Neutron fluence and energy reproducibility of a 2-dollar TRIGA reactor pulse

Washington State University’s 1 MW TRIGA reactor has a long history of utilization for neutron activation analysis (NAA). TRIGA reactors have the ability to pulse, reach supercritical ( k > 1) for short bursts of time (~50 ms). At this high power and fast time the energy spectrum and neutron fluence are largely uncharacterized. The pulse neutron energy spectrum and fluence were determined by the activation of Cu, Au, Co, Fe, and Ti. These analyses were completed with and without Cd shielding to determine reproducibility between pulses. The applications and implications of the neutron energy and fluence reproducibility to the use of pulsed NAA will be discussed.