Development of Techniques for Spent Fuel Assay – Differential Dieaway Final Report
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
This report summarizes the work done under a DNDO R&D funded project on the development of the differential dieaway method to measure plutonium in spent fuel. There are large amounts of plutonium that are contained in spent fuel assemblies, and currently there is no way to make quantitative non-destructive assay. This has led NA24 under the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) to establish a multi-year program to investigate, develop and implement measurement techniques for spent fuel. The techniques which are being experimentally tested by the existing NGSI project do not include any pulsed neutron active techniques. The present work covers the active neutron differential dieaway technique and has advanced the state of knowledge of this technique as well as produced a design for a practical active neutron interrogation instrument for spent fuel. Monte Carlo results from the NGSI effort show that much higher accuracy (1-2%) for the Pu content in spent fuel assemblies can be obtained with active neutron interrogation techniques than passive techniques, and this would allow their use for nuclear material accountancy independently of any information from the operator. The main purpose of this work was to develop an active neutron interrogation technique for spent nuclear fuel.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1296627
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-16-25686; TRN: US1601766
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
SPENT FUELS
PLUTONIUM
MONTE CARLO METHOD
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
ACCURACY
SAFEGUARDS
NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS