ray Intensities of 231Th

The average cross section for the ²³²Th(n, 2n)²³¹Th reaction to neutrons with the energy spectrum close to that of fission neutrons was obtained in the core of the Kyoto University Reactor, KUR. The value obtained was 12.5±0.84 mb. This value agrees satisfactorily with Phillips' and with the calculated value obtained with the cross section in the U-K library and the Maxwellian fission neutron spectrum given by Leachman. A somewhat poorer agreement is seen with the calculated value obtained from Butler & Santry's cross section and Leachman's spectrum. The discrepancy amounts to 24 and to 39% respectively, for the average cross sections calculated with these two excitation functions and the fission neutron spectrum given by McElroy.

By making use of a Ge(Li) counter whose photopeak efficiency had been carefully calibrated, the absolute intensities were determined for eleven photopeaks observed on the γ-ray spectrum emitted by ²³¹Th.     

Cross-section measurements for the Mo (n,p) Nb reaction at the neutron energies from 13.6 to 14.9 MeV

Cross sections were measured at neutron energies from 13.6 to 14.9 MeV for the reaction ⁹⁷Mo(n,p)^97mNb leading to isomer of Niobium-97 isotope. The production of relatively short-lived isomer activity and the spectra accumulation have been carried out by cyclic activation method. Corrections were made for the effects of gamma ray attenuation, random coincidence summing (pulse pileup), dead time, neutron flux fluctuations and scattered low energy neutron contribution. Statistical model calculations for which the pre-equilibrium emission effects are taken into consideration were also performed for the investigated reaction between 13.0 and 15.0 MeV neutron energy range.     

Direct neutron spectrum measurement to validate Zr(n,2n) reaction cross-section at 14 MeV

Lithium zirconate, Li₂ZrO₃, is known as a candidate blanket material in a fusion reactor. Various neutronics benchmark experiments for zirconium have thus been carried out so far. According to the independent benchmark studies by two parties, the neutron spectrum calculations show fairly large overestimation for most evaluated nuclear data libraries. However, the reason has not yet been made clear up to now. The author's group expects it would be due to a problem of evaluation for the ^natZr(n,2n) reaction cross-section, because the cross-section measurement is basically not possible with the foil activation method for zirconium isotopes except for ⁹⁰Zr.In the present study, two neutrons emitted from ^natZr(n,2n) reaction have been measured directly to investigate the reason for the above overestimation. The measurement was done with our own special technique of detecting angle-correlated neutrons by the coincidence detection technique and the pencil-beam DT neutron source of FNS, JAEA. Angle-correlated energy differential cross-sections for ^natZr(n,2n) reaction were successfully measured. The obtained total cross-section above the emitted neutron energy of 800 keV was fairly larger than the one evaluated in JENDL-3.3. The total cross-section of ^natZr(n,2n) reaction was estimated by extrapolating the spectrum down to zero energy taking into account the nuclear temperature. The estimated cross-section value with the nuclear temperature of 1 MeV, which is larger than the one adopted in JENDL-3.3, was in acceptable agreement with JENDL-3.3. It is suggested from the result that the disagreement pointed out in the previous benchmark studies may be due to inappropriate nuclear temperature used in the evaluation. Further investigation of the nuclear temperature employed in the nuclear data evaluation should thus be carried out once again.     

Measurement of the 232Th(n,f)cross section in the 1-200 MeV range at the CSNS Back-n

The 232Th(n,f)cross section is very important in basic nuclear physics and applications based on the Th/U fuel cycle.Using the time-of-flight method and a multi-cell fast-fission ionization chamber,a novel measurement of the 232Th(n,f)cross sec-tion relative to 235U in the 1-200 MeV range was performed at the China Spallation Neutron Source Back-n white neutron source(Back-n).The fission event-neutron energy spectra of 232Th and 235U fission cells were measured in the single-bunch mode.Corrected 232Th/235U fission cross-sectional ratios were obtained,and the measurement uncertainties were 2.5-3.7％for energies in the 2-20 MeV range and 3.6-6.2％for energies in the 20-200 MeV range.The 232Th(n,f)cross section was obtained by introducing the standard cross section of 235U(n,f).The results were compared with those of previous theoreti-cal calculations,measurements,and evaluations.The measured 232Th fission cross section agreed with the main evaluation results in terms of the experimental uncertainty,and 232Th fission resonances were observed in the 1-3 MeV range.The present results provide 232Th(n,f)cross-sectional data for the evaluation and design of Th/U cycle nuclear systems.     

