Age Determination of Low-Enriched Uranium in Various Physical Forms Using Gamma Spectrometry Methods
Abstract
This paper presents the research results on the age determination of low-enriched uranium in various physical forms using gamma spectrometry methods. The objects of study were uranium working reference materials (uranium oxide powders, uranium alloys, fuel pellets, and microspherical fuel) with 235U enrichment levels ranging from 0.47% to 19.75%, developed at the NSC KIPT. Two analytical approaches for uranium age dating were proposed and tested: Approach 1 is based on a broad-energy germanium detector (BEGe3830) and the 214Bi/234U chronometer; this method demonstrated efficiency across a wide range of enrichments, from natural to enriched uranium. Approach 2 utilizes a low-energy detector (GL1015R) and the 223Ra/235U chronometer; it was established that this approach is limited to enriched uranium only. The results for the calculated age and model production dates obtained by both approaches show good agreement. The average measurement uncertainty was approximately 10% with an exposure time of 400,000 s.
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References
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Copyright (c) 2026 Stanislav Vanzha, Dmytro Kutnii, Serhii Afanasiev, Dmytro Burdeinyi, Oleksandr Zhukov
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