Measurement of the neutron-induced fission cross section of Th 230 at the CERN n_TOF facility

The neutron-induced fission cross section of 230 Th has been measured at the neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF located at CERN. The experiment was performed at the experimental area EAR-1 with a neutron flight path of 185 m, using Micromegas detectors for the detection of the fission fragments. The 230 Th(n, f ) cross section was determined relative to the 235 U(n, f ) one, covering the energy range from the fission threshold up to 400 MeV. The results from the present work are compared with existing cross-section datasets and the observed discrepancies are discussed and analyzed. Finally, using the code EMPIRE 3.2.3 a theoretical study, based on the statistical model, was performed leading to a satisfactory reproduction of the experimental results with the proper tuning of the respective parameters, while for incident neutron energy beyond 200 MeV the fission of 230 Th was described by Monte Carlo simulations.This project received funding from the Euratom “Support safe operation of nuclear systems” program 2014–2018 under Grant Agreement No. 847552 (SANDA) and by the funding agencies of the participating institutes. This research is imple- mented through the IKY scholarships program and cofinanced by the European Union (European Social Fund ’ESF) and Greek national funds through the action entitled “Reinforce- ment of Postdoctoral Researchers - 2nd call (MIS 5033021)”, in the framework of the Operational Programme “Human Resources Development Program, Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework.Article signat per 137 autors/es: V. Michalopoulou, A. Stamatopoulos, M. Diakaki, A. Tsinganis, R. Vlastou, M. Kokkoris, N. Patronis, Z. Eleme, D. Macina, L. Tassan-Got, N. Colonna, E. Chiaveri, A. Ventura, P. Schillebeeckx, J. Heyse, G. Sibbens, G. Alaerts, A. Borella, A. Moens, D. Vanleeuw, O. Aberle, V. Alcayne, S. Amaducci, J. Andrzejewski, L. Audouin, V. Babiano-Suarez, M. Bacak, M. Barbagallo, S. Bennett, E. Berthoumieux, J. Billowes, D. Bosnar, A. Brown, M. Busso, M. Caamaño, L. Caballero, F. Calviño, M. Calviani, D. Cano-Ott, A. Casanovas, F. Cerutti, G. Cortés, M. A. Cortés-Giraldo, L. Cosentino, S. Cristallo, L. A. Damone, P. J. Davies, M. Dietz, C. Domingo-Pardo, R. Dressler, Q. Ducasse, E. Dupont, I. Durán, B. Fernández-Domínguez, A. Ferrari, P. Finocchiaro, V. Furman, K. Göbel, R. Garg, A. Gawlik-Ramiega, S. Gilardoni, I. F. Gonçalves, E. González-Romero, C. Guerrero, F. Gunsing, H. Harada, S. Heinitz, D. G. Jenkins, A. Junghans, F. Käppeler, Y. Kadi, A. Kimura, I. Knapová, Y. Kopatch, M. Krticka, D. Kurtulgil, I. Ladarescu, C. Lederer-Woods, H. Leeb, J. Lerendegui-Marco, S. J. Lonsdale, A. Manna, T. Martínez, A. Masi, C. Massimi, P. Mastinu, M. Mastromarco, E. A. Maugeri, A. Mazzone, E. Mendoza, A. Mengoni, P. M. Milazzo, F. Mingrone, J. Moreno-Soto, A. Musumarra, A. Negret, R. Nolte, F. Ogállar, A. Oprea, A. Pavlik, J. Perkowski, C. Petrone, L. Piersanti, E. Pirovano, I. Porras, J. Praena, J. M. Quesada, D. Ramos-Doval, T. Rauscher, R. Reifarth, D. Rochman, Y. Romanets, C. Rubbia, M. Sabaté-Gilarte, A. Saxena, D. Schumann, A. Sekhar, A. G. Smith, N. V. Sosnin, P. Sprung, G. Tagliente, J. L. Tain, A. Tarifeño-Saldivia, Th. Thomas, P. Torres-Sánchez, J. Ulrich, S. Urlass, S. Valenta, G. Vannini, V. Variale, P. Vaz, D. Vescovi, V. Vlachoudis, A. Wallner, P. J. Woods, T. Wright, and P. Žugec.Postprint (published version

Neutron-induced fission cross sections of Th 232 and U 233 up to 1 GeV using parallel plate avalanche counters at the CERN n_TOF facility

