Determination of thermal to epithermal neutron flux ratio (f), epithermal neutron flux shape factor (α) and comparator factor (Fc) in the Triga Mark II reactor, Malaysia

摘要

The thermal to epithermal neutron flux ratio (f or ? th /? e ), epithermal neutron flux shape factor (α) and comparator factor (F c ) are essential parameters when calculating the concentration of sample using k 0-standardization method in the neutron activation analysis (NAA). The work was performed in the Triga Mark II reactor of Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT) using Au/Zr monitor couple. Twenty channels in the reactor have been evaluated and the corresponding thermal to epithermal neutron flux ratios (f) ranged from 11.69 to 47.89. The epithermal neutron flux shape factors (α) were found in the range of ?1.50·10?1 to 1.59·10?1 and the comparator factors (F c ) were calculated within the range of 9.85·103 to 6.70·104. These results allowed us to study the neutron flux distribution more precisely and established the goodness of fit for k 0-NAA.