Estimation of zirconium in 9Cr-1Mo-xZr using INAA

Metallic alloy (U-Pu-Zr) is considered to be a potential fuel for future Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) owing to its inherent safety, high atom density, high thermal conductivity and high breeding ratio in comparison with the ceramic fuels. U-Zr alloys are being prepared by injection casting method and the amount of Zr in prepared alloy is essential to know the homogeneity. For the analysis of U-Zr alloys using glow discharge optical emission spectrometer (GDOES) technique, inhouse standards containing various concentrations of Zr in 9Cr-1Mo alloys were prepared. In this study, the amount of Zr was estimated in the prepared alloys by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) technique using the counting data of activated products ⁹⁵Zr and ⁹⁷Zr