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Differentiating special nuclear materials through computationally generated gamma-ray spectra

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Abstract

This work focuses on providing a first step interpretation of fission product gamma-ray spectra from 0.1 h to 10 days after a fission event. The activity of fission products from mass chains 89 through 92 and 131 through 141 was evaluated using independent fission yields. An MCNP model was used to simulate the gamma-ray spectra from a single HPGe crystal for the radionuclides of interest for a sample of U-235 and Pu-239 assuming a fission neutron spectrum. The ratios of the activities were evaluated for differences in the spectrum. The analysis was optimized for radionuclides with prominent gamma-ray branches and a large difference in intensities between U-235 fission versus Pu-239 fission.

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Acknowledgments

This work performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. This work was funded by the National Nuclear Security Agency’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development and by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency under IAA DTRA10027-10771-1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, LLNL-JRNL-663222, 7000 East Ave., Livermore, CA, 94551, USA

    Christine M. Egnatuk & Tzu-Fang Wang

Authors
  1. Christine M. Egnatuk
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  2. Tzu-Fang Wang
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Correspondence to Christine M. Egnatuk.

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Egnatuk, C.M., Wang, TF. Differentiating special nuclear materials through computationally generated gamma-ray spectra. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 304, 1211–1217 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-3938-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-015-3938-3

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