Measurement and resonance analysis of neutron transmission through uranium-238

Neutron transmissions through 0.076-, 0.254-, 1.080-, and 3.620-cm-thick samples of isotopically enriched 238U were measured from 0.88 to 100.0 keV by means of a time-of-flight technique over a path length of 150 m, the ORELA pulsed neutron source, and a 13-mm-thick lithium-glass detector. To obtain resonance parameters, these transmissions from 0.88 to 4.00 keV were simultaneously least-squares shape-fitted with a multilevel Breil--Wigner cross-section formalism. In general, large neutron widths were obtained, resulting in an s-wave strength function of (1.208 +- 0.045) x 10-4 over the interval from 0.0 to 4.0 keV. An absolute energy scale accurate to 2 parts in 10,000 was established. 11 figures, 16 tables