Generalized analysis method for neutron resonance transmission analysis

Abstract

Neutron resonance densitometry (NRD) is a non-destructive analysis method, which can be applied to quantify special nuclear materials (SNM) in small particle-like debris of melted fuel that are formed in severe accidents of nuclear reactors such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants. NRD uses neutron resonance transmission analysis (NRTA) to quantify SNM and neutron resonance capture analysis (NRCA) to identify matrix materials and impurities. To apply NRD for the characterization of arbitrary-shaped thick materials, a generalized method for the analysis of NRTA data has been developed. The method has been applied on data resulting from transmission through thick samples with an irregular shape and an areal density of SNM up to 0.253 at/b (≈100 g/cm2). The investigation shows that NRD can be used to quantify SNM with a high accuracy not only in inhomogeneous samples made of particle-like debris but also in samples made of large rocks with an irregular shape by applying the generalized analysis method for NRTA.