Measurement of the Thermal Neutron Capture Cross Section and the Resonance Integral of the ⁹⁰ Sr( <i>n</i> , γ) ⁹¹ Sr Reaction

Abstract

The thermal neutron capture cross section (σ0) and the resonance integral (I 0) of the 90Sr(n,γ)91Sr reaction were measured with an activation method to provide fundamental data for research on nuclear transmutation methods of radioactive wastes. Strontium chloride containing 3.7x102 kBq of90Sr was irradiated for 10 h in the hydraulic transfer tube facility of Kyoto University Reactor. Flux monitor wires, Co/Al and Au/Al alloy wires, were irradiated together with the targets to determine the neutron flux and the fraction of epithermal component (Westcott's index) at the target position. A high purity Ge detector was used to measure the γ rays from the irradiated targets and monitor wires. The σ0 was obtained as 10.1 ±1.3 mb, and I0 as 104±16 mb.