A NON-INVASIVE ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM FOR PROCESS CONTROL IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTS

MANY INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES ARE NOT CONTROLLED IN REAL TIME BECAUSE THEY LACK CONTROL SENSORS AND SYSTEMS SUITABLE FOR USE IN EXTREMELY HARSH ENVIRONMENTS. NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS (NAA) IS A NON-INVASIVE TECHNIQUE THAT EXPOSES A SAMPLE TO NEUTRONS AND EXAMINES THE GAMMA RAYS EMITTED AS A RESULT OF SCATTERING AND NUCLEAR REACTIONS. THE GAMMA RAY SPECTRUM PROVIDES DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE IDENTITY AND QUANTITY OF THE ELEMENTS PRESENT IN THE SAMPLE. NAA HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE RAPID, ACCURATE, NON-INVASIVE ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS IN A VARIETY OF HARSH INDUSTRIAL PROCESS CONTROL APPLICATIONS. ALTHOUGH NAA IS CURRENTLY USED IN AREAS SUCH AS OIL WELL LOGGING AND SCANNING OF AIRLINE LUGGAGE FOR EXPLOSIVES, ITS POTENTIAL HAS NOT YET BEEN FULLY REALIZED-EVEN IN THOSE FIELDS-LARGELY BECAUSE OF THE PERFORMANCE LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING RADIATION DETECTORS. IN PARTICULAR, AVAILABLE DETECTORS LACK THE COMBINATION OF HIGH SPEED, HIGH STOPPING POWER, AND GOOD SPECTRAL RESPONSE REQUIRED FOR FAST DATA COLLECTION; MINIMUM PULSE PILEUP AND SUMMING EFFECTS; AND RAPID, DETAILED ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS. A NOVEL SCINTILLATING MATERIAL HAS RECENTLY BEEN DEVELOPED WITH THE COMBINATION OF HIGH DENSITY AND PHOTOELECTRIC CROSS SECTION, ULTRAHIGH SPEED, AND SCINTILLATION EFFICIENCY REQUIRED FOR REAL TIME NON-INVASIVE PROCESS CONTROL BASED ON NAA. THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY IS BEING DEVELOPED FOR PROCESS CONTROL IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTS. IN PHASE I, SCINTILLATOR MATERIAL IS BEING SYNTHESIZED, FABRICATED INTO DETECTORS, AND EVALUATED.