A neutron flux monitor for a reactor neutron beam facility

Author

Kandlakunta, Praneeth ; Mulligan, Padhraic ; Turkoglu, Danyal ; Lei Cao

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mech. & Aerosp. Eng., Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH, USA

fYear

2012

fDate

Oct. 27 2012-Nov. 3 2012

Firstpage

1991

Lastpage

1995

Abstract

A neutron beam monitor with ⁶Li scintillator glass has been developed for the neutron beam facility at the Ohio State University Research Reactor. The beam monitor is primarily intended to monitor neutron flux and provide safety indications to researchers entering or working in the experimental area. A large LED display of the beam monitor offers an independent safety feature at the facility and enables a standalone operation. Preliminary measurements revealed nonlinearity in the response of the beam monitor to neutron flux, which is attributed to the saturation of current in the photomultiplier tube (PMT), the inherent gamma sensitivity of the ⁶Li glass, and the non-linearity of the scintillator. A silicon (Si) PIN photodiode is also being studied as an alternative to the PMT.

Keywords

gamma-ray detection; neutron beams; neutron flux; particle beam diagnostics; photomultipliers; silicon radiation detectors; solid scintillation detectors; ⁶Li scintillator glass; LED display; Ohio State University Research Reactor; beam monitor response nonlinearity; current saturation; gamma sensitivity; neutron flux monitor; photomultiplier tube; reactor neutron beam facility; silicon PIN photodiode;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (NSS/MIC), 2012 IEEE

Conference_Location

Anaheim, CA

ISSN

1082-3654

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-2028-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NSSMIC.2012.6551460

Filename

6551460