Using Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence to Probe Nuclear Materials

Year
2010
Author(s)
Micah S. Johnson - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory2
Dennis McNabb - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Abstract
We explore the feasibility of using Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence (NRF) to determine Pu mass in spent fuel with a photon source. Knowing the amount of Pu in spent fuel is important for domestic and international safeguards. We use an analytical model and Monte-Carlo simulations to determine counting rates as a function of 239Pu concentration in a UO2 fuel matrix. For this paper, we focus on quasi-monoenergetic photon sources to excite NRF states and absorption detectors to look at the absorption spectrum after passing through the UO2 fuel matrix.