FAST NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS WITH A PORTABLE SOURCE

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1961 · Proc., Intern. Conf., Mod. Trends Activation Anal., College Station, Tex.

OSTI ID:4628803

Oshry, H I

Preliminary experiments carried out with a portable source of 14 Mev neutrons indicated that fast neutron activation even with moderate flux densities offers a useful technique for non-destructive analysis of the lighter elements. By combining studies of the radioactive decay of the induced activity as a function of time with studies of the spectral energy distribution of the radiations, it is possible to make qualitative and quantitative analyses of complex mixtures. The optimum analytical routine differs for different sample constituents but basically it consists of comparing with standard spectra the spectrum of the unknown after various irradiation times and various delays after irradiation. The standards are prepared by irradiating pure samples of each element of interest with a high neutron flux and observing the spectra from these samples at various intervals after irradiation. The advantages of the method lie in the fact that a small inexpensive neutron source is employed; and elements such as oxygen and silicon can be detected more readily than with pile neutron activation due to high threshold reactions which are induced much more efficiently by 14 Mev neutrons than by fission neutrons. (auth)

• Research Organization: Lane-Wells Co., Houston, Tex.
• NSA Number: NSA-17-038998
• OSTI ID: 4628803
• Journal Information: Proc., Intern. Conf., Mod. Trends Activation Anal., College Station, Tex., Journal Name: Proc., Intern. Conf., Mod. Trends Activation Anal., College Station, Tex.
• Country of Publication: Country unknown/Code not available
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ACTIVATION ANALYSIS
CHEMISTRY
EFFICIENCY
ELEMENTS
FAST NEUTRONS
MATERIALS TESTING
MIXING
NEUTRON SOURCES
SPECTRA
STANDARDS
TRANSPORT
USES