Measurement of absolute neutron yields and energy spectra using the RPI LINAC and assessment of evaluated photoneutron data for tantalum

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorLandsberger, Sheldon
dc.contributor.advisorRapp, Michael
dc.contributor.committeeMemberCharlton, William
dc.contributor.committeeMemberHaas, Derek
dc.creatorEpping, Brian Edward
dc.date.accessioned2021-05-24T21:15:33Z
dc.date.available2021-05-24T21:15:33Z
dc.date.created2020-12
dc.date.issued2020-11-16
dc.date.submittedDecember 2020
dc.date.updated2021-05-24T21:15:33Z
dc.description.abstractNuclear system design and analysis efforts commonly rely upon computer simulation of real or envisioned configurations. Such simulations typically rely on the information documented in nuclear data libraries to accurately predict the nuclear interactions occurring within the system. One such nuclear interaction is photoneutron production; that is, the emission of one or more neutrons from a nucleus following the absorption of a high energy photon and subsequent excitation. In order to validate the accuracy of existing photoneutron data libraries, it is necessary to compare simulations performed using the data libraries to measured results from nuclear systems. Accurately measured photoneutron nuclear data could also be used to assess the performance of theoretical models. Unfortunately, there are few examples of measured data results from photoneutron measurements of sufficient accuracy and documented with adequate detail to provide a means for such a validation. This work demonstrates the feasibility of performing experiments at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Gaerttner Linear Accelerator Center to measure absolute photoneutron yields and energy spectra from materials of interest. A new experiment configuration (consisting of a new neutron producing target and supporting systems, and neutron detection system) was designed, developed and implemented. The new configuration was successfully used to perform a proof of concept experiment to measure the photoneutron yield from a tantalum sample. The measured results were then compared against a detailed simulation of the experiment configuration to assess the performance of the photoneutron data library. Lessons learned and potential upgrades have been identified and documented to support improving the photoneutron measurement capability for future experiments. The efforts described here represent the first steps toward establishing a photoneutron measurement capability of benchmark quality.
dc.description.departmentMechanical Engineeringeng
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2152/86220
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/13171
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectPhotoneutron
dc.subjectTantalum
dc.subjectRPI
dc.subjectLINAC
dc.titleMeasurement of absolute neutron yields and energy spectra using the RPI LINAC and assessment of evaluated photoneutron data for tantalum
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialtext
thesis.degree.departmentMechanical Engineering
thesis.degree.disciplineMechanical Engineering
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas at Austin
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

Access full-text files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
EPPING-DISSERTATION-2020.pdf
Size:
9.54 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
4.45 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
1.84 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download

Collections

UT Electronic Theses and Dissertations