ABSOLUTE GAMMA-SPECTROMETRIC DETERMINATION OF URANIUM ENRICHMENT IN LOW ENRICHED SAMPLES

An analytical method for the absolute gamma spectrometric determinatio n of uranium enrichment without using calibration standards is describ ed. The fundamentals of the method and the advantages on its applicati on to low enriched samples are also detailed. In addition, the experim ental parameters that must be carefully adjusted to get precise, accur ate, and reliable results are studied emphasizing the influence of som e spectroscopic parameters involved in the calculation of photopeak ar eas used for measuring the uranium enrichment of the sample. UO2 and U 3O8 samples of declared enrichment between 0.72% and 3.5% were used to test the performance of the method. The full algorithm proposed to me asure the uranium enrichment without using standards is shown by means of an example of its application to a UO, sample with declared enrich ment of 1.8%.