Determination of cross section of α-induced nuclear reaction on natural Cr and Zr by stacked foil activation for thin layer activation analysis

The cross sections of different α-induced nuclear reactions on natural chromium and zirconium have been determined at different energies of the α-particles by the stacked foil activation technique using the 40 MeV α-beam from Variable Energy Cyclotron at Calcutta. The reaction channels studied from the stable isotopes of natural Cr and Zr are (α, xn), (α, p), (α, p xn) and (α, αn) (where x = 1 and 2). The excitation functions have also been reported for the energy range from 10 to 40 MeV of α-particles. The experimentally determined cross sections have been compared with the theoretical values computed on the basis of the hybrid model using a program ALICE 85/300. The analytical validation of the experimental values has been carried out with a vanadium target for which cross sections are already reported in the literature. The purpose of generating of the above cross sections is to support the thin layer activation technique for the study of surface wear in Cr and Zr based metals/alloys.