I am writing my bachelor's thesis about nuclear thermal propulsion and I am trying to figure out, what makes a good neutron reflector.
The obvious, desirable properties of a reflector material are:
- High neutron scattering cross section
- Low neutron absorption cross section
- Resistance against thermal and radiation influences
The same applies to moderator materials. But with a reflector you do not just want to thermalize neutrons, in the best case they are getting reflected back into the reactor core.
So what physical property(ies) describes the capability of a material to reflect (scatter neutrons by roughly 180°) ?
Dear Felix Richter, please see the references attached to the Russian Wikipedia post on the reflection of neutrons.
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Отражатель_нейтронов
- Климов А. Н. Ядерная физика и ядерные реакторы. М. Атомиздат, 1971.
- Левин В. Е. Ядерная физика и ядерные реакторы. 4-е изд. — М.: Атомиздат, 1979.
- Петунин В. П. Теплоэнергетика ядерных установок М.: Атомиздат, 1960.
The most important property beside having good resistance against possible degradation due to radiation and thermal stresses, is to have high "elastic" scattering cross section and in the same time very low absorption cross section that's why Berilum and Graphite are preferred. Another thing is the geometry and location according to the core also very important.
First of all, thank you for your answers!
In further investigation I found the following sources, which use the term "neutron albedo":
James E. Turner. Atoms, Radiation and Radiation Protection. Third. Wiley VCH
Verlag, 2007. Page 1405 (pdf)
and
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Reactor shielding for nuclear engineers. Ed. by
N.M. Schaefer. Jan. 1, 1973. Page 314-319 (pdf)
Maybe this will help somebody.
Kind regards
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