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In this paper, two projects have been undertaken. First, Workman's calculations have been checked to a higher degree of approximation to determine the accuracy of his method. Second, a new set of boundary conditions has been developed for obtaining solutions of the neutron diffusion equation which do not depend on the solution of the equation inside the detector.

AbstractThe purpose of this study was the evaluation of various neutron activation cross sections using 2.8 MeV neutrons. This area of study was chosen because only a small amount of research has been done using generator produced 2.8 MeV neutrons.Most of the cross section values listed in the literature were small, requiring the use of various methods to increase the number of reactions occurring.A relative measure of the neutron flux was made using indium standards. The efficiency of the detection system was experimentally measured by the use of standardized radioisotopes.The product isotopes, produced by (n,ﻻ) or (u,n’ﻻ) reactions, and their measured activation cross sections were: 116mIn - 104 + 5 mb; 137mBa - 459 + 45 mb; 139Ba - 5.48 + 0.47 mb; 128I, - 38.5 + 3.0 mb; 56Mn - 4.28 + 0.34 mb; and 87mSr - 219 ± 26 mb. Errors from 4.8% for 116mIn to 12% for 87mSr were determined.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

The Daya Bay reactor neutrino experiment aims to determine sin2 2θ13 with a sensitivity of 0.01 or better at 90% confidence level. One of the major backgrounds to neutrino measurements is the muon-induced neutrons. An ex- periment had been set up inside the Aberdeen Tunnel laboratory, Hong Kong, to study spallation neutrons induced by cosmic-ray muons in an underground environment similar to the Daya Bay experiment. The Aberdeen Tunnel laboratory is 22 m above sea level at 22:23?N and 114:6?E. The amount of overburden is approximately 235 m of rocks, which is equivalent to 611 m.w.e. Rock compositions in the Aberdeen Tunnel area is similar to that in Daya Bay. MUSIC simulation results showed that in the laboratory the mean energy of muons 〈Eμ〉= 122 GeV and the integrated muon intensity I = 9:64 X10??6 cm??2 s??1. A Bonner Spheres Neutron Spectrometer (BSS) was developed to measure the ambient neutron energy spectrum. The BSS consists of a thermal neutron detector and a set of eight polyethylene spherical shells. The overall detection efficiency of the BSS was (96:7 +3:3 ??13:1)% with a detector background rate of (1:96_0:03)_10??3 s??1. The total neutron fluence rate measured at the Surface Assembly Building (SAB) of the Daya Bay experiment was (5:20 +0:81 ??0:44) _ 10??3 cm??2 s??1, which agreed with the neutron fluence rate measured in the air/ground interface in Taiwan. The unfolded SAB neutron energy spectrum showed a clear thermal-neutron peak around 20 meV and a cascade peak around 100 MeV. Detectable number of neutrons could be seen at 1 GeV. The neutron fluence rate measured at the Aberdeen Tunnel (ABT) laboratory was significantly higher then some other underground laboratories. The unfolded ABT neutron energy spectrum showed a pronounced evaporation peak around 1 MeV, and a sup- pression in the cascade peak. Detections of muon-induced neutrons inside the Aberdeen Tunnel laboratory is achieved by a Muon Tracker and a Neutron Detector. The Muon Tracker consists of three main layers of crossed plastic scintillator hodoscopes capable of determining the incoming direction of muons. The average efficiency for most of the hodoscopes was above 95%. The Neutron Detector consists of about 760 L of gadolinium-doped liquid scintillator and sixteen photomultiplier tubes. The liquid scintillator target is shield by about 1900 L of mineral oil from external radiations. The overall average detection efficiency of muon-induced neutrons was about 16%. The measurement of muon-induced neutrons in the Aberdeen Tunnel lab- oratory started from June 2011, with a total live time of about 30 days. The average rate of the accepted muon events was 0.013 Hz. The muon-induced neutron yield was determined to be Nn = (8:5 _ 0:4(syst.) _ 1:8(stat.)) _ 10??5 neutron/(μg cm??2). This value agreed with the parametrization of FLUKA-1999 simulation results if the muon energy dependence of muon-induced neutron yields was considered. / published_or_final_version / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The muon-induced radioactive isotopes, especially neutrons, are dangerous background component for rare-event detection in underground experiments, like neutrino-less double-beta decay and dark matter search. Understanding these cosmogenic backgrounds is crucial for these experiments. An underground experiment aiming at measuring the cosmic-ray muons' flux and their neutron production yield in liquid scintillator through spallation process is being carried out in the Aberdeen Tunnel laboratory located in Hong Kong with a total vertical overburden of 235 m of rocks (611 m.w.e.). The Aberdeen Tunnel detection system is constituted of a Muon Tracker (MT) for muon tagging and a Neutron Detector (ND) for neutron detection. The MT consists of 60 plastic scintillator hodoscopes to determine the incoming muon direction and the ND is a two-zone detector containing 760 L of gadolinium-doped liquid scintillator as target volume and 1900 L of mineral oil as shields. The experiment has been taking data stably since 2012. To obtain reliable results, the detector performance and the stability of the experiment have been studied in this work. Muon-induced fast neutrons can be captured in Gd-LS with characteristic energies released and the capture time follows a characteristic exponential distribution. By using the capture time and energy information, we can select the neutron candidates and thus calculate the neutron production yield. The energy of a neutron capture event is reconstructed from the calibrated photo-multiplier tube signals, while the directions of cosmic-ray muons can be reconstructed from the MT. The mean energy of the incoming muons that pass the selection criteria was estimated by a simulation code MUSIC that transported atmospheric muon spectrum through the mountains to the laboratory, and is found to be 92 GeV. The neutron production yield is calculated to be Yn = (3:28 ±0:12(sta:) ±0:24(sys:)) X 〖10〗^(-4) (n/μ〖gcm〗^(-2)) for both the showering muon and single muon events. This result is about two times higher than the expectation value from previous simulations and experiments. The neutron production yield of the single muons is calculated to be Yn = (1:04 ± 0:08(sta:) ± 0:07(sys:)) X 〖10〗^(-4) (n/μ〖gcm〗^(-2)). This reveals a enhancement of the neutron production from the muons accompanied by showers. / published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

