Fractionation of UF6 and daughter progeny in storage cylinders from external heating

Brandon A. Wilson; Douglas E. Peplow; Keith C. Bledsoe; Nathan D. See; Paul B. Rose; Glenn A. Fugate

doi:10.1007/s10967-024-09743-9

Fractionation of UF₆ and daughter progeny in storage cylinders from external heating

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) is a significant concern for material accountancy and verification in the international safeguards community. Verification of the contents of UF₆ cylinders is generally attempted with gamma spectroscopy but the current methods assume a uniform, homogeneous UF₆ mass distribution within the cylinder. In this work, it was found experimentally and confirmed via modeling, that under an external heat load (the sun), the UF₆ and its daughter products undergo fractionation in the cylinder. This fractionation of the UF₆ and daughter products can cause an errant measurement of the enrichment of the cylinder when using the current verification methods.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	193-201
Number of pages	9
Journal	Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry
Volume	334
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-024-09743-9
State	Published - Jan 2025

Funding

This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D.

Keywords

Gamma spectroscopy
Nuclear safeguards
Uranium hexafluoride

Access to Document

10.1007/s10967-024-09743-9

Cite this

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abstract = "Uranium hexafluoride (UF6) is a significant concern for material accountancy and verification in the international safeguards community. Verification of the contents of UF6 cylinders is generally attempted with gamma spectroscopy but the current methods assume a uniform, homogeneous UF6 mass distribution within the cylinder. In this work, it was found experimentally and confirmed via modeling, that under an external heat load (the sun), the UF6 and its daughter products undergo fractionation in the cylinder. This fractionation of the UF6 and daughter products can cause an errant measurement of the enrichment of the cylinder when using the current verification methods.",

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AU - Wilson, Brandon A.

AU - Peplow, Douglas E.

AU - Bledsoe, Keith C.

AU - See, Nathan D.

AU - Rose, Paul B.

AU - Fugate, Glenn A.

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AB - Uranium hexafluoride (UF6) is a significant concern for material accountancy and verification in the international safeguards community. Verification of the contents of UF6 cylinders is generally attempted with gamma spectroscopy but the current methods assume a uniform, homogeneous UF6 mass distribution within the cylinder. In this work, it was found experimentally and confirmed via modeling, that under an external heat load (the sun), the UF6 and its daughter products undergo fractionation in the cylinder. This fractionation of the UF6 and daughter products can cause an errant measurement of the enrichment of the cylinder when using the current verification methods.

KW - Gamma spectroscopy

KW - Nuclear safeguards

KW - Uranium hexafluoride

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