NUEN 605
Laboratory #7: Neutron Detection
By
Ashraf Alfandi
Lab Partner: Joseph Sackman & Trevor Parker
Analysis
Question (1)
The 252Cf decays (3% of the time) by spontaneous fission, in which 3.7 neutrons
(average) are emitted. The produced fast neutrons have to be thermalized in order to be detected
by 3He and BF3 detectors. This is because 3He and 10B have high neutron absorption cross
section (a) in the thermal energy region (Eth ~ 0.035 eV). Polyethylene (PE) slabs were placed
between the detector and the source as a moderation material (see Figure 1). The counts were
recorded for 10 s using the CANBERA Counter/Timer, the data is shown in Table 1. The counts
rate (R) and its uncertainty ( ) were calculated according to Eq. 1 and 2, as follows:
C
R= t
(Eq. 1)
C
R = (Eq. 2)
t
Where,
C: Number of counts
t: Recording time = 10 seconds.
Table 1. 252Cf data at different polyethylene thicknesses between the detector and the neutron
source.
PE Thickness Number Count Rate, R Efficiency
R (s-1)
(in) of Counts (s-1) ()
0 1787 178.7 4.23 2.0210-3 2.0710-4
1 2570 257.0 5.07 2.9010-3 2.9610-4
2 2969 296.9 5.45 3.3510-3 3.4110-4
3 2478 247.8 4.98 2.8010-3 2.8610-4
1
Figure 1. Test configuration. The PE slabs were place between the detector and the neutron
source.
The moderation thickness effect on the detection efficiency was investigated, by
calculating the detector efficiency at different moderation thicknesses (Eq. 3). The uncertainty in
the detector efficiency was calculated according to Eq. 4. The calculations were performed using
Excel software; the results are as shown in Table 1 and plotted as in Figure 2. The source decay
was accounted for using Eq. 5.
= S
(Eq. 3)
2 2
= + (Eq. 4)
S = So e-T (Eq. 5)
2
where,
S: the source strength
S = 0.1 S
So = 2.3106, given by the instructor.
: the 252Cf decay constant equals 0.27 years
T: the decay time equals 12.22 years (since 9th August 2005)
According to Figure 2, the detector efficiency increases with the thickness of
polyethylene, which means that the efficiency is increasing with moderation. However, the
efficiency values at 1 and 2 inches thick are statistically the same. This means that the efficiency
was not increasing upon PE addition. Moreover, the efficiency tends to decrease for larger
amount of moderation, because the neutron absorption increase, which decreases the number of
detected neutron and hence decrease detector efficiency.
0.40%
0.35%
0.30%
Efficiency (%)
0.25%
0.20%
y = -1E-04x3 + 7E-05x2 + 0.0009x + 0.002
0.15% R = 1
0.10%
0.05%
0.00%
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
PE Thickness (in)
Figure 2. Detector efficiency (%) as a function of PE thickness (in).
3
Question (2)
The same measurement was conducted, where the PE slaps were placed behind the
detector as seen in Figure 3. The moderating material behind detector reflects the unscattered
neutrons, which increase the population of the neutrons near the detector, and hence increase the
detection efficiency (see Figure 4). It was noted that the recorded number of counts was larger
comparing to the first measurement (see Table 2).
Figure 3. Test configuration. The 3 PE slabs were placed behind the detector.
Table 2. 252Cf data at different polyethylene thickness behind the detector.
PE Thickness Number Count Rate, R Efficiency
R (s-1)
(in) of Counts -1
(s ) ()
1 3162 316.2 5.62 3.5710-3 3.6310-4
2 4837 483.7 6.95 5.4710-3 5.5210-4
3 4774 477.4 6.91 5.3910-3 5.4510-4
4
0.70%
0.60%
0.50%
Efficiency (%)
0.40%
0.30% y = -0.0004x3 + 0.0013x2 + 0.0006x + 0.002
R = 1
0.20%
0.10%
0.00%
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
PE Thickness (in)
Figure 4. Detector efficiency as a function of PE thickness (in).
It was noted that the detector efficiency was affected by the thickness of moderation
material. The 1 inch-thick material, was not enough to get the neutrons thermalized, which result
in lower detector efficiency. However, the detector efficiency increased with moderation
thickness.
Question (3)
The 3He has higher absorption (a) than 10B, which reflects the higher efficiency of the
3
He detector over the BF3 detectors. Figure 4 shows that both of the two detectors shares the
same behavior of the moderation thickness effect on the efficiency. However, it should be
mentioned that the BF3 detectors are cheaper and hence more affordable. The 3He production is
very small compared to the demand, which justifies the high prices of 3He detectors.
5
0.40%
y = -1E-04x3 + 7E-05x2 + 0.0009x + 0.002
R = 1
0.35%
0.30%
0.25%
Effeciency (%)
0.20%
He Detector
0.15% BF3 Detector
0.10%
y = -7E-06x3 - 0.0003x2 + 0.001x + 0.0007
R = 1
0.05%
0.00%
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
PE Thickness (in)
Figure 5. The efficiency of the BF3 detector vs 3He detector at different PE thicknesses.
Question (4)
The new configuration (Figure 6 and 7) was meant to reflect as many neutron as it could
and minimizes the neutron leakage, which in turn would increase the neutron population near the
detector. It was found that the recorded number of counts increased by order of five to six, see
Table 3. Moreover, the detector efficiency increased to be 2.12% compared to 0.3 0.55% for
the previous configurations.
Table 3.252Cf data for optimum configuration.
Number Count Rate, R Efficiency
R (s-1)
of Counts (s-1) ()
18764 1876.4 23.73 2.1210-2 0.21410-2
6
Figure 6. Moderation PE slabs Optimum configuration. One 2 PE slab were placed in all
directions except in front where two 2 inches were added.
Figure 7. Moderation PE slabs optimum configuration. One more 2 PE slab was placed on the
top.
