Engineering Physics, McMaster University

4U04-Nuclear Lab

Lab #3
Objective

Neutron Radiography

by Barry Diacon and Josh Vanderstelt

To study the properties and illustrate some advantages of neutron radiography as a method of non-destructive testing complementary to X-ray and gamma radiography. Theory In any radiographic image, variations in optical density (blackness) are caused by variations in the attenuation properties of different materials. In X-ray radiography, attenuation is a function of thickness and density, the latter increasing with atomic number. X-rays and gamma rays are attenuated mainly by Compton scattering or photoelectron absorption. As such, their attenuation coefficients are a fairly smoothly increasing function of the atomic number of the sample material. In neutron radiography (NR), attenuation is due to thickness and neutron cross section, the latter being independent of atomic number. Neutron attenuation is caused by nuclear scattering or absorption. The neutron absorption cross section depends on nuclear structure, so that even isotopes of the same element can have widely differing thermal neutron absorption properties. Light elements are poor X-ray absorbers, but can be very good for attenuating neutrons. Hydrogen, for example, is a weak neutron absorber but is an efficient scatterer. A few examples of strong neutron absorbers are Cadmium, Samarium and Gadolinium. In this way, neutron images provide a different picture then that presented in an x-ray image. Neutron radiography can be useful for thick, high-density components, which can be opaque to X or gamma rays. Due to the high scattering cross section of hydrogen, one can image plastic or rubber components, such as gaskets and 0-rings, even though they may be inside heavy metal containment. This is difficult in X or gamma radiography. 0ne can also image hydrogenous powders or liquids inside metal containers. Examples are concealed drugs, pyrotechnics, various ordnance (ammunition), explosive bolts and cords, lubricants and hydraulic fluids. Neutrons make their presence known in a number of ways, such as activation or ionization. Unfortunately, the efficiency of these processes is low for film image-recorders, so some form of amplifier or converter is required. The usual method is a thin layer of some material that, upon neutron absorption, emits secondary radiation. This photo-effective radiation interacts readily with the film emulsion to form an image. Variations in the image optical density (contrast) are dictated by the materials and thickness of the object being radiographed. The conversion material used in this lab is Gadolinium which has the following reactions: 155Gd + n e + 156Gd ic 157Gd + n e + 158Gd ic

Engineering Physics, McMaster University

4U04-Nuclear Lab
155

All of the isotopes of Gd in the above reaction equations are stable i.e. non-radioactive. T h e eIC symbolizes an internal conversion electron. The addition of a neutron to the
157

Gd

Gd nucleus produces an excited nuclear state. Rather than emitting a gamma ray, deor excitation is produced (30% of the time) by direct transfer of the nuclear excitation energy to an orbital electron, ejecting it from the atom with the nuclear energy minus the electron binding energy. Image Comparison To compare facility to facility and describe the quality of a radiograph, two image quality indicators (IQI) are included on most radiographs. The beam purity indicator (BPI), Figure 3.1, contains two disks made from boron nitride, two disks made from lead, and two cadmium wires in a block of Teflon. By looking at the optical density, as measured with a densitometer, behind the various disks, information regarding the causes of film darkening can be gained. Boron is a strong neutron absorber, with a large cross section for neutrons. As a result, it is assumed that all of the thermal neutrons hitting the boron nitride disks will be absorbed. Similarly lead is a good absorber of gamma and x-ray radiation, so it is assumed that all of the gamma and x-ray radiation hitting these disks will be absorbed. One of the lead disks and one of the boron nitride disks are positioned at the front of the Teflon block, and the other two disks are positioned at the back of the Teflon block. The optical densities behind the boron nitride disks provide the contribution resulting from thermal neutrons, as thermal neutrons should be stopped by a boron disk. Similarly from the lead disks, we see the proportion of gamma or x-ray contribution to our image.
Figure 3.1: BPI (above & below)

The difference in optical density behind the boron nitride disks of the same shape and size is the result of the separation between the disks and the film. Any additional darkening behind the boron nitride disk that is positioned farther from the film is presumed to be the result of scattered neutrons, neutrons that went around the disk that was farther from the film, but were stopped by the disk that was closer to the film.

Similarly with the lead disks, the optical density behind the disks tells us what portion of gamma and x-ray contribution came from angled sources, possibly from inelastic scatter of neutrons, or pair production in the shielding, and what portion came directly down the beam, possibly originating in the reactor core. The following optical density values are to be taken directly from the densitometer values measured at the corresponding location.
Definition of BPI Equation Terms max{DB} min{DB} max{DL} min{DL} DH DT DB DL Larger film density measured from the 2 images of the boron nitride (BN) disks. Smaller film density measured from the 2 images of the boron nitride (BN) disks. Larger film density measured from the 2 images of the lead disks. Smaller film density measured from the 2 images of the lead disks. Film density measured in the center of the BPI's hole image. Film density measured through the BPI Teflon between the lead disks. Difference between the high and low boron nitride disks. Difference between the height and low lead disks.

