Open AccessNeutron transmission studies for concrete used in the nuclear industry
Author(s) -
Andy Buffler,
Tanya Hutton,
Thomas Leadbeater,
Mark Alexander,
S. Dlamini
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of modern physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2010-1945
DOI - 10.1142/s2010194520600150
Subject(s) - neutron , nuclear engineering , mortar , aggregate (composite) , beam (structure) , neutron radiation , nuclear physics , materials science , computer science , environmental science , physics , engineering , optics , nanotechnology , composite material
Progress in the establishment of a fast neutron beam reference facility for the non-destructive testing of concrete and other materials used in the nuclear industry is described. An additional area of interest is the development of methods for the independent verification of the alignment to regulatory codes of the constituent materials used in concrete mixes for nuclear facilities, both existing and planned. The project is based on the principle of analyzing the distributions in energy of the neutrons transmitted through the sample. Modern methods of spectrum unfolding allow such analyses to be undertaken without the need for the neutron beam to be ns-pulsed in order to measure neutron energies by time-of-flight. First measurements and analyses of mortar (concrete without large aggregate) using continuous beams of fast neutrons are presented.