Feasibility study on PGNAA experiments using a prototype neutron beam at Isfahan MNSR

Abstract

In this study, the feasibility study of Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) experiments at Isfahan Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) has been done using a prototype neutron beam. This neutron beam was not originally created for this purpose, but previous studies on this neutron beam have shown that it has enough neutron flux to carry out some irradiations outside the reactor core. This prototype neutron beam provided a neutron flux of order 105 n·cm-2·s-1 and a circular diameter of 5 cm for the experiments. In addition, an appropriate setup for High Purity Germanium detector (HPGe) was done at the beam outlet, where the sample is irradiated. A simple shield was also installed to prevent radiation damage to the detector. Experiments were conducted for bulk samples of salt solution with different concentrations and the prompt gamma spectrums have been obtained and analyzed.