A RAPID METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF THE ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF URANIUM SAMPLES BY ALPHA-SPECTROMETRY

A simple method of analyzing alpha spectra from natural and enriched or depleted uranium samples is developed. The procedure is non-iterative, and takes into consideration low-energy tail and branching-ratio corrections to accurately calculate the area corresponding to each uranium isotope (U-234, U-235, U-236, U-238) in the spectrum, and then the isotopic composition of the sample. A BASIC computer program, called ENURA, has been developed to perform all the necessary calculations to give the results together with their uncertainties. Several samples were prepared with different uranium concentrations made from standard solutions with known compositions, and the method was checked against the experimental measurements from these samples. Other series of uranium spectra were theoretically constructed using a given line shape in order to cover the required range of enriched or depleted uranium.