TESTING OF REACTOR ANTINEUTRINO DETECTOR S-CUBE

AbstraktAbstract

The project of the construction of the experimental setup for detection of reactor antineutrinos, which is realized within common project between the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics of Czech Technical University (IEAP CTU) in Prague and Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, is presented. The testing prototype of detector of reactor antineutrinos, which consists of 18 polystyrene based scintillating plates, has been tested. The background measurement with complex shielding (100-years old lead, polyethylene and borated polyethylene) as well as background measurement without shielding is shown in order to demonstrate the influence of shielding on background suppression. Testing of neutron conversion layers proposed by IEAP CTU and manufactured by the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry (IMC) of the Czech Academy of Sciences is also shown. A first prototype of the detector of reactor antineutrinos (40 × 40 × 40 cm3), called S-cube, which will consist of polystyrene based plastic scintillators (80 pieces, 40 × 20 × 1 cm3), is under construction. Such detector can be used for the detection of reactor antineutrinos, as well as measurement of their energy spectra and possibly investigation of short-range neutrino oscillations. Moreover, such detector should be able to measure reactor power, estimate isotopic composition of the reactor fuel and so prevent illegal production of plutonium used for the construction of nuclear weapons.

The project of the construction of the experimental setup for detection of reactor antineutrinos, which is realized within common project between the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics of Czech Technical University (IEAP CTU) in Prague and Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, is presented. The testing prototype of detector of reactor antineutrinos, which consists of 18 polystyrene based scintillating plates, has been tested. The background measurement with complex shielding (100-years old lead, polyethylene and borated polyethylene) as well as background measurement without shielding is shown in order to demonstrate the influence of shielding on background suppression. Testing of neutron conversion layers proposed by IEAP CTU and manufactured by the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry (IMC) of the Czech Academy of Sciences is also shown. A first prototype of the detector of reactor antineutrinos (40 × 40 × 40 cm3), called S-cube, which will consist of polystyrene based plastic scintillators (80 pieces, 40 × 20 × 1 cm3), is under construction. Such detector can be used for the detection of reactor antineutrinos, as well as measurement of their energy spectra and possibly investigation of short-range neutrino oscillations. Moreover, such detector should be able to measure reactor power, estimate isotopic composition of the reactor fuel and so prevent illegal production of plutonium used for the construction of nuclear weapons.