Thick target spallation product yields from 800 MeV protons on tungsten

A number of newly-conceived accelerator based technologies will employ medium-energy particles stopping in thick targets to produce large numbers of neutrons. It is important to quantify the residual radionuclides in the target because one must understand what nuclei and decay gammas are produced in order to design adequate shielding, to estimate ultimate waste disposal problems, and to predict possible effects of accidental dispersion during operation. Because stopping-length targets are considered, radionuclide production must be known as a function of energy. Moreover, secondary particle production, mostly neutrons, implies a need to be able to calculate particle transport. To test the overall ability to calculate radionuclide yields, a thick-target measurement was carried out and the results compared to detailed calculations. Although numerous measurements of thin-target spallation yields have been made, there have been only a few measurements on thick systems. The most complete study showed results for Pb and U systems. In this contribution, the authors report on measurements made for a stopping-length W target. Special efforts were made to measure short-lived isotopes, and reliable data on isotopes with two or three minute half-lives were obtained