Issue |
EPJ Web Conf.
Volume 288, 2023
ANIMMA 2023 – Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications
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Article Number | 04015 | |
Number of page(s) | 4 | |
Section | Research Reactors and Particle Accelerators | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202328804015 | |
Published online | 21 November 2023 |
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202328804015
Investigation of organic scintillators for neutron-gamma noise measurements in a zero power reactor
1 Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109 MI, USA
2 Laboratory of Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviour, Ecole Polytechnique Fe´de´rale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
3 Nuclear Energy and Safety Division, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
Published online: 21 November 2023
Noise measurements in light water reactor systems aid in generating validation data for integral point kinetic parameter predictions and monitoring parameters for reactor safety and safeguards. The CROCUS zero-power reactor has been used to produce both data types to date, using thermal neutron detectors to observe neutron noise and inorganic scintillators to observe gamma noise. Also, the cross-correlation of gamma and neutron noise has been investigated at CROCUS with separate gamma and neutron detectors. Organic scintillators can be used to cross-correlate gamma and neutron noise with only one detector type, within a single detector volume, and provide nanosecond timing resolution for time-correlated measurements. Dual-particle measurements require particle-type discrimination and are hence possible with organic scintillators since such detectors have the property of presenting statistically different pulse shapes for gamma rays and fast neutrons. The fine timing precision increases the signal-to-noise ratio relative to moderated thermal neutron detectors for correlated measurements and the dual-particle sensitivity allows for multiple modalities of estimating the prompt neutron decay constant. In this work, we present data obtained with 5.08 cm-length by 5.08 cm-diameter trans-stilbene cylindrical detectors set in the water reflector of CROCUS. Preliminary results estimate the prompt neutron decay constant to be (155 ±5) s−1 at delayed critical.
Key words: power spectral density / organic scintillators / pulse-shape discrimination
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2023
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