Monte-Carlo simulation of cement neutron field distribution characteristics in PGNAA

The distribution characteristics of the neutron field in cement was simulated using the MCNP code to comply with the requirements of an online Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis system. Simulation results showed that the neutron relative flux proportion reduced with increasing cement thickness. When the cement thickness remains unchanged, the reduced proportion of thermal neutrons increases to a small extent, but the epithermal, intermediate, and fast neutrons will decrease according to the geometric progression. H element in the cement mainly affects the reduction of fast neutrons and other single-substance elements, e.g., O, Ca, ⁵⁶Fe, Si, and Al. It also slows down the reduction of the fast neutrons via inelastic scattering. O contributes more than other elements in the reduction of fast neutrons. Changing the H content affects the thermal, epithermal, intermediate, and fast neutrons, while changing the Ca, Fe, and Si contents only influences the thermal, epithermal, and intermediate neutrons; hence, there is little effect on the reduction of fast neutrons. (authors)