Abstract
In recent work [1, 2], we have shown that the MASURCA research reactor could be used to deliver a fairly-intense continuous fast neutron beam to an experimental room located next to the reactor core. As a consequence of the MASURCA favorable characteristics and diverse material inventories, the neutron beam intensity and spectrum can be further tailored to meet the users' needs, which could be of interest for several applications. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to characterize in detail the extracted neutron (and photon) beam entering the experimental room. These numerical simulations were done for two different bare cores: A uranium metallic core (∼30% 235U enriched) and a plutonium oxide core (∼25% Pu fraction, ∼78% 239Pu). The results show that the distinctive resonance energy structures of the two core leakage spectra are preserved at the channel exit. As the experimental room is large enough to house a dedicated set of neutron spectrometry instruments, we have investigated several candidate neutron spectrum measurement techniques, which could be implemented to guarantee well-defined, repeatable beam conditions to users. Our investigation also includes considerations regarding the gamma rays in the beams.
Highlights
MASURCA is a zero-power mock-up facility that has been mainly operated for getting experimental neutron physics validation data on sodium-cooled fast reactor cores
For evaluating to what extent changes in the reactor core constituents affect the fast neutron beam, we present the comparison between two bare cores with a more “conventional” configuration of the MASURCA core (OffCIC), already described in [2]
It is interesting to assess to what extent the distinctive features of the neutron spectra are maintained as neutrons travel into the radial channel, until they reach the experimental zone
Summary
MASURCA is a zero-power mock-up facility that has been mainly operated for getting experimental neutron physics validation data on sodium-cooled fast reactor cores. Thanks to the combination of several favourable features of the reactor building and of the core layouts, it is possible to consider the development of a new capability: MASURCA as a beam facility. We concluded that these features, together with the characteristics of the reactor building, compare favourably with those of other reactorbased experimental facilities designed to deliver a fast neutron beam, such as YAYOI, TAPIRO and AFSR. This suggests that MASURCA could be used for a range of new applications: fast neutron shielding and transmission experiments, testing of advanced neutron detection systems, measurements of fast neutron cross sections, fast neutron radiography, etc. We define spectrometric equipment that could be implemented in the MASURCA beam experimental configuration for neutron spectra measurement
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