EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF U$sup 238$ RESONANCE NEUTRON CAPTURE IN UO$sub 2$ FUEL RODS

Journal Article · Sat Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1961 · Nuclear Sci. and Eng.

OSTI ID:4843990

Smith, G G; Hardy, J; Klein, D; Mitchell, J A

The relative U>s2/sup >> /sonance capture integrals of 0.387 in. diameter UO/sub 2/ and uranium metal fuel rods are measured, as well as the spatial distributions of the captures in each type of rod. The effective resonance integral of the UO/sub 2/ rod is 1.30 plus or minus 0.02 times that of the uranium metal rod. This difference is due to the lower density of uranium atoms and the presence of oxygen moderation in the UC/sub 2/ fuel rod. The relative importance of each of these two effects is determined by means of U - Zr and U- Al alloy fuel rods. Of the 0.30 excess of the UO/sub 2/ resonance capture integral over that of the uranium metal, 0.15 plus or minus 0.02 is contributed by the lower U>s2/sup >> /om density of the UO/sub 2/ rod, and the remaining 0.15 is attributed to oxygen moderation. Discrepancies between previous results and these results can be attributed, at least partially, to differing flux spectra. There is an appreciable flux peak above 30 kev present in these measurements. (auth)

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh
• NSA Number: NSA-15-017586
• OSTI ID: 4843990
• Report Number(s): WAPD-T-258
• Journal Information: Nuclear Sci. and Eng., Journal Name: Nuclear Sci. and Eng. Vol. Vol: 9
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ALLOYS
ALUMINUM
CAPTURE
DENSITY
DISTRIBUTION
ENERGY
FUELS
MEASURED VALUES
METALS
MODERATORS
NEUTRON FLUX
NEUTRONS
OXYGEN
PHYSICS
RESONANCE
RESONANCE ESCAPE PROBABILITY
RODS
SPECTRA
URANIUM
URANIUM 238
URANIUM OXIDES
ZIRCONIUM