The DOS 1 neutron dosimetry experiment at the HB-4-A key 7 surveillance site on the HFIR pressure vessel

Abstract

A comprehensive neutron dosimetry experiment was made at one of the prime surveillance sites at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) pressure vessel to aid radiation embrittlement studies of the vessel and to benchmark neutron transport calculations. The thermal neutron flux at the key 7, position 5 site was found, from measurements of radioactivation of four cobalt wires and four silver wires, to be 2.4 {times} 10{sup 12} n{center_dot}m{sup {minus}2}{center_dot}s{sup {minus}1}. The thermal flux derived from two helium accumulation monitors was 2.3 {times} 10{sup 12} n{center_dot}m{sup {minus}2}{center_dot}{sup {minus}1}. The thermal flux estimated by neutron transport calculations was 3.7 {times} 10{sup 12} n{center_dot}m{sup {minus}2}s{sup {minus}1}. The fast flux, >1 MeV, determined from two nickel activation wires, was 1.5 {times} 10{sup 12} n{center_dot}m{sup {minus}2}{center_dot}s{sup {minus}1}, in keeping with values obtained earlier from stainless steel surveillance monitors and with a computed value of 1.2 {times} 10{sup 13} n{center_dot}m{sup {minus}2}{center_dot}{sup {minus}1}. The fast fluxes given by two reaction-product-type monitors, neptunium-237 and beryllium, were 2.6 {times} 10{sup 13} n{center_dot}m{sup {minus}2}{center_dot}s {sup {minus}1} and 2.2 {times} 10{sup 13} n{center_dot}m{sup {minus}2}s{sup {minus}1}, respectively. Follow-up experiments indicate that these latter high values of fast flux are reproducible but are false; they are due to the creation of greater levels of reaction products by photonuclear events induced by an exceptionally high ratio of gamma flux to fast neutron flux at the vessel.