A nondestructive method of determining the Pu/U ratio in fast reactor fuel elements, based on x-ray spectrometry

Determination of plutonium in spent nuclear fuel using high resolution X-ray

“…X-ray fluorescence is one of the 13 NDA techniques for elemental Pu 2 determination in spent fuel assemblies that have been recently evaluated by the safeguards community [2]. Specifically, self-induced (passive) XRF, in which U and Pu characteristic K Xrays are generated due to the inherent gamma flux in the sample, has been used to determine the U/Pu elemental ratio and an estimate of Pu mass [3][4][5]. Long counting times (> 1 h) are one potential limitation of this approach [6].…”

“…This low sample volume may also permit more frequent sampling of a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing stream, allowing more complete characterization of the dissolver tank composition. The use of MWDXRF permits direct, 3 nondestructive measurement of Pu at sub-ng levels, much lower than other XRF approaches. The development of the hiRX prototype and its preliminary applications to detection of Pu, U, and Cm in various surrogate matrices as has been described previously [16][17][18][19][20].…”

Gamma-ray mirrors for direct measurement of spent nuclear fuel

“…Previous work by several groups [5][6][7][8] has shown that it is possible to detect the K-shell fluorescence lines of U and Pu from spent fuel using germanium detectors. Our goal is to extend this type of spectroscopic technique to isotopic-specific lines of U and Pu by filtering out unwanted out-ofband emission that can overwhelm the relatively weak lines, when compared to the radiation from other fission products.…”