Application of PGNAA utilizing thermal neutron beam for quantification of boron concentrations in ceramic and refractory neutron absorbers

A Prompt Gamma-ray Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) facility was set up using a thermal neutron beam at Dhruva research reactor. It was utilized for non-destructive quantification of total boron in refractory neutron absorbers and ¹⁰B atom% in B₄C ceramics having natural and enriched ¹⁰B composition by measuring the 478 keV prompt gamma-ray from ¹⁰B(n,αγ)*7Li. Self-shielding correction was carried out for higher boron concentration samples using chlorine as an internal standard. As a part of quality assurance, the results of PGNAA were compared with those obtained by in situ current normalized Particle Induced Gamma-ray Emission (PIGE) method. (author)