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Systematic measurement of fast neutron background fluctuations in an urban area using a mobile detection system

Journal Article · · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  3. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
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Neutron background measurements using a mobile trailer-based system were conducted in Knoxville, Tennessee. The 0.5 m2 system consisting of 8 EJ-301 liquid scintillation detectors was used to collect neutron background measurements in order to better understand the systematic background variations that depend solely on the street-level measurement position in a local, downtown area. Data was collected along 5 different streets in the downtown Knoxville area, and the measurements were found to be repeatable. Using 10-min measurements, fractional uncertainty in each measured data point was <2%. Compared with fast neutron background count rates measured away from downtown Knoxville, a reduction in background count rates ranging from 10-50% was observed in the downtown area, sometimes varying substantially over distances of tens of meters. These reductions are attributed to the shielding of adjacent buildings, quantified in part here by the metric angle-of-open-sky. The adjacent buildings may serve to shield cosmic ray neutron flux.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1162069
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 22419648
Journal Information:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Journal Name: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment Vol. 773; ISSN 0168-9002
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Background radiation
Fast neutron
Liquid scintillation detectors
Passive detection
Standoff detection