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Plutonium metal vs. oxide determination with the pulse-shape-discrimination-capable plastic scintillator EJ-299-33

Journal Article · · Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3]
  1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan
  2. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  3. European Commission, Ispra (Italy)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Neutron measurements can be used to distinguish plutonium in metal or oxide form, a capability that is of great interest in nuclear nonproliferation, treaty verification, and other applications. This paper describes measurements performed on well-characterized samples of plutonium oxide and plutonium metal using the pulse-shape-discrimination-capable plastic scintillator EJ-299-33. Results are compared to those obtained with a same-sized detector cell using the liquid scintillator EJ-309. The same optimized, digital pulse shape discrimination technique is applied to both detectors and the neutron pulse height distributions are compared. Results show that the EJ-299-33 plastics can be successfully used for plutonium measurements, where the gamma ray to neutron detection ratio is much higher than for typical radioactive sources. Results also show that EJ-299-33 detectors can be used to characterize plutonium samples, specifically to discriminate between plutonium metal and oxide.
Research Organization:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF); US Department of Homeland Security
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0002534; FG52-10NA29654
OSTI ID:
1365712
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 22419510
OSTI ID: 1556644
Journal Information:
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Journal Name: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research. Section A, Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment Journal Issue: C Vol. 767; ISSN 0168-9002
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (7)

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Identification of shielded neutron sources with the liquid scintillator BC-501A using a digital pulse shape discrimination method
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journal July 2007
Pulse-height distributions of neutron and gamma rays from plutonium-oxide samples
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journal September 2009
Plastic scintillators with efficient neutron/gamma pulse shape discrimination
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journal March 2012
Pulse shape discrimination in the plastic scintillator EJ-299-33
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journal September 2013
Radioluminescent characteristics of the EJ 299-33 plastic scintillator
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journal November 2013
Experimental tests of the new plastic scintillator with pulse shape discrimination capabilities EJ-299-33
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journal January 2014

Figures / Tables (8)

Fig. 1(p. 2)figure Fig. 1
Table I(p. 2)table Table I
Fig. 2(p. 3)figure Fig. 2
Fig. 3(p. 4)figure Fig. 3
Fig. 4(p. 4)figure Fig. 4
Table II(p. 5)table Table II
Fig. 5(p. 6)figure Fig. 5
Table III(p. 7)table Table III

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Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
EJ-299-33
metal vs. oxide
neutron detector
plastic scintillator
plutonium