TY - JOUR
T1 - LiF/ZnS neutron multiplicity counter
AU - Stave, Sean
AU - Bliss, Mary
AU - Kouzes, Richard
AU - Lintereur, Azaree
AU - Robinson, Sean
AU - Siciliano, Edward
AU - Wood, Lynn
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - The availability of 3He in recent years is becoming restricted with an order of magnitude price increase for this material. Alternatives to the use of 3He for the detection of thermal neutrons are under investigation. One of the most challenging applications for 3He alternatives is in neutron multiplicity counters that provide rapid assay of samples which contain an unknown amount of plutonium in a potentially unknown configuration. With appropriate detector design that has minimal gamma-ray sensitivity and a high detection efficiency even for triple coincidence events, the neutron single, double, and triple coincidence events can be used to extract three unknown parameters such as the 240Pu-effective mass, the sample self-multiplication, and the (α,n) rate. This project is aimed at determining if commercially available 3He alternatives can satisfy this challenging application. Using MCNP modeling the best alternative identified used LiF/ZnS neutron-scintillator sheets and wavelength shifting plastic for light pipes. A four-panel demonstrator module has been constructed, tested, and compared with detailed modeling results. However, to attain that desired high-level of performance two primary design challenges must be addressed. They include building a fast electronics system and robust neutron/gamma-ray discrimination based on pulse shape analysis at high rates. A review of the current effort and the most recent findings will be presented.
AB - The availability of 3He in recent years is becoming restricted with an order of magnitude price increase for this material. Alternatives to the use of 3He for the detection of thermal neutrons are under investigation. One of the most challenging applications for 3He alternatives is in neutron multiplicity counters that provide rapid assay of samples which contain an unknown amount of plutonium in a potentially unknown configuration. With appropriate detector design that has minimal gamma-ray sensitivity and a high detection efficiency even for triple coincidence events, the neutron single, double, and triple coincidence events can be used to extract three unknown parameters such as the 240Pu-effective mass, the sample self-multiplication, and the (α,n) rate. This project is aimed at determining if commercially available 3He alternatives can satisfy this challenging application. Using MCNP modeling the best alternative identified used LiF/ZnS neutron-scintillator sheets and wavelength shifting plastic for light pipes. A four-panel demonstrator module has been constructed, tested, and compared with detailed modeling results. However, to attain that desired high-level of performance two primary design challenges must be addressed. They include building a fast electronics system and robust neutron/gamma-ray discrimination based on pulse shape analysis at high rates. A review of the current effort and the most recent findings will be presented.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84939982119&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84939982119&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nima.2015.01.039
DO - 10.1016/j.nima.2015.01.039
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84939982119
SN - 0168-9002
VL - 784
SP - 208
EP - 212
JO - Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
JF - Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
ER -