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DOE OSTI · 2274909

CERBERUS: A ZEUS Configuration With HEU and Copper Reflected by Copper

Amundson, Kelsey Marie·Lemke, Zachariah Rudy
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Abstract

The Critical Experiment Reflected By copper to bEtteR Understand Scattering (CERBERUS) experiment is a a series of measurements performed at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) on the Comet critical assembly machine with a thick copper (Cu) reflector around alternating layers of Cu plates and highly enriched uranium (HEU) pancake plates. The measurements were performed by personnel from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL): T. Cutler, K. Amundson, N. Thompson, T. Grove, K. Stolte, and Z. Lemke, along with the multiple people who supported additional measurements and material handling. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the impact of Cu scattering cross-sections in an integral experiment using the Comet critical assembly machine. Three configurations, which differed in the amount of Cu between each HEU layer, were evaluated as benchmarks. The three configurations are 3/16 inch, 5/16 inch, and 7/16 inch, which represent the amount of Cu above and below each HEU layer. Throughout the rest of the document the units associated with the configuration will be removed from the configuration name.

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11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALSAluminum (Al)CometCopper (Cu)Critical ExperimentHighly Enriched Uranium (HEU)Zeus

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Amundson, Kelsey Marie, Lemke, Zachariah Rudy. 2023-12-20. CERBERUS: A ZEUS Configuration With HEU and Copper Reflected by Copper. https://doi.org/10.2172/2274909

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