Benchmark field study of deep neutron penetration

Abstract

A unique benchmark neutron field has been established at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to study deep penetration neutron transport. At LLNL, a tandem accelerator is used to generate a monoenergetic neutron source that permits investigation of deep neutron penetration under conditions that are virtually ideal to model, namely the transport of mono-energetic neutrons through a single material in a simple geometry. General features of the Lawrence Tandem (LATAN) benchmark field are described with emphasis on neutron source characteristics and room return background. The single material chosen for the first benchmark, LATAN-1, is a steel representative of Light Water Reactor (LWR) Pressure Vessels (PV). Also included is a brief description of the Little Boy replica, a critical reactor assembly designed to mimic the radiation doses from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and its us in neutron spectrometry. 18 refs