Evaluation of delayed neutron yields and time spectra from photofission of 238U induced by Bremsstrahlung photons below 9 MeV

Abstract

Few data exist regarding the yields and time spectra of delayed neutrons from the photofission reaction on actinides. In this paper, we report the characteristics of both six-group and eight-group delayed neutron time models for the photofission of 238U induced by a Bremsstrahlung photon spectrum with an end-point energy at 9 MeV. This study was conducted using a 9 MeV linear electron accelerator housed at the SAPHIR platform located at CEA Paris-Saclay, France. A reference sample of depleted uranium was positioned inside a neutron detection block, previously designed and optimized by Monte Carlo simulation, made of high-density polyethylene covered by cadmium and including ten one meter-long 3He proportional counters. Based on the consistent set of half-lives proposed by Spriggs et al. as early as 1999 for neutroninduced fission, our description in eight delayed neutron groups for 238U at 9 MeV is the first published for photofission. These new results bring valuable information to the scarce data available in the literature and represent useful inputs for the development of photofission-based nuclear measurement systems as they meet a significant interest in the fields of nuclear data, radioactive waste package characterization and for security-related applications.