Table 3.1: Definition of BPI Equation Terms

These measurements are intended to roughly correspond to the film darkening resulting from the following radiation. Hole = + s + Boron, film side = Lead, film side = + s + p Lead, source side = + s Teflon = + s + * Where: - s is the percentage contribution of scatter to film darkening - p is the percentage contribution of pair production to film darkening - is the percentage contribution of neutrons to film darkening - is the percentage contribution of gammas to film darkening

Note that in the Teflon image, not all of the radiation exposes the film. From this the contribution to film darkening from the various sources can be determined as follows.

DH max{DB} + DL DH DT min{DL} = DH DB s= DH DL p= DH

Dx is the film density measured with the densitometer at the image of material x, where x = H (hole), B(Boron), L (lead), T (Teflon) DT for example, is the film density at the point on the film where Teflon is imaged

Table 3.2: Equations of sources

The sensitivity indication (SI) is another image quality indicator. It is intended to provide resolution information relating to the imaging system. The indicator is made of steps of varying thickness of a hydrogenous material. Under these steps are shims that have holes of various sizes in them. Additionally aluminum shims are placed to form gaps, thin lines of relative neutron transparency. The ability of a user to see these holes and gaps is used to measure the resolution of the imaging system.
*

Value of H 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Hole Size, mm 0.51 0.51 0.51 0.51 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13

Absorber Thickness, mm 0.64 1.27 2.54 5.08 0.64 1.27 2.54 5.08 0.64 1.27 2.54 5.08

* The value of H reported is the largest consecutive value that is visible in the image.

TABLE 3.3: Hole sizes in the SI indicator

Gap 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gap size (mm) 0.25 0.13 0.10 0.076 0.051 0.025 0.013

Figure 3.2: SI indicator cross section.

The sensitivity indicator is intended to be used for comparison of resolution between facilities. Whether or not a 0.013 mm gap can actually be seen in an object will depend on the specific materials present, the thickness of the gap, the object separation from the film, and other parameters. In short, resolution depends on both the imaging system and the object being imaged.

Table 3.4: Gap sizes

Image Category From the measurements taken with the BPI and the SI indicators, the film category is determined. Film category is used to compare the quality of radiographs between facilities. Customers specify required film quality to ensure that a low quality image will not prevent them from identifying significant defects in parts that may be visible with a better imaging system. The following table provides the requirements for a film to be classified as a specific category film. The worst value determines the film category. When determining film category, a bigger thermal neutron count or a larger number of holes and gaps visible is better, while a smaller percentage of film darkening from gamma, scatter and pair production is better.

Category I II III IV V

NC (%) 65 60 55 50 45

H 6 6 5 4 3

G 6 6 5 5 5

S (%) 5 6 7 8 9

(%) 3 4 5 6 7

P (%) 3 4 5 6 7

Table 3.5: Film classification categories

No Umbra Device

Figure 3.3: Image of No Umbra device

ASTM standard E803 governs the NU Device construction and use, and describes the related math. The device is constructed from a series of cadmium wires mounted on a piece of aluminum with known spacing. The aluminum is angled at 45 degrees from the base. When the device is imaged, the wires produce images at different distances from the film. The closest wire, that does not have an area where the entire beam is blocked behind it, (known as an umbra shadow), is identified, and this distance is then used to determine the L/D ratio.

Knowing the L/D ratio for an imaging system can be very valuable in comparing the quality of the imaging systems. But the length of an imaging system is a point that is often debated, concerning where exactly to measure from; the beginning of the aperture, the middle of the aperture, the end of the aperture, and where to measure to, the parts, or the conversion screen. Similarly the aperture size is not as easily defined as might be expected, as leakage around and through the sides of the aperture can make the affective aperture size different from the physical dimensions. The No Umbra device (NU device) seeks to remove the subjectivity of determining L/D ratios. This devices is imaged, and the image is used to determine what the L/D ratio is for the imaging system based on its affects at the imaging plane. To understand the operation of this device, the neutrons can be thought of as being like light. You may have noticed that when you are between two streetlights at night, the area where the shadows from the two streetlights overlap is much darker then the areas where a shadow is being cast from only one light. This area where no light falls can be called the umbra shadow. If the light source is physically large, or the distance behind the object is large, this affect can also be seen with a single source. The area where all of the light emitted from the source is blocked is called the umbra shadow, and if only some of the light from the source is blocked this is a penumbra shadow. The NU devices looks to determine the distance at which the cadmium wire needs to be for the device to no longer have an umbra shadow in the produced radiograph. The geometry of the device can then be used to calculate the L/D ratio, based on this shadow formation, giving a precise, repeatable method to calculate L/D ratios that can be meaningfully compared between facilities.

