Magnetic Separation for Nuclear Material Detection and Surveillance

A high performance superconducting magnet is being developed for particle retrieval from field collected samples. Results show that maximum separation effectiveness is obtained when the matrix fiber diameter approaches the diameter of the particles to be captured. Experimentally, the authors obtained a single particle capture limit with 0.8microm PuO2 particles with dodecane as a carrier fluid. The development of new matrix materials is being pursued through the controlled corrosion of stainless steel wool, or the deposition of nickel dendrites on the existing stainless steel matrix material. They have also derived a model from a continuity equation that uses empirically determined capture cross section values. This enables the prediction of high gradient magnetic separator performance for a variety of materials and applications. The model can be used to optimize the capture cross section and thus increase the capture efficiency