The neutron-induced fission cross sections of 232 Th and 233 U were measured relative to 235 U in a wide neutron energy range up to 1 GeV (and from fission threshold in the case of 232 Th , and from 0.7 eV in case of 233 U ), using the white-spectrum neutron source at the CERN Neutron Time-of-Flight (n_TOF) facility. Parallel plate avalanche counters (PPACs) were used, installed at the Experimental Area 1 (EAR1), which is located at 185 m from the neutron spallation target. The anisotropic emission of fission fragments were taken into account in the detection efficiency by using, in the case of 233 U , previous results available in EXFOR, whereas in the case of 232 Th these data were obtained from our measurement, using PPACs and targets tilted 45 ° with respect to the neutron beam direction. Finally, the obtained results are compared with past measurements and major evaluated nuclear data libraries. Calculations using the high-energy reaction models INCL + + and ABLA07 were performed and some of their parameters were modified to reproduce the experimental results. At high energies, where no other neutron data exist, our results are compared with experimental data on proton-induced fission. Moreover, the dependence of the fission cross section at 1 GeV with the fissility parameter of the target nucleus is studied by combining those ( p , f ) data with our ( n , f ) data on 232 Th and 233 U and on other isotopes studied earlier at n_TOF using the same experimental setup.Peer ReviewedArticle escrit per 81 autors/autores: D. Tarrío , L. Tassan-Got, I. Duran, L. S. Leong, C. Paradela, L. Audouin, E. Leal-Cidoncha, C. Le Naour, M. Caamaño, A. Ventura, S. Altstadt, J. Andrzejewski, M. Barbagallo, V. Bécares, F. Becvá ˇ ˇr,F. Belloni, E. Berthoumieux, J. Billowes, V. Boccone, D. Bosnar, M. Brugger, M. Calviani, F. Calviño, D. Cano-Ott, C. Carrapiço, F. Cerutti, E. Chiaveri,M. Chin, N. Colonna, G. Cortés, M. A. Cortés-Giraldo, M. Diakaki, C. Domingo-Pardo, N. Dzysiuk, C. Eleftheriadis, A. Ferrari, K. Fraval, S. Ganesan, A. R. García, G. Giubrone, M. B. Gómez-Hornillos, I. F. Gonçalves, E. González-Romero,E. Griesmayer, C. Guerrero, F. Gunsing, P. Gurusamy, D. G. Jenkins, E. Jericha, Y. Kadi, F. Käppeler,† D. Karadimos, P. Koehler, M. Kokkoris, M. Krticka, J. Kroll, C. Langer, C. Lederer, H. Leeb, R. Losito, A. Manousos, J. Marganiec, T. Martínez, C. Massimi, P. F. Mastinu,M. Mastromarco, M. Meaze, E. Mendoza, A. Mengoni, P. M. Milazzo, F. Mingrone, M. Mirea,,† W. Mondalaers, A. Pavlik, J. Perkowski, A. Plompen, J. Praena, J. M. Quesada, T. Rauscher, R. Reifarth, A. Riego, M. S. Robles, F. Roman, C. Rubbia, R. Sarmento, P. Schillebeeckx,S. Schmidt, G. Tagliente, J. L. Tain, A. Tsinganis, S. Valenta, G. Vannini, V. Variale, P. Vaz, R. Versaci, M. J. Vermeulen, V. Vlachoudis, R. Vlastou,A. Wallner, T. Ware, M. Weigand, C. Weiß, T. J. Wright, P. ŽugecPostprint (published version

Final Report - Membranes and MEA's for Dry, Hot Operating Conditions

The focus of this program was to develop a new Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) which can operate under hotter, dryer conditions than the state of the art membranes today and integrate it into a Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). These MEA's should meet the performance and durability requirements outlined in the solicitation, operating under low humidification conditions and at temperatures ranging from -20ºC to 120ºC, to meet 2010 DOE technical targets for membranes. This membrane should operate under low humidification conditions and at temperatures ranging from -20ºC to 120ºC in order to meet DOE HFCIT 2010 commercialization targets for automotive fuel cells. Membranes developed in this program may also have improved durability and performance characteristics making them useful in stationary fuel cell applications. The new membranes, and the MEA’s comprising them, should be manufacturable at high volumes and at costs which can meet industry and DOE targets. This work included: A) Studies to better understand factors controlling proton transport within the electrolyte membrane, mechanisms of polymer degradation (in situ and ex situ) and membrane durability in an MEA; B) Development of new polymers with increased proton conductivity over the range of temperatures from -20ºC to 120ºC and at lower levels of humidification and with improved chemical and mechanical stability; C) Development of new membrane additives for increased durability and conductivity under these dry conditions; D) Integration of these new materials into membranes and membranes into MEA’s, including catalyst and gas diffusion layer selection and integration; E) Verification that these materials can be made using processes which are scalable to commercial volumes using cost effective methods; F) MEA testing in single cells using realistic automotive testing protocols. This project addresses technical barriers A (Durability) and C (Performance) from the Fuel Cells section of the 2005 Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program Multi-Year R&D Plan. In the course of this four-year program we developed a new PEM with improved proton conductivity, chemical stability and mechanical stability. We incorporated this new membrane into MEAs and evaluated performance and durability

