{sup 233}U breeding measurements in a thorium-oxide blanket assembly using A (d,t) accelerator neutron source
- Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay (India)
Uranium-233 breeding studies are carried out in a compact thorium-oxide cylindrical blanket assembly surrounded by a thick polypropylene reflector in a fusion neutron environment. The assembly consists of 11 rings of thorium-oxide rods stacked in a hexagonal geometry with a central through channel for the 14-MeV (d,t) neutron source. A total of 120 thorium-oxide probes are inserted inside the rods in different axial and radial locations in the assembly, which is then subjected to 14-MeV neutron irradiation for 25 h. Protactinium-233 gamma activity produced in the probes because of neutron captures in the thorium is measured using a high-efficiency, high-purity germanium detector. The measured {sup 233}U production rates are fitted to obtain axial and radial distributions for different rings. These distributions are used to obtain the total {sup 233}U breeding in the whole assembly. The integral measured values are found to be in good agreement with the calculated values obtained employing the MCNP Monte Carlo code using the BMCCS2 cross-section library. 8 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 512920
- Journal Information:
- Fusion Technology, Vol. 31, Issue 3; Other Information: PBD: May 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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