In-situ determination of macroscopic thermal neutron absorption cross-section of borehole model materials using the integrated flux method

The integrated thermal neutron flux method of determining the macroscopic thermal neutron absorption cross-section of samples consisting of approx. 400 kg of unconsolidated geologic material, saturated with fresh water, to be used in borehole models, is reported. One advantage of this method is that bulk cross-section determinations are made relative to a single standard, with fresh (distilled) water being used as the standard in this work. The values of matrix Σ determined for unconsolidated sand, limestone, and dolomite for the particular samples measured fall within the range of previously reported measurements of similar type samples. The method was checked using 50,000 ppm NaCl for which a value of 39.1 ± 0.5 c.u. was determined. (author)