Transmission-corrected x-ray fluorescence analysis of uranium and plutonium solutions using a dual transmission source

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA)

OSTI ID:5693148

Ruhter, W D; Camp, D C ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)

Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRFA) is a technique that has been implemented at spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities for nondestructive measurement of uranium and/or plutonium concentrations in process streams. In XRFA, atoms of interest within a sample are fluoresced, and from the detected intensities of the atoms' characteristic X rays, the concentrations of the fluoresced atoms can be determined. The authors used 122-keV gamma rays from collimated {sup 57}Co sources to optimally fluoresce uranium or plutonium atoms in solutions. A portion of the stimulated K X rays are detected by a collimated high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. A common difficulty with X-ray fluorescence analysis of solutions is attenuation of the fluoresced X rays by the solution, which makes the X-ray intensities not directly proportional to the concentration of the atoms being measured. The current calibration procedure used to determine this nonlinear relationship for uranium/plutonium solutions requires at least six solution standards containing uranium/plutonium concentrations that span the range of interest and are chemically similar to the solutions to be measured. The calibration curve is representative only of the uranium/plutonium and acid concentrations of the standards used. To reduce the sensitivity of XRFA to variations in the solution matrix, a method has been developed to accurately correct the X-ray intensities for sample self-attenuation by measuring transmissions through the solution at two different energies.

• OSTI ID: 5693148
• Report Number(s): CONF-871110--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA) Journal Volume: 55
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

050800 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Spent Fuels Reprocessing
055001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Safeguards
Inspection
& Accountability-- Technical Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ACCOUNTABILITY
ACCURACY
ACTINIDES
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CALIBRATION
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
COBALT 57
COBALT ISOTOPES
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DISPERSIONS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUEL REPROCESSING PLANTS
GAMMA RADIATION
GE SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
HIGH-PURITY GE DETECTORS
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
IONIZING RADIATIONS
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
METALS
MIXTURES
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIATIONS
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
SAFEGUARDS
SEMICONDUCTOR DETECTORS
SENSITIVITY
SOLUTIONS
SPENT FUEL ELEMENTS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
URANIUM
X-RAY EMISSION ANALYSIS
X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS