A Study of Stray Neutron Field Measurements for the Neutron Scattering Instruments at CSNS

Abstract

Stray neutrons might cause several negative impacts. However, it is usually difficult to conduct precise stray neutron simulations using the Monte Carlo method. Therefore, in this study, a measurement technique was proposed to study the stray neutrons experimentally inside the neutron scattering instruments at China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS). The adopted measurement instruments comprise an extended-range Bonner sphere spectrometer and a commercial neutron ambient-dose-equivalent dosimeter, which enables us to directly measure the neutron spectra and ambient-dose equivalent H*(10) values. Verification experiments were performed inside the BL06 beam line experimental area at CSNS at two exposed locations with different sample conditions. Comparison of the experimentally measured neutron spectra, integral neutron fluence, and H*(10) value with the simulations demonstrated the feasibility of using the proposed method for studying stray neutrons for the neutron instruments.

Keywords

• stray neutrons
• energy-extended Bonner sphere spectrometer
• neutron ambient equivalent dosimeter
• Monte-Carlo simulations