MULTILAYER SHIELD EXPERIMENT IV, OTF III

Technical Report · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1958

OSTI ID:4071097

Henry, R L

A series of shield tests were conducted at the Nuclear Aircraft Research Facility at Convair-Font Worth to obtain shield design information for nuclear aircraft reactors. This document contains the experimental results of one of these tests. In the experiment, slabs of various shielding materials were assembled in different arrangements into shield mock-ups. These assemblies were then placed in the Outside Tank Facility and subjected to radiation from the Ground Test Reactor. External measurements were taken with dosimeters and BF/sub 3/ counters; and internal measurements, with foils and chemical dosimeters. Results indicate that zirconium hydride is a good attenuator of gamma rays and fast and thermal neutrons, that the relaxation lengths for zirconium hydride in a BeO matrix are the same for fast neutrons and gammas, that fast neutrons and gamma rays are attenuated exponentially in zirconium hydride, and that there is relatively little production of secondary gamma radiation in zirconium hydride due to thermal neutron capture and inelastic scattering of fast neutrons. Lead, especially in large thicknesses, seems to produce a relatively high secondary gamma dose rate. Although thermal neutron shielding, when placed forward of uranium in a shield mock-up, does lower the gamma dose rate, the reduction is not great. (auth)

• Research Organization: Convair, Fort Worth, Tex.
• NSA Number: NSA-18-015595
• OSTI ID: 4071097
• Report Number(s): NARF-58-40R; MR-N-222
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ABSORPTION
ACTIVATION ANALYSIS
AIRCRAFT
BERYLLIUM OXIDES
BORON FLUORIDES
CAPTURE
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONFIGURATION
COUNTERS
DETECTION
DOSEMETERS
FAST NEUTRONS
FOILS
GAMMA RADIATION
GTR
LAYERS
MEASURED VALUES
MOCKUP
NEUTRON DETECTION
PLANNING
PLATES
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATIONS
REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
REACTORS
RELAXATION
RESEARCH REACTORS
SCATTERING
SHIELDING
SLOWDOWN
TESTING
THERMAL NEUTRONS
THICKNESS
URANIUM
ZIRCONIUM HYDRIDES