Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence for Material Verification in Dismantlement

Conference · Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011

OSTI ID:1048007

Warren, Glen A; Detwiler, Rebecca S

Nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) is a well-established physical process that provides an isotope-specific signature that can be exploited for isotopic detection and characterization of samples. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has been investigating possible applications of NRF for national security. Of the investigated applications, the verification of material in the dismantlement process is the most promising. Through a combination of benchmarking measurements and radiation transport modeling, we have shown that NRF techniques with existing bremsstrahlung photon sources and a modest detection system can be used to detect highly enriched uranium in the quantities and time limits relevant to the dismantlement process. Issues such as orientation, placement and material geometry do not significantly impact the sensitivity of the technique. We have also investigated how shielding of the uranium would be observed through non-NRF processes to enable the accurate assay of the material. This paper will discuss our findings on how NRF and photon-interrogation techniques may be applied to the material verification in the dismantlement process.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1048007
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-80583; NN2001000; TRN: US1204071
• Resource Relation: Conference: Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Meeting of Institute Nuclear Materials Management July 17-21, 2011, Palm Desert, California
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
BREMSSTRAHLUNG
DETECTION
GEOMETRY
HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM
NATIONAL SECURITY
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
ORIENTATION
PHOTONS
RADIATION TRANSPORT
RESONANCE FLUORESCENCE
SENSITIVITY
SHIELDING
SIMULATION
URANIUM
VERIFICATION
Dismantlement
Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence
NRF
material verification