Design and performance of a compact subthermal neutron source for an Electron Linear Accelerator

We present the design, construction and performance of a compact subthermal neutron source to be operated at the Bariloche Electron LINAC. The design was based on the premise of keeping the moderator temperature stable at 77 K for at least seven hours without refilling liquid nitrogen. Two moderator...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Tartaglione, Aureliano, Galván Josa, Víctor Martín, Dawidowski, Javier, Cantargi, Florencia, Blostein, Juan Jeronimo
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2013
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/8961
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/8961
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Instrumentation for Neutron Sources
Neutron Sources
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Description
Summary:We present the design, construction and performance of a compact subthermal neutron source to be operated at the Bariloche Electron LINAC. The design was based on the premise of keeping the moderator temperature stable at 77 K for at least seven hours without refilling liquid nitrogen. Two moderator materials in semi-cylindrical geometry were studied: polyethylene and mesitylene. The effective moderator volumes were optimized by Monte Carlo simulations. Experimental data and calculations corresponding to the neutron production as a function of the neutron energy for those materials at room temperature and at 77 K were compared. We observed that the rate of subthermal neutrons, compared to epithermal neutrons, increases up to five times for both moderators when they are cooled down.