Speaker
Description
The Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina started the development of neutron beam instruments in the early 1970s, by the design, construction and testing of a 17 metres long time-of-flight neutron spectrometer dedicated to Neutron and Reactor Physics studies, using a pulsed neutron source at the 25 MeV electron linear accelerator of Centro Atómico Bariloche. Sustained work on the design, construction, installation and operation of neutron beam instrumentation continued until the present day, with additional beamlines installed at the Bariloche LINAC and at the CNEA research reactors in Buenos Aires and Bariloche, broadening the focus to multidisciplinary applications in materials science, technology, and health. The experience gained over the years contributed to the definition of the scientific and technical scope of the project for the Argentine Neutron Beam Laboratory (LAHN), which will use the neutron beams of the RA-10 reactor for the provision of neutron techniques to the Argentine and Latin American user communities.
This contribution will present a historical and technical overview of operational and decommissioned neutron instruments in Argentina, emphasizing their design goals, main achievements, besides key technical and operational challenges. Furthermore, it will introduce the scientific scope and main technical requirements of the initial instrument suite of the LAHN, and the requirements posed on the neutron delivery system to provide a complete suite of fourteen instruments for
the full scope of the laboratory.
Key Words
RA-10, LAHN, LINAC, Argentina