Development of active neutron NDA techniques for nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear security

Toh, Yosuke   ; Ozu, Akira  ; Tsuchiya, Harufumi ; Furutaka, Kazuyoshi  ; Kitatani, Fumito  ; Komeda, Masao   ; Maeda, Makoto  ; Kureta, Masatoshi   ; Koizumi, Mitsuo ; Seya, Michio; Heyse, J.*; Paradela, C.*; Mondelaers, W.*; Schillebeeckx, P.*; Bogucarska, T.*; Crochemore, J.-M.*; Varasano, G.*; Abbas, K.*; Pedersen, B.*

In 2015, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission collaboration started to develop an active neutron non-destructive assay system for nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear security. To the best of our knowledge, no adequate technique exists that allows us to determine the amount of special nuclear materials and minor actinides in high radioactive nuclear materials, such as spent fuel, transuranic waste, etc. The collaboration aims at contributing to the establishment of an innovative NDA system using a D-T pulsed neutron source for various applications. We utilize several active neutron NDA techniques, namely Differential Die-Away Analysis (DDA), Prompt Gamma-ray Analysis (PGA), Neutron Resonance Capture Analysis (NRCA), Neutron Resonance Transmission Analysis (NRTA) and Delayed Gamma Spectroscopy (DGS). All of these techniques have advantages and disadvantages. The different methods can provide complementary information which is particularly useful for nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear security. In this project, we have developed a combined NDA system, which enables the measurements of DDA and PGA, at NUclear fuel Cycle safety Engineering research Facility (NUCEF) in JAEA. In this presentation, we will introduce our project and report the recent progress of developments, especially in NRTA, DDA and PGA.