On the self-shielding factors in neutron activation analysis

Whenever the sample size in neutron activation analysis cannot be made small enough, self-shielding effects need to be taken into account. When several resonance absorbers are present in the sample, resonance interference must also be considered. Estimation of the self-shielding factors by the Monte Carlo technique is too cumbersome for routine application. Various simplified approaches were compared to rigorous Monte Carlo calculations, pointing out their potential limitations. Good results are obtained using self-shielding factors calculated from evaluated nuclear data libraries and tabulated as a function of the dilution cross-section. The dilution cross-section depends on the material composition and the sample dimensions through the equivalence principle, which is well known in reactor physics. Resonance interference is calculated by solving the neutron spectrum slowing-down equation from cross-sections in 640-group representation. The MATSSF code was written for the purpose and is available on request.