PNRA Course on

Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
1
Lecture 6
INTERACTION OF
NEUTRONS
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
2
INTERACTION OF NEUTRONS
Neutron
No charge
No Coulomb force interactions
Interact with nuclei of absorbing atoms
Neutron interactions result in
Change in direction
Change in energy
Total disappearance of neutrons
Recoil nuclei emerge as charged particle
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Interaction of Neutrons conti.
Neutron interactions
Two or more secondary radiations are
emitted
Mostly heavy charged particles
Interact via Coulomb forces
Neutron interaction probabilities change
with energy
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Interaction of Neutrons conti.
Neutrons classification
Fast neutrons E > 0.5 eV?
Slow neutrons E s 0.5 eV
Thermal neutrons E = 0.025 eV at 239 K
(Same average K.E. as the molecules in
their environment)
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Interaction of Neutrons conti.
Kinetic energy of neutrons is related to
temperature by Maxwell Boltzmann
distribution


where
f(E) fraction of neutrons of energy E per unit kinetic
energy
k Boltzmann constant = 1.38x10
-23
J K
-1

= 8.6x10
-5
eV K
-1
T Absolute temperature
( )
( )
2 1
2 3
2
E e
nkT
E f
kT E
=
t
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Interaction of Neutrons conti.








Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of energy among gas
molecules
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
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Interaction of Neutrons conti.
Average energy of
neutrons at given
temperature

Most probable
energy


For T = 293 K









E
mp
= 0.025 eV
v = 2200 ms
-1

kT E
2
3
=
kT E
mp
=
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Interaction of Neutrons conti.
Neutron interaction
Slow neutron interactions
Elastic scattering with absorber nuclei
Neutron induced nuclear reactions
Fast neutron interactions
Inelastic scattering interactions
Elastic scattering interactions
Thermal neutron interactions
Neutron absorption
Neutron induced nuclear reactions
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Slow Neutron Interactions
Significant interactions
Elastic scattering with absorber nuclei
Neutron induced nuclear reactions
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Slow Neutron Interactions conti.
Elastic Scattering (E.S)
Small K.E. of slow neutrons
Very little energy transferred to nucleus by
E.S.
Detectors can not be based on E.S
interactions
E.S slows the neutron further to thermal
energies (0.025 eV at room temperature)
where there is large interaction probability
for induced nuclear reactions
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Slow Neutron Interactions conti.
Neutron Induced Nuclear Reactions
(n,o): BF
3
detector
n +
11
B
7
Li + o
(n,p):
3
He detector
n +
3
He
3
H + p
(n,f): Fission chamber
n + X Y + Z + ns
(n,): Activation detectors
n + X X* X +
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions
Significant interactions
Inelastic scattering interactions
Elastic scattering interactions
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Inelastic Scattering
Some neutron energy is transferred to target
nucleus
Nucleus is excited excitation energy is
emitted as ray photon
n + X X* X + n
/
+
Inelastic scattering, threshold energy
H: No inelastic scattering with H
O: E
n
~ 6 MeV
U: E
n
~ 1 MeV
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
The average energy of neutron emerging
from an inelastic collision with a nucleus of
mass number A is given by


where, E is energy of incident neutron, and both
E and are in MeV
The inelastic cross section increases with
increase of energy of neutron for a
particular material
A
E
E 5 . 6 =
'
E
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Elastic Scattering
Most likely interaction is between fast
neutrons and low atomic number absorber
Interaction billiard ball type collisions
where K.E. and momentum are conserved.
The energy E of scattered neutron after a
head on collision
E
o
= energy of incident
neutron
M = mass of scattering
nucleus
m = mass of incident neutron
2
|
.
|

\
|
+

=
m M
m M
E E
o
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Energy transferred to target nucleus



Energy transferred to target nucleus in a single
collision
H: (E
o
E)/E
o
= 100%
O: (E
o
E)/E
o
= 22.2%
U: (E
o
E)/E
o
= 1.7%
( ) o =
(
(

|
.
|

\
|
+

= 1 1
2
o o o
E
m M
m M
E E E
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Nuclei with small mass number are more
effective on a per collision basis than nuclei
with high mass number for slowing down
neutrons
If collision is not head on, energy
transferred is less than that for head on
collision

PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Successive Collisions
Average decrease per collision is the
logarithmic of neutron energy called
average logarithmic energy decrement
defined as


Also it can be shown
o
o
o
E
E
E
E
E E E ln ln ln ln ln = = = A =
2

1
ln
1
|
.
|

\
|
+

+ =
m M
m M
o
o
o o

PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
If the slowing down medium contains
different kinds of nuclides, then


where,
n kind of nuclides
o
si
microscopic scattering cross section of
nuclide i

i
average logarithmic energy decrement
for nuclide i
N
i
number density of nuclide i

= =
=
n
n
i i
n
n
i i si
N N
1 1
o
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Fraction of incident neutron energy that is
transferred to target nucleus during
collision is

Since,



Therefore
o o
o
E
E
E
E E
f =

= 1

= = e
E
E
E
E
o o
ln

= e f 1
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Neutron energy transferred to
H is 63% as = 1 and f = 0.63
C is 14.7% as = 0.159 and f = 0.147
Recoil nucleus: The stuck nucleus becomes
an ionizing particle, dissipate its K.E in
absorbing medium by excitation or
ionization.
Neutron in Slowing Down Medium
Distance traversed in slowing medium
Fast diffusion length
Thermal diffusion length
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Fast Diffusion Length
Also called slowing down length
The average straight line distance covered
by fast neutron from its place of birth to
place of thermalization is called fast
diffusion length.
Fermi age
The square of fast diffusion length is called
Fermi age of neutron.

PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Thermal Diffusion Length
The distance traveled by thermal neutron
until it is absorbed
Neutron Flux
From a point source of S thermal neutrons in a
spherical shaped non-multiplying medium of
radius R, thermal diffusion length L, and
thermal diffusion coefficient D, the flux of
neutrons escaping from surface is
L R
e
RD
S

=
t
|
4
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Neutron Beam Transmission
The collimated beam of neutrons is passing
through an absorber. The transmitted
neutron intensity is given by

where
t = absorber thickness,

t
= total macroscopic cross-section = No
N = number density of absorber,
o = absorber thickness
t
o
t
e I I

=
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Total removal cross section
If removal is possible from more than one
means, then

t
=
1
+
2
+
3
+ ..
Relaxation length
1/
t
= is called relaxation length
(or mean free path)

PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
Neutron Absorption
Fast neutron energy is degraded by elastic
collisions, and
slowed down to nearly thermal or thermal
energies where likelihood of capture by absorber
nucleus increases.

PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
The absorber cross-section varies with
energy as follows


Called one-over-V law for slow neutron
absorption.
Also,
v E
1 1
o
E
E
v
v
o o
o
= =
o
o
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
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Fast Neutron Interactions conti.









Important in neutron
dosimetery

Important in neutron
detection

Important in neutron
shielding
Some Capture Reactions of Practical
Importance
( )
( )
(
(

=
=
b C p n N
b H n H
7 . 1 : ,
33 . 0 : ,
14 14
2 1
o
o
( ) | | b Li n B
3 7 10
10 0 . 4 : , = o o
( ) | | b Cd n Cd
4 114 113
10 1 . 2 : , = o
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Neutron Activation
Neutron Activation
Neutron activation is the production of
radioactive isotopes by absorption of a
neutron


On the basis of induced activity, it is
possible to determine
Neutron flux
Type and amount of unknown material (neutron
activation analysis)
+ + + Y a X X n
*
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Neutron Activation conti.
The radioisotope produced is also decaying,
the net production rate is


where,
| neutron flux [n/cm
2
-s]
o activation cross section [cm
2
]
decay constant [s
-1
]
n number of target atoms
N number of radioactive atoms
N = mN
av
/M
N N N R
dt
dN
o| = =
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Neutron Activation conti.
As, N = 0 at t = 0, therefore for irradiation time t
o


or

where, A
s
= |on saturation activity
For time t after irradiation the activity becomes
( )
o
t
e n N

|o

= 1
( )
o
t
s
e A A

= 1
( )
t t
s
e e A A
o

= 1
PNRA Course on
Radiation Safety
Dr. Muhammad Tufail
(Izaz-i-Fazeelat)
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Neutron Activation conti.
or


This is the basic equation for determination
of
Neutron flux
Mass of unknown material


( )
t t
av
e e
M
N
m A

| o

=
0
1