A flow-through gamma detection system for sub-surface radioxenon tracer measurements in LYNM PE1

Couture, Alexander H.; Archambault, Brian C.; Bertschinger, Kevin; Crockett, Kaylan J.; Ewing, R. James; Hubbard, Charles W.; Johnson, Christine M.; Myjak, Mitchell J.; Perea, Rose S.; Puyleart, Andrew J.; Sharma, Manish Kumar

doi:10.1007/s10967-025-10417-3

A flow-through gamma detection system for sub-surface radioxenon tracer measurements in LYNM PE1

Journal Article · Tue Oct 14 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-025-10417-3· OSTI ID:3007538

^[1]; ; Bertschinger, Kevin; Crockett, Kaylan J.; Ewing, R. James; Hubbard, Charles W.; ; ; Perea, Rose S.; Puyleart, Andrew J.; Sharma, Manish Kumar

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); The PE1 Experiment Team. et al.

A continuous flow-through, real-time radioxenon sensor array has been designed to monitor either ¹²⁷Xe or ¹³³Xe tracer gas as part of a series of underground chemical explosions in the Low-Yield Nuclear Monitoring (LYNM) Physics Experiment 1 (PE1). The sensors are pairs of shielded thallium-doped sodium iodide gamma-ray detectors that surround a gas measurement chamber. Each measurement chamber is connected to a sampling location in the geology surrounding the chemical explosion or in the access tunnel. The first experiment in the series, PE1 A, occurred in 2023 and the system quantified the ¹²⁷Xe tracer gas in the gas sampling lines for four weeks following the experiment execution. The array generated a set of radioxenon concentration time series with a 15-minute resolution that will be used to refine subsurface gas transport models.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 3007538

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--210460

Journal Information:: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 334; ISSN 1588-2780; ISSN 0236-5731

Publisher:: SpringerCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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A flow-through gamma detection system for sub-surface radioxenon tracer measurements in LYNM PE1

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