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Neutron time-of-flight facility for high-resolution neutron measurements (JRC-GELINA)
Identification
Hosting Legal Entity
Joint Research Centre
Address:
CDMA, Brussels, PO: 1049 (Belgium)
Legal Status
International or intergovernmental organisation or framework
Location
Retieseweg 111, Joint Research Centre - European Comission, Geel, PO: B-2440 (Belgium)
Structure
Type Of RI
Single-sited
Coordinating Country
European Union
Participating Countries
Belgium
Status
Status
Current Status:
Operational
Scientific Description
GELINA is a pulsed electron accelerator serving as a strong white neutron source for high resolution neutron time-of-flight measurements. Both moderated neutron beams and fast neutron beams can be generated. The first experiments started in 1965. The main users are European Union member state organisations and international partners of the EURATOM program, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the Nuclear Data Section of the IAEA. The facility covers the energy range from thermal to 15 MeV, has unsurpassed time resolution of less than 1 ns (FWHM) and serves an array of flight paths up to 400 m long on which as many as 10 experiments can be carried out simultaneously. GELINA also allows use of the high radiation field in the target hall. It is one of the first JRC research infrastructure providing open access to Member State researchers allowing a variety of nuclear measurements. GELINA operates on a 24h/24h 5 days per week basis. An Access Unit is about 100 hours of beam time and includes the time to build up and to dismantle the experimental set-up (if needed). Depending on the proposed experiment users can use their own equipment, JRC in-house equipment or a combination of both.Main Topics:• Neutron cross-section measurements for safety assessments of present-day and innovative nuclear energy systems.• Measurements of nuclear data standards.• Investigations for a better understanding of the nuclear fission process.• Advanced methods in nuclear technologies, safety and security.• Exploratory research for the development of new scientific concepts, testing of new equipment or radiation transport.• Basic physics.

RI Keywords
Accelerators, Neutron source
Classifications
RI Category
Nuclear Research Facilities
Scientific Domain
Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics and Mathematics
ESFRI Domain
Energy
Services
Measurement
Equipment
Tandem accelerator based fast neutron source (MONNET)

The high intensity quasi mono-energetic neutron source at JRC-Geel is driven by a vertical 3.5 MV Tandem accelerator producing either continuous or pulsed ion beams. This facility is complementary to the GELINA neutron time-of-flight facility. Quasi mono-energetic beams of neutrons are produced in the energy range up to 24 MeV. Especially in the MeV neutron energy domain where the resonance structure of the cross-sections is averaged out, the high-resolution measurements at GELINA can be complemented by measurements at MONNET, where the experimental conditions are more favourable for weak cross sections and low sample quantities. The MONNET facility is a 3.5 MV electrostatic accelerator for the production of continuous and pulsed proton-, deuteron- and helium ion beams. Ion beams can be produced with a current of up to 100 microA on target in DC mode and up to 10 microA in pulsed mode. The pulse repetition rates are 2.5, 1.25 or 0.625 MHz and the ion pulse-lengths are < 2 ns FWHM depending on the ion energy. The voltage stability is better than +/- 0.01 %.The energy of the mono-energetic neutrons used for the measurements is defined by a combination of three factors: • type and energy of the accelerated particle (protons, deuterons or helium ions); • neutron production target (lithium, deuterium or tritium targets); • emission angle under which the neutrons for the experiments are selected. Neutron fluence fields can be produced with peak energies in the regions 0.3 - 10 MeV and 16 - 24 MeV at 0 degree measurement angle. One beam line with dedicated experimental set-ups for activation, fission and scattering experiments are attached to the accelerator. In contrast to GELINA, here, only one set-up can be used at a time. The facility is operated continuously during weeks, on a 24-hours/day basis, 7 days per week basis.

150 MeV electron accelerator (GELINA)

strong white neutron source for high resolution neutron time-of-flight measurements. The facility covers the energy range from thermal to 15 MeV, has unsurpassed time resolution of less than 2 ns (FWHM) and serves an array of flight paths up to 400 m long on which as many as 10 experiments can be carried out simultaneously. GELINA also allows use of the high radiation field in the target hall

Date of last update: 20/06/2019
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