High accuracy 235U(n,f) data in the resonance energy region

The 235U neutron-induced cross section is widely used as reference cross section for measuring other fission cross sections, but in the resonance region it is not considered as an IAEA standard because of the scarce experimental data covering the full region. In this work, we deal with a new analysis of the experimental data obtained with a detection setup based on parallel plate ionization chambers (PPACs) at the CERN n_TOF facility in the range from 1 eV to 10 keV. The relative cross section has been normalised to the IAEA value in the region between 7.8 and 11 eV, which is claimed as well-known. Comparison with the ENDF/B-VII evaluation and the IAEA reference file from 100 eV to 10 keV are provided

Characterization of the n TOF EAR-2 neutron beam

The experimental area 2 (EAR-2) at CERNs neutron time-of-flight facility (n TOF), which is operational since 2014, is designed and built as a short-distance complement to the experimental area 1 (EAR-1). The Parallel Plate Avalanche Counter (PPAC) monitor experiment was performed to characterize the beam profile and the shape of the neutron flux at EAR-2. The prompt ¿-flash which is used for calibrating the time-of-flight at EAR-1 is not seen by PPAC at EAR-2, shedding light on the physical origin of this gamma-flash

Angular distribution in the neutron-induced fission of actinides

Above 1MeV of incident neutron energy the fission fragment angular distribution (FFAD) has generally a strong anisotropic behavior due to the combination of the incident orbital momentum and the intrinsic spin of the fissioning nucleus. This effect has to be taken into account for the efficiency estimation of devices used for fission cross section measurements. In addition it bears information on the spin deposition mechanism and on the structure of transitional states. We designed and constructed a detection device, based on Parallel Plate Avalanche Counters (PPAC), for measuring the fission fragment angular distributions of several isotopes, in particular 232Th. The measurement has been performed at n_TOF at CERN taking advantage of the very broad energy spectrum of the neutron beam. Fission events were recognized by back to back detection in coincidence in two position-sensitive detectors surrounding the targets. The detection efficiency, depending mostly on the stopping of fission fragments in backings and electrodes, has been computed with a Geant4 simulation and validated by the comparison to the measured case of 235U below 3 keV where the emission is isotropic. In the case of 232Th, the result is in good agreement with previous data below 10MeV, with a good reproduction of the structures associated to vibrational states and the opening of econd chance fission. In the 14MeV region our data are much more accurate than previous ones which are broadly scattered

Fission program at n_TOF

Since its start in 2001 the n_TOF collaboration developed a measurement program on fission, in view of advanced fuels in new generation reactors. A special effort was made on measurement of cross sections of actinides, exploiting the peculiarity of the n_TOF neutron beam which spans a huge energy domain, from the thermal region up to GeV. Moreover fission fragment angular distributions have also been measured. An overview of the cross section results achieved with different detectors is presented, including a discussion of the 237Np case where discrepancies showed up between different detector systems. The results on the anisotropy of the fission fragments and its implication on the mechanism of neutron absorption, and in applications, are also shown

Measurement and prediction of the wideband indoor radio and infrared channels

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Fission fragment angular distribution of 232Th(n,f) at the CERN n TOF facility

The angular distribution of fragments emitted in neutron-induced fission of 232Th was measured in the white spectrum neutron beam at the n TOF facility at CERN. A reaction chamber based on Parallel Plate Avalanche Counters (PPAC) was used, where the detectors and the targets have been tilted 45 degrees with respect to the neutron beam direction in order to cover the full angular range of the fission fragments. A GEANT4 simulation has been developed to study the setup efficiency. The data analysis and the preliminary results obtained for the 232Th(n,f) between fission threshold and 100 MeV are presented here

Study of 234U(n,f) resonances measured at the CERN n TOF facility

We present the analysis of the resolved resonance region for the 234U(n,f) cross section data measured at the CERN n TOF facility. The resonance parameters in the energy range from 1 eV to 1500 eV have been obtained with the SAMMY code by using as initial parameters for the fit the resonance parameters of the JENDL-3.3 evaluation. In addition, the statistical analysis has been accomplished, partly with the SAMDIST code, in order to study the level spacing and the Mehta-Dyson correlation