Measurement of the delayed-neutron yield in the thermal neutron induced fission of 239Pu

This article presents an experimental effort to provide high-quality data to improve the evaluation of the 239Pu delayed neutron yield in the thermal energy range. The set-up is composed of a long counter with sixteen 3He tubes, a fast shutter system to produce irradiation cycles with short rising/falling times, and a miniature fission chamber containing 114μg of 239Pu. The whole system was installed in the PF1B experimental zone of the Institut Laue-Langevin, which provides a cold neutron beam. The repetition of irradiation/decay cycles enables to saturate the delayed neutron precursors and to measure their yield through the observed activity, shortly after the beam-stop. The innovation of our measurement technique relies on the clear distinction between prompt and delayed neutron counting, thanks to boron absorbers, without the necessity to move the sample. In such a way, it is possible to normalize the counting of delayed neutron emission to the one of total neutron emission, based on the well-known value of the prompt neutron multiplicity. The present work provides a delayed neutron yield value of vd = 0.642(5)%. The latter is in 1σ agreement with the IAEA recommendation of 0.628(38)%, with a strongly reduced uncertainty thanks to our normalization technique.