NEUTRON-PRODUCTION AND ENERGY GENERATION BY ENERGETIC PROJECTILES - PROTONS OR DEUTERONS

A revival of interest for production of neutrons by light energetic pr ojectiles has been arisen recently by the advent of new projects in nu clear technology such as accelerator-driven nuclear reactors, nuclear waste transmutation and the use of radioactive beams. In this context we try to estimate which of the light incident particles, namely proto ns or deuterons, are more favourable for neutron production. The probl em is investigated by varying the incident energy of these projectiles for different target materials and assemblies. The averaged multiplic ities, angular and energy distributions of neutrons produced are estim ated and compared using the simplest target geometry. In addition, the energy gain factor, i.e. the ratio of the energy produced in the sub- critical target-fuel assembly to the one delivered by the beam, is pre sented for both of the incident particles as a function of their kinet ic energy. It is shown that at lower energies (< 600 MeV), the combina tion of deuteron beam with light metal target is the most efficient so lution for energy generation, whereas at higher energies (>1 GeV) the difference between various combinations becomes less significant. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.