Determination of the neutron current and diagnostic application in an experimental system

This paper concerns experimental and numerical investigations of the applicability of a newly constructed detector for measuring neutron current components and for localizing a neutron source in an experimental system. The motivation for this work stems from a suggestion [Pazsit, Ann. Nucl. Energy, 14 (1997), 1257] that the performance of core monitoring methods could be enhanced if, in addition to the scalar neutron flux, the neutron current was also measured. To this end, a current detector was constructed, based on a scintillator mounted on a fibre and a Cd layer on one side of the detector. The measurements of the 2-D neutron current were performed in an experimental system by using this detector. The results of measurement and calculation show both the suitability of the detector construction for the measurement of the neutron current vector and the use of the current in diagnostics and monitoring. (author)