Performance Evaluation of the CHKED Multi-Elemental Analysis and Software
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
The Hybrid K-edge Densitometer (HKED) is a high precision safeguards assay system developed by Ottmar and Eberle [1] for quantification of the U and Pu concentrations of dissolver solutions in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. The HKED measurement supplements traditional destructive assay methods such as Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometry (IDMS) and is an essential component of the international safeguards program implementation at these facilities. The Canberra Hybrid K-Edge Densitometry (CHKED) software was recently developed by Canberra Industries to better address the changing composition of the nuclear fuel cycle by addition of a multi-elemental analysis capability to the K-Edge transmission measurement. Our evaluation of the CHKED software was performed at the request of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to examine the functionality and performance of the CHKED software and algorithms and identify potential areas for improvement of the software. The reader is assumed to be familiar with the HKED technique and its current implementation in safeguards assay of U and Pu in the nuclear fuel cycle. The Canberra Hybrid K-Edge Densitometry CHKED software replicates functionality of the older VMSbased Hybrid K-Edge Densitometer (HKED) software and incorporates additional analysis algorithms and tools. When the traditional HKED analyses are selected, the CHKED software appears to faithfully reproduce the measurement results as reported by the older software. The CHKED software includes a Multi-elemental K-Edge (MEKED) analysis based in part on algorithms devised at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In principle, the MEKED analysis represents a significant advancement over the traditional HKED analysis, providing a capability to analyze the actinide concentrations from complex solutions, such as low U:Pu ratios (e.g., U:Pu = 1:1) including additional minor actinide components such as Np and Am. However, this MEKED analysis is somewhat limited by reliance on a region of interest (ROI) analysis of the spectrum, the need for extensive calibration measurements and a simplistic interpretation of the KED transmission spectrum. Finally, the MEKED algorithm set associated with the CHKED software (V1.0) acquired by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) from Canberra Industries does not seem to be “finished” (e.g., the MEKED analysis seems to only determine measurement results for two actinides with while results for the minor actinides appear to be highly dependent on declaration values).
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1502595
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-2018/867
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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