Neutron transmission measurement for natural W at nELBE

Abstract

Korea has developed a Helium Cooled Ceramic Reflector Test Blanket Module (Ko HCCR TBM) related to the ITER project. Tungsten is considered as a prime candidate for the plasma facing materials in fusion reactors, and for the structure material of Ko HCCR TBM. KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has been evaluating neutron cross sections of tungsten isotopes for neutron energy of up to 150 MeV based on nuclear reaction codes and available measurement data. New experimental data were measured at nELBE of HZDR (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf) for a comparison with the evaluated and existing measurement data. The neutron source nELBE adopts a 40 MeV superconducting electron linac and a liquid Pb target for time-of-flight measurements. The nELBE neutron source uses no moderator and provides fast neutrons. An electron bunch length of 5 ps and a compact target provide a good neutron energy resolution with a relatively short flight length compared to other time-of-flight neutron sources. Transmission data of a natural tungsten sample were measured with a flight path length of 852.1 cm and a repetition rate of 101.56 kHz. The neutron total cross section of natural tungsten was obtained for an energy range of 100 keV to 10 MeV.