Design and simulations of a beryllium based neutron production beamline at METU DBL

Date

2025-7-31

Author

Göver, Egemen

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There are various sources of neutron irradiation for different neutron beam applications, each with their own limitations. Limited access to nuclear reactors, the need to adjust the flux and energy of neutrons, shielding requirements and high costs of laboratory neutron source Cf-252, which has an average neutron kinetic energy of 2.1 MeV that limits its applicability for high energy neutron applications, have led researches to study and adapt accelerator based neutron sources. An ideal source should have an adjustable flux and energy spectrum. One key channel is the 9Be(p, n)9B. By utilizing the METU Defocusing Beam-Line which uses proton cyclotron at TENMAK-NUKEN Proton Accelerator Facility, a beryllium based neutron irradiation station is proposed. This study focuses on design and simulations of a solid target system with optimal parameters such that highest neutron yield with lowest production rate of residual impurity and lowest activity can be achieved during its operation. Using Monte Carlo simulation toolkits such as FLUKA, Geant4, SRIM/TRIM and deterministic nuclear reaction modelling code TALYS, anticipated outcome of the proposed experiment has been extensively studied and are reported here. This thesis reports that by utilizing a 30 MeV, 150 μA proton beam, a beryllium based target setup stationed on METU-DBL can supply neutrons with energy spectrum starting from the epithermal (which can be further decreased to thermal using a moderator), extending to fast and ultra-fast range with a total integrated neutron flux of up to 3x10^10 n/cm2/s at a point on the outer surface of the target station.

Subject Keywords

beryllium target, neutron source, accelerator based neutron source, Monte Carlo simulations, neutron irradiation

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115507

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis