Search of a prompt gamma ray for chlorine analysis in a Portland cement sample

Prompt Gamma Ray analysis of chlorine contaminated Portland cement samples have been carried out using an accelerator-based Prompt Gamma ray Neutron Activation Analysis setup. The chlorine concentration was measured over a range of 0.25–4 wt% using 1.165 MeV capture γ-rays from chlorine. The experimental results were compared with the results of Monte Carlo simulations and an excellent agreement was observed between the two results. Further theoretical study has shown that yield of the 1.165 MeV prompt γ-rays from chlorine is not very sensitive to variation in moisture contents of the Portland sample. An order of magnitude increase in sample moisture content resulted in only 16–20% increase in yield of 1.165 MeV prompt γ-rays.