RIKEN Accelerator-driven compact neutron systems, RANS project, and their capabilities

At RIKEN we have developed compact neutron source systems for on-site quantitative evaluation for practical use. The first of these systems, RANS (RIKEN Accelerator-driven compact Neutron Systems), has been in operation since 2013 and is used by many people in academia, industry, and infrastructure in Japan and abroad. [1]. There are two major goals of our RANS Project’s research and development. One is to establish and realize CANS (Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Source) models that can be easily operated, non-destructively measured, and quantitatively evaluated, as a floor-standing type for industrial use as non-destructive analysis equipment. Another goal is to invent a novel transportable compact neutron system for the preventive maintenance of large- scale construction such as bridges and highways. Two accelerator-based compact neutron source systems, RANS (7 MeV proton, Be target) and RANS-II (2.49 MeV proton, Li target), as well as RANS-μ (252Cf) which have started real bridge measurements, are in constant operation. In addition, RANS-III, a transportable compact neutron system for non-destructive inspection of bridge decks, and cable-stayed bridge anchorage deterioration detection, is being developed for onboard use. There are more than six kinds of instruments, and neutron measurements are available with RANS and RANS-II. The transmission imaging, neutron diffractometer towards stress measurement [2], small angle scattering instruments with thermal and cold moderators at RANS, fast neutron scattering time-of-flight imaging [3], neutron activation analysis with RANS and RANS-II, and neutron-induced prompt gamma-ray analysis with RANS, RANS-II, and RANS-μ are available.

References
[1] Y.Otake, "A Compact Proton Linac Neutron Source at RIKEN", “Applications of Laser-Driven Particle Acceleration” eds. Paul Bolton, et al. (2018) Chapter 19 pp.291-314 CRC Press
[2]C. Iwamoto , et al., , ISIJ Int. 62, No. 5, pp. 1013–1022, (2022).
[3] Y. Ikeda, et al. Plasma and Fusion Research Vol.13(2018) pp.2406005-1-5