Design of an Am-Be neuron source experimental platform at Sichuan University

摘要

Am-Be neutron sources are widely used in nuclear laboratories. It is important to design adequate shielding for Am-Be neutron sources, in order to protect experimenters from being irradiated by neutrons and their associated gamma-rays. When designing shielding, it is also much desired for the source assembly to provide sufficient neutron moderation, and furnish access channels for both thermal and fast neutrons directly from the source. Such a neutron source assembly may be called a "neutron source experimental platform". This paper presents the design details of an Am-Be neutron source experimental platform at Sichuan University. The experimental platform is designed to be a Phi 100 cm x 100 cm paraffin cylinder with the Am-Be source at the center. The paraffin cylinder is inside a 0.5 cm thick stainless-steel container lined with 2 cm thick borated polyethylene. The platform has multiple access channels for thermal neutrons, and one access channel for fast neutrons. The design calculations were performed with Geant4.