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ASTM E 262 : 2017

Current
Current

The latest, up-to-date edition.

Standard Test Method for Determining Thermal Neutron Reaction Rates and Thermal Neutron Fluence Rates by Radioactivation Techniques
Available format(s)

Hardcopy , PDF

Language(s)

English

Published date

08-01-2017

1.1 The purpose of this test method is to define a general procedure for determining an unknown thermal-neutron fluence rate by neutron activation techniques.

1.1The purpose of this test method is to define a general procedure for determining an unknown thermal-neutron fluence rate by neutron activation techniques. It is not practicable to describe completely a technique applicable to the large number of experimental situations that require the measurement of a thermal-neutron fluence rate. Therefore, this method is presented so that the user may adapt to their particular situation the fundamental procedures of the following techniques.

1.1.1Radiometric counting technique using pure cobalt, pure gold, pure indium, cobalt-aluminum, alloy, gold-aluminum alloy, or indium-aluminum alloy.

1.1.2Standard comparison technique using pure gold, or gold-aluminum alloy, and

1.1.3Secondary standard comparison techniques using pure indium, indium-aluminum alloy, pure dysprosium, or dysprosium-aluminum alloy.

1.2The techniques presented are limited to measurements at room temperatures. However, special problems when making thermal-neutron fluence rate measurements in high-temperature environments are discussed in 9.2. For those circumstances where the use of cadmium as a thermal shield is undesirable because of potential spectrum perturbations or of temperatures above the melting point of cadmium, the method described in Test Method E481 can be used in some cases. Alternatively, gadolinium filters may be used instead of cadmium. For high temperature applications in which aluminum alloys are unsuitable, other alloys such as cobalt-nickel or cobalt-vanadium have been used.

1.3This test method may be used to determine the equivalent 2200 m/s fluence rate. The accurate determination of the actual thermal neutron fluence rate requires knowledge of the neutron temperature, and determination of the neutron temperature is not within the scope of the standard.

1.4The techniques presented are suitable only for neutron fields having a significant thermal neutron component, in which moderating materials are present, and for which the average scattering cross section is large compared to the average absorption cross section in the thermal neutron energy range.

1.5Table 1 indicates the useful neutron-fluence ranges for each detector material.

TABLE 1 Useful Neutron Fluence Ranges of Foil Material

Foil Material

Form

Useful Range (neutrons/cm 2)

Indium

pure or alloyed with aluminum

103 to 1012

Gold

pure or alloyed with aluminum

107 to 1014

Dysprosium

pure or alloyed with aluminum

103 to 1010

Cobalt

pure or alloyed with aluminum

1014 to 1020

1.6This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

1.7This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

Committee
E 10
DocumentType
Test Method
Pages
11
PublisherName
American Society for Testing and Materials
Status
Current
Supersedes

ASTM E 177 : 1990 : REV A : R1996 Standard Practice for Use of the Terms Precision and Bias in ASTM Test Methods
ASTM E 181 : 2017 Standard Test Methods for Detector Calibration and Analysis of Radionuclides
ASTM E 170 : 2020 Standard Terminology Relating to Radiation Measurements and Dosimetry
ASTM E 181 : 2023 Standard Guide for Detector Calibration and Analysis of Radionuclides in Radiation Metrology for Reactor Dosimetry
ASTM E 481 : 2016 Standard Test Method for Measuring Neutron Fluence Rates by Radioactivation of Cobalt and Silver
ASTM E 261 : 2016 Standard Practice for Determining Neutron Fluence, Fluence Rate, and Spectra by Radioactivation Techniques
ASTM E 170 : 2023 Standard Terminology Relating to Radiation Measurements and Dosimetry
ASTM E 481 : 2023 Standard Practice for Measuring Neutron Fluence Rates by Radioactivation of Cobalt and Silver
ASTM E 261 : 2016 : R2021 Standard Practice for Determining Neutron Fluence, Fluence Rate, and Spectra by Radioactivation Techniques

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