Production of monodisperse uranium particles for nuclear safeguards applications

Particle analysis of nuclear materials is a powerful tool in nuclear safeguards and nuclear forensic studies. For the analysis, quality control and reference material samples are required for instrument and method validation as well as the assurance of the quality of reported results. The availability of uranium- and plutonium-containing particles with well-defined properties such as size, density, elemental and/or isotopic composition is limited. The potential of particle production processes starting with monodisperse aerosols prepared from dilute uranium/ plutonium solution has already been demonstrated. Monodisperse uranium and plutonium particles with known elemental contents can be produced using a Vibrating Orifice Aerosol Generator (VOAG). The production of these particles is a two-step process: 1) generation of uniform aerosol particles, and 2) drying, calcining and collection of particles. This paper describes an experimental set-up for particle generation and issues associated with the overall particle production process, its current status and future plans for production of the various nuclear materials needed.