Title: Absolute determination of the neutron source yield using melamine as a neutron detector
Abstract: A new approach to absolute determination of the neutron source yield is presented. It bases on the application of melamine (C3H6N6) to neutron detection combined with Monte Carlo simulations of neutron transport. Melamine has the ability to detect neutrons via 14N(n, p)14C reaction and subsequent determination of 14C content. A cross section for this reaction is relatively high for thermal neutrons (1.827 b) and much lower for fast neutrons. A concentration of 14C nuclei created in the irradiated sample of melamine can be reliably measured with the aid of the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The mass of melamine sufficient for this analysis is only 10 mg. Neutron detection is supported by Monte Carlo simulations of neutron transport carried out with the use of MCNP-4C code. These simulations are aimed at computing the probability of 14C creation in the melamine sample per the source neutron. The result of AMS measurements together with results of MCNP calculations enable us to determine the number of neutrons emitted from the source during the irradiation of melamine.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-01-07
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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