Figure 3.4: Schematic of NU device (above & right)

The NU device can either be used to directly find the position where no umbra shadow exists, through an iterative process, or the ratio can be calculated directly from a single image through the following equation. ASTM E803 describes this process in more detail.
L / D = [ U1 X1 / U1 U2 X0 ]/ rod diameter

Where, U1 = umbral width of a rod near the image plane U2 = umbral image width of a rod near the distance where the umbra disappears X0 = distance from the film to the rod chosen for U1 X1 = distance between the two rods chosen for analysis

Procedure 1. Radiograph the various objects provided, including the Ris fuel pin (from the Ris National Laboratory in Denmark). Place the Ris fuel pin directly against the cassette for the first radiograph. Set the Ris pin some distance away from the cassette for the second radiograph. For each radiograph vary the exposure time. In one of the images, place the L/D device near the center of the image at a 45 degree angle from the fixture. Include the opaque box containing the mystery object. In one case, place the box flat on the cassette, in the second place the box on its end so that the contents can be viewed in two different aspects. Use the Beam Purity Indicator (BPI), shown in Figure 3.1, to determine the effect of the presence of radiation other than neutrons in the test facility beam. An optical densitometer is used to measure the logarithm of the relative intensity of the light which can pass through portions of the BPI radiograph image. (By relative is meant the ratio of the incident over transmitted light.) Calculations with the D parameters derived from the PBI can show various aspects of the purity of the beam. Use the Sensitivity Indicator, shown in Figure 3.2, to determine the resolution parameters H and G for this facility. The values for the H parameter are shown in Table 3.3 and those for the G parameter are shown in Table 3.4.

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Figure 3.5: Imaging System. Various shielding and operational changes have been made, but the imaging

system is the same as depicted here. Neutrons are thermalized in the water surrounding the core. A small aperture allows neutrons into the collimator. A bismuth filter acts to remove gamma radiation from the imaging system. A rectangular, divergent collimator shapes the neutron into a slightly divergent rectangular beam; a shutter acts to stop the beam to allow insertion of objects to image, film, etc.

Discussion 1. Determine the dimensions of the mystery object inside the opaque box and calculate the volume of this object. What is the accuracy of this calculation? Which aspects of the object affect image resolution? Which aspects of the object affect image contrast? HINT: how do neutrons interact with matter? What is the smallest feature which can be resolved? Discuss the resulting images in terms of material properties. Comment on the effects of exposure time and film-object distance. Discuss any effects of converter-film separation in terms of the screen radiation(s). Why is a nuclear reactor probably the best source of neutrons for radiography? What are the disadvantages? Do a little research to examine some applications of NR in reactor operations. Discuss using the radiograph of the RIS0 fuel pin to illustrate your points. Discuss the effects of gamma radiation on a neutron radiographic image. What are the possible sources of gamma rays? Discuss the BPI data in terms of the material properties of the BPI and the screen. If the pair production figure is high, what does this say about the beam gamma radiation? According to the standard ASTM E545, what is the Quality Category of the radiographs produced in this lab? What does the Quality Category mean? Discuss the pros and cons of gamma versus neutron radiography. Is either method clearly superior? Nray Services Inc. Recently switched from aluminum film cassettes to magnesium film cassettes. Why would they do this? What is the L/D ratio for this imaging system? What affects to L/D ratios have on an imaging system.

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References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Berger, Harold, Ed., Practical Applications of Neutron Radiography & Gaging. ASTM, 1976. Standard Method for Determining Image Quality in Direct Thermal Neutron Radiographic Examination, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 03.03, E 545. Standard Practices for Thermal Neutron Radiography of Materials, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 03.03, E 748 Standard Test Method for Determining the L/D Ratio of Neutron Radiography Beams, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 03.03, E 803. Knoll, Glen F., Radiation Detection and Measurement, 2nd Ed., John Wiley & Sons, Canada Ltd., 1989. Barton, J.P., Ed., Proceedings of the First World Conference on Neutron Radiography. Reidel Publishing Co., 1981. Barton, J.P., Ed., Proceedings of the Second World Conference on Neutron Radiography. Reidel Publishing Co., 1986.