4 research outputs found
FALSTAFF: a novel apparatus for fission fragment characterization
The study of nuclear fission and in particular the correlation between the produced fragments and the associated neutrons is encountering renewed interest since new models are available on the market and a large set of applications show a rather stringent demand on high quality nuclear data. The future Neutrons For Science installation, being presently built at GANIL (Caen, France) in the framework of the SPIRAL2 project, will produce high intensity neutron beams from hundreds of keV up to 40 MeV. In view of this opportunity, the development of an experimental setup called FALSTAFF (Four Arm cLover for the Study of Actinide Fission Fragments) has been undertaken since 2011. This novel apparatus is meant to provide a full characterization of fission fragments in terms of mass, nuclear charge and kinetic energy. Moreover, it will provide a measurement of the mass before and after neutron evaporation, leading to the determination of the neutron multiplicity as a function of the fragmentation. The FALSTAFF setup is presently in its R&D phase in order to achieve the required specifications, especially in terms of time, space and energy resolution of the different detectors
Study of (n,α) reactions of interest for nuclear reactors: the case of F(n,α)N with SCALP detector
International audienceThe 19 F(n,α)16 N cross section is of great interest for the development of the next generation IV reactors that could potentially use molten fluoride salts. Significant differences (up to a factor of 3) have been observed for this nucleus regarding the (n,α) channel. In view of improving our knowledge on this (n,α) reactions, the GrACE group (Groupe Aval du Cycle Electronucl´eaire) of the LPC Caen has developed a new detector named SCALP (Scintillating ionization Chamber for ALPha particle detection in neutron induced reactions). This paper deals with the first experiment carried out with this brand new detector at the new NFS facility (GANIL, Caen, France). After discussing the needs for new measurments of the 19 F(n,α)16 N reaction, the operating procedure of the SCALP detector will be presented, as well as the experiments that have been conducted using it. Furthermore, insights into the data acquired during our experiment, as well as the ongoing data processing and associated multi-channel analysis, will be provided
Monte Carlo MSM correction factors for control rod worth estimates in subcritical and near-critical fast neutron reactors
The GUINEVERE project was launched in 2006, within the 6th Euratom Framework Program IP-EUROTRANS, in order to study the feasibility of transmutation in Accelerator Driven subcritical Systems (ADS). This zero-power facility hosted at the SCK·CEN site in Mol (Belgium) couples the fast subcritical lead reactor VENUS-F with an external neutron source provided by interaction of deuterons delivered by the GENEPI-3C accelerator and a tritiated target located at the reactor core center. In order to test on-line subcriticality monitoring techniques, the reactivity of all the VENUS-F configurations used must be known beforehand to serve as benchmark values. That is why the Modified Source Multiplication Method (MSM) is under consideration to estimate the reactivity worth of the control rods when the reactor is largely subcritical as well as near-critical. The MSM method appears to be a technique well adapted to measure control rod worth over a large range of subcriticality levels. The MSM factors which are required to account for spatial effects in the reactor can be successfully calculated using a Monte Carlo neutron transport code