As Generation IV nuclear reactors are developed, advanced data on the behavior of structural materials, especially the naturally occurring isotopes of Iron, are needed. This research investigates the excitation of 54Fe levels resulting from inelastic neutron scattering. Due to the need for high resolution information, γ-ray measurements were made using the 7 MV Van de Graaff accelerator at the University of Kentucky Accelerator Laboratory and its neutron production and γ-ray detection facilities. A highly enriched sample of 54Fe, a 5.8% naturally occurring isotope, was bombarded with an almost mono-energetic neutron beam ranging in energies from 1.5 to 4.7 MeV in 200 keV steps. The resulting γ-ray emissions were collected using HPGe detectors and analyzed to reconstruct the excited level structure of the 54Fe nucleus and its decays; γ-ray production cross sections were deduced and used to determine neutron inelastic cross sections. Standards of Al, Ti, and V were analyzed in the same manner and compared with ENDF cross sections to establish an absolute normalization factor for the neutron inelastic cross sections measurements on 54Fe. Results from our studies and comparisons to ENDF evaluated cross sections for 54Fe will be presented.

Investigating the neutron inelastic scattering cross sections for 54Fe through γ-ray spectroscopy

249th National Meeting (2015)

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