Analysis methods and performance of an automated system for measuring both concentration and enrichment of uranium in solutions

Book · Fri Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:61430

Kelley, T A; Parker, J L; Sampson, T E ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

For the 1992 INNM meeting, the authors reported on the general characteristics of an automated system--then under development--for measuring both the concentration and enrichment of uranium in solutions. That paper emphasized the automated control capability, the measurement sequences, and safety features of the system. In this paper, the authors report in detail on the measurement methods, the analysis algorithms, and the performance of the delivered system. The uranium concentration is measured by a transmission-corrected X-ray fluorescence method. Cobalt-57 is the fluorescing source and a combined {sup 153}Gd and {sup 57}Co source is used for the transmission measurements. Corrections are made for both the absorption of the exciting {sup 57}Co gamma rays and the excited uranium X-rays. The {sup 235}U concentration is measured by a transmission-corrected method, which employs the 185.7-keV gamma ray of {sup 235}U and a transmission source of {sup 75}Se to make corrections for the self-absorption of the {sup 235}U gamma rays in the solution samples. Both measurements employ high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry and use the same 50ml sample contained in a custom-molded, flat-bottomed, polypropylene bottle. Both measurements are intended for uranium solutions with concentrations {ge}0.1 g U/l, although at higher enrichments the passive measurement will be even more sensitive.

• OSTI ID: 61430
• Report Number(s): CONF-930749--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
40 CHEMISTRY
44 INSTRUMENTATION
INCLUDING NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE DETECTORS
AUTOMATION
DATA ANALYSIS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GAMMA SPECTROMETERS
GAMMA SPECTROSCOPY
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
URANIUM
URANIUM 235
X-RAY FLUORESCENCE ANALYSIS