Patra S, Tripathi R, Pujari PK. Application of gamma-ray spectrometry, neutron multiplicity counting and calorimetry for non-destructive assay of U-Pu mixed samples.
Appl Radiat Isot 2021;
176:109891. [PMID:
34375815 DOI:
10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109891]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents a standardless non-destructive method for simultaneous assay of uranium and plutonium in mixed samples relevant to nuclear safeguards, forensics and fuel cycle. The method is based on an in-situ absolute efficiency calibration of a γ-ray detector using plutonium γ-rays that can subsequently be used for quantification of uranium in the sample. The method was tested by assaying U-Pu samples with known amounts of U and Pu with varying mass, geometry, composition, reactor type, age and fissile isotope enrichment.
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