Determination of the activation constants for miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR) by linear least squares regression

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a detailed description of the determination of experimental activation constants for 22 elements for miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR). The activation constants have been measured for the most intense γ-rays of the radionuclides commonly observed in neutron activation analysis. The experimental values have been compared with those based on mathematical expression and calculated by using f and α of the irradiation channel and k 0 and Q 0 factors from published literature. A comparison of the expression-based and experimentally determined activation constants shows a good agreement, except for some cases where difference is about 10% of the expression-based values. The activation constants were validated by analyzing synthetic multielement standards (SMELS-I and -II); the results revealed all elements within ±3 Z-score.