Calibration of a Silver Detector using a PuBe Source
Abstract
During the initial design of the Field Reversed Compression and Heating Experiment (FRCHX), magnetohydrodynamic simulations performed by Los Alamos National Laboratory using MACH2 predicted a neutron yield on the order of 1012 neutrons. However, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) measurements indicate a total of 107-108 neutrons are generated from the FRCHX. A PuBe source was used to create a burst of neutrons to calibrate an AFRL silver detector based on distance to determine if the four order of magnitude discrepancy was cause by an improperly calibrated detector. It was determined that the calibration equation in use by AFRL for the silver detectors was correct within error at most points compared to this work. An alternate calibration equation F(subPuBe) = 12.2D(exp2) + 3020D where D is the distance in inches from the source to the front face of the silver detector, was found using least squares techniques to reduce the residuals of the data collected using the PuBe source. The silver detectors were properly calibrated which does not account for the large order of magnitude difference observed between experiment and simulation of the FRCHX.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 14, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA562794
Entities
People
- Melanie E. Mace
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology