You need JavaScript to view this

Some Applications of Fast Neutron Activation Analysis of Oxygen

Abstract

In this thesis we focus on applications of neutron activation of oxygen for several purposes: A) measuring the water level in a laboratory tank, B) measuring the water flow in a pipe system set-up, C) analysing the oxygen in combustion products formed in a modern gasoline SI engine, and D) measuring on-line the amount of oxygen in bulk liquids. A) Water level measurements. The purpose of this work was to perform radiation based water level measurements, aimed at nuclear reactor vessels, on a laboratory scale. A laboratory water tank was irradiated by fast neutrons from a neutron generator. The water was activated at different water levels and the water level was decreased. The produced gamma radiation was measured using two detectors at different heights. The results showed that the method is suitable for measurement of water level and that a relatively small experimental set-up can be used for developing methods for water level measurements in real boiling water reactors based on activated oxygen in the water. B) Water flows in pipe. The goal in this work was to investigate the asymmetric distribution of activity in flow measurements with pulsed neutron activation (PNA) in a laboratory piping system. Earlier investigations had  More>>
Authors:
Publication Date:
Jul 01, 2003
Product Type:
Thesis/Dissertation
Report Number:
CTH-RF-165
Resource Relation:
Other Information: TH: Thesis (FL); 54 refs., 43 figs., 8 tabs. Full text of author's main publications are included as appendices (Pt.A-D); PBD: 2003
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; CARBON 13; COMBUSTION CHAMBERS; DEPOSITS; FAST NEUTRONS; FLOW RATE; LEVEL INDICATORS; NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS; NMR SPECTRA; OXYGEN; PULSED NEUTRON TECHNIQUES
OSTI ID:
20337973
Research Organizations:
Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Reactor Physics
Country of Origin:
Sweden
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
TRN: SE0300082025355
Availability:
Available from INIS in electronic form; Also available from: Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Dept. of Reactor Physics, SE-412 96 Goeteborg, Sweden
Submitting Site:
SWDN
Size:
95 pages
Announcement Date:
May 06, 2003

Citation Formats

Owrang, Farshid. Some Applications of Fast Neutron Activation Analysis of Oxygen. Sweden: N. p., 2003. Web.
Owrang, Farshid. Some Applications of Fast Neutron Activation Analysis of Oxygen. Sweden.
Owrang, Farshid. 2003. "Some Applications of Fast Neutron Activation Analysis of Oxygen." Sweden.
@misc{etde_20337973,
title = {Some Applications of Fast Neutron Activation Analysis of Oxygen}
author = {Owrang, Farshid}
abstractNote = {In this thesis we focus on applications of neutron activation of oxygen for several purposes: A) measuring the water level in a laboratory tank, B) measuring the water flow in a pipe system set-up, C) analysing the oxygen in combustion products formed in a modern gasoline SI engine, and D) measuring on-line the amount of oxygen in bulk liquids. A) Water level measurements. The purpose of this work was to perform radiation based water level measurements, aimed at nuclear reactor vessels, on a laboratory scale. A laboratory water tank was irradiated by fast neutrons from a neutron generator. The water was activated at different water levels and the water level was decreased. The produced gamma radiation was measured using two detectors at different heights. The results showed that the method is suitable for measurement of water level and that a relatively small experimental set-up can be used for developing methods for water level measurements in real boiling water reactors based on activated oxygen in the water. B) Water flows in pipe. The goal in this work was to investigate the asymmetric distribution of activity in flow measurements with pulsed neutron activation (PNA) in a laboratory piping system. Earlier investigations had shown a discrepancy between the measured velocity of the activated water by PNA and the true mean velocity in the pipe. This discrepancy decreased with larger distances from the activation point. It was speculated that the induced activity in the pipe did not distribute homogeneously. With inhomogeneous radial distribution of activity in combination with a velocity profile in the pipe, the activated water may not have the same velocity as the mean velocity of water in the pipe. To study this phenomenon, a water-soluble colour was injected into a transparent pipe for simulation of the transport of the activated water. The radial concentration of the colour, at different distances from the activation point, was determined. The result illustrated how the activated water would propagate along that pipe. C) Combustion products. In order to investigate the oxidation in combustion products (deposits), the total amount of oxygen in the deposits collected from combustion chambers of a modern gasoline engine was measured, using cyclic fast neutron activation analysis (FNAA). As a compartment, the organic compounds containing oxygen were identified using {sup 13}C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The results of FNAA showed that the amount of oxygen in deposits varies depending on where the deposits have been formed. {sup 13}C NMR has showed that the carbon backbone of the deposits exists as highly oxidized poly aromatics and/or graphitic structure. D) On-line fast neutron activation analysis. On-line neutron activation analysis was used to detect the amount of oxygen in bulk liquids. The method was optimised for on-line detection of oxygen in rapeseed oil. The goal was to develop a non-intrusive method for measurement of the total amount of oxygen in oil during combustion/oxidation.}
place = {Sweden}
year = {2003}
month = {Jul}
}