A Strain Gage Dosimeter for Pulsed Radiation Environment

A new method of determining the energy absorbed in a material subjected to a nuclear radiation pulse is described in which the thermal expansion of the material is measured with a strain gage. The method is similar to calorimetry in concept but is not limited to materials with high thermal conductivity. The method has been tested in Linac and pulsed reactor environments. Using polyethylene and Teflon as absorbers, separation of the neutron and gamma ray components of the dose from a pulsed reactor has been demonstrated.