Measurement of neutron fluence in the High-Flux Test Module of the Early Neutron Source by neutron activation

摘要

The High Flux Test Module (HFTM) carries the specimens to be irradiated with the Early Neutron Source. The knowledge of the total neutron fluence on the specimen will be necessary for analysis. Neutron activation is a widely used method for neutron fluence measurement. We have tested a set of activation materials which seem to be suitable for application in the HFTM considering half-lives of the induced activities, the environmental conditions and the deployment time in the HFTM. Test foils were irradiated for 9.5 h with a cyclotron of NPI Rez in a white neutron field with energies up to 32 MeV. The induced activities were determined 61 days after the irradiation. We present the resulting saturation activities with estimated uncertainties and draw conclusions on the application of the selected activation materials in the HFTM.