Shaping neutron energies to achieve sensitivity and uniformity of bulk material analysis
US5825030A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 20, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 20, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 20, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N23/222
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In a bulk material analyzer in which bulk material is received in an activation region between a pair of neutron sources laterally disposed on one side of the activation region for emitting neutrons for bombarding the bulk material within the activation region to cause gamma-rays to be emitted from the bombarded bulk material and a pair of gamma-ray detectors laterally disposed on an opposite side of the activation region for detecting gamma-rays emitted from the bulk material, and in which a neutron moderator is disposed between the neutron sources and the activation region for reducing the velocity of the emitted neutrons such that the neutrons entering the activation region include thermal neutrons and faster neutrons, the uniformity of sensitivity of the bulk material analyzer to materials at different positions in a sample of the bulk material being analyzed is enhanced by controlling the proportions of thermal neutron at different positions within the sample being analyzed. A neutron absorber disposed close to the one side of the activation region reduces the proportion of thermal neutrons that enter the activation region from the one side of the activation region. A neutron …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.