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The neutron diffusion parameters of water and ice were measured by the pulsed source method at two temperatures; 1.0°C. and -19°C. Neutron pulses were obtained at one millisecond intervals by modulating the beam in a Cockcroft-Walton type accelerator. The ₁H³(d,n)₂He⁴ reaction was used to generate neutrons. The samples were contained in cylindrical aluminum cans covered with cadmium. The experiment was conducted inside a large paraffin block which served as a neutron shield and thermal insulator. The temperature of the samples was maintained constant to within ±1°C. Neutrons leaving one surface of the sample were counted in a BF₃ proportional counter. The time distribution of these neutrons was recorded by an eighteen channel time analyzer. The width of each channel was 20 microseconds. The opening of the first channel was delayed 100 microseconds with respect to the start of the neutron burst to minimize harmonics in the neutron decay. A geometric buckling was calculated for each sized sample from B²=[2.405/(R+∈)]²+[π/(H+∈)]² where B² = geometric buckling 2.405 = first zero of J_o Bessel Functions R = radios of cylinder H = height of cylinder ∈ = extrapolation distance The extrapolation distance ∈ was calculated from ∈ =0.71 λ_tr where λ_tr = mean free path of neutrons in water The extrapolation distance was assumed to vary as T^½ where T is the temperature in degrees Kelvin. The measured decay constants, α, were fitted by the method of least squares to a polynomial in B² of the form α = (∑_av) ÷ D_oB² - CB⁴ where ∑_a = the macroscopic absorption cross-section v = the neutron velocity D_o = diffusion coefficient C = diffusion cooling coefficient The resultant values of (∑_av) and D_o for each temperature are below. The data did not permit a determination of C. 1.0°C. (∑_av) = 4595 ± 365 sec⁻¹ D_o = 29600 ± 840 cm²/sec -19°C. (∑_av) = 4355 ± 263 sec⁻¹ D_o = 27050 ± 630 cm²/sec / Ph. D.

Thermal neutron diffusion parameters of O, 20, 50, 80 and 100 percent D₂O in mixtures of light and heavy water were measured by the pulsed neutron technique at room temperature (21°C), near the freezing point of the mixture in the liquid state, and at -20°C in the solid state (ice). A 250-kv pulsed Cockcroft-Walton accelerator, using neutrons from the ₁H²(d,n)₂He³ reaction, was used to generate fast neutrons bursts. The values of the infinite medium decay constant, λ₀, were computed by a least squares fit of λ versus B² data to the expression: λ = λ + D₀B² - CB⁴ The parameters D₀, C, and λ𝗍ᵣ were determined from the above expression after rearranging: λ-λ₀ = D B² - CB⁴ The resulting values of D₀, C, λ, and λ𝗍ᵣ at several temperatures are tabulated. / Ph. D.

The generalized data which are presented in this thesis are the culmination of the determination of the foil depression factor using oblate spheroidal coordinates.