Abstract
Effect of neutron source-moderator geometry has been studied on the performance of a thermal neutron capture-based prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) setup. In the study prompt gamma-ray and thermal neutron yield was calculated for various positions of the neutron source inside 3–10 cm long high density polyethylene moderators. The study has been carried out for a Portland cement sample using Monte Carlo calculations. The maximum yields of the thermal neutrons and prompt gamma-rays have been observed for a neutron source at a distance of 1 cm from the sample. The maximum yield of the 1.94 and 6.42 MeV prompt gamma-ray from a Portland cement sample has been observed for moderators having length equal to or greater than 7 cm. The yield of both gamma rays is 2.57 times higher than the previously reported value for a PGNAA setup with the source placed outside a 5 cm thick moderator. The higher yield of gamma rays will result in higher sensitivity of the PGNAA setup.
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Abdelmonem, M.S., Naqvi, A.A., Al-Misned, G. et al. Performance improvement of a PGNAA setup due to change in moderator design: A Monte Carlo study. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 271, 685–690 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-007-0326-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-007-0326-7