Intrinsic neutron source strengths in uranium solutions

Neutron production rates for 5 pct. enriched uranyl fluoride and 93 pct. uranyl nitrate solutions have been measured using a high efficiency neutron well counter. Measurements were made for both solution types as a function of sample volume. These results were extrapolated to zero sample volume to eliminate sample size effects, such as multiplication and absorption. For the 5 pct. enriched uranyl fluoride solution, a neutron production rate of 0.0414 (+ or -) 0.0041 n/s/ml was measured; for the 93 pct. enriched uranyl nitrate solution, a neutron production rate of 0.0232 (+ or -) 0.0023 n/s/ml was measured. The biggest uncertainty is in measuring the detector efficiency, and further work on this aspect of the experiment is planned. Calculations for the neutron production rates based on measured thick-target (alpha, n) production rates and the known alpha stopping powers are in reasonable agreement with the data for the uranyl nitrate solution, but are in poor agreement with the data for the uranyl fluoride solution.