Mashao, Dakalo C. and Alton, Tilly L. and Binnersley, Cory L. and Bradnam, Steven C. and Croft, Stephen and Joyce, Malcolm J. and Packer, Lee W. and Turner, Tony and Wild, James A. and Aspinall, Michael D. (2025) Boron-coated straw detector efficiency comparison with 3He proportional counters — A prospect for cosmic ray neutron monitoring. International Journal of Modern Physics E, 34 (9): 2545004. ISSN 0218-3013
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
This paper benchmarks two Proportional Technologies, Inc. (PTI) boron-coated straw (BCS) detector offerings against commercial helium-3 ( 3He) detectors for ground-level neutron monitoring. This study aims to assess if BCS-based detectors are a viable detector choice for the construction of a cosmic ray neutron monitor (NM) that is less expensive, smaller and produces comparable results to the 6-tube NM-64, typically used in the existing global NM network. The experimental methodology, data and analysis for the observed detection efficiency of the PTI-110 BCS module as a function of distance are presented. The PTI-204 BCS detector tube is benchmarked against a 7.5atm 3He-filled cylindrical proportional counter using a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) moderating test rig. Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) models are validated against the experimental data. The experimental and simulation data for PTI-110 BCS unit detection efficiency agreement is within 4.5%. This confirms that the response of charged particles from the B4C layer is accounted for. The measured 3He tube detection efficiency was nearly three times greater than the PTI-204 detector. A trade-off analysis of 3He (at various fill pressures) versus BCS-based detector options, with supporting experimentally validated MCNP calculations, is used to provide confidence in the calculation of the 4 atm 3He tube-based ground-level NM design.