Evaluation of linac-based delayed gamma neutron activation technique for copper characterization in scrap metal by means of Monte Carlo modeling.

Delayed gamma rays following neutron activation, induced by a 6 MeV linear electron accelerator (linac) coupled to a deuterium oxide photo–neutron conversion target, are simulated with MCNP6.1. The 1039 keV copper activation gamma peak is detected with a 33% relative efficiency hyper pure germanium detector. Two copper distributions were assessed for a 2-hour irradiation followed by a 2-hour counting configuration. Homogeneously distributed copper in a planar scrap metal matrix shows 65Cu detection limits of 10.01 g. A solid copper sample, modeled at five distinct positions in the planar scrap metal matrix, exhibits detection limits from 8.27 to 14.27 g. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]