A combined H2/CH4 cold moderator for a short pulsed neutron source

Both the ISIS (Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory) spallation source and the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center (LANSCE) were designed to produce neutrons as a result of an 800-MeV proton beam being incident on a target. Both systems are intended to accept beam intensities up to 200 μA. Cryogenic moderators of liquid hydrogen and methane are either in use or are planned for service at both facilities. Very low temperature methane would be an ideal moderating material as it has a high hydrogen density and many low frequency modes, which facilitate thermalization. Such moderators are in service at two major world facilities, KEK (Japan) and Argonne National Laboratory (USA). Unfortunately, solid methane has very low thermal conductivity and is subject to radiation damage making a moderator of this type impractical for use in high-intensity beam, such as indicated above. This report outlines a possible alternative using small spheres of solid methane in a matrix of supercritical hydrogen at 25 K. 4 figs