NEUTRON SPECTROSCOPY INVESTIGATIONS WITH GELINA

H. Weigmann

The Geel Linear Accelerator (GELINA) is a 150 MeV electron linac which together with a pulse compression system and a Hg cooled U target is operated as a pulsed white neutron source for the measurement of neutron induced nuclear interaction data in the neutron energy range from below thermal to about 20 MeV. After a short description of the major parameters of the facility, some of the experimental work performed at GELINA during the past years is described. Emphasis is put on the excellent neutron energy resolution achieved by a 1 ns electron burst width and neutron flight paths of up to 400 m length. The major part of the research programme concerns the measurement of data required for applications in reactor calculations, for feasibility studies of advanced reactor concepts and waste transmutation scenarios including accelerator driven systems, and for the safety assessment of such systems and the nuclear fuel cycle. Some of the work simultaneously delivers interesting information on nuclear structure at several MeV excitation energy.