EVALUATION AND TEST OF THE RESPONSE MATRIX OF A MULTISPHERE NEUTRON SPECTROMETER IN A WIDE ENERGY-RANGE .3. VALIDATION

A multisphere neutron spectrometer has been tested in well known neutron fields (two thermal beams and sources of americium-beryllium, californium and californium moderated with heavy water). The spectral distribution of the thermal neutron beams has been considered when comparing the measured sensitivity of the system to that established by calculation. These two values were found to be in good agreement. There is also a good agreement between the measured spectra and the ISO standards and between the measured and the reference dosimetric values for the three neutron sources used. The deviations on the dose equivalent are 0.4% for americium-beryllium, 3% for californium and 8% for californium moderated with heavy water. These satisfactory results contribute to the validation of the spectrometric system for thermal, intermediate and high energies.