Rapid estimation of the isotopic composition and total mass fraction of boron in enriched B4C samples for Indian fast reactor technology using external (in air) particle induced Gamma-ray emission technique

Abstract

Enriched boron carbide of nuclear grade is being used for the fabrication of control and poison rod materials in the Indian nuclear fast reactor program. Hence, a stringent quality control protocol becomes necessary to ensure the quality of enriched B4C powder as well as its finished products. In the present work, the external Proton Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE), a non destructive technique, was applied for the rapid estimation of the isotopic composition of boron (10B/11B) and the total boron mass fraction in various enriched B4C samples with less turnaround time of analysis at FOlded Tandem Ion Accelerator (FOTIA), BARC. The isotopic composition and total boron concentrations obtained by PIGE were compared with the values obtained from Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) and classical Titrimetry methods respectively and found to be in good agreement. The statistical evaluation like students’ t-test was also performed to ascertain the reliability of the results obtained by PIGE, TIMS and Titrimetry.