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

Journal Article · Thu Oct 26 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Physics Procedia

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2017.09.016· OSTI ID:1418759

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

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

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.

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

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

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1418759

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-16-28169; TRN: US1801295

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

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 3 works

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References (7)

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Radiation Dosimetry of Inhaled Radioactive Aerosols: CFPD and MCNP Transport Simulations of Radionuclides in the Lung Talaat, Khaled; Xi, Jinxiang; Baldez, Phoenix Scientific Reports, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54040-1	journal	November 2019

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