Abstract
A compact neutron source by using a particle accelerator is a promising tool for actual material analysis,
infrastructural diagnostics, nuclear detection, and medical treatment. We have been operating the
neutron source RANS (RIKEN Accelerator-driven compact Neutron Source) with 7 MeV proton LINAC
with a beryllium long-life target for 6 years. In recent years, imaging with fast and thermal neutrons,
engineering diffraction for texture evolution estimation and austeninte volume fraction estimation for
iron and steel, Prompt-Gamma neutron Analysis (PGA) are the major activities. The research and
development results with RANS fast neutron back scattered imaging methods for large scale concrete
structures revels that the requirement for the neutron yield is less than 1011 neutrons s‒1 especially for
out-door type compact neutron source. RANS2 has been designed and developed with 2.49 MeV proton
linac. RANS proves that compact neutron source is useful for neutron scattering analysis on-site with
reasonable measurement time, and resolution.
