Studies on the neutron activation analysis of light water reactor materials

A radiochemical separation scheme for neutron activation analysis is developed for the determination of 28 elements in aluminium and graphite. The scheme is applied after the concentration of these elements in aluminium by Alcl3 precipitation and the preconcentration of these elements in graphite by oxidation. The scheme is based on a group separation using ion-exchange resin and mineral exchanger. Present work has employed mineral acids and their partly organic mixture excluding HF as the media as well as common glass wares. For the determination, gamma-ray spectroscopy using 3' x 3' NaI(Tl) detector and a single comparator method are used. (author)