Discriminating Uranium Isotopes Based on Fission Signatures Induced by Delayed Neutrons
Abstract
The use of active interrogation to induce delayed neutron emission is a well-established technique for the characterization of special nuclear materials (SNM). Delayed neutrons have isotope-characteristic spectral and temporal signatures, which provide the basis for isotope identification. However, in bulk materials that contain an appreciable fissile (e.g., 235U or 233U) fraction, such as highly-enriched uranium (HEU), delayed neutrons have a high probability of inducing additional fissions. As a result, the overall delayed neutron signature consists of two distinct components: the \primary" delayed neutrons (emitted directly by fission fragments), and the \secondary prompt" fission neutrons produced in fission induced by primary delayed neutrons. These prompt products differ from \primary" delayed neutrons both in their energy spectra and in the presence of coincident radiation released by the parent fission event. The presence and relative quantity of prompt products from delayed fission depend on the cross-section of the material in the energy range of delayed neutrons, which may differ significantly between isotopes, thus providing an exploitable means for isotope differentiation. In this work, we demonstrate two experimental approaches for discriminating between 235U and 238U isotopes based on the measurement of delayed neutron-induced fission products. First, HEU and depleted uranium objects are differentiated throughmore »
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1659576
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1695706
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; 2014-DN-077-ARI078-02; 2015-DN-077-ARI096; NA0002534; NA0003920
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review Applied
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 14; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
Citation Formats
Ogren, Kris, Nattress, Jason, and Jovanovic, Igor. Discriminating Uranium Isotopes Based on Fission Signatures Induced by Delayed Neutrons. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1103/physrevapplied.14.014033.
Ogren, Kris, Nattress, Jason, & Jovanovic, Igor. Discriminating Uranium Isotopes Based on Fission Signatures Induced by Delayed Neutrons. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.14.014033
Ogren, Kris, Nattress, Jason, and Jovanovic, Igor. Mon .
"Discriminating Uranium Isotopes Based on Fission Signatures Induced by Delayed Neutrons". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevapplied.14.014033. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1659576.
@article{osti_1659576,
title = {Discriminating Uranium Isotopes Based on Fission Signatures Induced by Delayed Neutrons},
author = {Ogren, Kris and Nattress, Jason and Jovanovic, Igor},
abstractNote = {The use of active interrogation to induce delayed neutron emission is a well-established technique for the characterization of special nuclear materials (SNM). Delayed neutrons have isotope-characteristic spectral and temporal signatures, which provide the basis for isotope identification. However, in bulk materials that contain an appreciable fissile (e.g., 235U or 233U) fraction, such as highly-enriched uranium (HEU), delayed neutrons have a high probability of inducing additional fissions. As a result, the overall delayed neutron signature consists of two distinct components: the \primary" delayed neutrons (emitted directly by fission fragments), and the \secondary prompt" fission neutrons produced in fission induced by primary delayed neutrons. These prompt products differ from \primary" delayed neutrons both in their energy spectra and in the presence of coincident radiation released by the parent fission event. The presence and relative quantity of prompt products from delayed fission depend on the cross-section of the material in the energy range of delayed neutrons, which may differ significantly between isotopes, thus providing an exploitable means for isotope differentiation. In this work, we demonstrate two experimental approaches for discriminating between 235U and 238U isotopes based on the measurement of delayed neutron-induced fission products. First, HEU and depleted uranium objects are differentiated through the detection of high-energy prompt neutrons from delayed fission using both recoil-based organic liquid scintillators and thermalization spectra from a custom-built capture-gated composite detector. Secondly, coincident radiation measurements are used as the basis for discrimination by comparing the overall rates and time evolution of fission events when delayed neutrons are present.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevapplied.14.014033},
journal = {Physical Review Applied},
number = 1,
volume = 14,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
Web of Science
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