East Port Irradiation Facility

The East Port Irradiation Facility provides an intense neutron flux for material irradiation studies and research

This facility provides an intense neutron flux for material irradiation studies and research. Samples can be placed in a small cylindrical container approximately 9cm diam and 15cm long that is located in the east Target-4 neutron production target access port. The sample can be placed in the sample holder in a location near the neutron production target. Figure 1 shows a sketch of the location of the East port irradiation cell. The sample cell is located approximately 1.2m from the neutron production target. The neutron production target presently consists of a tungsten cylinder which is 7.5cm long and 3cm in diam surrounded by a thin water cooling jacket. The protons strike the cylinder along the long axis of the cylinder. The vacuum chamber is approximately 2m in diameter and 1.4m high. Samples are loaded in the cell at the top of the access port and can be lowered to the irradiation location. The sample cell is shielded with a carbon moderator.

Because the sample is located close to the neutron production target, it is also exposed to protons and gamma rays that are produced in the production target. Figure 2 shows the calculated neutron, proton and gamma-ray spectrum at the sample position for a proton beam current of 4microA.

This facility is mostly used for materials irradiation research because of the time required to access the samples (several hours) and there being no capability for real-time experiment control and monitoring of the samples. The integrated intensity for the various particles are summarized in below Table. 

The East Port currently isn't operational. Researchers interested in using this capability should contact the instrument scientist to plan the installation of the experiment and to arrange scheduling.

Integrated Intensity of Particles at East Port