Neutron spectrum unfolding using a modified truncated singular value decomposition method

Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1999 · Nuclear Science and Engineering

OSTI ID:6430943

Stuenkel, D; Holloway, J P; Knoll, G F ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science

A modified truncated singular value decomposition (MTSVD) is employed to unfold proton recoil pulse-height spectra into neutron energy spectra, using experimentally measured response functions. To illustrate the method, spectra from [sup 252]Cf and [sup 239]PuBe sources are unfolded. The relative error, defined in terms of the 1-norm, using the MTSVD method is found to be approximately half that of the truncated singular value decomposition for the [sup 252]Cf spectra. Relative errors for the [sup 239]PuBe spectra were approximately equal for the two methods. The method is limited by the precision of the measurement of the response functions and the pulse-height spectra. More precise measurements would allow the use of larger truncation parameters and are likely to result in more accurate reconstructed neutron spectra. The MTSVD method is particularly suited to real-time on-line unfolding of spectra.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6430943
• Journal Information: Nuclear Science and Engineering, Vol. 132:3; ISSN 0029-5639
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
CALIFORNIUM 252
NEUTRON SPECTRA
ON-LINE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS
PLUTONIUM 239
PROTON RECOIL DETECTORS
REAL TIME SYSTEMS
RESPONSE FUNCTIONS
SPECTRA UNFOLDING
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CALIFORNIUM ISOTOPES
DATA PROCESSING
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FUNCTIONS
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NEUTRON DETECTORS
NUCLEI
ON-LINE SYSTEMS
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
PROCESSING
RADIATION DETECTORS
RADIOISOTOPES
SPECTRA
SPONTANEOUS FISSION RADIOISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
440103* - Radiation Instrumentation- Nuclear Spectroscopic Instrumentation
990200 - Mathematics & Computers