Speakers
Description
Nuclear spallation is a key method for neutron production in nuclear physics and applied research. In this project, we investigate how target material and thickness affect neutron yield using 1, 5 and 10 GeV positive and negative beams on cylindrical Tungsten and Copper targets. We compare the dimensions 15 cm diameter × 60 cm height and 15 cm diameter × 30 cm height targets to study geometric optimisation. We simulated all of our experiments using Geant4. Simulations predict the highest neutron production for Tungsten, while Copper shows significantly lower yield. Neutron yield, energy spectra, and angular distributions are analysed. Proton tagging was performed using Cherenkov detectors and time-of-flight techniques. The neutron flux was monitored using two WENDI detectors placed at different positions throughout the experiment to measure the produced and scattered neutrons. We compared the neutron yields created by protons, positive pions and negative pions at 1 GeV. We also found out at which part of the target the spallation occurs the most, and at which momenta the spallation is more efficient.