Feasibility study on using fast calorimetry technique to measure a mass attribute as part of a treaty verification regime
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
The attribute measurement technique provides a method for determining whether or not an item containing special nuclear material (SNM) possesses attributes that fall within an agreed upon range of values. One potential attribute is whether the mass of an SNM item is larger than some threshold value that has been negotiated as part of a nonproliferation treaty. While the historical focus on measuring mass attributes has been on using neutron measurements, calorimetry measurements may be a viable alternative for measuring mass attributes for plutonium-bearing items. Traditionally, calorimetry measurements have provided a highly precise and accurate determination of the thermal power that is being generated by an item. In order to achieve this high level of precision and accuracy, the item must reach thermal equilibrium inside the calorimeter prior to determining the thermal power of the item. Because the approach to thermal equilibrium is exponential in nature, a large portion of the time spent approaching equilibrium is spent with the measurement being within {approx}10% of its final equilibrium value inside the calorimeter. Since a mass attribute measurement only needs to positively determine if the mass of a given SNM item is greater than a threshold value, performing a short calorimetry measurement to determine how the system is approaching thermal equilibrium may provide sufficient information to determine if an item has a larger mass than the agreed upon threshold. In previous research into a fast calorimetry attribute technique, a two-dimensional heat flow model of a calorimeter was used to investigate the possibility of determining a mass attribute for plutonium-bearing items using this technique. While the results of this study looked favorable for developing a fast calorimetry attribute technique, additional work was needed to determine the accuracy of the model used to make the calculations. In this paper, the results from the current work investigating the fast calorimetry attribute technique will be presented.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1016119
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-10-03786; LA-UR-10-3786; TRN: US1102994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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