Field test of a full scale He-alternative HLNC-type counter; High Level Neutron counter-Boron (HLNB)

Henzlova, D.*; Menlove, H. O.*; Tanigawa, Masafumi ; Mukai, Yasunobu ; Nakamura, Hironobu 

Facing the depletion of He gas supply and the continuing uncertainty of options for future resupply, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) designed and built a He free full scale thermal neutron coincidence counter based on boron-lined parallel-plate proportional technology. The counter was designed as a direct alternative to High Level Neutron Coincidence counter (HLNC-II). This paper provides a summary of performance evaluation of HLNB under realistic field conditions at Plutonium Conversion Development Facility (PCDF) of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The field test included a range of small to large mass MOX materials that represent realistic process samples and provided key insight on and validation of the feasibility of HLNB as a safeguards instrument in realistic facility environment. In particular, the results of verification measurements demonstrate that HLNB is capable to satisfy ITV expected for HLNC-II-type counter of 2.1% in 300s measurement time.