Measurements of Delayed Neutron Parameters for U-235 and Np-237

Measurements of Delayed Neutron Parameters for U-235 and Np-237
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Total Pages: 134
Release: 1997
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Delayed neutrons are emitted by excited nuclei formed in beta decay of fission products called delayed neutron precursors. About 1% of the total neutrons released in fission are delayed neutrons; however, this small fraction plays an important role in nuclear reactor control. The delayed neutrons determine the time-dependent behavior of reactors, and knowledge of parameters used to predict neutron emission rate is essential for establishing reactivity worths. The delayed neutron yields, decay constants, and the absolute yield for the six-group delayed neutrons have been measured for U-235 and Np-237. This experiment has been called for in the forecast of experiments needed to support operations in the US. The bare U-235 metal assembly Godiva IV at the Los Alamos Critical Experiment Facility (LACEF) provided the source of neutrons. Godiva IV generated about 107 total fissions in the samples for the infinite and instantaneous irradiation needed to accentuate the shorter and longer-lived groups of delayed neutrons. The detection system used in the experiment consisted of 20 He-3 tubes embedded in a polyethylene cylinder. The delayed neutron activity resulting from the fast neutron-induced fission has been measured. The measured absolute yield for U-235 was determined to be 0.0163 " 0.009 neutrons/fission. This value compares very well with the well-established Keepin absolute yield of 0.0165 " 0.0005. The newly measured absolute yield value for Np-237 was 0.0126 " 0.0007, which compares well to the recently reported value of 0.0129 " 0.0004 by Saleh and Parish. The measured values for U-235 are corroborated with period (e-folding time) versus reactivity calculations.

Preliminary Pulsing Experiments to Measure Delayed Neutron Emission Parameters

Preliminary Pulsing Experiments to Measure Delayed Neutron Emission Parameters
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Total Pages: 8
Release: 1998
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Recent interest in delayed neutron parameters including comparisons between macroscopic (experimental) and microscopic (calculated) results have prompted a set of experiments using the 1MW Triga Reactor at the Texas A and M University (TAMU) Nuclear Science Center (NSC) designed to measure the complete set of seven-group delayed neutron parameters for several higher actinides. Operating the Nuclear Science Center Reactor (NSCR) in a pulsed mode, a complete set of delayed neutron parameters were measured for Np-237 and Am-243. The total delayed neutron yield per 100 fissions for Np-237 and Am-243 was found to be 1.14 " 0.07 and 0.85 " 0.05, respectively. Comparisons to previous measurements are made where such measurements are available.

Nuclear Science Abstracts

Nuclear Science Abstracts
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Total Pages: 1298
Release: 1974
Genre: Nuclear energy
ISBN:

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