Critical Mass Irregularity of Steel-Moderated Enriched Uranium Metal Assemblies with Composite Steel-Oil Reflectors

Critical masses have been determined by experiment and by calculation for enriched-uranium-metal spherical shells moderated internally with a sphere of mild steel of radius 8.01 cm. The shells were reflected with various thicknesses of mild steel followed by an effectively infinite amount of oil. The points representing critical mass as a function of the thickness of the steel reflector are not related by a smooth curve. The irregularity appears to be most severe for a 3-cm-thick steel reflector and is due to the resonance in the neutron elastic-scattering cross section of iron.