Neutron and gamma-ray energy reconstruction for characterization of special nuclear material

Clarke, Shaun D.; Hamel, Michael C.; Di fulvio, Angela; Pozzi, Sara A.

doi:10.1016/j.net.2017.06.005

Title: Neutron and gamma-ray energy reconstruction for characterization of special nuclear material

Abstract

Characterization of special nuclear material may be performed using energy spectroscopy of either the neutron or gamma-ray emissions from the sample. Gamma-ray spectroscopy can be performed relatively easily using high-resolution semiconductors such as high-purity germanium. Neutron spectroscopy, by contrast, is a complex inverse problem. Here, results are presented for ²⁵²Cf and PuBe energy spectra unfolded using a single EJ309 organic scintillator; excellent agreement is observed with the reference spectra. Neutron energy spectroscopy is also possible using a two-plane detector array, whereby time-offlight kinematics can be used. With this system, energy spectra can also be obtained as a function of position. Finally, spatial-dependent energy spectra are presented for neutron and gamma-ray sources that are in excellent agreement with expectations.

Authors:

Clarke, Shaun D. ^[1]; Hamel, Michael C. ^[1]; Di fulvio, Angela ^[1]; Pozzi, Sara A. ^[1]

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

Publication Date:: Fri Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2017

Research Org.:: Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Nonproliferation and Verification Research and Development (NA-22)

OSTI Identifier:: 1454794

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0002534

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 49; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 1738-5733

Publisher:: Korean Nuclear Society

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; Neutron spectroscopy; Spectrum unfolding; Neutron imaging

Citation Formats


                    Clarke, Shaun D., Hamel, Michael C., Di fulvio, Angela, and Pozzi, Sara A. Neutron and gamma-ray energy reconstruction for characterization of special nuclear material.  United States: N. p., 2017. 
Web.  doi:10.1016/j.net.2017.06.005.

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                    Clarke, Shaun D., Hamel, Michael C., Di fulvio, Angela, & Pozzi, Sara A. Neutron and gamma-ray energy reconstruction for characterization of special nuclear material.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2017.06.005

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                    Clarke, Shaun D., Hamel, Michael C., Di fulvio, Angela, and Pozzi, Sara A. Fri .  
"Neutron and gamma-ray energy reconstruction for characterization of special nuclear material".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2017.06.005.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1454794.

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@article{osti_1454794,

  title        = {Neutron and gamma-ray energy reconstruction for characterization of special nuclear material},

  author       = {Clarke, Shaun D. and Hamel, Michael C. and Di fulvio, Angela and Pozzi, Sara A.},

  abstractNote = {Characterization of special nuclear material may be performed using energy spectroscopy of either the neutron or gamma-ray emissions from the sample. Gamma-ray spectroscopy can be performed relatively easily using high-resolution semiconductors such as high-purity germanium. Neutron spectroscopy, by contrast, is a complex inverse problem. Here, results are presented for 252Cf and PuBe energy spectra unfolded using a single EJ309 organic scintillator; excellent agreement is observed with the reference spectra. Neutron energy spectroscopy is also possible using a two-plane detector array, whereby time-offlight kinematics can be used. With this system, energy spectra can also be obtained as a function of position. Finally, spatial-dependent energy spectra are presented for neutron and gamma-ray sources that are in excellent agreement with expectations.},

  doi          = {10.1016/j.net.2017.06.005},

  journal      = {Nuclear Engineering and Technology},

  number       = 6,

  volume       = 49,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Fri Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2017},

  month        = {Fri Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2017}

}

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2017.06.005

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Cited by: 3 works

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Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1: Unfolded neutron energy spectrum from ²⁵²Cf detected with an EJ-309 liquid scintillator; the Watt spectrum from Mannhart [7] is shown for reference.

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