The development and application of k0-standardization method of neutron activation analysis at Es-Salam research reactor

Abstract In recent years the k 0 -NAA method has been applied and developed at the 15 MW Es-Salam research reactor, which includes: (1) the detection efficiency calibration of γ-spectrometer used in k 0 -NAA, (2) the determination of reactor neutron spectrum parameters such as α and f factors in the irradiation channel, and (3) the validation of the developed k 0 -NAA procedure by analysing SRM, namely AIEA-Soil7 and CRM, namely IGGE-GSV4. The analysis results obtained by k 0 -NAA with 27 elements of Soil-7 standard and 14 elements of GSV-4 standard were compared with certified values. The analysis results showed that the deviations between experimental and certified values were mostly less than 10%. The k 0 -NAA procedure established at Es-Salam research reactor has been regarded as a reliable standardization method of NAA and as available for practical applications.