Automated portable instruments for quantitative measurements of nuclear materials holdup and in-process inventories

Summary form only given. Portable gamma-ray spectroscopy instrumentation has been combined with a versatile mechanical system and sophisticated software package to produce an automated instrument for determination of quantities of nuclear materials deposited in process equipment. The mechanical system enables using high-resolution spectroscopy methods in the variety of measurement locations and detector positions required to perform quantitative assays of nuclear materials holdup and in-process inventories. The, software automates the electronics setup, data acquisition, and analysis, output of results, and storage of results and spectra, as well as quality and measurement control tests and compensation for gain drift and rate loss. The analysis, which is based on a systematic method of generalizing the geometries of the nucl,ear material deposits, provides quantitative assay results at the time of the measurement. The software enables portable measurements to be performed in rapid succession with full utilization of readout and storage capabilities.<>