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Experiments and Simulations of the Use of Time-Correlated Thermal Neutron Counting to Determine the Multiplication of an Assembly of Highly Enriched Uranium

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1173095
A series of experiments and numerical simulations using thermal-neutron time-correlated measurements has been performed to determine the neutron multiplication, M, of assemblies of highly enriched uranium available at Idaho National Laboratory. The experiments used up to 14.4 kg of highly-enriched uranium, including bare assemblies and assemblies reflected with high-density polyethylene, carbon steel, and tungsten. A small 252Cf source was used to initiate fission chains within the assembly. Both the experiments and the simulations used 6-channel and 8-channel detector systems, each consisting of 3He proportional counters moderated with polyethylene; data was recorded in list mode for analysis. 'True' multiplication values for each assembly were empirically derived using basic neutron production and loss values determined through simulation. A total of one-hundred and sixteen separate measurements were performed using fifty-seven unique measurement scenarios, the multiplication varied from 1.75 to 10.90. This paper presents the results of these comparisons and discusses differences among the various cases.
Research Organization:
Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC07-05ID14517
OSTI ID:
1173095
Report Number(s):
INL/CON-14-31789
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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