Design of a multi-element TEPC for neutron monitoring

Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) have long been considered suitable candidate instruments for more accurate neutron monitors in nuclear power plants. It has also been recognised that the production of truly light-weight devices based on TEPCs requires further effort directed towards increasing their sensitivity and decreasing their physical size. This paper deals with the construction of a multi-element TEPC (METEPC) designed to have the sensitivity of a 12.7-cm (5-in.) diameter spherical TEPC, but with approximately one-tenth of its physical size. Construction of the METEPC is achieved by machining 61 elongated cylindrical cavities in a single block of A150 TE plastic. Comparative measurements carried out in neutron fields with mean energies ranging from 34 to 354 keV demonstrate that the METEPC constructed does match the sensitivity of a 5-in. spherical TEPC and that microdosimetric lineal energy spectra measured with both detectors have the same features and show the same changes with neutron radiation quality.