Determination of the neutron activation profile of core drill samples by gamma-ray spectrometry

D Gurau; S Boden; O Sima; D Stanga

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.08.004

Determination of the neutron activation profile of core drill samples by gamma-ray spectrometry

Appl Radiat Isot. 2018 Apr:134:194-199. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.08.004. Epub 2017 Aug 4.

Authors

D Gurau¹, S Boden², O Sima³, D Stanga⁴

Affiliations

¹ National Institute of R&D for Physics and Nuclear Engineering-Horia Hulubei, IFIN-HH, P.O.Box MG-6, Bucharest-Magurele R-077125, Romania.
² Institute for Environment, Health and Safety, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, (SCK-CEN), Boeretang 200, BE-2400 Mol, Belgium.
³ University of Bucharest (UB), Physics Department, P.O.Box MG-11, Bucharest-Magurele RO-077125, Romania.
⁴ National Institute of R&D for Physics and Nuclear Engineering-Horia Hulubei, IFIN-HH, P.O.Box MG-6, Bucharest-Magurele R-077125, Romania. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 28802626
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.08.004

Abstract

This paper provides guidance for determining the neutron activation profile of core drill samples taken from the biological shield of nuclear reactors using gamma spectrometry measurements. Thus, it provides guidance for selecting a model of the right form to fit data and using least squares methods for model fitting. The activity profiles of two core samples taken from the biological shield of a nuclear reactor were determined. The effective activation depth and the total activity of core samples along with their uncertainties were computed by Monte Carlo simulation.

Keywords: Activity profile; Concrete activation; Core sample; Gamma spectrometry.