Product yields for the photofission of ~(232)Th,~(234,238)U,~(237)Np,and ~(239,240,242)Pu actinides at various incident photon energies

Photofission fragments mass yield for~(232)Th,~(234;238) U,~(237) Np, and~(239;240;242) Pu isotopes are investigated.The calculations are done using a developed approach based on Gorodisskiy's phenomenological formalism. The Gorodisskiy's method is developed to be applied for the neutron-induced fission. Here we revised it for application to photofission. The effect of emitted neutron prior to fission on the fission fragment mass yields has also been studied. The peak-to-valley ratio is extracted for the240 Pu isotope as a function of energy. Obtained results of the present formalism are compared with the available experimental data. Satisfactory agreement is achieved between the results of present approach and the experimental data.     

人骨骼中~(228)Th、~(230)Th和~(232)Th含量的同时测定

本文介绍了用α谱仪同时测定人骨骼中~(228)Th、~(230)Th和~(232)Th含量的方法。样品用浓 HNO_3和 H_2O_3湿灰化,草酸钙共沉淀载带、CL-5208萃淋树脂和743阳离子交换树脂联合分离后,电沉积制源,在低温半导体α谱仪上测量。该方法对~(234)Th的全程回收率为95.0±1.7%,对铀和镭的去污系数分别为6.3×10~4和1.5×10~3,对~(228)Th、~(230)Th、~(232)Th 的探测下限分别为0.432、0.135和0.108Bq/kg(鲜重)。     

Measurement of the cross sections for the reactions Cr(n,2n)Cr, Zn(n,2n)Zn, Y(n,2n)Y and Zr(n,2n)Zr from 13.5 to 14.8 MeV

Cross section measurements for the reactions ⁵²Cr(n,2n)⁵¹Cr, ⁶⁶Zn(n,2n)⁶⁵Zn, ⁸⁹Y(n,2n)⁸⁸Y and ⁹⁶Zr(n,2n)⁹⁵Zr were carried out in the neutron energy range 13.47–14.79 MeV applying the activation technique. Neutrons were produced via the T(d,n)⁴He reaction, making use of the variation of neutron energy with the emission angle. The neutron fluences incident on the samples were determined relative to the well-evaluated cross section for the reaction ⁹³Nb(n,2n)^92mNb.

The induced γ-ray activities of the irradiated Zn, Zr and Y₂O₃ samples and their monitor foils were measured by means of a calibrated Ge(Li) γ-ray detector at the KFI, Debrecen. At the IRK, Vienna, relative γ-ray measurements using a high-purity Ge detector were combined with integral γ-ray counting by means of a NaI(TI) well-type detector on the Cr, Zn and Zr foils of highest activity and on some Nb monitor foils; integral γ-ray counting only was applied in the case of the Y₂O₃ samples. All necessary corrections were taken into account.

The results are compared to the corresponding results of cross section measurements published in the literature. The uncertainties obtained in this work are considerably smaller in most cases than the uncertainties given by other authors.     

Measurements of activation cross-sections for the F(n, α)N reaction for neutrons with energies between 13 and 15 MeV

In this study, activation cross-sections were measured for the ¹⁹F(n, α)¹⁶N reaction at six different neutron energies from 13.5 and 14.9 MeV. The fast neutrons were produced via the ³H(d,n)⁴He reaction on SAMES T-400 neutron generator. The cyclic activation technique was used. Induced gamma activities were measured by a high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer with high-purity germanium (HpGe) detector. Measurements were corrected for gamma-ray attenuations, random coincidence (pile-up), dead time and fluctuation of neutron flux. Results were compared with the previous works.     

Differential Cross Section Measurement for ~6Li(n,t)~4He Reaction at 3.67 and 4.42 MeV

Using a gridded ionization chamber, the differential cross sections for ~6Li(n,t)~4He reaction were measured at 3.67 and 4.42 MeV. The neutrons were produced with D(d,n)~3He reaction. Absolute neutron flux was determined through ~(238)U(n,f) and H(n,p) reaction. The result at 3.67 MeV is almost 90 degree symmetry but it is obviously forward peaked at 4.42 MeV in the center of mass system.     

Measurement of the cross sections of the reactions 14N(n, α)11B and 14N(n, t)12C at neutron energies 5.45–7.2 MeV

The cross sections of the reactions ¹⁴N(n, α)¹¹B and ¹⁴N(n, t)¹²C have been measured for neutron energies 5.46–7.2 MeV. The neutrons are generated in the reaction D(d, n) on a solid titanium target. The work employs digital spectrometry. The charged-particle detector is a pulsed ionization chamber with a Frisch grid, filled with a kyrpton-nitrogen mixture. The cross sections are measured for four groups of α particles α₀, α₁, α₂, and α₃ from the reaction ¹⁴N(n, α)¹¹B and for tritium from the reaction ¹⁴N(n, t)¹²C. The energy resolution of the spectrometer was 60 keV. The errors in determining the cross sections for the reactions (n, α) and (n, t) are 10–15%. The measurement results are compared with the ENDF/V VI evaluation. Good agreement is obtained in the neutron energy range 5.45–6.5 MeV. At higher energies, the discrepancy reaches 30%. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 101, No. 4, pp. 307–311, October, 2006.