Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 3, 2026
Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Published on: December 14, 2017
Microdosimetric measurements in the thermal neutron irradiation facility of LENA reactor
P Colautti1, D Moro1, S Chiriotti2
1INFN, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, viale dell׳Università 2, I-35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy.
Abstract:
A twin TEPC with electric-field guard tubes has been constructed to be used to characterize the BNCT field of the irradiation facility of LENA reactor. One of the two mini TEPC was doped with 50ppm of (10)B in order to simulate the BNC events occurring in BNCT. By properly processing the two microdosimetric spectra, the gamma, neutron and BNC spectral components can be derived with good precision (~6%). However, direct measurements of (10)B in some doped plastic samples, which were used for constructing the cathode walls, point out the scarce accuracy of the nominal (10)B concentration value. The influence of the Boral(®) door, which closes the irradiation channel, has been measured. The gamma dose increases significantly (+51%) when the Boral(®) door is closed. The crypt-cell-regeneration weighting function has been used to measure the quality, namely the RBEµ value, of the radiation field in different conditions. The measured RBEµ values are only partially consistent with the RBE values of other BNCT facilities.
