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Title: Fractionation of UF6 and daughter progeny in storage cylinders from external heating

Journal Article · · Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ;

Abstract Uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) is a significant concern for material accountancy and verification in the international safeguards community. Verification of the contents of UF 6 cylinders is generally attempted with gamma spectroscopy but the current methods assume a uniform, homogeneous UF 6 mass distribution within the cylinder. In this work, it was found experimentally and confirmed via modeling, that under an external heat load (the sun), the UF 6 and its daughter products undergo fractionation in the cylinder. This fractionation of the UF 6 and daughter products can cause an errant measurement of the enrichment of the cylinder when using the current verification methods.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
OSTI ID:
2507398
Journal Information:
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Journal Name: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry; ISSN 0236-5731
Publisher:
Springer Science + Business MediaCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
Hungary
Language:
English

References (10)

Thermal impacts on nondestructive analysis measurements of uranium hexafluoride journal September 2021
235U enrichment or UF6 mass determination on UF6 cylinders with non-destructive analysis methods
  • Berndt, R.; Franke, E.; Mortreau, P.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 612, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2009.10.060
journal January 2010
Analysis of an indirect neutron signature for enhanced UF6 cylinder verification
  • Kulisek, J. A.; McDonald, B. S.; Smith, L. E.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 846 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.12.003
journal February 2017
Standoff enrichment analysis of UF6 cylinders
  • Canion, B.; Jarman, K.; McDonald, B.
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 954 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2018.10.020
journal February 2020
Gamma-ray spectrum variations for surface measurements of uranium hexafluoride cylinders
  • McFerran, Noah; Canion, Bonnie; McDonald, Benjamin
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 961 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.163675
journal May 2020
Comparison of gamma-ray spectral analysis methods for thick-walled UF6 cylinders
  • Greaney, Allison T.; Smith, Susan K.; Venkataraman, Ramkumar
  • Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Vol. 977 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2020.164291
journal October 2020
Signatures and Methods for the Automated Nondestructive Assay of ${\rm UF}_{6}$ Cylinders at Uranium Enrichment Plants journal August 2010
Measurements of UF 6 Cylinders with Portable Instruments journal February 1974
MCNP Version 6.2 Release Notes report February 2018
SCALE Code System report April 2020

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