Measurement of thermal neutron flux and cadmium ratios using neutron activation analysis

Abstract

Irradiation of known foil samples in a reactor and subsequent measurement of induced activity
allows determination of neutron flux. This is an important information for many purposes. It
can be used reciprocally to determine contents of unknown samples irradiated at the same position in the reactor. On the other hand, neutron flux information is used in the assessment of a
safe operation of nuclear power reactors. In the frame of this work, bare and cadmium covered
foils of gold and dysprosium have been irradiated at different positions of the reactor. Induced
activity measurements were made using a standard procedure. Thermal neutron flux and cadmium ratio values were determined for the irradiation positions.