Activation cross-section measurements of some proton induced reactions on Ni, Co and Mo for proton activation analysis (PAA) purposes

Abstract

Abstract The experimental proton induced reaction cross sections on some elements of the Havar alloy were measured using the activation method and the well established stacked-foil technique combined with high resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy. They included the reactions natNi(p,x)57Ni, natCo(p,x)58(m+g)Co and natMo(p,x)94g,95g,96(m+g)Tc, the aim being to obtain reliable data in the proton energy range up to 26 MeV for some important reactions to be used in the proton activation analysis of steel or other alloys. Irradiations were performed using the CS-30 Cyclotron at KFSH and RC, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The activity measurements were carried out in PNU laboratories, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The experimental excitation functions for the investigated reactions were constructed and compared with the performed computed theoretical nuclear model calculations using two different codes: ALICE-IPPE and TALYS. A comparison between our measured cross-section values and the available published data is also presented, with a view to checking the consistency of the reported experimental work from various laboratories.