Abstract
Spallation neutrons produced in the collision of a 2.33GeV deuteron beam with a large lead target are moderated by a thick graphite block surrounding the target and used to activate the radioactive samples of natU and Th put at three different positions, identified as holes “a”, “b” and “c” in the graphite block. Rates of the (n, f), (n, \( \gamma\) and (n, 2n) reactions in the two samples are determined using the gamma spectrometry. The ratios of the experimental reaction rates, R (n, 2n)/R (n, f), for 232Th and natU are estimated in order to understand the role of the (n, x n) kind of reactions in Accelerator-Driven Sub-critical Systems. For the Th-sample, the ratio is ∼ 54 (10)% in the case of hole “a” and ∼ 95 (57)% in the case of hole “b” compared to 1.73(20)% for hole “a” and 0.710(9)% for hole “b” in the case of the natU sample. Also the ratio of fission rates in uranium to thorium, natU (n, f)/ 232Th (n, f), is ∼ 11.2 (17) in the case of hole “a” and 26.8(85) in hole “b”. Similarly, the ratio 238U (n, 2n)/ 232Th (n, 2n) is 0.36(4) for hole “a” and 0.20(10) for hole “b” showing that 232Th is more prone to the (n, x n) reaction than 238U . All the experimental reaction rates are compared with the simulated ones by generating neutron fluxes at the three holes from MCNPX 2.6c and making use of the LA150 library of cross-sections. The experimental and calculated reaction rates of all the three reactions are in reasonably good agreement. The transmutation power, P norm as well as P norm/P beam of the set-up is estimated using the reaction rates of the (n, \( \gamma\) and (n, 2n) reactions for both the samples in the three holes and compared with some of the results of the “Energy plus Transmutation” set-up and TARC experiment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
C.D. Bowman et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 320, 336 (1992)
A.J. Janssen, Transmutation of Fission Products in Reactors and Accelerator-Driven Systems, ECN-R-94-001 (1994)
C. Rubbia, J.A. Rubio, Conceptual design of a fast neutron operated high power energy amplifier, CERN/AT/95-44 (ET), (1995). See also C. Rubbia, A high gain energy amplifier operated with fast neutrons, Proceedings of the International Conference on Accelerator-Driven Transmutation Technologies and Applications, Las Vegas (NV) 1994, AIP Conf. Proc., vol. 346 (AIP Publishing, 1994)
F. Sokolov, K. Fukuda, H.P. Nawada, Thorium fuel cycle - Potential benefits and challenges, IAEA-TECDOC-1450 (2005)
Experimental Nuclear Reaction Data, http://www-nds.iaea.org/various1.htm,www-nds.iaea.org/,www.nndc.bnl.gov/
J.S. Hendricks, MCNPX, version 2.6.c, LA-UR-06-7991 (2006)
A. Fasso, A. Ferrari, J. Ranft, P.R. Sala, FLUKA: present status and future developments, in Proceedings of the IV International Conference on Calorimetry in High Energy Physics, La Biodola (Italy) 21-26 September (1993), edited by A. Menzione, A. Scribano (World Scientific, 1994) pp. 493-502
V.S. Barashenkov, Comput. Phys. Commun. 126, 28 (2000)
C.H.M. Broeders, FZK 7183 (2006)
A.J. Koning, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology, Santa Fe, USA, Sept. 26 -- Oct. 1 (2004) and www.talys.eu
Y.A. Korovin et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 562, 721 (2006)
G.N. Kim et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 485, 458 (2002)
G. Tagliente, n-TOF Collaboration, Braz. J. Phys. 34, 1033 (2004)
A.K. Krasnykh, V.L. Lomidze, A.V. Novokhatsky, Yu.P. Popov, W.I. Furman (Editors), IREN Project. Intense Resonance Neutron Source, Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, JINR, Dubna (1994)
H.A. Abderrahim, P. Baeten et al., Nucl. Phys. News 20, 24 (2010)
V. Shvetsov et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 562, 886 (2006)
V.S. Barashenkov, H. Kumawat, V.A. Lobanova, V. Kumar, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 217, 352 (2004)
B. Blau et al., Neutron News 20, 5 (2009)
Shinichi Sakamoto et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 562, 638 (2006)
T. Ino et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 525, 496 (2004)
E. Kim et al., Nucl. Sci. Eng. 129, 209 (1998)
A. Abanades et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 478, 577 (2002)
J. Adam et al., Eur. Phys. J. A 43, 159 (2010)
J. Adam, V.S. Barashenkov, H. Kumawat, V. Kumar et al., Kerntechnik 70, 127 (2005)
J. Adam, V.S. Barashenkov, H. Kumawat, V. Kumar et al., Euro. Phys. J. A 23, 61 (2005)
Yu.E. Titarenko et al., Phys. Rev. C 65, 064610 (2002)
Yu.E. Titarenko et al., Phys. Rev. C 78, 034615 (2008)
V. Kumar, Chitra Bhatia, H. Kumawat, CASCADE data for the A.D.S materials for its Benchmarking, in PSI Proceedings 09-01, 30 (2009)
V. Kumar, Chitra Bhatia, H. Kumawat, J. Adam, Eur. Phys. J. A 40, 231 (2009)
Manish Sharma, V. Kumar et al., Pramana J. Phys. 68, 307 (2007)
J. Banaigs, J. Berger, J. Dulfo, L. Goldzahl et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods 95, 307 (1971)
J. Frana, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 257, 583 (2003)
S.Y.F. Chu, L.P. Ekstrom, R.B. Firestone, http://nucleardata.nuclear.lu.se
The JEFF-3.1 Nuclear Data Library, JEFF report 21, edited by A. Koning, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Nuclear Energy Agency, Paris, 2006
J. Adam, A. Balabekyan, V.S. Pronskikh et al., Appl. Rad. Isotopes 56, 607 (2002)
V. Kumar, H. Kumawat, Chitra Bhatia, Probl. At. Sci. Technol. 4, 80 (2009)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by R. Krücken
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Adam, J., Bhatia, C., Katovsky, K. et al. A study of reaction rates of (n, f ) , (n,\( \gamma\)) and (n, 2n) reactions in natU and 232Th by the neutron fluence produced in the graphite set-up (GAMMA-3) irradiated by 2.33 GeV deuteron beam. Eur. Phys. J. A 47, 85 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2011-11085-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2011-11085-4