Neutron-Activated Gamma-Emission: Technology Review

Litz, Marc; Waits, C.M.; Mullins, Jennifer

doi:10.21236/ada554870

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The reaction channel opens at a threshold energy recorded over 10 keV and mainly around 100 keV for heavy nuclei and a few MeV for light nuclei [58]. The maximum inelastic cross section is around 5 barns while for most nuclei it is around 1 barn [59]. Regarding the goal of the current investigation, the advantages of inelastic scattering in comparison to elastic are related to the substantial energy loss during collisions, as well as to the energy range where the reaction occurs, that is, in high energies.…”

Section: Effect Of Materials With Important Inelastic Scatteringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary Selection of Device Materials to Locally Transform Thermal into SFR Neutron Spectrum

Chrysanthopoulou

Savva

Varvayanni

et al. 2018

Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations

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The safe introduction of Generation IV (Gen IV) reactor concepts into operation will require extensive testing of their components. This must be performed under neutronic conditions representative of those expected to prevail inside the new reactor cores when in operation. In a thermal Material Testing Reactor (MTR) such neutronic conditions can be achieved by tailoring the prevailing neutron spectrum with the utilization of a device containing appropriate materials. In this work various materials are investigated as candidate components of a device that will be required in case that a thermal MTR neutron energy spectrum must be locally transformed, so as to imitate Sodium cooled Fast Reactor (SFR). Many nuclides have been examined with respect to only their neutronic behavior, providing thus a pool of neutronically appropriate materials for consideration in further investigation, such as regarding reactor safety and fabrication issues. The nuclides have been studied using the neutronics code TRIPOLI-4.8 while the reflector of the Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR) was considered as the hosting environment of the transforming device. The results obtained suggest that elements with important inelastic neutron scattering could be chosen at a first level as being able to modify the prevailing neutron spectrum towards the desired direction. The factors which are important for an effective inelastic scatterer comprise density and inelastic microscopic cross section, as well as the energy ranges where inelastic scattering occurs. All the above factors have been separately examined in order to suggest potential device materials, able to locally produce SFR neutron spectrum imitation in a thermal MTR.

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Section: Effect Of Materials With Important Inelastic Scatteringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary Selection of Device Materials to Locally Transform Thermal into SFR Neutron Spectrum

Chrysanthopoulou

Savva

Varvayanni

et al. 2018

Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations

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“…One can consider that all constituent materials of an S-type asteroid that can be activated during an explosion have a very short decay time in general and all decay emitting β or α particles. For example, silica has isotopes with a decay time that ranges from 60 ns for Si High energy neutrons can only be spontaneously generated by the decay of heavy atoms that cannot come from the core of the asteroid post explosion (Litz et al , 2012). Neutron activation on the antipodal side is also not possible, neither neutron scattering.…”

Section: Post-explosion Radiation Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear cycler: An incremental approach to the deflection of asteroids

Vasile

Thiry

2016

Advances in Space Research

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This paper introduces a novel deflection approach based on nuclear explosions: the nuclear cycler. The idea is to combine the effectiveness of nuclear explosions with the controllability and redundancy offered by slow push methods within an incremental deflection strategy. The paper will present an extended model for single nuclear stand-off explosions in the proximity of elongated ellipsoidal asteroids, and a family of natural formation orbits that allows the spacecraft to deploy multiple bombs while being shielded by the asteroid during the detonation.

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