Design of a DT neutron source based PGNAA facility for element determination in aqueous solution

A DT neutron source-based prompt gamma ray neutron activation (PGNAA) facility for bulk sample analysis was designed and developed in this research. The aqueous samples containing chlorine and boron with known concentration were determined for the calibration curve by the facility. The neutron self-shielding effect was corrected by internal standard method. The minimum detectable concentration of boron and chlorine are 1.37 +/- 0.42 and 12.51 +/- 3.80 mg/L, respectively. Finally, five mixture aqueous solution samples were measured for the facility performance test. The maximum relative deviation of boron and chlorine are 4.49% and 5.32% respectively.

Automated summary

A DT neutron source-based PGNAA facility was designed and developed for bulk sample analysis. Calibration curves for aqueous samples containing chlorine and boron were determined using this facility. The neutron self-shielding effect was corrected using the internal standard method. The minimum detectable concentrations for boron and chlorine were 1.37 +/- 0.42 and 12.51 +/- 3.80 mg/L, respectively. The facility performance was tested with five mixture aqueous solution samples, and the maximum relative deviations for boron and chlorine were 4.49% and 5.32%, respectively.