Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries

Lockhart, Madeline Louise; McMath, Garrett Earl

doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2017.09.016

Title: Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries

Abstract

Although the production of PuBe neutron sources has discontinued, hundreds of sources with unknown or inaccurately declared plutonium content are in existence around the world. Institutions have undertaken the task of assaying these sources, measuring, and calculating the isotopic composition, plutonium content, and neutron yield. The nominal plutonium content, based off the neutron yield per gram of pure ²³⁹Pu, has shown to be highly inaccurate. New methods of measuring the plutonium content allow a more accurate estimate of the true Pu content, but these measurements need verification. Using the TENDL 2012 nuclear data libraries, MCNP6 has the capability to simulate the (α, n) interactions in a PuBe source. Theoretically, if the source is modeled according to the plutonium content, isotopic composition, and other source characteristics, the calculated neutron yield in MCNP can be compared to the experimental yield, offering an indication of the accuracy of the declared plutonium content. In this study, three sets of PuBe sources from various backgrounds were modeled in MCNP6 1.2 Beta, according to the source specifications dictated by the individuals who assayed the source. Verification of the source parameters with MCNP6 also serves as a means to test the alpha transport capabilities of MCNP6 1.2more »« less

Authors:

Lockhart, Madeline Louise ^[1]; McMath, Garrett Earl ^[1]

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

Publication Date:: Thu Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017

Research Org.:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: US Department of Homeland Security (DHS); USDOE

OSTI Identifier:: 1418759

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-16-28169
Journal ID: ISSN 1875-3892; TRN: US1801295

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Physics Procedia

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 90; Journal Issue: C; Conference: 24. Conference on Application of Accelerators in Research and Industry, Fort Worth, TX (United States), 30 Oct-04 Nov 2016; Journal ID: ISSN 1875-3892

Publisher:: Elsevier

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION; MCNP; (α,n); PuBe; isotopic composition; neutron yield

Citation Formats


                    Lockhart, Madeline Louise, and McMath, Garrett Earl. Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries.  United States: N. p., 2017. 
Web.  doi:10.1016/j.phpro.2017.09.016.

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                    Lockhart, Madeline Louise, & McMath, Garrett Earl. Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2017.09.016

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                    Lockhart, Madeline Louise, and McMath, Garrett Earl. Thu .  
"Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2017.09.016.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1418759.

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@article{osti_1418759,

  title        = {Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries},

  author       = {Lockhart, Madeline Louise and McMath, Garrett Earl},

  abstractNote = {Although the production of PuBe neutron sources has discontinued, hundreds of sources with unknown or inaccurately declared plutonium content are in existence around the world. Institutions have undertaken the task of assaying these sources, measuring, and calculating the isotopic composition, plutonium content, and neutron yield. The nominal plutonium content, based off the neutron yield per gram of pure 239Pu, has shown to be highly inaccurate. New methods of measuring the plutonium content allow a more accurate estimate of the true Pu content, but these measurements need verification. Using the TENDL 2012 nuclear data libraries, MCNP6 has the capability to simulate the (α, n) interactions in a PuBe source. Theoretically, if the source is modeled according to the plutonium content, isotopic composition, and other source characteristics, the calculated neutron yield in MCNP can be compared to the experimental yield, offering an indication of the accuracy of the declared plutonium content. In this study, three sets of PuBe sources from various backgrounds were modeled in MCNP6 1.2 Beta, according to the source specifications dictated by the individuals who assayed the source. Verification of the source parameters with MCNP6 also serves as a means to test the alpha transport capabilities of MCNP6 1.2 Beta with TENDL 2012 alpha transport libraries. Finally, good agreement in the comparison would indicate the accuracy of the source parameters in addition to demonstrating MCNP's capabilities in simulating (α, n) interactions.},

  doi          = {10.1016/j.phpro.2017.09.016},

  journal      = {Physics Procedia},

  number       = C,

  volume       = 90,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Thu Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017},

  month        = {Thu Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017}

}

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Works referenced in this record:

Neutron producing reactions in PuBe neutron sources
journal, January 2016

Bagi, János; Lakosi, László; Nguyen, Cong Tam
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 366
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Assessment of the Pu content of Pu–Be neutron sources
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Bagi, János; Cong Nguyen, Tam; Lakosi, László
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Verification of the 239Pu content, isotopic composition and age of plutonium in Pu–Be neutron sources by gamma-spectrometry
journal, September 2006

Nguyen, Cong Tam
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 251, Issue 1
DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2006.06.004

Neutron energy spectra of different size 239PuBe(α,n) sources
journal, March 1972

Anderson, M. E.; Neff, R. A.
Nuclear Instruments and Methods, Vol. 99, Issue 2
DOI: 10.1016/0029-554X(72)90781-1

Determination of Pu-239 content in Pu–Be neutron sources using Gamma-ray spectrometry
journal, October 2013

Dryák, P.; Kovář, P.
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 299, Issue 1
DOI: 10.1007/s10967-013-2757-7

Neutron spectrum of a plutonium-beryllium source
journal, May 1963

Edward Anderson, M.; Bond, William H.
Nuclear Physics, Vol. 43
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Quantitative non-destructive assay of PuBe neutron sources
journal, February 2006

Lakosi, László; Bagi, János; Nguyen, Cong Tam
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, Vol. 243, Issue 2
DOI: 10.1016/j.nimb.2005.08.185

Works referencing / citing this record:

Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung
journal, November 2019

Talaat, Khaled; Xi, Jinxiang; Baldez, Phoenix
Scientific Reports, Vol. 9, Issue 1
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54040-1

Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung
journal, November 2019

Talaat, Khaled; Xi, Jinxiang; Baldez, Phoenix
Scientific Reports, Vol. 9, Issue 1
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54040-1

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Similar Records

Title: Verification of Plutonium Content in PuBe Sources Using MCNP® 6.2.0 Beta with TENDL 2012 Libraries

Abstract

Citation Formats

Neutron producing reactions in PuBe neutron sources journal, January 2016

Assessment of the Pu content of Pu–Be neutron sources journal, July 2004

Verification of the 239Pu content, isotopic composition and age of plutonium in Pu–Be neutron sources by gamma-spectrometry journal, September 2006

Neutron energy spectra of different size 239PuBe(α,n) sources journal, March 1972

Determination of Pu-239 content in Pu–Be neutron sources using Gamma-ray spectrometry journal, October 2013

Neutron spectrum of a plutonium-beryllium source journal, May 1963

Quantitative non-destructive assay of PuBe neutron sources journal, February 2006

Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung journal, November 2019

Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung journal, November 2019

Neutron producing reactions in PuBe neutron sources
journal, January 2016

Assessment of the Pu content of Pu–Be neutron sources
journal, July 2004

Verification of the 239Pu content, isotopic composition and age of plutonium in Pu–Be neutron sources by gamma-spectrometry
journal, September 2006

Neutron energy spectra of different size 239PuBe(α,n) sources
journal, March 1972

Determination of Pu-239 content in Pu–Be neutron sources using Gamma-ray spectrometry
journal, October 2013

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journal, May 1963

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journal, February 2006

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journal, November 2019

Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung
journal, November 2019