Triton emission spectra in some target nuclei irradiated by ultra-fast neutrons

Abstract

High-current proton accelerator technologies make use of spallation neutrons produced in (p,xn) and (n,xn) nuclear reactions on high-Z targets. The produced neutrons are moderated by heavy water. These moderated neutrons are subsequently captured on 3He to produce tritium via the (n,p) reaction. Tritium self-sufficiency must be maintained for a commercial power plant. So, working out the systematics of (n,t) reaction cross sections and triton emission differential data are important for the given reaction taking place on various nuclei at different energies. In this study, triton emission spectra by using ultra-fast neutrons (incident neutron energy >50 MeV), the (n,xt) reactions for some target nuclei as 16O, 27Al, 56Fe, 59Co, 208Pb and 209Bi have been investigated. In the calculations, the pre-equilibrium and equilibrium effects have been used. The calculated results have been compared with the experimental data taken from the literature. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010.