Measurement and calculation of neutron leakage spectra from slab samples of beryllium, gallium and tungsten irradiated with 14.8 MeV neutrons

Abstract

In order to make benchmark validation of the nuclear data for gallium (Ga), tungsten (W) and beryllium (Be) in existing modern evaluated nuclear data files, neutron leakage spectra in the range from 0.8 to 15 MeV from slab samples were measured by time-of-flight technique with a BC501 scintillation detector. The measurements were performed at China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE) using a D-T neutron source. The thicknesses of the slabs were 0.5 to 2.5 mean free path for 14.8 MeV neutrons, and the measured angles were chosen to be 60∘ and 120∘. The measured spectra were compared with those calculated by the continuous energy Monte-Carlo transport code MCNP, using the data from the CENDL-3.1, ENDF/B-VII.1 and JENDL-4.0 nuclear data files, the comparison between the experimental and calculated results show that: The results from all three libraries significantly underestimate the cross section in energy range of 10–13 MeV for Ga; For W, the calculated spectra using data from CENDL-3.1 and JENDL-4.0 libraries show larger discrepancies with the measured ones, especially around 8.5–13.5 MeV; and for Be, all the libraries led to underestimation below 3 MeV at 120∘.