Published July 1993 | Version v1
Journal article

Photoneutron production using bremsstrahlung from the 14-TW HERMES III electron accelerator

  • 1. Sandia National Lab., Albuquerque NM (United States)

Description

An intense reusable source of pulsed photoneutrons is developed that produces ∼0.5 or 1.0 x 1014 neutron in an ∼15-ns pulse from natural lead or depleted uranium, respectively, on the HERMES III electron accelerator. Corresponding to this source, a numerical model is developed that is applicable to other pulsed-power systems. If Vp represents the peak voltage of HERMES III measured in megavolts, then model predictions show that over the range 12 MV < Vp < 20 MV, the number of neutrons produced per incident electron is 7.2 x 10-6(Vp - 11) 2.0 and 1.2 x 10-6(Vp - 7.4)2.8 in lead and uranium, respectively. Measurements using a set of nuclear activation foils confirm these predictions as well as predictions of the spatial and spectral distribution of the neutrons at Vp = 19 MV

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Nuclear Science and Engineering
Journal Volume
114
Journal Issue
3
Journal Page Range
p. 190-213.
ISSN
0029-5639
CODEN
NSENAO