Measurement and Characterization of Nuclear Material at Idaho National Laboratory

A measurement plan and preliminary Monte Carlo simulations arepresented for the investigation of well-defined mixed-oxide fuelpins. Measurement analysis including pulse-height distributionsand time-dependent cross-correlation functions will be performedseparately for neutrons and gamma rays. The utilization of MonteCarlo particle transport codes, specifically MCNP-PoliMi, is discussedin conjunction with the anticipated measurements. FourEJ-309 liquid scintillation detectors with an accurate pulse timingand digital, offline, optimized pulse-shape discrimination methodwill be used to prove the dependency of pulse-height distributions,cross-correlation functions, and material multiplicities upon fuelpin composition, fuel pin quantity, and detector geometry. Theobjective of the measurements and simulations is to identify novelmethods for describing mixed-oxide fuel samples by relating measuredquantities to fuel characteristics such as criticality, mass quantity,and material composition. This research has applications innuclear safeguards and nonproliferation.